Cruise Director??

[arewethereyet]

It has never occurred to me to care who the cruise director is. But, maybe I'm missing something. So, this is a real question. What does a cruise director do, or not do, that shapes your cruising experience?

 

I'm asking this question on other boards as well.

[ChrisB123]

I would like to know too. :confused:

[jeromep]

It all depends. If your cruise is not particularly port heavy and you have plenty of sea days, you will want a good cruise director that keeps the ship full of activities and also makes sure that things are basically kept on schedule.

 

A good cruise director and his staff will also work hard to make sure that the Patter is in passenger hands the evening before the next day so they have some time to plan what they will do the next day. Sure, things happend and there are printing delays, but on our last cruise the Patter was in hour hands either just before we went to dinner or just after we came back from dinner.

 

It also helps if the cruise director is personable and interesting. They don't have to be a 24 hour joke machine, but they should appear as if they are having a good time; it is amazing how much their personality rubs off onto the passengers that are cruising.

[arewethereyet]

One of the reasons I ask is because I don't think I could pull any of the cruise directors out of a lineup if my life depended on it.

[Weluv2cruise2007]

I also wondered why people often care so much...until we got a bad one. I guess I had been spoiled....3 consecutive cruises on the Ruby we had Lisa Ball who was fantastic. She was personable, peppy, happy ALL THE TIME! We joked about her "Happy Pills". That being said she was not phoney...she genuinely appeared to love her job and the passengers. Then we sailed on the Caribbean and had Neil something or other (see...can't even remember his name!) who was terrible in comparison. IMHO he did not have the personality required for the job. For example, they always do the little morning show which we watched every morning and Neil would, head down, read from a script - pathetic. Lisa on the other hand "appeared" to be doing it all off the cuff which made her more spontaneous and real. Anyways, it's not like I would base my cruising decision around who was the CD, but it can make a difference in your overall experience. BTW...we did fill out a customer svc card and indicated we did not think the CD did a great job.

[paul929207]

On shorter and port intensive cruises, most people have little contact with the CD or their staff. However, on longer cruises with lots of sea days, a good CD and staff can make the cruise. They use their immagination to set up events to keep everybody active and happy

[Pam in CA]

One of the reasons I ask is because I don't think I could pull any of the cruise directors out of a lineup if my life depended on it.

If you have a poor CD, it will affect your cruise and onboard enjoyment.

 

In addition to the above, a good CD plans enough interesting and creative activities to distribute passengers throughout the ship. If the ship feels crowded, the CD doesn't have enough planned for people to do. A good CD listens to passenger suggestions and is aware of the demographics. For instance, if it's a longer or exotic cruise, mostly pool parties with mostly active events, that's going to be a big "miss."

 

Being charming, funny, great singer, etc. is a very small part of the job as essentially, a CD is a planner and manager who, with his/her staff, is responsible for the ship's non-service onboard experience. They plan and schedule all of the entertainment and activities, create the Patter, and manage all of the entertainment and activities. The good one's spend at least an hour or two a day doing a walk-thru the entire ship to see whether people are enjoying themselves, whether there are crowded areas that he can correct the next day, and talk to passengers, listening to what they're enjoying and what they'd like to see planned. If you don't see the CD around the ship, he's not aware of what people are or are not doing.

[Pam in CA]

Richard Joseph posted a fabulous description of "A Day in the Life of a Cruise Director" here on CC. IMHO, it's a "must read." http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=8131384&postcount=1

[shepp]

Since you asked for specifics..

 

On the Island, Rich Joseph demonstrated why he has such a fan club around here. Some things - putting together entertainment and activities, getting the Patter out, his effect on the staff's morale - were pretty much behind the scenes. He was personable at other stuff - the Wake Up Show, hosting theater shows. And his lecture on cruise ship history was great.

 

But what made the big difference for us was his accessibility and outgoing nature. Early on, I introduced myself and told him that, based on his CC reviews, I was looking forward to him as CD. From then on, he always greeted me by name. It's somewhat silly, I know, but it made me feel right at home, even a little special. We're trivia addicts, and - alone among the CDs I've had - Rich actually hosted trivia games, adding better prizes, including great raffle items, to the usual dreck. My partner won us dinner at Sabatini's (even better than a lanyard), but left part of the paperwork at the lounge. Rich not only phoned the stateroom to let him know it was being sent on, he brought it to our cabin himself. That's service!

 

And we weren't the only ones: a lot of passengers obviously loved Rich.

