Cruise Director - Horizon....Donkey was a disappointment

[Don Kehote]

3 hours ago, Is1andDreamer said:

 I remember Big Sexy mainly because he was a huge History buff

You seen Josh lately?  He's now MEDIUM SEXY.

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, Is1andDreamer said:

I was on this cruise also, I told Captain Stubing about this personally and he ensured me she would be talked to about it all so they didn't end up being known as "The LoveBoat" or something.

I heard that guy brought his 10-year-old illegitimate daughter, Vicki,  on board and had her working for Julie checking passengers in as they boarded. 

Edited January 10, 2022 by staceyglow

[staceyglow]

32 minutes ago, Don Kehote said:

You seen Josh lately?  He's now MEDIUM SEXY.

If I am not mistaken, "sexy" and "history buff" are mutually exclusive terms.

[cruisingguy007]

On 8/11/2021 at 7:16 PM, ejnsb said:

Probably in the minority here but the CD doesn't affect our experience.   The sailaway might be the first and last time we see them.

 

Exactly, CD is just the annoying person who wakes me up with their frequent anoucemnts lol. Couldn't care less.  

[cruisingguy007]

2 hours ago, staceyglow said:

I have been cruising a long time, and I have to say that the worst CD I have ever had was one from Princess in the late 1970's.

 

-She got closely involved with the goings-on of a handful of passengers for the entire cruise and ignored everyone else

-She seemed to spend more time hanging out with her crew member friends than she did actually doing her job

-She hooked up with passengers on a regular basis

-She kept booking Charo as the lounge entertainment

 

To this day I still remember her name...Julie McCoy

 

 

That settles it! Julie MCCoy is the best cruise director ever. That's true dedication to making passangers happy. Haters going to hate. 😁 

[gnocchi_mommy]

We liked him! Different strokes for different folks I guess. 
 

My favorite though hands down is Reverend Doctor E!!

[Rudyard]

I'll never book a cruise for a particular CD, and having one that is "less than" will never ruin my cruise. Most of the ones I've had with Carnival have been good, but not great, until I cruised with Dr E on Magic. His muster drill commentary had us in stiches. Fast forward to my last cruise and I got to cruise with Cookie. He's easily become my favorite. His energy and sense of humor are awesome. He's the first CD where I went to all of his morning shows. Dr E is one of the CDs that he gives credit to for making him the CD he is today. I'm looking forward to seeing him again next month. 

[cjacruiser]

25 minutes ago, Rudyard said:

I'll never book a cruise for a particular CD, and having one that is "less than" will never ruin my cruise. Most of the ones I've had with Carnival have been good, but not great, until I cruised with Dr E on Magic. His muster drill commentary had us in stiches. Fast forward to my last cruise and I got to cruise with Cookie. He's easily become my favorite. His energy and sense of humor are awesome. He's the first CD where I went to all of his morning shows. Dr E is one of the CDs that he gives credit to for making him the CD he is today. I'm looking forward to seeing him again next month. 

Couldn't have said it better. Never paid much attention to CDs until we cruised with Cookie. As I read through posts, I kept thinking "Obviously they haven't sailed with my man Cookie!"

[SNJCruisers]

Have sailed on Carnival 20 times over the past 35 years.  Have never had a memorable CD.  Did have an assistant CD that will  forever be etched in my brain.  A 6 foot tall blonde nicknamed "too tall"  Amy(?) who was on the Breeze in 2013.

[topaz123]

Sure miss the CD of old....this new batch is really poor.  Zero MoJo ....

[1kaper]

8 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Have sailed on Carnival 20 times over the past 35 years.  Have never had a memorable CD.  Did have an assistant CD that will  forever be etched in my brain.  A 6 foot tall blonde nicknamed "too tall"  Amy(?) who was on the Breeze in 2013.

Hmm.

 

I think she may have been Assistant CD on one of my cruises.  We sailed the breeze in Sept of 2012 so maybe she was still on there?

 

I had John Heald as a CD on a cruise and had no idea who he was until afterwards.  I didn't know it was a "thing" until later on when I joined the forums. I did like him, he was funny. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by 1kaper

[Brkintx]

I've thus far only been on 5 cruises, so my experience set is rather small. But my impression was that the CD was not on board to entertain anyone, but rather to sell wares and generate revenue.

"Good morning Carnival ___ family...  We're slashing slashing slashing prices, come on down, under the big top... bring the kids and the pets, we have hot dogs and popcorn" nearly every waking hour. 

(yes, I'm exaggerating for humor's sake, but my point is in the center there...)

 

Joking aside, I've never been on a sailing with Donkey, so I have no opinion on him directly. However, CD are public figures, so critique (and compliment) of them in a public setting is certainly fair game. I didn't read any post where there was a personal attack on Donkey (there was one questioning his motivation in "picking on" a specific category of crowd member along with one who defended him).

I DID read several professional critiques (both positive and negative). Sorry mom of employee, it's their choice to be public figures, I think this comes with it.

[Cushing985]

On 8/11/2021 at 10:16 PM, ejnsb said:

Probably in the minority here but the CD doesn't affect our experience.   The sailaway might be the first and last time we see them.

 

I actually feel the same way.  I couldn't tell you the name of the CDs who have been on the ships I cruised on.  Maybe if they got rid of the silly nicknames (Donkey, The Flying Scotsman, Jersey Mike, ad nauseam) I might think of them as adults and take them seriously.

[Haagendawgs]

Just posting to say my wife and I loved Donkey. He was hilarious and he called me out and embarrassed me one time…just part of the charm that sometime you are the one picked on.

 

There was also a woman who was clearly drunk who was publicly harassing a very elderly gentleman. She thought she was being funny, but the guy was horrified and it was truly inappropriate. Donkey handled it with aplomb.

 

Laughed so much on that cruise.

[icft]

Having been on about 30 cruises all the cruise directors have done good jobs with master of ceremonies activities and the like. Some were better than others, but all good. So for the most part they have not been on our radar. But they can make some things unpleasant and that is when I notice them. For example, we had one cruise director who gave bad information (in writing) on disembarking. That leaves a mark! On our December cruise on Glory the cruise director hired a DJ that played rap . Opera and rap are the only two musical genres that are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

 

I think it is the behind the scenes things that make a good or bad cruise director - organizing things, hiring talent and the like.

[ledges1]

If I enjoy my cruise and the programs I attend, the CD has done a good job. It is the overall experience of the cruise and not the "look at me" CD. They are annoying.

[mikebisch]

There's a cruise director?  Is that the dude on the TV in your stateroom trying to sell you stuff all the time?

[Joe817]

1 hour ago, mikebisch said:

There's a cruise director?  Is that the dude on the TV in your stateroom trying to sell you stuff all the time?

No, that's the dude on your TV in your stateroom trying to sell you stuff all the time. The cruise director is the dude jumping out by the swimming pool all the time.