Cruise director-what is rci thinking

[cruiser429]

sorry for duplicate

[Doug R.]

[quote name='grandsix']If we have an issue with a CD, we ask for a meeting and explain to him or her our feelings. We would not anonymously blast them on Cruise Critic.[/quote]

I agree with you and disagree with you. The meeting part is fine. The part about not "anonymously blasting" (I prefer "criticizing") the CD or anything else the poster perceives as negative would render CC or any other such board very much diminished in utility. While sometimes the gripers are over the top, which can be detected by most rather easily, the negative information is useful information.

The phrase "If you can't say anything good say nothing at all," should be banished from the langauge.

[TP99C5]

James Andrew is the BEST!!!

[lknight27]

[quote name='ksuds']

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#0000ff]OK, everyone always talks about their favorite CD.............but no one mentions the not so good CD's.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#0000ff]I have been on the Monarch several times and I can't figure out how Jimmy Rhoades got that position. He is the "invisible" CD. Passengers from each of the cruises that I have been on have all commented that he is never seen. He does not even introduce all evening shows. Never has showed his face in the Quest, nor attend any pool side activities. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#0000ff]Where is he all day and what does he do we all asked each other. The only time we saw him at a show was the 70's show. [/COLOR][/FONT][/quote]

Just got off of Monarch yesterday and he was very visible and down to earth IMO, in fact he even bought us a rounds of drinks! I think he did an awesome job. It's about time RCI added some diversity among it's CD, I've been on far too many cruises and wondered how in the world did they get their job they sucked so bad, but Jimmy Rhodes was great! He was very personable and on several occasions he'd be chatting with the passengers shooting the breeze, which is what I appreciate. Our tablemates and so many others commented on how much they enjoyed him as a CD as well. We thought he was great and very down to earth (not stuffy or corny like the others). Thanks Jimmy for an awesome cruise!!!!!!:D

[lknight27]

[quote name='critterchick']I was on Monarch a few weeks ago and I thought Jimmy Rhodes was brilliant. He was present at the shows I attended and at the P/D party. I didn't attend Quest or the pool shows, though. I even forgave him for having once been with Up With People. <shudder>

I prefer a low key CD to an over the top one. I think Ken Rush is so full of himself that he'd float into the outer atmosphere if somebody cut the tether. I actually like Johnny O until he pulls out that $($*#@! EWI (it's not his fault that I sailed enough with him to know his schtick by heart).

I loved Keith Williams on Vision (think he's on Rhapsody now). Very low key, gets the job done without making you wonder what pills he's on but can raise the energy in the room when needed.[/quote]

Ditto . . . Jimmy Rhodes was great whereas Ken Rush (had him on Freedom and Liberty) is a hot mess!!!! BUT IMO I can careless whether I see the CD or not. I'm on a cruise and I will have fun no matter what.

[Missus Makkem]

[quote name='Queenzena']Just got off the Voyager August 9, and I've got to say, Mercedes de la Fuente was the low point of the cruise. She seemed like she was just going through the motions. I never got a feeling of hospitality from her. I felt more welcomed by some of her staff, namely Gio and Simonna, who were funny, gracious and enthusiastic!

Maybe it's me, but she needs to take CD lessons from Clo O'Connor, who is the best CD I've ever seen, IMHO.[/QUOTE]

Now I would say the opposite, Clo got right up my nose when we had her a couple of years ago, but Mercedes was our CD on the Vision out of dominican republic and she was terrific,even stopped by one night to ask us to be part of the Love and Marriage show as she thought we looked like a long time married couple.
Boy did I have a hard time convicing her tho I might be willing my husband would rather walk the plank! :rolleyes:

[EBFURR]

[quote name='lknight27']Just got off of Monarch yesterday and he was very visible and down to earth IMO, in fact he even bought us a rounds of drinks! I think he did an awesome job. It's about time RCI added some diversity among it's CD, I've been on far too many cruises and wondered how in the world did they get their job they sucked so bad, but Jimmy Rhodes was great! He was very personable and on several occasions he'd be chatting with the passengers shooting the breeze, which is what I appreciate. Our tablemates and so many others commented on how much they enjoyed him as a CD as well. We thought he was great and very down to earth (not stuffy or corny like the others). Thanks Jimmy for an awesome cruise!!!!!!:D[/QUOTE]

That is good to hear. We had Jimmy about a year ago and he was all but invisible and we never saw him other than his picture in the Compass. We did hear him making announcements. We had a great cruise, but the staff seemed to lack energy. Maybe Jimmy was sick or something that week. It is good that he is back in circulation and made your cruise better.

