Returned from Spirit - CD: It it me or did he suck?

[newmexicoNita]

((BEFORE I begin my comments on aspects of the cruise, can anyone comment on their feelings towards CD Ricky Matthews? We thought he was just awful, and even after a high energy performance from the cast, Matthews seemed to suck the oxygen right out of the room when he came on stage! I would love to hear others feelings on Ricky Matthews.))

 

We just returned from the 9 day southern Caribbean cruise on the SPIRIT. (We had been on the Sky several times, totaling 39 days.) The ship is very elegant, although in need of a bit more maintenance. There was quite a bit of rust on the balconies, and the varnish along the rails in the staterooms is downright worn. The finish of the public spaces is more in order.

 

The rooms are tidy and kept in good order. We had a leak from the shower door that caused for a very slight musty odor, but not overpowering. The cabin attendants were terrific, and very accommodating.

 

The upper deck space is rather spacious when you take into account the upper level chaises, the vast forward space and the three tiered amphitheater space aft. Naturally people hoard and hold chaises so you need to plan ahead on your sea days to guarantee a central and sunny spot.

 

The food onboard was quite good. The dining rooms entrees were adequate and the service was very good for the freestyle format. The soups were hot and the entrees were well presented. The lobster tails night was a big hit, and I think everyone enjoyed it. The buffet area is spacious and the food selection is good at all hours. As with many buffet formats, sometimes its hot and sometimes its not. The coffee is excellent, but their dessert cakes and pies always seemed to be a cup short of sugar. Appearance is an A+ but taste falls flat.

 

The specialty restaurants were good, with Maxim's (Steak House) being the leader. Unfortunately the second time we went there, it was not as good as it had been before.

 

The ports of call present a variety of experiences. Tortola is a wealthy island with celebrity name landowners, and Granada is exceptionally poor, with hurricane damage constantly present. Their major spice crop was wiped out and will take ten years to cultivate. Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados were very nice, and we were fortunate to have excellent weather (March 4 to 13).

 

Okay, so here is the one thing that really annoyed me. The bartenders are totally inconsistent! I drink a very dry vodka martini in the evening. If we were in a dining room, it was awful. If we were in a specialty restaurant it was better, but the size of the drink varied, and if we were in the forward lounge (Galaxy) it was fair. Between taste and size, it is a shame you just can't bring your own onboard so you can enjoy it the way you want, but that is another thread!

 

Happy cruising.

 

(again, I am really interested in others comments regarding Ricky Matthews, the present CD on the Spirit.)

It is too bad you can not bring your own on board but you can order a bar setup which is certainly better than nothing and beats Princess right now. My very favorite and most active clients sail all lines, mostly Princess and the luxury lines: to our shock, no longer does Princess offer a bar set up or bon voyage alcohol gifts even. They do offer wine in the room. I talked to 3 different reps about this today and checked the website. I can't comment on your Martinis but ours on the Sun were the best I have had. AS for the CD, you know I have only been on one cruise out of 20 plus where I could even identify the CD after debarkation. Who really cares? On the Sun we were not impressed either but it had no baring on the overall cruise experience. NMNita

[newmexicoNita]

Do not get Ricky confused with Kevin. We had Kevin on the Sea to Bermuda last year and he was one of the best cd's we have ever had on any line. Then we went on the Star on a repositioning from Alaska to LA. Ricky was absolutely the worst CD we have ever had. He is a nice enough fellow, but he tries too hard to be funny and he just is not. He may be a good director for his staff, but from a passenger point of view he was not well liked.

Kevin was good, but still no one I would think much about either way: the Jewel in Sept left a lasting impression.

[Glamourgal]

To be completely honest I was not real impressed with Ricky. I won't say that he was awful but not as interactive and personable as I have found other cruise directors to be.

[archangel919]

Wow! I'm kindda surprised of the awful reviews Ricky is getting on this thread. My wife and I cruised the Spirit last May and had a great time. We thought Ricky was great. He was full of energy and funny. Very friendly, even offered to take a picture of me and my wife when we met him at the atrium staircase. I guess to each his own. This is our first cruise ever so i really can't compare him to others. But we thought he was great overrall.

 

Ciao! :)

 

Mike

[bangzoom6877]

I liked Ricky Matthews on the Dawn in 2004. I also liked Kevin on the Sea in 2002. I only had one bad cruise director in 12 cruises...that was on the Carnival Triumph maiden voyage in 1999. The cruise director was just very rude to all the passengers. He was very nasty. I have never ever seen this except for that sailing. I was shocked, as were all in my group that cruised with me! Usually the CD is very personable and a lot of fun, in my experiences.

