Ballroom Dancing?

[Carnevale]

Having searched this forum I saw some posts that mentioned onboard opportunities for ballroom dancing on Regent however, when I contacted Regent, they said there is no ballroom dancing. Perhaps things have changed since the posts I read were posted?

 

We have cruised a lot as cruising has been a great opportunity to travel while also getting onto the dance floor for 2 to 3 hours a day. While we have been on many different cruise lines, we had stayed with Holland America for a long time given the dancing it offered. Sadly, HAL has moved away from ballroom dancing and is replacing its dance areas with a lounge pianist and have added a BB Kings group (which we truly dislike - we can't properly dance to what they play and they are extremely loud). So, we are looking for alternatives and, for our next cruise, have gone back to Cunard where we know we'll dance.

 

We have never tried Regent and are hoping to learn more to find out if it is a good fit given our interest in dancing.

 

If anyone who has been onboard lately can share what they saw by way of dancing (or no dancing as the case may be) we will greatly appreciate it. We know there are so many different cruising options and different personal interests and we want to try to find what will fit us the best. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

[Travelcat2]

We used to see ballroom dancing but not so much anymore. There is some dancing but nothing like you describe.

[kmcqueen]

We have seen some individual couples ballroom dancing on a couple of Regent cruises, but certainly nothing organized. You might want to look at Crystal as the one cruise we did with them definitely had a focus on ballroom dance (complete with "gentlemen companions") ;p.

[wntgoislnds]

No ballroom dancing last May/June on Mariner. There were a couple dance parties though with the Regent dancers and it was a lot of fun. We missed the opportunity to ball room dance and have lessons but we did enjoy the cruise very much.

[JMARINER]

There is no large area for ballroom dancing. There used to be a larger area in the Constellation theater in front of the stage, but they built out the stage. Also years ago at big parties they would also open the upper stage for dancing, that was a good size dance floor, but you had to be careful not to fall of the edge.

 

One the VOY and MAR there is a medium dance floor in the Horizon lounge that will work if not to crowded. The band will usually do request.

 

Back in the good ol' days, years ago, there were dance hosts and dedicated dance instructors too. (We miss you Dieter & Ilse)

 

J

[flossie009]

Specialist dancers from the Production Cast will occasionally give dance classes on sea days

[warburg]

Greetings, Carnevale. The only line that I can think of that has the space and inclination to have ballroom dancing sometimes is Cunard's QM2. I have not sailed on the other Queens, so I can't comment on them. The Queen's Room is the place where I saw this. It was a feature after Repeater's Parties and at other times, as well. There were dance hosts. Presently, dancing such as it is takes place in discos. Somehow I think this is not what you want.

[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.

[Caroldoll]

We have cruised them all. Do Crystal. That is the only one left for sure. On come of the Oceania ships on Marina and Riviera, if you come up to Horizons at cocktail hour and you have the right combo, maybe, but not for sure. Do Crystal.

[Carnevale]

Many thx for the great info. This is all very helpful info but it sadly tells us Regent might not be for us. We have cruised Oceania but were disappointed with the limited dance opportunities...same with Azamara. When on Crystal we had lots of dance time but we were often among the only ones dancing - a little lonely but we should try it again. We are doing our 2nd Cunard cruise soon this time on the QE so we'll see what that brings. From what we have heard it does sound like Crystal and Cunard may be for us. Regent just sounds so good otherwise!

[WesW]

Carnevale, on board, we also enjoy Ballroom dancing (especially Rumba, Foxtrot, East Coast Swing and occasionally a Waltz or two). We were on board the grand voyage from Jan-Mar this year and enjoyed ballroom dancing with the trio that played in the Voyager Lounge after 10pm. Ida would request a specific song to match the dance we wanted to do and they gleefully obliged. Ida, being Latina more often than not recommended Rumba, Cumbia, and Merengue. And on occasion, other Voyager Lounge couples joined in our Ballroom dance fun.

 

As flossie009/David & Susan point out in an earlier post, you do get a chance to get the entertainer's take on one of principal Ballroom dance steps during sea days. Frankly, their high energy during these very basic dance classes is infectious and make these fairly simple but helpful Ballroom dance classes fun.

 

JMariner--we absolutely concur and pine for the truly wonderful Dieter and Ilse. They were easily the best Ballroom Dance Class teachers we have had at sea and when practicing now at home, still use their Ball Room Dance hits CD they gave their Regent Ballroom Dance class students. We are Facebook friends with Ilse and on occasion she is active on FB--Isle has shared great snaps of Dieter and Isle together.

[Carnevale]

Thx WesW! We decided to book on Mariner as we could see some space where we thought we might be able to dance even if it means finding a time when it isn't booked and using our recorded music. Great to know we may have some other dance time with live musicians as well.