What Makes a HAL Cruise Director Excellent?

[iancal]

Silence is Golden.

 

Not just HAL cruise directors....but all of them. And most especially the ones on our last Carnival cruise!

[indokiwi]

Too funny! One night on the Prinsendam, the CD let the Captain's 14 year old daughter (Isabella Gundersen) ...We assume she retired from the job along with her Dad's retirement :)

 

 

Halle's not retired. He's back out on the Prinsendam again. just had an e-mail from a friend who is sailing currently on board and will disembark after the crossing. She said that she and her husband were surprised to find him as captain. They all got on the same day (Nov. 6th). I guess that he couldn't stay away.

[Tampa Girl]

On the last evening of our Ryndam cruise, the cruise director did something I have never heard before on a cruise. After the parade of the staff, the CD went into a long spiel about how these hard-working members, away from their families for months at a time, work so hard to make our cruises wonderful. If that had been all, it would have been fine, but it went on for what seemed like 5 minutes, making us feel that we owed our lives to these individuals and how thankful we should be that they are sacrificing their lives for our enjoyment. It seemed most inappropriate. Has anyone else experienced this type of speech from the CD?

[innlady1]

On the last evening of our Ryndam cruise, the cruise director did something I have never heard before on a cruise. After the parade of the staff, the CD went into a long spiel about how these hard-working members, away from their families for months at a time, work so hard to make our cruises wonderful. If that had been all, it would have been fine, but it went on for what seemed like 5 minutes, making us feel that we owed our lives to these individuals and how thankful we should be that they are sacrificing their lives for our enjoyment. It seemed most inappropriate. Has anyone else experienced this type of speech from the CD?

 

Was that last winter, by any chance?

[Shmoo here]

No more end of cruise Disembarkation Talk so more of the corny jokes, told over and over and over again. :D

 

However, that also means no more singing of Love in Any Language and I do miss that.

 

 

Me, too.

[Wakepatrol]

On the last evening of our Ryndam cruise, the cruise director did something I have never heard before on a cruise. After the parade of the staff, the CD went into a long spiel about how these hard-working members, away from their families for months at a time, work so hard to make our cruises wonderful. If that had been all, it would have been fine, but it went on for what seemed like 5 minutes, making us feel that we owed our lives to these individuals and how thankful we should be that they are sacrificing their lives for our enjoyment. It seemed most inappropriate. Has anyone else experienced this type of speech from the CD?

 

Yea...So what? Making the crew feel good is never inappropriate. I'm sure there's passengers that almost have the crew ready to jump overboard.

[Tampa Girl]

Was that last winter, by any chance?

 

No, it was last Saturday. New cruise director. It was really a strange speech.

[Tampa Girl]

Yea...So what? Making the crew feel good is never inappropriate. I'm sure there's passengers that almost have the crew ready to jump overboard.

 

 

So what? You would have had to be present to understand. Making the crew feel appreciated is one thing and can be done in much less time. But this was a very strange speech. It made a number of people uncomfortable, and it went on too long, and, IMO, came close to patronizing the crew.

 

Of all the criticisms that I have read on this forum, the subject has very rarely been directed to the crew. I seriously doubt if any passengers would have the crew jump overboard.

[bcummin]

Too funny! One night on the Prinsendam, the CD let the Captain's 14 year old daughter (Isabella Gundersen) do the main show introduction. More then a few passengers were heard to mummer that she did a better job then the CD. And Isabella told me she works "cheap."

Hank

P.S. We assume she retired from the job along with her Dad's retirement :)

 

Yes, Isabella stole the show. She is a natural :)

I am so pleased to hear that Captain Gundersen returned from retirement.

And I am glad to know that Frank Buckingham is enjoying his well-deserved retirement.

Positive posts are wonderful.

 

Barbara

[mcmarya]

Is there such a thing as a list of current cruise directors so we can avoid CM, if possible? Sounds like he is a great choreographer and director so he should stay on land.

