Activity Managers onboard Royal Ships

[Joe12]

I did not care for Abe. Sailed with him quite a few times, always the same jokes, same lines, same Quest. He just seemed very plastic to me. He was very much out in the public eye, I just didn't care for his personality. I know others think he is the cats pajamas!

 

I have never sailed with Abe before, so luckily I won't have heard his "script" before. I know he is well liked, so hope I enjoy him. It's the 2nd leg with Bobby that I am more dubious about.

Anyone sailed with Katy McCullagh as AM? I keep asking, but never hear anything.

[DonnaK]

I have never sailed with Abe before, so luckily I won't have heard his "script" before. I know he is well liked, so hope I enjoy him. It's the 2nd leg with Bobby that I am more dubious about.

Anyone sailed with Katy McCullagh as AM? I keep asking, but never hear anything.

I think any CD would become repetitive over time. How many different ways are there to say the same thing week after week? Sure, he/she can make little adjustments based on crowd reaction, but it's hard to shake things up each time.

[Paulette3028]

I have never sailed with Abe before, so luckily I won't have heard his "script" before. I know he is well liked, so hope I enjoy him. It's the 2nd leg with Bobby that I am more dubious about.

Anyone sailed with Katy McCullagh as AM? I keep asking, but never hear anything.

 

We very much enjoyed Bobby Brown as CD....no matter what he did he added an 'elegance' to the activity. Never had Katy as AM, so can't comment. One thing that Bobby did with his AM Hugo Arenas was on the last day they did the morning show at 4pm and asked for cruiser participation. They gave a place to meet at 4pm, and the cruisers were the stars....it was hilarious! If you are lucky to be on a sailing with him and he does it -- GO!

[Paulette3028]

I think any CD would become repetitive over time. How many different ways are there to say the same thing week after week? Sure, he/she can make little adjustments based on crowd reaction, but it's hard to shake things up each time.

 

In our experiences we have had Mitch Merucci (2x, both on Majesty) and Carlos Torres (Majesty and then Empress) -- neither sailing was a B2B, so the issue of repetitive week after week, was not an issue. We had a great time with both, on both sailings we had with them. The experience with Carlos was much different, because it was a different ship and he had to utilize the ship differently. If you go on Empress with Carlos, he does a show in Boleros with the band and he is the headline singer....It was phenomenal. It did not matter that many of the songs were in Spanish, you are wooed by the voice.

 

We are looking forward to sailing with Mitch Merrucci on Allure this coming November....so for us....having the same CD -- is just fine. We have not done a B2B, so I can't speak for the repetitiveness when you sail B2B.

[Joe12]

We very much enjoyed Bobby Brown as CD....no matter what he did he added an 'elegance' to the activity. Never had Katy as AM, so can't comment. One thing that Bobby did with his AM Hugo Arenas was on the last day they did the morning show at 4pm and asked for cruiser participation. They gave a place to meet at 4pm, and the cruisers were the stars....it was hilarious! If you are lucky to be on a sailing with him and he does it -- GO!

 

I don't think Bobby is a bad CD, my main issue is that I feel that he is an odd choice for the Harmony. From my experience with him - he is very low key and doesn't have a lot of energy, which I feel is needed on Oasis Class in the Caribbean. I think the "elegant" style works on smaller ships, but the younger crowd that tends to do Harmony would think he is dull.

I will be paying more attention to him this time, and might even come along to the Morning Show@

Edited June 19, 2017 by Joe12

[direptor]

Troy Zhang is AM on Voyager of the Seas

[Joe12]

I think any CD would become repetitive over time. How many different ways are there to say the same thing week after week? Sure, he/she can make little adjustments based on crowd reaction, but it's hard to shake things up each time.

I think spontaneity would be one of the hardest parts of the CD's job based on the crowd.

We have repeated two CD's - Joff Eaton and John Blair.

We love Joff, but even he did the same jokes each year. However, he did have a different AM each time, so always had a good rapport in the morning show.

