FOR seven months straight every yea Christiaan Tredoux’s job is to put a smile on the face of thousands of cruise passengers. No matter if they are still at school or well into their retirements, his captive audience aboard P&O cruise ships are all bundled together in auditoriums as one.. Running trivia introducing onboard entertainers and compering fun activities are all part of his day. Photos show the many roles of Christiaan
There is no day off or running late because he knows his audience iswaiting for him to be entertained as they pass away the hours steaming from port to port. So how does he keep a smile on his face, how does he surprise and delight every time he picks up the microphone? ith 3000 passengers ready to critique his every move his job may look easy, but it is far from a walk in the park. “To be a cruise director you need to be a people’s person and be able to relate to everyone no matter their age or where they come from,” he said. Need to Love People “You need to love people, enjoy interacting with them and you must be committed to making sure their cruise is a memorable one. For some their cruise is something that they have saved for months to do and it’s wonderful to be able to help them treasure it as a special memory. “One of the best pieces of advice I was given was to talk to passengers as though they were your mates, to imagine you were standing around a barbecue with them where everyone wanted to have a good time. “It’s so important that you listen to people, they just want to be heard, it's never a me show it is their show.” Christiaan says he has always loved entertaining and as a small child would plan and put on family performances with his brothers and cousins dressed up in his Nan’s rolls of fabrics that she had in her sewing room. When he first left school he went into the entertainment and filmmaking industry and at just 21 yearned to travel. “I had a mate who was working on a cruise line in retail and he told me about life at sea and the many ports he had visited, I thought that’s for me and so I applied to P&O and some months later got a call up for an interview,” he said. “I got the job as a member of the entertainment team and intended to just do one contract, but loved it that much I’ve kept reapplying for new contracts and now this is my 7th and I have no intention of not putting my hand up each year for many to come,” he said. Each year at the end of his contract, which may entail as much as 20 straight cruises, Christiaan faces a tough evaluation. His managers offer their critiques, but the key measure to how he has performed comes from surveys passengers are asked to fill out at the end of their journey. As one of the thousands who recently sailed with Christiaan on the P&O Encounter I can only say that he would be welcome at my barbecue any time he liked to pop around.