Why does Cruise Director matter?

[SyracuseWolvrine]

I've seen a handful of posts inquiring who is the current Cruise Director on XX ship, or if YY will be on a certain ship. My question is, why does it matter? I've been on 3 cruises, and to be honest, other than their speeches at the beginning of the theater shows, I didn't really notice (or interact with) the Cruise Director at all. Are there some activities that will only be scheduled by a certain CD? Do some of them give shorter announcements? (just shut up so I can watch the show! )

 

[DCLDVC1]

Are people going to cancel their cruise based on the Cruise Director? I could not care less who it is.

 

[MarkF0wle]

I have no idea. We actually bumped into our CD on Castaway Cay as we were heading back to the ship. My Dad was wearing his football shirt & they played that day, the CD mentioned the score as we passed each other so we stopped at talked to him. Turns out he is from a town next to the town that we live in, maybe ~10 miles door to door. Had to fly 9 hours to Florida then a day sailing to Castaway Cay to meet somebody I could have met at the local shops, small world.

To answer your question, I think some people have experience with certain cruise directors & trust them to make the right calls & put on a good show. Personally I don't think about it at all, but for those that have cruised 10+ times I can understand them having preferences.

 

[Flossbolna]

On our Panama Canal cruise we saw the cruise director a lot around the ship and at different activities. And I thought he was a lot of fun, we had Jimmy. I would be someone who tries to find out if he might be on the ship I am going to sail on next, just because I would like to see him again. No, the cruise director will not make me cancel the cruise, but if it is someone I like, I will be excited to see him or her again.

I have found that there are plenty of opportunities to talk to staff. Especially at the time between dinners in the atrium. And it is something that I think is fun. So, I am inclined to look forward to maybe meeting someone again that I enjoyed talking to in the past.

Plenty of people ask which films they will be showing on board. And I think knowing about the Captain and the Cruise Director is similar. Additional information about your upcoming cruise makes people more excited and they then enjoy the anticipation more.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Because Clayton. And the I'm-On-Vacation dance.

WHO'S ON VACATIOOOOOOOOOOON?!?!?!?!


(To the OP, sometimes the CD sets a tone. Never noticed as much as on the WBPC.)

 

[Ofinn]

I think everyone loves Clayton, but honestly it really doesn't matter.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I've seen a handful of posts inquiring who is the current Cruise Director on XX ship, or if YY will be on a certain ship. My question is, why does it matter? I've been on 3 cruises, and to be honest, other than their speeches at the beginning of the theater shows, I didn't really notice (or interact with) the Cruise Director at all. Are there some activities that will only be scheduled by a certain CD? Do some of them give shorter announcements? (just shut up so I can watch the show! )

I think they all love to hear themselves speaking over the microphone, but whatever. I really don't care which one is on my cruise.

 

[Orukal]

I think some people have experience with certain cruise directors & trust them to make the right calls & put on a good show

I'm kinda on agreement with the, "It really doesn't matter to me" crowd. Not trying to pick apart what you're saying here, Mark, but can you give any insight as to what those "right calls" and "good shows" might be? Just trying to figure out if I'm missing something additional on the cruise, is all.

 

[dclpluto]

Clayton is best cruise director Disney has. Some other ones are good but Clayton is the best. Will I cancel or book a cruise because of Clayton. No but I hope he's my cruise director.

 

[mcd2745]

Because Clayton. And the I'm-On-Vacation dance.

WHO'S ON VACATIOOOOOOOOOOON?!?!?!?!


(To the OP, sometimes the CD sets a tone. Never noticed as much as on the WBPC.)

I think everyone loves Clayton, but honestly it really doesn't matter.

Not everyone. I found him annoying. Plus, I thought he totally mishandled it when there was a problem with the fireworks on our cruise.

 

[hoffman1]

It doesn't really make a difference to me who the cruise director is.
We have had Darren twice. He was nice enough. On our cruise last month, we ran into him outside the theater and took a pic with him. He really did not chat.
I met Clayton at an officer's pin trading night (he wasn't the cruise director on that particular sailing) and he was very personable. He talked to me for maybe 5 minutes.
We have also had Ray. He seemed like an ok guy but we never had the chance to meet him.

