"Who are the officers"....why?

[sprint180]

Something tells me the officers have no interest in getting to know these passengers, either. But their jobs require them to be bothered by the questions and pretend to care.

truth

[Georgia_Peaches]

Let me suggest an experiment then. You have 4 cruises where you haven't given a second thought to who the officers were.

 

On your next 4 cruises, change that. Get to know the officers. Introduce yourself. Get to know them, ask questions about their background, experiences, culture, etc... Give them that second thought. Then see how your cruise experience differs and you will understand why people who have taken the time end up feeling the way that they do.

 

Don't just dismiss what you haven't experienced.

I didn't take the OP's question as dismissive of anything. More so I thought it was a genuine question about why it might be important to some people to know who the ships' officers are for a particular ship or voyage. An inexperienced cruiser may not understand the intricacies behind the ship's operational staff and what they may be able to offer to enhance a cruise experience. I would never take this as being dismissive of people or the value they may bring. Until recently, I had the same question about the cruise director after I saw a number of threads inquiring as to who would be where. It wasn't until I read some comments about the CD that I decided to really take notice of what they did as it related to my over all experience....never once did I dismiss their role as unimportant (or their existence as a human being). I just genuinely didn't know what the cruise director's role was on the ship.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Some folks love the idea of knowing officers as they feel like they are high and mighty to know them .

We have done over 30 cruises and could only name one Hotel Director. We don't care to mingle with officers and go to the Latitude parties. I just want them to do their job. If they talk to us in the specialty DR we are always polite and speak back.

Same. We do not cruise to get to know the ships' officers. If I see them out and about, ok. If I don't, that's ok too. I certainly do not judge a cruise by their visibility. If I had a preference at all it would be that they run the ship and get us all from point A to B safely.

[RaiderDuck]

A good Cruise Director can elevate the cruise's entertainment offerings. Iain Bagshaw on the Jewel would always tell a Joke of the Day when introducing the evening's entertainment in the theater and make some more droll comments afterwards. Chloe Loddo of the Carnival Splendor would lead the crowd out of the theater after the end of a show into the Promenade and directly run a trivia contest or dance-off or whatever that directly related to the show we just saw. Stuff like that can take a good evening's entertainment and make it great.

[SeaShark]

I didn't take the OP's question as dismissive of anything. More so I thought it was a genuine question about why it might be important to some people to know who the ships' officers are for a particular ship or voyage. An inexperienced cruiser may not understand the intricacies behind the ship's operational staff and what they may be able to offer to enhance a cruise experience. I would never take this as being dismissive of people or the value they may bring. Until recently, I had the same question about the cruise director after I saw a number of threads inquiring as to who would be where. It wasn't until I read some comments about the CD that I decided to really take notice of what they did as it related to my over all experience....never once did I dismiss their role as unimportant (or their existence as a human being). I just genuinely didn't know what the cruise director's role was on the ship.

 

 

And that is perfectly fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and is free to meet or ignore the crew members as they choose. Speaking for myself, the small amount of time and effort in getting to know a member of the staff has never proven to be a detriment to my cruise experience. Quite the opposite, actually.

 

I do think by reading your reply that we differ on the usage of "dismissive".

 

If someone has no direct personal experience with something ("I've never even noted who my officers were"), or any desire for that experience ("I just never gave a second thought to who they were"), and that person could still make a declarative judgment on the topic ("it certainly wouldn't have made a difference in any of our cruises") then what word would you use in place of "dismissive"?

[txagfan]

Nevermind.

[zqvol]

So Im relatively new to cruising, just 4 so far. I see alot of people post asking who the officers etc are on a ship. Im just wondering why? Ive never even noted who my officers were until they were introduced during the cruise. I just never gave a second thought to who they were and it certainly wouldnt have made a difference in any of our cruises.

