Cruise Directors?

[Jeepers385]

Chris, I can't use any of the options you picked. I like seeing them occasionally and introducing shows but don't want them to be annoying and involved in everything. The best I've seen so far is Tim Donovan when we were on the Grand last year. His morning show was hysterical.

 

Debbie

[kathe]

The best is John Lawrence.He did our transaltantic on the Grand.I do not want glitze ,I want knowledge and that I received.Kathe

[JohnLauben]

I have a bit of trouble with this poll, and many of the above comments. A CRUISE DIRECTOR'S JOB IS, MOSTLY, BEHIND THE SCENES. His/her prowess at entertaining passengers, calling bingo and/or horse races, etc., does not make a CD good or bad. The CD (at least, on PRINCESS), is a 4-stripe ship's officer, and the main job of the CD is to supervise the entertainment staff and schedule the activities. Nowadays, this is a full-time, mostly behind-the-scenes job. (Just try being perky on 3 hours sleep a night for 4-to-6 months straight, away from home.) Most passengers are not in a position to see what goes on in the day-to-day life of a CD. However, some of the others that report directly to the CD may give clues as to whether they enjoy working for a particular CD or not.

 

The one example that I remember the most vividly, was on a 14-day cruise aboard the old ISLAND PRINCESS. The first production show was presented on night 2 of the cruise (Yokohama to Hong Kong), after which the lead entertainer came down with (I believe) a severe case of the flu. That was the last production show of the cruise, until night 14, when the CD managed to put together a show containing bits and pieces from other (skipped) shows. Entertainment on the other nights was filled with various performances by the cabaret acts, and a PUB NIGHT (which wasn't on the original schedule). By the way, the CD, too, was under the weather! He went out of his way to keep trying to schedule shows and keep the passengers entertained, even though what happened was way beyond his control. That CD was Gus Sexton ... now retired, but VERY VERY British!

[CruiseFever]

Thanks for your responses

[kruisey]

We are talking about the CD's plus their personalities.....not their accents or nationality.

Don't hit below the belt !!!!!!!!!

This is a multicultural world we live in....lets respect one another and our differences------

Like little old Kruisey with her English accent.

[Jerlyn]

I will be on the CB in November and will just miss Graham, but I saw him on my last two Golden trips and he was great. I have not seen much posted about Tim, so I hope he will be good also. Has anyone sailed with him recently.

 

Thanks

Jerlyn ;)

[jhannah]

I find most CDs to be either too over-the-top or lackluster. Richard, who was on board the Coral Princess in February, was the best I've ever experienced. Funny, personable, and most engaging. If memory serves me correctly, Tim was his assistant at the time. Their morning TV show was really entertaining. They played well off each other.

[isujim]

I am surprised by the vote total so far.........almost 40% don't seem to care if there is a cruise director or not..........it may be that if you are an experienced cruiser.........you know what and when you want to do something..........still I'm a little surprised so far by the vote........but it is early in the voting:p

[Aquarian]

Has anyone been on two different cruises with the same cruise director and have two totally different perceptions of him? That happened to us. I believe we had Paul O'Loughlin on our first Princess cruise on the Sun Princess in 1998. He also was cruise director on the new Caribbean Princess on our cruise in May. He was hilarious and very active on the 1998 cruise but more of an administrator and less visible and entertaining on this recent cruise. I'm guessing that he is now senior CD and much more business-like? Did anyone else every have this experience? We were a little let-down by the difference. On another note, we were a little taken back by Graham Seymour - he seemed a little two clownish at first, but by the end of the week, we were used to him and enjoyed his sense of fun. I don't think that a CD can "make" a cruise but it certainly "adds" to the experience.

[teedee]

I never really even noticed who the cruise director was until my last cruise, on Celebrity Century (Sorry I haven't cruised with Princess yet) and had the best CD. His name is Alan King and he was wonderful! Very funny, friendly and was always available. We saw him all over ths hsip and in port and he would always stop to talk or tell a joke. He was really great, and did make a difference in our cruise experience.

 

Terri

[Pam in CA]

The only CD I've ever really noticed was the CD on our Regal cruise to Hawaii last April/May. And that was because my sister asked him to please put a notice in the Patter every day that anyone doing needlecrafts would meet at a certain time every day. By the end of the cruise, we had almost 20 ladies who met every day. The CD's name is Chris and I know he's moved on from the Regal since then. I thought he was very good in that he kept everything running smoothly and you weren't as aware of him as an entertainer but more as a "Director," making sure everyone was having a good time and had enough to do. He was around and talking to passengers from early morning to late at night.

[MNYTRPS2GO2]

I have only cruised 5 times to date but have had both as cruise directors. I know their jobs are overwhelming and their duties involve a lot of behind the scenes work. That said I did appreciate what they did but felt that 2 out of the 3 other CD'S we had were just as entertaining and competant.

[argosy]

turns out I have to back up and say that I think it DOES make a difference.

 

On my first cruise, the CD and assistant CD (Janet Someone and Frankie Someone) were outstanding. SO personable and funny. They always remembered my name during the trip, and I am embarrassed that I can't recall their last names now. This was on the Golden Princess.

