IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Senior Officers on past Sailings

[C 2 C]

I've started to gather some information from various posts on different threads. It would be very helpful if a few more "In the Spotlights" were scanned and posted. Thanks to all the people who are as interested in finding out "Who's Where" as I am.

 

This is a very limited summary that needs lots of updating:

 

[cruiseacecat]

Thanks, Arno, for doing this. I will be boarding Solstice on Sun. and will post update on my return. I am certain others will also keep this going.

 

Anne :)

[Solstice23]

Raffaele has become a great friend of our on ship and off ship!!! He is the best DUDE on the seas

[Mrs_Tiki]

On Solstice August 1 sailing, Sue Richardson was Hotel Director (1st week back from vacation) and Sheldon Thompson was her Assistant Hotel Director. We enjoyed dinner with them one night at the Captain's Table. (If you meet Sheldon, ask him about his water-skiing career prior to joining X!)

[cruiseacecat]

On Solstice August 1 sailing, Sue Richardson was Hotel Director (1st week back from vacation) and Sheldon Thompson was her Assistant Hotel Director. We enjoyed dinner with them one night at the Captain's Table. (If you meet Sheldon, ask him about his water-skiing career prior to joining X!)

Sounds like Sheldon is being familiarized with the S class ships. Do you have any idea how long he was planning to be on board? He is truly a nice person and I would so love to see him again. Another loss for the C and M class ships. I suspect once they are trained for the S class, they do not go back.

 

Anne

[C 2 C]

With thanks:

 

[PatC]

Michael is wonderful! We've had him on Connie and then on our "noro" cruise this past March. He runs a very tight ship. I remember him on Connie trying to get a slice of pizza, and being an Italian American, he told the cook that he wasn't cooking it enough. He was great on the Mercury. We were talking to him and he remembered us. He also told us that he was their "trouble shooter" to make sure things either turned around or were running smoothly. That's the reason he was on Mercury last March.

 

I'm looking forward to sailing on Constellation in March so we'll see who's on board before then.

 

Pat C

[Orator]

Arno: Thanks for the thread. Looking forward to meeting you on the Dec. 4th Eclipse sailing. Any information about the Hostess for the Connie TA in November?

[C 2 C]

Arno: Thanks for the thread. Looking forward to meeting you on the Dec. 4th Eclipse sailing. Any information about the Hostess for the Connie TA in November?

 

I'm scouring the boards for returning cruisers in order to fill out the chart. The turnover in staff is amazing. Half the cruise and hotel directors seem to be new hires and host(ess) positions are always changing.

[C 2 C]

From the main boards:

 

I have no idea how to post my Spotlight :o, so I will just post the names.

 

Captain: Dimitrios Kafetzis

Chief Engineer: Ioannis Sotirianos

Staff Captain: Michael Sympouras

Guest Relations Manager: Touch Ung

Hotel Director: Sue Richardson

Asst. Hotel Director: Sheldon Thompson

Cruise Director: Paul Baya

Food & Beverage Manager: Michael Bramlett

Executive Chef: Mischa Graafmans

Captain's Club Hostess (until 12 Sep. 10): Jonette Briones

 

And for those of you who are fans of the party band Sipra, they left on the 29th.

 

 

Anne

[cruiseacecat]

Hi Arno,

 

Glad you found my thread. :o I really have to learn to do more than send e-mails and read the boards. I still have my Spotlight, just have no idea how to post it.

 

Anne

[Lois R]

Hi Arno,

 

Glad you found my thread. :o I really have to learn to do more than send e-mails and read the boards. I still have my Spotlight, just have no idea how to post it.

 

Anne

 

Hi Anne:) do you have a scanner? Or you can take a picture of

it and then upload the photo into your computer and post it as

an attachment that way.

[cruiseacecat]

Hi Anne:) do you have a scanner? Or you can take a picture of

it and then upload the photo into your computer and post it as

an attachment that way.

Hi Lois :)

 

Yes, I have a scanner and know how to scan. Just have no idea how to get it up on the boards. I am going to have the ever patient hubby walk me through it this weekend. Hope we are still speaking when it's over. :p

I hope you have an amazing time on Solstice. I have already told Jonette, the CC hostess, to look for you. I said you will be the gal having the best time. :) Please say hi for me.

Sorry Arno, for the change of subject.

Anne :)

[Lois R]

Oh Anne, thank you:) I will find her and tell her hello from you too

then:D

Looking at the Spotlight, I don't think I know any of those folks.

Meeting new people is always fun:)

[C 2 C]

Hi Arno,

 

Glad you found my thread. :o I really have to learn to do more than send e-mails and read the boards. I still have my Spotlight, just have no idea how to post it.

 

Anne

 

Anne thanks for posting the names. Many of us like to follow the movement of staff from ship to ship over the years. I also am amazed at all the new names.

Have you ever posted a picture to a photo website?

I use Photobucket but there are many others.

I scan the document as a picture to my desktop, upload, follow directions on which form to use and post here on cruise critic.

