Ballroom Dancing Report - QM2

[GCurry]

Never been on a Princess cruise Gene but if their dance-trios are 'pretty spotty' as you describe then of course they deserve a good whipping. It's the only language they understand!

 

Nice to agree that Cunard bands now pay more attention to correct dance tempos. We were on Queen Victoria yet again this year and the Queens Room orchestras were all okay. All Cunard needs to do now is make the dance-floor twice the size and it should then be suitable for around 2500 passengers! Bigger floors may then even catch on with other cruise lines!

At least on the QM2, it was enough to promote a "Line Of Dance" that is until they declared a ball at which time every dancer that could did, and so did a number of those who couldn't!!:rolleyes: This totally cancelled the aforementioned line, as there was no room to do anything. I guess as long as we aren't dancing with a number on our backs, we should just settle for what we get??

 

The problem with Princess and HAL, is the shape of the floor in the lounges they pick for dancers. Floor Craft helps, but off-times, you find yerself out on the carpet.

[Dancer Bob]

These days, I see more smoking in Florida than in Italy & France. Costa's newer ships have enclosed smoking rooms.

Cunard has better food but my two friends who Tangoll met, weren't happy with the overall price/performance ratio. We've since been on Costa several times, admittedly with a dance group that has dance hosts who can dance.

Princess, I agree with spotty, the Wheelhouse was useless, the (Explorer?) not much better. The disco, for a disco, not bad. I assessed most passengers as "couch potatoes", not much incentive for the CD to schedule anything worthwhile.

Foxy saying QV music is OK does give me confidence about paying a premium for Cunard. If there are partners available I'm quite happy to dance to recorded music during band breaks.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Dancer Bob

[fantasy51]

I am just back from a Celebrity cruise and can comment on the dancing there. Basically, don't bother! We spoke to the entertainment guy who admitted that Celebrity is trying to phase out ballroom dancing as it does not want to be that type of cruise ship. I gather it thinks ballroom dancing is old-fashioned. I think there were three sessions of ballroom dancing to pre-recorded music. We went to the first one and discovered that they had forgotten to put the tracks on 'shuffle', so we had about half an hour of waltzes in a row, a couple of slow Viennese Waltzes, a few fast rumbas and then perhaps an hour of fast cha-chas. In the whole 2 hours, we managed 2 reasonable waltzes, one Tango Vals (to a slow VW track) and a fast rumba. The rest were undanceable. The music is sent from Head Office to all the ships, and obviously the person in charge knows nothing about tempo.

 

There are a couple of bands and some of the music is right for dancing but the marble floor is tiny and full of obstructions.

 

There were four dance lessons, taught by dancers from the cast who obviously knew nothing about ballroom dancing. When they taught the salsa they were counting up to 12, and taught everyone to change from the basic steps to New York steps by turning the wrong way! In other words you had to use the same foot twice. (No doubt they had learnt this as part of a show routine where they had to face the audience at the beginning of each block.) There was a real lack of dance terminology. In the cha-cha they said to go 'hip to hip' instead of 'shoulder to shoulder' and used arm movements that looked as though they were using a chest expander. The counting of steps then was so weird that I could never quite catch on to what they were doing. My friend says they were counting the musical beats instead of counting the steps. They would have been better off saying 'Rock, rock, cha-cha-cha' instead of '(silence for cha-cha step) 2-3-4 (pause for cha-cha step) 6-7-8' or something similar.

[GCurry]

Fantasy 51, and sad to hear about the lack of effort on Celebrity.

 

They were obviously playing American ballroom rhythm as you describe the fast Rumbas. We've encountered some of the show people trying to instruct on other lines as well. Part of why we don't go to the ship lessons anymore, the other is that they are pretty basic.

 

Celebrity & HAL used to have some of the best cuisines of any of the large lines, sadly since they are now owned by RCCL & Carnival corps. the quality has dropped on many things.

[josumello]

I think the reality is that ballroom dancing appeals to a small portion of the cruising population. Also the demographic is an older group. The cruise lines are a business and they are reaching out to many cruisers. It looks like Cunard is definitely the best for the ballroom dancing fans.

 

 

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[Slow Foxtrot]

I think the reality is that ballroom dancing appeals to a small portion of the cruising population. Also the demographic is an older group. The cruise lines are a business and they are reaching out to many cruisers. It looks like Cunard is definitely the best for the ballroom dancing fans........