 

While I enjoyed that cruise to the max, since it was my first ever, I suppose I didn't realize what an impact they had on total cruise experience.

 

My next cruise was on the Celebrity Millennium, and we had brought several friends along. We assumed the CD and staff would be a close mirror image of what we saw on Princess. Wrong. They were all very aloof, and in fact, in one specific incident which I won't detail here; Very rude. We still had a nice cruise, but it didn't compare to the CDs on the first one. Our friends were kind of on the fence about cruising in the future as a result of the yawny-ness of the activities and overall atmosphere of Millennium.

 

I was ecstatic to be able to take the Coral Princess to Alaska in May. Brian Price was the CD, and I had already made up my mind that apparently I had been spoiled by Janet and Frankie on my first cruise. I had no high expectations this time out. However, Brian was a pleasant surprise. He was very personable and fun. The staff pretty much followed his lead. Once again, I have to say that this had a positive impact on the entire cruise experience.

 

I am not issuing a blanket statement saying that Celebrity has horrible cruise directors, but I AM saying that a good cruise director factors into the equation (in my experience) as to how enjoyable a cruise can be.

[JohnLauben]

That would be Janet Carrera-Edwards, from California (San Francisco area, I believe). One of the best ... a bit flighty, very hyper (which is a put-off to some folks), but a lot of fun. Someone who will go way out of her way to do something for you. As for Frankie Verocca (from Hershey, PA) ... probably the best of the Deputy Cruise Directors! Flighty ... he hasn't touched down in quite some time! But, they don't come any better. And, he is fluent in Japanese (just a bit of trivia)!

[jllpole]

I have had Alistair on two cruises and HE MADE THE CRUISE! He is so naturally funny and he participates in everything from Bingo to Church Services. The cooking demonstration should have been sold to a network! It was that funny. We couldn't wait to go to anything he was in. He just wasn't an announcer, like some. HE WAS THE CRUISE DIRECTOR! And he is very friendly. I hope he's on my next ship!

 

I haven't experienced Graham as yet, so I can't compare.

[Hornet]

Our CD on the Island Princess last fall was Alister Greener and we thought he was great. The man had so much energy and seemed to be everywhere from morning till night. I wonder if he's still on the Island.

[WendyG]

[COLOR=Purple]I know we had a lousy CD on the Sun Princess last November and that cruise was the most boring. There was almost nothing to do, no games to play, nothing by the pool, island night was non existent...just BORING!

That's why I think a cruise director is important, I've been on 13 cruises and only remember TWO cruise directors-Graham Seymour and Peter Hoffer (ncl)

They are the only two that stick out in my mind, besides the two of them being quite funny and personable, those cruises were the most fun.
Since my Sun princess cruise had the lousy cd and was the least fun, I owe the "fun" to the CD who is in charge of all the activities! [/COLOR]

[bdjam]

[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][font=Book Antiqua]I voted that a good Cruise Director makes my cruise, but I'm doing it with the knowledge that a Cruise Director schedules entertainment and shapes the ship-board day. He's not just a Master of Ceremonies or someone to cajole the passengers on deck. Since I usually enjoy shipboard entertainment, if he's not doing a good job of scheduling it, my cruise might be less than it should be.[/font]
[/size][/font]

[AmyinGA]

The CD doesn't make or break my cruise, but I do notice an effect. When we had Graham as our CD I did get a lot less sleep--I got up in the AM to see the morning show and we went to more of the late night shows just to see what would happen next. Our last cruise had a poor CD, but the cruise staff was so good that they made up for a dull leader.

[sultan_sfo]

Alistair Greener -- unbounded energy for every moment of the 15-day Island Princess cruise. He is on the TV segment -Secrets of Cruising - shown often on Travel Channel. /Sultan

[eyern]

[quote name='Mike A']I too feel that the CD has not meant much on a cruise with one exception, Carnival's John Heald.
John is to Carnival what Graham Seymour appears to be for Princess. I have had John twice 1st as an Asst CD on the Jubilee then as CD on the Maiden of the Triumph. He is laugh out loud funny. He is worshipped on the Carnival Board the way Graham is here.
I never thought anyone could be better than John. Has any one sailed with both (Chris)? I hope to find who I believe is the best when I am on the Caribbean Princess in January. It is my understanding that Graham will be back from vacation by then.[/QUOTE]I heard nothing but rave reviews about him when I was on the Carnival Boards.

[eyern]

[quote name='KUSydney']I think that a good one can make a cruise, but an invisible one has never affected one for me. [/QUOTE]I agree totally Sydney. I don't recall at all who the CD was on my first cruise. On the second one, the CD was rather annoying and my third (I forget his name) was EXCELLENT and really added to the cruise. He was very funny and just plain good. It really can make a difference.

[llandaff]

A less-than-great CD will never ruin a cruise for me but I agree that an excellent CD will really make the cruise special.

In my case that CD was Mark Ianazzo....absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately Princess lost him to Radisson. :-/

PS. I'm a Brit.....and a lot of British accents grate on my nerves too. ;-)

[WendyG]

[COLOR=Purple]I absolutely LOVE British accents. I love when my "Brit" vendors call me, I could listen to them talk all day! :) [/COLOR]

[mringenoldus]

Any idea who the Golden CD will be in October?