Cruise Director impact on cruise

[DonnaK]

Updated list is out there' date=' where can I find ??

 

Thanks !![/quote']

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=42756944#post42756944

[Cruisin' Again 86]

Thank you !!!!

[Five5]

Luke Aerosmith was our first and I can't wait to join him again. We had Carly B and she was good and I don't even remember the third!

 

 

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[dorisis]

I think the CD as well as the Captain can make a huge difference. With a good Captain we get a happy crew. With a good CD we get happy passengers.

[lag9122]

I loved Richard Spacey He was a CD on the freedom he made the cruise more fun to hear his voice you knew it was going to be a great show or event .

 

Lisa

[xxHadleyxx]

We like the activities and go to many of them (even after 25 or so cruises--I thought it was interesting to read a PP who thought only newer cruisers enjoy these).

 

I do think the cruise director both directly and indirectly impacts the experience. Some have good activities and energetic staffs and can really get a party going. Others have activities that are not very interesting, or are poorly run or timed, do not get guests up and participating and manage their staff in a way that leads to either bored or complaining staff, or people totally on edge who you can tell live in fear of the CD coming down on them for something minor (this was the feeling we got from the older CD on Splendour the last two years--and we saw/heard him totally berating cruise staff for some inor issue one day--totally unprofessional and not a good feeling to have on a vacation).

[Brit-Cruiser]

We have had some awesome CD's, Drew Devine & Joff Eaton to name just 2 & some that were fine. That said, we did not think a CD held much impact on cruise enjoyment until we came across John Perry....he was woeful & it did kind of put a downer on things. I would not cruise with him as CD again.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Having a CD that is out and about and visible throughout the cruise really adds to my enjoyment, and I think RC has always had some great ones. My all time favorite was an adorable British lady named Becky Thompsen. We also loved Graham Seymour on the Freedom. The CD on the Freedom when we cruised in May was OK,not in the league if some of the others.

[rwright261]

Joff was the CD on our last cruise, and we really warmed to him. We are sailing Indy again in Sept and hope he will be on again then.

 

I don't remember any other CD's.

 

I recently read about Cuddy being on one of the RC ships (although not as a CD, perhaps activities manager or second CD), which made me smile as he worked in a bar in Fuerteventura in 2007 when I worked there, so it's nice to hear about someone you knew doing well.

Edited May 16, 2014 by rwright261

[brewcrew4]

Joff was the CD on our last cruise, and we really warmed to him. We are sailing Indy again in Sept and hope he will be on again then.

 

I don't remember any other CD's.

 

I recently read about Cuddy being on one of the RC ships (although not as a CD, perhaps activities manager or second CD), which made me smile as he worked in a bar in Fuerteventura in 2007 when I worked there, so it's nice to hear about someone you knew doing well.

 

Cuddy was the Activities Manager when we cruised on Indy in February and we loved him! Such a fun personality and a great laugh. I'm hoping to see him again when we sail Indy in December.

[temple1]

Loved Joff Eaton, I think he has an impact on cruise enjoyment. Rickey Matthews brings so much energy you can't help but enjoy his antics. Casey Pelter was director on our last cruise and although more low keyed than the other two he had a positive impact on the cruise.

 

We took a cruise on Enchantment and on Vision in October and I have no clue who the cruise directors were.

 

I did notice that Captain Ron Holmes has never seen a microphone and audience he didn't love. ;)

[wagsit]

Hello all. We just ended our April 27th cruise in the Allure (booo.. is it over). I was thinking about cruise directors after this cruise; ours was Ken Rush, and I got to wondering what people thought of the cruise director effect.

 

I will be honest. After five cruises, I remember only two cruise directors. Richard Spacey on the Freedom, and now Ken Rush on the Allure.

 

While I didn't think it was important to me, I know realize I certainly did notice if they are good. I swear Ken managed to introduce or close out just about every show or event I went to on my recent Allure cruise. Same with Richard.

 

In hindsight, I guess I love it. They really make you feel like RCI gives a hoot. Crazy that one person could do that - but it's so true. I now understand why people ask about the cruise director before they sail. They make the nerd in us feel popular!

 

What do you guys think. Do the cruise directors make a difference?

 

Oh jeesh - same could be said about captains... LOVE captain Johnny!

 

 

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We were on this cruise as well. LOVEd Ken Rush!! he was great! and his assistant...her name is escaping me...was FABULOUS as well. We got to chat with Captain Johnny and he was s o personable. My hubby talked with him about harleys for quite a bit actually. Wish I was there now ;)

[Sheryl1133]

We loved Allen Brooks on the Freedom and we completely disliked our CD on the oasis last year. I think it was Amy. Very annoying. Either way it didn't necessarily make or break or trip but it definitely adds an element--negative or positive.

 

 

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[dsvd79]

I do think the CD plays a big role in my cruising. I love doing all the activities like Trivia and Bingo. But to me the cruise activities staff is more important. I remember them more, than the CD. On our past cruise on Grandeur, Darryl was the activities manager. He was awesome. His staff got to know us, had conversations with us, and made us fell awesome. It has been the same on all of our other cruises too. My friend will always remember her Bingo boy Gio from Adventure in 2011.

[londongal796]

No idea if she is still a CD but Simona was ours for our last cruise (I just checked on my Cruise Compass for her name as I had forgotten). She did not 'WOW' us like our previous CD had done (can't remember but am guessing it may have been the popular one from the Grandeur if he was there in 2012). Her big draw was that she could translate absolutely everything from English to Italian and regrettably used this skill unendingly during our cruise. Every evening activity took twice as long as she would have to do her introduction, jokes, sales pitches etc all in two languages. It became a running joke throughout the ENTIRE ship as the captain started doing his announcements in Norwegian (I believe) after doing it in English, for the handful of Norwegians on board.

