Joe01

The Captain on Navigator. He ate in the WJ almost everyday.
 

if I had to choose it would be Otto Bang capt of the Liberty he was so kind taking my wheelchair bound daughter for a personal tour of the ship 

She worked for a while with Captain Johnny so not surprised that she is a personable Captain herself. She seems to really love her job.

It will be here before you know it! Only 15 months. 
I don't usually cruise in a suite, but fingers crossed that the suite sundeck will be finished soon.

CruiseLifeRick on Cruise Critic is doing a LIVE thread and Periscopes onboard this week. I have been following and seeing everything of Symphony has made me very excited!!
Who else is really excited for the Symphony? What are you most excited about?

Those who know me from CC know that I run the CD List and help out with the info on the AM List, but I am done helping with the latter one. I provided an update there yesterday (poster had been inactive for nearly 3 weeks on there). The regular poster on that list then came back today and ignored some of the updates that I added to the list, and the new version is once again full of grammar errors. Will not be helping that list again. 
However, I will happily run the show for both CD's and AM's on here. Please provide me with any updates if you get them. :)

SY = Symphony
HM = Harmony
I'll make the sentence more clear - "I said to Royal that the fact that he gets Symphony despite having had poor reviews on Harmony demonstrates an inability to listen to guest feedback."
Not the first time that this has been the case - they had Ken Rush doing the takeouts for years and most couldn't stand him either. Likely that some didn't want to do the inaugural seasons of Freedom or Oasis either as he was there. Ironically, Ken is now the very person who creates the CD schedule in Miami. 

For me:
1) Harmony
2) Allure
3) Oasis
4) Independence
5) Explorer
6) Jewel
7) Anthem
8) Serenade
9) Enchantment
What about you? As you can see, I am more of a big ship type of guy. With the exception of old Majesty and little Empress, I have done all classes of ship in the fleet so can provide a relatively balanced perspective.

The AM list took forever to edit. A lot of mistakes in it and I find it hard to read, hence why I adapted it to look like the CD list. As I run the CD List on CC, I would happily take over the AM List as well.

AM:
Adventure OTS – Daniel Dornas until April. (no replacement known yet)
Allure OTS – Grant Martin returned January 21 for 4 months.
Anthem OTS – Caroline Peters started February 9 until April 7, then Tanya Yates Tongue (aka Tornado Tanya) takes over April 7 for 4 months, followed by Flavio Maeda in August for 2 months.
Brilliance OTS – Enzo Matijaca started early April.
Empress OTS – Mickey Martin started late February/early March. 
Enchantment OTS – Assata Young-Mayers returned in December for 4 months.
Explorer OTS –  Current AM unknown, as of last week. Aysy Sadrislamova will likely return in June.
Freedom OTS – Alexander Schmidt started early December until mid April, then Margot Van Erck takes over mid April until June.
Grandeur OTS – Cecy Del Razo started February 10 for 4 months.
Harmony OTS – Jerry Kubli returned February 3rd until late-May. 
Independence OTS – Elizabeth Hackett started mid-January until May 20. Mark Rous returns May 20 for 2 months.
Jewel OTS – Daniel Klophaus started in November for 4 months. He may be on vacation now, but replacement is currently unknown.
Liberty OTS – Katrina Blair started January 14 for 4 months, then Alex Green takes over May 27 until July 22, followed by Katrina again July 22 for 4 months.
Majesty OTS – Mosese (Moe) Vatuloka started in September, although Geoffrey Jones from the Cruise Director's Staff has stepped up to AM on a number of occasions since. Unsure of who is currently there.
Mariner OTS – Renato Arana started early April for 4 months.
Navigator OTS –  Mark Rous returned March 1 until May 20, then Daniel Edward returns May 20. 
Oasis OTS – Tresha Robb started February 11 until mid-June, then Flavio Maeda for 2 months.  
Ovation OTS – Angelle Rutten Van Hemert started late-January for the rest of the Australian season. An Asian AM will likely take over soon.
Quantum OTS – Bonnie Bai was onboard in December, although unknown if she is still there.
Radiance OTS – Alex Green started mid-March for 2 months. 
Rhapsody OTS – Eric Lopez returned late-February for 4 months.
Serenade OTS – Alison Hasler started January 26 for 4 months. 
Symphony OTS – Katy McCullagh joined March 31 for 4 months. Amy Tripp is also onboard, likely to assist while the ship is still in her first few sailings.
Vision OTS – Currently unknown. Possibly Talita Leoni?  
Voyager OTS – Claire Booth started late-January, although is due for vacation soon.