We avoided John as much as possible on Anthem, based on our experience with him on Enchantment, but when we did see or hear from him, he was no better than 5 years before and made some strange scheduling choices.

[Paulette3028]

Updated 6/19/17

What Activity Manager have you come across? Ifyou can find out how long the Activity Manager on board is remaining with theship, it would be greatly appreciated…..EVERYONE’s help is needed. Thanks!

 

****Adventure OTS – Eric (unknown last name) from Mexicoseems to have taken over from Renato Arena and he probably came on board earlyApril 2017. Perhaps it is only to coverRenato’s vacation until mid June…..we will see.

 

****Allure OTS – Amy Tripp arrived on 5/21/17for a two month contract. Going back toExplorer after this.

****Anthem OTS – Hugo Arenas has been spotted. He probably arrived in mid May.

****Brilliance OTS – Who is onboard?

****Empress OTS – Cecy del Razo back onboard from early June for 4 months.

****Enchantment OTS – Who is on board? MauricioDiaz was the last one that I had been informed of, but that is quite a whileago…..is he still there?

****Explorer OTS – Joe Chambers from Canada has been onboard since3/30/17. Likely a 4 month contract thatwill take him to the end of July.

****Freedom OTS – Jerry (last name unknown) has been reported tome to be on Freedom by a cruiser on 5/22/17. No other information about lengthof contract for example.

****Grandeur OTS – TornadoTanya Yates Tongue is on until July 27, then she goes on vacation and returnsin September.

*****Harmony – KatyMcCullagh is onboard since 3/11 and will be on board until the middle of July.

****Independence OTS – Caroline Peter has been on Indy since mid May2017 possibly for a 4 month contract.

*****Jewel OTS - Daniel Klophausm is currentlyonboard I have been told. Unsure of whenhe started, so can’t speculate until when.

*****LibertyOTS – Katrina Blair took over from Tresha Robb 5/21/17 for a month contract. In mid July Tresha Robb should be returningfrom vacation.

****Majesty OTS – Mossese Vatuloka just confirmed with metoday that he will be on MJ until 6/26 then he on vacation.

*****Mariner OTS – Caroline Pan is onboard untilMay 29, 2017.

*****Navigator OTS – Mark Rous did the Meet NMingle and we therefore know he has returned by 2/26/17.

*****Oasis OTS – Marvin Wilson has been on since2/27/17 and was still onboard during the6/4 sailing. Perhaps it turned into a 4 month contract rather than the vacationcoverage it was expected to be – if so he would be on Oasis until the end ofJune 2017.

***** Ovation – Who is onboard now?

***** Quantum – Who is onboard now?

*****Radiance OTS – Margot van Erck rejoined the ship 4/16/17 andshe will be on until July 20. Then Katrina Blair will be taking overwhen John Blair will be coming on board to cover the CD’s vacation. Katrina and John work as a team on ships.

 

**** Rhapsody OTS – It has been confirmed that DanielDornas joined the ship 5/27/17 probably for a 4 month contract.

**** Serenade OTS – Who is onboard NOW, since GrantMartin departed the ship on 5/20/17. Ansy

***** Vision OTS – Chris (from England – unknown last name) hasbeen spotted onboard Vision.

 

*****Voyager OTS – Troy Zhang is onboard now andpropably since Katie Turner signed offon 5/21/17. Don’t know if just coveringher vacation or staying for a full 4 month contract time period. Can someone onboard ask PLEASE?

 

Thanks to all the cruisers for information thatthey provide to me!

