Dancing on the Maasdam

[Tante Amalie]

My husband and I enjoy ballroom dancing and have had a somewhat mixed experience on HAL ships. Most of the time there is decent dancing in the Ocean Bar with the Neptunes, but HAL seems to be changing the structure of its music offerings.

 

Has anyone been on the Maasdam recently and heard the current music in the Ocean Bar? Is it still a Neptunes trio or have they changed the format?

 

Are they playing music appropriate for ballroom dancing (waltz, rumba, cha cha, tango, etc.)? Or are they playing American standards and jazz? We've experienced both situations on HAL and they sometimes advertise "ballroom dancing" in the Ocean Bar, but don't play any appropriate music.

 

Any recent information would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

[Sea Belle]

My husband and I enjoy ballroom dancing and have had a somewhat mixed experience on HAL ships. Most of the time there is decent dancing in the Ocean Bar with the Neptunes, but HAL seems to be changing the structure of its music offerings.

 

Has anyone been on the Maasdam recently and heard the current music in the Ocean Bar? Is it still a Neptunes trio or have they changed the format?

 

Are they playing music appropriate for ballroom dancing (waltz, rumba, cha cha, tango, etc.)? Or are they playing American standards and jazz? We've experienced both situations on HAL and they sometimes advertise "ballroom dancing" in the Ocean Bar, but don't play any appropriate music.

 

Any recent information would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

 

We were pleased with the music on the Maasdam in Dec. '14 and the Veendam May '15. Both of these cruises had excellent musicians in the Ocean Bar who played a wide assortment of dance music and also took requests for various types. We found them superior to the Neptunes of the past.

[Tante Amalie]

Thank you for the information. Were they playing traditional ballroom dance music (waltz, tango, rumba, cha cha, etc.) or were they playing easy listening sorts of music (jazz, New York, New York, Mack the Knife etc.)? We're hoping to do some ballroom dancing and I'm wondering if the Maasdam is getting away from that by using other musicians. Thank you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The new group is now called "The Band".

We were pleased with them on the Zuiderdam this past spring.

We don't dance anymore but we were pleased with all the different types of music they played. And we saw more people dancing than when we had the HAL Cats (most recent group).

[Tante Amalie]

We also had a related question- on many ships there is a dedicated time set aside for ballroom dancing in the evening. Has the Maasdam been doing this lately?

Thanks in advance

[Sea Belle]

Thank you for the information. Were they playing traditional ballroom dance music (waltz, tango, rumba, cha cha, etc.) or were they playing easy listening sorts of music (jazz, New York, New York, Mack the Knife etc.)? We're hoping to do some ballroom dancing and I'm wondering if the Maasdam is getting away from that by using other musicians. Thank you.

 

The dance floor was busy most of the time simply because they were playing a great variety of dance music. They were also taking requests. We noticed many of the same couples were in the Ocean Bar at the same time each evening so the musicians got to know them and what they liked. The music was far superior to that the Neptunes offered in the past. JMHO ;)

[Randyk47]

We also had a related question- on many ships there is a dedicated time set aside for ballroom dancing in the evening. Has the Maasdam been doing this lately?

Thanks in advance

 

The direct answer is not many if any at all. One of our disappointments with HAL has been the gradual reduction in nightly entertainment options. It shows more on the smaller class ships like the Maasdam where, for all practical purposes, there is now only one really active dance floor. Years ago when the S-class ships came on line there were two dance venues, the Ocean and Crow's Nest bars, with live bands every night. In fact, at one time at least the Crow's Nest band, and maybe the Ocean Bar for that matter, was a crew band not contractors. The atmosphere was much more like a nightclub, very lively, and well attended. There still is an occasional night when there is live entertainment in the Crow's Nest but it's more likely a DJ and a sparse crowd. Additionally, and I may be mistaken, I think over the years through subsequent renovations the dance floor in the Crow's Nest has gotten smaller. Bottom line to us up is nightly dancing is not one of HAL's strong points and, in fact, may be one of its significant shortfalls.