Princess Senior Ship Staff, inc Cruise Directors & Entertainment Directors

[tarheelz1995]

For the newbies among us sailing on Majestic Princess, I found this old bio on our CD, Dan Falconer:

 

"I was born at a very young age in my hometown of Bournemouth in the UK. I have worked for Princess for 12 years, 1.6 days and 42 minutes. [ed: Now 13 years+] Some people say I'm superficial, but that is just on the surface. I actually have a heart of gold, but then so does a boiled egg. I'm humble and proud of it and I must be useful to the running of the ship because yesterday my boss called me a tool. I have high initiative, I just need to be told when to use it and I never repeat myself. Integrity is important to me, I'll sell you mine for $50. I also never repeat myself. Say hello if you see me around the ship or shore. Follow me on Instagram @ cruisedirector_danfalconer."

[Eaglecw]

On 7/4/2021 at 3:52 PM, suzyed said:

Is Billy Hygate the one who spends a great deal of time at the Casino Bar?

Is he still around? I haven't seen or heard anything about him in a long time.

[ILOVESHIPS]

Has  anyone heard who will be on  the  Grand Princess  Sept. 25  2021.  The first  ship  out  of   Los  Angeles.

[MJC]

If anyone knows who the CD will be on Caribbean Princess in November 2021, please share.

[cr8tiv1]

Matt O' has left Princess.  He will not be on the Regal.

[MustangGT]

On 7/2/2021 at 6:47 AM, Pink-belle said:

It’s funny how we are all different, I’d be thinking of cancelling if it was Kelvin Joy 🥴 only joking, I wouldn’t cancel, but I would be disappointed. He just isn’t my cup of tea.

Yes, we are all different.  Kelvin Joy was exactly our cup of tea!  You are in the clear as he moved up from CD to ED so I don’t know how much passenger interaction he will have.

[dides]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Matt O' has left Princess.  He will not be on the Regal.

Now replaced by Andi Sanders 

[voljeep]

50 minutes ago, dides said:

Now replaced by Andi Sanders 

 

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Matt O' has left Princess.  He will not be on the Regal.

wonder if any will cancel their cruise(s) on the Regal now ? - ** deleted ** ( 

[ILOVESHIPS]

Everyone  liked  Matt O.  Full of  energy.

Where is  he  going.

[Wisconsin Travelers]

22 hours ago, voljeep said:

 

wonder if any will cancel their cruise(s) on the Regal now ? - ** deleted ** ( 

Yup!  We were booked on the Regal transatlantic (11/3) and cancelled the moment we learned Matt was no longer on board.

 

[voljeep]

11 minutes ago, Wisconsin Travelers said:

Yup!  We were booked on the Regal transatlantic (11/3) and cancelled the moment we learned Matt was no longer on board.

 

that is some 'groupie' dedication right there - congrats 🤑

I don't understand it, but I do respect it in others

 

did you replace your cruise with something else?

[billco]

22 minutes ago, Wisconsin Travelers said:

Yup!  We were booked on the Regal transatlantic (11/3) and cancelled the moment we learned Matt was no longer on board.

 

I am booked on the Regal TA (11/3). If we cancel, it will be because of CD (Covid) not CD (Cruise Director). From his rambling overdramatic FB post, it is understandable why he is moving on.

[Doug R.]

1 hour ago, Wisconsin Travelers said:

Yup!  We were booked on the Regal transatlantic (11/3) and cancelled the moment we learned Matt was no longer on board.

 

Really??????!!!!! 🙄

[USERBOYD66]

20 hours ago, billco said:

I am booked on the Regal TA (11/3). If we cancel, it will be because of CD (Covid) not CD (Cruise Director). From his rambling overdramatic FB post, it is understandable why he is moving on.

I read over his comments a few times, looking to see what this will mean for other/furture Cruise Directors.  Did anyone pick up some hidden messages on what will change?

 

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, USERBOYD66 said:

I read over his comments a few times, looking to see what this will mean for other/furture Cruise Directors.  Did anyone pick up some hidden messages on what will change?

 

yes - no CD is 'bigger' than the entity - no matter how popular they may be on CC - and even then, the chinks in the armour rust thru and a new CD will arise

[Pam in CA]

On 7/22/2021 at 12:00 PM, ILOVESHIPS said:

Matt O…Where is  he  going.

He arrived home yesterday. No word on future plans. 

