Miracle Cruise Director - thoughts?

[dec2007w3boys]

When we cruised the Miracle late last fall, we thought Malcom was OK. He personally was pleasant and fun. His social staff and assistant cruise director were way too much into inside jokes and little games they were playing with each other. They were very childish and spent very little time doing their job and interacting with the guest

 

Doc

 

This covers my thoughts as well. My least favorite of four cd's we have had. Still loved the Miracle though.

[nybumpkin]

We've sailed with Malcolm three times, twice as CD, once as ACD. Always enjoyed sailing with him. On one cruise, we went to the debarkation talk (usually we don't -anything we need to know will be on the sheet distributed to the cabins, or on the TV) just because he was so entertaining. I've found him much more approachable than other CDs we've sailed with - and that's without having to track him down.;)

[Gone_Kroozin]

To each, their own, but I've sailed with Malcolm 4 times (#5 coming in May), and NYBumpkin said it best...approachable and entertaining.

 

In fact, in more ways than one, he's a breath of fresh air from the rest of the CDs I've sailed with using the same, stale, "Carnival approved" jokes that almost every one of the CDs use in one way, shape or form.

[Insel]

We sailed with Malcolm last may and were a bit tenative because of some comments here.

 

He was engaging and informative. We had a great time with him and are looking forward to seeing him again in June.

 

While the entertainment staff onboard may not be everyone's cup of tea, we have been pleasantly surprised at how much we have liked the people that made our week more enjoyable each year.

[Delta Dear]

We sailed with Malcolm in January and enjoyed what we saw of him. Our only other Carnival cruise was with Jen Baxter as the CD. I'll talk Malcolm any day.

 

Malcolm seemed personable and down to earth. Sorry to hear he has had some health challenges.

[2addicted2xmas]

We sailed with Malcolm Dec 09 and loved him. He was open and approachable to everyone young and especially old. He was pulled in a million directions by needy people and never stopped smiling. When the entertainment staff could not get on board due to really bad weather he put on the best show we have ever seen on carnival. Don't let peoples opinion decide your cruise for you... Try him for yourself you may be pleasantly surprised.

[BABSIER]

I cruised with Malcolm last April and am looking forward to seeing him again on 5/14.Thoroughly enjoyed his shows and sense of humor especially the silent skit. He was very approachable but not in your face all day everyday. Also, to me a CD does not make or break a cruise. You know, I am just there to relax and don't sweat the small stuff. Enjoy your cruise. :)

[TortieGal]

Sailed with him in February and wasn't impressed. His vacation was right around the corner and it was clear that he was already checked out. Also, as someone who would have been his neighbor back East, I went up to him and asked him about it when we saw him in the duty free store in La Romana. Now, I realize he was on his own time but as a CD, you kind of are always working. He made it clear he had no desire to chat. My mom also said something to him about being from the Bronx and well, you would have thought she insulted him. It's very easy to have a quick conversation with a guest and wrap things up without being rude about it.

 

I've sailed with quite a few awesome CDs and well, Malcolm is at the bottom of my list - which doesn't say much considering some were 3 day cruises where you barely see the CD. I wouldn't go out of my way to avoid him but you only have one chance to make a first impression and he didn't win me over.

[loribeth220]

Malcolm is awesome, we cruised with him last April and he was very friendly, very funny and very personable. Not once did we go out of our way to find him, he was always out and about on the ship, him and the captain were very visible and both were very approachable. We will be sailing on the Miracle again this Fall and we hope that Malcolm is the CD.

 

Not that a CD should be a deciding factor of you having an enjoyable cruise or not but we were on the Valor in November and if you want to talk about bad, Goose gets my vote. He has no personality whatsoever and whether you wanted to hear it or not, his catch phrase "YOU'RE ON VACATION!" made me cringe each time.

[silygirl77]

We sailed with Malcolm on the Victory. My husband and I found him funny and personable. We liked the woo hoo, because as he explained vacations should be like "woo hoo." It was a good reminder to check all the negatives at the door and woooo hoooo. There was only one joke that he told a couple of times that offended me a bit, but otherwise he was fantastic. The joke was about cruise passengers grazing (like cows) at the buffet. People take cruises to pig out... lol don't make your audience turn on you. Despite that tiny snafu he a great CD in my eyes. He gave great talks and was very informative. He did a great job with the marriage game. I'm so sorry to hear he is not feeling well. Does anyone know what's wrong with his health?

[PatrickZJD]

...I'm so sorry to hear he is not feeling well. Does anyone know what's wrong with his health?

 

Malcolm had to have emergency open heart surgery about eighteen months ago literally right when the Miracle got back into port. I think he's about as discreet about it as he can be, but if he's wearing an open shirt, you can see the giant scar on his chest, and he's also very careful with his alcohol consumption now. He certainly was not into a pity party when we've talked to him, but I can only imagine he gets tired more easily now and might need to put himself first once in a while, as it were.

[cjkumbaya]

We cruised on board the Miracle in November of last year and both commented about how much we like Malcomb. But, you have to understand that we don't care for the "over the top" approach that some CD's have. Malcomb was just right!

[SkyMaster]

Sorry to hear about his open heart surgery. I too, had a triple bypass, so I can certainly identify with the pain, and suffering involved.

It seems to me that about 95% of those who really like Malcolm, are from the North East. I think they probably identify with his sense of humor, and little northeast "quirks" better than those from other parts of the country. (O.K., before you jump all over me, I worked at NYPD for a number of years, so I know what the New York/New Jersey thing is all about.) :rolleyes: I just got the strong impression, that he's very self centered, and a very poor manager. Once again,,,,I truly hope it was just my cruise, and not a permanent thing for "Miracle". "Miracle" has always been my favorite ship, and cruise, and perhaps that's another reason that the poor performance by Malcolm, and his entertainment staff bothered me so much.

 

"SKY"