favorite hotel director?

[Cindy G]

Another second, this time for Leone Henry. We cruised with her twice on the Infinity and she remembered us! The cruises were two years apart. How do they do that??? Often officers, staff and crew recognize us before we do them.

[Andy]

Heike (first met on Summit now on Azamara) and Philip Herbert (first met on Galaxy now on Azamara) are the two who always come to mind for us

 

Hi Uktog,

 

I agree Heike Berdos and Philip Herbert are fantastic Hotel Directors and the best at sea. Celebrity's loss was Azamara's gain.

[jt1120]

Hi C 2 C,

 

OK, where did you find that chart of who's where? I've been wondering where Captain Rockstar was and now I know. I've also wondered who our CD and host will be on our cruise next month and now I know that too. Thanks for the info!

[C 2 C]

Hi C 2 C,

 

OK, where did you find that chart of who's where? I've been wondering where Captain Rockstar was and now I know. I've also wondered who our CD and host will be on our cruise next month and now I know that too. Thanks for the info!

 

I update the chart when someone posts after completing a cruise. Captain Rockstar should be master of Silhouette for the next three months or so. Predictions of who will be onboard can only be made if someone posts the beginning of a rotation.

[Despegue]

Actually, the only REAL Captain Rockstar is Capt. Bruce Dikingson, captain B757/B767 with a European Airline AND... The Singer of IRON MAIDEN!!:)

[Redtravel]

Heike and Phillip are 2 of the best hotel directors with whom I have sailed. I did sail with Andrew on the Millenium in January....also very good. The ones that stand out are usually the ones that mingle with the guests. They understand how to communicate with the guests. The ones that you never see are usually on the ships where people complain.

[C 2 C]

The ones that stand out are usually the ones that mingle with the guests. They understand how to communicate with the guests. The ones that you never see are usually on the ships where people complain.

 

We've been on ships where the HD was completely invisible. On the other hand, Bernhard Stacher the HD on Constellation during the winter, seemed to be everywhere and was present every night mingling with guests during Happy Hour in the Reflections Lounge.

[Atwell]

Who is your favorite hotel director? What ship and when did you sail?

My favorite was Heike.

 

Our favorite HD is Andrew Harris on the Millennium. We sailed with him last in Jan 2011 and also one other time. I think the crew followed his example for engagement and friendliness with the passengers. Andrew addressed all situations by trying to honor every reasonable request and seriously listening to every suggestion and to immediately correct every problem.

[estofon]

Andrew Harris, who was on the Millie last winter (he may still be) was by far the best Hotel Director that we have had the pleasure of sailing with.

Here's another vote for Andrew!

Luis

[onepug]

Andrew is the best...wish I knew if he was still on Millie.

Anyone know???:)

[C 2 C]

Andrew is the best...wish I knew if he was still on Millie.

Anyone know???:)

 

An update was just posted.:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=30981032#post30981032

[cruiseerf]

I have sailed with Sue 5-6 times and she is acceptable+....I find her a little tired out of talking and smiling at people. It is a tough job....I recognize that. She used to be on Silversea I believe? She seems to hold the ships together well.

 

I find Bernie Stacker to be extremely friendly and capable and I have sailed with him several times. He is German/Austrian and runs his ships with PRECISION....he is a whiz. I am always impressed when I meet him, and he seems genuinely nice. ALSO ...The employees who work under him seem to genuinely like him....THAT is an achievement. As a disclosure we once had dinner with him so we did get to know him very well over the course of the meal. He loves his job.

 

They are all good...tough job!

 

Happy Sails to All.

[Cote d'or]

For us, a HD can make a huge difference in our cruise experience, good or bad. Our favorite without any doubt is Niina Hautaniemi from Finland. She is very visible and close to the passengers and her crew. She knows what happens on the ship and on every cruise with her, the crew was always extremely motivated and happy. For us, she's simply the best.

[ukellie]

Andrew Harris, who was on the Millie last winter (he may still be) was by far the best Hotel Director that we have had the pleasure of sailing with.

 

 

here here he is still on millie as of oct 2011

[jt1120]

I update the chart when someone posts after completing a cruise. Captain Rockstar should be master of Silhouette for the next three months or so. Predictions of who will be onboard can only be made if someone posts the beginning of a rotation.

 

We're on the Summit next month so we will miss out on sailing with Capt. Pagonis this time. My wife has a thing for him.

 

Actually, the only REAL Captain Rockstar is Capt. Bruce Dikingson, captain B757/B767 with a European Airline AND... The Singer of IRON MAIDEN!!:)

 

Well, I won't argue that one! Capt. Rockstar is a nickname that was given to Capt. Nicolas Pagonis since he used to wear his hair longer than a captain normally would, plus my wife thinks he's a Greek god or something. Really great guy though, and very personable.

