Female Dance Hosts

[oceansandseas]

 

I do not want anyone reading Cunard pages to think that the dance floor is for professional type dancing and then not book a Cunard cruise for that reason.  The dancing on Cunard is what I would call Social Dancing.You do not have to be a trained dancer to be on the dance floor. I hope everyone is aware of that.

 

My husband is a wonderful dancer and we originally came to Cunard (many voyages ago) as I LOVE to dance. Never had a lesson, even though I go to these so called dance classes that are being held on sea days. Too many people there and as my husband will not attend, never have a partner to practice with. Therefore do not expect to learn how to dance from these classes.

 

Sdance.....The hosts can dance with you.  However, a host cannot dance 2 dances in a row with a passenger. Also the host is to make sure that everyone that wants to dance has had their turn before he dances with the first dance passenger again. Now there are usually 6 hosts and one might be female. The female hosts also dance with female passengers. If there are 40 women wanting to dance, you will not have very many dances.  Each voyage is different in the number of passengers who want to dance who need a partner though. Also, sometimes the floor is very crowded. When there is a dance club that is cruising, the floor is usually very crowded every night. You can't go whizzing across the floor. I have seen videos of the dance floor on the ships and they are only partially full. However, on the voyages we take, the floor always seem to be crowded.

 

I have only cruised once without my husband. I tried dancing with a few of the hosts. A German man danced similarly to my husband. However the others were very hard to dance with and very stiff. I am only a social dancer, so maybe this is the way that it is. 

 

Lakesregion.....I believe that one other duty of the hosts is to accompany a bus when passengers go on ship's excursions. We have had hosts go on the bus just to make sure there is a Cunard representative on each excursion. In this case, do the hosts have to pay the same as all other passengers or is their excursion, gratis? I assumed it was.

 

[BklynBoy8]

11 hours ago, oceansandseas said:

 

I do not want anyone reading Cunard pages to think that the dance floor is for professional type dancing and then not book a Cunard cruise for that reason.  The dancing on Cunard is what I would call Social Dancing.You do not have to be a trained dancer to be on the dance floor. I hope everyone is aware of that.

 

My husband is a wonderful dancer and we originally came to Cunard (many voyages ago) as I LOVE to dance. Never had a lesson, even though I go to these so called dance classes that are being held on sea days. Too many people there and as my husband will not attend, never have a partner to practice with. Therefore do not expect to learn how to dance from these classes.

 

Sdance.....The hosts can dance with you.  However, a host cannot dance 2 dances in a row with a passenger. Also the host is to make sure that everyone that wants to dance has had their turn before he dances with the first dance passenger again. Now there are usually 6 hosts and one might be female. The female hosts also dance with female passengers. If there are 40 women wanting to dance, you will not have very many dances.  Each voyage is different in the number of passengers who want to dance who need a partner though. Also, sometimes the floor is very crowded. When there is a dance club that is cruising, the floor is usually very crowded every night. You can't go whizzing across the floor. I have seen videos of the dance floor on the ships and they are only partially full. However, on the voyages we take, the floor always seem to be crowded.

 

I have only cruised once without my husband. I tried dancing with a few of the hosts. A German man danced similarly to my husband. However the others were very hard to dance with and very stiff. I am only a social dancer, so maybe this is the way that it is. 

 

Lakesregion.....I believe that one other duty of the hosts is to accompany a bus when passengers go on ship's excursions. We have had hosts go on the bus just to make sure there is a Cunard representative on each excursion. In this case, do the hosts have to pay the same as all other passengers or is their excursion, gratis? I assumed it was.

 

oceansandsea,

My same sediments...

 

My DW and I are casual social dancers and are sometimes discouraged by the various styles and dancers with advance experience that takes up space on the dance floor. Also some sailings do attract groups that do cause a overcrowding of the floor.

 

Since my wife received very good lessons from her dear uncle of advance styles and steps, there are times I very much appreciate a male dance host asking her. And I so agree.

 

So the Queen Mary 2 Queens Room Dance Floor is for everyone to enjoy during their sailing on this magnificent vessel.  

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by BklynBoy8

[mcloaked]

14 hours ago, Dancer Bob said:

Just got off Costa Luminosa, with a large dance group including my silver/gold friends. More dance venues and better music than Cunard, even not counting group activities. The cruise staff do dance with passengers. The guys were not very good but were close to a half-century younger than Cunard hosts. A couple of the women were quite good at a pre-bronze level, good balance and poise.

My gold friend is talking about putting together an informal group on Cunard, but looking at itineraries/prices, I don't think it's going to happen.

