Ballroom dancing on Equinox?

[fantasy51]

I am used to sailing with Cunard and dancing the night away. I am looking at a Celebrity cruise on Equinox for August.

 

I would be grateful for information about dancing. Do they have ballroom and latin dancing at night? Is the dance floor a decent size? Is the music good for dancing?

 

Many thanks

Diane

[az_tchr]

You never know what type of music they will have. Ballroom type dancing would be unusual, but we had a professional couple on board and they cleared the floor for them some years ago. As for Latin music they would certainly take requests. As you are in the Med would think you would be in the minority there.

[greydog]

I am used to sailing with Cunard and dancing the night away. I am looking at a Celebrity cruise on Equinox for August.

 

I would be grateful for information about dancing. Do they have ballroom and latin dancing at night? Is the dance floor a decent size? Is the music good for dancing?

 

Many thanks

Diane

 

We've ddone Cunard and on Celebrity there is nothing of scale like Queens Ballroom. Celeb has 6 pc orchestra(?) vs 12 pc on QM2. Celeb crowd usually less active late ( as we prefer, cruise to relax). If your cruises center around active evening dancing, you will probably be disappointed with Celebrity. Good Luck

[LF2C]

I am used to sailing with Cunard and dancing the night away. I am looking at a Celebrity cruise on Equinox for August.

 

I would be grateful for information about dancing. Do they have ballroom and latin dancing at night? Is the dance floor a decent size? Is the music good for dancing?

 

Many thanks

Diane

 

Hi Diane

Never sailed with Cunard, but from what I understand, they are possibly the only ships that have what we dancers would call a "proper" ballroom/dance floor.

We love Celebrity and whilst we also love to dance, each cruise is different and will often depend on the quality of the house band and also the crowd on board.

We sailed on Eclipse last October, a mainly British crowd, and there was a Ballroom hour some evenings with recorded music played by the DJ. The house band weren't that great and much of their sets was similar tempo with little variation.

The Theatre Orchestra played occasionally in the Grand Foyer as well. Great musicians.

On a previous cruise we had a fabulous house band whose repertoire was incredible.

On the Solstice ships, dancing is either in the Sky observation Lounge or in the Grand Foyer.

The former has a round dance floor which sometimes makes it difficult to get you angles right, especially if the ships rolling a bit and you've had a couple of "sherberts"! whilst the floor in the Grand Foyer is not very big and has commuter traffic wandering across from Guest Relations to the Bar/lifts/stairs.

Having said all that, we still manage to dance virtually every night; but do have to adapt some of the dances to accommodate the space.

[fantasy51]

Thank you all for your replies. Paul, it's good to hear from the perspective of a dancer. I would be very disappointed if we didn't dance but would be prepared to just do things like seroc (4/4 beat) and salsa if that's all the music and space allows.

 

Diane

Edited February 17, 2016 by fantasy51

[hcat]

On our Celeb EQ cruise in Jan, there were about 5 or 6 young couples who met on board and danced almost every night in the atrium as well as the upstairs club...they were wonderful to watch...many others also danced... live music varied but was enjoyable

 

I agree it will depend on the music on board, cruisers etc...but dancing and lessons were offered

[LF2C]

Thank you all for your replies. Paul, it's good to hear from the perspective of a dancer. I would be very disappointed if we didn't dance but would be prepared to just do things like seroc (4/4 beat) and salsa if that's all the music and space allows.

 

Diane

 

The only latin dance we can't do on the ship is Samba as it travels far too much and I don't like it anyway :D Cha & Rhumba are usually ok as is jive or rock 'n roll. Depending on your particular routine you're ok with waltz and some form of Foxtrot. Quickstep in virtually impossible, which is why we are now learning a "cut-down" social quickstep, really just for the ships. Tango can be a problem and Argentine would be great in a confined space, if only we could get the bands to understand that its not the same as strict ballroom tango.

Viennese Waltz..............forget it and refer to my original comments about moving ships :eek:

[Cruise_Dancer]

No argument with the comments above. Be aware that many of the dancers will do American style dancing, so be careful of flying arms during waltzes and foxtrots. Also be prepared to adapt your dancing to small spaces - we did a lot of rhythm (crush) dancing, particularly for foxtrot.