The first one is tough, the rest easy.

 

Lois if you have never sailed with Touch, tell him Arno thinks he's the best! I've sailed with him many times and wish I could meet up with him again.

 

 

[cruiseacecat]

Anne thanks for posting the names. Many of us like to follow the movement of staff from ship to ship over the years. I also am amazed at all the new names.

Have you ever posted a picture to a photo website?

I use Photobucket but there are many others.

I scan the document as a picture to my desktop, upload, follow directions on which form to use and post here on cruise critic.

The first one is tough, the rest easy.

 

Lois if you have never sailed with Touch, tell him Arno thinks he's the best! I've sailed with him many times and wish I could meet up with him again.

 

 

Arno,

I am going to give it a try over the weekend, assuming we still have our electricity after the brush with Earl.

 

Anne

[CruisingChick]

Wow, they've been moving Michael (F&B Manager) all over the place. I sailed with him in March/April on Mercury and then last October on Constellation and now he's on Solstice!!! I hope he's not getting dizzy. He's really good at his job, maybe that's why they have him going around to all the ships.

 

Arno, I read on another post that Tanushka was the Captain's Club Hostess on Mercury 8/15-22. So I'm not sure when you chart was updated.

 

Anne Maria

[C 2 C]

From a returning cruiser:

 

Someone ask for the current (september 2010) staff on the Mercury, but I could not find the thread:

 

Got back from Alaska today (sep 5) and we had:

Master: Captain Kostas Patsoulas (who got us to 1000 feet from the Hubbard Glacier)

Chief Engineer: Evangelos Miskedakis

Staff Captain: Damianos Xenakis

Guest Relations Mgr: Janette Ramos

Hotel Director: Ugo Vaccalluzzo

Cruise Director: Stewart Turnbull

F&B Mgr: Mario Markovic

Exec Chef: Adam Lockwood

 

Bands:

Cova Cafe: Lucky Charms Classical and easy listening

Cova Cafe: Charlie Butler (Solo guitar and Vocals)

Champagne bar: Keith Turner (Solo piano and Vocals)

Rendez-Vous: Take Note Quartet

Pavillion and Pool bar: 60280 Party Band (Dance Music)

 

A&B

[Mr&MrsBee]

I think it is a do as I say not do as I do. For a line is asking employees to be friendly etc I have not seen much from the Senior Staff. All I have observed is standing in a cluster with hardly a smile. The only exception was Michael Bramlett. The rest have never impressed me as congenial people. Walking thru a Captain's line is nothing special or sitting at a forced venue (Captain's Table) where they have no choice but be nice. More impressive is seeing a senior staff outside the forced venues and being congenial.

[C 2 C]

 

Arno, I read on another post that Tanushka was the Captain's Club Hostess on Mercury 8/15-22. So I'm not sure when you chart was updated.

 

Anne Maria

 

This was from an older post:

 

We were on Mercury's May 2010 repositioning from LA to Alaska to Vancouver. Staff at that time were:

 

Captain Constantinos Nestoroudis

Hotel Director Adam Scott

F&B Manager Kenneth Yap

Cruise Director Stewart Turnbull

Captain's Club Hostess Juliana Charles

 

Mercury's move to TUI was announced during this cruise. We are scheduled on the 14 Feb 2011 farewell. Stewart and Adam Scott explicitly said they would be on the farewell. I don't know about the others.

 

Thom

 

The unfortunate aspect of this thread is that staff is constantly changing, faster than cruisers reporting back. I'll try and update the chart soon.

[cruiseacecat]

This was from an older post:

 

 

 

The unfortunate aspect of this thread is that staff is constantly changing, faster than cruisers reporting back. I'll try and update the chart soon.

And so many names I do not know. Are many of the excellent people from past cruises now on the S class?

Beginning to look that way. :(

Arno, my husband had no success this weekend with the "spotlight" so I will just continue to post names. Sorry.

 

Anne

[Kitcito]

This thread has me thinking about our cruise on the solstice in the Med. May 4, 2008, she was only 4-5 months old. I can't remember the captains name but he was the funnest captain I have ever met. He would introduce his staff as "Greek" or "Not Greek". He was always smiling on board, joking around on the PA system and would always end his announcements with "Greek Out". If anyone can tell me his name I would be greatful. He even had his wife and little baby on board when we were at one of the ports, I think it was in Greece.

 

Kitcito:D

[C 2 C]

I can't remember the captains name but he was the funnest captain I have ever met.

Kitcito:D

 

Captain Dimitrios Kafetzis, AKA the Joker.

 

[Kitcito]

Captain Dimitrios Kafetzis, AKA the Joker.

 

 

 

Thanks Alot!! I hope to sail with him again, really a pleasure.

 

Kitcito

[seasheils]

Hi Arno,

Thanks for this useful thread!

We have not sailed with you in awhile. We have been mostly on the Solstice class ships lately. Our best to Joanne.

Our next cruise is the Equinox TA on Oct. 31.

Sheila