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Cruise Director Review

tx121

By tx121,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Don Pedro

Don Pedro

Posted
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Favorites: Drew Devine, Becky Thompson

 

Least Favorites: Amy Fickert (by Far, to be fair she was very new and on OA, which I don't think really shows off a CD that well)

 

Everyone else I've enjoyed, but they were average. First CD we had on DCL was quite different, he was older and mostly a staff manager, saw him all the time but he rarely actually lead anything. It was probably the best ran and my favorite activities team by far though.

 

I guess we all have different likes and dislikes. Personally Amy was one of my favorites while Becky and Graham are both toward the bottom of my list.

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Joe12

Joe12

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Disappointed in Abe after all we heard. B2B on Freedom and all of his jokes were tired and old by the 2nd week. No variety or spontaneity. On an itinerary as varied as the 6 day Western Caribbean and 8 day Eastern Caribbean, there were a lot of people doing B2B so he should account for that. Nice enough guy, though.

Karen

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Yes - I know that Abe is like Ken Rush in the way that his routine is pre-prepared. As my HM sailing was the first time I had him, I enjoyed his routine, but having watched videos of him on YouTube, it seems repetitive.

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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Yes - I know that Abe is like Ken Rush in the way that his routine is pre-prepared. As my HM sailing was the first time I had him, I enjoyed his routine, but having watched videos of him on YouTube, it seems repetitive.

All Cruise Directors repeat their schtick.

 

How could it be otherwise?

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Joe12

Joe12

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All Cruise Directors repeat their schtick.

 

How could it be otherwise?

 

Surely they could be a little bit spontaneous? Shows like Love and Marriage are the perfect opportunity for that. In my view, they should have their "signature" schtick, but they should have other stuff that they can use at appropriate times. It is all about being spontaneous and reacting in the moment as no two cruises are the same.

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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Surely they could be a little bit spontaneous? Shows like Love and Marriage are the perfect opportunity for that. In my view, they should have their "signature" schtick, but they should have other stuff that they can use at appropriate times. It is all about being spontaneous and reacting in the moment as no two cruises are the same.

Ok, I have found Abe INCREDIBLY "spontaneous" during Quest. ;) :D

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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I'll echo what many others have said and say Graham Seymour and Richard Spacey are by far my favorites. Best team was Spacey and Jamie as AM...they were great together!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Too bad, as neither Graham nor Richard works for RC any more.

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  • 3 weeks later...
pspercy

pspercy

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I just spent 67 nights with Steve Davis on the Radiance. I never got tired of him. So talented!

 

 

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Typically I pay little attention to the CDs but on New Year's cruise on Vision he was impossible to miss:) What energy.

 

At the NYE party he was singing with the band and the Captain and his teenage daughter were belting out Mustang Sally and the like. My wife and I dubbed Steve "Son of Belushi", it was quite an evening:D:cool:

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Mikew0805

Mikew0805

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Honestly, up until the Majesty this last September I did not think that the CD's on Royal left much of an impression or were very good at all. Ricky was on the Majesty, and he reminded me of CD's that I do remember, and think are fantastic on Carnival, like Wee Jimmy and John Heald (When he was a CD) that made me laugh every time they said anything.

 

The one that I cannot stand is Jeff Arpin. He cannot even keep his "stories" straight on the morning show. :rolleyes:

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Joe12

Joe12

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The one that I cannot stand is Jeff Arpin. He cannot even keep his "stories" straight on the morning show. :rolleyes:

 

From everything that I have heard, it seems that Jeff is stuck in a bit of a time warp, and has a style that doesn't suit modern day cruising. It must have been particularly amusing for the guests when his Activities Manager was Darryl Dyball (flamboyant, energetic and fun).

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TrojanUSC

TrojanUSC

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Ricky Matthews was one of my least favorites. His Love & Marriage was embarrassing, in that he didn't conduct it the same way as other CDs, where the panelists are brought off-stage. He had them face back to back and made the entire show about himself, rather than the guests. I've never seen such a steady stream of people leaving a RCL show (except for the second half of CATS).

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Joe12

Joe12

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Ricky Matthews was one of my least favorites. His Love & Marriage was embarrassing, in that he didn't conduct it the same way as other CDs, where the panelists are brought off-stage. He had them face back to back and made the entire show about himself, rather than the guests. I've never seen such a steady stream of people leaving a RCL show (except for the second half of CATS).

 

I don't get why Ricky thinks that would be a good idea for L&M. Surely the whole point of it is to separate the couples during the questioning? Without that, you are just watching people write on whiteboards, so no surprise that so many people walked out.

Give me Abe Hughes any day.

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bartel11

bartel11

Posted
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Best

 

1. Marc “Bing Bong” Walker

2. Graham Seymour

 

Haven’t had a “bad” one yet. My opinion is that a bad or average cruise director will have little no no impact on your cruise, and you may not even notice he’s there. A great cruise director however, takes an already good experience to the next level!

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Joe12

Joe12

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I disagree - a bad one can negatively affect a cruise if they do not schedule activities well, especially on cold weather sailings.

 

Two examples from my own experience:

John Blair scheduled the Love and Marriage Game Show at 10.30pm on the last evening of our cruise on Anthem, which made no sense, and probably was fairly lightly attended. It was a 9 day cruise, so not sure what John was thinking. If it was anywhere between Day 3 and Day 8, I would have probably gone, but not on the last night.

 

Another example would be Casey Pelter, who I had on the Serenade. For 3 nights in a row, and a few more later in the cruise, there was only one show per evening, and it was later than 10pm. Not good enough when it is the Summer vacation for many, with a lot of kids onboard. Those CD's who are irritating can also get on one's nerve.

 

I don't usually let these things get to me, but I am using these as examples of when a CD can negatively affect a sailing.

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