Honest Question Re: Ship Staffing

Would not definitely cancel a cruise because of the senior staff but would have serious thoughts about it if a certain CD (name starts with a B and you either 'love him or hate him') was the CD for a long cruise. If this is the same person, HAL and he parted company for a while but now he is back!

Would sail with Gene Young as the CD any time! My other favorite has since retired.

Have found the hotel director to have a big impact both good and bad, and love sailing with Henck and Cristal Mesnick(?) as they are awesome in all that they do. Now how often do you see a hotel director, much less standing at the end of the ramp wishing everyone a great day in port!

I totally agree. There is one that I would not sail with again.

I have learned a lot on this forum but some of these comments just leave me cold.

How in Gods name can you let one person spoil your holiday

Do they come on the shore excursions with you

Do they dine with you

Do they sleep with you

Some of you are unbelievable

Does it really matter who the Captain, Hotel Manager, Cruise Director, etc. are for the cruise?

 

Would you actually cancel the cruise over who was in charge of the ship?

 

I understand how it's nice to know, but does it really make that much of a difference before you board?

We could care less who the captain, HD, CD, etc. are on a ship.

Lately we have had quite a few new captains, HD and CD.

How often do you see them on the ship -- for us rarely.

About day two I was thinking 'poor guy, he'll be lucky to make it to the end of his contract'. A day or so later I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't make it to the end of the cruise. Then I learned that he'd been with HAL for at least four years. I was stunned.

 

When talking to the HD one day I mentioned my issues with the CD. His response was a simple 'people either love him or hate him'. Management knows passengers hate him and yet he's still there. :rolleyes:

 

From what I saw, those of us who hate him are the vast majority. In over 30 years of cruising I've never experienced someone from the ship who was such a talking point (good or bad) among the passengers. Definitely not in such an extremely negative context. Not once did I hear anyone say they liked him or even that he was ok. Disembarking I did see a little old lady emotionally hugging the CD goodbye. So, there was at least one person on board who liked him.

 

In my post cruise survey I made it abundantly clear that the CD had a negative impact on my cruise. For the first time ever I marked that I would definitely not recommend a HAL cruise to others. For the reason, I simply put the CD's name.

 

I found it extremely poor judgement when, about 10-12 days in, the CD announced to the showroom that "A passenger named (insert name here) has complained that I'm too fun". The context in which he said it left no doubt that "too fun" wasn't a good thing in the mind of the complainer. It wasn't my name as the complaint would have been too loud, too obnoxious, plastic, a world class phony.... Still, to name a passenger in such a manner to the showroom is very inappropriate. That would deter others from making complaints about him. Interesting though that complaints were being made and he was hearing about them.

 

Discussion on our HAL airport transfer at the end of the cruise should have been about how good the cruise was, not about the obnoxious CD. ;)

Mary Ellen,

I know exactly who you mean. We had the displeasure of sailing with him for 31 days in South America on the Veendam. I agree with every adjective you used and could probably add a few more.

If he were on my cruise and it was before final payment and I had not yet purchased airfare, yes, I would cancel. He IS THAT ANNOYING.

Terri

 

 

Can anyone tell me who is the CD in the beginning of this video?

This is on Zuiderdam, last month.

 

 

The Ship's Cast seems very good by the way!

That is Michael Headla.

I have learned a lot on this forum but some of these comments just leave me cold.

How in Gods name can you let one person spoil your holiday

Do they come on the shore excursions with you

Do they dine with you

Do they sleep with you

Some of you are unbelievable

No they don't but they can be making far too many announcements in the most annoying voice that makes you cringe every time they open their mouths.

I have learned a lot on this forum but some of these comments just leave me cold.

How in Gods name can you let one person spoil your holiday

Do they come on the shore excursions with you

Do they dine with you

Do they sleep with you

Some of you are unbelievable

hmm - tell us how you really feel. As passengers who chose to participate in ship's activities, the CD does make a difference and I prefer not to pay good money to be insulted by a CD in public or in private.

As long as the Piano Bar guy is good, I'm good. Now, I would plan a cruise around the one I really, really like! But the others, who cares. Our last cruise we were on had the best Captain of any of the cruises we were on. He was all over the ship, speaking, asking how things were going, etc., was eating at the Lido and joined a group who were amazed that he was that friendly.

hmm - tell us how you really feel. As passengers who chose to participate in ship's activities, the CD does make a difference and I prefer not to pay good money to be insulted by a CD in public or in private.

Ok. This does make sense. We usually don't partipate in too many on-board activities, except maybe the piano bar. So it's easy for us to re-locate if a CD is getting on our nerves. But if a passenger wants to participate in a lot of activities, it would be difficult to have fun if someone is a big jerk. And if you are on a TA or a longer cruise, I do believe it would be difficult to endure someone like this for a long time!

