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New UPDATED Cruise Director (CD) List - starting from April 2018 onwards

Joe12

By Joe12,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Joe12

Joe12

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Just had Hugo Arenas on the Empress and after 65 cruises , he was truly the best!!

 

Great to hear that. I heard that he was a lot of fun as an AM, but given his style, I wasn't sure how that would transfer to the CD role.

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Joe12

Joe12

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Anyone ever had a CD make or break a past cruise?

 

As opinionated as I am, I've got to say that they have never made or broken a cruise that I have been on, but certain activities are made or broken depending on who hosts them. On a cruise with cold weather or many sea days, I think that is when a CD and the team needs to step up to the plate.

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Saab4444

Saab4444

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I don't actually know. You could bank on the sailings from Southampton being about 95% Brits, and probably a fair percentage of Brits make up the guest count on Med cruises.

 

Some do take Caribbean cruises, but my guess is that they are more likely to sail from Port Canaveral, South Florida or possibly New Jersey. When we sailed out of Baltimore on EN, the ship was really catered to the American crowd and was a stark contrast as we had only sailed on UK based ships prior to that.

 

A lot of British CD's work well in the American market, but on the flip side, we rarely get an US CD doing cruises from the UK. Some American CD's seem to cater for everyone (e.g. Abe), but I got the impression from John Blair that he was only interested in the US crowd. A bit too "all American" for me.

 

 

 

It is always an international mix, never 95% Brits from Southampton, maximum about 50% from Southampton and in the Med is my experience.

 

 

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Joe12

Joe12

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It is always an international mix, never 95% Brits from Southampton, maximum about 50% from Southampton and in the Med is my experience.

 

 

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Definitely more than 50% in Southampton. Those cruises are primarily catered to the British market, and it is rare to see people from elsewhere. Less so in Med (I would go with about 25-30% for those ones).

 

There is a reason why they only put British CD's out of Southampton. Drew Devine and Mike Hunnerup are the only ones that I can think of who have worked in that market and aren't British.

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Clarea

Clarea

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Anyone ever had a CD make or break a past cruise? ...

Never had one break a cruise, but we've had a few that have enhanced the cruise for us. Graham Seymour and Joff stand out.

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Joe12

Joe12

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We will have a great cruise regardless of who the CD is. Actually on the big ships there’s so much to see and do I rarely notice who the CD is.

 

I could sure do with an Allure cruise this week. AL was my favorite cruise. I also wonder who the AM on Allure is.

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xtremegk

xtremegk

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Some do take Caribbean cruises, but my guess is that they are more likely to sail from Port Canaveral, South Florida or possibly New Jersey. When we sailed out of Baltimore on EN, the ship was really catered to the American crowd and was a stark contrast as we had only sailed on UK based ships prior to that.

 

My experience is that Bayonne draws vast majority Northeast US cruisers --- not just US cruisers, but Northeast US (especially during school breaks/summer).

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Joe12

Joe12

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My experience is that Bayonne draws vast majority Northeast US cruisers --- not just US cruisers, but Northeast US (especially during school breaks/summer).

 

I would agree with you on that one, but Brits are more likely to sail from NJ than Baltimore because it is near New York and also because there are more direct flights from the UK to JFK or EWR.

 

On Explorer in 2012, we met people from the same town as us!

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royzer76

royzer76

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Anyone ever had a CD make or break a past cruise?

 

Wouldn't say he broke my cruise but Jamie Fentiman is probably the worst CD I have encountered. He just seemed really unorganised and uninterested and all the events onboard were a total shambles. Can't say I'd be overjoyed to have him as CD again any time soon ... but everyone deserves a second chance right?

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Joe12

Joe12

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Wouldn't say he broke my cruise but Jamie Fentiman is probably the worst CD I have encountered. He just seemed really unorganised and uninterested and all the events onboard were a total shambles. Can't say I'd be overjoyed to have him as CD again any time soon ... but everyone deserves a second chance right?

 

That's the first time that I have heard a negative review of Jamie as CD.

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royzer76

royzer76

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That's the first time that I have heard a negative review of Jamie as CD.

 

Yeah, I think I spotted some love for him earlier. Maybe he has having an off-cruise. Like I said everyone deserves a second chance and him being CD wouldn't stop me booking a cruise but I'd be concerned.

 

I'd love to experience a cruise with Elvis or Hugo as CD. I've experienced them both as AM and both kinda out-shone their CDs.

 

I actually didn't mind Bobby Brown either, although I've only sailed with him as CD once ... his AM was Hugo ... see above comment ^^^.

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royzer76

royzer76

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Yeah, I think I spotted some love for him earlier. Maybe he has having an off-cruise. Like I said everyone deserves a second chance and him being CD wouldn't stop me booking a cruise but I'd be concerned.

 

I'd love to experience a cruise with Elvis or Hugo as CD. I've experienced them both as AM and both kinda out-shone their CDs.

 

I actually didn't mind Bobby Brown either, although I've only sailed with him as CD once ... his AM was Hugo ... see above comment ^^^.

 

Assuming I'm thinking of the correct Hugo???

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Joe12

Joe12

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Assuming I'm thinking of the correct Hugo???

 

Yes - that is the same Hugo. He was AM for a few years on the big ships and then got promoted to CD on Empress last November.

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BCCarty85

BCCarty85

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I'd love to experience a cruise with Elvis or Hugo as CD. I've experienced them both as AM and both kinda out-shone their CDs.

 

 

 

Elvis and the AM currently working with him (Eric Lopez) on Rhapsody are a good balanced team with a great rapport. They seemed to make each other stronger in their respective roles — which really enhanced the activities and entertainment experience.

 

 

 

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BEENSAILING

BEENSAILING

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Joe -thank you for taking the time to keep track of CDs. I would suggest you create and add in a google spreadsheet link on your postings (which can only be edited with name and date changes by you or whoever you designate.) A spreadsheet would be easier for readers to see who is the CD rather than having to go back through many postings...

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Joe12

Joe12

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Joe -thank you for taking the time to keep track of CDs. I would suggest you create and add in a google spreadsheet link on your postings (which can only be edited with name and date changes by you or whoever you designate.) A spreadsheet would be easier for readers to see who is the CD rather than having to go back through many postings...

 

Hello - thanks for your suggestion!

I'm a bit of a rookie with Google Spreadsheets, so will need a little bit of time to get to grips with that.

 

I'm thinking of doing it John Heald style and having a spreadsheet which includes a picture of the CD. Would I be violating copyright if I did that?

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BEENSAILING

BEENSAILING

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Hello - thanks for your suggestion!

I'm a bit of a rookie with Google Spreadsheets, so will need a little bit of time to get to grips with that.

 

I'm thinking of doing it John Heald style and having a spreadsheet which includes a picture of the CD. Would I be violating copyright if I did that?

 

I had to look up who John Heald is. I only cruise Royal. Don’t know how you would put in a photo to a google spreadsheet. But whatever you can do to make finding out CDs on Royal ships an easy read, that would be great.

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Joe12

Joe12

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Here's a like from me on the idea of Grant's promotion.

 

Never mind - Grant has left the company. That makes me sad. He would have been a great CD and would have finally given us Scots some representation.

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