Two very common faults, easy to spot- lady places her left hand behind the man's shoulder, which causes her to flop on the man, no backward poise, he has to carry her around. Lady turns her head to the right and pants in the man's face, causes her body to twist right, preventing the man from moving his right leg or making reverse turns. (Latin is less obvious, losing balance on turns). Hosts have to put up with this, You can get an idea of their competence by how well they cope, but you can't really see from deck 3. The hosts report to the Social Hostess, talk to her (I find the idea that you are your husband's property to be utterly ridiculous in the #MeToo era).

I believe at least one American agency is still providing hosts, as far as I know the standards are as low as ever. I agree with Lakesregion that few hosts have much money, I do wonder about the motives of the ones who can't dance.

Small groups are usually expensive and the hosts teachers trying to sell lessons. Not really fun to dance with and try to teach what I don't want to learn.

 

Interesting comments about the Costa Luminosa - Dancer Bob, how much of each evening on that cruise was devoted to ballroom (and Latin)  dancing with good strict tempo music?  Was the ballroom dancing in one venue or moved between venues during each evening?  I would be very interested to know - thanks. 

[Sdancer]

Are Westbound Transatlantic voyages (London to NY) usually more crowded on a dance floor?

Thanks! 

[oceansandseas]

 

Sdancer....there is no way of knowing which voyages might have more dancers. We usually take the double crossing. Some might cross one way.

 

I do wish there was a way to know if there was a large dance club on a voyage. Those voyages make the Queen Mary 2 dance floor seem very small.

 

 

[Tangoqueen]

2 hours ago, oceansandseas said:

 

I do wish there was a way to know if there was a large dance club on a voyage. Those voyages make the Queen Mary 2 dance floor seem very small.

I totally agree, we choose Cunard mainly for the dancing and fortunately in 14 cruises haven’t shared a cruise with a dance club.  The dance floor is often busy and we’d be disappointed if there was a large dancing group onboard.

2 hours ago, oceansandseas said:

 

[LittleFish1976]

5 hours ago, oceansandseas said:

 

Sdancer....there is no way of knowing which voyages might have more dancers. We usually take the double crossing. Some might cross one way.

 

I do wish there was a way to know if there was a large dance club on a voyage. Those voyages make the Queen Mary 2 dance floor seem very small.

 

 

And whilst it might be a large dance floor for a ship, it's not a large dance floor by dancing standards - not for proper advanced dancing. People need to remember that the dancing on a ship is primarily social dancing and to modify their movements and expectations accordingly.

[3HrTourist]

 

 

As stated in this thread, the focus of Cunard's dance music is Int'l Ballroom, which takes a lot of room.  It is very useful to know other compact styles such a Balboa, Salsa, WCS, etc. when space is at a premium(most ships actually).  I have a pretty good list of agents/clubs in the US that book dance voyages and can filter out Cunard trips if someone wants to look at dates.  Not sure that we can PM each other on this forum, though.   Also dance groups tend to reserve rooms for private dances when they are available, which is what we did on QM2 because the group that I was with did not do any ballroom/Latin.    

 

 

 

[Lakesregion]

On 2/20/2020 at 9:35 AM, BklynBoy8 said:

Appreciate your answer since we are in the same situation and my wife mentioned it just a day or two ago. Sort of in the same boat (ship)....lol......

Generally the single ladies who want to dance most every dance sit directly at the small tables ringing the floor. They are NOT reserved and many times couples will have one of these tables. I would suggest that you try for a ring side table with your husband as that will put you in line with the hosts. If you are ignored, no harm in actually calling a host over to your table and explaining that you would like to be put into the "line up" for particular types of dances. Do not be shy and you will dance dance dance.

[Dancer Bob]

I rate tempos +/- 10 % from competition as acceptable social, and include mambo, mazurka, WCS, etc if that's what the crowd wants. Costa's general policy is continuous music with two groups in the main lounge («Grand Bar») from 1800 to 0100, with interuptions for cruise staff paries, which include line dancing. Alternative venues vary, the larger the ship the more the choice. Overall, maybe 60-80% if you bring your own partner. More detail, we should probably move to the Costa board (lots of UK posters there).

Years ago on Cunard there would always be a couple of good dancers and several you could work with, but when Cunard joined the race to the bottom a while ago, the good dancers (like my friends I mentioned earlier) stopped coming. These days, I expect more dancing on Costa at far lower prices.

International figures can be kept compact. Unfortunately, many teachers ignore floorcraft, and it's difficult when your partner blocks your movement. It's American style with all its prancing and arm waving which causes real problems.

Expect the single women to complain, vociferously, to the social hostess about you stealing the hosts, especially if you are more fun to dance with. Several years ago a poster, I believe fantasy51, made some comments about this I cannot now find.

