The Dan-Dan Conundrum

[Tralfie]

Having sailed several times on the gym, I have to admit that I do not get the popularity of Dan Dan, the ship's cruise director. Jess, Lermie and other members of the CD staff , I saw all over the place. He, on the other hand, seemed to show up only at the " big ticket" events. I also don't get the persona. Anyone who has listened to morning announcements knows the accent and mannerisms are fake, and to me, they play to the worst stereotypes. In most other places, that kind if thing would cause people to be uncomfortable at the very least. (imagine, for example, if I as a white person, donned blackface in order to "entertain"? Pretty sure that would not go over well.) I'm sure he's a perfectly lovely fellow, but... Yeah, I dint get it. Is it just me???

 

Richard

[Kattus]

A FB group I belong to lamented the temporary loss of Dan-Dan when he took vacation in April, when Gio was the Cruise Director. Gio was awesome, always talking to guests and showing up at even little events. I heard people were disappointed that DD wouldn't be on their sailing, but I think his replacement did a great job.

[Zippeedee]

I was on the Gem a few weeks ago. I kept waiting to see what was so special about Dan-Dan. I was just sort of underwhelmed. His presence had no effect on my experience. Nothing bad, just not anything to get excited about. I am not one who goes to a ton of events, I'm on the ship to relax, recharge and do my own thing so I guess the cruise director just doesn't matter to me.

 

(missed you on Twitter while you were away Richard!)

 

Patti

[bbryan5]

Sailed twice with him as the CD.. Completely agree, was not impressed.

[soaringfalcon]

I am a Dan Dan fan. I love him. For us, he was everywhere. We saw him all the time.

 

I've spent time talking with him and he does have a Filipino accent but he does exaggerate it when he's joking. Are you referring to the green card jokes?

 

Not all of us will love every CD. For example, I thought Julie came across as very fake and she did nothing for me on Breakaway yet she is arguably the most popular CD.

[Sizzlechest]

I am a Dan Dan fan. I love him. For us, he was everywhere. We saw him all the time.

 

I've spent time talking with him and he does have a Filipino accent but he does exaggerate it when he's joking. Are you referring to the green card jokes?

 

Not all of us will love every CD. For example, I thought Julie came across as very fake and she did nothing for me on Breakaway yet she is arguably the most popular CD.

 

Dan Dan's accent is a total put on. Listen carefully to the announcements on the last day when you disembark. That's him.

 

The eternally offended will find something to complain about. Political correctness aside, I found Julie too much of a "straight man" two years ago on my Breakaway cruise. I think my favorite was Pedro on the Star three years ago. I have no idea if he's still with NCL.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Sizzlechest

[mizLORInj]

Having sailed several times on the gym. . .

 

ugh, sounds like too much work. :p

Edited September 14, 2015 by mizlorinj

[Charlie4]

I did like Dan the Man, but my Fave CD will always be Sinan !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Irene7]

Having sailed several times on the gym, I have to admit that I do not get the popularity of Dan Dan, the ship's cruise director. Jess, Lermie and other members of the CD staff , I saw all over the place. He, on the other hand, seemed to show up only at the " big ticket" events. I also don't get the persona. Anyone who has listened to morning announcements knows the accent and mannerisms are fake, and to me, they play to the worst stereotypes. In most other places, that kind if thing would cause people to be uncomfortable at the very least. (imagine, for example, if I as a white person, donned blackface in order to "entertain"? Pretty sure that would not go over well.) I'm sure he's a perfectly lovely fellow, but... Yeah, I dint get it. Is it just me???

 

Richard

 

We had Dan Dan on our cruise in June 2015 and prior to the cruise we did not know about his popularity because it was our first Norwegian cruise. We have been on other cruise lines and those CD's were just ok. We were very impressed with Dan Dan. We thought he was hilarious especially during games and competitions. He also can belt out one heck of a song. He was very visible during our cruise and he did nothing racist at all. People were talking about him all over the ship about how they felt he is the best. So I have to say that I get it.:)

[Dorhead1230]

Not all of us will love every CD. For example, I thought Julie came across as very fake and she did nothing for me on Breakaway yet she is arguably the most popular CD.

 

 

Thank you!! Finally, someone who shares my and my boyfriend's opinion of Julie. We just didn't get the fascination with her. However, we very much enjoyed Dan Dan, so it is obvious that different personalities appeal to different people! Furthermore, depending on which types of activities you attend, you might have so much more contact with other members of the CD staff, that the CD him/herself becomes less important.

[jeffregpuck]

A FB group I belong to lamented the temporary loss of Dan-Dan when he took vacation in April, when Gio was the Cruise Director. Gio was awesome, always talking to guests and showing up at even little events. I heard people were disappointed that DD wouldn't be on their sailing, but I think his replacement did a great job.

 

I've sailed with both of these CDs. Hands down my favorite cruise director EVER was Gio. He was the most personable and involved I've ever seen. He wasn't one of those super energetic, loud CD, but I seriously don't think the dude slept.

 

Dan Dan was a lot of fun, and more upbeat than Gio, but did leave most of the passenger involvement to his staff (which was the best STAFF I've ever seen - Nacho, Favio, Mandy *shout out*).