 

Others: Anjazc, Kitty Xu,, Flavio Maeda, Jeremie Gugliemi, Allison Currie, Elizabeth Hackett, Katrina Blair, Saini Gupta, Katie Turner,Daniel Klophaus, Tresha Robb, TinoJackson; Renato Arena, TT Algon, AngelleRutten Van Hemert, Kevin Tugwell, Mickey Martin

 

No longer in the Fleet: Darryl Dyball, ZachStratford; Linda Feng; Frankie Portera, Elise Milo Stewart, Gordon Travis, EnzoMatijca, Giovanni DiPasquale

Splendour – ship retired April 2016; Legend – shipretired March 2017

[Joe12]

As for Voyager: I would think Troy is on for 4 months as when Voyager is in Hong Kong, they would want a Mandarin speaking AM, especially if the CD doesn't speak Mandarin. Not sure where Katie Turner will go next. I think she has moved on from Allure (she was AM there for a while). Maybe someone could contact her on social media?

[Joe12]

TT Algan was still on Brilliance on the 5/25/17 sailing.

[Paulette3028]

Updated 6/21/17

What Activity Manager have you come across? Ifyou can find out how long the Activity Manager on board is remaining with theship, it would be greatly appreciated…..EVERYONE’s help is needed. Thanks!

 

****Adventure OTS – Eric (unknown last name) from Mexicoseems to have taken over from Renato Arena and he probably came on board earlyApril 2017. Perhaps it is only to coverRenato’s vacation until mid June…..we will see.

 

****Allure OTS – Amy Tripp arrived on 5/21/17for a two month contract. Going back toExplorer after this.

****Anthem OTS – Hugo Arenas has been spotted. He probably arrived in mid May.

****Brilliance OTS – TT Algon was on the 5/25/17 sailing…unsurewhen he started and therefore can’t speculate for how long. If someone is onboard and can ask that wouldbe WONDERFUL.

****Empress OTS – Cecy del Razo back onboard from early June for 4 months.

****Enchantment OTS – Who is on board? MauricioDiaz was the last one that I had been informed of, but that is quite a whileago…..is he still there?

****Explorer OTS – Joe Chambers from Canada has been onboard since3/30/17. Likely a 4 month contract thatwill take him to the end of July.

****Freedom OTS – Jerry (last name unknown) has been reported tome to be on Freedom by a cruiser on 5/22/17. No other information about lengthof contract for example.

****Grandeur OTS – TornadoTanya Yates Tongue is on until July 27, then she goes on vacation and returnsin September.

*****Harmony – KatyMcCullagh is onboard since 3/11 and will be on board until the middle of July.

****Independence OTS – Caroline Peter has been on Indy since mid May2017 possibly for a 4 month contract.

*****Jewel OTS - Daniel Klophausm is currentlyonboard I have been told. Unsure of whenhe started, so can’t speculate until when.

*****LibertyOTS – Katrina Blair took over from Tresha Robb 5/21/17 for a month contract. In mid July Tresha Robb should be returningfrom vacation.

****Majesty OTS – Mossese Vatuloka just confirmed with metoday that he will be on MJ until 6/26 then he on vacation.

*****Mariner OTS – Caroline Pan is onboard untilMay 29, 2017.

*****Navigator OTS – Mark Rous did the Meet NMingle and we therefore know he has returned by 2/26/17.

*****Oasis OTS – Marvin Wilson has been on since2/27/17 and was still onboard during the6/4 sailing. Perhaps it turned into a 4 month contract rather than the vacationcoverage it was expected to be – if so he would be on Oasis until the end ofJune 2017.

***** Ovation – Who is onboard now?

***** Quantum – Who is onboard now?

*****Radiance OTS – Margot van Erck rejoined the ship 4/16/17 andshe will be on until July 20. Then Katrina Blair will be taking overwhen John Blair will be coming on board to cover the CD’s vacation. Katrina and John work as a team on ships.

 

**** Rhapsody OTS – It has been confirmed that DanielDornas joined the ship 5/27/17 probably for a 4 month contract.

**** Serenade OTS – Who is onboard NOW, since GrantMartin departed the ship on 5/20/17. Ansy

***** Vision OTS – ALERT: Chris Hopkins normally is the AM, butsince June 3rd has reportedly been filling in for the CD who had ahealth emergency. Usually someone fromthe Entertainment Staff steps in as AM….who is it?

