Are Cruise Directors necessary ?

[sanger727]

38 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

An intelligent person should have the ability to figure things out for herself or himself.

 

Like what time dinner is or what time to be ready for the shore excursion tomorrow? This specifically is on a very small cruise ship where there are no dailies; just a daily briefing from the cruise director. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by sanger727

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

 

Like what time dinner is or what time to be ready for the shore excursion tomorrow? This specifically is on a very small cruise ship where there are no dailies; just a daily briefing from the cruise director. 

Are you saying that a person who books a shore excursion does not ask what time they have to be outside when the excursion is booked ?That in my opinion should not be the job of a CD.

[sanger727]

7 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

Are you saying that a person who books a shore excursion does not ask what time they have to be outside when the excursion is booked ?That in my opinion should not be the job of a CD.

 

No, on big cruise ships a CD is needed to manage the entertainment staff and a lot of guest facing activities. They are part of management, the show-y part that people see is just one aspect of their job.

 

On very small cruises - like river cruises, they are still needed. They just become the main guest facing person. On very small cruises, there is one shore excursion offered at a time that you can either take or not take. And there is one option offered for meals that you can take or not take. So the CD is the person who advises guests on what their agenda is for the day, what time meals are, what time excursion are, etc. 

[lenquixote66]

3 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

No, on big cruise ships a CD is needed to manage the entertainment staff and a lot of guest facing activities. They are part of management, the show-y part that people see is just one aspect of their job.

 

On very small cruises - like river cruises, they are still needed. They just become the main guest facing person. On very small cruises, there is one shore excursion offered at a time that you can either take or not take. And there is one option offered for meals that you can take or not take. So the CD is the person who advises guests on what their agenda is for the day, what time meals are, what time excursion are, etc. 

I cannot debate that because I have never been on a River cruise nor a small ship.Therefore,I defer to your opinion.

[mrgabriel]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

An intelligent person should have the ability to figure things out for herself or himself.

 

For many of us who have been on more than one cruise, the CD might not offer much. I don't go to a lot of shows, nor do we attend many activities. So the CD makes no difference to me.

 

However, for people who haven't been on cruises, or maybe they like to really get involved, the CD can be invaluable.

 

There are plenty of services that I don't use on a cruise ship (salon, sushi restaurant, movie theatre) but they add value to others and get them to pay for passage or spend more money on the cruise so they continue to exist. 

[lenquixote66]

4 minutes ago, mrgabriel said:

 

For many of us who have been on more than one cruise, the CD might not offer much. I don't go to a lot of shows, nor do we attend many activities. So the CD makes no difference to me.

 

However, for people who haven't been on cruises, or maybe they like to really get involved, the CD can be invaluable.

 

There are plenty of services that I don't use on a cruise ship (salon, sushi restaurant, movie theatre) but they add value to others and get them to pay for passage or spend more money on the cruise so they continue to exist. 

In my opinion there is a lot of redundancy on cruise ships. A CD as well as an Events Manager. I have been on cruises where the only time the CD was visible was when she or he introduced nightclub acts.

b 

[sanger727]

14 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

In my opinion there is a lot of redundancy on cruise ships. A CD as well as an Events Manager. I have been on cruises where the only time the CD was visible was when she or he introduced nightclub acts.

b 

 

But your opinion is based on a lot of assumptions, which are not necessarily true. Alot of the CD's job is behind the scenes. 

[lenquixote66]

7 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

But your opinion is based on a lot of assumptions, which are not necessarily true. Alot of the CD's job is behind the scenes. 

The visible portions are redundant in my opinion because the Activities Manager often is no different from the CD.It is the same for any industry .People in power tend to delegate jobs that they do not wish to do.

[BruceMuzz]

51 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

But your opinion is based on a lot of assumptions, which are not necessarily true. Alot of the CD's job is behind the scenes. 

Len has been on only a few cruises ands on only a few ships - and that was a long time ago. A bit out of touch.

He is living in the past and not necessarily in tune with what is happening in the present in the cruise industry.

[Kristelle]

I have only been on 2 river cruises, a small 4 day one in my own country  and a 2 week Europe one.

 

^ feel free to make a condescending comment about how little I know too.

 

On those cruises the cruise director was very visible and co ordinated excursions transport on board activities etc  - people had choice of several excursions each day - and helped with any queries and gave a breifing each night before dinner keeping everyone up to date with happenings.

A lot of this information was also available on the TV channel in our room - but of course it didnt get there by magic, I assume the CD organised those updates too.

[Charles4515]

52 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

The visible portions are redundant in my opinion because the Activities Manager often is no different from the CD.It is the same for any industry .People in power tend to delegate jobs that they do not wish to do.

That is silly. A manager or supervisor is supposed to delegate. Someone needs to be in charge and delegate. What did you do for living? 

[pc_load_letter]

I'd rather have no cruise director and in place more (helpful) guest services agents.

[mrgabriel]

3 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

The visible portions are redundant in my opinion because the Activities Manager often is no different from the CD.It is the same for any industry .People in power tend to delegate jobs that they do not wish to do.

