firegal2539 Posted January 16, 2018 Report Posted January 16, 2018 I just got off of the Grandeur (called the cruise from hell) and Bob Leininger is the cruise director. He is the oldest CD I have ever had, 57, and I am not age bias since I am old as dirt but he didn't take part in anything, not the parties, M & G, shows, etc. He had zero personality and managed to talk about his book he wrote and for sale on Amazon about his life as a CD. The only time the passengers saw him was on his t.v. show. Anyone going on Grandeur soon you have my sympathy and hopefully everything will be fixed. Candie Quote
Joe01 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 17 hours ago, firegal2539 said: I just got off of the Grandeur (called the cruise from hell) and Bob Leininger is the cruise director. He is the oldest CD I have ever had, 57, and I am not age bias since I am old as dirt but he didn't take part in anything, not the parties, M & G, shows, etc. He had zero personality and managed to talk about his book he wrote and for sale on Amazon about his life as a CD. The only time the passengers saw him was on his t.v. show. Anyone going on Grandeur soon you have my sympathy and hopefully everything will be fixed. Candie He didn't do anything? Grandeur isn't exactly a big ship so surely it would be a perfect opportunity to get involved. How arrogant that his only main appearance was to advertise his book. He should have really done more given that the cruise was extended and there was bound to have been a lot of unhappy guests. Lady G seems to be a complete mess at the moment. I hope Tanya the Activities Manager made up for it. She is awesome! Unfortunately for GR cruisers, she is leaving on Feb 10 and moving to the Anthem next. A very well deserved upgrade, but I think the GR needs her. Quote
Matt Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 Jimmy Rhodes indicated on FB he has two more sailings and then is done on Brilliance. Jan 29 I believe he leaves. Quote
Joe01 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 11 minutes ago, Matt said: Jimmy Rhodes indicated on FB he has two more sailings and then is done on Brilliance. Jan 29 I believe he leaves. Thanks Matt. Jimmy is a good CD - he will be heading to Allure after his vacation to replace Mitch. Back to my question - what were your thoughts on Abe vs Bobby on Harmony? Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Joe01 said: I hope Tanya the Activities Manager made up for it. She is awesome! Unfortunately for GR cruisers, she is leaving on Feb 10 and moving to the Anthem next. A very well deserved upgrade, but I think the GR needs her. Heading to Anthem to be the AM or CD? Trying to figure out who we'll end up with in March now that it's not Clo. Quote
Joe01 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 5 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said: Heading to Anthem to be the AM or CD? Trying to figure out who we'll end up with in March now that it's not Clo. As AM starting in mid-April. I can't imagine them promoting an AM on a Vision Class ship to CD on a Quantum Class ship. Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 Just now, Joe01 said: As AM starting in mid-April. I can't imagine them promoting an AM on a Vision Class ship to CD on a Quantum Class ship. I didn't think so either. Just thought I would ask...so Joe, no word yet on who might be CD on Anthem mid-March? Quote
Joe01 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 14 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said: I didn't think so either. Just thought I would ask...so Joe, no word yet on who might be CD on Anthem mid-March? Afraid not yet. I'll likely get the info on CC, so make sure to watch my thread there. I'm just periodically updating this list for the people on here. Quote
Matt Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 2 hours ago, Joe01 said: Back to my question - what were your thoughts on Abe vs Bobby on Harmony? I prefer Abe, but I do admit they are both very good. Quote
Joe01 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Posted January 17, 2018 18 minutes ago, Matt said: I prefer Abe, but I do admit they are both very good. Abe's the best CD I have had. Bobby was funny on occasion, but was not impressed overall. He would be fantastic on the Empress or an Azamara ship. I can name 3 occasions where I got frustrated with how Bobby ran the program, and he was fairly dull. I can see why a 60+ crowd would like him, but not me. Abe really made an impact on the July 1st sailing. The following week, I bet that very little of the cruisers would even know who Bobby was. Quote
twangster Posted January 23, 2018 Report Posted January 23, 2018 Enzo, the current activities director on Anthem has one cruise left before his break. He is moving to Brilliance when he returns for its European sailings. Quote
Joe01 Posted January 23, 2018 Report Posted January 23, 2018 4 hours ago, twangster said: Enzo, the current activities director on Anthem has one cruise left before his break. He is moving to Brilliance when he returns for its European sailings. Do you know who will be replacing him? Tanya is due to take over in April. Quote
