Is the Cruise Director THAT important to you?

[Dizzneefan]

We ae sailing on the legend to Alaska in June and John Heald was to be the CD, but now it appears he will not be on that ship until July. There are some who are very disappointed because he will not be with us, but to me, it's no big deal. We've only been on about 10 cruises, but the CD has never mattered to us. Am I missing something by my lack of interect?

[micheecruise]

The CD makes ZERO difference to me :)

[Boozebabe]

Whats a Cruise Director?

[Frank12]

There are some I've liked better than others, but none has truly made a difference in my cruising experience. (That is up to me! :D)

[skywalkr2]

I'd prefer I never see or hear them.

[sparks1093]

We ae sailing on the legend to Alaska in June and John Heald was to be the CD, but now it appears he will not be on that ship until July. There are some who are very disappointed because he will not be with us, but to me, it's no big deal. We've only been on about 10 cruises, but the CD has never mattered to us. Am I missing something by my lack of interect?

 

The CD can make the events he or she hosts more interesting and exciting and thus enhance that experience. But since this is a small part of the cruise it's not a big deal for us. (We had a so-so CD on the NCL Gem but still had a great time.)

[lizardhowson]

The CD makes ZERO difference to me :)

 

I agree, those who obsess over this (if you browse other threads you will see this) are making a mountain out of a molehill !

[Dizzneefan]

Glad we are not he only ones who don't care about it. In most cases, I could not even remember if they were male female. I DO remember them selling Bingo cards, however!

[Essiesmom]

Noone has to direct me how to have fun. I know what I want out of each cruise and how to accomplish it. Most of the time, I wouldn't know the cruise director if I saw him/her. EM

[cruiser fanatic]

The CD does not make or break my cruise. There are Cruise Directors who I like and dislike but it doesn't contribute to my cruise experience.

[snc_cam]

John H was on the Pride Repo. He is an interesting person and we had a few brief chats with him. But he was NOT the CD on the cruise. Yes, the CD can make things more entertaining, but in my experience, it is usually the entertainment staff that does a better job than the CD.

 

But in either case, we do NOT book a cruise because of who is or who isn't the CD.

[cruizinisthebest]

Never has been important to me. However, just like some of the vessels, there are some CDs I've heard alot about that I would like to get a chance to sail with. Particularly Matt Mitcham, Eversen Bevelle, and John Heald. I wouldn't center my vacation planning around them though. Who does that!

[Swampbaby]

Have to say we've only been on 4 cruises. Have no clue who was CD on numbers 1 and 2. Number 3, I don't remember the name but enjoyed him in the main lobby at night when he joined in. Now cruise 4? Was AWESOME with Jaime Dee. She was everywhere and so full of energy. With her our cruise just seemed to be very enjoyable and we were more "involved" overall. That being said, I have wanted to cruise with John Heald and a Blogger's Cruise, which we will be doing next FEB. As you can see, it's gone both ways with us

[bakersdozen12]

It makes me wonder what's so great about this John Heald guy. I've seen his name mentioned in so many threads.

[snc_cam]

It makes me wonder what's so great about this John Heald guy. I've seen his name mentioned in so many threads.

 

He has a different sense of humor. Some like him, some don't. But he won't make or break a cruise for me. Was interesting to see the different perspective he has on things since he came from the bottom ranks of the cruise industry to get to where he is today.

[cruiser fanatic]

It makes me wonder what's so great about this John Heald guy. I've seen his name mentioned in so many threads.

 

John has a different sense of humor then the other Cruise Director's. I like it but some don't and I can understand why. It is really easy to strike up a conversation with him.

[chrislo]

The CD is not an important part in my cruise decision.

[loubetti]

Cruise director... what's a cruise director???:D

[ASchaff]

I dont care who the CD is. Theyre all the same IMO.

[brichar499]

A CD never really detracted from any of our 25 cruises across all major lines. But, sometimes, they add.

 

This winter's cruise on Carnival Sunshine demonstrated that a committed, interested, and energetic CD can certainly add to the experience. Jamie Dee was amazing.

[greggyw]

A lot of them talk to much, or are so perky it becomes sickening, it is a job that should be largely invisible I would say, so makes no difference as long as job is done.

[ATLCruiseJunkie]

I would say that a bad cruise director doesn't ruin my cruise, but a good cruise director does add to it. Sometimes I pay attention to who the cruise director is before I go, but it's not something that would be a deciding factor for me.

[Sparky2]

We ae sailing on the legend to Alaska in June and John Heald was to be the CD, but now it appears he will not be on that ship until July. There are some who are very disappointed because he will not be with us, but to me, it's no big deal. We've only been on about 10 cruises, but the CD has never mattered to us. Am I missing something by my lack of interect?

 

No, it doesn't matter who our CD is, although if I was expecting John Heald on my cruise & it was changed, I would be somewhat disappointed. I'd like to meet him someday.

[MMastell]

I could really care less about what the CD does at the shows or is pressing the flesh around the ship. What I do care about is that the CD has the schedules of activities down, the staff to cover them and the venues are reserved.

 

It took a bad CD, on Celebrity, for me to realize that this part of the job was the most important for my cruise enjoyment. On this Asian cruise, the activities that were in the daily schedule rarely were in the right place, or they weren't staffed, or the staff showed up late. On a couple of occasions private parties were in the venues that were supposed to be for trivia or another activity. The staff all said that they had no idea where they were supposed to be or who was handling what. The CD was new and really didn't know how to do the job.

 

Luckily it was a port intensive cruise so there were only a few sea days to worry about.

 

Take care,

Mike

[Boris-n-Natasha]

We ae sailing on the legend to Alaska in June and John Heald was to be the CD, but now it appears he will not be on that ship until July. There are some who are very disappointed because he will not be with us, but to me, it's no big deal. We've only been on about 10 cruises, but the CD has never mattered to us. Am I missing something by my lack of interect?

 

Nope - they aren't crucial by any means. However, and this is a big however, a good one can make things even better. We had Risa once and she was awesome. We just sailed on the Conquest and Mike Pack did a really good job - he was funny and full of energy every evening in the lobby. I especially liked his re-enactment of baby jumping into the arms of Patrick Swayze from the movie Dirty Dancing. So, they can help but that is about it.