Cruise Directors

[ishap]

I see a lot of people talk about their favorite cruise directors or about who is cruise director on which ships.  Am I the only one who doesn't really pay attention to the CDs?  I choose a ship based on ship/destination  and have never wondered who the CD was before I boarded the ship.  The wife and I tend to be very low key on cruises, so don't really do the deck parties and such.  Maybe I'm in the minority here...

[teknoge3k]

You'll notice a good CD. We go to the deck parties and a lot of the shows, so we see the CD often. If I stayed away from the action I probably wouldn't notice them either, aside from the announcements. If you have a good CD like Dr. E., Cookie, Mat Seguin, you definitely notice them and remember them. 

[evandbob]

Of all the lines we've sailed on, Carnival has the longest winded CD announcers telling us what event we just can't miss or stuff we would regret not buying.....I've always said my fav CD is the one with laryngitis.

 

I wish I can ignore them all the time, but they have a habit of making a blaring spiel two minutes into my latest nap!

[TNcruising02]

I never paid attention to them either until I was lucky enough to have Matt Mitcham as a CD.  I had no idea a CD could be so entertaining, funny, and involved.  Most of the CDs are not memorable to me, but I will always remember the time Matt was CD of one of my cruises.  He was everywhere on the ship.  It seemed like the guy never slept.  And he was so funny.  I didn't care for the Vista ship, but Matt made the cruise one of the best we've ever taken.

[ishap]

26 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

I never paid attention to them either until I was lucky enough to have Matt Mitcham as a CD.  I had no idea a CD could be so entertaining, funny, and involved.  Most of the CDs are not memorable to me, but I will always remember the time Matt was CD of one of my cruises.  He was everywhere on the ship.  It seemed like the guy never slept.  And he was so funny.  I didn't care for the Vista ship, but Matt made the cruise one of the best we've ever taken.

 

We are sailing Mardi Gras in August of 2020 so I will see first hand if Matt changes my thoughts.

[Cruisin sun and fun]

I couldn't tell you who our previous CD's were but I can tell you the name of our last one, "Schwartz".  He was great, would see him all around the ship, very funny and energetic but we do go to a lot of the shows and parties.  I think the role of the CD has changed in recent years, their more involved it seems.  With that being said, I would not pick a cruise for the CD, has absolutely no influence at all on my decision.

[mdsgu]

The really good ones are.....really good.  The rest are just meh.

[Lottacruises]

For me it's about destination first, then the ship. A good  cruise director is a bonus.

[PhillyFan33579]

48 minutes ago, Cruisin sun and fun said:

I couldn't tell you who our previous CD's were but I can tell you the name of our last one, "Schwartz".  He was great, would see him all around the ship, very funny and energetic but we do go to a lot of the shows and parties.  I think the role of the CD has changed in recent years, their more involved it seems.  With that being said, I would not pick a cruise for the CD, has absolutely no influence at all on my decision.

 

We have cruised with Schwartz several times, including last week on Breeze. He is one of my favorite CDs, but his announcements can be very long winded. More than once I heard someone say does he not realize passengers have access to the schedule on Fun Times and the Carnival App. 

 

Like someone previously mentioned, if you don’t attend shows or events hosted by the CD, chances are good you will go the entire cruise without ever seeing the CD. 

[Shaded Lady]

I could only tell you the name of our last CD, because of who he wasn't, and what he didn't do! 

 

Cookie Adams filled in for a week on our Vista cruise and I was really disappointed because I was really looking forward to seeing for myself what all the Matt Mitcham hype was about. That's the 'who he wasn't'.

 

The 'what he didn't do' was engage very many of the cruisers, or follow through on promises, or make anyone under the age of 18 feel a part of the cruise! My 10 YO grandson was really unhappy with some of the stunts he pulled (inviting my GS & a bunch of other 10-12 year olds to come play dodgeball at a specific time, only for them to show up and be told it was for 18+ only; one of the parents asked him to arrange something similar for the younger kids- he blew her off)… there was no follow-through or interest- it was obvious he was just a fill-in and didn't really care.