Well, some managers simply delegate because they’re lazy but that doesn’t seem to be the case on cruises we have been on. Granted, we have always sailed on bigger ships were there is is plenty to be done to keep passengers happy. It could be that there is a duplication of effort on river cruises or smaller ships.

 

Given the state of cruise ship companies, they will likely cut staff quickly if they think they don’t need a particular position. 

[ldubs]

7 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

In my opinion there is a lot of redundancy on cruise ships. A CD as well as an Events Manager. I have been on cruises where the only time the CD was visible was when she or he introduced nightclub acts.

b 

 

I actually think maybe I would prefer a CD that was not visible.  Let the CD direct/manage the entertainment.  Let the entertainers entertain.  

[sparks1093]

13 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

The visible portions are redundant in my opinion because the Activities Manager often is no different from the CD.It is the same for any industry .People in power tend to delegate jobs that they do not wish to do.

There needs to be a bit of redundancy in shipboard jobs, at least by cross training people to perform a different function, because if someone gets sick the ship can't just contact a temp agency to fill their role. The cruise lines invest a lot of time and money in recruiting and training these folks. They wouldn't do that if the positions weren't contributing to the bottom line, especially in these post-COVID lean days. 

[lenquixote66]

On 11/13/2023 at 4:51 PM, Charles4515 said:

That is silly. A manager or supervisor is supposed to delegate. Someone needs to be in charge and delegate. What did you do for living? 

I had 4 careers.In my opinion a career is a job one has had for 5 or more years.My last job was the VP of an Advertising Promotions Company.

While I did delegate I found myself performing the jobs of those who reported to me at times.

[lenquixote66]

On 11/13/2023 at 7:08 PM, mrgabriel said:

Well, some managers simply delegate because they’re lazy but that doesn’t seem to be the case on cruises we have been on. Granted, we have always sailed on bigger ships were there is is plenty to be done to keep passengers happy. It could be that there is a duplication of effort on river cruises or smaller ships.

 

Given the state of cruise ship companies, they will likely cut staff quickly if they think they don’t need a particular position. 

Most likely

[lenquixote66]

20 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I actually think maybe I would prefer a CD that was not visible.  Let the CD direct/manage the entertainment.  Let the entertainers entertain.  

I always agree with you 😀

[ontheweb]

On 11/13/2023 at 11:03 PM, ldubs said:

 

I actually think maybe I would prefer a CD that was not visible.  Let the CD direct/manage the entertainment.  Let the entertainers entertain.  

Maybe not invisible, but too many of them are just too upfront and loud.

 

Our best one, IMHO, was John Lawrence on Princess on a Baltic cruise. He did let the entertainers entertain, and even got a local troupe of entertainers in St. Petersburg. And he gave very informative port talks, not only covering the Princess excursions, but also what you could do on your own.

[cruisemom42]

On my most recent cruise (Azamara), the CD told us that it is a company requirement that any CD also be able to BE an entertainer on board. On BTB 18-day cruise, he gave two performances on each leg for a total of 4 while I was onboard. While he was talented, I think one per leg would've been preferable.

[Charles4515]

5 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

On my most recent cruise (Azamara), the CD told us that it is a company requirement that any CD also be able to BE an entertainer on board. On BTB 18-day cruise, he gave two performances on each leg for a total of 4 while I was onboard. While he was talented, I think one per leg would've been preferable.

On small ships it makes sense. Azamara ships are 900 passengers have smaller crews so crew members often have multiple duties. 

[ldubs]

9 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

On my most recent cruise (Azamara), the CD told us that it is a company requirement that any CD also be able to BE an entertainer on board. On BTB 18-day cruise, he gave two performances on each leg for a total of 4 while I was onboard. While he was talented, I think one per leg would've been preferable.

 

What kind of entertainment did he provide - song, dance, stand-up? 

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

What kind of entertainment did he provide - song, dance, stand-up? 

 

His career was in Broadway-type productions; his shows were primarily vocal. 

 

Although there WAS that memorable number (during a different production show) on rollerskates....

 

 

[Heidi13]

21 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

On my most recent cruise (Azamara), the CD told us that it is a company requirement that any CD also be able to BE an entertainer on board. On BTB 18-day cruise, he gave two performances on each leg for a total of 4 while I was onboard. While he was talented, I think one per leg would've been preferable.

 

Viking has similar requirements, with our CD being a singer, pianist, drummer and also previously having owned his own production company. Same requirements for the ACD,who was a classically trained vocalist.

 

In addition to the regular Corporate shows, the CD produced numerous additional shows featuring his entire staff. This was a COVID curtailed World Cruise where we had over 30 continuous sea days, but the CD and his staff developed and performed some of the best shows. Overall, they produced and presented over a dozen different shows onboard.

[sanger727]

On 11/14/2023 at 7:41 PM, lenquixote66 said:

I had 4 careers.In my opinion a career is a job one has had for 5 or more years.My last job was the VP of an Advertising Promotions Company.

While I did delegate I found myself performing the jobs of those who reported to me at times.

I’m guessing that while you were working you didn’t care for people who had no idea what your job was telling you how you should do it.