I am providing a CD & AM update. The AM List on CC is never updated, and I already do the CD List there so can paste that into here.
CD:
Adventure OTS - Mercedes LaFuentes took over February 27 for 6 weeks. (then who?)
Allure OTS - Jimmy Rhodes returns March 11 for 4 months, then Mitch Meruccireturns mid-July for 2 months.
Anthem OTS - Clo O'Connor early March until May 13, then Dennis Charles returns May 13 for 4 months.
Brilliance OTS - Abe Hughes started March 31 until early-July, then Clo O'Connor will be CD from July until September. (exact dates needed)
Empress OTS - Hugo Arenas began November 10 for 4 months. (then who?)
Enchantment OTS - Michelle Pimentinha Oliveira returned December 15 for 4 months, then Bobby Broughton returns late-April. (need handover date)
Explorer OTS - Graham Seymour returned February 9 (until when?). Topi Ylönenreturns June 8 until July 27. Graham is wanted to be kept on Explorer by the HD, so may be regular CD again for the rest of 2018.
Freedom OTS - Drew Devine starts March 17 until July 28, then Topi Ylönen returns July 28 until September 29, followed by Drew September 29 for 4 months.
Grandeur OTS - Bob Leininger began November 30 until mid-April, then Mike Szwajkowski for 2 months, then Bob returns mid-June until October 6, then Mitch Merucci from October 6 until December 1, followed by Bob starting December 1 for another 4 month contract.
Harmony OTS - Marc Walker begins February 3 until April 21, then Dru Pavlov returns April 21 until August 4, then Marc returns again from August 4 until October 6. 
Independence OTS - Tim Connor started March 15 until May 28, then Joff Eatonreturns May 28 for the Summer season for 4 months. 
Jewel OTS - Andrea Olivieri started February 25. (for 4 months?)
Liberty OTS - John Blair took over January 14 until May 27, and returns July 22 for 4 months.
Majesty OTS - Susan Adams took over February 26. (for 4 months?)
Mariner OTS - Ricky Matthews is said to have taken over for the repositioning, dry dock and start of the Miami cruises. (Will Carlos Torres also be working on Mariner later this year, as initially reported?)
Navigator OTS - Simona Ferraiuolo took over March 16 for 2 months. (then who?). Cuddy Cudworth returns in August after a contract on Radiance.
Oasis OTS - Jeff Arpin returned early March for 2 months, followed by Dan Whitney early May for 4 months. (need dates)
Ovation OTS - Mike Hunnerup returned March 23 (for 4 months?).
Quantum OTS - Chris Brown returned mid November for 4 months, then Paul Rutterstarts in March for 2 months and again from September for 3 months. (need handover date)
Radiance OTS - Mitch Merucci started March 18 until April 18. Cuddy Cudworth is joining Radiance for his next contract. (dates unknown)
Rhapsody OTS - Elvis Pinto returned early February for 4 months. (then who?)
Serenade OTS - Carly Boileau returns February 5 (until when? then who?)
Symphony OTS - Michele Scarpato and Bobby Brown are the launch CD's, sharing duties. Current dates are unknown, but Michele will be CD in early-July, and Bobby for the TA. Marc Walker takes over November 9 in Miami until February 16. (He joins Oct 23 for a 17 day handover)
Vision OTS - Ken Jones returned February 9 for 2 months, then Steve Davis returns April 6 until August 11.
Voyager OTS - Carlos Torres began late-January until late-May.
 

I considered walking out but stayed as I still liked L&M and was curious to see what else he had in store. A few funny moments but they were all canned and not spontaneous. He keeps going back to that awful "Brutally honest" line as he seems to know of no other way to get an honest answer out of a contestant or a crowd reaction. It's a bizarre L&M approach. The 4 couples may have worked in the 90's when he started as CD, but it is 2018 now. I thought we were becoming more gay friendly and that gender roles meant nothing (hence why men shouldn't have to stand and talk about how good their wife is at cooking).
A complete contrast to Abe Hughes. This was from a sailing about 6 weeks prior to my B2B. Great CD and seems to actually have a rapport with the contestants.
 