 

[darkwing818]

I've always wondered about this myself. After 15 cruises I couldn't tell you who our Cruise Director was 2 days after we got off the ship (same goes for the Captain). But we do remember our Servers & Stateroom Hosts. So while I may not understand it , there are many who enjoy cruising with their favorite Cruise Director. To each their own.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Not everyone. I found him annoying. Plus, I thought he totally mishandled it when there was a problem with the fireworks on our cruise.

I'm sorry.

He was just a lot of positive energy on the long cruise. He & Ugo made my son's graduation cruise pretty special. Clayton also spent time with my father-in-law, showed him a lot of kindness which meant a lot when he had just been diagnosed with cancer a 3rd time. It was the little things. And the energy.

But I've deeeeefinately had cruises where the CD grated on my nerves. I wouldn't book or cancel according to who the CD is. Most of the time I haven't a clue. <3

 

[ImDMous]

For our 7 day cruises, I really don't remember who our cruise directors were, but for the WBPC I loved Jimmy. With that long on the boat and that many sea days, we really did get to interact with the crew a lot more and get to know their personalities (at least their At-Work ones). It really doesn't matter to me, I'm sure they are all great if Disney hired them, but I'd be excited to see Jimmy again. He and Capt Fabian had quite the "feud" going.

 

[mcd2745]

I'm sorry.

He was just a lot of positive energy on the long cruise. He & Ugo made my son's graduation cruise pretty special. Clayton also spent time with my father-in-law, showed him a lot of kindness which meant a lot when he had just been diagnosed with cancer a 3rd time. It was the little things. And the energy.

But I've deeeeefinately had cruises where the CD grated on my nerves. I wouldn't book or cancel according to who the CD is. Most of the time I haven't a clue. <3

No need to apologize. LOL

My opinion was influenced very much by what took place with the fireworks (or lack thereof, really) on pirate night. Had it not been for that fiasco, my opinion of him could be very different.

 

[MPS516]

Let me offer up a different perspective. We really do enjoy sailing with some Cruise Directors more than others. Just like having favorite servers and Captains we have come to appreciate certain CD's over others. Over time we have come to know different people, enjoy visiting with them and they tend to add a little to our overall experience. One is from our home town and we knew him from when he began training, another we knew before she was selected for CD training and have had the good fortune of seeing her on several cruises. I would not cancel a cruise because we did not have one of our favorites, they all do a pretty good job, for me a few are just more enjoyable than others.

 

[jrabbit]

I've always wondered about this myself. After 15 cruises I couldn't tell you who our Cruise Director was 2 days after we got off the ship (same goes for the Captain). But we do remember our Servers & Stateroom Hosts. So while I may not understand it , there are many who enjoy cruising with their favorite Cruise Director. To each their own.

The easy answer to why people care who is the CD, Captain, etc is because Disney People are NOT HAPPY unless they are overplanning everything about their trip.

Why would I want to book my dinner at a WDW restaurant 6 months in advance Because they allow ressies that early and if I do not make a ressie, I probably won't get into any sit down restaurant. Same goes here with cruises. Plan, Plan, Plan, and then what????!!!

 

[southerngirl528]

I've had Clayton, Brent and Jimmy, and not sure who else on other DCL cruises over the years. I like them all for different reasons. Jimmy is a bit of a favorite because he was CD on the 14 nt Hawaiian cruise in Fall 2012 and I thought he was wonderful and super friendly. I agree very much that longer cruises definitely influence how much exposure/interaction a passenger might have with the cruise director.

As for "not happy unless they are over planning everything about their trip", no doubt there are some folks that feel that way. But there are a lot of us that are just curious because we enjoy seeing familiar faces. And for me, anticipating and planning a trip of any sort is half the fun. For some the glass is half full, some it's half empty. And then the engineers all say, it's the wrong sized glass….

 

[Plaid Princess]

Brent is our favorite cruise Director because he seems the most down to earth of the CD's we've experienced. Probably because he comes from an Events background, rather than an Entertainment background. We're always happy when he's working a cruise we book.

That being said, we don't pick our cruises (or cancel them) based on whether or not he's going to be on them.

 

[Orukal]

Maybe I was unclear, and this is not pot stirring or trolling. I'm honestly curious. What have I missed as far as what the Cruise Directors do that make so many seem to prefer one over any other?