twangster Posted January 23, 2018 Report Posted January 23, 2018 36 minutes ago, Joe01 said: Do you know who will be replacing him? Tanya is due to take over in April. If I bump into him again, I'll ask him. Quote
twangster Posted January 27, 2018 Report Posted January 27, 2018 On 1/23/2018 at 3:13 PM, Joe01 said: Do you know who will be replacing him? Tanya is due to take over in April. Apparently Caroline Peters. Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 27, 2018 Report Posted January 27, 2018 2 minutes ago, twangster said: Apparently Caroline Peters. See if you can find out who the CD will be after Dennis leaves March 9th....please/thank you ? Quote
twangster Posted January 28, 2018 Report Posted January 28, 2018 9 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said: See if you can find out who the CD will be after Dennis leaves March 9th....please/thank you ? I asked Enzo. I think he said Chloe Conners but he was in the Esplanade in DJ mode and it's Diamond happy hour so... Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote
Joe01 Posted February 3, 2018 Report Posted February 3, 2018 On January 11, 2018 at 7:59 PM, Joe01 said: Happy New Year to the RCL Blog! UPDATE as of February 3rd 2017: Ship Cruise Director Activities Manager Adventure Unknown Daniel Dornas Allure Mitch Merucci Grant Martin Anthem Dennis Charles Enzo Matijaca (to be replaced by Caroline Peters 2/9) Brilliance Unknown Cecy del Razo Empress Hugo Arenas Mauricio Diaz Enchantment Michelle Pimentinha Oliveira TT Algan Explorer Topi Ylönen Aysy Sadrislamova Freedom Abe Hughes Alexander Schmidt Grandeur Bob Leininger Tanya Yates Tongue Harmony Marc Walker Jerry Kubli Independence Simona Ferraiuolo Elizabeth Hackett Jewel Jerome Sueur Daniel Klophaus Liberty John Blair Katrina Blair Mariner Fang Lixin Kitty Xu Majesty Bobby Broughton Mosese Vatuloka Navigator Cuddy Cudworth Daniel Edward Oasis Dan Whitney Margot van Erck Ovation Joff Eaton Angelle Rutten van Hemert Quantum Chris Brown Bonnie Bai Radiance Rob McNally Saini Gupta Rhapsody Casey Pelter Eric Lopez Serenade Ricky Matthews Alison Hasler Vision Steve Davis Renato Arana Voyager Carlos Torres Claire Booth *Symphony takeout Cruise Director will be Bobby Brown and Activities Manager will be Amy Tripp. Quote
Joe01 Posted February 3, 2018 Report Posted February 3, 2018 2 of Royal's best AM's have left in the past week - Tino Jackson and Chris Hopkins. Are there any good AM's left now? I haven't heard much about most of them. Quote
JLMoran Posted February 3, 2018 Report Posted February 3, 2018 If Alexander Schmidt is still on Freedom, he just got a rave review on a Ship Mate review posted a couple of days ago. Quote
Joe01 Posted February 3, 2018 Report Posted February 3, 2018 Glad to hear that! Have heard very little about Alexander. I won't deny that it is a shame that Tino and Chris are leaving Royal, as both were popular and long-serving AM's. Chris had already filled in as CD as well. On YouTube, I watched the application video of one of the Activities Managers in the fleet (won't name them), and from what I watched, it made me think that Royal are seriously lowering their standards for future CD's and AM's. The best have sailed away (e.g. Darryl, Frankie, Chris, Tino to name a few). Quote
Joe01 Posted February 8, 2018 Report Posted February 8, 2018 Any other good AM's? I have heard about pretty much every CD, but very little about some of the AM's. I have seen 2 AM application videos on YouTube and both of them were terrible, so it makes me worried about the quality of AM's going forward. Quote
Orange Crush Posted February 8, 2018 Report Posted February 8, 2018 We had Bobby Broughton on the Majesty over Christmas and he was great; not sure if he's sticking around after dry dock or heading to another ship though, although I may be able to find out through the grapevine. Quote
Joe01 Posted February 8, 2018 Report Posted February 8, 2018 1 minute ago, Orange Crush said: We had Bobby Broughton on the Majesty over Christmas and he was great; not sure if he's sticking around after dry dock or heading to another ship though, although I may be able to find out through the grapevine. He's off to the Enchantment after his vacation. Orange Crush 1 Quote
HLWIser Posted February 8, 2018 Report Posted February 8, 2018 Just saw on FB that a gentleman inquired about Adventure’s cruise director via email- and RC let him know that Casey Pelter will be back with Adventure after drydock, coming back from paternity leave, starting Monday the 12th. Quote
Skid Posted February 9, 2018 Report Posted February 9, 2018 On 1/17/2018 at 2:47 PM, Joe01 said: Abe's the best CD I have had. 1 hour ago, HLWIser said: Just saw on FB that a gentleman inquired about Adventure’s cruise director via email- and RC let him know that Casey Pelter will be back with Adventure after drydock, coming back from paternity leave, starting Monday the 12th. I really hope that is not true. Had Casey last year on Adventure and was not a fan at all. Other than some shows, didn't see him even once all week. We are sailing Adventure again in May and was hoping for a different CD. Oh, well. Had Abe when he was on Anthem and absolutely loved him. I don't think he ever sleeps. Between his morning show, visibility all day and hosting at night he was amazing! Quote