 

Dancing on P & O's Oriana is also very popular, there's a dedicated dance-floor and dance musicians who know the correct tempos. But yes, as you say, ballroom dancing may appeal to only a small portion of the cruising population but many dancers will only sail on ships where they can dance properly. On Queen Victoria earlier this year Cunard were providing the usual fencing lessons in the Queens Ballroom. Obviously, these appeal to only a minute proportion of the passengers and yet the ballroom dancing attracted a very keen and enthusiastic crowd every night. It's good that Cunard endeavours to cater for a variety of interests but for many passengers the elegance and atmosphere of dancing in the Queens Ballroom far outweighs other activities on the ship, even for passengers that can't dance and just enjoy watching. Long may it continue.

[fantasy51]

On my last cruise I reflected on the different attitudes to ballroom dancing between Cunard and Celebrity. On Cunard the dancing is a major evening event. It is a form of entertainment for dancers and other passengers alike. There are many people in the ballroom who never dance but love watching it and love the feeling of being at a ball. There are people who pause on the balcony above to enjoy the spectacle. It feels like an event for everyone. (It is also so important that they employ a couple of dancers to demonstrate and to teach.)

 

On Celebrity, dancing is just another event for a minority of passengers - and so it becomes an ever smaller minority who can participate. Passengers still line the balconies to watch the dancers, so there must be scope for enjoyment among them. However, dancing is not seen as part of the entertainment. Without it, we did not know what to do. The shows were not as good as those on Cunard and the only thing to do in an evening was sit at a bar. I guess Celebrity makes money that way!

[GCurry]

On my last cruise I reflected on the different attitudes to ballroom dancing between Cunard and Celebrity. On Cunard the dancing is a major evening event. It is a form of entertainment for dancers and other passengers alike. There are many people in the ballroom who never dance but love watching it and love the feeling of being at a ball. There are people who pause on the balcony above to enjoy the spectacle. It feels like an event for everyone. (It is also so important that they employ a couple of dancers to demonstrate and to teach.)

Sadly, it is a cultural difference, as ballroom dancing has become a curiosity in the US. There is little to no interest in this art form among the young and also reflects the attitude of their parents. America's dancing peaked during WWII and has been in decline ever since.:mad:

Of course the advent of Rock & Roll helped promote it's demise as our youth found that even Swing (Jive) was too structured and reverted to simple individual steps reflecting the mating dances of primitive tribes in New Guinea!!:D

I've been the president of two Ballroom Clubs in our area where the bylaws limited the number of couples to 125.

We were never handicapped for membership by that number!!:rolleyes:

 

As a crossing on Cunard was on my "bucket list" we enjoyed the QM2 this year, and yes dancing was wonderful when you could, as ball nights it was standing room only and that was on the dance floor.

On Celebrity, dancing is just another event for a minority of passengers - and so it becomes an ever smaller minority who can participate. Passengers still line the balconies to watch the dancers, so there must be scope for enjoyment among them. However, dancing is not seen as part of the entertainment. Without it, we did not know what to do. The shows were not as good as those on Cunard and the only thing to do in an evening was sit at a bar. I guess Celebrity makes money that way!

I recall a R&R club that seldom played anything downbeat, if you were dancing, you weren't drinking which is where they made their money.

You can include the other American lines in that practice, some, Princess & HAL, make a little more of an effort as they market to older demographics. Carnival and RCCL not so much.

 

I note that "Dancing With The Stars" has kicked off it's fall season with two of Foxy's favorite judges, Len Goodman, and Bruno Cannolis in attendance. If you can recognize a dance on that show, than they weren't doing it right!!

Our former governor and presidential candidate is competing if you can call it that.

After viewing his potential, sadly, he should have stuck to politics.:eek:

Edited September 15, 2016 by GCurry

[Slow Foxtrot]

I note that "Dancing With The Stars" has kicked off its fall season with two of Foxy's favorite judges, Len Goodman, and Bruno Cannolis in attendance.