 

The only time we ever care is if we are on Sea Dream. For those who don't know SD is one of the luxury lines. the passenger to crew ratio is almost 1:1. When that happens you have a lot of personal interaction with both the captain, the CD, and the Hotel Director. After a couple of cruises you enjoy socalizing with one more than the other so you like to know who is on board, but honestly it doesn't matter.

[chloemonkey]

I have had more interactions on lines such as Azamara where the ships are smaller and the crew truly do mingle. That having been said, I too am often perplexed as to why anyone would care. I DO however care about the Haven Concierge and sometimes the butlers....as they interact on a more personal basis and have something to offer me.

 

We are the ones that NEVER attend the Platinum Plus gatherings, the Haven cocktail parties with officers, the "dine with an officer" although we have done that once or twice.

 

Do not mean to make enemies but I do believe that there are a group of past passengers who choose to believe that these officers have become their "besties" so to speak. And sometimes it makes me feel a bit embarrassed for them. I too feel that for the most part, the officers could care less about spending time with the passengers....especially when the said passengers only point out ways to "improve" the guest experience!

 

Sail the ship, order the necessary supplies, get us safely from point A to point B.....and we are happy! I do not go on cruises to spend time with strangers. As we work hard and when we cruise - we are happy to be left alone.

[xriva]

The Captain doesn’t just sail the ship. He’s the CEO of the ship. The attitude of the crew starts with his attitude, and is implemented by the Hotel Director (and the Staff Captain, but most passengers don’t deal with the back of the house staff much.)

 

So, if you find a ship you enjoy, it may be the tons of steel, but it is also the crew that waited on you, helped you find stuff, lead the games and so forth.

 

I’ve noticed that some Captains are ambassadors for the line, and are visible during the cruise. Some drive the ship and come out for twenty minutes for photos. To some people, it will make a difference which type you have.

 

If all you want is to relax and be left alone, then it doesn’t matter as much, but I think a fun Captain makes a fun crew.

 

Then, there are those who “collect” staff. You will see their posts here, as they will say, “I was talking to Phil last week, and he said he was on vacation next month.”

 

I don’t need to be friends with senior staff but I do like knowing who they are. It’s not something I would change a cruise over - but it can add a sense of predictability to a new ship, if you’ve sailed with the senior staff before.

 

 

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[NancyW12]

Dare I say it?

The folks who ask about and name drop officers from various ships and how so and so gave them a great guest experience (aka, gave them something for free or an upgrade or a compliment on the wife's dress or anything they didn't give every other guest) very much resemble a similar crowd at Disney- in both cases, whether they intend to or not, the "in the know" crowd project a sense of entitlement and "do you know who I am?" and an expectation that the staff member needs to do something above and beyond (sprinkle some pixie dust in Disney terms) and then make it seem like it was a generous thing to do rather than an expectation after some name dropping and status dropping.

 

Nobody cares if a guest has sailed 50 times or remembers a captain's name. Nobody except the guest.

 

But perhaps that's not what these multi-cruise travelers intend to project tor the rest of us.

[GUT2407]

Now if you tell me Jeffrey will be my waiter or Boris making Mrs Guts coffee we will be interested.

[hihilo]

BNBR # 14 FranknBeans # 13

You 2 are very smart.

I like you both !!

[Krazy Kruizers]

So Im relatively new to cruising, just 4 so far. I see alot of people post asking who the officers etc are on a ship. Im just wondering why? Ive never even noted who my officers were until they were introduced during the cruise. I just never gave a second thought to who they were and it certainly wouldnt have made a difference in any of our cruises.

 

 

I have noticed this as well.

I really don't care who the captain is, etc. But on the HAL board people think that they just have to sail with so-and-so. I think on Princess they even list the captains, etc.

[chengkp75]

The Captain doesn’t just sail the ship. He’s the CEO of the ship. The attitude of the crew starts with his attitude, and is implemented by the Hotel Director (and the Staff Captain, but most passengers don’t deal with the back of the house staff much.)

