Currant Gem Cruise Director

[uneamie]

Dawn,

Are there any reports of passengers being sick? Rumors of the norovirus showing a presence on the Gem are on the forums. Thanks!

 

I'd be real interested in this too.....just finished a "mega dose" of antibotics due to a serious throat and ear infection.....not the least bit interested in getting sick again. ugh! However, like I'd said in another post......I will survive if it happens.

[Dolphins]

Dawn, can you give me a quick rundown of the on-board entertainment? Is Ariel Jacobbe on board?

 

Would love to hear that Ariel Jacobbe is on the Gem. What an entertainer he is.

[welove2cruise232]

Hi Herb!

 

I just heard that Ariel is on the Sky...:(

[snooper1225]

OK...maybe now is a good time to ask who the current cruise director is on the Gem. Since we are heading out for our 10 day Caribbean on Jan 3rd, I thought it was close enough to our cruise date to know for sure who he or she will be.....do they even have "female" cruise directors?

 

Any hoo.....who might it be and are they good. Thanks! :D

 

I was on the Gem in 2/08 and 2/09 and both times the cruise director was Julie.

[Bridge Maven]

Does the "currant" cruise director do a lot of "jamming" :)

[l2m7v]

Pianoman.....

 

This will be my second cruise with NCL, and I'm sure in the next few years my cruising past will look much like yours!! I loved my first on the Majesty, and can't wait to sail on the Gem in March!!! Hopefully the Epic will be somewhere in my near future! We took the Majesty out of Charleston in February 2008, and our cd was Ray Ray.....is it maybe the Ray Carr you mentioned, or is this another cd with the same name?

[pixiedustdawn]

Our cruise was very viligant with cleaning and washing hands. I am happy to report as of today we are now serving ourselves and salt and pepper shakers are back on the tables. I believe we are all well onboard from what I can see.

Even with the waves no one has gotten sick in the hallways or anywhere else.

The ship seems as beautiful as ever, if you are very concerned about getting sick while onboard bring lysol and clorox wipes and clean your cabin before you unpack to make yourself feel better. Also, plenty of soap and water should be just fine.

I don't know about Ariel Jacobs, but I will find out and report back. Someone said he is on the Sky.

Weather has been beautiful and the ships precautions have helped with anyone getting ill. They do a fantastic job at that.

[pixiedustdawn]

Does the "currant" cruise director do a lot of "jamming" :)

He seems berry "sweet", but tends to "spread" himself out too much. :p

[sjnyc323]

Glad you are having a great time Dawn. How was the meet and greet?:)

 

 

 

Our cruise was very viligant with cleaning and washing hands. I am happy to report as of today we are now serving ourselves and salt and pepper shakers are back on the tables. I believe we are all well onboard from what I can see.

 

Even with the waves no one has gotten sick in the hallways or anywhere else.

 

The ship seems as beautiful as ever, if you are very concerned about getting sick while onboard bring lysol and clorox wipes and clean your cabin before you unpack to make yourself feel better. Also, plenty of soap and water should be just fine.

 

I don't know about Ariel Jacobs, but I will find out and report back. Someone said he is on the Sky.

 

Weather has been beautiful and the ships precautions have helped with anyone getting ill. They do a fantastic job at that.

[Bridge Maven]

He seems berry "sweet", but tends to "spread" himself out too much. :p

 

Great retort - I love it :)

[snorklinbarb]

Pianoman.....

 

This will be my second cruise with NCL, and I'm sure in the next few years my cruising past will look much like yours!! I loved my first on the Majesty, and can't wait to sail on the Gem in March!!! Hopefully the Epic will be somewhere in my near future! We took the Majesty out of Charleston in February 2008, and our cd was Ray Ray.....is it maybe the Ray Carr you mentioned, or is this another cd with the same name?

 

2 entirely different people. Don't know Ray Ray's last name but he's definitely not Ray Carr.

[Cruz-n-again]

Good God, Man, How did he get to be Cruise Director?

I think everyone is aware of my opinion as to the identity of the greatest cruise director in the universe (there was a vote). However, that I compare all cruise directors with Mr. Ray Carr, is irrelevant to my opinion about Dandy Andy Steinhauser.

 

If you're looking for a cruise director who is a superficial cheer leader, Dandy Andy has the golden pom-poms! He is over-the-top bubbly when on stage and in public, but when you speak to him one-on-one it's clear that he has no interest in actually knowing you.

