Murderous Looks On The Dance Floor

We are just back from our first QV cruise and we enjoyed it a lot more than we thought we would. It wasn't as 'formal' as we were expecting and were a little intimated before we went but it had the right level for us..... Except for one area.

What is up with the majority of the dancers in the queens room? The looks that people dancing give to other dancers!!! And God forbid there is an accidential collision on the dance floor. I felt some couples may come to blows the words and looks being passed back and forth after any incidents.

I have to say because of this me and my other half wouldn't even attempt to dance in the queens room. We haven't had any ballroom lessons and just wanted a little twirl and dance but would not even dream of stepping onto the dance floor for fear of being burnt at the stake for not being able to do a waltz or whatever the dance was. What if we just wanted a slow dance? The looks another couple got for doing just that put us right off.

We felt unless you were of an intermediate level then the dancing was not for you other than on party night where anything went. A shame really. I saw a lot of other couples saying the same. I wish people wouldn't make it so intimidating for mere mortals like us who can't dance but want to still enjoy a nice dance with our partners.

I have to agree with your every word, well said :) .

It's good to hear that you enjoyed your trip.

Mr HH & I are usually go to the Queens Room just to watch and to G32/Hemispheres/The Yacht Club for the dancing (it's more our level !).

Hi Divadee. I'm so sorry you felt that way. I was on that cruise. In fact, I'm still on QV. I didn't feel that at all. We saw lots of people of different standards dancing. I love seeing people having a go. My dance partner and I each had at least one dance with people who were not of a high standard. David was even encouraging the young child who got out on the floor and telling his mother that he had great potential and should have dance lessons. There were, therefore, some of us there who were encouraging beginners.

(My dance partner is my dance teacher. You may have noticed us. I was the one constantly laughing over my mistakes. For some reason I have had loads of trouble following David on the Cunard floor and can't do steps that I normally follow with ease. This has meant a lot of laughter.)

We had one collision, last night, but it was all resolved with smiles and apologies. I thought that the group last week was friendly. It's too soon to tell this week. I was amazed, though, at how few dancers there were on the floor. I have never seen the Queen's Room so empty.

We went to balloom dancing lessons for a year a few years ago and have often thought we'd like to "have a go" on board, but, like the original poster, we have felt far too intimidated by those who appear experts. Some of them seem to be very " showy" using up almost all the dance floor themselves and therefore we have felt in the way.

Perhaps there should be a few numbers just for beginners when the accomplished dancers could sit out and allow us to try.

Hi Divadee. I'm so sorry you felt that way. I was on that cruise. In fact, I'm still on QV. I didn't feel that at all. We saw lots of people of different standards dancing. I love seeing people having a go. My dance partner and I each had at least one dance with people who were not of a high standard. David was even encouraging the young child who got out on the floor and telling his mother that he had great potential and should have dance lessons. There were, therefore, some of us there who were encouraging beginners.

 

(My dance partner is my dance teacher. You may have noticed us. I was the one constantly laughing over my mistakes. For some reason I have had loads of trouble following David on the Cunard floor and can't do steps that I normally follow with ease. This has meant a lot of laughter.)

 

We had one collision, last night, but it was all resolved with smiles and apologies. I thought that the group last week was friendly. It's too soon to tell this week. I was amazed, though, at how few dancers there were on the floor. I have never seen the Queen's Room so empty.

From the comments I heard and overheard the reason the dance floor could of been so empty was that people felt intimidated by it. We went 5 evenings and watched and other than party night we saw filthy looks and cross words every single night. It just made me a bit sad that a lot of people didn't feel that they could have a little shuffle with their partners. It's a holiday not a strictly come dancing dance off.

Part of me was tempted to say sod it and get up and shuffle around but the bigger part of me said I don't want the hassle and upset when I am relaxing on holiday.

I was told that the week before it had been bad - that dancers were competing with each other and showing off with all sorts of flourishes - and that we would have hated it. I did not feel it was that way last week.

It was strange because on previous cruises I have been used to seeing dancers of all different standards getting up. I have also been used to seeing all the seats full in the Queen's Room, and they were definitely nowhere near full last week or this week. The Dance Hosts have been standing around doing nothing. There are not enough solo passengers to keep all four of them dancing at once.

