Why do you care about cruise directors

[Plaid Princess]

Brent was very managerial, a bit stand off, more " in control " had quite strong views, not as approachable as others IMHO. Also didn't show at many meets.

Interesting! I'm always intrigued by the way different personalities interact. I always found Brent to be the most approachable and friendly! I'm quite disappointed he's moved on from DCL. But then again, I always found Christiaan to be a bit overbearing and fake, and he's usually a fan favorite.

 

[ImprovGal]

LOVED Jamezy!!

We just got off our first 7 night cruise - I thought that might have been why I remembered (and liked) this cruise director. Trent was very friendly and we talked to him a few times. The Dream cruise before seemed too crowded and too short to be able to do that!

I think the length of the cruise definitely affects the rapport with crew, including the cruise director. If you're a frequent cruiser on the shorter cruises, the activities rarely change much, and you most likely will have very few dealings with the CD. If you cruise to relax and spend most of your time in the pool or on your verandah, you will most likely have very few dealings with the CD. I prefer the longer cruises (10-15 nights) and spend most of my time on the ship participating in activities, going to shows, and seeking out the enrichment activities. I stay out of the sun and have never gone in any of the pools or hot tubs on the ship. Consequently, I tend to have many interactions with CD, ACD, and cruise staff and that's just part of my cruising style.

 

[mevelandry]

How can I find out who were my past CD?

 

[Plaid Princess]

How can I find out who were my past CD?

I believe you would just need to remember the info from your cruise. Or maybe find an old copy of the Navigator from your sailing?

 

[cruisehopeful]

I never choose a cruise because of the CD, but if I were to know that I was going to have Jimmy again, I'd be really happy.

 

[disneyholic family]

CD isn't a deal breaker for me, but good ones definitely enhance the cruise for us...

 

[mevelandry]

I believe you would just need to remember the info from your cruise. Or maybe find an old copy of the Navigator from your sailing?

I still have my old Navigators and checked them out but did not find the info... ?!?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I believe you would just need to remember the info from your cruise. Or maybe find an old copy of the Navigator from your sailing?

Sadly, the Navigators (unlike other cruise lines daily newsletters) don't usually tend to address who the Cruise Director/Captain/or any other specific positions are on any given cruise. Except, on occasion, there may be a picture of the captain on page 1 on the day of the Captain's Gala (if the cruise has one), but the name is never mentioned.

Sometimes, you can find a cruise director's name in an activity description.

 

[MSPeeler]

Jimmy Lynett was our Cruise Director on the Dream, but I honestly don't know what he did and did not run into him at all. The only reason I know is because I took a picture of a plaque with his name on it.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Interesting! I'm always intrigued by the way different personalities interact. I always found Brent to be the most approachable and friendly! I'm quite disappointed he's moved on from DCL. But then again, I always found Christiaan to be a bit overbearing and fake, and he's usually a fan favorite.

I found Brent on our four cruises with him, quite dismissive, aloof, is a word.Rarely attending events that others did attend. In fact the only time I saw him greeting cruisers back in port after a day out, was the cruise when Karl Holtz was on with us, and Karl was on his stateroom verandah st that time.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

On DCL, I don't find that the CD makes any difference to my cruise and I couldn't tell you who was the CD on any of the 6 DCL cruises I've taken.

On other lines though - like Royal or Carnival - the CD can make a big difference. They really seem to let their personalities shine through. On Royal, we had Richard Spacey for one cruise and he was just phenomenal and set the bar for any other CD. We also sailed with John Heald (he was aboard as an addition to the CD - Jase Apps who was also good) and he really stands out among the best for adding something special to the cruise.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

On DCL, I don't find that the CD makes any difference to my cruise and I couldn't tell you who was the CD on any of the 6 DCL cruises I've taken.

On other lines though - like Royal or Carnival - the CD can make a big difference. They really seem to let their personalities shine through. On Royal, we had Richard Spacey for one cruise and he was just phenomenal and set the bar for any other CD. We also sailed with John Heald (he was aboard as an addition to the CD - Jase Apps who was also good) and he really stands out among the best for adding something special to the cruise.

We had a very very bad one on RCI put me off thrm for good, he was so bad. He thought he was " gods gift" to everyone. He was clearly out if the John Travolter and Saturday night fever era. One evening show had him on film for twenty minutes, going around the ship being kissed by all the female crew, now this is not the sixties! There was a good morning TV show, this could be a good idea, but ruined as 99% of it was him and an activites manager just joking about to each other with " in jokes" like haircuts, and nothing about the ship.

A poor CD can ruin a cruise, and stop you going again.

 

[disneyholic family]

We had a very very bad one on RCI put me off thrm for good, he was so bad. He thought he was " gods gift" to everyone. He was clearly out if the John Travolter and Saturday night fever era. One evening show had him on film for twenty minutes, going around the ship being kissed by all the female crew, now this is not the sixties! There was a good morning TV show, this could be a good idea, but ruined as 99% of it was him and an activites manager just joking about to each other with " in jokes" like haircuts, and nothing about the ship.