 

This was evident when My Lee and I did the b2b this month. It was Gem's 13-day repo followed by 7 days in the Bahamas. Now, if you know me, you know that I like to introduce myself to the cruise director and give him (or her) a fair shot. That Andy set up a talent show was a point in his column (I like to play the piano on the main stage, hence "Pianoman.")

 

However, when we got back on board for the second leg of the b2b, we greeted him and he happily bubbled that he had "all new trivia questions for us." Now, My Lee and I do a lot of things on board. We LOVE Bingo (because it's Bingo-tastic!). We gamble. We shop in the stores. We've even been known to check out the Newlywed-not-so-newlywed game. And let's not leave out Karaoke and Karaoke Idol.... We do not do trivia. For 13 days we'd been on the Gem. We were 2 of a handful of people making the turn-around. We were invited to a dinner with Prem and Tony Lockett. Andy was even IN my rendition of Piano Man at the talent show. Telling us that he'd come up with all new trivia questions made two things clear to us: 1. He recognized us and knew he should have known us and 2. He had no clue as to who we really were.

 

Now, If you've read this far, you might be thinking that I shouldn't expect a cruise director to know every person on every cruise. Heck, My Lee's parents went on a few cruises and didn't even know who the cruise director was. However, when a person takes the time to introduce themselves and make themselves known to the CD, there's an expectation that the CD will at least have some clue as to who the person is! Every single other cruise director to which we introduced ourselves remembered our name the very next time we saw them and every time thereafter--GADS even cruise director Shona who was our CD for the one-day-two-day Dawn b2b knew our names and called us by name. Dandy Andy never once called My Lee by name.

 

Fine. You may not think it's important for a CD to know guests by name. That's a perfectly valid opinion. I have more. Dandy Andy is the great disappearing cruise director. After the first night, My Lee and I went down to the left side of the stage in the Stardust where we had met and introduced ourselves to cruise directors Jimmy, Pedro, Ray and Shona after the welcome aboard show. Wanting to give Andy a shot, we went down and waited after the welcome show was over. And waited. And waited. Until it was clear that Dandy Andy wasn't coming out. We found out why later. Sitting up in the Balcony, waiting one of the shows to start, we saw Andy sneak in through the balcony, introduce the show, close the show and sneak back out through the same balcony. He couldn't even bother to deal with the public on a simple, shake-hands-after-the-show level.

 

One more thing. A cruise director shouldn't get sea sick. I'm sorry. Maybe it's being prejudiced. Maybe it's being unfair. But how do you get to be cruise director of the Norwegian Flagship and still get seasick. Assistant CD Rob "Sugar" joked about it every one of the six sea days on the transatlantic. After Bingo in the Spinnaker, "Next we've got we've got trivia with your Cruise Director Andy, who's lying on the floor under the desk and looking a little green around the gills.

 

Let me say a little something about Rob "Sugar." First of all, his real name is Robert Barker. That's right, the ACD's real name is Bob Barker. (It says Rob Sugar on his name tag... I have no explanation) Rob is a very British Brit who has a wry dry and sometimes a-wry sense of humor that takes some getting used to. However, Rob is WAY more of a Cruise Director than Andy will ever be. Not only did Rob know our names from the very start, he acted like he really did want to know My Lee and I as people not just two more of the herd of guests that walk through the ship every seven or fourteen days. One night there was a deck party. My Lee and I took the opportunity to have a night swim in the pool as the party was happening. Rob, saw us and jumped head-long into the pool. Now, he was in a bathingsuit (it would've been REALLY cool if he was fully clothed), but he jumped in and hung out with us for a long while, just shooting the breeze and actually getting to know us better. Long winded response to an easy question, but as you may know, I take my Cruise Director's seriously! Sugar yes, Andy no...

 

As I was reading through the topics on these boards, I noticed a topic I could easily answer. However, my opinion was already well-articulated by Pianoman. And, while I didn't get a chance to meet neither Mr. Pianoman, nor Mr. Sugar, I did introduce myself to Andy, and saw Pianoman singing at Karaoke. Judging by his singing at Karaoke, I'm sorry I missed him singing the tune for which he so aptly names himself.

