Cruise & Travel Director position

[VACARITraveler]

I recently wrote to HAL regarding some of our experiences on our Voyage of the Midnight Sun cruise from Amsterdam to Norway and return and received an interesting reply.  (It was not a complaint letter, just sharing some observations that went beyond the routine survey).  One thing I mentioned was that I heard rumblings that they were doing away with the EXC Guide position and that there was even speculation that the Cruise Director position was being eliminated.  In the reply I received, this was what was said: "...we recently evolved the Cruise Director position into the Cruise & Travel Director as a result of listening to our guests."  I find it interesting that they take one of the busiest people on the ship and add duties to his or her position (I hope they at least get more salary).  On our last cruise the EXC Guide did all the port talks in English and Dutch - something the Cruise Director could not have done.  Also, the EXC Guide was outstanding, she really helped us enjoy our experience in Norway by giving us extremely useful information.  I'm not sure if this move is good or bad, but thought I would just put it out there.

[rucrazy]

3 minutes ago, VACARITraveler said:

"...we recently evolved the Cruise Director position into the Cruise & Travel Director as a result of listening to our guests."  

 

I seriously question this... Just to be clear I question the listening portion of that statement!

 

@VACARITraveler thanks for this information!

Edited September 19, 2019 by rucrazy

[Alberta Quilter]

I just experienced the new role on my cruise that ended on Sunday.  I thought it was an awful decision.  The CTD gave incorrect information at his talk on Quebec City as to where we were docking (something that was posted on the port website a week or two before the cruise started and never changed).  I noticed other inconsistencies in other talks, too.  He obviously had not been to many Canadian ports and knew little about them.  I got better information doing my own research in advance of the cruise.  He gave very little practical information.  I made it clear on my post cruise survey that they should bring split the role back into two positions.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I experienced this combining of positions in June on the Volendam Alaska cruise. It appeared to me that the port talks and were "canned" and very short and they probably were  written by someone in Seattle office. Although the C and T Director lived in Alaska, the talks were still not as good as have been in the past. 

 

I have trouble believing that HAL listened to its guest on this matter when I see them not listening to any other suggestions that have been made.

[drowelf]

1 hour ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

I have trouble believing that HAL listened to its guest on this matter when I see them not listening to any other suggestions that have been made.

 

Yeah, have to agree with this. Some of the excellent EXC Port Guide I have experienced over the years, would not make good Cruise Directors. The good ones tend to create their own presentations based on their personal experiences in visiting the ports. A canned script is not the kind of information I'm looking for out of these presentations. 

[Copper10-8]

Had the Cruise & Travel Director on Nieuw A last month. Although she (Rebekkah) was very good, taking away a specialized position like EXC Guide, announced with a lot of hullabaloo along with the EXC program not too long ago, is another example of "dumbing down" 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds like HAL is going in the wrong direction -- again.

[DeeniEncinitas]

What happened to the good old days?

Im not old, but sure enjoyed the days of HAL even a few years ago!

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

What do you think the chances are of the Cruise and Travel Director hanging out for the first hour at the Gangway to handle last minute questions?

 

Roy

[AncientWanderer]

 

I really feel sorry for the Cruise and Travel Director.  He/she will receive poor reviews, no matter the effort put in.  The ships are holding more passengers, not fewer.  They need more staff to help out.

[swin26]

Ian Page was promoted to one of the new positions.  We have sailed with him a few times and he is excellent and knows the ports well. He is on gangway answering questions and is regularly seen around the ship.  I hope to sail with him again, in his new role!  I forget which ship he was assigned to.  

[jb008]

Is HAL adding on the Entertainment Director roles?  I remember one of the lines (either Princess or HAL) rolled that out in the last year or two where they had removed some of the burden off the CD to plan and book entertainment performers and I could see the travel addition to be  away to "give" the CD back some additional responsibilities.

 

Don't they have multiple EXC staff members still, so was the guide a near-senior EXC person who was more forward facing by giving tour and port info?  I remember other lines having people around to give this kind of talk even though they weren't the "EXC guide".  

[SilvertoGold]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

What do you think the chances are of the Cruise and Travel Director hanging out for the first hour at the Gangway to handle last minute questions?

 

Roy

 

 

We saw the CD, HD, GSM, EXC Houskeeper and other Hotel officers taking shifts on the dock seeing pax off in ports on the Westerdam in June and August Alaska cruises.  Does that count, Roy?

[rafinmd]

1 minute ago, SilvertoGold said:

 

 

We saw the CD, HD, GSM, EXC Houskeeper and other Hotel officers taking shifts on the dock seeing pax off in ports on the Westerdam in June and August Alaska cruises.  Does that count, Roy?

Probably not unless they were ready to answer questions.

 

That's been a unique feature of HAL up to now.

 

Roy

[SilvertoGold]

Just now, rafinmd said:

Probably not unless they were ready to answer questions.

 

That's been a unique feature of HAL up to now.

 

Roy

 

Oh, they were answering questions, all of them, or looking for help if they didn't know.  Talking to the pax in a non-superficial way, too.