 

I trust that you are joking Gene! I've no time for either of them. Our 'Strictly Come Dancing' programme is a travesty of ballroom dancing. Heaven knows who chooses the appalling music but, however dire and unsuitable it is, neither of the aforementioned judges has the courage to say so. Mustn't rock the hand that feeds you! As for Bruno Tonioli - I'm sure he knows more about watercress than ballroom dancing. Curious that after all these years none of the 'judges' appear to have demonstrated an elegant Slow Foxtrot. Still, the masses love the glitz and the glamour and that's all that matters to the BBC. On the plus side it has brought dancing to the public's attention and that can't be bad.

[GCurry]

Is the name of a Country song I recall, and is a reflection of our DWTS program. The show tries to pick music the younger folk can identify, which is why it is horrible music for ballroom dancers. I've mentioned before doing a tango to the German Chicken Dance.

I trust that you are joking Gene! I've no time for either of them. Our 'Strictly Come Dancing' programme is a travesty of ballroom dancing. Heaven knows who chooses the appalling music but, however dire and unsuitable it is, neither of the aforementioned judges has the courage to say so. Mustn't rock the hand that feeds you! As for Bruno Tonioli - I'm sure he knows more about watercress than ballroom dancing. Curious that after all these years none of the 'judges' appear to have demonstrated an elegant Slow Foxtrot. Still, the masses love the glitz and the glamour and that's all that matters to the BBC. On the plus side it has brought dancing to the public's attention and that can't be bad.

Just tweaking the British Lion's tail Foxy, as I know that you have a "special" whip you would pull out of the stable for those two.:D

 

You will be happy to know that Len get's booed on a regular basis as he is an actual card carrying ballroom judge as opposed to whomever else they trot out there.:rolleyes:

[fezziwig]

At least twice this week, Lenny gave a lower mark because of the lack of content, once for a cha Charles's cha cha, and then for a waltzless Viennese Waltz. It's interesting seeing the difference in how Lenny judges DWTS versus Strictly, I think DWTS needs Clive to give some hard nosed criticism, Len only partially fill that role.

 

 

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[8dimsum]

DH is happy for us to cruise with Crystal because there is ballroom dancing. The dance instruction is handled by professionals and there are dance hosts. Almost coinciding with the ownership change, the hosts are no longer vetted 'in house' and the line now uses an agency for the hosts. 'Mama Lee' who loves to dance, lives on the Crystal Serenity.

 

Thank you for the ballroom information. Nice to have updated info about which cruise lines to consider for dancing.

[GCurry]

At least twice this week, Lenny gave a lower mark because of the lack of content, once for a cha Charles's cha cha, and then for a waltzless Viennese Waltz. It's interesting seeing the difference in how Lenny judges DWTS versus Strictly, I think DWTS needs Clive to give some hard nosed criticism, Len only partially fill that role.

Sadly, the American public knows about as much about ballroom dancing as a hog knows about Sunday!!:)

DWTS is a popularity contest. Len gets booed enough as it is, so any serious judge would be subjected to public flogging.

 

Note to self: start saving yer pesos to cruise on Crystal!!:D

[Slow Foxtrot]

DH is happy for us to cruise with Crystal because there is ballroom dancing. The dance instruction is handled by professionals and there are dance hosts. Almost coinciding with the ownership change, the hosts are no longer vetted 'in house' and the line now uses an agency for the hosts. 'Mama Lee' who loves to dance, lives on the Crystal Serenity.

 

Thank you for the ballroom information. Nice to have updated info about which cruise lines to consider for dancing.

 

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.

[8dimsum]

Slow Foxtrot: We have yet to book a Cunard cruise. Most of our friends cruise with Princess (one was often a MTP!) Past, long past history of cruising with dancers...remember the SS Norway? SS Marco Polo?

 

Crystal's Mama Lee is an 88yo widow who has been living aboard the Serenity for 8 years. If you go to the Crystal board, search for her name, look for the March, 2016 thread: there is a posting of a newspaper article about her retiring to live aboard a cruiseship.

 

Our TA had intro luncheon meetings on a Oceania and a Regent ship: we were not impressed with the food nor the layout of the ships. I envisioned the dancing would be like... nightclub cozy.

Edited September 18, 2016 by 8dimsum
add on

[bookitdanno]

My wife and I love to dance together....BUT...we do not do formal ballroom dancing. We enjoy social dancing.

 

Would we be welcome on the floor of the QM2?

[loerie]

Yes -We are in the same boat as you -no pun intended! you will see some "show offs" real ball too ears don't do that and then there are us who like to dance and enjoy .

