Summer CD Schedule

[floridagirl4ever90]

We have Eric on the sensation in July. Has anyone cruised with him before?

[jillpra]

We had James as an assistant cruise director twice on the Dream. Talk to him weekly. He is a go getter, fun, and very energetic! We were hoping for him on the Dream but glad to see him get a 7 day cruise and you will enjoy him on the Legend!

[AtSeaWithChris]

How is Paul Santley? I see he's on the Conquest until July - then back in August.

Paul is off 5/20 and not back on til 7/15. Craig Johnson in on all of June.

[cruisercrazy69]

Anybody sail with TBA? :)

[mj]

What about Jeff Bronson? Any experience?

 

I had him back in 2004 and thought he was good. Have seen mixed reviews pertaining to him here on cruise critic. He was the CD on the paradise back in 2004. The thing that I remember most was he was standing at the atrium on the day you left actually telling passengers goodbye as they left the ship.

 

Have not had many cruise directors do that on a cruise.

[TexasRon]

Just saw the schedule - will have Gary Brierly as our CD. Has anyone ever sailed with him? What's his style?

 

We had Gary as CD on the Dream last summer. I would describe him best as "unremarkable"--he had very little to say that was worthwhile and his morning show was horrid.

 

I see a lot of people saying how CD's impact their experience but, after one whole cruse (which makes me a highly qualified expert on the matter), I would say the CD didn't do squat for our experience.

 

We have Butch (so it seems...not official) for our 9/2 Magic cruise. Perhaps my thoughts on the whole CD dealio will change after that trip.

 

Of course, your mileage may vary!!

[Chigirlcruzin]

Great! Thanks for the feedback. In my experience, a good CD definitely can enhance a cruising experience. On our first cruise on the Triumph in '04 I THINK our CD was named Brad. If so, I wonder if it's the same one. He was great!

 

Probably not the same Brad. Brad Calabrese was ACD on my Miracle cruise in December 2006. He got bumped to CD sometime the following year.

[zeroyankee]

Corey Rogers was our CD on the Elation last year and HE was the asst CD on our Triumph cruise the previous year. He's a real nice, funny guy and very entertaining.

 

Corey, aka The Family Guy! We also had him on the Elation and he was indeed entertaining. He was even the surprise guest at one of the art auctions and provided three original works of "art" for the crowd to bid on. They were just pencil sketches of fictional things he dreamed up, but all proceeds went to St. Judes. Seems to be a great guy.

[bluehenfan]

Does the CD really make a difference to anyone as far as their enjoyment of the cruise? I've only been on two cruises so far (third one in less than a month) and I haven't paid any attention to-date to the cruise directors. Haven't missed them and haven't needed them to enjoy myself and find things to occupy my time. Sorry folks, I just don't understand. No flamers please, but my vacation is exactly what I (emphasis on the "I") make it and so far, I haven't needed anyone else (besides my lovely bride of almost 19 years and my children) to make my vacations special. (PLEASE SEE BELOW)

 

That was a disclaimer for ALL the right reasons in case you couldn't tell. ;)

 

Not too long ago I would have agreed with you as far as CD not making a difference on a cruise. I'd been on quite a few and couldn't name even one CD we'd had. Then we went on the Pride and Kirk Benning was CD. He was very personable and friendly with young and old. At that time his girlfriend Jamie was assistant CD and they really worked well together. I actually watched their morning show while getting dressed in the a.m. and every time my DGrD saw him he'd say something to get her laughing. He was the only CD I've had that stood near the area where we left the ship at the end of our cruise with a big smile and "Come Back Soon" for everyone. I was disappointed to hear he and Jamie were no longer on the Pride, but it looks like Kirk will be our CD on our Sept. Pride cruise after all! Looking forward to seeing him around the ship and at shows.

[BnLsMom]

We have had Butch and Gary Briefly... Butch was phenomenal on the Liberty, and we booked our next cruise on the Dream specifically because he was going there as CD... Only to discover we would miss him by 1 day!! (He was coming off vacation the day we came home).

 

Needless to say, Gary had big shoes to fill... The Dream was not my favorite... We had a table alone (we LIKE to meet new people), the chocolate melting cake was disappointing, and there is this phantom smell (actually 2 smells... Really weird). Also on our cruise, we had an itinerary change and couldn't go to St Maarten or St Thomas, but had to go to Grand Turk and Freeport (NOT comparable). Gary was the bright spot of our entire cruise! If you ever wonder how much a Cruise Director affects your vacation, know that I literally cried on the ship - but Gary's morning show, with ACD George (Georgous) was so funny, even my teenagers got up early to watch it! And rewatch it... :)

 

Next is the Legend... I am hoping James Dunn is somewhere in the league of Butch and Gary... (Please, please, please....)