[3HrTourist]

Bob, Thanks for the very useful comments about Costa.  I may try them despite their poor reviews.  I was on a cruise recently that had dance hosts, but unfortunately a couple of them were so incompetent, that our group leader invited them to our lessons.  I still admire them as they truly attempt to dance with every idle follower who is in the room.  They are probably selected mostly for social skills and I would not disagree with this as a cruise is designed to be for pleasure.     

[Fred&Lily]

This is such an interesting topic that I'm chiming in here simply to bump it up and see what more can be said about the miserable job it is to be a dance host.  We met Dancer Bob somewhere, maybe the Costa Mediterranea which along with Costa Luminosa are arguably the two best ships for dancing. Not strict International Ballroom but certainly for American Social and Latin.  It's getting difficult to find a decent dance band on any ship but we've found Argentine Tango very useful because anywhere a piano and a violin duo or small classical trio is found in some out-of-the-way lounge we ask for Por Una Cabeza or Paloma Tango - with tips we soon own the band!

We're booked on the QM2 NY to Hamburg crossing M011 April 25th. Both Lily and myself are always happy to dance with singles.

[Sdancer]

58 minutes ago, Fred&Lily said:

This is such an interesting topic that I'm chiming in here simply to bump it up and see what more can be said about the miserable job it is to be a dance host.  We met Dancer Bob somewhere, maybe the Costa Mediterranea which along with Costa Luminosa are arguably the two best ships for dancing. Not strict International Ballroom but certainly for American Social and Latin.  It's getting difficult to find a decent dance band on any ship but we've found Argentine Tango very useful because anywhere a piano and a violin duo or small classical trio is found in some out-of-the-way lounge we ask for Por Una Cabeza or Paloma Tango - with tips we soon own the band!

We're booked on the QM2 NY to Hamburg crossing M011 April 25th. Both Lily and myself are always happy to dance with singles.

Hi Fred&Lily,

Too bad that I am not on your cruise since I am a solo dancer and first time on Cunard. I am one week ahead of you.

 

I am posting in reply to your "what more can be said about the miserable job it is to be a dance host."

It is definitely not a miserable job to be a dance host on Ocean Crystal ships. 

I was on three Crystal cruises (last one in January 2020) because Crystal had dance hosts to dance with.

Dance hosts on Crystal were treated very nice. Their job was to dance and to host dinner tables at the Main Dining Room  every other night (two hosts per night).

They ate at the same places as guests and could reserve a specialty restaurant for the same charge as guests (excluding a sushi bar at a specialty restaurant).  The only rule was that dance hosts were not allowed to have a dinner one-on-one with a guest. Crystal did not have a dinner buffet, only restaurants. 

Their laundry was done complementary by Crystal. 

Since all beverages, including fine wines, champagne, premium spirits and all non-alcoholic beverages such as bottled water, soft drinks and specialty coffees, were included for all guests, dance hosts were welcome to enjoy it too.

 

There are only two Ocean Crystal ships and dance floor on each is rather small. Very few guests cruise to dance and they are mostly women. 

The quality of dance hosts is hit and miss.

Lets see if dance hosts on Cunard are any better :).

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Sdancer

[mcloaked]

9 hours ago, Sdancer said:

Hi Fred&Lily,

Too bad that I am not on your cruise since I am a solo dancer and first time on Cunard. I am one week ahead of you.

 

I am posting in reply to your "what more can be said about the miserable job it is to be a dance host."

It is definitely not a miserable job to be a dance host on Ocean Crystal ships. 

I was on three Crystal cruises (last one in January 2020) because Crystal had dance hosts to dance with.

Dance hosts on Crystal were treated very nice. Their job was to dance and to host dinner tables at the Main Dining Room  every other night (two hosts per night).

They ate at the same places as guests and could reserve a specialty restaurant for the same charge as guests (excluding a sushi bar at a specialty restaurant).  The only rule was that dance hosts were not allowed to have a dinner one-on-one with a guest. Crystal did not have a dinner buffet, only restaurants. 

Their laundry was done complementary by Crystal. 

Since all beverages, including fine wines, champagne, premium spirits and all non-alcoholic beverages such as bottled water, soft drinks and specialty coffees, were included for all guests, dance hosts were welcome to enjoy it too.

 

There are only two Ocean Crystal ships and dance floor on each is rather small. Very few guests cruise to dance and they are mostly women. 

The quality of dance hosts is hit and miss.