 

It definitely detracted from our cruise experience. I hope whoever is on Independence right now is good

[PegB87]

Joff Eaton was AWESOME & definitely contributed to memorable moments & the overall enjoyment of my Indy cruise!

Mark "Bing Bong" Walker was pretty good, too.

Don't even have a clue who the others were, but the cruises were still great!

 

I think a CD might be like the secret ingredient in a recipe--the dish might already be good, but adding that secret ingredient just gives it a little extra pizzazz!

[Deeliteful]

CD's have absolutely no influence regarding how I enjoy my cruise. Have taken over 30 cruises and can't tell you the name of any.

 

Me neither:D

[Paulxyz2004]

To me the CD doesn´t make or break a cruise. As many others I don´t remember most of them.

Only two names stick out to me one I think isn´t longer a CD with RCI and I remember her only because I cruised quite a few times with her and we got to talk a bit on a couple of tours she joined with her SO.

 

The other one is the often talked about Ken Rush and I only remember him because he has been talked about so much on this board and I was curious if he could live up the Hype - well I´ll keep it at "He couldn´t" and he unfortunately stood out as the worst of all.

 

Now I´ve done it and I´m the one to come around and criticize Ken Rush:eek:

[TEXASMUNK]

Guess the good ones are not memorable. But, we have encountered a few with serious ego problems...those you cannot forget. Not only on RCI, but other lines. Have seen them brush aside passenger questions, walk through a crowd with the nine mile scare so they do not make any eye contact, have staff that take their lead from the CD and are "above' the riff-raff (the customer)

To us, the CD sets a tone on a ship. We have never had the desire to become close personal friends with the CD, but have enjoyed the "atmosphere" they are responsible for creating. But then they do their jobs in a perfunctory manner, it shows.

[negc]

Some, though admittedly not all, have a positive effect on my enjoyment of our cruise and we look forward to sailing with the good ones again and again. On our most recent cruise we had the good fortune to sail once again with one of the best - Clo(dagh) O'Connor. We first sailed with her on the first Brilliance Transatlantic in 2002 where she conducted a very moving memorial ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of 9/11. She and Joff Eaton rank among the best, IMO, of a generally very good company of CDs. Clo is very personable, very approachable, and has a great sense of humor. By our second day onboard she was greeting me and many other guests by name. We expect that she will be back onboard the Brilliance when we sail on the October repositioning cruise from Boston.

[patramark]

I feel like the previous poster stated, that the Cruise Director is the "secret ingredient" on any cruise. When they are good they enhance the cruise experience, when they are not so good, oh well, you are still cruising!

On my most recent Legend Transatlantic, I felt that our Cruise Director Topi Ylönen was fantastic! He is young, talented, with tons of energy on a cruise with mostly retirees. Nonetheless, he had more cruisers up dancing at the 70's party than I saw on my Oasis cruise with Amy last August. On my two cruises on Explorer, I couldn't even tell you who the Cruise Director was and you certainly didn't see him on the Promenade, taking pictures with the cruisers or participating in any activities. Like everything else, you get a few great ones, but they are mostly mediocre, with more ego than talent and you must strive not to let them affect your vacation experience.

[impatientlywaiting]

On my most recent Legend Transatlantic, I felt that our Cruise Director Topi Ylönen was fantastic! He is young, talented, with tons of energy on a cruise with mostly retirees.

 

We were on that cruise as well and thoroughly enjoyed Topi. He was also our CD on the Serenade over Christmas! :)

[DonnaK]

I feel like the previous poster stated, that the Cruise Director is the "secret ingredient" on any cruise. When they are good they enhance the cruise experience, when they are not so good, oh well, you are still cruising!

On my most recent Legend Transatlantic, I felt that our Cruise Director Topi Ylönen was fantastic! He is young, talented, with tons of energy on a cruise with mostly retirees. Nonetheless, he had more cruisers up dancing at the 70's party than I saw on my Oasis cruise with Amy last August. On my two cruises on Explorer, I couldn't even tell you who the Cruise Director was and you certainly didn't see him on the Promenade, taking pictures with the cruisers or participating in any activities. Like everything else, you get a few great ones, but they are mostly mediocre, with more ego than talent and you must strive not to let them affect your vacation experience.

 

When were you on Explorer? Because Leigh Xuereb has been the regular CD on that ship for the past 1.5 years, and he is one of the absolute best CDs; very visible and personable, and lots of fun. Perhaps you were there during his breaks and had a fill-in, because I can't imagine that Leigh wouldn't leave a great impression on anyone.

[Clarea]

When were you on Explorer? Because Leigh Xuereb has been the regular CD on that ship for the past 1.5 years, and he is one of the absolute best CDs; very visible and personable, and lots of fun. Perhaps you were there during his breaks and had a fill-in, because I can't imagine that Leigh wouldn't leave a great impression on anyone.

Agree 100% about Leigh.

[Merion_Mom]

I was on Explorer for two weeks in March, and Leigh was on vacation.

 

We had a DUD. I have decided not to mention his name.

 

Among the places where a DUD can "ruin" an activity are shows like The Love & Marriage Show. If they have no comedic/people skills, the show just doesn't work.

 

Just one example among many.

 

:)

Edited May 18, 2014 by Merion_Mom