Do you like Ken Rush as cruise director?

[BillOh]

I have cruised 31 times and he was the worst CD ever. Comes across as arrogant.

 

I put Carly (forget the last name) from Wales on my worst in 10 cruises. No effort, I guess she was already looking forward to retirement.

Edited January 22, 2015 by BillOh

[BillOh]

I have never experienced him as a CD on a ship....but I have read many many times, how people have loved him. Same with Richard Spacey.

 

I can see that, for me if they put some effort into Love and Marriage and Quest, I'm happy, other than the morning TV show, that is all I'm looking for in a CD. I've never had one show up at a Meet and Mingle as some have. I had Richard Spacey on my 2nd ever 7 day cruise, so I don't know how much if any he changes things up to make them more interesting.

 

I've only ever had one less than pleasant experience with a CD on a one-to-one basis and that was my first ever cruise on Voyager back in '06. I cant' even remember who that was.

[BillOh]

He certainly has his detractors but he's also in charge of the best entertainment afloat so I'll give him credit where credit is due. As far as liking him? I don't think I've ever given it a thought.

 

He said one thing on my 2013 cruise that I'm sure some people found arrogant, but I actually found helpful. I think it was the headliner act one night, he came on to introduce him and he did a little "What else is going on tonight" and he mentioned right after this show was the Quest and if the show ran late, don't worry about being late, I'm here and they can't start that one with out him. Sounded arrogant, but it was true and on Allure, we didn't need to get to Quest early. So we relaxed, enjoyed the show and made it to Quest with no problem.

[BillOh]

I don't usually care about who the Cruise Director is because it doesn't impact on my enjoyment, but this guy sounds like one who might annoy me so much it would spoil my holiday!

 

If you don't care who the CD is, and I understand that, I don't think he would spoil your day.

[BillOh]

I laughed out loud when I saw this because it is the perfect description of him! I could not tell you who the CD has been on any of my cruises except one--Ken Rush on Oasis. Oh my. From the beginning, I thought he was an arrogant jerk. The topper, though, was when BF and I were eating in Johnny Rockets. He was in there--"off duty" (in civilian clothes)--talking to a buddy about a drunk passenger he took back to his cabin the night before, and, um, what occurred. It was so beyond inappropriate. I understand that he was off duty, but this was the 4th day, so even if he wasn't in his work attire, everyone knew who he was. And he was not being quiet about it. I was appalled...:eek:

 

I'll be curious to see if anyone questions this. I have no idea of the validity and obvious don't know you, but this seems like a violation of the Prime Directive for Royal Caribbean and the one thing that would get anyone fired. I would be shocked if this happened, and B he would be dumb enough to talk about it in a public setting.

[BillOh]

Then....

 

I had Richard Spacey, and unlike a recent poster I LOVED him. We loved his jokes and humor and totally are going to book a cruise on celebrity where he is now, just to sail with him again.

 

Like I said...

 

all opinions.

 

It's what makes the world go round

 

On that subject, Ken Rush and Ricky Williams are the only CD's I've had twice. I enjoyed Ricky. The only negative thing I had to say about him was his jokes were all the same both cruises 2007 and 2010. That was on Majesty where so many people take that cruise over and over, I would have thought that would be emphasis to change things periodically. OTOH, Ricky ran the best Quest I have ever seen. Ken did change his jokes a bit between 2011 and 2013.

[BillOh]

Donna expresses my thoughts precisely.

 

:)

 

I love Kevin Spacey.

 

 

But I also love Richard Spacey.

 

 

 

:D

Ahh, thanks for posting the pic of Richard Spacey, I thought he was the CD of my Freedom 2008 cruise, but my memory is fading, but I think you jarred it. Unless something tells me Richard was not on Freedom then, I'll go with that :o

[tserface]

I didn't like Ken Rush much either. We really loved Richard Spacey and were sad when he took a land job.

 

I've heard that Ken Rush is a super great behind the scenes administrator and that's why he gets big ships.

 

Tom

[bluegirlum]

I'll be curious to see if anyone questions this. I have no idea of the validity and obvious don't know you, but this seems like a violation of the Prime Directive for Royal Caribbean and the one thing that would get anyone fired. I would be shocked if this happened, and B he would be dumb enough to talk about it in a public setting.

 

I have posted this before on other threads. I have no reason to make it up. He was in the back booth with his back to us and clearly didn't think anyone was paying attention. I too would have thought that it was against the rules--that's why I was so surprised to hear him talk about it in public. Even my BF, who never pays attention to anything, commented on it. I am sure there are a lot of crew/guest shenanigans, and hey, good for them. But be discreet.

[BillOh]

I have posted this before on other threads. I have no reason to make it up. He was in the back booth with his back to us and clearly didn't think anyone was paying attention. I too would have thought that it was against the rules--that's why I was so surprised to hear him talk about it in public. Even my BF, who never pays attention to anything, commented on it. I am sure there are a lot of crew/guest shenanigans, and hey, good for them. But be discreet.

 

I hope my message to you didn't sound accusational. I have no reason to doubt you, just shocked.

[Merion_Mom]

I didn't like Ken Rush much either. We really loved Richard Spacey and were sad when he took a land job.

