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Current Cruise Director & Activities Manager List


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18 minutes ago, spiralqueen said:

Has anyone had any experience with either Jimmy Rhodes or John Blair?

Had both.

Jimmy was our CD in 2014 on Oasis - didn't pay much attention as it was my first time on Oasis Class but seemed like a fun, energetic guy. Better for a younger clientele.

Also had John Blair - twice, first on Enchantment in 2011 and then on Anthem in 2016. His style isn't my cup of tea as a younger Scot, too cheesy and I thought he was a bit full of himself. I could also tell on Anthem that he was not used to working on larger ships as L&M was scheduled on the last night and he was not visible around the ship. That said, I've watched some of his videos on FB and seen a different side to him - he does seem appreciative of his followers and still gives the CD job everything he has.

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22 minutes ago, spiralqueen said:

Has anyone had any experience with either Jimmy Rhodes or John Blair?

John and his wife as Activities Director are a duo that typically stick together.  

He posts on FB sometimes including during the recent Grandeur dry dock when he posted a series of videos about the dry dock.  Grandeur is where I had John as CD (I think).

https://www.facebook.com/john.blair.1401

To be honest I often pay no attention to the CD and couldn't tell you if Jimmy Rhodes has ever been my CD.  

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Asking about a CD is like asking which wine do you like?  Chicken or fish?  Stella or Red Stripe?  Blue or Yellow?  

An old guy like me will most likely have a different opinion compared to a younger cruiser.  An American might not 'get' a dry British sense of humor.  A European might not 'get' an American CD's jokes.  

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1 minute ago, twangster said:

An old guy like me will most likely have a different opinion compared to a younger cruiser.  An American might not 'get' a dry British sense of humor.  A European might not 'get' an American CD's jokes.  

This is really true - although I have liked British and American CD's for different reasons.

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Just now, Sarah said:

Jamie Fentiman was great when he was CD on a cruise out of Southampton I took a couple of years or so ago

Great to hear. Not sailed with him so haven't got an opinion. I just know that the Brits can be picky about CD's other than Joff based on reviews.

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On 3/31/2019 at 10:23 AM, spiralqueen said:

Has anyone had any experience with either Jimmy Rhodes or John Blair?

Let us know how Jimmy Rhodes is when you get back, I am going on the Allure in August and he is supposed to be the CD then as well.

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16 hours ago, Joe01 said:

Mike Szwajkowski is on SY until August 17th.

Awesome!  Thanks for posting that @Joe01!  Hubby can't wait to meet him as he appears (on his FB page) to be a fellow Toronto Maple Leafs fan!  That is a win-win for Hubby this summer as both CDs (Anthem and Symphony) share his love for the Leafs!

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UPDATE as of April 18th, 2019:

Ship

Cruise Director

Activities Manager

Adventure

Drew Devine

Cian MacCormaic

Allure

Mitch Merucci

Flavio Maeda

Anthem

Dennis Charles

Hannah Yates

Brilliance

Enzo Matijaca

TT Algan

Empress

Elvis Pinto

Eric Lopez

Enchantment

 Susan Adams                      

Saini Gupta

Explorer

Graham Seymour

Aysy Sadrislamova

Freedom

Patricio Honores

Alexander Schmidt

Grandeur 

 John Blair

Katrina Blair

Harmony

 Marc Walker

Daniel Dornas

Independence

 Dan Whitney

Alison Hasler

Jewel

Andrea Olivieri

Marvin Wilson

Liberty

Jeff Arpin

Kim (last name?)

Mariner

Ricky Matthews

Alex Green

Majesty

Tanya Yates Tongue

Mickey Martin

Navigator

Hugo Arenas

Unknown

Oasis

Mike Hunnerup

Unknown

Ovation

Chris Brown

Christopher Turdo

Quantum

Paul Rutter

Unknown

Radiance

Cuddy Cudworth

Emma McIntosh

Rhapsody

Bill Brunkhorst

Gemma (last name?)

Serenade

Carly Boileau

Elizabeth Hackett

Spectrum

Gordon Whatman/Bobby Brown    

Unknown

Symphony

Mike Szwajkowski

Katy McCullagh

Vision               Cecy del Razo                                     Paolo (last name?)

Voyager           Unknown                                              Unknown

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Please look at the above update - the info is up-to-date, moreso than either of the CC lists.

Anyone interested in taking this list on at some point in the future? It's a lot of work trying to get the info and I'm wanting to expand my horizons beyond cruise forums (nothing against the site at all). After all, YOLO.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/30/2018 at 8:27 AM, coneyraven said:

Spotted on the Grandeur of the Seas fan page ...

John & Kristina Blair will be returning as CD/AD from 2/23 - 6/23 2019 ---- then again from 8/8 - 11/30 2019.

Now, the next question would be, where's Mike S. and CiCi going during those times?

Woo I know opinions of John and Kristina are mixed, but I've been following him on FB and I was really hoping he would be the CD for my Oct 26 cruise.  YAY!  

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9 hours ago, ThyriC said:

Woo I know opinions of John and Kristina are mixed, but I've been following him on FB and I was really hoping he would be the CD for my Oct 26 cruise.  YAY!  

Have you sailed with them before? I agree that they have a good FB page.

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Just now, ThyriC said:

No I havent but I did watch a bunch of videos with him and his wife in action, and his approach does appeal to me.  But I like a lot of the new agey stuff.  I can see where some can be put off by that.  

What you see in those videos is pretty much what you get with them as CD. They always seemed a bit fake to me but I do appreciate the info that they provide on FB. It's a bit like cruising with Donny Osmond.

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See I like that Donny Osmond approach.  And I appreciate how it doesnt work for everyone.  But for me, that's kind of what I expect out of my CD.  Not to mention, I really feel like he gets to know the individuals on the smaller ships.  Maybe its the larger younger crowd ships that he doesnt gel well with?  

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29 minutes ago, ThyriC said:

See I like that Donny Osmond approach.  And I appreciate how it doesnt work for everyone.  But for me, that's kind of what I expect out of my CD.  Not to mention, I really feel like he gets to know the individuals on the smaller ships.  Maybe its the larger younger crowd ships that he doesnt gel well with?  

Speaking from a CD (wannabe CD) perspective, the small ships are much easier for them to get to meet people as there are less guests, less crew and a smaller workload. Oasis Class has so many people and so much going on that there is less passenger interaction.

I last had John on Anthem - he came to that ship a week before we sailed as an emergency fill in and seemed like a fish out of water with the larger ship and didn't seem to mesh with the audience on that sailing. I don't think his style works with a younger or a non-American audience. But for Grandeur, which has mostly older and US guests, he and his wife are a great fit.

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Just now, JLMoran said:

How is Mitch Merucci as a CD? Seems he'll be my guy when I sail Anthem this October.

He seems to get good reviews. There is a Love and Marriage game show with him on YouTube, will try and find it since many on here are sailing AN with him soon.

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What happened to Dru Pavlov? He was the CD on Anthem last October, and I don't see him in the list above or any mention of him since the time of that sailing. He was a really good CD, would be a shame if Royal lost him to another (non-sister) line.

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Just now, JLMoran said:

What happened to Dru Pavlov? He was the CD on Anthem last October, and I don't see him in the list above or any mention of him since the time of that sailing. He was a really good CD, would be a shame if Royal lost him to another (non-sister) line.

He's now working with Disney in the Port and Shopping department. I believe that he was let go by Royal.

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