 

The only other CD I didn't care for was on the Celebrity Meridian in 1991. He wasn't rude like on the Triumph but he was just not a lot of fun. I was also 14 back then so my perspective of fun was a bit different than it is today! But like I said the only downright rude CD was on the Triumph.

[psuboater]

I went on the Spirit 6/18 and I couldn't really comment on him as I only saw him before the productions at night. It seemed like every announcement - from tender updates to disembarkation was ACD John. However, it really didn't make or break our experience on NCL.

[tinker]

We are just off the Spirit on 6/24 and have to say I am very surprised about all the negative comments about Ricky Matthews.

I too never paid much attention to the CD but this guy's energy was contagious. We like him A LOT and thought he added to the fantastic week we had last week.

[snowman]

You know I judge the success of our cruises by not even knowing who the cruise director even is, so this would not be a big problem for us.

[7SeasLover]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't give two hoots about a CD. I don't care if we have one or not. The CD doesn't impact my cruise whatsoever. I go, I relax, I enjoy, I get off the ship and have't a clue who's who.

 

What IS it that they do that causes one to like or dislike them? What is their purpose? Can the really DO anything for anybody?

[NYROADKING]

Ditto! Had Ricky on the Dawn last Nov. Everything I just read, we wrote on comment cards everyday. I'm suprised he's still afloat!

[judyf]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't give two hoots about a CD. I don't care if we have one or not. The CD doesn't impact my cruise whatsoever. I go, I relax, I enjoy, I get off the ship and have't a clue who's who.

 

What Is it that they do that causes one to like or dislike them? What is their purpose? Can the really DO anything for anybody?

 

I kinda felt the same way till we had Colin on the Dawn and then Simon on the Star. Colin is the best and so far Simon was the worst.

 

I mentioned Simon a few times in my Star review because I notice how bad he was. I copied a few sections and posted them here.

 

New Years Eve party in Spinnaker Lounge. The staff hands out hats, horns and steamers to throw at midnight. The freestyle daily states and I quote " This is one of our biggest parties of the week" what a joke!!! The ship band Freedom was good. But where was Simon???? At midnight the band stopped playing and no one did anything. We all are sitting there with our streamers and nothing happened. Finally a passenger sitting behind us starts a countdown and then we all yell Happy New Year and throw our streamers and blew our horns. Isn't this Simon's job? Now the place is packed with passengers wanting to have a good time and the lights go out and we're sort of throw out.

 

In the Spinnaker Lounge for the 70's Disco Groove party. Again I must ask, where is Simon?? On all the other ships I've been on the CD always got dressed up and got the crowd going and involved with the events. Shawn was there and I'm not sure what his title was but he was everywhere and was great. He should be the CD. We got pictures with the CD Colin on the Dawn dancing with his 70's wig on. Just so different on the Star, it was hard to believe they were both NCL ships.

 

They were done and the dance floor was full of people. I yell out one more song and others started to also and they did stay and played 2 more songs. There's was hardly room on the dance floor. No Simon tonight either, Shawn was there.

 

 

So what I have noticed is the CD gets everyone in the cruise party mood with their energy and getting things started, without someone getting things going it can sort of die out. I really didn't notice this till we had a really bad CD on the Star and then you notice.

 

From all I read Ricky sounds like he's got the energy. I will report back after our cruise in 2 weeks from today! YEAH!

[NJBear]

WOW!!!

 

Ricky seems to be taking a real beating here!!! Someone must REALLY dislike him to resurrect a year and a half old thread.

 

I found Ricky to be a very energetic, high profile CD that had seemed to be "on stage" 24/7. He had a change of wardrobe for just about every event he facilitated and sometimes that meant 4-5 a day at least.

 

I saw that most of the events he hosted were well attended and from the looks on people's faces..there were plenty of laughs and smiles.

 

I guess a CD is like anything else on a cruise when it comes to opinions....the food, entertainment, ports of call, even BINGO.. 2 people can be sitting right next to each other and have totall different experiences...so far I see most of the negative views here.

 

Are there ANY folks that enjoyed Ricky M as the cruise director?? I saw him to be doing a fine job???

 

I never relied on a CD to make my cruise experience better or worse, but in all the venues that I saw Ricky pouring out his energy or (pumping you up) <g>, he seemed to be doing a very good job.

 

If you liked Ricky, please post your positive comments, he sure seems to be taking a beating on this thread.

