CD John Blair

[John Reid]

Had them on Enchantment before; will have them on Grandeur soon. They're fine.

 

Just a personal opinion, of all the myriad threads that rotate through the boards, the ones that trouble me most are those that pick apart cruise directors or any named staff. Just doesn't seem appropriate or kind.

[cruzeluvr]

We have cruised with John and Katrina and consider them the ABSOLUTE BEST cruise director and activities manager team in the fleet.

 

Their skills, experience, dedication, and passion for providing for their guests the best cruise possible is unmatched.

 

They are not wild and crazy ... They are classy, visible, and approachable.

 

Absolutely agree! We have cruised with them only once (on Song of America many years ago) and thought they were great! We would love to cruise with them again if the timing & itinerary work for us.

[rafinmd]

I'll pose a theory that John and Katrina are at their best in dealing with individual and smaller groups of passengers and really shine on the Vision and Radiance Class ships. They certainly have their detractors and I kind of wonder if their strengths do not transfer well to the mega ships.

 

On the Enchantment he was my favorite ever RCI CD.

 

Roy

[Pumbaamd]

We were on JW with them last Christmas/New Year's (B2B). Best Holiday season at sea we ever had, in a big part to John and Katrina. They and their staff put on a great holiday 14 day cruise.

Expected to sea them on our June GR cruise, but they debarked the same morning we got on! Very disappointing.

Rick and Deirdra

[cardamon]

I agree- each cruise director brings individual talents- that appeal to a certain age group or energy level.

I agree - each of us as cruisers look for particular traits in a cruise director.

That taken in consideration- I have thoroughly enjoyed my cruises with John and Katrina, including Their last cruise on the Enchantment. With a friend, we organized a tribute for John, Katrina and the crew who were leaving after years on the Enchantment.

They were very visible and approachable. I liked that they rose through the ranks to their positions-maybe why they were so respectful.

On our cruise to Alaska in 2014, we never saw the cruise director except on stage. So much for the younger generation of CD.

I hope John and Katrina are on the Anthem when we sail in January 2017!!

[Joe12]

I agree- each cruise director brings individual talents- that appeal to a certain age group or energy level.

I agree - each of us as cruisers look for particular traits in a cruise director.

That taken in consideration- I have thoroughly enjoyed my cruises with John and Katrina, including Their last cruise on the Enchantment. With a friend, we organized a tribute for John, Katrina and the crew who were leaving after years on the Enchantment.

They were very visible and approachable. I liked that they rose through the ranks to their positions-maybe why they were so respectful.

On our cruise to Alaska in 2014, we never saw the cruise director except on stage. So much for the younger generation of CD.

I hope John and Katrina are on the Anthem when we sail in January 2017!!

 

John's not permanently on Anthem. He's just covering for Abe Hughes, who required shoulder surgery.

 

I had John on Anthem 2 weeks ago and he was terrible, completely invisible around the ship but still heavy on the PA, which IMO is extremely annoying. I hated him on EN too, as he was so loud and full of himself, so I will try to avoid him in the future.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Joe12

[jaspercat]

John and Katrina were on my Jewel Alaska cruise last May/June. I agree with posters -- a CD does not make or break a cruise for me. Some I have found very funny and entertaining, some like John I find boring and full of themselves.

 

John struck me as 'it's all about me' type - but that's just my take/opinion.

 

That said, like a previous poster commented, they were both at the end of the gangway saying good-bye to every guest getting off -- a nice touch and one I have never experienced before.

 

[hapster85]

We weren't impressed with them on our June 30th Anthem sailing. Saying "I want to hear you scream" seems to be the only way he knew to work up a crowd, because he says it a lot.

[Philly Steve]

John's not permanently on Anthem. He's just covering for Abe Hughes, who required shoulder surgery.

 

I had John on Anthem 2 weeks ago and he was terrible, completely invisible around the ship but still heavy on the PA, which IMO is extremely annoying. I hated him on EN too, as he was so loud and full of himself, so I will try to avoid him in the future.

 

Wondering if John Blair will return to Grandeur after subbing on Anthem. Any word on the new CD on Grandeur?

[hotrock]

Has anyone had any recent experience with John Blair as a CD? Just saw that he is expected to be on my May, 2018 sailing on LOS. I'm looking forward to it as I don't think we've ever sailed with him.

[TheSweetPotatoQueen]

Has anyone had any recent experience with John Blair as a CD? Just saw that he is expected to be on my May, 2018 sailing on LOS. I'm looking forward to it as I don't think we've ever sailed with him.

We just returned from Liberty with John/Katrina. They're both very visible. John still does his Neil Diamond tribute show, which is really good. They both did a great job with the Quest, too. However, I noticed that he seemed 'off' to me. We've had them on prior cruises. I wondered if he might have been sick because he was very flushed and didn't have the energy level I've seen in the past.

[dcgrumpy]

I sailed with them on IOS last February. I wasn't a fan. I didn't find them very entertaining. I never saw John around the ship.

