Can a Cruise Director actually make a cruise better ?

[navybankerteacher]

17 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

The best CD I ever encountered was on Grandeur of the Seas from Baltimore to the Caribbean.Perhaps the cruise that you and I were both on ?

Unlikely - unless we have vastly different understandings of terms such as “best” and “ineffective”. Mine, I recall, was in January of 2018.

[Mary229]

I have  met a few CDs who were true ambassadors for their brand.  They not only do the typical duties but are out and about among passengers  in a  casual way shaking hands and administering customer service.   Those are rare these days where most are simply presenters. 

[ldubs]

On 7/15/2023 at 11:13 AM, mom says said:

I would venture that having a Cruise Director would be better than not having one, since they are responsible for all the entertainment and activities. But they need to know their audience, and cater to both their expectations and those of the cruise line. A good one can certainly enhance the guest experience. A bad one is just an annoyance.

 

I wish some would focus more on managing and less on being entertainers, especially when it means interrupting true entertainers for an attention fix.    

 

Anyway, as to improving the cruise, I would also vote yes.  

[evandbob]

IMO, a CD who is silent throughout the cruise would be an enormous benefit.

[ceeceeDee]

We tend to prefer sailing on smaller ships (2600 odd pax - and some of them are decidedly odd!😆) so we do interact/see the CD quite a bit and enjoy the experience.

When we sailed Symphony of the Seas I don't remember seeing the CD at all. Not that that was a problem, just interesting in that I haven't even thought about it until now.

Edited July 17, 2023 by ceeceeDee

[lenquixote66]

3 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Unlikely - unless we have vastly different understandings of terms such as “best” and “ineffective”. Mine, I recall, was in January of 2018.

Mine was December 2015

[navybankerteacher]

25 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

Mine was December 2015

I recall the sun was setting as we left the pier - there was a coating of ice -about two or three inches thick which we plowed through as we passed Fort McHenry. I woke up in the middle of the night as we passed between the Virginia Capes into the Atlantic. By three the first afternoon it was sunny and 72 F on deck.

 

Aside from the dreadful cruise director I was stunned by the ship’s “library”— about three or four shelves, a couple of feet long, holding some tattered paperbacks and an elementary school atlas.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

I recall the sun was setting as we left the pier - there was a coating of ice -about two or three inches thick which we plowed through as we passed Fort McHenry. I woke up in the middle of the night as we passed between the Virginia Capes into the Atlantic. By three the first afternoon it was sunny and 72 F on deck.

 

Aside from the dreadful cruise director I was stunned by the ship’s “library”— about three or four shelves, a couple of feet long, holding some tattered paperbacks and an elementary school atlas.

The CD on my cruise was PR(initials).I agree with you about the ships library.It was the same on the 4 times I was on the ship.

 

[Mick B]

Hi,

Yes, I believe a good cruise director can improve a cruise. I don't think they make it worse. BTW I can really only talk about the RCI ones. I only did one P&O cruise back in 2012 and the CD on that ship was a arrogant **** ****!

 

During the restart some were missing for days on end with Covid and/or were not allowed to interact/mingle with the passengers which was fair enough and not their fault.

Things are getting back to normal now, so time will tell if newer cruise directors can now be as good as some of the old ones that sadly have left the business or moved to other cruise lines.

 

Anyway, for sheer entertainment/enjoyment/energy and being a truly wonderful cruise director and lovrely person to talk to, the cruise director I would recommend that everyone else should try to follow is Clo O'Connor.

 

I also used to like Bill BrunkHorst when he did his James Bond quiz in the Casino where you had to answer who sang what film theme song and won prizes such as a bottle of Champers or Jewelry from the shop. Again, Bill was always seen around the ship and always easy to talk to.

 

Dennis Charles was a good CD and also took part in things like watersports in the outdoor pool. Again seen around the ship.

 

Others that were good include Joff Eaton, Gordon Whatman and Rob McNally and going back some years earlier, Grahame Seymour - someone scream!.

 

I don't remember (or care) for the bad ones, these are the ones that are never seen at all during the day (except on TV) and then turn up on stage and pretend like they are your best friend.

 

A good way to test out how is a good CD and has a sense of humour is to watch them host the Love and Marriage contest and also the Quest or Crazy Quest. If they can handle them correctly then they are on the road towards the top of my list.

Also the 70s disco night, a good CD should be involved with his staff with things like the village people dress up and be seen to be enjoying himself/herself.

 

BTW, I have never booked a cruise just for the CD. Not even sure if you can accurately find out who the CD will be if you book too far in advance and then things can get changed beforehand anyway.

 

I always try to enjoy myself on my cruise and try not to be upset by what others do including the staff. I have also seen over the years some of the new starters hosting things like the quiz in the schooner bar and thinking to myself that they will make CD one day and years later I have found that they have. Good on them for sticking it out and good on the cruise line for promoting them.

 

Mick.

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2023 by Mick B

[sydney dog]

I don't think a CD made any difference at all.  At most my husband and I do Trivia and maybe the marriage show.  Other than that we just hang at the bar and relax from our hectic lives.   Now a good bartender is a different story.  Have had a few of them.  Also, the room steward makes a huge difference too. Who knows maybe I'm missing out on something.