 

I couldn't agree with your assessment of Andy more! I too like to introduce myself to the cruise director. Andy's handshake is like shaking hands with a wet rag. He smiled as if he was totally uncomfortable shaking my hand, said a few brief pleasantries and ran away. I mean it. He just walked away. He didn't say "It was nice to meet you," or "Have a nice cruise." He just turned a walked away. Now, I know that as one poster said, Cruise Directing is a thankless job that never ends. That, quite frankly is not my problem. That's why I'm not a Cruise Director. If you're going to put yourself out as a public figure, you need to make time for your public. I met him again at the latitudes reception. He regarded me, gave me another wet-rag handshake and hurried away. Moments later, my wife wanted to ask him a question at the same reception, and he was GONE.

 

He truly is the great dissappearing cruise director. He said at every show, that we'd see him "All over the ship." I guess he meant his staff, because I think I saw him three or four times the whole cruise--I think he hides in the Crew Only areas.

 

My wife and I met Prem the last time we were on the Gem. This time, he remembered us like we were old friends. Andy didn't even smile at us the next time we saw him at trivia only a day later.

 

On the other hand my wife and I LOVED Rob Sugar...

Even though we only attended Bingo a few times and the (ahem) White Hot Party (where he dressed up as an Angel), just like Prem, Rob remembered us (or at least acted like he wanted to remember us), and spoke with us warmly for several minutes.

 

As my subject title says... How in the world did he get to be cruise director? I don't need hand holding, but some more professionalism would be appreciated....

 

I echo what Pianoman said: Rob Sugar? Yes. Andy? Not quite.

[uneamie]

Not sure why everyone thinks that a "cruise director" is suppose to become your best buddy on your cruise. Lots and lots of responsibility and things to remember come with the job. That said, if one CD remembers you and one does not......why does that matter or effect your vacation experience???

 

They are there to engage and entertain the "masses" ...not the individual...there's simply no time for them to get that personal. Not saying that some do not actually do this, but I don't think it should be required or expected of someone who's time and job is full of constant activity.

 

Just got off the Gem with Andy and I loved him. We never engaged in any personal contact, talked with him, or wanted his attention but, he came thru for all of us by being a fun, upbeat, energetic, friendly guy and we did not expect anything more. Expectations can really ruin your experiences in life....just saying.

[cruzndiz]

Uneamie: did Andy's staff have any competition-type games to win prizes or tokens that you could later use to buy prizes?

[defreeze]

I agree with uneamie. I thought Andy was a great, fun cruise driector. Never had a personal interaction with him, but he was everywhere on the ship, full of energy and a pleasure!!

[uneamie]

Uneamie: did Andy's staff have any competition-type games to win prizes or tokens that you could later use to buy prizes?

 

There were many competition type games that came with quote: "Crappy prizes"....that 's what Andy called them in a joking kind of way. Key chains, NCL cloth bag, pens...stuff like that. There was a new game "wheel of fortune" type. There was a "passenger karoke contest". Lot's of trivia games. The "newly wed game". We went to many of them to watch but did not participate. It was fun.

[defreeze]

If you really whant to win a prize, go to What's My Line? Andy and two other crew staff try to guess passengers' occupations in 10 yes or no questions or less.

 

They were so bad at it that everyone one a prize!!!!

[CruisePrincess575]

Not sure why everyone thinks that a "cruise director" is suppose to become your best buddy on your cruise. Lots and lots of responsibility and things to remember come with the job. That said, if one CD remembers you and one does not......why does that matter or effect your vacation experience???

 

They are there to engage and entertain the "masses" ...not the individual...there's simply no time for them to get that personal. Not saying that some do not actually do this, but I don't think it should be required or expected of someone who's time and job is full of constant activity.

 

Just got off the Gem with Andy and I loved him. We never engaged in any personal contact, talked with him, or wanted his attention but, he came thru for all of us by being a fun, upbeat, energetic, friendly guy and we did not expect anything more. Expectations can really ruin your experiences in life....just saying.

 

 

 

 

I agree I loved Andy. He isn't there to be everyones best friend. People have high expectations of people. He is like 25 years old and seemed very friendly and kind when I came in contact with him. GO ANDY!

[Newbeekeg]

Does anyone know who I can contact the CD before my cruise to help plan a surprise for my travel mate? I'll be traveling on the May 21st from Venice and I'd like to have something planned ahead of time. How do I find out who'll be the CD on that sailing and how would I go about contacting them? I'm sure I can call the cruise line and I'll do that if no one has better ideas.

 

Thanks for the direction, I am quite the newbee