Cruise Directors

[DarrenW]

Jeremy (Big Tex) must be the worst. He's not good at it. We liked Butch when he was an asst CD. Would like to sail with him and see how he's doing. Who's your favorite/least favorite Carnival CD?

[Caribbean Mike]

We just got off the Miracle 2 weeks ago where Malcolm Burn was the CD. He is absolutely fabulous. Very funny and witty and always has time to pree the flesh and talk with the cruisers. His Silent Film Skit was hilarious. Also at the top of our list is Noonan, Todd Witmer and Shawn Bussey who got married and left Carnival.
On the other side of this topic is Jorge Salona. Jorge seemed irritated to chat with the guests on our Legend cruise last May. Not very hospitable at all. Tory is another CD that we never really saw on the ship except for her TV show in the morning.

[purpledevilduck]

I just got home from being on the Carnival Freedom and we had Wee Jimmy as our Cruise Director. Both myself and our two table mates who were also past cruisers had to make sure my brother who was a first time cruiser that cruise directors are directors are not that bad. Thankfuly he will cruise again. Also if you are going to be cruising on the Freedom soon be glad that our cruise was his last cruise. At least for now.

[ttam]

We have made 7 cruises but the CD on the cruise out of NORFOLk last june(09) was the worse.He offended many people.I cannot remember his namer and dont want to. But if he turns out as the CD on DREAM in NOV of this year i will request off at the first port
boB

[Ron]

Why let a cruise director dictate whether or not you have a good or bad cruise?
I usually never even know who the c.d. is when I'm on a ship and could care less even if they had one or not.
I do my own thing, keep up with with I want to do and don't worry about what the c.d. does or doesn't say or do.
If there was something really important to hear, such as we just hit a rock and are sinking, I think the capt. would be the one making the announcement --not the c.d.--but when it's time for the the gold by the inch, cheap watches, the super sales of assorted junk in the already crowded public areas
and bingo, then the c.d. is the one making the announcements, etc. ;-) ;-)
I think the title C.D. is a throw back from bygone days anyway--just my honest opinion which doesn't matter to anyone but me anyway!!
But, happy sails to all, including the C.D.'s!

[ttam]

AGREE. thanks
boB

[dina]

I never really spent any time talking to the CDs on any of my cruises. The most I see them is in the mandatory debark talk and sometimes on deck for the sail away. They don't make or break a cruise for me.

[nighthawk65]

I agree with dina and Ron, the CD whether good or bad has not effected my cruise experiance(at least not yet).

Happy Sailing
Mark

[wakedreams]

I think our favorite is still Jorge Solano, he is funny and very entertaining.

We haven't disliked any of our CD's though.

[by_the_board]

The only CD that I remember is Julie McCoy...

[Snoozeman]

A good waiter or cabin steward is much more important to me than the cruise director.

[Skywench]

I agree with another poster who said Malcolm Burn was great. I've cruised with him twice and think he's great. He's very witty and friendly and will take the time to talk to anyone. Would love to se him on more of my cruises.

On the other hand, we did not care for Butch or Risa, although I know a lot of people really like them both.

Cruise Directors won't make or break a cruise for me, but Malcolm really added to the enjoyment and the great memories I have of those cruises.

[wakedreams]

Originally Posted by Snoozeman

A good waiter or cabin steward is much more important to me than the cruise director.

agree agree agree.

[Gail4cruising]

Was on Triumph this month and Jorge was the cruised director and we thought he was great. I think the cruise director does play a part in your cruise IF you go to the shows and a lot of the activities where he may be the "host". We sailed with Big Tex on Fantasy 3 times and thought he was entertaining. Todd was the CD on the Dream in Dec and he was personable but maybe not as funny in his talks/hosting as some of the others. Would love to cruise again with Wee Jimmy..he was hilarious...loved his "morning shows".

[cherylroy]

We just got off the Triumph and Jorge was the CD - I could take him or leave him. Honestly, the assistance CD did about 75 % of the talking! I loved Big Tex on the Fantasy. Have really not had a bad CD yet. Never see them around (not looking for them) so can't say personally what they are like up close and personal.

[cutiecat]

Jorge Salona was my CD on my Halloween cruise in '08 and I thought he was great...

I had the privilege of cruising with John Heald last July and love him! He was awesome and highly entertaining. I had read so much about him on here and was thrilled to see he was my CD~and he did not disappoint.

[beenie weenie]

So many times people seem to judge the CD on the basis of their appeal as a stand up comedian and not so much as their ability to perform all facets of their job description. I found the following description at wisegeek.com.

" Essentially, the cruise director serves as the planner for all types of shipboard entertainment and activities. Along with ensuring that all social and cultural events are well coordinated, the cruise director also often acts as the main source of information for the guests on the cruise, ensuring they are having an enjoyable experience."