I was told that the week before it had been bad - that dancers were competing with each other and showing off with all sorts of flourishes - and that we would have hated it. I did not feel it was that way last week.

 

It was strange because on previous cruises I have been used to seeing dancers of all different standards getting up. I have also been used to seeing all the seats full in the Queen's Room, and they were definitely nowhere near full last week or this week. The Dance Hosts have been standing around doing nothing. There are not enough solo passengers to keep all four of them dancing at once.

What I would of liked to see is the dance hosts asking people if they would like to dance even if they can't dance. Take me for example. I would of liked a dance host to give me an impromptu lesson and at least try and let me make it round the dance floor once. My partner wouldn't of minded. And I'm sure other ladies with a partner would of felt the same. But the dance hosts just dance with the same ladies every night. Mainly just two that the four dance hosts ended up fighting over in some dances.

Let the mortals have a go at feeling like a dancer for the night! Even if we do it badly. This is the only criticism I have of the QV though.

We are just back from our first QV cruise and we enjoyed it a lot more than we thought we would. It wasn't as 'formal' as we were expecting and were a little intimated before we went but it had the right level for us..... Except for one area.

 

What is up with the majority of the dancers in the queens room? The looks that people dancing give to other dancers!!! And God forbid there is an accidential collision on the dance floor. I felt some couples may come to blows the words and looks being passed back and forth after any incidents.

 

I have to say because of this me and my other half wouldn't even attempt to dance in the queens room. We haven't had any ballroom lessons and just wanted a little twirl and dance but would not even dream of stepping onto the dance floor for fear of being burnt at the stake for not being able to do a waltz or whatever the dance was. What if we just wanted a slow dance? The looks another couple got for doing just that put us right off.

 

We felt unless you were of an intermediate level then the dancing was not for you other than on party night where anything went. A shame really. I saw a lot of other couples saying the same. I wish people wouldn't make it so intimidating for mere mortals like us who can't dance but want to still enjoy a nice dance with our partners.

I wonder if it had been a large group of prodancers that had booked onto the trip. We saw that in 2012. About 100 had signed onto the cruise & just dominated the dance floors,not just in the Queens Room. There was a lot of showing off. These people need to understand that many more pax go on theses cruises to enjoy themselves,not act like they are on "Dancing with the Stars"

I'm so sorry divadee007 but I have to disagree with your comments, more like an exaggeration.

I've travelled on over 40 Cunard voyages/cruises and never heard from any guest who visits the Ball Room comments or observations of "Filthy looks, Cross words or Intimidation.

The dance floor is big enough to accommodate everyone. Two years ago I couldn't dance a step, but it didn't stop me from having a shuffle on the floor, however, I was careful enough to use the floor only when it was an appropriate dance melody ,for example 'social rhythm/fox trot', the band plays many of those tempos each evening. ( One wouldn't dream of getting up to do a shuffle when it's a Tango or Quick Step ) that's when you run the risk of a couple bumping into you.

May I suggest you do what I did two years ago ( and I'm probably years older than you ;) ...and you are fortunate to have a partner to dance with too ) get the Yellow Pages out and look for your nearest dance class and have a few lessons ,in no time you'll find it's addictive ...and give Cunard another go ;)

Re; 'The Gentleman Host Program' The priority for the Male Host is to dance with the single ladies, ( rather than going out of their way looking for ladies seated with their partners, sometimes who are seated way back from the dance floor) many of these solo ladies have paid almost double occupancy and choose to travel Cunard for this very reason.

What I would of liked to see is the dance hosts asking people if they would like to dance even if they can't dance. Take me for example. I would of liked a dance host to give me an impromptu lesson and at least try and let me make it round the dance floor once. My partner wouldn't of minded. And I'm sure other ladies with a partner would of felt the same. But the dance hosts just dance with the same ladies every night. Mainly just two that the four dance hosts ended up fighting over in some dances.

 

Let the mortals have a go at feeling like a dancer for the night! Even if we do it badly. This is the only criticism I have of the QV though.