[ishap]

5 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

I could only tell you the name of our last CD, because of who he wasn't, and what he didn't do! 

 

Cookie Adams filled in for a week on our Vista cruise and I was really disappointed because I was really looking forward to seeing for myself what all the Matt Mitcham hype was about. That's the 'who he wasn't'.

 

The 'what he didn't do' was engage very many of the cruisers, or follow through on promises, or make anyone under the age of 18 feel a part of the cruise! My 10 YO grandson was really unhappy with some of the stunts he pulled (inviting my GS & a bunch of other 10-12 year olds to come play dodgeball at a specific time, only for them to show up and be told it was for 18+ only; one of the parents asked him to arrange something similar for the younger kids- he blew her off)… there was no follow-through or interest- it was obvious he was just a fill-in and didn't really care.

 

I've never seen that but it sounds pretty terrible.  Don't say something if you aren't going to follow through.

[CruisingViper]

is there a list of them somewhere to review? how do you find out who the CD will be on an upcoming cruise?

[rn4t5]

29 minutes ago, CruisingViper said:

is there a list of them somewhere to review? how do you find out who the CD will be on an upcoming cruise?

https://airtable.com/shrxzucqLGHbpDmm8/tblZJCAW6us7UhDmZ?blocks=hide&fbclid=IwAR3mrZV4yHuid5l89AfAHJjFTE8Gzn4ux8s61qgBlmt0mrzTAagp_JGgp8U

[dmet0225]

I don't book a cruise based on who might or might not be the CD.  I couldn't even tell you who the CD was on our cruise last summer.  I CAN tell you who the CD was on our cruise 2 years ago, and that was Malcolm Burns.  He was outstanding.  I can also tell you who I don't want t have as a CD again, and that's Jen.  By the end of the cruise, her voice grates on my every last nerve.

[smurfm69]

 We have been on enough cruises to not care a whole lot about who the cruise director is.  Now having said that, we just cruised with Mike Pack on the Horizon and he was pretty damn awesome.  He was at all the big functions and brought a lot of fun, energy, and hugs to the cruise!  We will continue to book future cruises based on destination ports and departure ports, but a great cruise director can really enhance the fun.

Edited July 8, 2019 by smurfm69
correction

[Chervil]

So far, all of our CDs have been good.

Our first was with the Flying Scotsman. He is funny and energetic and was a decent singer to boot!

 

6 hours ago, Cruisin sun and fun said:

I couldn't tell you who our previous CD's were but I can tell you the name of our last one, "Schwartz".  He was great, would see him all around the ship, very funny and energetic but we do go to a lot of the shows and parties.  I think the role of the CD has changed in recent years, their more involved it seems.  With that being said, I would not pick a cruise for the CD, has absolutely no influence at all on my decision.

 

Schwartz was our CD on the Breeze and was pretty funny. While I didn't notice him too much during the sea days (except for his announcements) you could NOT miss him on the pier.
We had a balcony and in Cozumel he was out with a huge speaker blasting music and singing and dancing while cheering on the Pier Runners.
Last person was just sort of speed walking towards the ship so he ran out to meet them and then ran beside them to get them to speed it up. Also, he started playing Chariots of Fire while running with the last guy, which was hilarious to watch!

 

7 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

I never paid attention to them either until I was lucky enough to have Matt Mitcham as a CD.  I had no idea a CD could be so entertaining, funny, and involved.  Most of the CDs are not memorable to me, but I will always remember the time Matt was CD of one of my cruises.  He was everywhere on the ship.  It seemed like the guy never slept.  And he was so funny.  I didn't care for the Vista ship, but Matt made the cruise one of the best we've ever taken.

So far our favorite!
Had him on the Vista earlier this year and he was phenomenal!
So much energy and did a great job of getting people motivated.
Also wore a shirt that said "Free Hugs" and was actually serious about giving a hug to ANYONE that came up asking for one.