[tarheelz1995]

As a cruising newbie, this is such an interesting thread.  With thousands of people on a ship, how can a particular CD or ED make a meaningful difference to your experiences?  Doesn't Princess program the entertainment and activities pretty consistently across the fleet?  

 

Educate me!

Edited July 24, 2021 by tarheelz1995

[Steelers36]

34 minutes ago, tarheelz1995 said:

As a cruising newbie, this is such an interesting thread.  With thousands of people on a ship, how can a particular CD or ED make a meaningful difference to your experiences?  Doesn't Princess program the entertainment and activities pretty consistently across the fleet?  

 

Educate me!

Some of the CD Staff really put a great effort into their jobs and are natural with "gift-of-the-gab" and very personable around people.  They can make passenger events just that much more enjoyable in how they conduct the entertainment and how they interact with various passengers in the audience. 

 

Others may be more suited to organizing and running things.  I don't profess to "know" Matt O, but I am sure we have had him before - at least prior to his CD promotion.

 

Perhaps he is not best-suited for the team lead role.  I have no idea, but some are hinting at that.  He seems at home mixing in with the passengers and having fun with the activities.

 

I hope Princess can continue to attract excellent talent.  

[lstone19]

3 hours ago, tarheelz1995 said:

As a cruising newbie, this is such an interesting thread.  With thousands of people on a ship, how can a particular CD or ED make a meaningful difference to your experiences?  Doesn't Princess program the entertainment and activities pretty consistently across the fleet?  

 

While the programming is consistent, the people make a difference. For some, it's more important than others. And every CD and ED seems to have their loyal fans even if others dislike them. 

I've posted before that we cruised Princess again after our first Princess cruise in 1993 as we were very unimpressed by the CD who came off to us as thinking that the featured entertainers and production shows were just warm-up acts for his own singing. But he obviously was well-liked by others as he was still working (moving up to ED when that change occurred) right until the shutdown last year. Will he be back?  I don't know.

 

A bad CD or ED won't break a cruise for us and I'd never cancel a cruise because a particular CD or ED won't be on it and wouldn't even cancel if the one described above was going to be on it. But we have enjoyed cruises with good ones a little bit more than the others.

[Thrak]

8 hours ago, tarheelz1995 said:

As a cruising newbie, this is such an interesting thread.  With thousands of people on a ship, how can a particular CD or ED make a meaningful difference to your experiences?  Doesn't Princess program the entertainment and activities pretty consistently across the fleet?  

 

Educate me!

 

Many people like to take part in Trivia, Yes/No, Liar's Club, etc. The CD staff runs those. We had an assistant CD that pretty much nobody on the ship liked. He pretty much ruined all of those activities by being a complete jerk and *****. This was in addition to being rude to the passengers. Some of the activities were actually run by the CD. GAH! Totally out of her depth when dealing with actual people.   Many folks also watch the Wake Show. This same CD (naturally) along with the horrible Assistant CD  ran it every day. The CD was pathetic and seemed to actually be stupid. It was sad. Very sad. It was actually kind of painful seeing these people being completely lost at the job they were being paid to perform. A good CD and CD Staff can help to make a cruise a pleasure if you like to attend these types of events. We had never (ever!) encountered Princess staff who were so out of their depth, so obviously incompetent, and who tried to make up for it by denigrating the passengers as if it was their fault.

 

We have always loved cruising with Princess and have enjoyed interacting with the CD and his/her staff. Even those we found to be "ho-hum" were okay as they were trying and weren't actively unpleasant. Finding crew who were the antithesis of what we had come to expect definitely did have an adverse effect on our cruise experience.

[karatemom2]

For those of you here who choose to comment or speculate about Matt I would say emphatically that unless you know him personally or have some magical inside knowledge about his departure, perhaps it would be best to just remain silent on the matter. All I know is that in our more than fifteen years cruising with Princess, Matt was by far the most gifted, entertaining, kind and wonderful member of the entertainment staff and ultimately Cruise Director that we have ever enjoyed on ANY line. We had the great good fortune to sail with him even before he was promoted and I remember our very first cruise with him thinking to myself that this young man is going places and I was right. His decision is Princess' loss and ours as passengers and I only wish him the very best. This pandemic has been a long hard slog for all of us. We have all gone through something traumatic and changed in the process. Many people are reevaluating what is important to them in life after this experience and quite rightly he should pursue what fulfills him and makes him happy. Clearly that is not to be found with Princess at this point. No doubt he will land where he belongs and continue to spread his unique brand of fun and joy wherever that may be. I am so thankful that my family had the pleasure of getting to know him. He made our cruise vacations with Princess ten thousand times more fun and memorable and I will always be grateful. 

