Dancing on board?

Hi everyone, I have never cruised HAL and I am considering an Alaskan cruise later this summer. Is there any ballroom type dancing ? Not a strict formal ballroom but just a place if we want to do a foxtrot or a cha cha after dinner on a few nights?

Also... How are the alternative dining options? I see there is a French & an Italian choice, I was wondering about cost. The other line I am considering has free dining in the alternative restaurants. Thank you!

The Ocean Bar has a group called "The Band". They play all types of music and the ships have a small dance floor. The ship you select will determine the size of the dance floor.

Alternative restaurants:

Pinnacle Grill -- steak house -- $29 per person. One of the nights in the Pinnacle will be Le Cirque only -- $49 per person. Pinnacle Grill is open for lunch on some days -- $10 per person.

Canaletto -- Italian -- only open for dinner -- $10 per person.

If you are on the Nieuw Amsterdam, it also has the Tamarian Restaurant -- Pan Asian food. Dinner is $20 per person. It is open some days for lunch which is free.

I was on Westerdam last fall with a dance group. Review posted, I'll summarize my experience. Queens Lounge large enough for smooth (standard) for our private parties (own DJ). Ocean Bar too small, only useful for rhythm/latin.

There were two groups playing under the name HALCats. The one in the Ocean Bar tried hard but HAL's music was poor. The group in the Queens Lounge was assigned to theme nights, very monotonous and repetitious music. Dancing With The Stars was a complete farce.

Everything shut down by 10PM. It's not impossible you'll find some decent music but you can't be sure. You must check the schedule carefully.

Later in the evening, on many cruises, you can dance in the Crow's Nest but it is usually a DJ. They will often take requests and have ballroom dancing music available. Have seen some beautiful dancing in the Ocean Bar. On longer cruises, there are dance hosts in both the Ocean Bar and the Crow's Nest, and sorry to disagree with your opinion Bob, but we have seen all types of dancing including waltzes in the Ocean Bar by couples who were amazing, and we came to find out were previous world dance champions.

Later in the evening, on many cruises, you can dance in the Crow's Nest but it is usually a DJ. They will often take requests and have ballroom dancing music available. Have seen some beautiful dancing in the Ocean Bar. On longer cruises, there are dance hosts in both the Ocean Bar and the Crow's Nest, and sorry to disagree with your opinion Bob, but we have seen all types of dancing including waltzes in the Ocean Bar by couples who were amazing, and we came to find out were previous world dance champions.

Exactly! And maybe HAL just has great dancers due to its demographic, lol.

After the first time we experienced this on a HAL cruise, we were inspired to take dance classes so as not to just watch from the sidelines. Ocean Bar has been the best for that, to date.

Although my arthritic knees prevent me from dancing, our travelling companions were very disappointed in the ballroom dancing options on this cruise. The Ocean bar had "The Band", but music was not suited to dancing and I never saw anyone dancing on the tiny dance floor. The Queen's Lounge with the BB King All Stars was the best venue for dancing and while some music was appropriate for dancing, much was more for listening only. Some couples did brave the dance floor. As a previous poster said, the "Dancing with the Stars" is a farce for serious dancers.

Considering this was a 20 day cruise, I was surprise at the lack of ballroom opportunities.

Having spend a lot of years as a social ballroom dance (never competitive level), my DH and I found that on HAL you sometimes were lucky about the music, sometimes not so lucky.

Recently, I have heard the best dance music on the Noordam, the Eurodam and the Nieuw Amsterdam both in the Ocean Bar and the Queens Lounge. These three ships also have the best dance floors of all the HAL fleet, not large but adequate if people understand the line of dance. Latin, of course, usually works best on any small dance floor. There were times when DH and I even used the carpeted area if the dance floor was too crowded. That worked well if we were wearing actual smooth soled dance shoes.

It never hurts to request music that fits your style of dancing. Be sure to compliment the band for the danceable music. They are likely to remember your requests the next time you appear.

Also, remember that dancing on ship-board is always a challenge but can be fun with the motion of the ocean as the floor might not be quite where you expect when you put your foot down. This can especially be true in the Crows Nest.