It relay makes no difference to me, I can't remember the name of any one on the ships I have been on. I don't see where they have any thing to do with any thing I do on my trip. I don't know the Airline Capt . on any flights I take ether. LOL :D:D:D

We book a cruise based on itinerary & usually do this long before we know who the operational staff would be. Our last 2 cruises (in the Med) have been so port intensive that the only thing important was that the ship was in port on schedule. That said last month on the Zuiderdam we really enjoyed sailing with Captain Turner & the crew. He was very informative & the staff seemed to be very happy to be there. Saw him a lot more than we did the Captain we had in 2012 when we cruised the Med. As for the CD we saw him "out & about" as he liked to say.

We never bother finding out about the officers. Probably because we are late bookers and cruise on a number of lines.

We really have not bothered with any of the CD's apart from getting very tired on their constant bingo type announcements and their over used jokes. We are low maintenance so we simply ignore and avoid CD's as much as possible.

Nor do we have any particular desire or need to associate with the officers.

Very much agree that the ship management set the tone for the ship. Having said that we cruise on a number of lines. We have seen the difference but we do not select our cruise based on this. It is primarily based on itinerary/ship/price. For us the management team is what is it. It is luck of the draw for us.

I think that in Alaska--particularly the inside passage--it can make a difference on who the Master of the Vessel is. Some do not like to keep it inside and so from the time you leave the shelter of Vancouver Island, one is on the High Sea. There is a certain Captain who keeps the ship inside as much as possible--where the scenery is gorgeous--and the ship gets to the destination on time. Others just love that high sea. I always go with the captain who tries to keep the ship inside.

If you're going on a long cruise perhaps one might want to know who staff might be. If it's your typical 7-10 day cruise

 

Then you're most likely a high maintenance PITA

Who's going to spend their whole cruise wanting to meet with the Hotel Manager for every reason under the sun

My Hero.

 

 

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Have found the hotel director to have a big impact both good and bad, and love sailing with Henck and Cristal Mesnick(?) as they are awesome in all that they do. Now how often do you see a hotel director, much less standing at the end of the ramp wishing everyone a great day in port!

I agree some Hotel Directors go that extra ten miles to try and make everyone's cruise as good as they can.

Seeing you asked, one of the very best Hotel Directors, Stan Kuppens, has stood at gangways as people disembarked and took the complaints and compliments right to the very last minute. He is an amazing HD and good reason he is the take out HD for HAL's new ship.

Those here who remember Nick Burger (now Windstar) also will recall he stood at the gangway saying goodbye to guests.

I recall when Captain Jacob Dyke, now retired and I hope happily/healthily so, stood at the gangway welcoming guests aboard in the rain, with no 'jetway' in Copenhagen. He stood there for a very long time greeting arriving guests.

Been on over 100 cruises and could care less about the Captain or CD or even the Hotel Director. We have found that being friends of the Beverage Manager can have some benefits :). We have dined with several Captains and Hotel Managers over the years and most of those meals was not memorable (and they probably agree on this point). On a cruise we are more concerned with the Chef, our cabin steward, waiters, and most important the bar staff.

And regarding CDs, the only HAL CD we even remember (and we are 4 Star Mariners) was Thom Faukner (no longer a CD). Thom was truly memorable for his practice on only making a single announcement per day and even keeping that short. In our little mind the best CD is the one we seldom see or hear.

Hank

I'm in the camp that believes the ship's senior management can make a difference in the cruise experience. While I would not cancel a criuse once booked upon learning who the senior people were, I am hesitant to book another cruise on a particular vessel, fearing that the same officials would be aboard. (This is due to HAL's practice of keeping the same Captains and Hotel Directors on the same ship for a period of time; not sure if this applies to Cruise Directors.)

For the neigh sayers........ think about this for a moment:

These senior officers have been at sea in the hospitality business for years. They have been (in most cases) all over the world. They have seen unbelieveable places, met the most interesting people, are well educated and experienced and mostly have a wonderful sense of humor to survive the masses of us cruisers who bombard them from the moment they board until (happily) their vacation time arrives.

Doesn't common sense say to you these are likely wonderful people who enjoy meeting others or why did they go into the hospitality business? They have fantastic stories to tell and do so with wonderful humor? Why wouldn't they be the most pleasant dinner companions?

Of course, it means nothing to me what anyone things about CD's, HD''s, Captains or anyone but felt I wanted to put a bit of perspective to subject. :D :D

Some of us have had amazing experiences with some very special people on (and off) these ships.