[Mr ncl]

I have to disagree with the originator of this thread. Dan Dan is hands down one of the best CDs I have ever had in all of my cruises. Yes his Asian accent is fake but to win over a dominantly NY crowd you need to be able to make fun of yourself. He went out of his way to announce my name and my girlfriends name when he saw us at the sail way party on the pool deck remembering us from months before. His sense of humor is hilarious and if you get to know him in person he's a great guy as well. He can sing like no other. And his real voice and accent is how he sounds when he is making the announcements. But for any entertainment he will put on his alter ego as he calls it. Julie was absolutely the worst CD I have ever had in my life. Boring. Corporate attitude who thinks stilts are funny. You could see right through her that she had to try too hard to even get a small laugh from anyone. Too serious for me on vacation that's for sure. Sinan was a classic as well. Dan Dan and Sinan are very similar. Dan the man was good as well. Never had gio but wouldn't be against it. In my book Dan Dan is amazing and now they will give him a chance to fix breakaways so so entertainment. Even the crew talks highly of him all cruise long. He is on vacation right now. The crew told me that his replacement is boring. But the good news is that there is a new cruise director who was assistant on breakaway and I remember him being funny. So Dan Dan to breakaway and Alvin to gem. Dan Dan will be missed on the gem!!!!

[geegee1]

Thank you!! Finally, someone who shares my and my boyfriend's opinion of Julie. We just didn't get the fascination with her. However, we very much enjoyed Dan Dan, so it is obvious that different personalities appeal to different people! Furthermore, depending on which types of activities you attend, you might have so much more contact with other members of the CD staff, that the CD him/herself becomes less important.

 

The CD usually is never a concern to me, but on the Breakaway this past February I did think that Julie was one of the worst ones we had. Don't remember who was the CD on the Breakaway in Feb. 2014, but they were much better than Julie.

I guess I'll find out in a month who this Alvin guy on the Gem is. But it will be hard for him to be worse than Julie.

[dshefter]

The CD usually is never a concern to me, but on the Breakaway this past February I did think that Julie was one of the worst ones we had. Don't remember who was the CD on the Breakaway in Feb. 2014, but they were much better than Julie.

I guess I'll find out in a month who this Alvin guy on the Gem is. But it will be hard for him to be worse than Julie.

 

Would totally agree with that statement. The CD has no affect on my cruise whatsoever. Yes, some are funnier than others. We had a real good cruise director on the Carnival Dream a few years ago (Jamie), who was great with kids, but again, it didn't make or break our cruise.

[Pitzel]

We had Dan-Dan on the Dawn in 2014 and he was just so-so. I guess I just didn't get his sense of humor, but he didn't do much for us. I have had much better CDs on other ships, both with NCL and with other lines.

[Mr ncl]

In 2014 Dan Dan was established as the gem CD by late winter and was ACD on gem before that because I had him. Maybe u had a different Dan. lol. From what I hear Julie is good at setting up the new ships and runs a tight ship lol. But other then that she is awful. No personality whatsoever.

[Pitzel]

Maybe he was filling in for someone else, but we definitely had him on the Dawn in Feb 2014.

[Mr ncl]

He must have been. Soon after was his first CD position

[Casino Comp Chick]

Thank you!! Finally, someone who shares my and my boyfriend's opinion of Julie. We just didn't get the fascination with her. However, we very much enjoyed Dan Dan, so it is obvious that different personalities appeal to different people! Furthermore, depending on which types of activities you attend, you might have so much more contact with other members of the CD staff, that the CD him/herself becomes less important.

 

I have said that all along, not a fan of hers.

[GoAndHaveFun]

I have never had Dan Dan as the CD though there's a chance he was CD on the first couple cruises I took as I didn't pay attention to who the CD was back then.

 

With Julie, I thought she was nice and professional and it was obvious she runs entertainment pretty well. I never really saw her around the ship though as she only hosted the big events or dance parties. As far CDs go, I liked Silas and Joel (Jersey Boy Joel) a lot as they were pretty visible throughout the ship (and they were the CD on Getaway/Breakaway). My favorite ACD would be Adam from Canada. Gotta love his deadpan humor and fantastic hosting skills.

 

Sadly to say, I think one of my least favorite CDs would be Sin as he came off as a really boring guy that tells jokes once in a while.

[Charlie4]

Sadly to say, I think one of my least favorite CDs would be Sin as he came off as a really boring guy that tells jokes once in a while.

 

Do you mean Sinan, from Turkey? He was my favorite. "You are my Sunshine" I know now there is a ton of office work the CD must do, so they don't have as much time to 'meet and greet' as they use to have.

[triptolemus]

Do you mean Sinan, from Turkey? He was my favorite. "You are my Sunshine" I know now there is a ton of office work the CD must do, so they don't have as much time to 'meet and greet' as they use to have.

 

Sin Alvarez is currently the CD on Jewel.

[Mr ncl]

Ohhhh sin and Sinan are two different people. Not sure about sin but Sinan was fabulous. YES his morning wake up songs were hilarious

[Barb Nahoumi]

A FB group I belong to lamented the temporary loss of Dan-Dan when he took vacation in April, when Gio was the Cruise Director. Gio was awesome, always talking to guests and showing up at even little events. I heard people were disappointed that DD wouldn't be on their sailing, but I think his replacement did a great job.

 

I remember Gio from the Dawn, and liked him very much.

[nbbell]

I have had two cruises with Dan Dan with two different results. The first was (I believe his first try as CD as we heard that he had been assistant CD on the cruise before us) amazing. He was everywhere funny, friendly and really did all the activities. The second a year later he was more reserved and hardly ever around. Still funny moments but he was different. I liked him much better the first year and was super excited when we found out he was again our CD.