ballroom-cruisers

I believe these changes are indeed being brought in, and it is very sad that Alex and Liuba have felt that they have no option but to resign. I would expect very few, if any, professional dance couples would be prepared to work for many months at a time, dancing with solo partners every evening, all evening, as well as their other duties. So I would expect we will likely no longer see professional ballroom dance couples on board Cunard voyages in the future unless Cunard abandons these new ideas. I believe these new ideas are being driven by new staff at Cunard HQ, who were previously with another cruise line where there is a different mindset. It looks like the nature of the atmosphere on Cunard cruises will be changing.

I'm envious!

Like D&N we never find Cunard portions too small, usually either about right or too large! But then again different people have different ideas about how much they wish to eat!

Does 'surf and turf' now mean that your serrated steak knife 'surfs' over the top of the impenetrable lump of meat, before you 'turf' the offending slab over to the edge of the plate where it will remain until the plate is collected! Hopefully the original meaning, with a beautifully tender perfectly prepared filet hardly needs a knife to gently move a delicate mouthful onto the fork, alongside a perfectly cooked and full flavoured lobster tail accompanies the filet ready to ease the lobster meat over to the same fork, after the expert waiter has gently (!) separated the meat from the shell. Now what is a lobster, I hear you say, since on our last voyage such a food was nowhere to be seen on any evening! (OK tongue no longer in cheek!)

Is it not the case that in most places now, whether on land or on board ship, Covid is there at some generally lowish level in any community. You have some chance of catching it whether you have popped in to the supermarket to buy a pack of vegetables near home, or on a ship in a dining room, or on a shore excursion. Wherever you are, and no matter what you do there will be some chance yo might get Covid. If you are vaccinated, or if you have had Covid in recent months, then if you do get infected the chances are it will likely be not much worse than a bad cold, and if you are lucky milder than that. So for most people getting Covid is not that big a deal, but of course we would all prefer not to get it on holiday. But just as there are always some who have a cough or cold on board, a few will likely have Covid on any voyage. So most people have reached the stage where it is not something we dwell on in a big way, but of course we would prefer to not be infected if possible. I don't think I know anyone who has not had Covid at some point in the past year or two. Of course if you are particularly vulnerable to the effects of being ill then it is a bigger worry. But the experience I have seen in recent times chatting to people is that Covid is not part of daily life any more, and people focus on other more interesting subjects in social discussions. This has been the case on the voyages we have been on the past year and a half.

Not usually - it's been fine before now with no odours like that. Occasionally you get a bit of diesel type aroma on deck near the lifeboat davits but not internally within the ship.

I noticed that when I was on her in May. It would be nice if it was fixed!

I guess being strict petit fours are baked little cakes according to the original definition, sometimes decorated. But little chocolates seem to be included in the name by many people now.

Absolutely fine and great to hear you are happy to dance whatever figures or not that you are doing - we all make mistakes at every level we dance. Becoming a follower is a special skill, just as becoming a leader is a special skill, and it does not happen instantly. Over time learning how to read the leader's 'lead' develops slowly, and of course if the leader isn't 'leading' correctly, then even a highly experienced follower won't be able to follow! So it is all fun and laughter, and if you are enjoying the music as you fumble, then that is fine. For sure I don't lead anywhere near perfectly, so my understanding in a partners response, who can't follow my bad leads is vital! If you can laugh it off, then you will have fun and enjoyment whilst becoming more experienced, and that is the way life on the dance floor should be. Enjoy your August voyage.

Good review. Yes, it is worth mentioning those lovely cold towels once you get back on the ship after being ashore. They were very welcome and help cool your face and neck down. I don't remember seeing that before this voyage. Those little chocolates/ginger/marshmallow with coffee after dinner are called 'petit fours', and are a nice touch at the end of the meal. Yes the QR was well in use the entire voyage, which for us makes a voyage the best enjoyment of all, in addition to nice meals. My feeling was that the food was not at the same standard as previously, with several nights where meat such as beef, lamb, and pork were quite tough at the level where we felt we had to leave quite a bit on the plate. Though on other nights the choice and quality of the ingredients, as well as the level of preparation and cooking were excellent. The buffet was a little lacklustre at breakfast and lunch though, quite a lot of the time, and quite often the coffee and drinks machines were in 'servicing' mode and unavailable. The hot water machines often had a button to turn on the hot water that became 'stuck' on, and you had to tap the button hard to stop the water coming out - by which time the coffee had overflowed the cup by quite a bit! Yes there is a need to refresh some of the furniture, but externally there were crew members working to restore the paintwork around the decks almost every day of the voyage, and the ship is looking neater than last year as a result. Overall a lovely voyage and I agree with your comments. Oh, and we particularly loved the port of call at Calvi, Corsica - which was a first for us, and a beautiful place, with an amazing long beach with fine sand and clear turqouise water, that was perfect for swimming with a gently sloping sandy base as you waded out from the shore.