[Whimsy]

I also wondered why people often care so much...until we got a bad one. I guess I had been spoiled....3 consecutive cruises on the Ruby we had Lisa Ball who was fantastic. She was personable, peppy, happy ALL THE TIME! We joked about her "Happy Pills". That being said she was not phoney...she genuinely appeared to love her job and the passengers. Then we sailed on the Caribbean and had Neil something or other (see...can't even remember his name!) who was terrible in comparison. IMHO he did not have the personality required for the job. For example, they always do the little morning show which we watched every morning and Neil would, head down, read from a script - pathetic. Lisa on the other hand "appeared" to be doing it all off the cuff which made her more spontaneous and real. Anyways, it's not like I would base my cruising decision around who was the CD, but it can make a difference in your overall experience. BTW...we did fill out a customer svc card and indicated we did not think the CD did a great job.

 

This is really interesting. We had Neil and Marschal (sp?) and thought they were great on our Emerald cruise. We had Lisa on the Ruby and felt like she had no energy and just seemed tired. She wore the same dress every night with a different belt, jacket, etc. Even my husband began to notice. We never even watched the Wake Up show till we saw it with Neil and Marschal but didn't like it with Lisa.

 

Everyone likes something different.

 

Like you though, I never really noticed how much a cruise director could set the tone till our last Ruby cruise.

 

On our CB cruise in 2006 the St Louis Cardinals were in the World series. After dinner DH would go to bar with pool table on the ceiling. The cruise director at that time (David Cole) would sit with him and watch the end of the game. I would join them at the end and it was very nice that we had some one on one time with him.

[Aussie Gal]

We have had Sami Baker twice and we think she is fantastic. Back in 2006, we went to South America and Antarctica on the old Regal Princess and we ended up having 11 days in a row at sea due to bad weather. she got to and organized all sorts of activities and did help to make life on board exciting.

 

Then, when we were on the Ocean Princess last year, we had her on our 31 day cruise from Capetown to Dover. Again, we had lots of sea days and she was terrific, always there was plenty to do both day and night.

 

On our last cruise on the Royal, we felt the Assistant Cruise Director was more entertaining and had more "get up and go" than the C.D. Again that was a long cruise, with another 11 days at sea in a row due to a couple of "hitches."

 

Jennie

[ONT-CA]

We realize that a cruise director is most active and necessary for those who are in constant need of activities and entertainment. But there are other passengers who not only despise the daily PA sounds of what is being prepared for us that day but the fact that the concept of cruising is being totally lost on so many. It is a ship, not a hotel or vacation playground or even a campground.

 

We do not attend shows, we do not play bingo, we do not play trivia we do not participate in competitions and for us there is no need to consume our day this way. We have come aboard to relax and appreciate the wonders of the largest part of our earth, the sea. Just the fact that we are being transported from port to port through this vast aquatic playground is plenty of excitement for us. We look out and see the curvature of the earth and realize that there is nothing blocking our view of the horizon, nothing. Wonderful.

[cdngrl]

i've had one cruise with a bad cd. he was nowhere to be seen ever, but the biggest impact on the cruise was that it was obvious his entertainment staff was unhappy. the scheduling was off and there would be no one there to lead trivia, games etc. the mood on the ship wasn't what it usually is. we still had a great time but i went to some activities feeling as if i should cheer everyone up!

[cruiseryyc]

I couldn't tell you who the cruise directors were on any of my 15 cruises. Don't participate in activities and don't go to any of the shows, so for people like myself it really doesn't matter who the cruise director is.

[chris2597]

Richard Joseph is a fabulous CD. I dont know how he does all that he does onboard. He is present at most event and seems to make an appearance at everything. The timing and entertainment are spot on. His demeanor speaks volumes to passengers that they are valued and that he loves his job. We have also had a CD named Neil Chandler. He was very good and attentive to passengers and was very entertaining.

We have had other CD's that were absent most of the time and acted as though passengers were a bother when they were present. I even overheard one make ugly sarcastic comments about the passengers that were participating in an activity.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Over the years and a bunch of cruises I can only recall ever having one CD that was bad enough for us to notice the difference. There have been a few standouts which we either noticed because they had a special talent or because they took an interest in us. Otherwise they are pretty much interchangeable in our view. Give me a CD who does the trivia occasionally (the CD did every trivia on our last HAL cruise) and we're happy campers.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Never paid any attention to CD on my first cruises then met Neil Chandler

 

lots of things going on onboard, guy was out and about chatted away,

 

helped with some requests .