 

*****Voyager OTS – Troy Zhang is onboard now andpropably since Katie Turner signed offon 5/21/17. Don’t know if just coveringher vacation or staying for a full 4 month contract time period. Can someone onboard ask PLEASE?

 

Thanks to all the cruisers for information thatthey provide to me!

 

Others: Anjazc, Kitty Xu,, Flavio Maeda, Jeremie Gugliemi, Allison Currie, Elizabeth Hackett, Katrina Blair, Saini Gupta, Katie Turner,Daniel Klophaus, Tresha Robb, TinoJackson; Renato Arena, Angelle RuttenVan Hemert, Kevin Tugwell, Mickey Martin

 

No longer in the Fleet: Darryl Dyball, ZachStratford; Linda Feng; Frankie Portera, Elise Milo Stewart, Gordon Travis, EnzoMatijca, Giovanni DiPasquale

Splendour – ship retired April 2016; Legend – shipretired March 2017

Edited June 21, 2017 by Paulette3028

[Joe12]

I have asked Chris on FB about whether or not he is CD on Vision and what the schedule will be. Hopefully he gets back to me.

[Paulette3028]

I don't think Bobby is a bad CD, my main issue is that I feel that he is an odd choice for the Harmony. From my experience with him - he is very low key and doesn't have a lot of energy, which I feel is needed on Oasis Class in the Caribbean. I think the "elegant" style works on smaller ships, but the younger crowd that tends to do Harmony would think he is dull. I will be paying more attention to him this time, and might even come along to the Morning Show@

 

I have asked Chris on FB about whether or not he is CD on Vision and what the schedule will be. Hopefully he gets back to me.

 

Joe12 -- Thanks for checking with Chris via FB. As far as Bobby Brown as CD....his AM when we had him was Hugo Arenas.....and Hugo is Mexican jumping beans in a human body. Bobby had plenty of energy to balance Hugo and they made a terrific team. Perhaps with another AM, it would create a different feel. NO one on our sailing could feel anything was happening in a dull way with their chemistry. And the extra elegance was quite refreshing.

 

I am going to have Mitch Merruchi on Allure in November. The two times we had him as CD were both on Majesty. So I will get a chance to compare 'big ship' CD vs 'small ship' CD with it being the same person as the CD. Size of ship is something that I have NOT thought much about in the determination of who would do a good job.....so time will tell in my interpretation at least.

[Joe12]

Joe12 -- Thanks for checking with Chris via FB. As far as Bobby Brown as CD....his AM when we had him was Hugo Arenas.....and Hugo is Mexican jumping beans in a human body. Bobby had plenty of energy to balance Hugo and they made a terrific team. Perhaps with another AM, it would create a different feel. NO one on our sailing could feel anything was happening in a dull way with their chemistry. And the extra elegance was quite refreshing.

 

I am going to have Mitch Merruchi on Allure in November. The two times we had him as CD were both on Majesty. So I will get a chance to compare 'big ship' CD vs 'small ship' CD with it being the same person as the CD. Size of ship is something that I have NOT thought much about in the determination of who would do a good job.....so time will tell in my interpretation at least.

 

Hugo is a bit crazy for my taste, but I would imagine he added plenty of energy to that pairing. Of course, opinions are subjective and vary from sailing to sailing, I simply feel Bobby would be better on a smaller ship and I could name quite a few CD's who I would nominate to rotate on Harmony (Joff, Ricky Matthews etc). As I said, I will be watching closer this time. I could write a lot about why I think particular CD's should be assigned to a certain ship catering to a specific demographic, but this is a public forum.

 

As for Mitch, I would imagine it would be a completely different experience on Allure than on Majesty, but since you already like him as CD, you will probably still enjoy the standard activities, such as Quest and Love and Marriage, however, he will likely be less visible.