Our experience matches that of D&N - and on most voyages we have been on that has also been the case. Of course there are periods when it is quiet - such as immediately after first sitting dinner, when some people are in the bars having a pre-dinner drink for second sitting, and other people who have already had dinner are heading off to the theatre. But once the orchestra starts playing it is usually pretty busy. There may be some voyages where there are less dancers, less people who want to watch dancing, or maybe those who want to want will leave if there are few people dancing. But in general it has been well used on the voyages we have been on. On the most recent voyage we were on (Mediterranean for two weeks up to 23rd June) the Queen's Room was pretty well used every evening (12 out of 14 evenings were just ballroom and Latin), and the other two nights were party nights - and of course some evenings if there are cocktail parties the ballroom is used for those, so the evening dancing doesn't start till 8.45pm. So perhaps some people have had a look in at times that coincided with a short period of half an hour when it wasn't that busy. But it is the overall pattern over a whole evening that is a better measure of how full the ballroom is on average. Also later in the evening after 10.30pm or so it does get less busy, as quite a few people head to bed. That is a time when those who want to move more with more space available get a chance to stretch out a bit. Some evenings when the orchestra played 4 sets it was busy until almost midnight. So to get a good measure of how well the Queens Room is used it needs a full set of data on the number of people who are dancing, as well as spectating, across every evening of a whole voyage, and then compare that measure for different voyages. A few looks into the ballroom at odd random times doesn't give a proper picture.

The professional dance couple are paid on contract to run the ballroom group classes on sea days, and to do show dances on Gala nights (sometimes one around 9pm and a second repeat around 11pm). The also offer private dance lessons at cost. Their contract does not require them to act as dance hosts for various reasons. They will dance with a partner at cost for standard periods of 45 minutes at a time in the evenings - but it that is really a practice session for social dancing that is like dance training from a high level professional dancer. So a 'newbie' can attend one or more of the beginner classes around lunchtime on a sea day - and for example learn some basic cha cha or waltz, and then come to the evening dancing and try dancing what they have learned - at first people make lots of mistakes - but the more a couple gets on the floor and practices, the easier it will (gradually) become. It's a bit like being a long jumper - you get some training and have a go - the more you practice, the better you get at it, and the longer the jumps become over a period of time. So the answer is that the daytime dance classes are where the training happens (or daytime private lessons), and the evening is for social dancing, having fun as well as using that time as practice to get better at it.

Yes, Victoria2, the floor can accommodate all as you say - it just needs people to feel a nice atmosphere with the music playing, and be considerate of others there with them. A little story - there are some couples who went on Cunard cruises, not many years ago, who were on their own, having lost their wife or husband, and who met on the Queen's Room dance floor, and became good friends during a voyage. They kept in touch after disembarkation, and in time romance blossomed, and they married - and returned to a Cunard voyage as a married couple to enjoy the Queen's Room again. It is a story I have seen more than once. Indeed I also know of a couple who danced, and on a future voyage got married on board a Cunard ship, doing their wedding dance in the Queen's Room. I have seen that a couple of times now. Some will have loving memories of that ballroom dance floor.

True indeed - but ballroom dancing has changed and evolved over the years - have a look at some videos online of the top ballroom champions dancing at Blackpool in the 60s - the dresses the ladies wore are totally different to today's dresses, and the style of dancing very different, and equally in those days men did not do Latin dancing. You're right ballroom dancing with little technique is how men met ladies - these days the equivalent is not even the disco, but the raves and the pop concerts with tens of thousands camping in a field! NE John - it is really hard to learn ballroom or Latin dances from videos alone - if you get the best dance teacher you can to teach you over a period of time allowing you to develop slowly with good dance habits you will enjoy it much more and become higher level dancers.

There have been many occasions when there is a wide mix of beginners, early level dancers, and experienced ballroom dancers on the floor. The considerate experienced and considerate dancers will never collide with anyone else. But what they can do on the floor in terms of movement of course depends on how the other dancers are moving, as well as how many are on the floor. Yet I have been on the floor where it is relatively busy, and yet been able to move through the spaces and go around the floor several times where early dancers have moved only a small distance along one side. It's normal. At other times if the room has more early dancers then the experienced dancers can only move small distances, but they can still be fluid and do static 'line figures' that can look beautiful. So what is possible for experienced dancers depends on how the others on the floor are doing their thing. If the others, including beginners are on the floor but moving with some consideration of others, then the experienced dancers can still do some great dancing. Equally it takes a long time to become an experienced ballroom dancer and it it easy to not realise that experienced dancers were all beginners once.

The rules are basically common sense - and dancers who dance regularly understand they are there intrinsically to prevent injury and maximise enjoyment. Rather than being 'rules' they are really sensible 'etiquette',

We can all find some times when the Queen's Room is not full. But equally we can also all find some times when the G32, the Yacht Club on QE/QV, the Commodore Club, or the Carinthia Lounge are also not full, as well as the shops on board - it's normal. There are times when lots are in the theatre and most other venues sparsely occupied. There are times when I have seen two people in the pub, or in the casino. There have been times when we have been on our way to the Yacht Club, come out of the lift, and heard some nice pop music, and seen one couple boogieing on the dance floor with half a dozen couples sitting having a drink - so we have gone in and boogied for a few songs, and had the floor to ourselves. Lovely - and then retired to the Commodore Club for a nice cocktail. Would that suggest the Yacht Club needs to be re-thought for its use by Cunard? I doubt it.

