Current Cruise Directors (CD) List - UPDATED

knicksak2 · January 17, 2013

I just went on the new years cruise on the Explorer of the seas and at the captains Q&A they told us that Leigh Xuereb is now the full time Cruise Director of the explorer.

mpoole3 · January 17, 2013

Mitchell Merucci just posted on his Facebook page:

"Not leaving Majesty of the Seas tomorrow as planned. I am extending until March 4th. I have a great team here so it will be a blast and looking forward to it. #Vacation_is_overrated."

TechKnowBabble · January 17, 2013

Does anyone know if John and Katrina Blair will be changing to Grandeur out of Baltimore?

I don't know but I can ask in a few weeks :)

Calico Jack Sparrow · January 17, 2013

This is a great thread, but how can we get more specific?

I'm sailing on Jewel 6/8/13.

Will it be Dennis or Carly?:D

Not that it really makes a difference, but Dennis was very funny and entertaining. Would love to sail with him again.

mommabean · January 17, 2013

It is Mercedes joining Brilliance on the 26th of Jan. Now they say she is from Argentina.

sns101098 · January 18, 2013

Mitch Merucci just announced on FB that his time on the Majesty has been extended until March 4th.

DonnaK · January 18, 2013

Adventure OTS - Anthony Richards starts January 6

Allure OTS - Ken Rush starts January 13

Brilliance OTS - Paul Lancaster September 21 until January 26, then Mercedes Fuentes

Enchantment OTS - John Blair starts Jan 14 (until when?) *Marc Walker expects to join Enchantment on June 3, 2013 for 3 and 4 day cruises out of Port Canaveral per his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cruis...609?ref=stream

Explorer OTS - Leigh Xuereb November 24 until February 1st ***Richard Spacey will return to EX on February 1st to cover Leigh's break. Leigh will return as the regular CD of Explorer, and Richard will be reassigned to FR (March 3 - date needs to be confirmed)

Freedom OTS - Drew Devine January 6 though March 3. Richard Spacey is replacing Graham Seymour as the regular CD on Freedom (March 3 - date needs to be confirmed) as Graham was reassigned to other ships.

Grandeur OTS - Rico du Breil started Oct 26 (until when?) *Jimmy Rhodes starts April 21 in Baltimore, and this will be his regular ship for a few contracts.

Independence OTS - Joff Eaton started November 22 until sometime in March, returning end of May through early September (exact dates? Who will be filling in for Joff from March through May?)

Jewel OTS - Dennis Charles (Dennis Sciortino) starts Jan 5 until sometime in March, and again from July to Sept (exact dates needed) and will be alternating with Carly Boileau (March through July, and again in Sept).

Legend OTS - (Drydock until Feb 6) Jimmy Rhodes will be on Legend beginning Feb 6 until he moves to Grandeur on April 21

Liberty OTS - Leo Papa started Jan 5th. Rich Edwards should be returning from his break on April 8.

Majesty OTS - Mitch Merucci started Nov 22 until March 4

Mariner OTS - Carly Boileau until Feb 10 then Steve Davis Feb.10 - May 6th

Monarch OTS - Marc Walker Nov. 16 until April 1 when Monarch leaves the fleet.

Navigator OTS - Jimmy Rhodes started Nov 3 until Jan 19, then Simona Ferraiuolo from Jan 19 until March 30, then Keith Williams March 30 through April 21

Oasis OTS - Amy Fickert started December 1. Ricky Matthews will be back to cover Amy's break (exact date unknown, but Ricky will be on Rhapsody until March 11, so it's sometime after that depending on if he is going straight to Oasis or taking a short break in between ships)

Radiance OTS - Bill Brunkhorst. Bobby and Becky Brown are returning on January 21. Paul Rutter for the Alaska season, May through Sept.

Rhapsody OTS - Ricky Matthews January 7 through March 11. Graham Seymour for the Alaska season beginning May 24 (who will be the CD March 11 through May 24?)

Serenade OTS - Ken Jones Dec 14 until Jan 28. James Andrews will return Jan 28 until most likely the repo back to the Med for the summer. Ken is likely doing the repositioning on that date .

Splendour OTS - João Pereira returned Dec 9 for the winter season in South America

Vision OTS - Keith Williams started Sept 14 until Jan 14 (who is the next CD)

Voyager OTS - Graham Seymour January 8 until March 23rd (who is the next CD) ***Gordon Whatman does not expect to return to VY after his break.

DonnaK · January 18, 2013

This is a great thread, but how can we get more specific?
I'm sailing on Jewel 6/8/13.

Will it be Dennis or Carly?:D

Not that it really makes a difference, but Dennis was very funny and entertaining. Would love to sail with him again.

If Carly is scheduled to be on Jewel from March until July, then she is likely to be on your sailing in June, even without more specific info. We are on Jewel at the end of May and will likely have Carly too. Like you, we love Dennis and would like to sail with him again, but Carly has great feedback and a strong following, so I am looking forward to sailing with her too!

murfturf · January 18, 2013

I love seeing that there are updates, but no confirmation yet on when Richard is going to Freedom? His Twitter is outdated and I don't think he has a FB. Anyone know for sure? Of course it will be fine if he isn't, but we throughly enjoyed him on Freedom back in '09

cjdixon4 · January 18, 2013

I see that a John Blair is currently the CD on the Enchantment? Anybody know anything about him?

Mary1951 · January 18, 2013

Does any one know if Amy will still be on Oasis the 2 Febuary .?

DonnaK · January 19, 2013

Does any one know if Amy will still be on Oasis the 2 Febuary .?

