Do you like Ken Rush as cruise director?

[crbonfiber]

I think he is great. The most professional and smooth of the bunch. I hope he continues with RCCL for a long time.

[crbonfiber]

I must agree totally. I have never liked him. He REALLY thinks he is the "be all, end all" to cruise directors.

 

Perhaps thats because you are not as smart!!! LOL

[Benzo]

I really enjoyed Ken. He was CD on Oasis the first time I sailed that ship! He was high energy, engaging, entertaining, and funny.:D I was disappointed when I sailed on Oasis the following year and he was not there. :confused:

[AZAficionado]

I just got off two weeks with Ken on the Allure. I think he did a good job as CD and if nothing else, he worked his butt off. However, I did get to overhear him at dinner at one of the restaurants, in his "off" time. I am impressed by how much of a persona he is putting on. All I will say is that he is like many comedians who have a public and private persona - Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and the like.

[Yorkvillain]

Two quick stories:

 

1- Ken was standing next to me at the upstairs Catacombs bar on the Liberty a few years ago. I said to him: "Mr. Spacey, you are not as funny as everyone says you are." He loved that line and laughed pretty hard.

 

2- I was a team captain at the Quest and walked out on the floor with my grey goose and tonic in hand (about 20% of my drink was left in the glass). He sees me from across the floor and makes a beeline towards me while saying in the microphone so everyone can hear "sir, sir you cannot bring drinks on to the floor". He then grabbed my drink and chugged it. The crowd went wild and he then had a waitress bring me a free full drink in a much bigger glass. I thought it was pretty funny.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Yorkvillain

[shaggyofwv]

I don't really care who the Cruise Director is, I will enjoy my cruise whomever it is.

 

I do prefer the CD to be an attractive lady so, at the very least, I have someone pleasant to look at while they are doing their thing.

[Vanilla]

Yes we like him. He has been our CD on two of our cruises. We like his energy and his personality. He has a huge job and does it well.

[Valchie]

I read this thread because I had Ken Rush as the CD on my cruise last month.

 

I'm really just curious about something..why would one ask this question and emphasize their own negative impression of someone so prominent in the cruise industry and then ask others to join the band wagon? I mean, if it were phrased differently (i.e. who was your favorite CD and what was it about them that you liked) then I wouldn't be as confused. But to throw the guys name out there to be trampled on, I just don't get it.

 

"Did you like him? I didn't."

"Me neither, I thought he was lousy."

"I thought he was pretty good."

"Nah, he s*cked."

 

 

Mean thread. JMO.

[Merion_Mom]

I read this thread because I had Ken Rush as the CD on my cruise last month.

 

I'm really just curious about something..why would one ask this question and emphasize their own negative impression of someone so prominent in the cruise industry and then ask others to join the band wagon? I mean, if it were phrased differently (i.e. who was your favorite CD and what was it about them that you liked) then I wouldn't be as confused. But to throw the guys name out there to be trampled on, I just don't get it.

 

"Did you like him? I didn't."

"Me neither, I thought he was lousy."

"I thought he was pretty good."

"Nah, he s*cked."

 

 

Mean thread. JMO.

 

I disagree with both the intent and the outcome.

 

MANY posters wrote how much they like him.

[Totalelf]

Ken is arrogant and rather full of himself, however he does put on an entertaining cruise. We were on two back to back cruises two months ago. We started on Allure and ended on Independnce. The CD on Indy was Mike Hunnerup? ( not sure on the last name). I was rather bored on Indy and the difference between the 70's shows were like night and day. The 70's show on Allure was fantastic and Indy truly sucked! It was pretty apparent that Mike was not enthusiastic about having to do the show and it really showed. Ken's Love and Marriage show was very long and yes, he does use old footage of his past shows. But, Ken managed to give out great prizes for the game show. Don't know if it is an every week occurrence because of being on Allure and maybe he has a bigger budget, or if he just happened to get the shops in port to pony up some great prizes. Every show I have gone to usually has a bottle of champagne and maybe a dinner as a prize. On our cruise, all three couples received decent gifts. I can't remember what the 3rd place couple won. The 2nd place couple won massages and the 1st place couple won over $800 worth of jewelry.

 

Not a big fan of Ken's, but he does try to make the cruise entertaining for the cruisers on "his" ship.

 

 

 

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[BillOh]

I just got off two weeks with Ken on the Allure. I think he did a good job as CD and if nothing else, he worked his butt off. However, I did get to overhear him at dinner at one of the restaurants, in his "off" time. I am impressed by how much of a persona he is putting on. All I will say is that he is like many comedians who have a public and private persona - Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and the like.

 

You may have something there. I did mention in my post, people that interact with him one on one don't seem to like him. I have a local attraction that gets a lot of media attention where I do some volunteer work. The "curator" puts on a charming face for the instituion, but when the media is gone, only has grumpy tones for his underlings. I guess I do like "professional on-stage" Ken.

[Host Dan]

I met Ken on the Freedom several years back. I found him to be very nice and totally approachable. On my RCCL cruises thereafter, I either didn't know who the CD was or all I saw of him was on the morning show.

[mcatmcat]

I fine him to be very Arrogant and rude gald he will not be on the Allure in Aug but if he was I would not let that stop me from sailing on her.

 

 

Lol

 

 

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[Mary521]

Totally not a fan! Sailed with him twice on allure. Felt he was very fake and into himself. Also did not like how scripted literally every single joke was. Became even more clear when we on board the 2nd time, and the jokes never changed.

