tangoll

I was in the laundromat once when a lady (dressed in casual clothes, so I assume a passenger) came in and took a bunch of the packets, but she made sure to leave about half in the container. I assume she must have made a trip to all the laundry rooms on the ship (QM2 if I remember) and took half of packets in each room's container.

If 3 people in a cabin, what is the price for the 3rd person? Is it same as double occupancy price if only 2 people in the cabin? Or is there a discounted price for the 3rd person, or some total price to be divided by 3 people?

On my Oct 2016 eastbound 7 day crossing, all days good weather, the sports staff organized two tournaments (announced in daily programme), with each tournament attracting about 20 players, organized by staff randomly into doubles teams, and playing a single elimination tournament. Winner and maybe runners up got some of the vouchers which could be turned in for trinkets near end of voyage.

Similar for my March/April 2017 QE and QM2 voyages around Asia.

Note that the rules of game as given by sports staff are pretty much made up by the staff, and differ from ship to ship, ie how many points per game, stepping into no man's land near the net, rotation of serves, first return cannot be volleyed, etc.

To be fair, I think the answer to the question posed should be "No", if the intent of the question is in a negative sense. If only looking at the pricing, then the single supplement compensates the cruise line for the 2nd bed in the cabin not being able to be sold by the cruise line. There are agencies that will help a solo traveller find a cabin mate to share a double occupancy cabin.

The other part of the question is, that on Cunard, they do things that are primarily there for solo travellers, like gentlemen dance hosts for single lady dancers (though the hosts dance with all ladies), solo traveller get togethers, solo traveller luncheon arranged by social director, meeting up prior to heading to Captain's cocktail parties (so solo ladies don't have to walk in and stand all alone), etc. So in this sense, yes, there is discrimination for the solo traveller, but in a positive way.

That's the way to do it Bob. It's amazing what you can learn from YouTube and DVDs if you know the basics of dancing. Perhaps Dancer Bob from Canada and Tangoll from the Far East could let us have their comments on the Quickstep.

Mr Foxy, Quickstep is rarely played well by the bands/orchestras here in Hong Kong or Bangkok or Osaka/Kobe, Japan. When dancers hear what is a quickstep beat, they get up and do a jive, usually over all parts of the dance floor, so not easy to do a proper quickstep counterclockwise movement around the floor. But on the Cunard Queens, too many quicksteps are played, and I tend to shuffle along. And not enough Viennese Waltzes, which is a real challenge for most men found on Cunard cruises.

Have you seen the thread "Shipboard Romance"? I've posted there and my routines are described in more detail there.

Breakfast from King's Court, QM2, April 2017. Here you go:

http://www.tangoll.com.hk/CreamCheese.jpg

See the individual pack of cream cheese next to the toasted bagel? The pack with a bit of blue on the top cover?

For sure, all 3 Queens have individual packs of cream cheese available in the kitchens, and available in the Lido/King Court buffet set up. Usually, the big bowls containing the cream cheese packs would be in the same area as the butter packs, jam and jelly packs in their bowls. Just ask one of the wait staff or the captains in the black suits to get you some.

My latest cruises were on QM2 in April, 2017 and QE in March, 2017.

How does a male respond to this without appearing to be a braggart? These are just statements of fact, and you read into them what you will. I only cruise Cunard (diamond now), and I am a decent ballroom dancer. I have met women on cruises and have later gone on another cruise with them, or met up with them for a trip together land only, or have maintained contact with them for an extended period of time, mainly in Hong Kong, continued contact for dancing:

1. Women from Australia and USA, for additional cruise

2. Women from Japan, for get together in Japan cities, for dancing and travel together

3. Women from Sydney and Canada, maintain email/phone contact, for dancing, or extended contact

4. Women from Spain and Ethiopia, occasional phone contact only.

Love and romance -- not really, or shortlived for the moment only.

What can I say, being able to ballroom dance does have its advantages in making initial contact and facilitating further contacts.

I had asked a similar question last year, and the answer is "No, there is no UK Customs desk at Southampton Cruise Terminal that can check and stamp the VAT Refund form that needs to be returned to the retailer for processing the VAT amount back to you or to your credit card used to make the purchase." Mailing the Refund form back to the retailer without the Customs stamp is not sufficient to get the VAT amount refunded.

The UK Customs desk can be found at Heathrow Airport (forget which terminal(s)), and I do not know if available at other UK airports.

Just got off QM2 Hong Kong to Laem Chabang to Singapore, 7 nights. Eight dance hosts on board, all quite friendly and generally capable in dance. Best was vocalist Damian Dowd singing Waltzing Matilda to start off the afternoon tea dance on one of those days. Lots of Australians on board. One night was Caribbean band Vibz taking over Queen's Room and playing just disco, rock, hip hop, and bouncing up and down type music. Another night had combined QR orchestra and Royal Court show band playing Jimmy Dorsey/Glenn Miller big band tunes -- quickstep, American 2 step, and other slow foxtrot type music. CD recorded music was good for latin and ballroom dancing.

For the same reason that Cunard ships have a dress code, there are certain conventions for what is described in the daily programme as "Ballroom and Latin Dance Music". It's said often that adherence to the dress code is out of respect for other passengers on board. Would one show up in swimwear and sandals to the Britannia or Grills dining rooms, because as having paid the fare, that's what you feel like doing? It's hard to fathom the attitude of the poster who said they "make it their business to get in the way of dancers" who happen to be doing what the poster says is taking more than their fair share of space.

Just completed 6 days on QE Kobe to Hong Kong. Six dance hosts -- all very friendly, 1 or 2 could dance OK, the others shufflers. Music -- same as always, no VW's despite requests to Social Hosts, too many quicksteps, slow waltzes too slow, even one Dance Host said band played uneven beats over course of one song, each song too long, vocalist Michel Chartrier was OK (glad it was not Paul Christopher).

There was an occasion for a Taxi dance, which became very popular amongst the ladies -- ie, males in one line, ladies in separate line, and when you reach head of line, you dance with next lady a waltz once around the floor, before separating and rejoining your line.

Two issues:

1. The band leader or Social Host needs to announce before any fast dances, that those who don't move need to stay near center of dance floor, and stay out of outer perimeter, leaving that for fast movers.

2. Some Hong Kong ladies brought partners who were obviously professional male dancers, one of who had only one outfit the entire cruise -- black singlet and black slacks, which he wore regardless of dress code, the other at least on 1 or 2 nights had competition jackets. They danced in a fashion that was tantamount to performing (as said by many other passengers), flying all over the place, stopping anywhere they wanted on dance floor to do their exotic moves, etc.

One Japanese lady brought a male professional, but they were very subdued and followed the protocols of dancing in the Queen's Room.

 

Nobody has responded to my query about whether it would be a faux pas to ask a ship's officer to dance?

 

Seriously, would I be a social outcast if I dared to ask an officer for a dance?

I have taken over 15 cruises on QE2 and all three current vessels -- QE, QV, and QM2 -- and I cannot recall any instance when any of the ship's top officers have ever danced in the Queen's Room when the live band had been playing. The younger officers tend to stick to the discos and do their thing there.

I suppose if you do wish to make a request, I would suggest making your request via the Social Hostess, and she might be able to work something out. I see nothing wrong with making such a request; as a paying passenger, you can and should make any request of the ship that you deem fit and reasonable. The most the ship personnel will do is say "No".

The officers should deem your invitation an honour to be so requested. As a decent dancer (but not a dance host), I have often been invited by ladies to dance with them, and I have also been asked by husbands to dance with their wives, including twice, husbands in wheelchairs, pointing out their own situation that much as they would like to dance with their own wives, they cannot. So I consider such requests an honour that I can easily fulfill.

So after the ho ha about the dress code, we now have a shoe dress code?

 

You Do NOT need proper dance shoes. What is the point of all the expense of dance shoes when all you are doing is a spot of dancing on a two week cruise? Wear what you like on your feet, it's up to you not the dance hosts who are their for the guests, not the other way round.

Lilydes, what's got your big toe all riled up? If you don't wish to wear decent dance shoes, then don't. We suggested wearing dance shoes to make the dance experience more enjoyable, and possibly safer, that's all. It was just a suggestion.

Tangoll and fantasy51 pretty much sum it up. If the hosts don't do it voluntarily, it's definitely the social hostess's job to make sure whatever standards Cunard still has are maintained.

The hosts also go to solo travellers' coffee, that's another opportunity. If you only show up in the QR when it's busy, you'll find the hosts are always busy.

Mock Jimmy Choos- whatever they are- oh, oh, that's serious. There's a reason the professional dancers in the cast are picky about shoes. At best, if they make you walk like Frankenstein's monster, you won't dance any better. At worst, a painful and slow to heal injury. Perhaps fantasy51 has some comments?

Tangoll- if you remember Maria's huge mansion, after she broke her wrist she realised it was too much for her. She moved into a condo, she's very happy and has lots more free time, but mostly because she was so disappointed with the hosts, she and Silvana are only crusing with Stardust on Costa.

I second Dancer Bob's comments about shoes. The fashionable hi-heels are not really suitable for the ballroom dances -- like foxtrot, waltz, V Waltz, tango, or quickstep. Get a pair of decent dance shoes, 2 - 2.5 inch heels, can be latin practice shoes. And don't show up at group dance class in bare feet. It's not only the smell, but also unhygienic, and puts other dancers at risk of stepping on your toes, causing unnecessary embarassment, etc.

Glad to hear re Maria and Silvana. Next year, I'll likely be on QM2, NY to S'ton, 07 October 2018 crossing. I'll be in NY area 05 - 07 October for sure. So I could come up to Toronto before then if something can be arranged? Or all of you can sign up for the TA, QM2 07 Oct 2018.

Let's hear from Dancer Bob, who has been a dance host on Cunard and other ships. But, he is not very tolerant of dancers who dance against the flow of dance, air flailers, and ladies who hang on too heavily.

The Dance Hosts are all very approachable, and they can be recognized by their gold metal name tags on the left upper chest area. They will also all attend the Solo Travellers get together plus the sea days no charge group dance lessons. So just go up to anyone of them, introduce yourselves and say that you'll like a dance with them at the evening or afternoon tea dance sessions when they are in the Queen's Room on duty, so to speak. They are "on duty" whenever the live band is playing. Some will stick around when the DJ/CD music is being played, but they are under no obligation to dance during that time.

Usually out of 6 hosts, one may be well trained and qualified as a ballroom dancer, 3 or so can do decent/rudimentary steps in most of the dances, and one will be pretty much a shuffler on the dance floor.

All the dance hosts will be well groomed, and thus, so should the ladies, ie bathed, no bad breath, appropriately dressed and with good dance shoes. On cruises I've been on. some ladies have said to me that the dance hosts favour certain ladies, and when I mentioned this to the hosts, some replied that not all ladies use deodorant, have bad breath, or are too heavy on the arms, etc.

That's the reason I asked too- we might want to eat in our cabin if the buffet is busy, and we want to choose our own food, portion size etc, but just thought we would have to pass lots of people on the way back lol.

I think we'll do a dummy run and suss out the fastest route back to the cabin :D

If you don't wish to pass a whole lot of people on your actual food forage run, do the run at the after 11:00 pm midnight buffet. A few people bring food back to their cabins then, and the elevators and corridors mostly empty. And select your cabin one deck down from the buffet.

But then the food may have to be put into the fridge until the next day, etc. Well, you can't win 'em all.

Herr HeinBloed, thanks for the reply. I fully understand. Basically, for two people, you purchased a Future Cruise Credit for USD300 each, which included some amount of OBC for future bookings. Then you found discounted pricing for a specific cruise. But now, the FCC can not longer be applied to discounted fares; isn't that so?

Anyway, thank you for your detailed explanation.

Tangoll (Diamond member from QE2 days, and now QM2, QE, and QV)

Herr HeinBloed, from your latest review of transAtlantic, you posted price of USD 799 plus an OBC of USD850. Where and how did you find such a deal where the OBC is greater than the per person price?

Thanks for advice and reply.

Agreed! The few times we attended, folks were very confused by both the pace and the "flourishes" of the instructors. It's much better to watch their performances than to take a lesson from them!

Even if one takes private lessons from qualified dance instructors, it's unrealistic for beginner dancers to learn enough to even feel comfortable dancing in the crowded environment that characterizes the Queen's Rooms evening ballroom dancing to the orchestra. It's usually crowded with some experienced dancers and other social dancers, moving randomly around the dance floor. Forget about the noon time group dance lessons.

Even in the less crowded atmosphere during the recorded CD music sessions, it's difficult for beginner dancers to, first, figure out what the dance is, and then venture out onto the dance floor.

But I have to say, that from the group dance lessons, if the instructors are qualified, I do learn one or two good tips on technique or timing during the lessons. From the private lessons, the best instructor I ever had was the Rumanian lady called Roxana (husband was Petre, but I forgot their last name). I was on two different cruises of about 7 days each with her, and took daily lessons of 30 minutes from her. I basically learnt tango and foxtrot from her, though only basic techniques in both.

And on an earlier QE2 cruise, I learnt the fleckerl(for Viennese Waltz) from an English lady instructor, whose name I cannot remember. I guess the point is, for the private lessons, you need to be precise in what it is that you wish to learn, ie to have a specific target in mind.

There are some long threads about ballroom dancing and music in this forum; just do a search on keywords like: "ballroom dancing", and on posters like "slow foxtrot", "dancer bob", "fantasy 51", and my "tangoll". Those threads should pop up and you can take a look.

As to comments to your specific query, I had been on all 3 Queens this past year -- QM2, QE, and QV. The Queens Room orchestras on all 3 ships are quite similar and play similar types of music -- a lot of quicksteps, and a smattering of slow waltzes, foxtrots, cha chas, rumbas, tangos, and a few sambas, swing, jives, and Viennese Waltzes. A lot of titles that I've never heard before. Daily you might get about 2 hours of orchestra music, and about 2 hours of DJ selected CD music. The DJ music are similar on all 3 ships, though I think the QM2 DJ is a bit better in his selection.

The big difference is in the male vocalist. Damian on QM2 is quite good in singing tunes suitable for ballroom dance, Michel on QE is OK, but if you note the vocalist Paul Christopher, who had been on QV, avoid if possible. Paul Christopher's singing is suitable for lounges, but the guy's singing is not suitable for ballroom dancing. He himself admits he cannot dance, he has no sense of the beat or rhythm of the music for dancing, his feet are glued to the floor, and his body is stiff as a board, as he is unable to move his feet or parts of his body to the music. How he continues to hold on to a singing contract being the main vocalist for the Queens Room is beyond me.

Each ship also has a Caribbean type band and sometimes they take over an evening in the Queens Room. If you ask them to play a waltz, they might say "What's that? Is that like a salsa or a merengue?" If the band has been on awhile, then someone may have clued them into what is a waltz.

The remastered QM2 is a beautiful and grand ship, with real teakwood decking on the outside decks, whereas the other two Queens have plastic decking painted to look like teakwood. Go for the QM2.

Hi folks, I was on the 11 - 18 October TA on QM2, NY to Southampton, and can report on the QR orchestra of Andy Hillier, vocalist Damian Dowd, and

band Vibz.

QR Orch: OK, decent variety of ballroom dance music, good on Quickstep, Foxtrot, Rumba, Cha Cha, but a bit slow on Slow Waltz (mostly 28 bpm) and VW (56 - 58 bpm). Drummer mostly on beat throughout each tune.

Vocalist: Damian Dowd, one of better vocalists on Cunard ships, but I wonder sometimes where they dig out tunes which are unrecognizable as to origin or original vocalist. For sure, much more rhythmic than Paul Christopher.

Vibz: Good at what they do. This band took over QR for 2 out of 7 nights. Their music mainly one genre -- rock, rock, and more rock. Their slower music is mainly a cheek to cheek two beat tune.

Recorded music: much better than on other Cunard vessels. VW had a few Strauss waltzes, and other more familiar tunes like Last Waltz, Fascination, etc for the slow waltz.

Dance hosts: as a group, probably one of best I've seen. All fairly capable in Quickstep, Rumba, Cha Cha, and Slow waltz. Two capable in VW, Tango, and Foxtrot. Not one was a rank beginner. All bar one fairly friendly. Ladies seemed to enjoy dancing with them, and the dance hosts showed no particular favourites for sticking with the younger, prettier set (maybe because there weren't any).

Group dance lesson: by Volodymyr/Nadiya. Taught cha cha, slow waltz, tango, quickstep, and jive. OK, good lessons even if only very basic, but still can learn something.

Overall, great cruise, beautiful newly remastered ship, good food, Kings Court greatly improved, plus now that I'm Diamond, I got a free lunch in Verandah, and 8 hours of internet/Wi-fi. There was one afternoon tea dance on next to last day. Nothing noteworthy to report on that.

Next cruise: probably QE in March from Kobe/Shanghai/HK/Vietnam/Singapore; waiting for price drop after all the cancellations; hopefully, no Paul Christopher.

tangoll

Hi there, if you (or others who read this thread) have also cruised with Cunard it would be interesting to know how the size of the dance-floors on Crystal compare with those on the Queen Mary, Queen Vic and Queen Elizabeth. Are the dance-bands as good as Cunard? Sorry, but who is 'Mama Lee'? Thank you for the info.

In the late 1990's, I had been on the old Crystal Harmony, which in around 2005 was transferred by Crystal to its parent Japanese company, and reflagged as the Asuka 2. The main venue for dancing was the Palm Court, which is like the Winter Garden of the Cunard ships, and not a formal ballroom dance venue. Nightly, there was a 4 - 5 piece Filipino band with lady singer, and they played whatever popular tunes were requested, with a smattering of the international ballroom music included. There were maybe 4 dance hosts, mostly American, and an American dance couple, Michael and Berna, who had competed in international ballroom/latin competitions.

Clientele, hosts, and dance were more American than UK or international. So for example, the international tango was counted as t-a-n-g-o rather than slow/slow/quick/quick. The dance hosts were friendly and mostly competent. As there were separate tables arranged around the central area for the band and dancing, the dance floor size could be adjusted to fit the need. But mostly the area allotted for dancing was about a quarter or a third of the size of the QV or QE Queen's Room dance floor.

But then following year, I was on old Princess Royal and QE2. The Royal had as its band, a keyboard player and guitarist/singer, and an Arthur Murray instruction couple who taught rumba as quick-quick-slow rather than the international style 2-3-4-1. After the QE2, I have only been on Cunard ships.

Will be on the QM2 transAtlantic, NY to Southampton from 11 - 18 October, so will report on the band and dancing after that crossing.

Hi Bob,

Not had much experience of the World Dance-Sport Federation so not too interested in the 'new syllabus'. If 37 different figures in the Viennese Waltz is an example then I have even less interest! Why would you want their new syllabus? If dancers want ever-more dance movements and amalgamations there are hundreds freely available on Youtube, many demonstrated by top international dancers. Generally speaking, information on official syllabus movements is mainly required by potential medallists and teachers taking the various dance-medal examinations. Is this your angle? We enjoy our dancing and take it seriously (but in a social context) and find that too much worry about

rules and technicalities can undermine the enjoyment.

Foxy

I think the 37 different figures in VW is a typo from Dancer Bob. There are only six figures, same number as before but deleting the Left and Right Fleckerls, and substituting with the Left and Right Foot Backward Changes:

"Natural Turn

Reverse Turn

RF Forward Change Step Natural to Reverse

LF Forward Change Step Reverse to Natural

LF Backward Change Step Natural to Reverse

RF Backward Change Step Reverse to Natural"

Good luck in mastering the 40+ figures in the other Ballroom dances.

I think you'll find that most members of the entertainment department are either busy with their own schedule or taking a well earned rest in preparation for the evenings performances .

 

I'm not too sure where you will find a suitable 'venue with a piano' that will not disturb the enjoyment of other guests. At a rough guess I can only think of the following five public venues onboard QM2 (where there is a piano)

Queens Room,Commodore Club, Golden Lion Pub, Chart Room and the Grand Lobby and I very much doubt that you'll be permitted to practice your scales in any of these. There is also a Grand Piano back stage of the Royal Court Theatre, but you may need to find three strong men to wheel it out for you.

BB, thanks your insight. For music, what I can do is download piano covers of the songs I wish to work on, and have the backing music on my phone. Then can have lesson anywhere, outside on deck or even in my cabin. Now, just need to find a qualified instructor.