[English Jane]

[quote name='Missus Makkem']Now I would say the opposite, Clo got right up my nose when we had her a couple of years ago :rolleyes:[/quote]


Ha me too!

Could not take that 'hello Clo' stuff

[Iceman's Mum]

Quite happy to stand up and be counted for Graham Seymour!! We LOVE him. We've had him on two cruises now.:D

Had Gordon Whatman on our first cruise. He was lovely but not particularly lively. Perhaps better suited to a slightly older age range of people.

Graham is just wonderful. I can understand that he's not everyone's cup of tea - but we just felt that he motivated his staff, who all seemed to like working with him, and that just makes for a better cruise for the passengers in the long run. Only criticism we have had is that Graham did not attend the Meet & Mingle on our cruise in May and it would have been nice if someone had bothered (it was all left to one poor lonely young crew member). Mind you there were only 17 of us so perhaps they thought it wasn't worth it. Shame, as we were a fantastic group, all got along well and had A LOT of fun.

Although I would not specifically book a cruise just because of the CD, I certainly think it's a bonus when a "good" one is scheduled to be on board.

[jfeathe]

By far, our favorite is the recently departed Eric Dowis. We especially loved his church sermon. Wish he was still around.

[WowItsMarissa]

I just came off the Monarch today and Jimmy Rhodes was my cruise director. Although he wasn't the most visible or the funniest, whatever the other complaints are about., I have to defend him and say he is truly a nice guy. He's very friendly, helpful, and caring.
Also, we need to remember that being a good CD doesn't mean just having good stage presence and lines. CDs do a lot of office work and handle so many entertainment issues and responsibilities.
I might just be overly optimistic but Royal Caribbean needs to take into consideration all the skills needed in cruise directing. Some can't have it all...so some may lack personality/charisma or energy, but perhaps their business skills are excellent. Many people just don't get to see that side.

Okay, ending rant here :)

[Lynne95]

Joff Eaton! Our best cruise so far has been on the Jewel, and he played a big part in our fun. We have been on 5 ships, and he is the only one I can remember. Some were too pushy, some were duds. Joff was entertaining, and a real delight...

I don't know where he will go after the Jewel, but we are sailing on the Freedom in December, and it would be a nice surprise to find him on that ship too!

[wwwmarge]

[quote name='English Jane']Ha me too!

Could not take that 'hello Clo' stuff[/quote]

Glad someone else has commented on Clo O'Conner. She was CD on Jewel TA, Mar 30, 2008 when Cork & Cornwall were cancelled.

The reason for her having her family with her was because of those two ports. Hubby and young son was on the stage every night. It really got tiresome. The idea was cute and adorable once or twice but for 14 nights.

Because the passengers were still very upset about the change in ports Clo took a lot of flak and handled it well. She was great at the M&M and was OK when asked if we could hold the gift exchange afterwards.

Then everyone got upset again with the passages were blocked by folks coming from immigration with folks trying to get off. What a mess! She was right on top of this with all her staff and then some.

My main beef with her, beside the 'hello Clo', was two big goofs with port times. [B][COLOR=red]I'm assuming these are her responsibilities that it gets posted correctly in the Compass[/COLOR][/B] and [COLOR=blue][B]announcements over the PA.[/B][/COLOR] Don't they have some kind of computer program that tells them to change the times when they change time zones?

[ncb106]

[quote name='lynne95']joff eaton! Our best cruise so far has been on the jewel, and he played a big part in our fun. We have been on 5 ships, and he is the only one i can remember. Some were too pushy, some were duds. Joff was entertaining, and a real delight...

I don't know where he will go after the jewel, but we are sailing on the freedom in december, and it would be a nice surprise to find him on that ship too![/quote]
he will be going to the independence in november 23 2009

[gagirl7143]

[quote name='wwwmarge']Glad someone else has commented on Clo O'Conner. She was CD on Jewel TA, Mar 30, 2008 when Cork & Cornwall were cancelled.

The reason for her having her family with her was because of those two ports. [B][COLOR=Red]Hubby and young son was on the stage every night. It really got tiresome. [/COLOR][/B]The idea was cute and adorable once or twice but for 14 nights.

Because the passengers were still very upset about the change in ports Clo took a lot of flak and handled it well. She was great at the M&M and was OK when asked if we could hold the gift exchange afterwards.

Then everyone got upset again with the passages were blocked by folks coming from immigration with folks trying to get off. What a mess! She was right on top of this with all her staff and then some.