The protocol in such a case is for your partner to approach the Dance Host to ask if he would dance with you. I have been on cruises where gentlemen from our table sat with me, and the Dance Hosts did not come near me all evening because they thought I was part of a couple. I know the hosts were bored because they were not dancing enough. They would have loved to dance with you if they had known. They are under strict orders. Sone single ladies (who have paid double for their rooms) will go to the Reception desk to complain if they dance with a woman who sits with her partner.

On a few occasions the Hosts danced with me last week - but they always asked David's permission first. They only asked me because they knew I was a dancer and I was sitting not dancing. If you had not been out on the floor at all, they had a right to assume that you were there to listen to the band and watch the dancing, not to dance yourselves.

I am very sorry that you had such a sad experience. I hope you follow the advice given above and take a few dance lessons so that you can enjoy your next cruise.

I'm so sorry divadee007 but I have to disagree with your comments, more like an exaggeration.

I've travelled on over 40 Cunard voyages/cruises and never heard from any guest who visits the Ball Room comments or observations of "Filthy looks, Cross words or Intimidation.

...May I suggest you do what I did two years ago ( and I'm probably years older than you ;) ...and you are fortunate to have a partner to dance with too ) get the Yellow Pages out and look for your nearest dance class and have a few lessons ,in no time you'll find it's addictive ...and give Cunard another go ;)

Get on the dance floor and do your own thing, you have paid for the space on that dance floor like everyone else. Other dancers will have to manoeuvre around you. You are on holiday not participating in a dance competition at the Tower Ballroom.

If you see a lot of ballroom dancers on the floor, just be aware that for the smooth dances (waltz, foxtrot, etc) they will try to be traveling around the outside of the floor. That should leave the middle of the floor open for those who don't wish to travel around.

That is probably counter-intuitive to people who think they will stay out on the edges and therefore out of the way.

But a good dancer should be aware of others on the floor and should adapt their dance to the situation. They should always encourage everyone to participate in the fun. No excuses for ugly looks to others in my opinion.

Hello,Can't dance won't dance that is my wife and I,but every evening at some stage we will spend some time watchingwatching them who can and do.We enjoy watching and although of course not directly on the floor we don't think we have ever seen any bad behaviour.

We have watch and been impressed with Bell Boys twinkly feet.

Rodger.

While I can't speak for the group on your cruise, I find really good dancers will adapt to the space and the crowd. It's possible you had one of the many dance clubs that frequent Cunard due to the size of the Queens Room floors. Sounds like they were not good dancers.

As my screen name implies, we are dancers. We book Cunard for the dancing and can be found every night in the Queens Room. I would be mortified is we had a collision with another couple. It would be a bad reflection on my leading skills. We can dance in very small spaces and sometimes practice on a 3x3 square with a ballroom frame no wider than our shoulders. But we can also open up and use the whole floor if it's available. We usually try to dance early, before dinner, or very late when it's near closing time. When the floor starts getting crowded we do the same shuffle as everyone else, or we sit down and have a Pimms Cup.

Everyone has a right to the floor. Just get up and dance. The good dancer should adapt. They will dance smaller and closer to the edges. Or they will sit down.

But it seems like you are saying that you are intimidated by the good dancers. I guess it could be considered intimidating to a non-dancer, just like a non-singer not wanting join in to a song. But I'm not sure what I can do to help you there. I work hard on my floorcraft skills just to be sure we both can have a good time on the floor. So, please - get up and dance. Just don't listen to me sing.

We felt unless you were of an intermediate level then the dancing was not for you other than on party night where anything went. A shame really. I saw a lot of other couples saying the same. I wish people wouldn't make it so intimidating for mere mortals like us who can't dance but want to still enjoy a nice dance with our partners.

This is the same observation we made on our TA last year, although we didn't really get close enough to check for poor manners on the floor. It just seemed to be 'not for us'. That's ok - if we are lucky enough to sail on QM2 again we might try the lessons and perhaps venture onto the floor.

We had a wonderful crossing and it wasn't a big deal.

I'm not sure the themed evenings really deserve the title "ball" though … perhaps I have a fairy tale idea of what a ball should be … glass slippers and all that :-)

It's just a marketing term - like "voyage" or "stateroom." We faithful eat that kind of stuff up.