 

I think I may have been spoiled because we had sailed on IOS the year before and had Leigh and Frankie.

[Scotty G]

John and his wife Katrina work very hard to ensure people have a great time, they are highly visual around the ship. Yes their style is unique and for some Europeans a little " All American, smiley smiley ". But once you understand that this is their way and it is well intended, it is easy to appreciate the effort they put into every task they undertake. We would be happy to have them on any ship we might sail on.

We have cruised with John and Katrina since Song of America/Nordic Empress days. Agree with Chip 100 percent. Always a pleasure to be on board with them!

Edited February 15, 2018 by Scotty G

[hotrock]

We just returned from Liberty with John/Katrina. They're both very visible. John still does his Neil Diamond tribute show, which is really good. They both did a great job with the Quest, too. However, I noticed that he seemed 'off' to me. We've had them on prior cruises. I wondered if he might have been sick because he was very flushed and didn't have the energy level I've seen in the past.

 

Thanks for info. I hope he is feeling better and more energetic. A bad CD doesn't ruin my experience but a good one sure adds a lot of fun to the cruise for me.

[Joe12]

I had John and Katrina twice, the most recent being Anthem in July 2016.

They were new to the ship and seemed slightly clueless. Post cruise, many people on our Roll Call made angry comments regarding John and Katrina's general performance as CD and AM and their running of the M&M.

I personally find them to be unfunny, fake, cheesy and they both add 0 entertainment value to a sailing. They even don't seem genuine in their videos posted on John's FB page. Other people might like them (they were perfect for the older Baltimore market), but to a relatively young Brit myself that enjoys an entertaining and fun CD (Abe Hughes springs to mind), they were just not my cup of tea. It was like a flashback to 30 years ago and the Blairs trying too hard to be 30 years younger.

[JenGang]

We just had John Blair last week on Liberty. We all felt like he rushed activities and was not very exciting to be around. For Love and Marriage he gave the couples tickets and drew one to select them. Very boring and all the couples won and were given champagne. The Quest was also quite dull in comparison to others that we have seen. That being said, towards the end of it, it turned into battle of the sexes with a hula hoop competition. We had our adult daughters with us on this cruise and the youngest hoops as a hobby. She won the quest for our team easily. :D

[Joe12]

We just had John Blair last week on Liberty. We all felt like he rushed activities and was not very exciting to be around. For Love and Marriage he gave the couples tickets and drew one to select them. Very boring and all the couples won and were given champagne. The Quest was also quite dull in comparison to others that we have seen. That being said, towards the end of it, it turned into battle of the sexes with a hula hoop competition. We had our adult daughters with us on this cruise and the youngest hoops as a hobby. She won the quest for our team easily. :D

 

Everybody won the L&M?

Come on. That's exactly why I described him as "cheesy". It's a competition (of sorts) after all. L&M with John on Anthem was on the last evening, so I didn't bother going, but assume it would have been the same then.

[JenGang]

Everybody won the L&M?

Come on. That's exactly why I described him as "cheesy". It's a competition (of sorts) after all. L&M with John on Anthem was on the last evening, so I didn't bother going, but assume it would have been the same then.

 

Yup, he even said they don't keep score. And for Quest, there wasn't anyone keeping score either. I truly believe our team won because of our daughters hula hooping skills AND the fact that the majority of our group was dressed for 70's night. It was a gimme but the kids were thrilled that we won. LOL

[PCWalton1]

John and Katrina are not one of our favorite team. I would have described them as kind of burnt out on what they were doing. And reading they have been doing this as far back as Song of America I am not surprised.

[Joe12]

John and Katrina are not one of our favorite team. I would have described them as kind of burnt out on what they were doing. And reading they have been doing this as far back as Song of America I am not surprised.

 

I get the impression that they are stuck in a bit of a timewarp. It's as if they've never moved on from starring in Grease in their youth. They do also seem to be on autopilot as well. Maybe time for them to hang up their shoes and allow a new generation of CD's to prove themselves.

 

Which teams are your favourites?

[csnarpy]

Had them on Liberty last year, all I kept thinking was “Why is the Hoff my CD?”

 

:p

[Colorado Babe]

Was on the LOS a few weeks ago on a b2b and John and Katrina were just as amazing as all other cruises I’ve cruised with them. I love them and always get excited to see them!

 

 

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[Colorado Babe]

John performing his Neil Diamond tribute.

 

 

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[Joe12]

The Neil Diamond act is just for John's ego, IMO. I have came across similar people in my own life.

 

The world would be a dull place if we all liked the same people, but I will never see why people enjoy John as CD.

[cruzinlady1947]

Wondering if John Blair will return to Grandeur after subbing on Anthem. Any word on the new CD on Grandeur?

 

 

 

Big Bob Leininger....if you want to know anything about him...Google. We had him in December. I didn’t encounter him that much on our cruise. Some liked him, some didn’t. Didn’t see him that much. I know he was tall 6’5”. Tornado Tanya was about half his size....she was a great AC, but is leaving for the Anthem.

 

Gwen [emoji3]