He was really good on the stage as well and his crew that danced and helped him were good as well.
You could tell they all really enjoyed working together.

We have another cruise on the Vista this October, but will miss Matt by literally one week (he gets back on board the cruise AFTER ours).

We'll see how good Kyndall Fire is. She has some big shoes to fill!

[mkcurran]

My first cruise out there was some kid as the CD. He sucked. Didn't really get what all the hype was about. The next cruise I got to sail with Lee. I could listen and watch him all day. Such a difference. I'd be happy if I got to cruise with him again. But really I'm going to pick itinerary first, then what ship and who's in charge will be second. 

[CruisingViper]

I remember having Mike Pack and TJ Partida in the past, both were great from what I remember. I don't see my previous CD's on the roster there so they probably moved on (the cruises were years ago, so it makes sense). 

 

Good to know I'll be getting Matt in November. Is there show or event with him that is "must see"? We like make it to the couples show toward the end of the cruise but don't have anything else that we always catch, just see what looks interesting that works out for us to make it to. 

[linbobky]

Out of our 21 cruises with carnival, in my own opinion, i rate Criss Wiliams number one. Mikey number two and Cory Rogers number three.

[pooksma]

22 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

I never paid attention to them either until I was lucky enough to have Matt Mitcham as a CD.  I had no idea a CD could be so entertaining, funny, and involved.  Most of the CDs are not memorable to me, but I will always remember the time Matt was CD of one of my cruises.  He was everywhere on the ship.  It seemed like the guy never slept.  And he was so funny.  I didn't care for the Vista ship, but Matt made the cruise one of the best we've ever taken.

I feel exactly the same. Never paid a whole lot of attention (our son did get a shout out on the'morning show' when we cruised on his birthday once) but have to say Matt was great and I didn't care for the Vista either 🙂

[Mary49]

I HAD THE FLYING SCOTSMAN.  HE WAS VERY GOOD ON THE SUNRISE....

[Charm2018]

20 hours ago, Shaded Lady said:

I could only tell you the name of our last CD, because of who he wasn't, and what he didn't do! 

 

Cookie Adams filled in for a week on our Vista cruise and I was really disappointed because I was really looking forward to seeing for myself what all the Matt Mitcham hype was about. That's the 'who he wasn't'.

 

The 'what he didn't do' was engage very many of the cruisers, or follow through on promises, or make anyone under the age of 18 feel a part of the cruise! My 10 YO grandson was really unhappy with some of the stunts he pulled (inviting my GS & a bunch of other 10-12 year olds to come play dodgeball at a specific time, only for them to show up and be told it was for 18+ only; one of the parents asked him to arrange something similar for the younger kids- he blew her off)… there was no follow-through or interest- it was obvious he was just a fill-in and didn't really care.

 

This really surprises me.  We sailed with Cookie in January and my 12 yo daughter loved him and even named her build a bear after him.  We would love to sail with him again.  I could never remember the name of a CD until we had Cookie.  I'm sorry you didn't experience the Cookie we did.

[Shaded Lady]

35 minutes ago, Charm2018 said:

 

This really surprises me.  We sailed with Cookie in January and my 12 yo daughter loved him and even named her build a bear after him.  We would love to sail with him again.  I could never remember the name of a CD until we had Cookie.  I'm sorry you didn't experience the Cookie we did.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm speculating because he was just filling in for Matt on our cruise, maybe his head wasn't in the game... we had researched him a bit before our cruise and heard good things- he just didn't live up to the hype on our cruise as far as my family was concerned... and a lot of the folks on our roll call felt the same.

[luvsboozecruises]

1 hour ago, Mary49 said:

I HAD THE FLYING SCOTSMAN.  HE WAS VERY GOOD ON THE SUNRISE....

Matt is great but the flying Scotsman might be better, have cruised with Matt 3 times ...