Do CD's really impact your cruise experience?

[jerseyjjs]

 

      I cruise during the Fall most often and I like to check out College/NFL onboard.   I've noticed that when the CD is male, there's more of a priority to have the games showing of TVs around the ship, even the large screens.

[DirtyDawg]

For me cruise line CD's are relics of the past just like music CDs and 5 year 1% Bank CDs.  

[loungelady55]

Last week on the Radiance the Captain came on each morning and with animation stated what would be going on that day.

Ken the CD came on later and sounded like he was reading it and was quite bored.

 

[Reina del Mar]

Don’t do many shows or participate in the entertainment.

 

If CD wasn’t there, we wouldn’t notice.

 

Might be more room available in the buffet if CD and entertainment staff ate in crew quarters.

[smokeybandit]

I couldn't tell you the name of any CD I've ever cruised with nor any experiences that start with "remember how great the CD was?"

[John&LaLa]

5 hours ago, baelor said:

The idea of a CD seems a bit confusing to me--RCI is an established company, so surely there are clear expectations about entertainment etc.  I would assume that most CDs, to the extent they appear to be in charge of entertainment and guest satisfaction, do mostly the same stuff.  That is, mostly competently make sure that the entertainment is running smoothly.  Is there really a significant amount of variation on ships with 5k+ people?  That seems odd.

 

Stuff happens day to day, someone needs to be on site manager. Fairly decent sized department. 

 

I understand the need to be good at that aspect. Combination juggler/mediator/babysitter. Just don't get the cult status that some have

[mets123]

13 hours ago, DonnaK said:

We've had some dynamic CDs.  On our last cruise, Mike Whitte seemed to be everywhere, warming up the crowd, and even joined the Classic Rock tribute band on a few tracks!   Dru Pavlov would host special activities, such as Seinfeld, Friends and Sports trivia, complete with fun re-enactments of classic scenes.  Dynamic CDs also schedule extra live music, such as having the headline musical act perform a bonus show in a smaller venue, or have the featured singers of the production shows perform their own acts.  We enjoy participating in activities such as trivia and live music, and really appreciated having these additional special activities to attend.     There was always something going on that we wanted to do, and we would move from venue to venue throughout the evening.

 

On the other hand, we've been on cruises where their seemed to be nothing to do, lounges empty for long periods of time in the evening, activities felt "old" and lackluster.  Boring and ineffective cruise directing, for sure.  

I do remember Dru. He was the regular CD on the Anthem for about three years or so when she first came to Cape Liberty. He was very warm and personable. He always had time to talk to you. He's one I really miss. It's sad he doesn't work for them anymore.

[loman]

I dont care who is steering the ship , dont care who the CD is , and dont care who is serving me food . As long as i get the service , im ok with whoever they are.

I dont need to establish a relationship with servers to have a good cruise.

I like them all 🙂

[ILCTCRUISER]

14 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Stuff happens day to day, someone needs to be on site manager. Fairly decent sized department. 

 

I understand the need to be good at that aspect. Combination juggler/mediator/babysitter. Just don't get the cult status that some have

There is certainly a need for someone to manage the department and so much of that work is done behind the scenes.  On last Allure cruise, we saw the CD quite a bit…walking into Giovanni’s for a staff meeting, eating breakfast at Park Cafe.  I’m sure I’ve never watched a morning talk show.

 

[Sancho_proudfoot]

I'd say Yes, a good CD can impact positively on a cruise. On our first ever cruise, 14 years ago, on the brand new Indy, we had Ken Rush. I know he's loved and hated equally on CC  but we loved everything he did.

 

We've had a few good 'uns since - Marc Walker,  Joff Eaton, who have helped make our cruises memorable,  and of course we've had a few instantly forgettable CDs.

[orville99]

In a word - No.

[lola2013]

While I would never book a cruise based on who the CD might be, I have had several that were fabulous...and one that left me cold!

Best:  Richard Spacey on Oasis of the Seas; Sue Denning on Celebrity Reflection; Luigi DelMar on Celebrity Edge (this past January); Juan & Beverly (husband/wife) on Cunard Countess

Yuck:  I can picture him but can't remember his name (Welsh guy...just didn't get his sense of humor or lack thereof!) on Celebrity Edge in December, 2019.  

