Soltice Entertainment Director/Entertainment

[PARROT POP]

Had never thought about the E.D. on a cruise until we were on the Soltice this April..Never have I thought somebody was so incompetent or dislikable as this man.. Wondering if the entertainment will be of the same rotten quality (with the exception of the acrobatic group or in the separate venues) that we saw in the Caribbean that will be on a 14 day trans-atlantic cruise next fall..

[toban]

Had never thought about the E.D. on a cruise until we were on the Soltice this April..Never have I thought somebody was so incompetent or dislikable as this man.. Wondering if the entertainment will be of the same rotten quality (with the exception of the acrobatic group or in the separate venues) that we saw in the Caribbean that will be on a 14 day trans-atlantic cruise next fall..

 

Dont leave us hanging .......... whats the rest of the story ??

[chessbriar]

Cruise Directors change every so often. Please give us more information as to who the CD was, what the problems were, what you didn't like. Many of us cruise quite often and might be able to let you know if the problems are the CD or expectations you may have had or a problem with the program.

 

Please give us more information so we can give you more information. Did you not like the shows. Were there not enough pool games. Trivia too hard. Without more info we can only make assumptions.

[texkan]

Had never thought about the E.D. on a cruise until we were on the Soltice this April..Never have I thought somebody was so incompetent or dislikable as this man.. Wondering if the entertainment will be of the same rotten quality (with the exception of the acrobatic group or in the separate venues) that we saw in the Caribbean that will be on a 14 day trans-atlantic cruise next fall..

 

I was on Solstice April 2010 and did not think the Cruise Director was bad. The CD has

been replaced since I sailed in April (per info on this board).

 

The entertainment was okay.

 

What problems did you have?

[chessbriar]

Double post

[true45]

The Cruise Director can make a huge difference. They supervise the entertainment & set the tone for the shows. The best Cruise Director we have met was on the Century May 2010 -- her name is Sue in case you get a chance to meet her. She was so friendly & accessible (and a talented singer & comedian) -- she made everything so much fun. There was a chef vs chef competition with audience participation one day held in the Theater that was terrific.

 

If there is something you find lacking with the entertainment, perhaps if you spoke to the staff about it & noted it on comment cards. They really are read. (DH was a cruiseship musician, so we have a little more experience than just on our cruises as passengers)

[Lois R]

E.D.??? Did you mean C.D...I thought a few folks posted about a new

guy named Paul? Most of those folks said he is terrific....is this the

person you are saying is so horrible?:eek::confused:

[Lazz]

My wife and I were on the Solstice for the July 11th cruise. The good about the C.D: He had a top notch staff that did an excellent job. If he is actively managing that group, he deserves high praise. The bad: He wanted to be the show as opposed to showcasing the talent. For example, the dance band (Spira was their name I think) had some excellent singers. However, the C.D. had to get up on stage and sing himself. He wasn't THAT good. Also, my wife observed that he acted chauvanistic (Sp?) towards women. Of course we reported this on our end of cruise comment card.

[The Big Booper]

My wife and I were on the Solstice for the July 11th cruise. The good about the C.D: He had a top notch staff that did an excellent job. If he is actively managing that group, he deserves high praise. The bad: He wanted to be the show as opposed to showcasing the talent. For example, the dance band (Spira was their name I think) had some excellent singers. However, the C.D. had to get up on stage and sing himself. He wasn't THAT good. Also, my wife observed that he acted chauvanistic (Sp?) towards women. Of course we reported this on our end of cruise comment card.

 

We were on the Solstice 6/13-6/20.

 

Paul Baha was the CD back then and did a great job. He is very energetic. He had mentioned that he had been a singer in the past and we don't feel he was bad as a singer. The activities were much livelier then on past Celebrity cruises.

 

If the OP doesn't return to clarify I would tend to ignore his/her post.

[pumpkin 11]

We were on solstice on the April 4th cruise, thought the cruise director was fine...

[sheribrian]

My wife and I were on the Solstice for the July 11th cruise. The good about the C.D: He had a top notch staff that did an excellent job. If he is actively managing that group, he deserves high praise. The bad: He wanted to be the show as opposed to showcasing the talent. For example, the dance band (Spira was their name I think) had some excellent singers. However, the C.D. had to get up on stage and sing himself. He wasn't THAT good. Also, my wife observed that he acted chauvanistic (Sp?) towards women. Of course we reported this on our end of cruise comment card.

 

Agreed. I thought he could have showcased the talent, and not himself. It felt like he was dumb-ing down Celebrity

[COLandlocked]

We just came off the ship and we thought he was terrible. He was probably one of the worst CD's we have come across. I wonder what his background is.

[C 2 C]

Check out this former thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1209148&highlight=celebrity+cruise+director+paul

[GregNVNY]

My wife and I were on the Solstice for the July 11th cruise. The good about the C.D: He had a top notch staff that did an excellent job. If he is actively managing that group, he deserves high praise. The bad: He wanted to be the show as opposed to showcasing the talent. For example, the dance band (Spira was their name I think) had some excellent singers. However, the C.D. had to get up on stage and sing himself. He wasn't THAT good. Also, my wife observed that he acted chauvanistic (Sp?) towards women. Of course we reported this on our end of cruise comment card.

 

I was on that same cruise. I know what you mean regarding CD John Grantham, the bald guy who used to be a stunt man. He had a great announcing voice and worked hard, but maybe too hard at wanting everyone to focus on him! Many cruise directors can have that inflated sense of self. I prefer the ones that just announce, are pleasant and let the shows do the entertaining. Kind of like the CD on the 7/4 sailing of the Summit.