[Kay S]

On 7/24/2021 at 2:23 PM, tarheelz1995 said:

 Doesn't Princess program the entertainment and activities pretty consistently across the fleet?  

Yes and no.  🙂  There are things that are common among the ships, trivia, karaoke, demonstrations, etc., but they will have a different "flavor" depending on the individual ship and its staff.  Some CDs are more lively than others.  I have my own little evaluation system based on the daily "Wake Show."  If the host there just speeds through things according to the schedule (port stop info, marketing for the shops, etc.) I know I have a potential "dud" CD.  When a host does fun things like trivia contests or interviewing crew members in addition to the requisite drill and sell routine, I know that CD might be worth stopping to chat with if I encounter him or her out on deck.  Of course, it is perfectly possible to enjoy a cruise while never even learning the identity of the CD, and I have had that experience, too.

[Shoequeen]

23 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

For those of you here who choose to comment or speculate about Matt I would say emphatically that unless you know him personally or have some magical inside knowledge about his departure, perhaps it would be best to just remain silent on the matter. All I know is that in our more than fifteen years cruising with Princess, Matt was by far the most gifted, entertaining, kind and wonderful member of the entertainment staff and ultimately Cruise Director that we have ever enjoyed on ANY line. We had the great good fortune to sail with him even before he was promoted and I remember our very first cruise with him thinking to myself that this young man is going places and I was right. His decision is Princess' loss and ours as passengers and I only wish him the very best. This pandemic has been a long hard slog for all of us. We have all gone through something traumatic and changed in the process. Many people are reevaluating what is important to them in life after this experience and quite rightly he should pursue what fulfills him and makes him happy. Clearly that is not to be found with Princess at this point. No doubt he will land where he belongs and continue to spread his unique brand of fun and joy wherever that may be. I am so thankful that my family had the pleasure of getting to know him. He made our cruise vacations with Princess ten thousand times more fun and memorable and I will always be grateful. 

Beautifully said!

[JsMom2]

On 7/22/2021 at 12:53 PM, voljeep said:

 

wonder if any will cancel their cruise(s) on the Regal now ? - ** deleted ** ( 

Was planning to sail with him next year, once I knew for sure where he’d be.  No need now. 

[Wisconsin Travelers]

On 7/25/2021 at 11:40 AM, karatemom2 said:

For those of you here who choose to comment or speculate about Matt I would say emphatically that unless you know him personally or have some magical inside knowledge about his departure, perhaps it would be best to just remain silent on the matter. All I know is that in our more than fifteen years cruising with Princess, Matt was by far the most gifted, entertaining, kind and wonderful member of the entertainment staff and ultimately Cruise Director that we have ever enjoyed on ANY line. We had the great good fortune to sail with him even before he was promoted and I remember our very first cruise with him thinking to myself that this young man is going places and I was right. His decision is Princess' loss and ours as passengers and I only wish him the very best. This pandemic has been a long hard slog for all of us. We have all gone through something traumatic and changed in the process. Many people are reevaluating what is important to them in life after this experience and quite rightly he should pursue what fulfills him and makes him happy. Clearly that is not to be found with Princess at this point. No doubt he will land where he belongs and continue to spread his unique brand of fun and joy wherever that may be. I am so thankful that my family had the pleasure of getting to know him. He made our cruise vacations with Princess ten thousand times more fun and memorable and I will always be grateful. 

You've certainly found a way to convey what an exceptional person and CD Matt O'' was, and to express what we also experienced with him to a "T".  Thank you for your insightful writing.  I know Matt's supporters all wish him well in whatever road he chooses to follow, and I think the respectful thing to do now is to savor our memories and move forward with new cruise experiences.  After cancelling our transatlantic on the Regal we booked another Panama Canal cruise.

 

Since this is a "cruise director" forum, another stellar Princess CD we've enjoyed tremendously was Jody Miles on our Australian cruise at the end of 2019.  Keeping our eyes open on where she might end up after this terribly long dry spell for these special folks who make their living on the sea!