[RFerrington]

The worst, IMO is Dennis Charles (I had to look him on the internet b/c I didn't even remember his last name).  I've never seen anyone who loves the sound of his own voice more !  

[dcgrumpy]

15 hours ago, homedepot124 said:

The CD can make a huge difference when you have a great one like John Blair - and his wife Katrina.  They are heads and shoulders above all of the other CD's.  And John is the only CD we have seen recently who actually does a show on the ship with his Neil Diamond show.  The only other one I can remember who actually did a show was John Gresham on Celebrity with his Eagles show. 

 

Funny, I was going to say the CD doesn't matter to me unless it's a horrible one, like John Blair. LOL

 

What you like is what I disliked. He makes it all about himself. Different strokes. 

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by dcgrumpy

[orville99]

11 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

(I had to look him on the internet b/c I didn't even remember his last name).  I've never seen anyone who loves the sound of his own voice more !  

We try not to remember the names of any of the CD's, and quite honestly we've never seen any CD who isn't in love with the sound of their voice. 😇

[bilyclub]

I think most regular cruisers will remember the names of the good and the awful CD's for obvious reasons. Seems nowadays the turnover rate is a lot higher and a lot of them keep a low profile.

[vjmatty]

Nope... not the CD and not even the Captain, as long as he or she does not wreck the ship I don't care who my Uber driver is.

[ONECRUISER]

8 hours ago, baelor said:

The idea of a CD seems a bit confusing to me--RCI is an established company, so surely there are clear expectations about entertainment etc.  I would assume that most CDs, to the extent they appear to be in charge of entertainment and guest satisfaction, do mostly the same stuff.  That is, mostly competently make sure that the entertainment is running smoothly.  Is there really a significant amount of variation on ships with 5k+ people?  That seems odd.

What I experienced last couple Decades some work CD do is same every week, planned out on all Ships might even be Directed by Corporate. Though on smaller Ships still seem to be little more personal, more available/open to talk with Passengers. Can see why when one Ship was on has 1750-2050 passengers each Cruise and another 6000+ every week

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, Sancho_proudfoot said:

I'd say Yes, a good CD can impact positively on a cruise. On our first ever cruise, 14 years ago, on the brand new Indy, we had Ken Rush. I know he's loved and hated equally on CC  but we loved everything he did.

 

We've had a few good 'uns since - Marc Walker,  Joff Eaton, who have helped make our cruises memorable,  and of course we've had a few instantly forgettable CDs.

Yup, Ken Rush is the one was talking about. Loved or Hated he was talked about on Cruise Critic Hundreds of times 1-2 Decades ago. He was assigned to every brand new Ship I was on back then. 

[Bound4Bermuda]

2 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Yup, Ken Rush is the one was talking about. Loved or Hated he was talked about on Cruise Critic Hundreds of times 1-2 Decades ago. He was assigned to every brand new Ship I was on back then. 

Okay. Now I’m curious. What was the deal with Ken that he was so infamous?

[DaniDanielle]

Ken was a bit full of himself.  We loved Leigh and Erky from Turkey who are sadly gone.  They were all over the ship and were just fun.

[NCMtnBoys]

Nope. Couldn't care less who the CD is, or whether we ever see or hear from them.

[Eddie Wilson]

Was reading thru some of these comments and IT HIT ME.

 

When they stopped ....”If I were not upon the Seas”.....skit at final show, is the same time I stopped knowing who the CD is.

 

Also, I could be wrong here (it has happened before) but am I remembering correctly that one evening the activity staff did a show, including singing?

 

Some were quite talented.

 

Eddie

Edited June 13, 2022 by Eddie Wilson

[John&LaLa]

9 hours ago, dcgrumpy said:

 

Funny, I was going to say the CD doesn't matter to me unless it's a horrible one, like John Blair. LOL

 

What you like is what I disliked. He makes it all about himself. Different strokes. 

 

 

I hope we don't get Team Blair for the World Cruise. But I think Serenade is his ship lately

[ldubs]

On 6/12/2022 at 4:33 PM, Aquahound said:

CDs aren't just what you see on stage.  If you enjoyed the entertainment, events, and activities on your cruise, then the CD did have an impact.

 

Yep, that is the value of a good CD.  The ones that think they are headliner entertainers I can do without.