AM:
Adventure OTS – Daniel Dornas until April. (no replacement known yet)
Allure OTS – Grant Martin returned January 21 for 4 months.
Anthem OTS – Caroline Peters started February 9 until April 7, then Tanya Yates Tongue (aka Tornado Tanya) takes over April 7 for 4 months, followed by Flavio Maeda in August for 2 months.
Brilliance OTS – Enzo Matijaca started early April.
Empress OTS – Mickey Martin started late February/early March. 
Enchantment OTS – Assata Young-Mayers returned in December for 4 months.
Explorer OTS –  Current AM unknown, as of last week. Aysy Sadrislamova will likely return in June.
Freedom OTS – Alexander Schmidt started early December until mid April, then Margot Van Erck takes over mid April until June.
Grandeur OTS – Cecy Del Razo started February 10 for 4 months.
Harmony OTS – Jerry Kubli returned February 3rd until late-May. 
Independence OTS – Elizabeth Hackett started mid-January until May 20. Mark Rous returns May 20 for 2 months.
Jewel OTS – Daniel Klophaus started in November for 4 months. He may be on vacation now, but replacement is currently unknown.
Liberty OTS – Katrina Blair started January 14 for 4 months, then Alex Green takes over May 27 until July 22, followed by Katrina again July 22 for 4 months.
Majesty OTS – Mosese (Moe) Vatuloka started in September, although Geoffrey Jones from the Cruise Director's Staff has stepped up to AM on a number of occasions since. Unsure of who is currently there.
Mariner OTS – Renato Arana started early April for 4 months.
Navigator OTS –  Mark Rous returned March 1 until May 20, then Daniel Edward returns May 20. 
Oasis OTS – Tresha Robb started February 11 until mid-June, then Flavio Maeda for 2 months.  
Ovation OTS – Angelle Rutten Van Hemert started late-January for the rest of the Australian season. An Asian AM will likely take over soon.
Quantum OTS – Bonnie Bai was onboard in December, although unknown if she is still there.
Radiance OTS – Alex Green started mid-March for 2 months. 
Rhapsody OTS – Eric Lopez returned late-February for 4 months.
Serenade OTS – Alison Hasler started January 26 for 4 months. 
Symphony OTS – Katy McCullagh joined March 31 for 4 months. Amy Tripp is also onboard, likely to assist while the ship is still in her first few sailings.
Vision OTS – Currently unknown. Possibly Talita Leoni?  
Voyager OTS – Claire Booth started late-January, although is due for vacation soon.

I am providing a CD & AM update. The AM List on CC is never updated, and I already do the CD List there so can paste that into here.
CD:
Adventure OTS - Mercedes LaFuentes took over February 27 for 6 weeks. (then who?)
Allure OTS - Jimmy Rhodes returns March 11 for 4 months, then Mitch Meruccireturns mid-July for 2 months.
Anthem OTS - Clo O'Connor early March until May 13, then Dennis Charles returns May 13 for 4 months.
Brilliance OTS - Abe Hughes started March 31 until early-July, then Clo O'Connor will be CD from July until September. (exact dates needed)
Empress OTS - Hugo Arenas began November 10 for 4 months. (then who?)
Enchantment OTS - Michelle Pimentinha Oliveira returned December 15 for 4 months, then Bobby Broughton returns late-April. (need handover date)
Explorer OTS - Graham Seymour returned February 9 (until when?). Topi Ylönenreturns June 8 until July 27. Graham is wanted to be kept on Explorer by the HD, so may be regular CD again for the rest of 2018.
Freedom OTS - Drew Devine starts March 17 until July 28, then Topi Ylönen returns July 28 until September 29, followed by Drew September 29 for 4 months.
Grandeur OTS - Bob Leininger began November 30 until mid-April, then Mike Szwajkowski for 2 months, then Bob returns mid-June until October 6, then Mitch Merucci from October 6 until December 1, followed by Bob starting December 1 for another 4 month contract.
Harmony OTS - Marc Walker begins February 3 until April 21, then Dru Pavlov returns April 21 until August 4, then Marc returns again from August 4 until October 6. 
Independence OTS - Tim Connor started March 15 until May 28, then Joff Eatonreturns May 28 for the Summer season for 4 months. 
Jewel OTS - Andrea Olivieri started February 25. (for 4 months?)
Liberty OTS - John Blair took over January 14 until May 27, and returns July 22 for 4 months.
Majesty OTS - Susan Adams took over February 26. (for 4 months?)
Mariner OTS - Ricky Matthews is said to have taken over for the repositioning, dry dock and start of the Miami cruises. (Will Carlos Torres also be working on Mariner later this year, as initially reported?)
Navigator OTS - Simona Ferraiuolo took over March 16 for 2 months. (then who?). Cuddy Cudworth returns in August after a contract on Radiance.
Oasis OTS - Jeff Arpin returned early March for 2 months, followed by Dan Whitney early May for 4 months. (need dates)
Ovation OTS - Mike Hunnerup returned March 23 (for 4 months?).
Quantum OTS - Chris Brown returned mid November for 4 months, then Paul Rutterstarts in March for 2 months and again from September for 3 months. (need handover date)
Radiance OTS - Mitch Merucci started March 18 until April 18. Cuddy Cudworth is joining Radiance for his next contract. (dates unknown)
Rhapsody OTS - Elvis Pinto returned early February for 4 months. (then who?)
Serenade OTS - Carly Boileau returns February 5 (until when? then who?)
Symphony OTS - Michele Scarpato and Bobby Brown are the launch CD's, sharing duties. Current dates are unknown, but Michele will be CD in early-July, and Bobby for the TA. Marc Walker takes over November 9 in Miami until February 16. (He joins Oct 23 for a 17 day handover)
Vision OTS - Ken Jones returned February 9 for 2 months, then Steve Davis returns April 6 until August 11.
Voyager OTS - Carlos Torres began late-January until late-May.
 