My main beef with her, beside the 'hello Clo', was two big goofs with port times. [B][COLOR=red]I'm assuming these are her responsibilities that it gets posted correctly in the Compass[/COLOR][/B] and [COLOR=blue][B]announcements over the PA.[/B][/COLOR] Don't they have some kind of computer program that tells them to change the times when they change time zones?[/quote]

[SIZE=3][B][COLOR=Red]We were on this cruise also and we went to every show and Hubby and son were on stage only once! please be fair...... She was fantastic on that cruise! [/COLOR][/B][/SIZE]

[WowItsMarissa]

I'm very critical of cruise directors sometimes and I have to say that I think the ones I've encountered on Royal Caribbean all deserve their position. I think they're great at what they do. Sure, they have a few slip-ups, maybe a few things they do need some tweaking but really, who doesn't?
My votes go out to Jimmy Rhodes and Dave Chapman. Both have very different cruise directing styles but nonetheless, they are my favorites.

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

:) Abe Hughes was our CD on the Mariner of the Seas this past January.
Very nice young man --- friendly and very good at his job. Didn't come
across as "phoney or put-on" at all. I think he was as excited and looking
forward to the unique itinerary we did on our 46 Day South America/ Around the Horn repositioning cruise. Was a really great experience.

Captain Johnny was very personable as well. We met him several
times on the ship and enjoyed his interaction with the guests. All in all,
it was a very "happy" ship. And I am sure the people at the helm have
alot to do with that. :cool:

[Desert Cruizers]

Since we have only been on 4 cruises, and two with RCL, the only CD I really recall and enjoyed, was Peter Bienfeld. He was on the BOS in 2004 during our Cribbean Cruise. Our last CD was Kirk on the Radiance and enjoyed him.

[ChipLondon]

[quote name='English Jane']Ha me too!

Could not take that 'hello Clo' stuff[/quote]


Okay, its time to stop picking on the Lovely Clo, she is great and so are hubby D and little C. Love them all

[English Jane]

[quote name='ChipLondon']Okay, its time to stop picking on the Lovely Clo, she is great and so are hubby D and little C. Love them all[/quote]


Not 'picking on' her - just stating that I didn't care for her presenting style - this is nothing to do with her on a personal level, or indeed her family (?)

[ChipLondon]

[quote name='English Jane']Not 'picking on' her - just stating that I didn't care for her presenting style - this is nothing to do with her on a personal level, or indeed her family (?)[/quote]


You are entitled to your opinion, I do not share it. In my opinion she is a really good CD. We have sailed with her 4 times on different ships, and she has always been fab, alot of entertainers have a catch phrase "Hello Clo" is hers, inviting guests to speak to her around the ship, showing that she is approachable. How do your friends address you, if you don't care for Hello?

[lappy22]

[quote name='Hamburg Avon Lady']:) Abe Hughes was our CD on the Mariner of the Seas this past January.
Very nice young man --- friendly and very good at his job. Didn't come
across as "phoney or put-on" at all. I think he was as excited and looking
forward to the unique itinerary we did on our 46 Day South America/ Around the Horn repositioning cruise. Was a really great experience.

Captain Johnny was very personable as well. We met him several
times on the ship and enjoyed his interaction with the guests. All in all,
it was a very "happy" ship. And I am sure the people at the helm have
alot to do with that. :cool:[/QUOTE]

I prayed that we wouldn't get Abe Hughes last week on the Mariner and as luck would have it, he departed as we got on the ship. I saw Abe on a travel show a couple months back highliting the Mariner and he came across as one of those cheesy wedding DJs. I didn't think I could put up with that fake voice for 7 days.

Dave Chapman was fantastic! I think it should be mandatory that all Cruise Directors should have a Austrailian or Brittish accent.

[mjldvlks]

To me, the cruise director is such a minor part of the cruise experience I don't really care who it is. If they introduce the real performers relatively quickly so we can move on with the show, I am happy. I will add a plug for Graham Seymour to the extent he actually had a show on our recent TA on Independence. I thought he was much funnier than the regular comedian.

[John Henry on CC]

[quote name='lappy22']I prayed that we wouldn't get Abe Hughes last week on the Mariner and as luck would have it, he departed as we got on the ship. I saw Abe on a travel show a couple months back highliting the Mariner and he came across as one of those cheesy wedding DJs. I didn't think I could put up with that fake voice for 7 days.

Dave Chapman was fantastic! I think it should be mandatory that all Cruise Directors should have a Austrailian or Brittish accent.[/quote]

So you have never cruised with Abe as your CD?

He is very good.

Try witholding judgment until you actually have the experience.

[lappy22]

[quote name='John Henry on CC']So you have never cruised with Abe as your CD?

He is very good.

Try witholding judgment until you actually have the experience.[/QUOTE]

I saw enough of him during the television show. That was 20 minutes too long.