Cruise director non factor

[letsgo39]

1 hour ago, ThaNectar said:

Ha ha.. i guess I tune them out...

 

Agree. The only one I remember is John Heald because He was on our first cruise on the Magic way back in the 2nd cruise for that ship.  We had him 3 other times on other cruises which showed his jokes were always the same.  lol

 

[pc_load_letter]

I would go on a fishing boat if Kendall Fire was the CD. Super funny and super hot.

 

[ThaNectar]

2 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

I would go on a fishing boat if Kendall Fire was the CD. Super funny and super hot.

 

That's what I'm talking about.

Maybe I need a list of her schedule.

Now I understand 

[tallnthensome]

What's a cruise director? I direct my own cruises. 

[Joe817]

7 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

I would go on a fishing boat if Kendall Fire was the CD. Super funny and super hot.

 

We had Kendall on our Vista cruise last August. She's witty, entertaining, engaging, and allll over the place. And never over did it on the PA announcements. 👍

[CruizinSusan70]

22 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

I would go on a fishing boat if Kendall Fire was the CD. Super funny and super hot.

 

 

18 minutes ago, ThaNectar said:

That's what I'm talking about.

Maybe I need a list of her schedule.

Now I understand 

She is a smoke show for sure. My DH would enjoy seeing her infectious smile.

Have cruised on Carnival 22 times and the only memorable CD was Chris "The Flying Scotsman" Williams.  He is memorable because of the kilts he wears, his energy and the skills he has as a singer.

[Woody14]

Tend to agree but in my 10+ cruises I have had 2 that made a difference.  the last was on the Panorama which we just got off of earlier this month - Joey seemed to be everywhere and very involved, I didn't appreciate him on the sail away deck party but every other time I encountered him he definitely added to my experience.  So I would say a good one can increase the experience otherwise they seem not to have an impact.

 

[csm5986142]

53 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

I'm on the transatlantic sailing and unless his attitude has improved, I'm not looking forward to any interaction with our CD...

 

 I have heard him confirm he is scheduled to fly over and bring Jubilee to Galveston, so I believe you will both be on Jubilee for that long cruise.  

[tap_out]

When we were younger they did seem to play a large roll in our cruises. Probably because we participated in a lot more group activities and the parties they threw. Anymore it doesn't really matter to us. Still is nice to have a lively and funny cruise director though. 

[CruiserLucas]

Of cruises I've been on, I'd never say they were what made the cruise good or bad, but like any one you interact with, you form an opinion of who you like or dislike. I've only had 1 CD I thought was fun, funny, and really good at the people managing aspect of his job. Dec 2018 on Dream - first name was Alex, I think. Can't remember his last name. Otherwise, I've just had ok CD's to one that seemed nice but it felt like he tried way too hard to be funny. It appeals to some, but it didn't appeal to me. C'est la vie. Still didn't ruin my cruise, so I can't even say that a great CD like Alex is what makes the cruise either. There were still problems on that cruise, none of which were his fault or things he could personally fix.

[Roscoe13]

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

I pay attention and have enjoyed some, but I will agree with @cmukid87  The whole vibe of the ship depends on at least a decent CD. I’ve been on sailings where the events really brought everyone together and made it feel like a floating family for a week. A good CD can make you completely forget about the issues in the world and soak in the fun even if you aren’t participating in the cha cha slides or playing an air instrument to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing. 
I’ve never booked a cruise based on the CD schedule, but I can totally see why some do. Now bar crew… that’s who I follow. 😉

Ya know, you paint such a vivid picture I can almost see myself doing that...you're in my picture too!!

[Top_of_the_Cube]

I am somewhat oblivious to the CD, but I don't understand how someone doesn't understand how a CD really impacts some cruisers.  If a passenger tends to participate in activities directed by the CD, then of course it is likely their cruise experience will be influenced and the CD be memorable (positive or negative).  

 

A few times on a few different cruises, I might be hanging out with a group I just met (or, more accurately, my wife met) around a bar or coffee shop, and the CD walks through and stops for a few minutes and just chats with us.  Their interactions didn't seem contrived.  More than once I didn't even know they were the CD until someone in our group mentioned it.  That makes quite a good impression on me (but I still couldn't tell you most of their names).

[skrufy]

4 hours ago, ThaNectar said:

I have been on somewhere between 20-25 cruises.  Not once have I ever known who the director was or what their name was.

 

They have never done anything to make my cruise LESS enjoyable or done anything to make my cruise MORE enjoyable.

 

They have no impact on my cruise either good or bad.

 

I personally don't get all the "list of cruise directors for each ship" or asking what ship is so and so on.