 

As for hotel director's, we dined one time with a Marisa something, I don't remember her last name. Anyone familiar with her?

[C 2 C]

 

As for hotel director's, we dined one time with a Marisa something, I don't remember her last name. Anyone familiar with her?

 

Marisa Rebelo from Portugal.

 

[jt1120]

That's her! Great research C 2 C! Any idea if she is still with Celebrity?

[C 2 C]

That's her! Great research C 2 C! Any idea if she is still with Celebrity?

 

No cruise updates on her facebook wall. My guess is that she's no longer with Celebrity.

[CruisingChick]

Without a doubt, Sheldon Thompson. He is now back on Summit. He worked his way up from asst. waiter and is enormously respected by the crew and staff. Sheldon does a wonderful job and has seen to it that I have a good experience on each cruise we have been on together. A lovely young man.

 

Anne

 

We just got off Summit October 23rd and have the exact opposite impression of Sheldon than you do and we weren't the only ones. Maybe because he just got back from vacation, he was not in the swing of things yet. But we were not that impressed.

[C 2 C]

We just got off Summit October 23rd .

 

When we sailed on Summit in September we expected Leonie to be the HD and were told she was on personal leave. Now someone has posted that she is no longer with Celebrity for a "Top Secret" reason. Did you perhaps hear any news? We certainly liked sailing with her on Infinity.

[CruisingChick]

Did you perhaps hear any news? We certainly liked sailing with her on Infinity.

 

No, sorry we did not hear anything. I just asked Sheldon about Jamie and he told me he was only filing in for him while Sheldon was on vacation.

 

If I hear anything I will let you know.

[Hlitner]

The more I think about this thread the less I understand the comments. Let's put things in perspective. How many folks blog about hotel managers when they stay at a hotel. The reality is that most folks do not even know who the manager is much less if they are good, bad, indifferent. On cruise ships the Hotel Manager is essentially the Chief Operating Officer in charge of just about everthing (and everybody) that deals directly with the passengers. But Hotel Managers also have a lot of limitations to their power since most of the crew assignments are done by the home office. A Hotel Manager can certainly use their influence to change some personnel decisions, but they generally must work with who is assigned. We recently had a long conversation with a HA Hotel Manager who did express some frustration with the fact that cruise line "policy" can often tie his hands. In fact, while chatting with this particular hotel manager a passenger came up to him to complain about the payback of the slots and another person complained about the prices in the shops. The Hotel Manager said all the right things and later mentioned that he had no control over either of those issues (the shops are not even owned by the cruise line). DW pointed out to me that we have cruised on more then 60 different ships, probably had over 100 Hotel Managers and we only remember the names of two.....and that is because we happened to dine with those two.

 

Hank

[Sanjo]

Our overall favorite HD is Damien O'Connor, always pleasant, friendly and very visable throughout the ship. We also enjoyed Nina several years ago, but have not had the pleasure of sailing with her for a few years.

 

I agree with Anne Maria (CruisingChick), we sailed together on Summit the past 2 weeks and only saw Sheldon Thompson once. We were looking forward to seeing Jamie as we had met him when he was Ass't. HD about 1 1/2 years ago. He was very friendly and personable.

[cruiseacecat]

We just got off Summit October 23rd and have the exact opposite impression of Sheldon than you do and we weren't the only ones. Maybe because he just got back from vacation, he was not in the swing of things yet. But we were not that impressed.

Hi Anne Maria,

 

Sorry you did not appreciate Sheldon. I have known him now for about 3 years. Met him at first due to problems on two cruises. The guest relations manager could not help me, but Sheldon stepped in and took care of the problems promptly. Have had dinner with him several times since then, and he is so very personable. Hope you will have the chance to interact with him again someday. Maybe not having a good week?

 

Anne :)

[CruisingChick]

Hi Anne Maria,

 

Sorry you did not appreciate Sheldon. I have known him now for about 3 years. Met him at first due to problems on two cruises. The guest relations manager could not help me, but Sheldon stepped in and took care of the problems promptly. Have had dinner with him several times since then, and he is so very personable. Hope you will have the chance to interact with him again someday. Maybe not having a good week?

 

Anne :)

 

Anne, the Guest Relations Manager Jackie (whom we became friendly with on Mercury) went to introduce DH and I to him and he just seemed very "aloof" for lack of a better word He barely attended the Senior Officers Cocktail party that we attended (there were 2). He walked in one side of Revelations and walked out the other, maybe stopping to say hi to one couple. Maybe he was busy and had things on his mind since he just came back from vacation.

 

P.S. Hi Sandy!!! Miss you guys!!!