Edited November 21, 2013 by mcmarya

[spcl4cs_gal]

I just departed the Zaandam this morning and Carlos was our cruise director for our 16 day Circle Hawaii cruise. Unfortunately I have to disagree with the negative comments made about him on here. Carlos was always warm and welcoming and might have done a total of 3 announcements each day. Regarding his "Wash your hands..." comment, that was always done at lunch and wasn't annoying in the least. Now if you want annoying try listening to Jeremy (one of Carlos' entertainment staff members)..he is annoying and insulted me one too many times during a game he hosted one night in the Crow's Nest. If you want to see someone fired look no further than Jeremy.

 

 

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[take us away]

Many have listed the qualities we all admire in a CD. Sorry to say, we seem to be in the minority of posters on this question but we care very much who the CD is on our cruises. We have had excellent ones, mediocre ones and awful ones. As we do join a few activities, we run into them on a fairly regular basis but it is most obvious in all the activities whether they are good managers or not., and how the crew responds to them. Personality is critical and as I cannot see how they can be "on" all the time and usually succeed at what they organize.

 

Our most favorite is Gene Young, who is currently on the Amsterdam. He runs a great ship for the passengers, appreciates his staff and the entire crew, makes every effort to remember your name an a little something about you and even though he is constantly on the go, he always has a minute or more to chat. We have been on a cruise with him where several ports had to be canceled and the sailing schedule completely readjusted. Between he and the captain, we were all kept informed (with minimal loudspeaker 'invasion'), extra activities were added for those who chose to participate, entertainment readjusted as we were not able to pick up some entertainers and even though we knew it was a lot of work, to most passengers, it seemed seamless.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Considering that this thread is nearly a year old -- we have mixed feelings about the CD's.

Some are good - some bad -- some so-so.

There was a time when we would know the CD's from having sailed with them on the same ship or another ship.

The last couple of years we have had all new CD's.

[woodworker&knitter]

I seldom like to speak about specific people however I feel compelled to say we sailed for 49 days with Carlos Mendosa this spring on the Maasdam and found him to be an excellent cruise director.

[elycelynne]

I just departed the Zaandam this morning and Carlos was our cruise director for our 16 day Circle Hawaii cruise. Unfortunately I have to disagree with the negative comments made about him on here. Carlos was always warm and welcoming and might have done a total of 3 announcements each day. Regarding his "Wash your hands..." comment, that was always done at lunch and wasn't annoying in the least. Now if you want annoying try listening to Jeremy (one of Carlos' entertainment staff members)..he is annoying and insulted me one too many times during a game he hosted one night in the Crow's Nest. If you want to see someone fired look no further than Jeremy.

 

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

 

Wondering if your "Jeremy" is the same entertainment staff member who was on my Noordam sailing last January. Was he a blonde Australian?

[pv girl]

I seldom like to speak about specific people however I feel compelled to say we sailed for 49 days with Carlos Mendosa this spring on the Maasdam and found him to be an excellent cruise director.

 

Agree. It is my understanding that the CD "hires/fires/schedules" the entertainers. I saw Carlos all over the ship every night sitting in on the entertainment, quietly at the back of the room - checking out the size of the crowds and their interaction with the various bands and entertainers. Led me to believe he was trying to stay on top of things and seeing everyone was doing their job. Also, he allowed some of the the show cast singers to have an individual night in the Ocean Bar, allowing them to really show their talent. I applauded this support of the cast.

 

Yes, he is a little theatrical at times, but seeing what he does in his other life, it is understandable, and kudos to HAL for seeking out such a professional entertainer.

[woodworker&knitter]

Agree. It is my understanding that the CD "hires/fires/schedules" the entertainers. I saw Carlos all over the ship every night sitting in on the entertainment, quietly at the back of the room - checking out the size of the crowds and their interaction with the various bands and entertainers. Led me to believe he was trying to stay on top of things and seeing everyone was doing their job. Also, he allowed some of the the show cast singers to have an individual night in the Ocean Bar, allowing them to really show their talent. I applauded this support of the cast.

