Does Solstice have social or ballroom dancing music before dinner?

[cindygad]

I looked at the recent posting of daily paper on Solstice and only saw it listed once. We like to dance before dinner.

[6502programmer]

They do, but... There are no really good dance locations. On our cruise in December, we had a steel plan player who would do rhumbas and cha cha's for us--sometimes in the oceanview bar, sometimes in the foyer. Sometimes it was the DJ playing some more or less strict tempo music. It's been my experience that when the musicians see folks who can dance and appreciate the music, they'll play what you would like to hear.

 

There was nothing approaching the hours and hours of ballroom or the beautiful venue on Cunard. Even the M class had a decent floor in the filled-in martini/champagne bar, compared to the S class. I get where Celebrity is going with the S class, I just don't like everything it means to my cruise experience.

[JeffCoud]

Oddly enough you know who has really great ballroom dancing and they build the dance floors/venues for it?? Costa. The euros love that stuff. I love Costa for other reasons (the food, the wacky italian-ness of it, etc.) but they definitely get a crowd that likes to dance! Give it a whirl, as they say!

 

Jeff

[cindygad]

Thanks for your answers. I have never booked a cruise because of dancing but since we took up ballroom dancing we did enjoy dancing each day.

 

We have never cruise Costa or Cunard and may have to think about it in the future.

[Orator]

Oddly enough you know who has really great ballroom dancing and they build the dance floors/venues for it?? Costa. The euros love that stuff. I love Costa for other reasons (the food, the wacky italian-ness of it, etc.) but they definitely get a crowd that likes to dance! Give it a whirl, as they say!

 

Jeff

 

You might be able to dance right through the heavy smoke in Costa if you don't have problems breathing.

[JeffCoud]

You might be able to dance right through the heavy smoke in Costa if you don't have problems breathing.

 

It's much more restricted these days has been my experience! Even the euros are changing I'm glad to say!

[eandj]

The Solstice has dancing with some kind of band or instrumentalist(piano) in the main foyer area which holds a bar, service desks and small area for dancing. Ballroom, not so much. But you will be able to a few basic styles. Definitely not a biggie on the s class ships.

[Rellasmith]

In some of the clubs they will have dance lessons. Another option maybe bringing small speakers for an ipod and use them in one of the clubs during non-club hours. My hubby and I practiced some dance moves while there was no one else in there. I will say that speakers are not allowed in the pool area or other public areas where it would annoy other passengers. I would suggest writing to Celebrity to let them know of your wishes (for future cruises).

[C 2 C]

I looked at the recent posting of daily paper on Solstice and only saw it listed once. We like to dance before dinner.

 

If you like dancing before and after dinner on Celebrity, the S-class ships are not the best choice.

 

The downgrade of dancing opportunities in the new class of ships is one of the main reasons we prefer booking Constellation and other M-Class.

 

I've heard too many complaints about Costa's other characteristics that I would not consider switching. I have heard that Cunard offers great dance floors but the itineraries & pricing don't interest us enough to try.

[6502programmer]

I have heard that Cunard offers great dance floors but the itineraries & pricing don't interest us enough to try.

You have heard correct about Cunard. Nearly* every night, there was live music in the Queens room. Additionally, every day, there was live music for afternoon tea. There were dance lessons most days.

 

* Nearly, as in ten nights of a 13 night B2B. The other three, it was the party band, and they didn't play anything remotely danceable.

[cindygad]

Thanks again. We have been all of the Millennium ships and liked the dance floors even though they were alittle small.

 

We wanted to try the S ships but it sounds like we won't be doing much dancing before dinner. It somehow helped me to feel like I could eat the four course meals without feeling as guilty. We will just have to hit the gym more often.

 

At least there is 50's night and that is always fun.

[whitelilly]

We went to the Sky Lounge after dinner for dancing.

[cindygad]

Whitelilly, Did you have early or late sitting. We have late.

[6502programmer]

Whitelilly, Did you have early or late sitting. We have late.

 

We usually go with early seating, mostly because we'd rather have our fun after dinner than before. Finding dancing after main seating is easier than finding it before early, in my experience.

[C 2 C]

We went to the Sky Lounge after dinner for dancing.

 

Whitelilly, Did you have early or late sitting. We have late.

 

I think dancing in the Sky Lounge with a live band usually does not start until 10:00 pm and then not every day because the band is playing outside around the pool instead.

[brucedodge]

I looked at the recent posting of daily paper on Solstice and only saw it listed once. We like to dance before dinner.

 

The dance opportunities can depend on the Cruise Director. It's not unreasonable to approach him or her with suggestions while on board. We've found many are quite receptive to ideas about dancing venues and which musicians play when, and where, etc.

 

It's a shame that as ballroom dancing gets more popular, Celebrity goes in the opposite direction. On the Equinox last year, the CD managed to get more people dancing in the lower foyer(including before early seating), and mixed the musicians for variety. However, one thing that amazed me is that the photographers roped off a lot of the available dance space for formal night pictures, despite feedback from several of us about the problem. On the formal nights people where even dancing on the floor space around the customer service desk due to lack of space.

