Cruise Directors Survey

[LHP]

Corey is my favorite only because he talked hubby into buying me that Rolex I had been looking at for 5 years in Grand Cayman!!!

Peter Gibbs (Twice) - Best Performer
Jeff Bronson - Best Guy to Pal Around With (Energy to burn!)
Mark Price - Genuine Personal Touch
Shawn Bussey - Cute as a button and nice to boot!!! She really makes the effort to get to know the guests and "pub crawl" with them.
Risa Barnes - Saw her personally assisting a passenger with CP (and his wife) back to their cabin on Riveria after a day at port.
Paul Stanley - FUN FUN FUN and genuinely interesting to talk to.

We have had a couple that were just ok and I don't remember their names.

But NONE were ever bad.

To all Cruise Directors out there....thanks for working harder behind the scenes to make our cruises great!!!

[sotadragon]

I thought all three cruise directors I have been on board with were good:
Corey Schmitt on Triumph 5/02
Larry Garlutzo on Paradise 5/99
John Heald on Destiny 6/97

The BEST was definitely John Heald! :D He was especially funny because he was making himself crack up while telling jokes/stories and laughter can be incredibly contagious, particularly when the person laughs like John does. He has a laugh that just makes you feel good.

[LHP]

I spelled Paul's last name wrong ....sorry. But at least I was saying nice things about him!!!

I heard Peter Gibbs went with another cruise line years ago.

Corey went to Lake Tahoe with his bird act, but I heard that one or two of his birds had died....so I am not sure where he is now or what he is doing.

We had Chris Jefferson when he was a Social Host and had a wonderful time with him. I bet he is a great Cruise Director.

[mr jimmy]

We have had Paul Santly and Lenny Halliday on our two CCL cruises. From the reference above about Lenny being "unkempt", upon meeting him, he reminded me of Tim Curry from "Rocky Horror". Anyone out there remember the name of the character Tim played?
Why have CD's from the UK, or with fake UK accents? Is it like TV and radio commercials that use them to lend "dignity and intelligence" to the message? Why not have someone with a Jeff Foxworthy delivery?
Why does CCL have mostly Italian captians? Is this a legacy from Christopher Columbus?
I'm just full of inane questions.

[barbemm]

[quote name='coevan']lgplarry, sorry to burst your bubble, but yes they are somewhat staged. Do you think there is a Dick Wooden on every cruise? John Heald is hysterical, his bedtime story is one of the funniest bits I have ever seen. The cruise directors are great, but a couple of cooperative guests make their job much easier. We are on the 12/19 Valor, anyone one who the CD is? I was hoping for John Heald.[/QUOTE]


Sorry no JOHN ON VALOR...we just sailed with him on the Glory and he's done on Dec 13th...he's off to open a new Ronald McDonald house in New jersey, then back to England..and one last contract in Feb on the Liberty..then home to stay (or so he says for now) to start a family..his wife Heidi is putting her foot down...we will miss him terribly..he's one of the reasons why I love cruising...he made our trip last week one of the best ever and treated us like royalty...while making us laugh to hard we wanted to apply linament to our sides...he is the greatest..we will miss him and never forget the way he brought so much laughter into our lives.
Barb

[VanessaC322]

I'm far from an expert. I'm only planning my second cruise for this coming February. I have only ever been on the Paradise last March but I really was not a big fan of Shaun Bussey. I described her in my review as "a radio deejay on speed". But the more I read the CC boards, the more I think that may just be part of the job. I think I was just most irritated by the constant announcements over the PA system.

[MERVYN BREMMER]

[b][font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=teal]Not much experiance with CD's but I have sailed with John Heald and he was very good and we just got back from Sensation where Michale Mullane was the CD and he was most excellent. Very good entertainer and outgoing on decks with passengers.[/color][/size][/font][/b]

[suzybruner]

[quote name='mr jimmy']We have had Paul Santly and Lenny Halliday on our two CCL cruises. From the reference above about Lenny being "unkempt", upon meeting him, he reminded me of Tim Curry from "Rocky Horror". Anyone out there remember the name of the character Tim played?
[/QUOTE]

Dr. Frank N Furter. Or was that a rhetorical question?

Suzy

[mrjcharles]

Greg Kneale fulfills the two criteria most important for a cruise director. he is very funny and entertaining. Moreover he is personable and interacts very well with the passengers,a true class act.

[Sailfish]

We just got back from our cruise aboard the Pride (over Thanksgiving), and although we had a good cruise, I found the cruise director to be very irritating. His constant "sales pitch" at every opportunity really got on my nerves. As we are seasoned cruisers, we no longer feel the need to go to port lectures and the like. Carnival's policy to have their cruise directors include information about "bargain prices" in the shops, bingo and other revenue generating activities during shows is very annoying. I know other cruise lines do so as well, but no where near as much as aboard the Pride.

I don't see what people see in Cruise Directors. The one aboard the Pride seems to be a nice guy, and I am sure he is very good at what he does. However, I for one didn't appreciate the constant "hard sell" - something I'm sure he has to do.