 

I've heard that Ken Rush is a super great behind the scenes administrator and that's why he gets big ships.

 

Tom

 

He's back to "CD-ing"! On Celebrity. :)

[bluegirlum]

I hope my message to you didn't sound accusational. I have no reason to doubt you, just shocked.

 

So was I!!

[mcatmcat]

I'm sure there are good and bad cruise directors but that guy is like a robot, talks like a robot, walks like a robot and if you follow him with your eyes when he thinks no one is looking he can from a big fake smile to a sad face in less than 1 sec.

 

I can't confirm it but for some reasons I believe he is the " spoiled kid" from the company. He thinks he is untouchable and that he is the best cruise director in the company.

 

I don't book a cruise based on the cruise director until I was in the allure while he was the cruise director.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[setsail]

Maybe he should be on the first cruise to Cuba. Have you seen all the cars from the 50's, a goldmine for used car dealers in the states and 10's of thousands of $'s for all the cab drivers. :D

[nelblu]

I'm not into CD's when I'm on a cruise. I can put up with the initial 5 minutes monologue. I can't recall the name of the CD on Allure when we cruised this past February, but what I remember was this gentleman with a tight short jacket and tight pants and very pointed shoes--he reminded me of a penguin.

[akcruz]

We too experienced Ken when he didn't think anyone was paying attention, or couldn't care if anyone was.

 

Yes, he does a great job setting things up behind the scene, but boy did I loose a lot of respect when I heard his comments that one night. He does think very highly of himself :eek:.

 

BTW, we loved Richard Spacey, one of the best we have seen.

Edited January 22, 2015 by akcruz

[Retired LEO]

I laughed out loud when I saw this because it is the perfect description of him! I could not tell you who the CD has been on any of my cruises except one--Ken Rush on Oasis. Oh my. From the beginning, I thought he was an arrogant jerk. The topper, though, was when BF and I were eating in Johnny Rockets. He was in there--"off duty" (in civilian clothes)--talking to a buddy about a drunk passenger he took back to his cabin the night before, and, um, what occurred. It was so beyond inappropriate. I understand that he was off duty, but this was the 4th day, so even if he wasn't in his work attire, everyone knew who he was. And he was not being quiet about it. I was appalled...:eek:

 

This doesn't surprise me at all. I witnessed the same behavior at the sky bar where he was hanging out with 3 or 4 young girls throwing the booze down. They seemed to be part of the staff, maybe singers and dancers. I can only imagine how that night went for him.

[ChipLondon]

Well I am happy to stand up and recognise Ken Rush for the good work he has done over many years. He was our first CD and one of the reasons we kept coming back. He is a true professional who really cares about his guests and works hard with his team to satisfy many. Sure having sailed with him for many years I could repeat a lot of his standard lines, but that is the same with many others ( as well as the standard comedians and entertainers on the ships ). He is a great organiser and many of todays CDs owe their career to him, as he has trained many of them when they first joined as cruise staff. Ken always has time for guests, and can be seen all over the ship, and that cannot be said about many others, some of whom consider guests an inconvenience. Unfortunately a lot of the good CDs have now moved on to other things outside of cruise ships, I wish them well, but some of those that have stepped up from AM simply should not be in the job, as they are not creative and simply follow the old "we have always done it that way " JMHO :D

[tserface]

He's back to "CD-ing"! On Celebrity. :)

 

 

Wait, what!?! Score 1 for Celebrity...

[TahoeBob]

Can't tell if you're joking or not,

 

not joking at all.

[BillB48]

There's the Shamwow guy--but what's his name???

 

 

Vince!

[nelblu]

Can't tell if you're joking or not, but my impression of the post was that they were comparing him to a well-known TV salesman whose name everyone would recognize (who, unfortunately, happens to be dead), not to a dead person. I don't think there are a lot of TV salesmen these days whose names we'd all know. There's the Shamwow guy--but what's his name???

 

How about Ron Popeil with his knife sets. I also can't seem to forget the black hairspray that he was pushing to cover up baldness.--I think it was the early/test version of "Flex Seal."LOL

[racerxspeedy]

After reading negative comments here regarding Ken Rush I went on Allure with low expectations . He exceeded my expectations - better than at least two others I can remember. The CD on the big ships isn't that critical since the entertainment is great. He does have the "sales pitch" - but that's an expected part of the job. Could anyone here at CC do better??

 

I have nothing but great memories of my numerous cruises with Richard (aka Kevin) Spacey. Most consider Richard one of their favorites - great energy and seems to enjoy his job.

[thrifty99]

Add me to the "found Ken Rush to be arrogant" category. He really made our Allure cruise less enjoyable when he would talk about himself so much.

 

Definitely add me to the "loved Richard Spacey" group. We found him much more approachable and sincere.

 

 

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[ksg]

We liked Ken Rush, and we actually had a conversation with him about Quantum, when Quantum was still a rumor. He was very nice and personable. Alan Brooks, on the other hand, obnoxious.

 

Best CD ever - our first one on Radiance - Gordon Whatley. Incredibly talented, great singer, very funny. I don't remember the others but they must have been fine. We had one though on Adventure who was so awful. I hope he's no longer CDing but have no idea.