 

Ricky, you're doing a GREAT job! in my opinion :D

[smeyer418]

Thank You. l liked Ricky he was fine energetic and available. I have sailed on ships with him twice. But the CD for me never makes the cruise although he is responsible for the entertainment, sort of any way. He was pleasant and I recognized him from the back on a stair case. Some people have to complain about something. I always find the air on the ship awful..

[shoreguy]

WOW!!!

 

Ricky seems to be taking a real beating here!!! Someone must REALLY dislike him to resurrect a year and a half old thread.

 

I found Ricky to be a very energetic, high profile CD that had seemed to be "on stage" 24/7. ........

 

I guess a CD is like anything else on a cruise when it comes to opinions....the food, entertainment, ports of call, even BINGO.. 2 people can be sitting right next to each other and have totall different experiences...so far I see most of the negative views here........

 

 

Ricky, you're doing a GREAT job! in my opinion :D

 

My thoughs exactly. Why drag this thread to the top ?

 

I read all the negitive posts but in fact enjoyed Ricky on the Dawn. Following Colin is a death sentence for any CD.

[7SeasLover]

So what I have noticed is the CD gets everyone in the cruise party mood with their energy and getting things started, without someone getting things going it can sort of die out.

 

Now this is what I was referring to. I don't need someone to get me into a mood (good or bad) or get things sarted, which is why I don't care one way or the other about a CD. I suppose many folks look to others to determine whether or not they have a good time.

 

It just doesn't make sense to me. :cool:

[Globaliser]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't give two hoots about a CD. I don't care if we have one or not. The CD doesn't impact my cruise whatsoever. I go, I relax, I enjoy, I get off the ship and have't a clue who's who.

 

What IS it that they do that causes one to like or dislike them? What is their purpose? Can the really DO anything for anybody?

If you have no interaction with the cruise staff, the bands, the shows, or any of the other entertainment on board the ship, then you have no need of a CD's work.

 

But if you use any of them, the CD's management and organisation of the shipboard entertainment will have an impact on your cruise. Some CDs are good managers; some are not - the worst will preside over immense scheduling disasters. Some CDs will energise and motivate their cruise staff and contribute indirectly to the atmosphere on board, even if you never see the CD personally. Some will not, and the entire ship feels flat. The best CDs are those who do all of the job well, and then also do well at publicly fronting the entire department with their own personality.

[Nitenursestat]

I said it before and I'll say it again.lol...My family and i were on the june 18th-24th cruise on the Spirit with Ricky as CD and we loved him !!! He was super ! I just wish I got some of the activities on video.Anybody have any?

I am hoping he will be on our next cruise.I was in cabin 6553.nice cabin and great stewards.

Anyways...more good reviews for Ricky..come on..you know you enjoyed watching him !!!!:D

[mypyr]

["you know you enjoyed watching him !!!!":D

 

Why would someone enjoy watching him? Is he a good dancer or something? We haven't seen him yet...we don't sail until 8/19

[NJBear]

["you know you enjoyed watching him !!!!":D

 

Why would someone enjoy watching him? Is he a good dancer or something? We haven't seen him yet...we don't sail until 8/19

 

 

Now that you asked....Actually he is a good dancer! I came out of the internet cafe and went into the Lounge and he was teaching a solidly packed dancefloor of people how to do country line dances. The participants ranged from 18-80 and they all were having a super time.

[Nitenursestat]

He is a good dancer and even the way he moves when he speaks is a little entertaining.You'll see what we all mean.I would love to get your reaction when you come back !Have a great time !

Joanne

[judyf]

I will report back when we return. He sounds better then Simon Marshall on the Star. Talk about a dead beat CD.

[Nitenursestat]

I'll be looking for your review!:) Have a happy and safe Holiday today .

[unclepaulie]

Ricky Matthews was previously CD on the Dawn and we enjoyed him very much. He was visible throughout the entire cruise, very informative about onboard activities and very upbeat. He especially had Spinnakers rocking! Some of his jokes may have been a little corny, but we didn't care.

 

What does everyone look for in a CD?

[ria926]

I was on a Feb 06 Dawn cruise with Ricky. He was ok, but it really didn't matter one way or the other. Of course my cruise with Colin, and another cruise with I think Kiran was outstanding. No one would have a chance after these 2 guys. Anyone remember Kiran?? I'm not sure if thats the correct spelling, but he was on a February 04 cruise on the Dawn. What a great CD

[shoreguy]

I Anyone remember Kiran?? I'm not sure if thats the correct spelling, but he was on a February 04 cruise on the Dawn. What a great CD

 

Nope ;)