 

 

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[BobBranst]

My wife and I love to dance together....BUT...we do not do formal ballroom dancing. We enjoy social dancing.

 

Would we be welcome on the floor of the QM2?

 

It really depends on how you define "social dancing". We have been taking ballroom dance lessons for several years and consider ourselves as social dancers as opposed to competitive dancers.

 

In the Queens Room (Ballroom), as long as you follow the basic rules of ballroom ediquette (especially regarding not blocking the line of dance), you should have no problem. However, since you say that you do not do formal ballroom dancing, you may be more comfortable dancing in the G32 night club which is located directly behind the Queens Room.

Edited September 19, 2016 by BobBranst

[josumello]

My dh and I love to dance but are don't do traditional ballroom dancing. After reading this thread I don't think we would enjoy what is offered for ballroom dancing. It seems the participants take the dancing and them selves very seriously. We just like to have fun!! LOL

 

 

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[bookitdanno]

It really depends on how you define "social dancing". We have been taking ballroom dance lessons for several years and consider ourselves as social dancers as opposed to competitive dancers.

 

In the Queens Room (Ballroom), as long as you follow the basic rules of ballroom ediquette (especially regarding not blocking the line of dance), you should have no problem. However, since you say that you do not do formal ballroom dancing, you may be more comfortable dancing in the G32 night club which is located directly behind the Queens Room.

 

Social dancing to us is dancing to the rhythm of slow songs.

We talk to each other, laugh, smile and generally enjoy the dance without all the counting and emphasis on style.

We would be happy with a tiny little corner of the floor.

A disco like G32 is not where we will be.

Edited September 19, 2016 by bookitdanno

[GCurry]

We all grew up dancing to the same music you did and in the same way, and we still can. At some point in time, however, we started taking ballroom lessons as I wanted to Tango and found that it was great exercise and something that we could do together, like so many other things that you could name, Cruises anyone??

 

You can certainly choose your level of competence, as social ballroom & Latin or whether you want to compete at very different levels in Bronze, Silver, or Gold. You can choose International style or American Smooth as with many other art forms the variety is endless.

 

I would venture to say that none of us count, as muscle memory makes it automatic. we are looking forward to lessons and social ballroom clubs again as my mature wife graduates college in Dec..

 

Ballroom is something where you can pick and choose what you want to dance to, as we tend to avoid swing (jive) these days but love the Latin.

I still can't dance the Texas Two-step although I've tried to learn it; I must be wearing the wrong brand of boots!!:D

 

You would be very comfortable on the QM2 especially on Ball Nights as the floors so crowded there is no line of dance.

 

Just keep in mind that you are dancing for each other, not other people.

Edited September 19, 2016 by GCurry

[BobBranst]

Social dancing to us is dancing to the rhythm of slow songs.

We talk to each other, laugh, smile and generally enjoy the dance without all the counting and emphasis on style.

We would be happy with a tiny little corner of the floor.

A disco like G32 is not where we will be.

 

That being the case, just dance in the middle of the dance floor. As long as your dancing is not in the path of dancers in the "line of dance" (around the outside edge of the dance floor), everyone will be happy.

[Lakesregion]

My dh and I love to dance but are don't do traditional ballroom dancing. After reading this thread I don't think we would enjoy what is offered for ballroom dancing. It seems the participants take the dancing and them selves very seriously. We just like to have fun!! LOL

 

 

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Please do not be put off by those who believe that unless you follow every aspect of proper ballroom procedure down to the correct angle of elbows in relation to hands etc. Yes on every cruise there will be at least a few of those "ballroom" bores but the vast majority of the passengers who do use the dance floor are there for the fun of dancing.

 

As to putting down R'R as killing off jive and jitter bug there are almost no places left that are large enough where one can toss their partner over their shoulders and swish them through their legs. Besides the age and size of most cruise passengers trying that would flood the infirmary nightly. Over the years I have won tons of 45's doing American R'nR and now that G32 has banned smoking I may head there rather than get in the way of the dance hosts as I seek our a partner for fun dancing. This from a former Cunard Dance Host.

[8dimsum]

Three cheers for the fun of dancing!

[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.

Edited September 20, 2016 by tangoll
Added paragraph about dance floor size