My guess is yes, she will still be there. Her contracts have consistantly been 4 months on and 2 months off since joining Oasis. Plus, her usual fill-in, Ricky, is on another ship until March 11 and won't be available until at least then to cover for her.

DonnaK · January 19, 2013

I love seeing that there are updates, but no confirmation yet on when Richard is going to Freedom? His Twitter is outdated and I don't think he has a FB. Anyone know for sure? Of course it will be fine if he isn't, but we throughly enjoyed him on Freedom back in '09

We're still working this one out.

We need someone on Explorer now, to ask Leigh when he is returning from his break to become the regular CD. That will determine when Richard will be free from covering Leigh's break to go over to Freedom.

Or, someone who is on Freedom now can ask Drew to clarify the changeover date. If Drew is indeed leaving on March 3, maybe there will be a short-term interim CD (or the activities director may have to fill in for a week or two) to give Richard the time to move over.

This list is only as accurate as people reporting back from the ships, as this is the best source of reliable info. I appreciate all the info that returning cruisers provide, and I couldn't maintain/update this list without them.

DonnaK · January 20, 2013

Do returning cruisers have any updates for us? Can any cruisers going out this week or next follow up on any of these questions for us? Inquiring minds want to know:

Explorer: When is Leigh returning from his break? Is Richard indeed covering Leigh's break, and if so, when will he be leaving to move over to Freedom?

Freedom: Is Drew still leaving for his break on March 3? When is Richard expected to join Freedom? If there is a "gap", who will be the CD between Drew and Richard?

Grandeur: Is Rico still the CD? When is his current contract ending, and who is scheduled to be the next CD? (Is he staying on for an extra-long contract until Jimmy takes over on April 21?)

Indy: On what date in March that Joff's break begins, and what is the exact date that he'll be returning in May? Who will be the covering CD?

Jewel: On what date in March does Dennis start his break and Carly begins as CD? What date in July is Dennis returning and Carly's break begins?

Majesty: Who will be the next CD when Mitch's break begins on March 4?

Oasis: On what date will Amy begin her break (sometime in March, if it is a typical 4 month contract? But, after March 11 if Ricky is the next CD because he is on another ship until then?)

Rhapsody: Who will be the CD between Ricky (who leaves on March 11) and Graham (who doesn't begin until the Alaska season at the end of May)?

Vision: Who is the current CD if Keith started his break on January 14?

Voyager: Who will be the CD after Graham, beginning March 23, if Gordon is not returning to this ship after his break?

LookingForward2 · January 20, 2013

Grandeur OTS - Rico du Breil started Oct 26 (until when?) *Jimmy Rhodes starts April 21 in Baltimore, and this will be his regular ship for a few contracts.

I am on the Grandeur beginning April 24th from San Juan to Baltimore, confused about this April 21 date (in Baltimore). The ship goes from SJ to Baltimore arriving on May 3rd. I am not familiar with Jimmy Rhodes, any background on his previous ships?

DonnaK · January 20, 2013

I am on the Grandeur beginning April 24th from San Juan to Baltimore, confused about this April 21 date (in Baltimore). The ship goes from SJ to Baltimore arriving on May 3rd. I am not familiar with Jimmy Rhodes, any background on his previous ships?

Indeed this is confusing. I seem to remember that this info comes from someone who posted quite a few pages back that they had a FB conversation with Jimmy and this is what he said. He could be joining the ship on April 21, but not starting as CD until your 24th cruise, or the May 3rd cruise. (I didn't check Grandeur's schedule before using this info to update my list). Or, Jimmy could have gotten the dates wrong. Also, it seems unusual, but not unheard of, for Rico to have such a long contract, from Oct 26 until May 3, so maybe there is an interim CD.

I'm going to add Grandeur to the list of ships/CD's that needs clarifying. This is a wild season, with a lot of CD's moving around, and a lot of schedules being changes from what has been reported earlier.

Jimmy is a controversal fellow. Some people really enjoy having him as CD, and others found him to be ineffective and annoying (Personally, I am in the latter group and thought he was terrible on our Explorer cruise for New Years 2012, especially having done the same ship with a different CD so we had a basis to compare the scheduled events, etc). There's lots of discussion of him buried further back on this thread, and also on the thread about "who's your favorite cd and why"...I'll see if I can link to that thread for you because it is shorter and easier to read through.

DonnaK · January 20, 2013

Adventure OTS - Anthony Richards starts January 6

Allure OTS - Ken Rush starts January 13

Brilliance OTS - Paul Lancaster September 21 until January 26, then Mercedes Fuentes

Enchantment OTS - John Blair starts Jan 14 (until when?) *Marc Walker expects to join Enchantment on June 3, 2013 for 3 and 4 day cruises out of Port Canaveral per his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cruis...609?ref=stream

Explorer OTS - Leigh Xuereb November 24 until February 1st ***Richard Spacey will return to EX on February 1st to cover Leigh's break. Leigh will return as the regular CD of Explorer, and Richard will be reassigned to FR (March 3 - date needs to be confirmed)

Freedom OTS - Drew Devine January 6 though March 3. Richard Spacey is replacing Graham Seymour as the regular CD on Freedom (March 3 - date needs to be confirmed) as Graham was reassigned to other ships.

Grandeur OTS - Rico du Breil started Oct 26 (until when?) *Jimmy Rhodes will be the regular CD for a few contracts when Grandeur moves to Baltimore. The exact changeover date needs clarification, as it was originally reported as April 21, but that is just before the repositioning cruise, and Grandeur doesn't start in Baltimore until May 3.