 

Or so and so made our trip so fun.  

What am I missing?

Wife interacts with all the cruise directors on each cruise and after the cruises on Facebook. They are all nice people but I don't go out of my way to talk to them. When my wife and I walk up to one ( she drags me ) I enjoy talking to them.

[MeganGC1983]

53 minutes ago, Roscoe13 said:

Ya know, you paint such a vivid picture I can almost see myself doing that...you're in my picture too!!

Is the ship at 40% capacity? 😆 and are there patron margaritas involved?! 

[Badfinger]

I could care less about the CD.  They do make my cruise less fun with all their talking  bobblehead announcements.  Half of which seem self-serving, and most of he rest useless.  But one has to listen because there are probably 2-3 useful announcements on a 7 day cruise.

[Itried4498]

The entertainment programs evolve, but rarely change.  If you cruise a lot, the entertainment will become stale.  But an excellent CD will put their own spin on it, injecting some life and making it worth your while to attend.  Of course....if you couldn't careless about these events, then it's a non-factor no matter what.

 

14 minutes ago, Badfinger said:

I could care less about the CD.  They do make my cruise less fun with all their talking  bobblehead announcements.  Half of which seem self-serving, and most of he rest useless.  But one has to listen because there are probably 2-3 useful announcements on a 7 day cruise.

 

A couple of points...

- On any given cruise this year, per JH, about half the passengers are first time cruisers.  You may be a veteran cruiser who knows the entertainment program inside out, thus the announcements annoy you, but some people are actually listening to the announcements.

- Part of the CD's job is to get attendance at various events.  These events enhance most people's time on the ship, and make them more likely to return. 

[TheSeagoer]

8 hours ago, ThaNectar said:

I have been on somewhere between 20-25 cruises.  Not once have I ever known who the director was or what their name was.

 

They have never done anything to make my cruise LESS enjoyable or done anything to make my cruise MORE enjoyable.

 

They have no impact on my cruise either good or bad.

 

I personally don't get all the "list of cruise directors for each ship" or asking what ship is so and so on.

 

Or so and so made our trip so fun.  

What am I missing?

I agree.  The cruise director has no impact on My cruise experience 

[silvercrikhix]

This would have been an interesting poll topic. 
‘Another vote for we don’t care who the CD is because it doesn’t impact our cruise in the least. 
‘We’ve never seen a show onboard yet.  Comedy yes. We’ve watched the CD TV show in cabin for a few minutes here and there. Meh……

[auburn77]

Another vote for 'don't care'. Even had John Heald on a cruise years ago - not really impressed.

[lazydayz]

Out of 70 or so cruises, we have had a handful of CDs that made the cruise better.  Mike Pack, Chris Williams and Chloe come to mind.  We have also had some terrible ones, but they are usually easy to ignore.  We would not book a cruise based on the CD.  

[jetsfan58]

You are missing the point that there are no like personalities. Each Cruise Director has a special talent that differentiates them from their counterparts. 

 

We have had many fabulous Carnival Cruise Directors who went out of their way to make sure we had a great cruise. Your day will come!

[Shaded Lady]

1 hour ago, jetsfan58 said:

You are missing the point that there are no like personalities. Each Cruise Director has a special talent that differentiates them from their counterparts. 

 

We have had many fabulous Carnival Cruise Directors who went out of their way to make sure we had a great cruise. Your day will come!

I'm quite willing to be open to the idea of the CD making a difference in my cruise... as I mentioned I was intrigued about Matt Mitchem because I'd heard so many positives about him but Cookie just seemed to go out of his way to put off everyone he interfaced with... I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for our Jubilee TA if he is indeed our CD, but I'm not going to book or avoid a cruise based on a staff member.

[evandbob]

I usually wish that the Carnival CDs develop a week long case of laryngitis on embarkation day!  They happen to be the loudest, most long winded announcements amongst all the cruise lines!!

 

It's much more relaxing when a CD just reports general ship info and forgets the harangue about an inch of gold or some "presentation(s) I can't afford to miss".

 

I didn't realize that difference until I gave up cruising Carnival exclusively started booking other cruise lines!

[Colorado Cruzer]

Our last cruise director, I think his name was Christian, on Panorama was kind of annoying.  Every single party/event, no matter the venue, he had guests doing the same dumb dances to the same songs.  I was so over the "slide to the right, slide to the left" nonsense by day 3 we just stopped going to the events...lmao

[groundloop]

Cruise Director.... let me think..... oh yeah, that's the voice on the intercom incessantly telling me that I need to purchase bingo cards.