[CruiseLady88]

Ha ha, flying arms! I understand what you mean.

 

 

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[lovetocruiseinvirginia]

We have sailed Celebrity for 20 years. Over the past few years the opportunity to ballroom dance has diminished. We were on the Solstice in July and hustled and swing until we gave up. The band played repetitive songs and we had no opportunity to waltz, tango, or foxtrot. We made the best of it although disappointed. We have commented many times to Celebrity to no avail. We are considering a Cunard voyage to experience more of a ballroom dance experience. We did have a Latin trio but they played in cocktail lounge with no dance floor. I hope your experience is different and hope that Celebrity considers expanding their dance opportunity.

[ReneeFLL]

Just curious, but doesn't such dancing take up to much room that others can't dance? I like watching it when we pass by, but am wondering how it affects others that want to dance, especially when you are "dancing the night away"?

[warmwinds]

And I'm still flummoxed by this "dancing in the atrium" (by guest services) - haven't taken an S class yet (will in January), but so used to the Rendezvous lounge on the M-class that I can't imagine music/dancing while people are trying to switch out their key cards and complain about their stopped up toilet.

[vana]

And I'm still flummoxed by this "dancing in the atrium" (by guest services) - haven't taken an S class yet (will in January), but so used to the Rendezvous lounge on the M-class that I can't imagine music/dancing while people are trying to switch out their key cards and complain about their stopped up toilet.

 

And don't forget the staircase that ends in the middle of the atrium with people going up and down!!! Lovely:rolleyes:

[Ocean Dancer]

Just curious, but doesn't such dancing take up to much room that others can't dance? I like watching it when we pass by, but am wondering how it affects others that want to dance, especially when you are "dancing the night away"?

 

We serious dancers are usually very polite on the dance floor............someone has to get the party started :)

[senorbanda]

I find this to be a very interesting and entertaining topic. I've been involved with ballroom dance in some form or another for awhile. I know exactly what your saying regarding dancing in the Atrium. I did it once and that was enough. :eek: However, the ship's dancers taught a class for ballroom on one of our cruises and that was okay. Or, if there are enough ballroom dancers onboard do a flash mob dance.:D

[shipshape sam]

We have found more dancing in the atrium vs other venues and the range type is very broad from waltz and the next song selection could be a lively latin rhythm or a triple step rock in roll song

 

We like to dance too and love to watch others who are so smooth and polished!

 

Have a great cruise!

[Lsimon]

And I'm still flummoxed by this "dancing in the atrium" (by guest services) - haven't taken an S class yet (will in January), but so used to the Rendezvous lounge on the M-class that I can't imagine music/dancing while people are trying to switch out their key cards and complain about their stopped up toilet.

 

 

I would say the more difficult and interrupted party are those trying to communicate to the customer service reps over the loud music from the party band. The foyer is a terrible place for dancing in my opinion. Not much room to dance, very few places to sit while watching others dance or just enjoying the music, and too much of a disruption if you're in the vicinity for purposes other than to enjoy the music.

[slidewilson]

I am used to sailing with Cunard and dancing the night away. I am looking at a Celebrity cruise on Equinox for August.

 

I would be grateful for information about dancing. Do they have ballroom and latin dancing at night? Is the dance floor a decent size? Is the music good for dancing?

 

Many thanks

Diane

 

Hi Diane,

 

I'm currently on board Equinox as a musician in the orchestra. Yes, the grand foyer is definitely where ballroom dancing happens. If you've been on a Solstice-class ship (or seen photos), you can see the grand foyer - it's not huge, but you can fit a surprising number of dancers on there. We've had it packed a few times. The orchestra (7 piece) will play big band sets there - how often depends on when we are needed in the theatre for the guest entertainer that night. Usually it's 2 sets, once or twice a cruise. But there is always music in the grand foyer every evening - several sets by either us, the house band (5 musicians), the jazz quartet (usually 4 musicians). We also have two duos and a solo guitarist. Bands come and go and guests definitely have their preferences as to which groups they prefer. Not to toot my own horn (pun intended), but the musicians currently here are quite strong - very positive feedback from guests.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.. thanks!!