KLA Posted February 9, 2018 Report Posted February 9, 2018 13 hours ago, Skid said: I really hope that is not true. Had Casey last year on Adventure and was not a fan at all. Other than some shows, didn't see him even once all week. We are sailing Adventure again in May and was hoping for a different CD. Oh, well. Ugh - sorry to hear that. I'll see if I can confirm that on 2/24. Skid 1 Quote
coneyraven Posted February 9, 2018 Report Posted February 9, 2018 13 hours ago, Skid said: I really hope that is not true. Had Casey last year on Adventure and was not a fan at all. Other than some shows, didn't see him even once all week. We are sailing Adventure again in May and was hoping for a different CD. Oh, well. Had Abe when he was on Anthem and absolutely loved him. I don't think he ever sleeps. Between his morning show, visibility all day and hosting at night he was amazing! Very interesting ..... I had Casey many years ago, and he was fantastic ...... makes me wonder if he was just "burned out" --- who knows, expecting a child can stress anyone out. Skid 1 Quote
Joe01 Posted February 9, 2018 Report Posted February 9, 2018 I had Casey in 2013 on Serenade and wasn't overly impressed with him then either. I would only rank him above John Blair and Bobby Brown. Definitely not as good as Jimmy Rhodes, Jerome Sueur, Joff Eaton, Abe Hughes or Leigh Xuereb (no longer with RCI). Those are all of the CD's I have had. Skid 1 Quote
KLA Posted February 10, 2018 Report Posted February 10, 2018 17 hours ago, Joe01 said: I had Casey in 2013 on Serenade and wasn't overly impressed with him then either. I would only rank him above John Blair and Bobby Brown. Definitely not as good as Jimmy Rhodes, Jerome Sueur, Joff Eaton, Abe Hughes or Leigh Xuereb (no longer with RCI). Those are all of the CD's I have had. Jimmy Rhodes and Marc Walker have been my favorites! Quote
Joe01 Posted February 12, 2018 Report Posted February 12, 2018 Rate the CD's whom you have had by this criteria: Fantastic Good OK Bad Fantastic - Joff Eaton; Abe Hughes; Leigh Xuereb (no longer with RCI) Good - Jimmy Rhodes OK - Jerome Sueur (probably good but didn't get enough of an impression); Casey Pelter Bad - John Blair; Bobby Brown Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 12, 2018 Report Posted February 12, 2018 Fantastic - Tim Connor Bad - Bobby Brown Don't remember any in between so they must have all just been ok Quote
JLMoran Posted February 13, 2018 Report Posted February 13, 2018 Just saw a review on ShipMate that was posted Sunday by a traveler on Freedom of the Seas. Abe was their CD! So as long as he does transfer in the next 46 days, I’m gonna be a lucky ducky! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote
Joe01 Posted February 15, 2018 Report Posted February 15, 2018 On February 13, 2018 at 1:13 PM, JLMoran said: Just saw a review on ShipMate that was posted Sunday by a traveler on Freedom of the Seas. Abe was their CD! So as long as he does transfer in the next 46 days, I’m gonna be a lucky ducky! Your Cruise Director will be Drew Devine. He takes over on March 17th. Quote
JLMoran Posted February 15, 2018 Report Posted February 15, 2018 19 minutes ago, Joe01 said: Your Cruise Director will be Drew Devine. He takes over on March 17th. Not sure if I should be reacting to this with sad face, happy face (because at least it won't be Bobby Brown), or something else... Quote
Skid Posted February 15, 2018 Report Posted February 15, 2018 Someone on Cruise Critic said that Adventure CD Casey Pelter's contract is just 2 months. Can someone on board now possibly find out who will be CD after that? We are sailing in May. Thanks. I will post this on the Adventure thread also. Quote
Joe01 Posted February 15, 2018 Report Posted February 15, 2018 2 hours ago, JLMoran said: Not sure if I should be reacting to this with sad face, happy face (because at least it won't be Bobby Brown), or something else... 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. JLMoran 1 Quote
mom2mybugs Posted February 16, 2018 Report Posted February 16, 2018 10 hours ago, JLMoran said: Not sure if I should be reacting to this with sad face, happy face (because at least it won't be Bobby Brown), or something else... I will let you know how he does! Jane Quote
HahlAboard Posted February 23, 2018 Report Posted February 23, 2018 On 1/27/2018 at 10:53 AM, Sabrinaklai said: See if you can find out who the CD will be after Dennis leaves March 9th....please/thank you ? I'm on the March 9 Anthem sailing - so Dennis is or isn't CD? And it's not Clo right? Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 23, 2018 Report Posted February 23, 2018 1 hour ago, HahlAboard said: I'm on the March 9 Anthem sailing - so Dennis is or isn't CD? And it's not Clo right? It's Clo O'Connor according to posts on other boards. Quote
rjac Posted February 23, 2018 Report Posted February 23, 2018 3 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said: It's Clo O'Connor according to posts on other boards. So, why are folks so interested in who the cruise director is or isn't? Yeah, nice to know, but, that isn't going to influence me one way or the other when booking a cruise. I look at the itinerary and ship amenities. Or am I being obtuse? whenismynextcruise 1 Quote
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