Regarding the "big vs small" argument, I had John Blair on Enchantment and Anthem. I'm sure many know that I am not a fan of his, but he was more visible on EN and on AN, I only saw him once. He was about equally annoying on both, however. We didn't do any CD activities on Anthem though, so can only judge on what I saw.

Edited June 21, 2017 by Joe12

[Paulette3028]

Hugo is a bit crazy for my taste, but I would imagine he added plenty of energy to that pairing. Of course, opinions are subjective and vary from sailing to sailing, I simply feel Bobby would be better on a smaller ship and I could name quite a few CD's who I would nominate to rotate on Harmony (Joff, Ricky Matthews etc). As I said, I will be watching closer this time.

 

As for Mitch, I would imagine it would be a completely different experience on Allure than on Majesty, but since you already like him as CD, you will probably still enjoy the standard activities, such as Quest and Love and Marriage, however, he will likely be less visible.

Regarding the "big vs small" argument, I had John Blair on Enchantment and Anthem. I'm sure many know that I am not a fan of his, but he was more visible on EN and on AN, I only saw him once. He was about equally annoying on both, however. We didn't do any CD activities on Anthem though, so can only judge on what I saw.

 

Even though this is the AM thread and not the CD thread, I love having these discussions....so I welcome them. A CD's responsibilities on one of the mega size ships are so much more intense than the smaller ships, it is no wonder they are less visible. We have been on Allure and Harmony. We had Allan Brooks on Allure and Bobby Brown on Harmony. We saw Bobby much more than we saw Allan around the ship. Allan did a solo morning show, called Babbling Brooks and his personality was one that did not like 'sharing the spotlight' -- when the light was on him -- it needed to be 'all on him'. Bobby was around the ship quite a bit, he was clearly making sure all was going 'according to the plan for the day' and all the activities were running smoothly. He liked sharing time with all the staff it seemed and cruisers -- he was very personable.

[Joe12]

Even though this is the AM thread and not the CD thread, I love having these discussions....so I welcome them. A CD's responsibilities on one of the mega size ships are so much more intense than the smaller ships, it is no wonder they are less visible. We have been on Allure and Harmony. We had Allan Brooks on Allure and Bobby Brown on Harmony. We saw Bobby much more than we saw Allan around the ship. Allan did a solo morning show, called Babbling Brooks and his personality was one that did not like 'sharing the spotlight' -- when the light was on him -- it needed to be 'all on him'. Bobby was around the ship quite a bit, he was clearly making sure all was going 'according to the plan for the day' and all the activities were running smoothly. He liked sharing time with all the staff it seemed and cruisers -- he was very personable.

 

I would agree with you, Bobby was more visible around the ship in comparison to Jimmy (Oasis) and Jerome (Allure), both of whom I only recall seeing once or twice. I did actually see him talking to guests on the Promenade and he also said hello to us on the walking track on the 2nd night of the cruise while he was on his way to an event with Tino and Abe.

I always prefer when the CD and AM do the Morning Show together. I think it helps you get to know the AM better and makes it more enjoyable to watch. I did not enjoy Casey Pelter's solo morning show on Serenade, it was boring and he seemed really stale.

[Paulette3028]

I would agree with you, Bobby was more visible around the ship in comparison to Jimmy (Oasis) and Jerome (Allure), both of whom I only recall seeing once or twice. I did actually see him talking to guests on the Promenade and he also said hello to us on the walking track on the 2nd night of the cruise while he was on his way to an event with Tino and Abe.

I always prefer when the CD and AM do the Morning Show together. I think it helps you get to know the AM better and makes it more enjoyable to watch. I did not enjoy Casey Pelter's solo morning show on Serenade, it was boring and he seemed really stale.

 

We had Jerome and Cuddy as his AM on Navigator.....what a terrific pair. Cutty dressed as a turkey on Thanksgiving....just imagine....it was like that all cruise.