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

While I agree with this, from my experience on both sides of the equation (pax and officer), it is the Captain's attitude and attentiveness to the crew, and the time he spends with them, that makes a great Captain, and a smooth operating ship. While being out and about, and gregarious with the passengers is good PR, and as you say, a good brand ambassador, I have had great cruises, using a critical eye on operations from an insider's viewpoint, from Captain's who were not particularly engaging with the passengers. As Staff Chief, whose responsibility is maintenance of everything outside the engine room, I would spend nearly all turn-around day, and a some time every day, out and about with the guests (you have to, to see the equipment in operation) and solving their problems, but by far I found that garnering a great working relationship with all crew in all departments led to their mentioning small issues on a daily basis, so that we could deal with them before they became larger issues, and this of course led to a better overall experience for the guests, as they had fewer problems to start with.

[Markanddonna]

A good Cruise Director can elevate the cruise's entertainment offerings. Iain Bagshaw on the Jewel would always tell a Joke of the Day when introducing the evening's entertainment in the theater and make some more droll comments afterward. Stuff like that can take a good evening's entertainment and make it great.

 

Ian was hands down our favorite and only memorable CD except for one vulgar one who sat on a woman's lap, faced her and pretended he was grinding... right in her face! What a disgusting guy.

[NancyW12]

I was unkind. CC won't let me edit my post.

[AmberCascades]

I don't know why people on here are being so harsh and judgmental. If you aren't interested in knowing who the officers are then fine. No problem. Someone asked why people DO want to know.

 

Sometimes you meet people that you really like and want to meet them again. Or maybe you don't personally meet them, but enjoy their sense of humour or the type of service they provide and hope to enjoy it again on a future cruise. Maybe they know that a particular chef is great at making sugar free cakes and they want to sail with him again.

 

Our cruise director for our Antarctica cruise was great. We had 9 sea days and he kept things going all the time. There was always some kind of activity. He was also very funny. We won't stalk him and follow him on every cruise he goes on, but if I hear that he will be on another one we book, then I will know that we are in for an extra good time. There have also been a couple of duds and if they are going to be on one of my cruises, I will know to bring extra books, etc. to amuse myself. My husband also likes to know who the DJs are. He is often the last one to leave the dance floor at night and becomes friendly with the DJs. Some are better than others. He enjoys dancing. So he is interested to know who is going to be on an upcoming cruise. Does it destroy our lives and future happiness if we don't know who these people are? No. Do we judge people for wanting to know who the officers are? No.

[navybankerteacher]

Something tells me the officers have no interest in getting to know these passengers, either. But their jobs require them to be bothered by the questions and pretend to care.

 

Precisely: over the course of just three months the captain of a five thousand passenger ship sailing weekly will have “enjoyed” the company of close to 70,000 “guests” -how involved will he want to get with them?

[BNBR]

Precisely: over the course of just three months the captain of a five thousand passenger ship sailing weekly will have “enjoyed” the company of close to 70,000 “guests” -how involved will he want to get with them?

 

I was thinking that on a recent NCL cruise. They shut down the Haven (annoyingly) to set it up for a Captains cocktail party. And I just was thinking "There is no way the Captain and the officers truly want to do this every cruise."

 

That said, the Cruise Director is an Officer and I could understand wanting to know who that person is and interacting with them, but that IS their job.

[cruisemom42]

Some cruise lines I've been on seem to make it part of their "experience" to have staff that are interactive with passengers (e.g., Celebrity); others actually seem to discourage it (e.g., HAL, which apparently decided officers should no longer attend CC meet and greets).

 

Either way it doesn't have a great impact on me. I probably could not name a single officer or staff member on any ship I've been on, although at the time I've liked some better than others. I certainly couldn't imagine deciding on a cruise based on whether or not a certain officer or staff member would be on board. On my list of priorities (itinerary, ship size, time of year, enrichment activities, solo-friendliness, food quality, overall cost, enjoyable fellow passengers, etc.) this would not make the list.