As someone who coached football ( soccer ) for a number of years, i would say this. i learnt a just as much from the BAD coaches as i did from good ones, what i learned from the bad ones was what NOT to do. If this CD is bad maybe scouting him out to see just why he's bad and where he makes mistakes will be of just as much help to you in your future career as spending all your time with only good CDs, because you will know what not to do. 

The stateroom attendant will likely transfer your bags to the other room. Your new attendant will try and get the room ready as early as possible. Don't put the bags in the hallway. 
The Loyalty Ambassador deals with the turnaround process. There is a consecutive cruisers on the last day of Leg 1, and you will then meet (on HM, it was at the Schooner Bar), as the last guests are leaving. The LA will then take you out to be cleared by customs and then provide you with new SeaPasses before you return to an empty ship. They collect the old SeaPasses but give them back as a souvenir when you head home.
The team on Harmony handled it seamlessly. I don't know what ship you will be on, but hopefully they will be the same.

Happy Easter to you as well!

Wishing a Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all here that celebrate!  

I had Casey on Serenade in 2013 and thought the same. I felt as if his Staff were running the show, and I had issues with some of his scheduling of shows (1 show per evening at 10.30pm for many evenings during summer holiday cruise). He was sometimes funny, but the Morning Show was dull. He seemed to lack the charisma needed to pull off a solo morning show (most CD's do it with their AM). Casey's wife had a daughter recently so he has moved to a land based job for Celebrity.
I agree with everything you said about Abe, but what I really liked about him was that he really wanted to make an impact on the guests' experience and make sure that they had as good a time as possible. He did go the extra mile as a CD and should have been selected for Symphony. Bobby was the opposite. 
Chris was great, but he left because there was no space on the CD schedule. They really should have promoted him to CD. He was fantastic as an Assistant on Anthem in 2016 whilst John Blair and his wife were the CD & AM and neither were good.

We probably have not been on as many cruises as you guys, but Abe Hughes is the best we have had by far. Not only was he really funny, but was just a mound of energy. I truly don't think he sleeps---he is all over the ship all the time. At the time we saw him, his AM was Chris Hopkins-also fantastic, but I think Joe01 said he is no longer with Royal. On the other hand, other than hosting events we never saw Casey Pelter even once. Abe's morning show was terrific, Casey's was boring. We have no recollection of other CDs we have seen, which makes Abe stand out even more.
This has been posted before, but when you have a chance check out Abe's L&M game on Harmony. It's the entire show-about 45 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhOQjdBBhYs
 

Tim Connor is now on the Independence. I've watched both him and Clo do the L&M show and they are both really good. Abe Hughes (whose L&M I saw in person) was hilarious, and then there was Bobby... 
Sorry, but looking at how many great CD's work for Royal, it further confuses me as to why Bobby got SY.

Marc is onboard as scheduled, but it turns out that he takes over in Miami. I wish that he had clarified that before hand, as he basically tricked me into thinking that he would be CD and I got really excited.

Just been told that Bobby Brown will be the CD on the SY TA. Will they ever learn? Very disappointing news.
 
I was going to book that sailing. Should I even bother anymore, or should I look into other options?

Yes - definitely be happy that it isn't Bobby Brown! 
Drew gets good reviews. People seem to like him generally. He was permanent CD on Oasis of the Seas for 3 years, so Royal clearly value him as well.

He's off to the Enchantment after his vacation.