[TexasRon]

We have had Butch and Gary Briefly... Butch was phenomenal on the Liberty, and we booked our next cruise on the Dream specifically because he was going there as CD... Only to discover we would miss him by 1 day!! (He was coming off vacation the day we came home).

 

Needless to say, Gary had big shoes to fill... The Dream was not my favorite... We had a table alone (we LIKE to meet new people), the chocolate melting cake was disappointing, and there is this phantom smell (actually 2 smells... Really weird). Also on our cruise, we had an itinerary change and couldn't go to St Maarten or St Thomas, but had to go to Grand Turk and Freeport (NOT comparable). Gary was the bright spot of our entire cruise! If you ever wonder how much a Cruise Director affects your vacation, know that I literally cried on the ship - but Gary's morning show, with ACD George (Georgous) was so funny, even my teenagers got up early to watch it! And rewatch it... :)

 

Next is the Legend... I am hoping James Dunn is somewhere in the league of Butch and Gary... (Please, please, please....)

 

This is why I always say your mileage may vary...I think we were on the same cruise or, at the very least, one with the same itinerary changes. That was a big disappointment because the weather that they diverted from never hit the islands we didn't go to, but the Captain had to make a call...

 

Anyway, my teenage kids just made fun of Gary. He did nothing to make our cruise better. That's okay. Lots of other people did!!

 

We'll likely have Butch next time out...maybe our impression of CD's will change but, as of now, they aren't of too much value to us...

[theneals4]

We just had Steve and Corey on the dream. Steve I wasn't impressed with, but Corey was great! I hate he had to play second fiddle to Steve, I think he had a lot more talent.

 

We also had Butch on the Dream last time, I can honestly say he's a talented guy !

 

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2

[Celandine]

Does the CD really make a difference to anyone as far as their enjoyment of the cruise? I've only been on two cruises so far (third one in less than a month) and I haven't paid any attention to-date to the cruise directors. Haven't missed them and haven't needed them to enjoy myself and find things to occupy my time. Sorry folks, I just don't understand. No flamers please, but my vacation is exactly what I (emphasis on the "I") make it and so far, I haven't needed anyone else (besides my lovely bride of almost 19 years and my children) to make my vacations special. (PLEASE SEE BELOW)

 

That was a disclaimer for ALL the right reasons in case you couldn't tell. ;)

 

a CD I don't enjoy won't ruin my cruise.

 

But a CD that is funny, approachable and takes time to remember my name has made several of my cruises a lot better.

 

I am also a big fan of the morning show, nice way to wake up in my cabin and if they aren't funny... I don't watch it... and I miss it. I have called in to the show in the past.

 

The entertainment staff is just another thing that I like about cruising, and even when I've had less than stellar CD's, I've usually 'befriended' one of their staff because I go to so many activities.

[LittleMiss]

Looks like Liberty lost Jaime to the Pride. That sucks.

 

But Don't Sleep "Karl with a K" we had him on Victory and he kept the fun rolling. We are very excited to see we have him on liberty!

[LittleMiss]

Does the CD really make a difference to anyone as far as their enjoyment of the cruise? I've only been on two cruises so far (third one in less than a month) and I haven't paid any attention to-date to the cruise directors. Haven't missed them and haven't needed them to enjoy myself and find things to occupy my time. Sorry folks, I just don't understand. No flamers please, but my vacation is exactly what I (emphasis on the "I") make it and so far, I haven't needed anyone else (besides my lovely bride of almost 19 years and my children) to make my vacations special. (PLEASE SEE BELOW)

 

That was a disclaimer for ALL the right reasons in case you couldn't tell. ;)

 

Well understand the cruise directors direct their team. If its a boring/ laid back director then there is a good chance you will have to light a fire under their teams feet. But if the CD is energetic and fun, the team generally follows suit...

[mrscooney]

Does anyone have more information on JAMES DUNN?

[arpie05]

We had Gary as CD on the Dream last summer. I would describe him best as "unremarkable"--he had very little to say that was worthwhile and his morning show was horrid.

 

 

We LOVED Gary on the Fantasy as ACD and have been trying to cruise with him since!!! I would have been SO MAD if I had scheduled the Triumph from the old schedule to get Gary and gotten STUCK with Jenn. I couldn't stand her. I thought she was rude, boring.

I also thought Corey last summer on the Elation was a pompous jerk. I wouldn't sail with him again. I think you remember the really good and really bad and the so so you don't recall. I don't remember who I had on the Dream good or bad and for 7 days I should.

 

Gary was so personable and nice one on one. I got to even have lunch with him and (Big)Tex one day in the MDR.