[skid10]

I did not enjoy Casey Pelter's solo morning show on Serenade, it was boring and he seemed really stale.

 

Casey was CD on our recent Adventure OTS cruise. Did not care for him or Eric, the AM. Plus, other than when they were hosting an event, we never saw either one the entire cruise. Maybe it was just bad timing, but when we had CD Abe Hughes (loved him) on Anthem on a 12 night cruise we saw him all over the ship almost daily and his AM Chris was also very visible.

[Joe12]

Casey was CD on our recent Adventure OTS cruise. Did not care for him or Eric, the AM. Plus, other than when they were hosting an event, we never saw either one the entire cruise. Maybe it was just bad timing, but when we had CD Abe Hughes (loved him) on Anthem on a 12 night cruise we saw him all over the ship almost daily and his AM Chris was also very visible.

 

Casey wasn't very visible on our cruise either. Outside of events, we saw him about twice in 12 days. This was a Radiance Class ship, so you would expect them to be visible to some degree. Again, it could have also been timing, but Carlos and his staff seemed more "in it".

Looking forward to Abe on HM in 9 days, and as for Chris, he seems to be CD on Vision now. It could be temporary, but given that some CD's are leaving in the next year, they may promote him to permanent CD.

[skid10]

Casey wasn't very visible on our cruise either. Outside of events, we saw him about twice in 12 days. This was a Radiance Class ship, so you would expect them to be visible to some degree. Again, it could have also been timing, but Carlos and his staff seemed more "in it".

Looking forward to Abe on HM in 9 days, and as for Chris, he seems to be CD on Vision now. It could be temporary, but given that some CD's are leaving in the next year, they may promote him to permanent CD.

Enjoy your cruise!! Chris worked very well with Abe and I think he will be a fine CD. BTW, if you are celebrating anything and Abe still does this, fill out one of his cards and he will mention it on his morning show.

[Paulette3028]

Casey wasn't very visible on our cruise either. Outside of events, we saw him about twice in 12 days. This was a Radiance Class ship, so you would expect them to be visible to some degree. Again, it could have also been timing, but Carlos and his staff seemed more "in it".

Looking forward to Abe on HM in 9 days, and as for Chris, he seems to be CD on Vision now. It could be temporary, but given that some CD's are leaving in the next year, they may promote him to permanent CD.

 

Although I know quite a few people at Royal HQ, I have never gotten any clear information to indicate what you have mentioned highlighted above. Marc Walker had said he was going to be doing less and that never really seemed to occur.....so I am curious as to your statement. It is very difficult to get information on AM's --- it mostly comes from cruisers and the few CD's and AM's that I know. Some of my inside contacts don't like to share the information because things change at the last minute or for other personal reasons (which I respect).

[Joe12]

Although I know quite a few people at Royal HQ, I have never gotten any clear information to indicate what you have mentioned highlighted above. Marc Walker had said he was going to be doing less and that never really seemed to occur.....so I am curious as to your statement. It is very difficult to get information on AM's --- it mostly comes from cruisers and the few CD's and AM's that I know. Some of my inside contacts don't like to share the information because things change at the last minute or for other personal reasons (which I respect).

 

Many left the role last year, so I predict a few more this year.

I already know that Graham Seymour is done end of July, and Rob McNally left in April for a while. It feels as if there is a shortage of CD's at the moment, and with Symphony coming out next year with no ship being sold, some AM's will need to step up to CD. There are a few others who seem to be on shorter contracts (e.g. Mike Hunnerup), along with one leaving the ship mid contract (Keith Williams) due to health issues, so unknown when he will be returning either.

[Stay1978]

Moe left Majesty today and flew from Nassau back to Orlando to join Oasis Sunday for a month.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Joe12]

Moe left Majesty today and flew from Nassau back to Orlando to join Oasis Sunday for a month.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Majesty to Oasis? That's quite a jump.

[Krydstosser]

Ovation of the seas is Joff Eaton, he is awesome...Lol..