 

The upstairs venue is fine, but it's a marble floor, and the ship needs to make sure it doesn't become sticky (they did a good job on this).

 

Though we still cruise Celebrity, we'll probably devote more cruise time to the "M" Class ships, where we met Xellent on the dance floor on one of our cruises. interestingly enough, we find the dance floors on Mercury to be the best of the Celebrity fleet.

 

We've actually started cruising more on Princess, which does a much better job with music and dancing, especially on the smaller R Class ships. On these three ships, Princess kept the nice wooden Renaissance dance floors.

 

FWIW, Bruce

[cindygad]

Bruce,

 

I never knew that the dance opportunities had anything to do with the cruise directors.Looks like after every ones comments dancing will have to be after dinner in sky lounge.

[brucedodge]

Bruce, I never knew that the dance opportunities had anything to do with the cruise directors. Looks like after every ones comments dancing will have to be after dinner in sky lounge.

 

Cindy,

 

Cruise directors are responsible for scheduling all entertainment, obviously working with their activities staff. The better ones are very interested in feedback and suggestions because they want their guests to be happy, and they want to produce the best possible cruise experience.

 

They cannot satisfy everyone, but they also cannot think of everything either. I've found cruise directors, in general, to be very interested in suggestions, and when possible, to implement them. For example, on one cruise, when dancing opportunities seemed few, we suggested to a cruise director that guests be allowed to dance on the large stage to the ship's orchestra. The CD thought that was a good idea and arranged it a couple of time, and the dancers had a great time.

 

Also, recently (can't remember which cruise line, although I think it was Princess) the ship's orchestra set up early whenever they were to play for the evening's show, and for 45 minutes played dance music. Those sessions were heavily attended, and the audience who arrived early enjoyed watching, rather than just sitting around waiting for the show.

 

Again, FWIW, Bruce

[mummsie]

Oddly enough you know who has really great ballroom dancing and they build the dance floors/venues for it?? Costa. The euros love that stuff. I love Costa for other reasons (the food, the wacky italian-ness of it, etc.) but they definitely get a crowd that likes to dance! Give it a whirl, as they say!

 

Jeff

 

No quite true. We were on Costa Romantica a couple of months ago and there was very little ballroom dancing - in fact the music was really bad to dance to and we can dance to just about anything. The musos just played their set gigs and that was it. We were very disappointed as we are competitve ballroom dancers and like to get a little exercise while we are on ships. - mummsie

[UKBayern]

You might be able to dance right through the heavy smoke in Costa if you don't have problems breathing.

 

In Europe, all that is changing. It is a mythe that all Europeans smoke. In fact, the vast majority does not smoke. In most European countries, strict anti-smoking laws are now in place. And as everybody is getting used to going outside to smoke, they also do it in places where they can smoke inside.

[JeffCoud]

No quite true. We were on Costa Romantica a couple of months ago and there was very little ballroom dancing - in fact the music was really bad to dance to and we can dance to just about anything. The musos just played their set gigs and that was it. We were very disappointed as we are competitve ballroom dancers and like to get a little exercise while we are on ships. - mummsie

 

Oh dang that's too bad! I mentioned Costa because although I'm not a ballroom dancer it stuck out in my head that I had seen that multiple times (have sailed w them 5 times in the past 5 years or so) and it was notable to me. I recall the Magica in particular had a huge wooden dance floor that was used -- the couples dancing looked beautiful and were having a good time. So it was just one of those things that stuck out to me about Costa that I remembered as something significant. Well I guess I need to sail them just to check up on the situation! :)

 

Jeff

[Solstice23]

On our cruise recently aboard the Equinox they had dancing in the SKy Lounge before dinner with live bands or Jazz etc.

[Solstice23]

I think dancing in the Sky Lounge with a live band usually does not start until 10:00 pm and then not every day because the band is playing outside around the pool instead.

 

They had some on the Equinox every night before Late seating, We did not go but heard about it

[cindygad]

I hope this is true for the solistce too.That would be exactly what we are looking for.

[mummsie]

In Europe, all that is changing. It is a mythe that all Europeans smoke. In fact, the vast majority does not smoke. In most European countries, strict anti-smoking laws are now in place. And as everybody is getting used to going outside to smoke, they also do it in places where they can smoke inside.

 

Unfortunately Costa still allows smoking virtually anywhere except for the restaurants and the theatre. They even allowed smoking in the outdoor eating area. We were prisoners in our staterooms for most of the trip especially during the day (it was cooler in there anyway) and for that reason I would never go Costa again. However saying that, we still managed to have a good time. They did have a few very small bar areas that were reserved for non smokers but smoke being smoke it wafted everywhere so was no very pleasnt. We actually saved a lot of money on this ship as there was little reason to spend a couple of hours in a bar buying drinks because of the smell. :p mummsie