Enjoy, and remember to dance like no one is watching.

I agree with Ms. Alpha, DWTS is nothing like real social ballroom dancing, either on TV or on HAL. Rather than inspire people to try ballroom, I think they can be intimidated by the gymnastics and the complicated routines.

In reality, once you learn about five basic steps and two or three routines which are a set of basic steps done in a particular order, you can really enjoy ballroom dancing without feeling awkward or conspicuous. This applies to waltz, foxtrot, rhumba or any other of the Latin dances. It is not about gymnastics. It is suitable for any age and for anyone of average health and mobility. I have even known people with heart disease and arthritis who still enjoy dancing. You just choose which steps and tempos are comfortable for you.

It is great for fitness and you meet some great people.

Cruised on Ryndam three years ago and found the Dancing opportunities very poor.

A three piece played in a lounge but seemed more intent on showcasing rather than playing suitable music to dance to.

Ok cruise ship floors only lend themselves to very basic waltz or quick steps but you do need the music.

The Hal Cats on the cruise were the worst popular band we have ever heard on a cruise. Usually popular music bands on a cruise we can dance jive, cha cha and rumbas but that cruise the Hal Cats were the screetching band from hell.

Think we were just unlucky maybe.

On an Alaska cruise on the Amsterdam about three years ago there were ten or twelve couples in the Ocean Bar every evening wanting to dance. The floor would quickly fill up when dance music was played. The only way we could get any dance music was to request specific songs. As soon as the piece was played the band would go right back to playing what they preferred. We put up with this for about two or three nights and then complained to the cruise director, after which we got plenty of dance music for the remainder of the cruise.

We're paying customers, folks, and do not have to put up with an uncooperative band. They're there for our pleasure, not theirs. A big problem on the above cruise was that they had a stack of sheet music that must have been nearly a foot thick, and it would take a long time to find the requested song. That is, if it was in the stack.

Interesting how it can be magic to politely ask for what you prefer which you can often get as luxurysailor did, rather than ragging about what you did not get after you are off the cruise. Quite often, all you have to do is ask....

Thank you I appreciate all the information - and it would be an Alaskan voyage. We're by no means experts, but we enjoy dancing after dinner, and the QM2 has a huge ballroom. I'm hoping there can be a few chances to dance, and I'm thinking a piano bar on a a few nights too. There isn't much info on the HAL website so I have to depend on CC to get a picture of what is offered.

Interesting how it can be magic to politely ask for what you prefer which you can often get as luxurysailor did, rather than ragging about what you did not get after you are off the cruise. Quite often, all you have to do is ask....

We did ask repeatedly, and they didn't respond. But I agree entirely with your comment.

We did ask repeatedly, and they didn't respond. But I agree entirely with your comment.

In our case, requests to the band produced no significant change in what music was played. However, it was the bringing of the problem to the attention of the cruise director and his observing twenty or more passengers wanting to dance that got us the music we desired.

There is a video on Youtube by a cruise line musician ( intended for other musicians considering taking on a cruise contract) . This was not on HAL but I wonder if other lines are similar. He made it pretty plain that the musicians do not get to choose the music they play. They are only allowed to play pre approved music. Perhaps that is why nothing changed until the CD or someone with authority was involved.

The other point I would gently make is that although one particular passenger, or group of passengers, might prefer one style of music others may prefer something different. There are after all 1400 or so passengers on the ship so maybe the band is not playing what "they like" but rather what they have been directed to play, which might include a variety of styles. Of course having never cruised before I am merely speculating.

I think it varies from sailing to sailing. But the Ocean Bar dance floor was full every night after dinner on our April 7-day Caribbean cruise with ballroom-style dancing couples. It was fun to watch, so the lounge was full - great atmosphere!

There is the approved music list (it is a huge binder) - but it is something like 1400 songs so hopefully the band can find something for everyone.

Do they ever have any rock n' roll music on HAL cruises.

If I recall on our Ryndam cruise we did dance RnR or Jive but not particularly to dedicated RnR music if you see what I mean.

Bumping up thread in response to a question