[sevenseasnomad]

While the cruise and travel director attends to one side of their job, the other side suffers.  No one wins in this situation regardless of how knowledgeable the person is about the ports.  Unfortunately, it's a lose-lose situation for both the director and for the passengers.  What sane passengers would want less or inaccurate information about the ports or fewer activities on the ship, especially on sea days?  It's a shame that the very things which made HAL stand out from some of the competition are the very things Seattle seems determined to eliminate.  Sad.

Edited September 19, 2019 by sevenseasnomad

[fatcat04]

31 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

  It's a shame that the very things which made HAL stand out from some of the competition are the very things Seattle seems determined to eliminate.  Sad.

Exactly. The decision to eliminate some of HALs unique features and special touches can only be explained as a financial one, certainly not a customer satisfaction/quality of service one, regardless of the corporate double speak. 

[St Pete Cruiser]

1 hour ago, jb008 said:

Is HAL adding on the Entertainment Director roles?  I remember one of the lines (either Princess or HAL) rolled that out in the last year or two where they had removed some of the burden off the CD to plan and book entertainment performers and I could see the travel addition to be  away to "give" the CD back some additional responsibilities.

 

Don't they have multiple EXC staff members still, so was the guide a near-senior EXC person who was more forward facing by giving tour and port info?  I remember other lines having people around to give this kind of talk even though they weren't the "EXC guide".  

On the last two HAL cruises, Westerdam and Zuiderdam, we met a production supervisor who does handle all the entertainment from show lounge to Billboard, Lincoln Center, etc.  The Cruise director's job was no longer a major staff position.  

 

However, the EXC guide, port lecturer, etc, was vital for those of us in new territory in search of answers.  If this position is given to the CD who gives canned speeches in lieu of actual knowledge, then please tell Seattle that this plan is bad for us and therefore bad for them as well.

[Mary229]

I have experienced this new combination personnel without realizing it was a fleet wide change.  Most of the EXC talks were like listening to someone poorly recite a travel book.    Truthfully in all of my years of cruising I have only had one memorable cruise director and that was on HAL but the EXC talks were always special.   

[MikeD4134]

I received this email in response to my question about the EXC program.

 

Dear Mr. Drennen,

We have have looked into your inquiry and found no truth  to the rumor that HAL is terminating all  Travel Guides and EXC Guides and ending those programs.

Best Regards,
Shore EXCursions Reservation Team

Shore EXCursions Reservation
Phone: 888-425-9376 | 206-626-7320
Holland America Line | 450 Third Avenue West | Seattle, WA 98119

[Alberta Quilter]

On my cruise which ended on Sunday, there was still a Travel guide.  But there was also a Cruise & Travel Director who gave the port talks.  So the response above is technically correct but there was still a significant change in the CD position.

[caribill]

On the Maasdam this summer, the CTD position was held by a person who had been an EXC guide before being put in the CTD role.

 

He was excellent in all of the port talks that he gave. Very knowledgeable about each port with a number of slides which were extremely informative. He obviously had been to all of the ports and had very current information about them.

[whogo]

23 hours ago, VACARITraveler said:

I find it interesting that they take one of the busiest people [cruise director] on the ship and add duties to his or her position (I hope they at least get more salary)

I never thought the cruise director was one of the busiest people on the ship. The ones I have seen have only introduced the shows (and told us to applaud afterwards), made a daily announcement or two or three and ran an occasional trivia game.

[Lady Chew]

13 hours ago, whogo said:

I never thought the cruise director was one of the busiest people on the ship. The ones I have seen have only introduced the shows (and told us to applaud afterwards), made a daily announcement or two or three and ran an occasional trivia game.

 

The cruise directors do many things that you do not see, mainly involved with supervision/coordination of all activities for passengers.  

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

On 9/19/2019 at 10:13 AM, Copper10-8 said:

Had the Cruise & Travel Director on Nieuw A last month. Although she (Rebekkah) was very good, taking away a specialized position like EXC Guide, announced with a lot of hullabaloo along with the EXC program not too long ago, is another example of "dumbing down" 

 

I could not agree more.  A good EXC (Port) Guide is worth their weight in gold.  😎 We recently had an outstanding guide on Veendam this summer.  However, he left after the first 12 days.  His replacement tried his best, but as this was his first contract, and he had not been to many of the ports, he lacked the detailed knowledge an experienced guide has.  That being said, he did his best to learn about the ports, and as we neared a repeat port, his information was better.

On 9/19/2019 at 1:37 PM, rafinmd said:

What do you think the chances are of the Cruise and Travel Director hanging out for the first hour at the Gangway to handle last minute questions?

 

Roy

On the same cruise, both the EXC guide and the CD were on the dock as passengers got off the ship, and both answered passengers' questions.  In fact, the CD often stayed on the dock after the time the EXC guide was supposed to be there.  This particular CD, I feel will do a good job if he has to wear both hats.

 

Still, I think Seattle should NOT do away with the EXC guide position.