[Lois R]

I was on that same cruise. I know what you mean regarding CD John Grantham, the bald guy who used to be a stunt man. He had a great announcing voice and worked hard, but maybe too hard at wanting everyone to focus on him! Many cruise directors can have that inflated sense of self. I prefer the ones that just announce, are pleasant and let the shows do the entertaining. Kind of like the CD on the 7/4 sailing of the Summit.

 

John Grantham is the CD? I have met him in the past and always

enjoyed chatting with him.

Sounds like he was not very popular on these recent crusies:eek:

 

Was your CD on SUMMIT Matt? Great guy:)

[GregNVNY]

John Grantham is the CD? I have met him in the past and always

enjoyed chatting with him.

Sounds like he was not very popular on these recent crusies:eek:

 

Was your CD on SUMMIT Matt? Great guy:)

 

Actually, our CD on the Summit from 7/4-7/11 was Rob Wheatley. He greeted the audience each night saying, "How's It" as they do in his home country of South Africa. I thought he did a great job and was a nice guy. We met him during sailway from St. John's, NB on the heliport.

[Lois R]

Actually, our CD on the Summit from 7/4-7/11 was Rob Wheatley. He greeted the audience each night saying, "How's It" as they do in his home country of South Africa. I thought he did a great job and was a nice guy. We met him during sailway from St. John's, NB on the heliport.

 

Oh...Rob must have gotten on recently. Matt was the CD when I sailed

in May.

[GregNVNY]

John Grantham is the CD? I have met him in the past and always

enjoyed chatting with him.

Sounds like he was not very popular on these recent crusies:eek:

 

Was your CD on SUMMIT Matt? Great guy:)

 

Just realized I erred in saying I was on the same cruise as the previous poster who sailed on the July 11 cruise of the Solstice and did not like his CD. I was on the April 11 cruise with CD John Grantham. Now I'm not sure if we are both talking about the same CD. But from our similar opinions, it could be.

 

John was nice and has a great announcing voice, its just that he exerted to much effort in wanting everyone to focus on him entertainment-wise.

[Sail Girl]

I was on that same cruise. I know what you mean regarding CD John Grantham, the bald guy who used to be a stunt man. He had a great announcing voice and worked hard, but maybe too hard at wanting everyone to focus on him! Many cruise directors can have that inflated sense of self. I prefer the ones that just announce, are pleasant and let the shows do the entertaining. Kind of like the CD on the 7/4 sailing of the Summit.

 

So the OP was referring to John Grantham?! I don't remember him singing, but I do know my DH and I found it hard to tolerate his style on a 14 day cruise.(Connie, 11/09 Panama Canal Transit.) He and his Assistant CD, a thin bald guy, were like Abbott and Costello wannabee's. They weren't funny or entertaining, though

Luckily he had a very good staff. We had great, well researched Trivia and even had the first "Celebrity Choir".

We loved the cruise and lookk forward to sailing on the "New" Connie in March.

[GregNVNY]

So the OP was referring to John Grantham?! I don't remember him singing, but I do know my DH and I found it hard to tolerate his style on a 14 day cruise.(Connie, 11/09 Panama Canal Transit.) He and his Assistant CD, a thin bald guy, were like Abbott and Costello wannabee's. They weren't funny or entertaining, though

Luckily he had a very good staff. We had great, well researched Trivia and even had the first "Celebrity Choir".

We loved the cruise and lookk forward to sailing on the "New" Connie in March.

 

Were still not sure which Cruise Director the OP is referring to. Parrot Pop, it would help if you could give some specifics as to what problems you encountered.

[LOP]

Had never thought about the E.D. on a cruise until we were on the Soltice this April..Never have I thought somebody was so incompetent or dislikable as this man.. Wondering if the entertainment will be of the same rotten quality (with the exception of the acrobatic group or in the separate venues) that we saw in the Caribbean that will be on a 14 day trans-atlantic cruise next fall..

 

 

cyalis or Viagara should fix that e.d. right up...;)...(had to misspell it on purpose)...this was a joke... for those without a sense of humor

[The Big Booper]

I remember now that Paul said he had come to RC/=X= from NCL. He might be too much high energy for those cruisers who are looking for a "sedate" trip.

 

My thinking is that RCCL is slowly changing the Celebrity experience to include more of the RC school of activities without losing the cruise aspects that the Celebrity passenger enjoys and expects, thus facilitating the more experienced RC passenger, like us, starting to book =X= more often.

 

We both feel that on our prior =X= cruises it was way too quiet with few activities. With the Solstice, you had all the things that =X= has always done well along with a higher energy CD and staff and more activities such as the decade theme nights, a L & M game where you actually have lots of people in the theater and a "sizzling" midnight pool party.

[GregNVNY]

cyalis or Viagara should fix that e.d. right up...;)...(had to misspell it on purpose)...this was a joke... for those without a sense of humor

 

I actually laughed out loud reading your response:D

[hcat]

we have cruised twice on Solstice & both times had Dru Pavlov... he followed the inital CD. Dru is terrific--such a classy gentleman,.. We have enjoyed his talents and hospitality on several ships-- as well as bookin gfuture cruises with is wife Melanie.... a lovely lady

 

Does anyone know what ship he is on now? I am hoping he'll be on Equinox n Jan...

[Nukesailor]

We were on the Solstice in April and the CD was John Grantham. One interesting thing he mentioned to me was that he was hired right into the CD job; he did not come up through the ranks. He had no prior experience in the cruise industry. This seems to be a new policy by RCCL/Celebrity.

 

Art