 

Yes, he is a little theatrical at times, but seeing what he does in his other life, it is understandable, and kudos to HAL for seeking out such a professional entertainer.

 

Ditto

[rafinmd]

I’m glad this thread came back, I was on the Crystal Symphony on the way to the Prinsendam. I was pleased to see the reference to Captain Gunderson in one of the earlier posts.

 

I'll say this a bit tongue in cheek but perhaps my greatest compliment would be "I don't remember who the CD was". I'd say 2/3 of their job is to manage and facilitate the show rather than to be the show. Some showmanship is great but there can definitely be too much. A relationship with the passengers is a real bonus. My HAL favorites to date:

 

1. Gene Young. Mostly in the background but out and about with a constant pulse on the ship, his morning “coffee chats” in the Wajang were excellent but only if you wanted to be there or watch on TV. He always had time for a WC segmenter in a basic cabin.

 

2. Glenn Coenen was the “Dutch Cruise Director” on my NY-Rotterdam transatlantic. He teamed well with Dan Bernbach as English CD”. I seldom understood his announcements as they were mostly in Dutch but his English was flawless and he always made time to be at events and spend time with passengers.

 

I doubt if Cruise Directors actually hire/fire entertainers, as certain names seem to pop up every year on certain cruises even if the CD changes, but I’ll bet their recommendations carry a lot of weight.

 

Roy

[Folk Singer]

A post in another thread got me wondering.......

 

What do you think makes an HAL CD more excellent, more to your liking, better at his/her work than another?

 

 

The ability to mix and mingle and you must have a great sense of humour.

[Folk Singer]

I seldom like to speak about specific people however I feel compelled to say we sailed for 49 days with Carlos Mendosa this spring on the Maasdam and found him to be an excellent cruise director.

 

 

Met another from Newmarket, Ontario on a cruise who said the same thing about Carlos.

 

Small world.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Folk Singer

[corkpopr]

I agree with most of the posters in that after 31 cruises, I have no idea who any of the cruise directors were. I guess the ones I liked were the ones who never were on the PA announcements!

[Swice]

Seems to me they are all getting younger and younger.

 

Several of you have said the CD arranges the extra entertainment. I wonder how much "say" they really have?? I would imagine, Holland America has a list of one-night stand "headliners that are available. Don't these "headliners" jump from ship to ship... get off at one port and board another ship the next day??

 

I am guessing the CD may have a little more to do with the number of "activities" like bingo and napkin folding and kitchen tours.

 

I will say I give credit to our last CD this past summer in the Baltics. (His name was J.T. or T.J.) Anyway-- he and several staffers stood at the bottom of the gangway for a LONG time waving "goodbye" to everyone and shaking hands as people left at the end of the cruise. I thought at the time, he really didn't "have" to stand out there in the sun and do that... but he did.

[tip]

I agree with most of the posters in that after 31 cruises, I have no idea who any of the cruise directors were. I guess the ones I liked were the ones who never were on the PA announcements!

 

You have taken the words right from my mouth, or in this case from my fingers!;) Most CD's should have their PA privileges taken away from them. I shall concede that HAL is somewhat better at this than other lines.

[tjcox9]

You have taken the words right from my mouth, or in this case from my fingers!;) Most CD's should have their PA privileges taken away from them. I shall concede that HAL is somewhat better at this than other lines.

 

We are frequent HAL (5 star) and sometimes Princess (Platinum) cruisers, with an occasional venture elsewhere. Recently we were on the Queen Mary 2, and I can't tell you how nice it was to not have the 10:00 AM, noon or 1:00PM and later afternoon spiel about what was going on, sales, spa deals, etc. It was so nice to feel as if we were being treated as adults. The only announcements were the Captain's noon navigational report and random announcements regarding crew "exercises". A really pleasant change from the usual on other ships/lines.:)

[CruiseWhere]

JMO, but I/we have had no use whatsoever for the CD. Personally I find them standoffish, cool, annoying, almost a greater then though attitude. I suppose if you are personal friends etc it may be different, but have never had a warm and fuzzy feeling with them.:cool: