Ballroom Dancing on HAL

[IJustWantToGo36]

What is the general situation for ballroom dancing and are some ships/classes better then others?

 

THANKS

[kakalina]

The smaller S & R class ships Ocean Bar have a teeny tiny dance floor that does not lend itself well to ballroom dancing although some try.

 

The same for the dance floor in the Crows Nest, itsy bitsy. I don't think the Vista class dance floors are any bigger although I must admit I don't recall.

[the2ofus]

The R class ships have oddly shaped dance floors. All the dance floors are small but manageable, unless you want to do acrobatic ballroom ala DWTS. Often you will see that different dancers have different preferences, ie foxtrot vs rhumba, so the floor is not overcrowded. The main problem is that non-ballroom types don't follow line of dance so it can be tricky maneuvering sometimes. Some of the combo groups understand what music dancers need, others haven't a clue.

 

BTW, you can always resort to dancing on the carpet in the atrium outside the ocean bar unless the pre-or-after-show crowd is passing through.

 

The crows nest floor is fairly large on most of the ships but you get a lot of motion of the ocean up there.

Edited November 3, 2013 by the2ofus

[jkgourmet]

We actually went on a Big Band theme cruise on the Amsterdam some years ago - quute unintentionally. The dates, itinerary and price were right (repositioning cruise).

 

There was dancing all over the place, much of it ballroom (assuming you and I are using the same definition). It was a longer cruise, and HAL had 'gentleman escorts' to dance with the single ladies and those who had husbands who did not care for dancing.

 

Though we are not dancers, this turned out to be our very favorite cruise out of 15+. Watching the dancers was wonderful!

[aliaschief]

Just remember that all folks are not ballroom dancers and should be given space to dance which makes the dance floors even smaller.

[Randyk47]

At one time the dance floor in the Crow's Nest, particularly on the R and S class ships, was pretty good sized. Of course they had live bands every evening and the Crow's Nest was a much more attractive venue. Subsequent renovations have reduced the size of the dance floor and unfortunately live bands are rare now other an occasional appearance by the HAL Cats. The Ocean Bar can be OK but even that venue isn't quite what it used to be. Not a fan of the larger Vista and Signature ships and we don't cruise them so I can't speak to the situation on those.

[Krazy Kruizers]

And the Vista and Signature class ships that we have sailed on do have a larger dance floor --

but if you have to screaming HAL Cats singing and playing -- don't count on any ball dance music.

[PathfinderEss]

Ballroom dancing on Hal ships, it can be done. I've seen some really great dancers in the Ocean bar but it not real easy as the dance floors are not that big and you have other dancers to contend with. The dance floors on the Vista ship in the Crows Nest can accommodate ballroom dancing too.

[Carnevale]

Can anyone share the music schedule in the Ocean Bar? We will be on the Veendam next month and hope to plan our evenings around getting lots of time on the dance floor.

[catl331]

On the Eurodam recently they had "Dancing with the Stars" competition. They gave lessons on various types of dances and at the end there was a competition. Very few participants in the Queens lounge for the lessons. It was a international passenger cruise from Copenhagen. Senior citizens mostly and maybe a younger crowd would have participated more.

[Randyk47]

Can anyone share the music schedule in the Ocean Bar? We will be on the Veendam next month and hope to plan our evenings around getting lots of time on the dance floor.

 

Not sure I understand exactly what you are asking for but the band, and the quality varies from cruise to cruise depending on whoever they've contracted with, plays minus breaks I think from around 6-6:30 PM (maybe earlier?) until midnight. The type of music runs the gamut, again depending on the band, from soft jazz to 40's - 50's rock and pretty much everything in between.

[Dancer Bob]

Be warned- when I was on Oosterdam, they put sticky gunk on the dance floor- you could actually hear your shoes pulling loose. I'm told they did it on the Eurodam as well. The Queens Lounge floor was also filthy, from the cooking demos that were never properly cleaned. I recall the music, which came from HAL and the band had no choice, as pretty dull, dreary stuff. The group I was with no longer uses HAL.

Against my better judgement, I've been persuaded to join another dance group on Westerdam next month. I know the organiser, he has excellent music and promises lots of private sessions with clean floors. We'll see. But I will keep an eye on what else is happening on the ship.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Dancer Bob

[1160451]

Cruised on Ryndam. We are regular Ballroom Dancers. The floor very small. If there are two or three dance couples ok, but any more shufflers or couples modern dancing then it's impossible.

I am not grumbling about the non ballroom dancers just saying it was the worst cruise ship we have danced on with regards to floor, space and music played.

We enjoyed dancing very early when the floor was quiet.

[Hlitner]

We think the ballroom dancing on HAL is not very good, which has become an all too common problem on most cruise lines. The best ship we have ever seen for ballroom dancing is the Queen Mary 2. While HAL might give you dancing to the live music of the HAL Cats (simply a pick-up band made up of various members of the ship's show band) the Queen Mary actually had a 17 piece orchestra for their Black & White formal ball. The Queen carries 2 smaller ship bands and they put them together for the balls. It is rare when one can dance to the old Big Band favorites that are actually played by a big band. The Queen also has a huge ballroom with a dance floor that can easily accommodate over 50 couples.