[cruisin4thedeepblue]

Hi Diane,

 

I'm currently on board Equinox as a musician in the orchestra. Yes, the grand foyer is definitely where ballroom dancing happens. If you've been on a Solstice-class ship (or seen photos), you can see the grand foyer - it's not huge, but you can fit a surprising number of dancers on there. We've had it packed a few times. The orchestra (7 piece) will play big band sets there - how often depends on when we are needed in the theatre for the guest entertainer that night. Usually it's 2 sets, once or twice a cruise. But there is always music in the grand foyer every evening - several sets by either us, the house band (5 musicians), the jazz quartet (usually 4 musicians). We also have two duos and a solo guitarist. Bands come and go and guests definitely have their preferences as to which groups they prefer. Not to toot my own horn (pun intended), but the musicians currently here are quite strong - very positive feedback from guests.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.. thanks!!

 

Hi, we are looking at booking the Equinox. We are ballroom dancers and was very disapointed on our last Hal cruise as there was no ballroom type dancing at all. Are you still on board the Equinox and is there still good dance music played?

Thanks

[emelle]

My husband and I are dancers (we dance several nights a week as well as most weekends) and it all depends on what you are expecting. We have sailed several of the S class ships.

If we hear an interesting tune coming from the atrium, we may do a quiet few steps if there is room, where ever we happen to be. ;) However, the largest dance floor in the sky lounge is small for a proper floor, is frequently taken for late night games (in our experience) and bartender flair competitions etc after an hour or two of music, which may be by a DJ, although occasionally live musicians. Quality of music varies and vocalists particularly.

We try and share the floor, particularly in the atrium, which may have live music, but is painfully small (and that staircase others have mentioned!). But sometimes it is not the space as much as the occasional dancers who have the need to dominate the floor with flashy moves (but the more you observe- often their steps may be quite limited). While such dancers can be entertaining to those watching, to those trying to share the floor-Agh! And since you have people from different countries, particularly in Europe or Asia, all may not have the same dance floor etiquette that others do.

 

All to say, while I have not cruised Cunard, I think you can make it a fun time on Celebrity, you just have to understand your expectations and whether or not they fit with the reality of the ship. I don't just cruise to dance, but I dance "anytime" I can! Hope that helps.

[cruisin4thedeepblue]

Thanks. My wife especially wants to be on a ship where we can dance some before dinner and possibly after too. We just came off the Oosterdam which we had sailed before and really enjoyed the ocean bar and crows nest for dancing, but that is all gone. The BB King band is very good, (loud tho) but you won't get any fox trots or rumbas. So we did not dance at all on the cruise and my wife was really disappointed. Heck, they really had no entertainment between 7 and 8! They lost our lounge dollars for sure!

We probably would be fine in the atrium. Just as long as the band is decent we will have fun. Is there a pool band? Holland had no band or really hardly ever had anything at all at the pools. The cruise staff was non existent

[cruisin4thedeepblue]

We have been on the QM2 and they know how to ball room dance. Live orchestra and a huge dance floor. We plan on getting on Cunard again when get a pretty good deal on her. :)

[wallie5446]

Hi, we are looking at booking the Equinox. We are ballroom dancers and was very disapointed on our last Hal cruise as there was no ballroom type dancing at all. Are you still on board the Equinox and is there still good dance music played?

Thanks

We are back on the Equinox for the 3rd time this Nov, there has been no ballroom dancing like on the Titanic :')

[cruisin4thedeepblue]

Funny. We don't expect that but there was some dancing? Glad it's not like the Titanic..we don't want to sink while we are dancing!

[wallie5446]

Funny. We don't expect that but there was some dancing? Glad it's not like the Titanic..we don't want to sink while we are dancing!

There has been 'some' going on in diff areas. One night we danced till the cows came home to a Beatles tribute band, Rock n Roll! No glidein across the dance floor, lots of shakin :eek: going on.

 

In the Ensemble Lounge there is no dance floor, but this is where they have the baby grand and normally a smooth jazz group. We had Ray Brown Jr one cruise. People did move the chairs and slowly sway between the folks going n coming from the speciality restaurants?

 

The main Atrium on deck 3 will have something different happening every night that people are dancing to before and after a pop up show by the entertainment staff.