Wonder OTS Cruise Director - Dennis Charles

[butterfly2]

Hello People 👋🏻 🛳️ 

I do already know that many people here don’t care, or pay any attention to who their CD is, and that it makes no difference to them. If you’re one of these people, feel free to scroll on. I was wondering what people’s opinions were of the CD, Dennis Charles on the Wonder? Does he create a good and exciting vibe on the ship? Is he a good, great, or so so CD? Is he a mover and a shaker ( out and about during the day and showing up at activities ), or does he just introduce the shows? Is he approachable to say hello, or not really?  🛳️ 😎🌴

[RFerrington]

👎

 

He is in love with the sound of his own voice

[butterfly2]

Ohhhhhh No…..

[PhillyFan33579]

I just got off Wonder today. Dennis had no real impact on our cruise because I rarely saw him. The only times I recall seeing him was at the Top Tier event, the 340+ luncheon and one time we rode the elevator together. He seems like a nice guy from the limited interaction I had with him. I did get to know his voice well with his frequent announcements. Maybe it’s just me, but I can read the app fine and don’t need constant reminding about what is going on around the ship. 

[mets123]

3 hours ago, RFerrington said:

👎

 

He is in love with the sound of his own voice

I agree completely with your assessment. But if you talk with him one on one he's a different person.

[FionaMG]

I am one of those people who generally don't care and don't pay attention to the CD so it's saying a lot that I did actually notice Dennis Charles when I was on Symphony back in February. Unfortunately, the reason I noticed him was that he was so insipid as a CD. 😕

I did not interact with him personally, though, and it was very close to the end of his contract, so I may be doing him an injustice.

[Badatz2]

We had him a few years ago on the Jewel and he was very good.  All over the ship throughout the day, MC'ing activities and very accessible.

Thoroughly enjoyed him.

[DonnaK]

Wow - I'm so sad to hear these negative reviews.  We sailed with Dennis a few times on Mariner about 12-15 years ago and thought he was great - a mover/shaker, out and about, very energetic and energizing, and nothing at all like the descriptions above.

[tOSUSteve]

We had Dennis on Anthem - probably the least energetic CD we every had.

 

If you want to experience a CD that makes an exciting vibe, book a cruise with Ricky Matthews!! 

[bonsai3s]

Dennis is old, perhaps less energetic than most of the younger CD's. He often makes fun of himself and his big (XXL) belly.

 

Many of his lines and jokes are scripted and repeated...I genuinely understand why...that's probably because he's been with Royal Caribbean a gazillion years. 

 

His true talents can be seen and appreciated when he can ad-lib...at the Love and Marriage show, the Quest, and during the always emotional Veteran's Tribute. Dennis has, over the years, made us laugh and cry.

 

* Just disembarked the Wonder of the Seas yesterday...Dennis is a truly wonderful human being if you get a chance to talk to him one on one.

 

[smokeybandit]

I don't think I've ever had a cruise director that made me think "wow my cruise was much better because of the CD"

I don't think I've ever talked to a CD either.

[amby6063]

We had Dennis on Symphony in January. Definitely didn’t see too much of him! But then we were on Quantum with Tanya in May, and she didn’t even so much as show up to Quest so I guess Dennis was more visible than that at least! 

[cruiselvr04]

Cruise directors don’t make or break our cruise.  However on the smaller ships they are usually much more visible and can add to the cruise experience. We watch the morning shows for highlights of the day or important port info. On the big ships we sometimes never even know who they are. 

 

Just off 28 days with Kat on the Jewel. She was very visible and did a great job.

[RCCLNYMETS41]

We are fresh off wonder of the seas yesterday. This was our 21st cruise so we have had many cruise directors over the years. My opinion of Dennis is that he was extremely approachable. I thought that for as many years as he has been a cruise Director with royal Caribbean, that his verbiage and jokes never sounded rehearsed/scripted as I would have expected from such a senior cruise Director. I thought he was very entertaining, especially during the love and marriage game show, and thought he had a lot of energy especially on 70s night in the Royal promenade. Some CDs are entertainers (Ricky Matthew’s) & some just host/MC the shows. I felt Dennis was in between. 

[reallyitsmema]

You don't see the cruise directors as much on the Oasis class ships since there is so much going on, so they staff handles a lot of shows.  Having said that, we have had Dennis Charles a few times on Anthem and thought he was good.  Some other cruise directors that people rave about haven't impressed us at all.  It really comes down to personal opinion and expectations.

[gumshoe958]

1 hour ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Cruise directors don’t make or break our cruise.  However on the smaller ships they are usually much more visible and can add to the cruise experience. We watch the morning shows for highlights of the day or important port info. On the big ships we sometimes never even know who they are. 

 

Just off 28 days with Kat on the Jewel. She was very visible and did a great job.

The CD’s primary role is to line manage the entertainment and activities staff. On the big ships that’s pretty much a full-time job as there are so many staff and events. On the smaller ships, with much less to manage, they have more time to be out and about.

[NightOne]

16 hours ago, butterfly2 said:

Hello People 👋🏻 🛳️ 

I do already know that many people here don’t care, or pay any attention to who their CD is, and that it makes no difference to them. If you’re one of these people, feel free to scroll on. I was wondering what people’s opinions were of the CD, Dennis Charles on the Wonder? Does he create a good and exciting vibe on the ship? Is he a good, great, or so so CD? Is he a mover and a shaker ( out and about during the day and showing up at activities ), or does he just introduce the shows? Is he approachable to say hello, or not really?  🛳️ 😎🌴

 

I loved him. Thought he was great.

 

I chatted with him on boardwalk and he is definitely approachable.

[UPNYGuy]

17 hours ago, RFerrington said:

👎

 

He is in love with the sound of his own voice

a CD like this drives me nuts

[GlasgowCruiser01]

Overall decent. You can tell he's experienced in the game and wants people to have a good time. And I echo that he was personally friendly. Bit old-school as a CD though, not particularly modern or dynamic and his hosting style is a tad shouty.

 

The CD definitely is of importance if you like the entertainment and activities - they are key in running it behind the scenes as well as hosting the big events. I don't think they can break the cruise, but they sure can make it. Ricky Matthews was a hoot last year on Odyssey, and he had a fantastic Activities Manager Tristan - those two made that cruise a lot funner.

[DaniDanielle]

We had Dennis on quite a few Anthem cruises and on the Oasis Simulation cruise.  He is personable and approachable.