[Paulette3028]

I have never been on a cruise with Ken Rush, but a CD can have a definite impact on a cruisers enjoyment.

 

I did not realize until recently just how much the CD is responsible for the activities/entertainment on board and the execution of it coming off smoothly.

 

Add to that when changes have to be made due to a sea day added because of a port that has to be bypassed. Sure a lot of this is preplanned, but moving from 'a plan' to execution in a matter of minutes, takes a good CD.

 

We have had some very good CDs and those were the ones that were engaging and interactive with the cruisers, even when they were not in their 'on stage' persona. Mitch Merucci, Carlos Torres, Allan Brooks and Dennis Charles all come to mind right now.

 

We have had some that were just forgettable -- and we still had a great cruise.

 

A lot also depends on their Activities Manager, who has a lot of responsibility when the CD isn't handling an activity. Those can also make a cruisers experience wonderful. Elvis was the best, when he was on Jewel on our S. Caribbean cruise in 2013. He knew what he could count on me to do and made sure I participated....he has ESP.

 

These people are challenged with helping cruisers make the most fun out of their cruise....and some of them have done that for us.

 

Regardless of whether it was Ken Rush or another CD, what do you feel about the CD on your cruise -- for better or worse.

[BillOh]

A positive cruise director will make me motivated but I don't try to be influenced that much by a bad or not that energetic cruise director.

I had Ken Rush last week and for some reason I didn't like him. He has years of experience with royal but I had the feeling that he feels like the "king" of the cruise.

 

On the other hand the " captain" which don't have a big role when it comes to entertainment I saw him riding his bike in the promenade ( how cool was that) and you can tell he is having fun

 

 

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I can certainly understand your opinion, and I can imagine some of the replies you will receive that I'm about to go and read after adding my 3 cents. I like him in his official capacity. When he is visible in the public eye I find him personable and informative. I found his morning shows helpful. That said, I have never tried to talk to him one on one. Most of the negative things I have heard about Ken seem to be more related to one on one interactions. Oddly, I did have a one on one interaction with the Captain that was short and pleasant in passing on the boardwalk. As he saw the recognition in our eyes, he did stop and exchange pleasantries.

[cruisegirl1]

We've been pretty pleased over the years. Never thought the CD made much difference until we (apparently) had a bad CD on the Freedom. He was not visible, was boring, made harassing gestures towards female staff, made nasty comment in his taped early show, started many programs a few minute late, and had the most disorganized promenade/ Halloween party.

 

Generally for ALL others, we find not much difference in the CD's, and ALL others have provided a pleasant experience.

 

enjoy

M

[robcaryh]

We just got off allure with director Ken Rush. Is it just me or does anyone else thinks he is like a used car salesman? Everytime he was on the RCCL channels he was trying to sell something. I mean,he was like Billie Mays at times. This was our 4th cruise and he just rubbed us the wrong way. Hopefully I was just having a bad week :)

Edited January 22, 2015 by robcaryh

[Sumisid]

Unfortunately, he's always having bad weeks ;). Worst cruise director ever, arrogant, full of himself, unfriendly to passengers. Maybe he actually SHOULD look for a job as a used-car-salesman! :D

[robcaryh]

Ok at least I feel better now.I dont like to see the worst in people,but he seemed exactly as you described.

[dz9yvr]

We just got off allure with director Ken Rush. Is it just me or does anyone else thinks he is like a used car salesman? Everytime he was on the RCCL channels he was trying to sell something. I mean,he was like Billie Mays at times. This was our 4th cruise and he just rubbed us the wrong way. Hopefully I was just having a bad week :)

 

I agree that Ken Rush is not the best cruise director, but the fact he is on the RCL channels selling stuff is not his fault. I'm sure he would not be doing it if he had a choice, but this is just another example of RCL trying to get you to spend a little more money on the ship.

[Wilda]

I agree that Ken Rush is not the best cruise director, but the fact he is on the RCL channels selling stuff is not his fault. I'm sure he would not be doing it if he had a choice, but this is just another example of RCL trying to get you to spend a little more money on the ship.

 

Not so sure about that- there is something about his demeanor that is a real turn-off. There is nothing genuine or authentic about him. We sailed Allure in 2013 and thought his morning show was awful.

 

We had Jeremy Roulx (SP?) on Allure last month (KR was on vacation) and he was funny and approachable. I typically don't pay much attention to the CD but Jeremy's morning show was pretty funny. He was able to do his job (promote RCI) and still be likeable.

[trev71]

For sure Ken is a like him or dont like him type of guy.

[Katy_Tbird]

Ok at least I feel better now.I dont like to see the worst in people,but he seemed exactly as you described.

 

You are not alone. I think it's his attitude that rubbed us the wrong way. It was like he was so much more important than the task at hand...pleasing the passengers on vacation...and he was just going through the motions. The used-car salesman comparison is right on. We were annoyed every time he was involved in an activity. DW was an on-stage judge for the sexiest man contest and she said he just ruined the experience for her (except for having buff men strut for her, of course. :p)

[Cruzaholic41]

We just got off allure with director Ken Rush. Is it just me or does anyone else thinks he is like a used car salesman? Everytime he was on the RCCL channels he was trying to sell something. I mean,he was like Billie Mays at times. This was our 4th cruise and he just rubbed us the wrong way. Hopefully I was just having a bad week :)

 

You're not alone at all. He's generally the least popular of RCI Cruise Directors, mostly from being so self centered. It baffles me why he is popular with RCI and always on the new ships.