basor Posted July 24 #1 Share Posted July 24 A sad day for many of us as it now announced that Ray Carr has said good by to Oceania and will now be on Explora Journeys - they got one of the best in the industry!!! In addition, Explora Journeys has welcomed new members to their leadership team with the additions of Ray Carr, Michael Langley and Keri Noble as entertainment managers. Travelers can expect one of these managers to lead the guest experience program on each journey this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted July 24 #2 Share Posted July 24 1 hour ago, basor said: A sad day for many of us as it now announced that Ray Carr has said good by to Oceania and will now be on Explora Journeys - they got one of the best in the industry!!! In addition, Explora Journeys has welcomed new members to their leadership team with the additions of Ray Carr, Michael Langley and Keri Noble as entertainment managers. Travelers can expect one of these managers to lead the guest experience program on each journey this summer. Oh no!! He was just the best CD!!! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pinotlover Posted July 24 #3 Share Posted July 24 15 minutes ago, LuAnn said: Oh no!! He was just the best CD!!! Absolutely the best Oceania CD by far! 🥲 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted July 24 #4 Share Posted July 24 Does not look like casual dress for this ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted July 24 #5 Share Posted July 24 Leslie Jon has also retired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WESTEAST Posted July 24 #6 Share Posted July 24 Gee first Leslie Jon retires and now Ray Carr moves to another cruise line (which many ex-Oceania have gone). Two outstanding CDs to replace in less than one year and not sure it will be easy to fill either one of these men's shoes! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WESTEAST Posted July 24 #7 Share Posted July 24 1 minute ago, ORV said: Leslie Jon has also retired. You beat us by a minute to post about Leslie Jon😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlyerTalker Posted July 25 #8 Share Posted July 25 It will be interesting to see how he transitions into the "Experience Manager" role at Explora, which is quite different than the traditional CD role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redraider1966 Posted July 25 #9 Share Posted July 25 16 hours ago, pinotlover said: Absolutely the best Oceania CD by far! 🥲 Plus 1. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted July 25 #10 Share Posted July 25 18 hours ago, pinotlover said: Absolutely the best Oceania CD by far! 🥲 Julie James will have big shoes to fill as she rises to take over the “best O CD” slot. But she can do it. Nonetheless, Ray was the dean of O CDs and still the only CD in the world ever to receive honorary membership in the prestigious Friends of Johnny Tokyo. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare lorimay Posted July 25 #11 Share Posted July 25 We are currently on the Vista with Julie James. She’s way down on my list of good cruise directors. And it’s not just me - we have talked to several other people on the ship who feel the same way. She clearly sees trivia in the afternoons as a chore and rushes through to get to her cocktail parties. Her announcements are awful. We loved Leslie Jon on our first Oceania cruise. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted July 25 #12 Share Posted July 25 10 minutes ago, lorimay said: We are currently on the Vista with Julie James. She’s way down on my list of good cruise directors. And it’s not just me - we have talked to several other people on the ship who feel the same way. She clearly sees trivia in the afternoons as a chore and rushes through to get to her cocktail parties. Her announcements are awful. We loved Leslie Jon on our first Oceania cruise. If you don’t like Julie, you’d probably be in that group that didn’t care for Ray. Both of them have a huge following (as do Leslie and Dotty). What they all do share, however, is that they’re each uniques as opposed to the newer crew of “cookie cutter” place holders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basor Posted July 25 Author #13 Share Posted July 25 @Flatbush Flyer we agree to disagree...one of the things Ray was famous for were his Trivia sessions - they were legendary and always packed! We have sailed with both Julie and Ray and thought they were very, very different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted July 25 #14 Share Posted July 25 We enjoyed Carson who was trained by Leslie John. It will be interesting to see how Oceania obtains their new CD's. There have been several young performers who would do an excellent job as they have been trained by the best. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted July 25 #15 Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, basor said: @Flatbush Flyer we agree to disagree...one of the things Ray was famous for were his Trivia sessions - they were legendary and always packed! We have sailed with both Julie and Ray and thought they were very, very different. I agree that Ray is the king of trivia. But, that’s just one aspect of who they are. Get them together and you might be surprised at the chemistry. Each is a bit irreverent but IMO- in a very delightful way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pinotlover Posted July 25 #16 Share Posted July 25 We’ll, we’ll never have to worry about Peter the Shoe being named into that lofty Club! 😂 Hopefully, whoever comes next into the family of CDs isn’t dragging a spouse. The more senior members of the Entertainment Team bring a lot more energy into the Ass’t CD job, plus they aren’t telling the same jokes, doing the same routine, from 5-7 years ago over and over, as one currently does. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted July 25 #17 Share Posted July 25 3 hours ago, basor said: @Flatbush Flyer we agree to disagree...one of the things Ray was famous for were his Trivia sessions - they were legendary and always packed! We have sailed with both Julie and Ray and thought they were very, very different. I so agree...he was just terrific as the Trivia host!! So quick with the perfect "quip"!! 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SATaxman Posted July 25 #18 Share Posted July 25 Our first O cruise on Marina was last October. I had to search for a Currents to find the name of the Cruise Director. Peter Roberts. The Captain was Leo Strazicic. We never played Trivia, were not invited to any private events with the crew. Attended the Captain's Dinner for a while. What am I missing? Why would these people have such an impact on your cruise experience? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted July 25 #19 Share Posted July 25 41 minutes ago, SATaxman said: Our first O cruise on Marina was last October. I had to search for a Currents to find the name of the Cruise Director. Peter Roberts. The Captain was Leo Strazicic. We never played Trivia, were not invited to any private events with the crew. Attended the Captain's Dinner for a while. What am I missing? Why would these people have such an impact on your cruise experience? Many more O cruises is what you are “missing.” We’ve averaged about 75 to 100 nights across multiple segments annually on O ships for enough years to have cruised with certain officers (and crew) over and over (and over) again. That’s translated to numerous invited dinners and a mix of both leisurely and professional conversations (often on sea days), where we’ve learned much about mutual interests and experiences. There’s about a handful of these O “officers/crew” with whom I correspond. Because we don’t see them regularly, I’d call them distant friends. But, they’re friends nonetheless. And we often check with each other to see what mutual future cruises will give us a chance to get together and share sea stories. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr1v1alCru1ser Posted July 25 #20 Share Posted July 25 Maybe the lone voice of dissent here, but we didn’t like Ray Carr at all. Didn’t find it funny when on more than one occasion, he condescendingly responded to someone who asked a question whilst at trivia by saying “If this is too complicated for you dear, maybe try bingo”. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pinotlover Posted July 26 #21 Share Posted July 26 4 minutes ago, Tr1v1alCru1ser said: Maybe the lone voice of dissent here, but we didn’t like Ray Carr at all. Didn’t find it funny when on more than one occasion, he condescendingly responded to someone who asked a question whilst at trivia by saying “If this is too complicated for you dear, maybe try bingo”. Is Trivia complicated? Here’s the question- either you know the answer or not. 🙄 Was the person seeking a Bill Clinton definition of “is? I loved it when he banned one group from all Trivia for the duration of the cruise for blatantly cheating. Kicked the entire group out mid session. Some of my favorite sayings from him: “ It’s only a hat folks!”; “ It’s not Team Google, it’s Trivia!” Much like him, I never understood the purpose of cheating ( or attempting to) to win trivia on a cruise ship. I rarely play any more on cruises. When the CD allows cell phones to light up after every question, I lose interest in the supposed competition. Carr was the Best! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SATaxman Posted July 26 #22 Share Posted July 26 1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said: Many more O cruises is what you are “missing.” We’ve averaged about 75 to 100 nights across multiple segments annually on O ships for enough years to have cruised with certain officers (and crew) over and over (and over) again. That’s translated to numerous invited dinners and a mix of both leisurely and professional conversations (often on sea days), where we’ve learned much about mutual interests and experiences. There’s about a handful of these O “officers/crew” with whom I correspond. Because we don’t see them regularly, I’d call them distant friends. But, they’re friends nonetheless. And we often check with each other to see what mutual future cruises will give us a chance to get together and share sea stories. We have 2 more Marina cruises booked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilWM Posted July 26 #23 Share Posted July 26 We were lucky enough to be on Leslie John’s last cruise in May and hear him say ‘The casino is open’ for the last time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redraider1966 Posted July 26 #24 Share Posted July 26 13 hours ago, pinotlover said: Is Trivia complicated? Here’s the question- either you know the answer or not. 🙄 Was the person seeking a Bill Clinton definition of “is? I loved it when he banned one group from all Trivia for the duration of the cruise for blatantly cheating. Kicked the entire group out mid session. Some of my favorite sayings from him: “ It’s only a hat folks!”; “ It’s not Team Google, it’s Trivia!” Much like him, I never understood the purpose of cheating ( or attempting to) to win trivia on a cruise ship. I rarely play any more on cruises. When the CD allows cell phones to light up after every question, I lose interest in the supposed competition. Carr was the Best! Plus 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted July 26 #25 Share Posted July 26 13 hours ago, SATaxman said: We have 2 more Marina cruises booked. Put a zero after that 2 and you’ll be in the ball park.😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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