 

Since then have often spent time with CD,s setting up CC meets or other

 

events, so all depends on what you want from your cruise, do not go to

 

shows do not go to bingo, but if lots and lots of others do, then it means

 

ship is less crowded for me to do the things I want.

 

yours Shogun

[Grego]

Richard Joseph posted a fabulous description of "A Day in the Life of a Cruise Director" here on CC. IMHO, it's a "must read." http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=8131384&postcount=1

 

Thanks for posting that link again. I never tire of reading it.

 

Some of the best CDs have been the most visable and approachable so they can monitor their effectiveness. We have gotten to know a few on a first name basis and this helps round our the whole cruise experience.

[pablo222]

This is really interesting. We had Neil and Marschal (sp?) and thought they were great on our Emerald cruise. We had Lisa on the Ruby and felt like she had no energy and just seemed tired. She wore the same dress every night with a different belt, jacket, etc. Even my husband began to notice. We never even watched the Wake Up show till we saw it with Neil and Marschal but didn't like it with Lisa.

 

I cruised with Marahscalh once when he was filling in for Tim Donovan

on Emerald. I liked him. But, about a year ago, there was a long

thread with people who hated him.

 

So, I think that questions about cruise directors are a little silly.

It seems to be very personal where people like them, or not.

 

Like Graham Seymour -- I thought he was one of the biggest jerks

ever. But, there are lots of posts here praising him. So, if I

ask about him before a cruise, and some folks like him -- does

it even matter?

 

And, Lisa Ball sent champaign to my cabin (just for fun) -- so,

I really like her!!!

[Putterdude]

We certainly have had cruise directors that we have enjoyed more than others but none in my opinion none have had a marked impact on the enjoyment of our cruise.

[arewethereyet]

We certainly have had cruise directors that we have enjoyed more than others but none in my opinion none have had a marked impact on the enjoyment of our cruise.

Yeah, that's me. I never notice who the CD is. I guess I'll continue to not notice.

 

And I understand why it is important to some people. It's really a matter of what you are looking for on a cruise. So, I can see that if you are group activity/entertainment oriented, the right CD could make a big difference.

[englishbird]

Couldnt really care less who the CD is. Personally it makes no difference to me. But I can undrstand how it may affect passengers who like to participate in lots of activities.

 

:D:D

[Pam in CA]

Yeah, that's me. I never notice who the CD is. I guess I'll continue to not notice.

 

And I understand why it is important to some people. It's really a matter of what you are looking for on a cruise. So, I can see that if you are group activity/entertainment oriented, the right CD could make a big difference.

When you do get a poor CD, it does impact your cruise enjoyment whether you notice him/her or not. If the Patter doesn't come until the next morning so you don't know what's going on or whether there's anything you'd like to do, or the late arrival means you can't coordinate what you'd like to do with your traveling companion because one or the other might be already up and out, it impacts your cruise. If that happens several times on a cruise, you wonder whether the CD is organized or capable of handling the job. If, once the Patter does come, and there are continuous PA announcements the next day about events not included in the Patter or wrong times/meeting places, you do more than wonder. It's downright annoying plus people get the impression that Princess makes continuous activity announcements.

[99Cruiser]

This is really interesting. We had Neil and Marschal (sp?) and thought they were great on our Emerald cruise. We had Lisa on the Ruby and felt like she had no energy and just seemed tired. She wore the same dress every night with a different belt, jacket, etc. Even my husband began to notice. We never even watched the Wake Up show till we saw it with Neil and Marschal but didn't like it with Lisa.

 

Everyone likes something different.

 

Like you though, I never really noticed how much a cruise director could set the tone till our last Ruby cruise.

 

On our CB cruise in 2006 the St Louis Cardinals were in the World series. After dinner DH would go to bar with pool table on the ceiling. The cruise director at that time (David Cole) would sit with him and watch the end of the game. I would join them at the end and it was very nice that we had some one on one time with him.

 

David Cole is one of the best on Princess.

[zahav1]

I usually don't participate in most of onboard acitivies, as games or bingo. A cruise director's job is more then just activities, he makes the whole ship 'move'. You will notice when you have a bad one, things don't flow as well, entertainment in the evening may be disorganized, etc. We had Stuart Mac on our last Panama Canal cruise, he was friendly, charming and extremely organized. It's a long day for these guys/gals and they always need to show a smile.