I really have little room for complaint with any of the cruise directors we've cruised with.
There was one lady cruise director who was obviously unaware that there was a salon onboard as she suffered chronic coiffure malfunction and frequently looked like she stuck her finger in a light socket and then stuck the shock of hair that resulted in a half dozen clips... but she did a great job, and was very entertaining. But she really needed to do something with that hair.

Ray Carr from NCL I have absolute respect for, he handled some very delicate issues during the cruise we were on for some folks in our group and did so in a very professional manner. He was very kind and very customer service oriented.

Que Hundermark formerly with HAL, now with NCL. Absolutely terrific, and the talent he rounded up for our 2 week repo cruise was amazing. Many headliners who had been on Oprah, Jay Leno etc... I was in awe and I am so thrilled to get to see so much entertainment packed into a short period of time. It was wonderful and he was a sincerely warm gentleman who was very interested in feedback from the passengers. He worked endlessly it seemed. He really treated our group well, coordinating several bridge tours along with time to speak with and take photo's of the Captain to accommodate the schedules of our 250+ members and other functions we held on board. He really rolled out the red carpet for us. Can't say enough good things about him, and yes he was funny too.

I am in shock that someone wouldn't like Big Tex, he just seems like a genuinely nice guy. I loved his physical comedy, like his redneck dance lessons, and other funny shtick. He also had a great smile and seemed very approachable. I also think he looks great since his huge weight loss. Good for him.

John Heald definitely is a funny man and I think he sincerely is a decent guy, but I also get the impression that he is extremely overwhelmed by a plate that is way too full and not a detail oriented person and he flies by the seat of his pants a lot, which comes back to bite him sometimes. His stage presence is his strength.

All that being said, I've never cruised with any CD that has negatively impacted my cruise to the extent that their performance was remarkable enough to mention. I have however had the privilege to sail with very talented CD's who greatly enhanced the experience.

[colorcrazie]

Beenie,
I agree that most people are not aware that most of the CD's job is behind the scenes. They plan and schedule every bit of entertainment on board in detail. A friend who is a singer on NCL had one CD who kept changing which nights the production shows were performed. Given that these are pretty much a cruise tradition, that was just foolish, plus he scheduled one for the night before the first rehearsal with new performers.
On the other hand, we once had a Carnival CD named Valerie. Very annoying voice, but when a hurricane came up and we were forced to go back out to sea to stay safe, she managed to put together a full program of entertainment for the extra day and night. And she seemingly did it out of thin air. We were very impressed and wrote Carnival to say so
So, I don't really care about how funny or personable they are.
Marty

[Ron]

I didn't mean to imply in my first post that all the C.D. does is make announcements, etc. I understand they are basically in charge of the production shows, games etc. and do a lot of P.R. for the cruise line and act as a go-between for the ship and passengers.
I can understand and appreciate all the behind the scenes work that all the crew does that people never see nor even think about.
But it still doesn't matter to me who the C.D. is or isn't on any given ship at any given time. Just my opinion, which isn't worth a nickle anyway.

[nlb1050]

Originally Posted by Snoozeman

A good waiter or cabin steward is much more important to me than the cruise director.

I definitely agree with this. Have a few CD's I did not really care for but they did not impact my enjoyment of the cruise.

[manaxer]

When it comes down to CD Jorge is the man, cruised with him twice, very easy going type of guy, he has the Carnival spirit because of him I now take my camera to shore in case I miss the ship...

[libbygms]

We did our 8th cruise on Liberty over New Years. We had the best time ever but I don't think I can say our CD made one bit of difference. Butch was with us this cruise & really didn't care for him. Talked WAY too fast. Our first night in the theater when he finally stopped to take a breath, we turned to each other & both said 'what did he say?'. Our favourite CD of all has to be Todd Whittmer. His easy going, down to earth pace is just what you need to just take it easy. Loved his morning show. He reminded us of Pat Sajak.

[katlady]

Had Todd Whittmer on the Carnival Freedom. He was a great cruise director we just need to teach him how to say Funchal. Funchal is pronounced (fOOnshäl') not (funchow). Everytime he said Funchow I thought I was eating chinese food.

[Snoozeman]

Originally Posted by libbygms

Our favourite CD of all has to be Todd Whittmer. His easy going, down to earth pace is just what you need to just take it easy. Loved his morning show. He reminded us of Pat Sajak.

Ryan Seacrest

[Cruisebunny7]

We had Jorge on our last cruise and we loved him, but we also loved the assistant cruise director...cannot remember his name off hand...he had white glasses and was rather "flamboyant". They were great together, and remember Jorge is George befor 5pm...funny story. At the show following our departure from Cozumel Jorge was explaining to the crowd that he was not Mexican, but Columbian he then asked if there were any Columbians in the audience, one guy yelled and said he was. When Jorge asked where in Columbia he was from he said "SOUTH CAROLINA!!" (as in Columbia SC) Jorge just started laughing hysterically, we don't know if this guy was serious or trying to be funny, but he stole the show for sure.