Do CD's really impact your cruise experience?

[djmike]

16 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

I've been on 26 cruises.  The bulk of them were Royal Caribbean.  I remember three CDs.  First one with Royal Caribbean in 2013.  Joff Eaton, because of his awesome "I'm Splendid" Video.  Two.  @djmike aka Mountie Mike because I can never remember how to spell your last name.  You were memorable because of the way you did things that made the cruise unique in 2018 and easily the best CD I've ever had.

And the third, I actually don't remember his name, but had to look him up, and that's Paul Rutter, who unfortunately falls under the worse CD i've ever had due to his ability to actually suck energy from an event instead of add to it.

 

I know there's a lot of work behind the scenes.  However, if i can say Be like Mike and put your personality and flavor into making your product unique and memorable, I'm going to say that.  

Good morning from Seattle. 
 

thank you for the kind words. I have a huge passion to be involved with the events and activities around the ship. 
 

Joff is incredible at what he does, I have a lot of respect for him as a person and as a CD. 
 

happy cruising!

 

mike

[djmike]

3 hours ago, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

Mike - I sailed with you on the Wonder TA and you really made our trip.  So much to do and you were very visible around the ship...I loved the Music Festival and the Crew Talent Show.

 

I look forward to sailing with you again in the future. 

music festival is an interesting story. 
 

Nick Weir and I were sitting around and came up with the concept. I think if we were to do it again we would make it a whole day event like Woodstock. Involve the cast singers too. I think there is a huge area of opportunity. There is no venue like the AquaTheater on a ship and I feel like we could really maximize it. Let’s see when I get back to Wonder in September. I’ll actually be on with Nick and Ken for the Presidents cruise and maybe I’ll chat more with them about it. 
 

mike

[djmike]

2 hours ago, mo&fran said:

On small note to you and your fellow CD's. often after the Captain makes his mid day announcement, the CD would make their announcement,  at a significantly louder volume, making it impossible to understand what is being said.  You would see a lot of people covering their ears just to try to understand.

Yes I agree. Some Captains are very soft spoken. I try to match the energy and project my voice in a similar way. 
 

thank you for the feedback. 
 

Mike

[djmike]

2 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

I love you, Mike!  (But you knew that already 😉 )

I feel like it’s been forever. Hopefully soon. 
 

im getting on Ovation today for a few months before going back to Wonder to finish out 2022. 

[Blizzard54]

On 6/17/2022 at 8:52 AM, djmike said:

I feel like it’s been forever. Hopefully soon. 
 

im getting on Ovation today for a few months before going back to Wonder to finish out 2022. 

Looking forward to seeing you on Ovation.  We will be on the President's cruise as well as a couple weeks in August.  We have not cruised with you for quite a while, Serenade in 2009 and Liberty in 2010.  I do remember you being one of the better CD's.  

[broadwaybaby123]

On 6/14/2022 at 9:56 AM, djmike said:

Good morning everyone. 
 

just wanted to drop in and help provide insight on what the CD does these days as there are some common misconceptions. 
 

To give you an idea, I logged 410 hours in the month of February this year. 
 

a typical 1st sea day looks like this for me

 

7:45am-8:30am - finalize compass for next day

8:30am - 9:30am - HD meeting

10:00am - announcement 

10:05am-11:00am - top tier event

11:00am - noon walk areas (adventure ocean, sports, pool deck)

noon-12:30pm - lunch

12:30pm - 2pm - admin work, compass, future cruise work, evaluations, budgets and ordering, group approvals etc. 

2:00pm-3:00pm - break (gym)

3:15pm-5:00pm - more admin work

5:00pm-5:45pm - guest log meeting

6:00pm-6:30pm - dinner

6:30pm-7:00pm - mingle before show

7:00pm-10:45pm - shows (I normally watch at least 1 show per night per venue as I have to write reports) on Oasis class I normally am running back and forth all night between the theatrical venues. 
11:00pm - midnight - ensure HUSH or what ever else is up and running smoothly 

midnight- 12:45am - clean up any emails that need addressing 

 

this is in a perfect world, what it doesn’t account for is any HR related items from crew berthing, par levels, interviews, promotional package work for my mid-managers and staff. Also any issues with venues or activities that I host. Plus whatever else gets thrown out way on a daily basis. 

 

While the CD role has changed over the years, especially with the complexity of the newer and bigger ships (way more admin) we still want to have that positive impact on the guest experience. Know if you don’t see us it’s not because we are sipping champagne and chilling on the pool deck, but likely up to our eyeballs in work making sure the cruise vacation experience goes as smoothly as possible. 
 

happy cruising all. 
 

 

Very well said. I'm an Activity Director, our day pretty much is the same thing, even though I'm in Retirement Living. My hat is off to you my friend!