[AmberCascades]

Precisely: over the course of just three months the captain of a five thousand passenger ship sailing weekly will have “enjoyed” the company of close to 70,000 “guests” -how involved will he want to get with them?

 

 

Hahaha...wow. If some of you are as unpleasant in person as you seem to be here, then I'm not surprised the crew doesn't want to be bothered by/with you.

 

Have you never encountered someone...on a plane, the next table on a ship, standing in line at the grocery store....that you strike up a conversation with and it is a very enjoyable experience? Sometimes just being pleasant and having a pleasant exchange can make someone's day. I don't ever have to see that person again that I sat next to on the plane, but I have had some very enjoyable and memorable exchanges with plane/restaurant/grocery store strangers.

 

I don't expect the Captain to be emailing me every week asking how the kids are. Jeez.

[BNBR]

Some cruise lines I've been on seem to make it part of their "experience" to have staff that are interactive with passengers (e.g., Celebrity); others actually seem to discourage it (e.g., HAL, which apparently decided officers should no longer attend CC meet and greets).

 

Either way it doesn't have a great impact on me. I probably could not name a single officer or staff member on any ship I've been on, although at the time I've liked some better than others. I certainly couldn't imagine deciding on a cruise based on whether or not a certain officer or staff member would be on board. On my list of priorities (itinerary, ship size, time of year, enrichment activities, solo-friendliness, food quality, enjoyable fellow passengers, etc.) this would not make the list.

 

Maybe the cruise lines can add it as a filter when booking a cruise? Sort by "2nd Engineer"... Oh my goodness, it's Sven!

[BNBR]

Hahaha...wow. If some of you are as unpleasant in person as you seem to be here, then I'm not surprised the crew doesn't want to be bothered by/with you.

 

Have you never encountered someone...on a plane, the next table on a ship, standing in line at the grocery store....that you strike up a conversation with and it is a very enjoyable experience? Sometimes just being pleasant and having a pleasant exchange can make someone's day. I don't ever have to see that person again that I sat next to on the plane, but I have had some very enjoyable and memorable exchanges with plane/restaurant/grocery store strangers.

 

I don't expect the Captain to be emailing me every week asking how the kids are. Jeez.

 

 

I can pretty much assure you, the people who are putting effort in to know who the officers are, meet the officers, and provide their constructive criticism to the officers are EXACTLY the people the officers have no interest in conversing with.

 

Randomly meeting an officer strolling around and striking up a conversation is completely different than putting in the effort to know who the officers are on a given sailing, etc.

[dltvermont]

I didn't take the OP's question as dismissive of anything. More so I thought it was a genuine question about why it might be important to some people to know who the ships' officers are for a particular ship or voyage. An inexperienced cruiser may not understand the intricacies behind the ship's operational staff and what they may be able to offer to enhance a cruise experience. I would never take this as being dismissive of people or the value they may bring. Until recently, I had the same question about the cruise director after I saw a number of threads inquiring as to who would be where. It wasn't until I read some comments about the CD that I decided to really take notice of what they did as it related to my over all experience....never once did I dismiss their role as unimportant (or their existence as a human being). I just genuinely didn't know what the cruise director's role was on the ship.

 

Thank you all for your replies!

 

 

And GP, this is exactly right. I see the question asked on this board and on other lines' boards and Ive just never understood why. Its just not something that Ive thought of asking and have never been in a situation where had I known who they were beforehand I would have not booked so I just wondered if there was a reason is all. Same with cruise director. Now THAT I have seen both sides of how one is better than another as you see them constantly but Id never NOT book because of a cruise director......so far anyway!

[SeaShark]

As I noted earlier in the thread, people are free to associate with or ignore the officers & staff to whatever degree they are most comfortable. To each his own as it were.

 

However, it is funny to note that the same crowd that doesn't care who the officers are, and can't see the benefit of knowing any of them are the loudest voices looking for the CEO's email address for every grievance that they've experienced...and they are the most shocked by the fact that the CEO doesn't immediately drop everything to address their "issue".