I am planning to bring a group onto the ship in Feb. 2006 and will ask them to avoid the port talks and to ignore all the announcements. If I were a first time cruiser, this would definitely be a turn-off. I'm sure others here won't share my feelings on this, but I for one an very disappointed that Carnival has such a hard sell mentality.

[mrjcharles]

Sorry to disagree Sailfish. Sure there are announcements but I never felt them to be intrusive. A cruise director does make a difference to me and thats why i am happy Greg Kneale is on the Pride.

[Sooz]

Best GREG KNEALE and MALCOM Both funny down to earth and dont over due anything.
Not so great JOHN HEALD
Funny yes but overdoes things,you get sick of hearing him do the fart thing over and over and he does not keep his word. Had him tell a group of CC cruises on the Triumph that he was going to throw a get together for us. NOT NEVER HAPPENED. Then on the Glory this past week we had very poor service and he said I want to send someone to talk to you about it and asked our cabin number NOT NEVER HAPPENED. Had a problem with a ring I bought at DI and he said I am going to take of that, I am going to send you something to your cabin NOTNEVER HAPPENED.

[JB007]

Some can be funny, some are more social then others, most are just one step above a car salesmen we dont cruise based on the CD most are corny. :rolleyes:

[RWolver672]

[color=black]Sorry no JOHN ON VALOR...we just sailed with him on the Glory and he's done on Dec 13th...he's off to open a new Ronald McDonald house in New jersey, then back to England..and one last contract in Feb on the Liberty[/color]

[color=blue]According to Storm-n-Norman, John Heald will be on the Glory for the Feb 19th cruise. I don't know how long he'll be on her, but that week he will be for sure.[/color]
[color=#0000ff][/color]
[color=#0000ff]I think it's interesting that some people idolize while others hate the same CDs. One posting will remark how a particular CD is so friendly and genuine while the next poster says that the same CD is a phony. The world is full of people with different tastes.[/color]

[Sooz]

We also just got off the Glory and per his wife, this is the last week they will be on the Glory and they are as stated, leaving to go home for a while then onto the Liberty. When I told him that Stromin Norman said to send his best to them and that he would be there soon ,she said well he will miss us we wont be here. John also stated after the bed time story that he only had one more week on the Glory before he was leaving for vacation. Perhaps they will be back on the Glory before they go to the Liberty but neither of them mentioned that, just that they were going to the Liberty after vacation.

[Cruisekrazy63]

We have been on 3 prior cruises and go again in Jan 05. I vote for John Heald as the best!!!!!

[shortykb]

I just got off the Triumph on 12/4 and Mark Price was the Cruise Director. Didn't see him much but wasn't pressed about it.

Had Tim Squire on Victory in 10/03 and thought he was horrible! Why cram all the ship games/activites on the last day. Was run ragged that day!

Cruise Director - I could take them or leave them..

And don't get me started on the Stupid Shopper talks and people...What a Waste!

[toesockrock]

First cruise, in August 2004 aboard the Miracle... We had Mark Hawkins, and he was pretty good. Funny, and weird. The one thing that got old? "And, now, ___! Put your hands together for___! C'mon, let's hear it for ___!" Didn't matter who it was, or what they were doing. We were clapping, constantly.

[JB007]

We just sailed on the Glory Dec 11th. Sorry we mised John H by one week. We ended up with Stuart Dunn the worst CD we have ever sailed with in over 21 sailings. :(

[Rescue156]

Cruise Director on Inspiration last I heard was Marahscalh Stanton. I really enjoyed him...very down to earth and funny. Not overwhelming, and not too many announcements through the day...only the ones Carnival requires all Cruise Directors make...he even tried to make those funny and not so boring. 10 out of 10

[Rescue156]

According to an email from John Heald he will leave the Glory for vacation and then return until Mid-April before going somewhere else. Possibly the Liberty.

[MariaCallas]

There was one CD I really disliked. It was on a Royal Caribbean cruise about 10 years ago. He was a young guy and barely disguished his contempt for the passengers. His wife was really nice, but he thought he was better than everyone else.

[gorbidog]

[quote name='cruznon']Just got back from the Spirit and our family thought Todd Wittmer was great. He and his staff were warm, personable and charming. I had never even noticed the difference a CD could make on a cruise--until this cruise.

It was the best cruise we've taken.[/QUOTE]

We were a group of 23 on the Spirit on November 9, 2004, and really loved Todd Wittmer. He was just a bundle of energy and was truly a pleasure to be around. He was just about everywhere on the ship at all times. And yet without being intrusive or annoying. Very personable and as others have said, really enjoys his work. My best comparison of Todd is American Idol's Ryan Seacrest with less femininity - just incredibly witty and naturally humorous! :D

To top things off, the one thing I remember was during debarkation, as he was at the exit door saying "goodbye" to each and every passenger as we left the ship. Never experienced that before, and it was a genuine and sincere treat.

If you ever get a chance to sail with Todd, I would highly recommend it! ;)

[gorbidog]

Sorry ... accidental double post ... :eek:

[polyfan]

Todd is fabulous!! Now Carlo Lombard on the other hand has been the absolute most horrible cruise director we have had. I would avod him if I could.