Lets see if dance hosts on Cunard are any better :).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dance hosts vary quite a bit on Cunard.  Some are dance teachers and can lead well for most of the dances.  However on any one cruise it is pot luck which dance hosts will be there. From what I have gleaned talking to hosts, most dance on only a few cruises per year for a week or two at a time. So across the year and across the three (currently) ships that Cunard have there is a large team of hosts and which you will get on any one voyage won't be known unless you know them personally and they can tell you which is the next cruise they will be on.  Some go on cruises as a paying passenger, and sometimes on such a voyage they are still prepared to dance with single dancers but of course will then choose when they wish to dance as opposed to being required to dance the whole time if they are an official host.  Either way hopefully the tradition will continue!

[Dancer Bob]

Another point- when the partner flops on the host and pants in his face, it greatly increases the risk of airborne transmission. I expect a professional teacher would understand this risk but not the average host.

[Dancer Bob]

I should have mentioned, a few years ago I was on QV, something airborne was going around, everybody got it handwashing or not. My personal observation, the hosts who were on tour every day and then went to the buffet with their favourites later as Lakesregion described, rather than getting plenty of rest, were the worst affected.

[Queenvee]

As a long-time ballroom dancer, solo traveler, I'll chime in about hosts and dance cruises.  As many have said, the dance hosts on Cunard are generally mediocre, from the perspective of a trained dancer.  They are there to dance with the women, chat with them a bit and allow the women to enjoy the music and dancing, regardless of how "well" they dance.  I think that's important to keep in mind, since the majority of people who want to dance with the hosts are not "dancers", although the "dancers" are more conspicuous by their steps and poise.  Being a host is not an easy job, since they are all of retirement age or older; the physical demands are much:  pre-dinner sets; dance classes; about 3 hrs of dancing (8-11); all of which include dancing with people of varying ability which may require a gentle pushing/pulling of their partners.  They take limited breaks, and it gets quite hot (I still remember one seemingly quite elderly British host who would put a crisp handkerchief against his sweaty hand so the women didn't have to touch his sweaty hand, but he nearly always had a drop of sweat hanging from his nose...)  They are considered (correctly or not) to be representatives of Cunard, so they have to be pleasant and sociable at all time - on deck, in the Lido, etc.  They share cabins with other hosts.  So, it's not as great as it sounds "travel the world and all you have to do is dance with ladies".

 

In terms of cruises with dance groups, I've been on three ships with groups - twice as a regular passenger, detesting the way they take over the floor and the seating area and once as a member of the dance group (since it sounded like a great idea - cruise with the group's dance hosts, plus dance with the ship's hosts).  One of the larger US groups is dancers at sea (google that and you'll likely find their web site).  They have a list of cruises that they'll be sailing on for at least one year ahead.  The one time I was a member of their group was enough to decide never again.  So-so hosts; annoying women (groups of women vying for the attention of the hosts, resenting anyone younger or better dancer, etc.)  Over the past few year, Cunard has evolved to be my cruise line of choice (i have two voyages booked for later this year) and I bring my dance shoes, go to the Queen's Room on the first few nights to check out the hosts, and then stop by once in a while during the rest of the trip.  I'm pleasantly surprised if I have an enjoyable dance and otherwise, am entertained by the music and the spectacle.

[lissie]

Just came off the QE sailing out of Australia. My background is 20 years a competitive ballroom dancer - but haven't danced at all for 18 months as my partner has been ill. We booked Cunard partly so  we could start dancing again in front of strangers because we're so bad now.  

 

It worked perfectly for that. On our particular cruise the dance couple were excellent teachers - taking a very mixed group from nothing to 4 basics,  3 new yorkers and a allamanda turn in 45 minutes is no mean feet. Even even had a lot of them in time to the music!  We didn't go to the classes to learn the steps - but to see if my partner could still dance for any length of time - he struggled at the start - but by the end of the cruise could do a 45min class yeah! 

 

There was sequence/new vogue some days -about 5pm - no hosts there - and the dances were picked by the participants (the English compere didn't know the NV dances - but that didn't matter - she got the right speeds). 

 

We danced most nights either before or after dinner - and observed the hosts. The one woman was probably the best dancer - doing both lead and follow - she did unfortunately do too much teaching on the floor - maybe that's what some want? Of the 3 men -  one was an excellent dancer (the partner of the female host)- one was an above average social dancer who was good with beginners. And one was so bad I would have refused to dance with him. His posture was so poor his right hand was sometimes in an  inappropriate place on the back-  he was out of time in quickstep and  nowhere close in Viennese.  

 

I didn't expect much - and my expectations were exceeded - the floor is lovely - but a bit small obviously. Most people knew the basics of floor craft. There were few American style dancers so the floor craft generally worked OK. There was one woman (passenger) who got drunk and tried to dance solo in the middle for the first few nights - but either she woke up to the hazard she was or she was told to stop - because she did.