[Zach1213]

I couldn't name a single one of our cruise directors. We do very, very few activities on the ship...maybe a trivia game once or something like that. But no sail away parties, no pool parties (unless they happen to occur while we're already at the pool), no shows or events. We like to relax and visit the ports, so anything onboard aside from food, drink, pool, and gym kind of go un-used or unnoticed by us. So, the kind of things a CD is responsible for are things we just don't take advantage of. To each their own with provolone, of course. 

[ldubs]

On 7/15/2023 at 12:31 PM, CunucuMom said:

What an interesting thread. I would have considered fellow pax demographics and/or groups a larger factor over the CD in terms of a "better" cruise experience. 

 

Not pax demographics, but pax behavior.   It is better to be around friendly positive attitudes than sour pusses.   Though, the latter can provide a different kind of entertainment. 😀

[ceeceeDee]

Know what you mean about sour pusses.😆 On our recent cruise there was a very outgoing middle aged lady who would talk the leg off a dead donkey (donkey probably expired simply to get away from her. Nah, she was nice). Her husband on the other hand had an expression like 5 miles of bad road, responded in grunts, if at all, and just was a complete downer (talk about opposites attract!). Sad to say, we tended to avoid them simply because we couldn't handle husband's negativity.

[Mick B]

Slightly off topic, but...

An interesting group of passengers were on one of my old cruises some years back. This was in Feb 2014 on the Enchantment out of Port Canaveral. Yes, it was a ship full of spring breakers. I would take a swim in the outdoor pool only to have a hundred or so young ladies dressed like baywatch wannabies.

 

Anyway, I went to one the C&A meetings where the captain, crew and CD and other staff were present, and the CD asked if all was OK with the cruise?

Up stood what appeared to be an old ex army general wearing all his ribbons and medals who complained in front of the packed room that the cruise was one of the worst he has been on due to the amount of ladies parading around half naked.

Then another old man stood up who said that because of all the semi naked girls, this had been the best cruise he and and his wife had had.

At that moment, the whole room burst into laughter and the old general got up and left.

 

I can't remember who the CD was but he did help provide some very good entertainment that day.

 

Mick.

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Mick B

[BruceMuzz]

You can look at this question from the ship’s perspective.

On EVERY cruise ship - regardless of size, fares, or style - Guest ratings for the cruise are critical to the staff.

There are some Cruise Directors who can push the ratings extremely high - and others who cannot.

These ratings are coming directly from the Guests.

Unless those Guests are lying to us, some Cruise Directors make a huge difference in the Guest experience.

[310Loves2Cruise]

On 7/15/2023 at 7:14 PM, horseymike said:

I do believe that a competent , dedicated cruise director makes a big difference in the overall success of a cruise with regard to mainly the entertainment aspects.

Indeed! When you are able to take part in the activities provided (or not) with pleasure, you are sailing with a cruise director who genuinely desires to make a difference in how passengers experience their cruise. On my last X cruise, the CD provided a summary of what is happening on the in room TV channel which was above and beyond. 

[evandbob]

On 7/18/2023 at 9:12 PM, ceeceeDee said:

Know what you mean about sour pusses.😆 On our recent cruise there was a very outgoing middle aged lady who would talk the leg off a dead donkey (donkey probably expired simply to get away from her. Nah, she was nice). Her husband on the other hand had an expression like 5 miles of bad road, responded in grunts, if at all, and just was a complete downer (talk about opposites attract!). Sad to say, we tended to avoid them simply because we couldn't handle husband's negativity.

Was the husband's "grumpiness" a reaction to his wife's constant shilling?

[sleepingcat]

On our first cruise, Christmas in the Caribbean in 2012, not just some passengers but also members of the team were on board because they knew the CD and wanted to be there.  the craft lady said to me ' when I knew it was Anthony, I said I would do this cruise'. Anthony was really good at his job, well willing to muck in with the team, always there for a chat, and hardly ever tried to be funny. Except when he appeared brilliantly as the pantomime dame in the crew pantomime. 

 

On our second cruise, RWC on Arcadia, several passengers were on board because of the CD, and some of his family were on as passengers. I am sorry I cannot remember his name because he was also great.  Since then... well, no one really memorable, and too much of people who are not funny putting on events which I m not attracted to. so yes, a good cruise director makes a huge difference, especially on a longer cruise. 

 

 

[sparks1093]

On 7/20/2023 at 4:13 PM, BruceMuzz said:

You can look at this question from the ship’s perspective.

On EVERY cruise ship - regardless of size, fares, or style - Guest ratings for the cruise are critical to the staff.

There are some Cruise Directors who can push the ratings extremely high - and others who cannot.

These ratings are coming directly from the Guests.

Unless those Guests are lying to us, some Cruise Directors make a huge difference in the Guest experience.

This says it all. I've had several CD's who did make the cruise more enjoyable through their humor and energy. 

[simplelife]

The entertainment and on-board activities have been better on some sailings than others and I attribute that to the CD and his/her staff and how much they actually interact with passengers (and not just stay on the mic all the time idly talking.