2Alaska09

Recently cruised on Regent's Explorer and the dance opportunities were very limited. Please note: our experience was based on daylight hours and early evenings - the music provided might have been different later in the evenings.

The Observation Lounge on deck 11 had the largest area that looked like a dance floor. But it was not a wooden floor - appeared to be tile, with grout lines. We didn't try it, but it did not feel very smooth. An additional issue is that the music when we were in this lounge was usually just a piano player, who I suppose would have taken requests but the music did not seem very dance-able.

The Meridian Lounge on deck 5 has a very small circular wooden dance floor. The two times we were in it, the band was always playing jazz music that was not dance-able.

The Explorer Lounge on deck 4 has a very small wooden dance floor. The music was mostly from a duo - a piano player and a singer who took requests. But again, the dance floor was very small and we did not attempt to dance on it. It might work for a spot dance (jitterbug, etc), but it didn't look big enough to me to foxtrot on - you would not have much opportunity to dance in a straight line.

Bottom line: the Explorer is a great ship, but not ideal for ballroom dancing.

I've been lurking here for months, soaking up all the great information and tips. I specifically want to thank Travelcat2 and UUNetBill for all the great posts - many of them were very helpful to me.

DW and I are not really "cruise people," but we very much enjoyed the Copenhagen to Stockholm cruise on Explorer earlier this month. I have posted a review:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=585043

I'm happy to answer any questions from other "newbies" like myself.

And I have a question of my own. If we cruise in Europe again, it will likely be a river cruise. I'm interested in both the Rhine and the Danube. Unfortunately, Regent doesn't do rivers.

If I want a "Regent level experience" on the Rhine or the Danube, which cruise line should I use?

Thanks!