btw Heidi looks fantastic, looks like she has lost most of the baby weight. Kye is adorable.

Welcome to Kye from Jaime’s parents. I know she will be joining you on the Freedom soon, so I thought it best to email mazel tov (congratulations) to you before Jaime arrives. Sorry we are unable to join you on the Freedom, but we do plan to cruise again sometime in the future. We were very fortunate to sail on the Splendor (again) to Mexico and had simply the best time.
Enjoy your precious family, Fondly, Janet and Bob

N0 – that is primarily based on the calendar. But if I had a choice of CDs for the dates/port I wanted, then maybe.

2. DO YOU THINK A CRUISE DIRECTOR CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE TO YOUR OVERALL CRUISE ENJOYMENT? IF YOU ANSWER YES…………..PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY

Absolutely yes. The CD sets the whole tone of the cruise. A good one can help unite the passengers into one big family of fun! A bad one can just give you a bad taste every time you hear or see them. The energy of the entire cruise can be driven by the CD.

The October 12th Dream sailing will be our 5th cruise. Despite having had some great adventures, I couldn’t tell you the name of a single CD that we’ve cruised with (although I remember thoroughly enjoying the husband and wife who did the job on the RCL Vision of the Seas when we went to Alaska in 2006). While I know that each CD is responsible for training their staff and implementing great programs, I don’t know enough about any of them to make it important when booking a cruise. So far, our key factors have been itinerary (for instance, Carrie REALLY wanted to see Dubrovnik, so it influenced our choice of European cruises) and schedule so we could cruise with family and friends.

I am sad to say that the gift for my grandson’s 18th birthday back in April has still not arrived. I’ve sent the address in twice now, and we are moving soon, so unless it’s already on the way, I just want to thank you for the effort you made to get it to him.

Thanks again…Irene (hooked on cruising)

On my first Carnival cruise in 2001, I took my mom on the Fantasy, and couldn’t tell you a thing about the CD – not even if the CD was male or female. It didn’t matter. My mom and I had a great time and enjoyed each other’s company. It was a short 3-day cruise, but we created a lot of fun, long-lasting memories.

Three years later, my hubby and I cruised on the then-new Carnival Miracle. Todd was the cruise director, and Big Tex was the assistant CD. We had a ball and thoroughly enjoyed Todd’s energy and humor.

One evening, for example, the comedian scheduled for the adult-only show had an emergency and was unable to board the ship. Rather than cancel the show, Todd got some of the staff together for an improv “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” type of show. What a riot! I laughed so hard, my sides ached and my face was streaked with tears.

We had such a good time on the Miracle, we booked yet another cruise for that same year. This time, we sailed the Celebration. Our CD was Risa and we were happy to discover Big Tex was again the assistant CD. We had another great time, although we didn’t see Risa quite as often during our cruise.

Flash forward 5 years, and we FINALLY got to experience a Carnival cruise again. This time, we brought our 3-year-old daughter, as well as my mom and a family friend. We sailed the Glory with Butch (his last cruise as Glory CD), and it was the best cruise EVER! Honestly, I saw Butch on the TV once or twice, and caught 2-3 of the shows he hosted/MC’d. Otherwise, I never saw him, not even at the past-guest party, since the main lounge was overcrowded, and we were directed to one of the two “overflow” lounges. Again though, everyone in our group had the best time ever. We had so much fun, I booked hubby, our daughter, and I a May 2010 cruise on the Dream within a week of debarkation from the Glory!

Anyway, I guess the point of my long rambling is that while a good cruise director can certainly ENHANCE my cruise experience, I don’t rely on the CD to make my cruise fun. (That’s just too much pressure for any one person anyway!)

The purpose of my cruise is to enjoy my family and make special memories we can share for a lifetime. Therefore, I think it’s up to ME to make those memories, since I know my family better than anyone. With the exception of our Carnival Dream cruise next year, we’ve never known who the cruise director was until we boarded the ship. A good CD is certainly a nice “perk,” but an unremarkable CD doesn’t dampen my cruise fun one bit.