A poor CD can ruin a cruise, and stop you going again.

we've had mostly great ones on RCI....CDs who really enhanced our cruises....only once on RCI did we have a mediocre one, but she didn't hurt the cruise for us....just didn't enhance it at all...on the bright side, her staff was outstanding....so that more than made up for anything she lacked..

as for DCL, we haven't cruised on DCL in over 10 years, but the CDs we had on DCL were universally bad.....
i'm hoping that DD has a better CD on her cruise on the Magic this summer!!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

we've had mostly great ones on RCI....CDs who really enhanced our cruises....only once on RCI did we have a mediocre one, but she didn't hurt the cruise for us....just didn't enhance it at all...on the bright side, her staff was outstanding....so that more than made up for anything she lacked..

as for DCL, we haven't cruised on DCL in over 10 years, but the CDs we had on DCL were universally bad.....
i'm hoping that DD has a better CD on her cruise on the Magic this summer!!

Ten years- things have changed a lot CDs come and gone, my 2002 DCL cruise and CD and entertainment was completely different than recent years. DCL has evolved, got better, a CD was a comedian in 2002, part of the show, and that was it. Rachel for one took it in a new direction, others followed. Many CDs are problem solvers and high profile meet and greet, some are more aloof and managerial, but all evolved in the recent years.

 

[disneyholic family]

Ten years- things have changed a lot CDs come and gone, my 2002 DCL cruise and CD and entertainment was completely different than recent years. DCL has evolved, got better, a CD was a comedian in 2002, part of the show, and that was it. Rachel for one took it in a new direction, others followed. Many CDs are problem solvers and high profile meet and greet, some are more aloof and managerial, but all evolved in the recent years.

the reason we stopped cruising DCL was the complete lack of activities for adults (stupid silly activities that we love - that RCI is chock full of)..

when i say the DCL CDs we had were bad, i mean they were completely managerial in style....not engaging, not entertaining....totally blah wet blankets....(and all of them were women...don't know if that had anything to do with it)..
while our RCI CDs have all been engaging, entertaining, etc - very much enhancing our cruising experience...(and they were all men....the only mediocre RCI CD we had was a woman.....no conclusions - but it was our experience)...

when this med cruise came up, i happened to see some navigators and i was truly shocked to see how many of those silly fun adult activities have been added (the rci style activities)...
that's a major reason for DD's decision to go with DCL this summer instead of royal...
to give DCL another chance (after our family has been loyal to royal for a number of years now)...

so it will be interesting for her to see the changes, if any, in the CD....

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

the reason we stopped cruising DCL was the complete lack of activities for adults (stupid silly activities that we love - that RCI is chock full of)..

when i say the DCL CDs we had were bad, i mean they were completely managerial in style....not engaging, not entertaining....totally blah wet blankets....(and all of them were women...don't know if that had anything to do with it)..
while our RCI CDs have all been engaging, entertaining, etc - very much enhancing our cruising experience...(and they were all men....the only mediocre RCI CD we had was a woman.....no conclusions - but it was our experience)...

when this med cruise came up, i happened to see some navigators and i was truly shocked to see how many of those silly fun adult activities have been added (the rci style activities)...
that's a major reason for DD's decision to go with DCL this summer instead of royal...
to give DCL another chance (after our family has been loyal to royal for a number of years now)...

so it will be interesting for her to see the changes, if any, in the CD....

I think this makes the point that a CD can make or break a cruise, both on different cruise lines. Hope your cruise will be great.

 

[tinker&belle]

Is there a way to know the Cd of future cruises? We loved Clayton when we sailed the Magic in Jan. What is the likelihood he would be CD again next October?

 

[dcassetta]

He thought he was " gods gift" to everyone.

Yes, I can see why you would have a problem with this.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is there a way to know the Cd of future cruises? We loved Clayton when we sailed the Magic in Jan. What is the likelihood he would be CD again next October?

Well, I know that he's onboard the Magic until at least August (that's what he told us on our cruise). Don't know if he's moving to a different ship, or just taking some time off.

As an aside (and little off topic) is there a list of all the cruise directors anywhere?

 

[Plaid Princess]

I found Brent on our four cruises with him, quite dismissive, aloof, is a word.Rarely attending events that others did attend. In fact the only time I saw him greeting cruisers back in port after a day out, was the cruise when Karl Holtz was on with us, and Karl was on his stateroom veranda st that time.

Hmmm, maybe we're just on the same schedule as him? We seemed to run into him everywhere on cruises where he was the CD, and he was always very pleasant, remembering our names cruise to cruise, etc. But then again, we don't participate in most of the usual activities and tend to be in odd places, so maybe he's just on our wavelength?