Being a cruise director is a lot like being a performer. "It's show time
as soon as you walk out of your cabin," says Tom Dentino, a cruise director.
"It's non-stop socializing. The person you want to target is the one sitting
in the back of the room all by themselves."
Dentino, a veteran cruise director, is quick to point out that the most
important qualification is a love of people.
"You can't be a phony -- people see through that right away," says Dentino,
who is originally from New York. "You've got to be sincere; you have to care
about each and every passenger. You have to really enjoy people. And if you
get to a point where you don't, it's time to stop."
Smiles and socializing aside, Dentino takes his job very seriously. "I
take it as my personal challenge to make sure each and every person has a
good time," he says. "People are giving me their time, so I have to deliver."
Making sure people have a good time is only a small part of a cruise director's
job. A typical day for Dentino starts at about 7 a.m., with socializing and
having breakfast with passengers, supervising a staff of 25 or 30 people,
arranging for all the entertainment that takes place, giving talks about the
next port of call and communicating with the captain.
As well, he's in charge of organizing a wide variety of events: bingo and
bridge, water games, skeet shooting, shuffleboard, napkin folding and even
vegetable carving demonstrations.
When evening rolls around, Dentino socializes with passengers in the dining
room, sitting with a different table each night. He's also in charge of organizing
the evening's entertainment.
"We've got movies, cocktail parties, Vegas-style venues, singers and even
jugglers," he says. "You've got to make sure there's something going on for
everybody, regardless of their age."
Dentino says he happened into the job when he was looking for a new experience.
"I didn't have any money and I wanted to get away from the cold winter for
awhile, so I applied to be a youth counselor on a cruise ship," he says. "While
I was there, the assistant cruise director had to leave, so they hired me."
Susan Halldimand says she loves her job, too. "It's fantastic," she says.
"It's such an amazing experience to be able to travel the world, meet interesting
people and get paid for it."
Halldimand says she got into the profession after taking some courses on
the travel industry. "I was trained as a travel agent and did that for a few
years," says Halldimand. "But I just found I wanted more. I wanted to be going
to all those exotic locales I was selling tickets to. So I did some research
on the cruise industry and before I knew it, I landed a job as a youth counselor."
In spite of the warm climates in which she works, Halldimand says she still
misses a real winter. "I know it sounds crazy," she says, laughing. "Sunshine
and blue skies are great, but once in a while I'd like some variety."
And Halldimand says the demands of the job are sometimes frustrating as
well. "Everyone has this image of us in their minds," she says. "They think
we're always perky and upbeat, just like Julie from the Love Boat. But we
have down days too. The bad thing is that you always have to put on a happy
face for the passengers, even if your head is pounding, you've got a high
fever and your dog just died. It's really tough sometimes."
But Halldimand stresses that she wouldn't trade her job for anything in
the world. "In spite of some of the drawbacks, it's a great career," she says.
"It's exactly what I wanted in terms of travel and excitement. I don't think
I could do this forever, it would be hard if you wanted to have a family.
But for now, while I'm still young, it's fantastic."