If there was a drastic reduction in use of the Queen's Room for ballroom dancing, then it is likely Cunard would lose regular passengers who currently stay with Cunard for cruises pury because it it the only cruise line where ballroom dancing is possible every evening over an extended period on a decent sized dance floor. If passengers could no longer enjoy ballroom dancing properly each evening, then they would have a large choice of other lines where they can't ballroom dance on holiday, or they can go on land based holidays aimed squarely at ballroom dancing, and which are increasing in availability and popularity, at least in the UK. Whether Cunard could then attract enough non-ballroom dancers, across a wider age range to their ships is an interesting question. Equally there are some passengers who stick with Cunard because they can come into the Queen's Room, and enjoy a drink and social chat, whilst specifically watching ballroom dancing - some of those passengers could be lost to Cunard too, if the Queen's Room functionality was drastically cut back.

It has been regularly expressed that the Queen's Room should be more used for party dancing - and yet every time there is a 'party' there with a pop band the floor is hardly ever full, and often there are less passengers who are on the floor disco dancing, than the number of entertainment staff spread across the floor trying to encourage others to join them. So whilst there is certainly a vocal minority who repeatedly express the opinion that there should be more opportunity for the majority to do disco dancing, or other expressions representing the same thing, the reality is that in fact it is only a minority who want to do so, and on most of the voyages I have been on, it is actually the regular ballroom dancers who are on the floor at various times during the evening. There are certainly some times each evening when the floor is not busy - but even when there is recorded disco type music there are usually only a few people doing disco dancing, and occasionally the music plays with nobody doing disco dancing even when they could and have the floor to themselves. So even if there are folk who feel that ballroom dancing is for the minority, it seems from my experience that the disco dancing is supported by a yet smaller minority on board. There are times when the room is full in the seating area around the tables if there is a tribute band, but most people who are there, want to listen and watch, and not get on the floor themselves. In that case any venue that can accommodate the band and the audience will be fine - such as the theatre, the pub, or G32.

Good ballroom dancers at any level from early to advanced will be considerate to others on the floor. Any dancer who is inconsiderate is not a good dancer!

Yes, people frequently learn complex sets of figures so that they look experienced as dancers, but quite often the figures don't flow well or are executed inelegantly. Like you we do simple basic figure groups as well as possible, which often feels nicer and looks nicer. Learning to move around the floor maintaining smooth flow in tune with the music, and not interrupting anybody else takes skill, but is such a valuable skill to learn. If everyone does that then the dance floor is a happy and enjoyable place to dance.

By wedding dancing if you mean gentle shuffling on the floor to romantic music that doesn't really fit any of the standard dance rhythms, then they already do that sometimes most evenings.

What is a 'regular' dancer? Why do you think that ballroom dancers in their 60s and 70s, and even 80s can't dance a quickstep? Why do you think that the Queen's Room would be better suited to non-ballroom dancing? Tribute acts are occasionally held in that room, when they could just as well be in the theatre, and that then locks out ballroom dancers for the evening. Disco party nights are put into the Queen's Room too, and in our experience they usually mean lots of people coming in for a while to watch, and a bunch of staff come and start disco dancing spread around the dance floor - a few passengers join in but usually the staff outnumber the passengers dancing! That seems to be a regular occurrence on such nights. Significant numbers of passengers come to the Queen's Room, who are not dancers themselves, specifically to watch good dancers on the floor. People have told us so very regularly across every voyage we have been on. The waiters are run off their feet serving spectators in the ballroom when people are dancing, so the bar in G32 does well, and a lot better, from spectators in the Queen's Room compared to people dancing in G32. Yes it is a shame that the music is dictated by headquarters without real regard for what passengers dancing actually want to hear to dance to!

If you do a quick search in a browser for "countdown timer" you will find lots of web sites that allow you to create different kinds of countdown for display. So there are options for having one without that Fertility logo!

Free dance hosts are not that easy to recruit. They are paid nothing, and they have quite a bit of work to do to earn their free passage, dancing all evening once the dancing gets going, and of course the dance hosts risk injury or picking up Covid and other infections dancing with a wide range of partners every evening. So not so many dancers are prepared to take on that role compared with pre-pandemic times. The professional dancers are providing a different role really, and it is usually more experienced dancers who are prepared to pay the professional ballroom dancers for either private lessons in the daytime, or 45 minute social dance sessions in the evenings, where they can try to improve their dancing skills by dancing with a high level partner. In the latter case some ladies who normally dance with their husband, or regular partner, may pay for that experience. This is quite different to solo ladies wanting to get some dancing on the floor with a dance host or any other single or available partner in the ballroom in the evenings.