Nationalities of Captains employed by Royal Caribbean

[Iluvcruising2]

Just wondering about the nationality of the Captains hired by RCI.

 

Can you recall the captains of your respective cruises in recent times?

 

For us, on Legend OTS (June 2011), Captain was a Dutch or Swede.

 

Brilliance (Dec 2011) was a Swede, if I recall correctly.

 

Does RCI have any Italian Captains?

[tahqa]

Royal tends to hire captains from Northern European countries. Carnival tends to hire Italians.

[silentbob007]

Don't forget American captains like Captain Rob. :)

[BillB48]

Northern European captains are the most plentiful and in addition to what SB007 posted, Canada and Greece are also represented.

[Topo Gigio]

Northern European captains are the most plentiful and in addition to what SB007 posted, Canada and Greece are also represented.

 

I think that Royal Caribbean has 1 greek captain at the moment, but Celebrity has a bunch of them. If not mistaken Teo Strazicic (Indy) is from Croatia.

[Clarea]

It's traditional for Royal to have Norwegian marine staff because the company was founded by 3 Norwegian families. In the beginning, the guest operation was run by US people, but the marine operation was run by the Norwegian side. This has changed over time, but there are still a large number of Scandanavian marine crew.

[BillB48]

I think that Royal Caribbean has 1 greek captain at the moment, but Celebrity has a bunch of them. If not mistaken Teo Strazicic (Indy) is from Croatia.

 

I think the large representation of Northern Europeans as captains probably stems to the original Royal Caribbean had a lot of Norwegian investors, so they looked close to home. Whereas when RC took over Celebrity which was the Chandris family (X, Greek for "ch" sound) of Greece, they largely have kept Greek masters on Celebrity ships.

 

I guess this can all be filed under "interesting but really doesn't make a difference.":)

[Dave85]

Mostly Northern European but (in addition to the exceptions noted above) isn't there a Canadian captain as well? I think I had him on the Jewel a few years ago...

 

Also, I almost certain that Captain Zini hails from Agentina.

 

Royal seems to have a good variety of nationalities among their captain ranks. Other cruise lines seem to stick to one nationality, like Celebrity (Greek) and Carnival (Italian).

[cruisindoggie]

Don't forget James from the USA. He is currently on the Jewel

[BillB48]

Mostly Northern European but (in addition to the exceptions noted above) isn't there a Canadian captain as well? I think I had him on the Jewel a few years ago...

 

.

 

Capt. Michel Claveau is Canadian... there may be more.

[alexkrn46]

Cpt Smith is from Canada.

[negc]

Capt. Michel Claveau is Canadian... there may be more.

 

Captain James MacDonald is another Canadian and Bill Wright is American. We have sailed with RCI captains of varying nationalities. The only criteria is that they be proficient in operating those enormous ships and, to date, all have performed admirably. I can't imagine any of the captains we have sailed with performing in the manner that the Captain of the Concordia is reported to have done.

[Clarea]

I believe Capt. Rick Sullivan is Canadian also.

[workingboy]

Don't forget James from the USA. He is currently on the Jewel

 

If you are refering to Captain James Macdonald, he is definately Canadian.

[will773]

Where is Captain Johnny from? I can't remember for the life of me!

[tanelicus]

through the storm this past early fall?

[Clarea]

Where is Captain Johnny from? I can't remember for the life of me!

Norway.

[trixietx]

We just got back from a cruise on Mariner and had dinner with the Captain. He is from Norway, but lives in Canada when not on board.

[will773]

Norway.

 

That's what I though. Thanks. I also had Captain Patrick on the Navigator. I think he was also from Norway, but I can't remember for sure.

[cruisenfever]

Don't forget American captains like Captain Rob. :)

If you are referring to Captain Rob Hempstead, he is Canadian as well as Captain Ron Holmes.

[05mak05]

Have you read Brian Bruns' books "Cruise Confidential Book 2?" It's called "Ship for Brains." In a conversation he had when first boarding the Majesty, the art auctioneer said to him: "Oh, all ships are the same ... Only the officers are different." Carnival's are Italian so they are easy to handle. They demand respect and ....., you know." Nothing else matters especially the rules ... But on RCI, they're all Dutch. That means rules first: people last. They love protocol and formality and all that." (Referring to staff, not passengers.) Pls. don't flame me. Brian Bruns' said it, not me. It's a good book with interesting insights as was his first book.

[Dave85]

If you are refering to Captain James Macdonald, he is definately Canadian.

 

Captain MacDonald is definitely the Canadian captain I had on the Jewel a few years ago.

[Dave85]

Have you read Brian Bruns' books "Cruise Confidential Book 2?" It's called "Ship for Brains." In a conversation he had when first boarding the Majesty, the art auctioneer said to him: "Oh, all ships are the same ... Only the officers are different." Carnival's are Italian so they are easy to handle. They demand respect and ....., you know." Nothing else matters especially the rules ... But on RCI, they're all Dutch. That means rules first: people last. They love protocol and formality and all that." (Referring to staff, not passengers.) Pls. don't flame me. Brian Bruns' said it, not me. It's a good book with interesting insights as was his first book.

 

I remember reading that passage and found it funny because I'm not aware of many Dutch officers on RCI?

[Topo Gigio]

I remember reading that passage and found it funny because I'm not aware of many Dutch officers on RCI?

 

Hal has the dutch officers.

[Scotty G]

I am most impressed with the experience RCL captains have. Most have been in the trade for many years before coming to RCL. That would include one of our favorites - Captain Karen. Their nationalities have little to do with how they and the Staff Captains perform their duties. Just sayin' ;)