There were many "professional" dancers on in the Queens' Room on our July voyage; I did not want to embarrass myself joining in with my fiancé as I can't dance, however in the end she convinced me as it would be an experience (and it was!). No issue whatsoever with anyone on any night. Everyone seemed to be having a great time.

We spent many cruises watching enviously from the sides of the Queens Room. Then one day we decided we were going to have some lessons. Our next cruise was some six months later. It was hugely intimidating for me in particular to get up on the floor that first time (with a lot of encouragement from fantasy51). But as we were staggering round doing a very beginner's waltz we realised that everyone else is so busy concentrating on what they are doing that they are not going to notice what anyone else is doing. That helped hugely.

Now, eighteen months on, I still find that first dance difficult but once we have done it it gets much easier. We are still very much beginners and our range of steps is limited but we enjoy dancing and hope to be out on the dance floor in three weeks time on QE.

The Queens Room is a place for social dancing - not competition dancing.

it really annoys us when couples feel they need to go the whole hog, full ballroom hold, skipping and hopping in quickstep. We always make it our business to get in their way!! There is no need to feel intimidated by these people showing off, if they were half decent dancers they would be able to dance socially.:D

Cunard markets their ships as having the best and largest ballroom dance floors at sea. They take out full-page ads in dance magazines that specialize in ballroom competitors. Two of their crossings this year were advertised as the "Blackpool crossings" (Blackpool hosts the world's top ballroom competition) and they encouraged competitors to take the ship either before or after the event. So its no surprise that you will find a handful of competitors gliding across the Queens Room floor on most trips.

That said, there is NO excuse for bad floorcraft or bad manners.

I wasn't there, so I can only make generic assumptions about who wasn't as good a dancer as they thought they were. The OP said looks, plural, so I will assume this was ongoing. I think it is safe to say:

1. To develop Q-Step's ideas a bit further, if Cunard doesn't want dancers on board they shouldn't be hyping their ships the way they are. Carnival UK can't shrug and say, Not our problem.

2. The Social Hostess was clearly missing in action when it came to "If we can make your cruise any better....".

3. The Band Leader wasn't paying attention, watching to see how effective their music was, and alerting the SH/ED to unhappy passengers.

4. The daytime dance lessons were completely uncoordinated with what was happening in the evening. I agree with Q-Step, there is no excuse for bad manners, the dance "professionals" should have been harping on etiquette if there was a problem.

I am a terrible dancer, Mr. Tours is a rather good one. He dances a couple with meoo and a couple with each of our daughters. I have never noticed anything approaching a "filthy look" from anyone, at anytime, on the dance floor. On the other hand, I am not at all sure I would notice the looks of strangers.

I posted something like this before and I will say it again. Anyone who decides the QR is their own personal ballroom show is %#!!&^@%$*@%^:mad::mad:

I am a figure skater and I am at what I would call "advanced for an adult". I jump, spin & compete but I am certainly not an Olympian at 40. I skate on sessions where I am with other figure skaters who are doing the same thing. Different story, different rules.

BUT......

I also skate on sessions with the general public, especially other adults who are beginners. I would never expect them to get out of my way even if I am practicing hard. They don't know my program, they don't know my patterns, and they don't have the skill to move quickly without hurting themselves or me. If they are beginner skaters trying to enjoy themselves and get the hang of things, as a skater with a higher skill level, it is my responsibility to watch out for them. I may be frustrated on the inside, yes, but they won't see it. They paid the same $$ I paid to skate and they have a right to that space at a public session. And frankly the skater OR in this case dancer who crushes someone else's sense of enthusiasm for the fun of the sport is (I hope I don't get in trouble for this) an idiot.

T

here is no reason that in the QR where everyone paid to dance, that anyone should feel intimated, or unworthy. When I started skating AND dancing I was a beginner. I honed my dance skills on the ship. To me, everyone - even the beginners - deserve that chance to learn and practice with that wonderful big band. If a professional dance cruise is what you are after, then there are lines who do that. So - OP...please get out there and dance!!

Okay rant over. Now if they would just put an ice rink on the QM2...:D