For the neigh sayers........ think about this for a moment:

 

These senior officers have been at sea in the hospitality business for years. They have been (in most cases) all over the world. They have seen unbelieveable places, met the most interesting people, are well educated and experienced and mostly have a wonderful sense of humor to survive the masses of us cruisers who bombard them from the moment they board until (happily) their vacation time arrives.

 

Doesn't common sense say to you these are likely wonderful people who enjoy meeting others or why did they go into the hospitality business? They have fantastic stories to tell and do so with wonderful humor? Why wouldn't they be the most pleasant dinner companions?

 

Of course, it means nothing to me what anyone things about CD's, HD''s, Captains or anyone but felt I wanted to put a bit of perspective to subject. :D :D

 

Some of us have had amazing experiences with some very special people on (and off) these ships.

Very well said Sail, I have had the opportunity to meet several HD's and Captains and and thrilled that I consider a few good personal friends that I keep in contact with on a personal level not as a cruise passenger. For me like on our last cruise it was like visiting family that I like ;) that I have not seen for a while :D Tom and I were so thrilled to spend lots of quality time every day and evening catching up. I remember several years ago one Captain that the day his first Grand child was born he had to send me a picture. These people have some amazing stories to tell and becoming friends with them is just a bonus that I cherish.

No, I do not go out and try to become friends with them all :eek: Actually I can count on one hand those I am close with. There is another cruise line I have been frequenting but I honestly do not know one Officer there and that is OK too. It just happens that I have a few very good friends that happen to work on board ships :)

sail7seas,

You make a very good point. And, from my experience, because cruise ship officials are there, I believe, because they want to be associated with the cruising public and not on a cargo/tanker/ferry ship, I am disappointed when their PR skills are lacking.

When I was involved with helping to hire employees for the business for whom I worked, competency in the skills required to do the job was obviously Job #1. But, that was followed very closely with Job #2: How will this person relate to others in his/her work environment?

At least on the nautical, engineering, and major hotel positions, HAL does a stellar job in hiring. Meeting my expectations for my Job #2, my most recent HAL cruise experience leads me to think that stellar PR skills aren't as important as they once were.

We just got off the 30 May Westerdam Alaska cruise. The Marketing manager made the comment to us during the behind the scenes tour:

"A happy captain makes for a happy cruise."

There were many people on the cruise who thought the Captain stern as he made a very forceful lifeboat drill. In person he was friendly and personable.

We just got off the 30 May Westerdam Alaska cruise. The Marketing manager made the comment to us during the behind the scenes tour:

 

"A happy captain makes for a happy cruise."

 

There were many people on the cruise who thought the Captain stern as he made a very forceful lifeboat drill. In person he was friendly and personable.

And, I would add: "A happy Hotel Director makes for a happy crew and for guests who do not feel slighted or overlooked."

If your Captain is the one with whom I have sailed, he is all business when he must be, but he also must have received the highest grade in his PR 101 class!

We sailed once with a hotel director who was flat-out despised by the crew. There was honestly nearly a mutiny and from good crew sources 1/4 of them were going to abandon their contract and put in for transfers if he remained in charge. You can easily tell when the crew doesn't like the big boss, just like a restaurant on land IMO.

Thankfully for the crew and HAL that HD/HM was fired when the ship docked at the end of that cruise.

We just got off the 30 May Westerdam Alaska cruise. The Marketing manager made the comment to us during the behind the scenes tour:

 

"A happy captain makes for a happy cruise."

 

There were many people on the cruise who thought the Captain stern as he made a very forceful lifeboat drill. In person he was friendly and personable.

You mean the "SILENCE ON DECK"?

Loved it actually as it got results. Life boat drills are time for silence and it's his trade mark, I gather.

If we are talking about the same captain, he is a fantastic dancer, very sociable, great host and a lot of fun at the meet and greets.

The staff all imitate his "silence on deck". He's all business when it counts and toots his heart out leaving FLL and other ports and is a very nice gentleman.

We really, really enjoyed our cruise with him at the helm :)

After sailing HAL for over 40 years on almost 20 of their ships, only once have I had a bad experience with a Captain. It was very obvious right after boarding that we were not on a "happy" ship. From the Front Desk crew to the Cabin Stewards to the Stewards in the MDR, comments were made alluding to the very unpopular Captain. And, that is after we had been upgraded from an ordinary Verandah cabin to a Pinnacle Suite! Even the Concierge in the Neptune Suite was grumpy and unhelpful. I was invited to a couple of very small, intimate get-togethers with the Captain and a few other people. Two couples who had never sailed HAL before were so turned off by him, they told me they didn't feel that they would rush into booking another HAL cruise. Believe me, if you step onto an "unhappy" ship you will soon know it! That was 12 years ago, and I have never been in that situation again. Thank goodness. It doesn't matter so much to me that I like the Captain. I want the staff on board to like the Captain!