 

Hank

Edited September 23, 2014 by Hlitner

[Carnevale]

We think the ballroom dancing on HAL is not very good, which has become an all too common problem on most cruise lines. The best ship we have ever seen for ballroom dancing is the Queen Mary 2. While HAL might give you dancing to the live music of the HAL Cats (simply a pick-up band made up of various members of the ship's show band) the Queen Mary actually had a 17 piece orchestra for their Black & White formal ball. The Queen carries 2 smaller ship bands and they put them together for the balls. It is rare when one can dance to the old Big Band favorites that are actually played by a big band. The Queen also has a huge ballroom with a dance floor that can easily accommodate over 50 couples.

 

Hank

 

Gald you enjoyed the QM2. We sailed on her and while the floor was great, the orchestra we had was anything but (off key often and no idea of dance tempi...many dancers could only sit and hope for something they could dance to). And we found many days when the room was booked for functions we were not invited to which limited our dance time. We may try her again but have booked on HAL to see how things are there (they were good in the past but we have not been on board for some years). From what we have read, we are concerned about the floor and music on HAL. It all leaves us wondering which line really is best for dancing?? Any suggestions?

[jkgourmet]

Be warned- when I was on Oosterdam, they put sticky gunk on the dance floor- you could actually hear your shoes pulling loose. I'm told they did it on the Eurodam as well. The Queens Lounge floor was also filthy, from the cooking demos that were never properly cleaned. I recall the music, which came from HAL and the band had no choice, as pretty dull, dreary stuff. The group I was with no longer uses HAL.

Against my better judgement, I've been persuaded to join another dance group on Westerdam next month. I know the organiser, he has excellent music and promises lots of private sessions with clean floors. We'll see. But I will keep an eye on what else is happening on the ship.

 

Dancer Bob, may I ask which cruiselines/ships you like the best for dancing? We are not dancers, but truly enjoy watching others in person who do it well. Often, those passengers are better entertainment than the cruise line show!

[travelguy9]

Can anyone share the music schedule in the Ocean Bar? We will be on the Veendam next month and hope to plan our evenings around getting lots of time on the dance floor.

 

On our many cruises, those who hogged the dance floor were commonly the poorest, most stilted dancers with costumes and such. So, we normal people were not so stilted were not amused. That is not going to change. When it came to "glamour" nights where decent dancers chose to dance, none of the ridiculous "ballroom dancers" I saw did anything but to shrink from the dance floor. Good for the rest of us; bad for them.

Edited September 24, 2014 by travelguy9
diagreement

[Dancer Bob]

Personally, I like Costa. However, be aware the food is different from American standards (I was was going to refrain from any Florida-buffet-restaurant-during-early-bird-special remarks, but I can't resist). The passenger mix varies, about 10% English-speaking in Europe, maybe 25% for Miami sailings.

Cunard is more expensive but better food and service and almost entirely English-speaking (I prefer Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth to Queen Mary 2) and is probably just fine if all you want to do is watch. P&O Oriana had nice music and a nice floor, but not much going on. There is no other cruise line I'll go back on (for dancing) unless I'm with a group.

I haven't the faintest idea what travelguy9 means by "stilted" unless he's talking about that DWTS stuff, which is entertainment, not dancing.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Dancer Bob

[1160451]

We have heard from other Dancers that Costa is very good.

The UK line Fred Olsen carry male dance hosts and a dance couple.

P and O Arcadia when we were on was very good, lots of room and excellent music. Although the larger P and O ships are very poor for Ballroom.

Our experience on RCI was non existent Ballroom.

Cunard is taken by most as the very best, but can be a little intimidating I understand for the less able dancers.

I think within a few years true Ballroom on cruises will be few and far.

In reality though a Cruise Ship dance floor is not the place to either learn or for the more accomplished, dance to anything more than the basics.

We find we dance mostly simple Jive, Rumba and Cha Cha on cruises now.

Like Bob no idea what stilted dancing means.

Edited September 24, 2014 by 1160451

[Dancer Bob]

I must agree that latin (Rhythm, for our American friends) should be just fine, but that standard (American smooth) can be problematic. I've found Costa's musicians play a good mix (depending what the crowd wants) but Cunard can be a little deficient in latin music. (The fact that the UK is full of outstanding teachers who would probably be willing to advise Cunard just for bragging rights, is one of my pet peeves.)

P.S. And HAL could be talking to groups like USA Dance, USISTD or DVIDA, instead they pick this commercialized DWTS crap.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Dancer Bob

[take us away]

Have to admit, the shorter cruises have short changed (sorry - could not pass up the pun) the dancing quite a bit. The longer cruises usually do have a decent ballroom dance band that plays before and after each dinner seating in the Ocean Bar and dancers can find more music variety in the Crow's Nest.