Ballroom dancing on Ryndam

[BearHug]

We are planning to cruise with HAL for the first time this summer to Alaska. One of our favorite activity is ballroom dancing after dinner. It is difficult to get any information regarding this activity from HAL site. If anyone has any recent information regarding this activity on Ryndam, please help. Thanks.:)

[Stevesan]

There is no formal "ballroom" dancing. However, there is always a small band (trio or quartet) in the Ocean Bar. It's very popular for pre and post dinner dancing. There's a mix of swing, waltz, rumba and the like.

 

Thw Crow's nest has a larger dance floor, but that's for later at night - usually recorded, more contemporary music.

[Krazy Kruizers]

None of the dance floors are large enough to have ball room dancing.

 

There are times when the Crow's Nest will have dancing at the dinner times. Depends on who they have hired to play there.

[peaches from georgia]

The Ocean Bar has a small dance floor and any ballroom type dancing we have seen has been there.

[wandb]

It is true that there is no specific ballroom dancing venue on the Ryndam---however, if you are as determined to dance as we are, you will make a way!! The group that was playing when we were on the Ryndam a couple of years ago were great---but few people were dancing, and they did not play the kind of music we love to dance to. So, between numbers, we went and "chatted" with the group. They were GREAT!! They did not know how to play any waltzes, but they "modified" some of their songs so we could dance. After the first song or two, several more couples got out and danced also. The dance floor is small, but if you gotta dance, you gotta dance!! They even came up with a couple of polkas---not really:), but close enough that we were able to dance and had a great time. Very few people danced to the original music--maybe one or two couples on one or two songs, but this "modified" music got everybody's feet tapping!! The band was enjoying it so much, that they had big smiles from ear to ear as they played. Between songs, they would put their heads together until there were nods and smiles all around and they would launch into another "lets try this out" song.

 

Dancing is one of our favorite memories on the Ryndam---and we have many GREAT memories from that special cruise!

 

B.

[RustaRoo]

You can definitely dance in the Ocean Bar. A word of advice though, dance for yourselves and look as though you actually enjoy dancing! A couple, we dubbed "Fred & Ginger" on the Panama Cruise performed every night before dinner. They never cracked a smile, were very rigid and frankly got very tiresome putting on their show every night. At least dance for the fun of it, talk to one another, smile - dancing should be fun! The Ocean Bar is no place to put on a competition-style ballroom performance.

[Stevesan]

You can definitely dance in the Ocean Bar. A word of advice though, dance for yourselves and look as though you actually enjoy dancing! A couple, we dubbed "Fred & Ginger" on the Panama Cruise performed every night before dinner. They never cracked a smile, were very rigid and frankly got very tiresome putting on their show every night. At least dance for the fun of it, talk to one another, smile - dancing should be fun! The Ocean Bar is no place to put on a competition-style ballroom performance.

 

i think I saw them on Grand Princess last year. They were ghastly!!!:eek:

[Golfette]

I guess this means there's no rock n' roll on the Ryndam, huh? No, I'm not joking. We're in our late 60's, but that's still the music that gets us going. How about on the Oosterdam - would there more likely be a little rock on that ship? Thanks!

[RustaRoo]

I guess this means there's no rock n' roll on the Ryndam, huh? No, I'm not joking. We're in our late 60's, but that's still the music that gets us going.

On my last two cruises (Zaandam and Noordam), there were a couple of 50s-60s nights that were extremely popular. The floor was always packed with old....er, seasoned jitter-buggers!

[Mary Ellen]

A couple, we dubbed "Fred & Ginger" on the Panama Cruise performed every night before dinner. They never cracked a smile, were very rigid and frankly got very tiresome putting on their show every night.

We had a similar couple 20+ years ago on a Royal Viking cruise - only they had smiles plastered on their faces. NO real emotion at all. Each dance, every night and the same frozen smiles. They really didn't look as if they were enjoying themselves - even if they were 'smiling'.

[BearHug]

Thank you all for your replies.

[Dance2Nite]

We are planning to cruise with HAL for the first time this summer to Alaska. One of our favorite activity is ballroom dancing after dinner. It is difficult to get any information regarding this activity from HAL site. If anyone has any recent information regarding this activity on Ryndam, please help. Thanks.:)

 

BearHug,

DW and I just returned from the 4/22 10 day Sea of Cortez cruise and we can attest that there is ample opportunity to dance on the Ryndam. Other posters are correct that the ‘dance floor’ at the Ocean Bar is small and really not suited for ballroom, Latin or swing, but we and three other couples regularly made it work for all of this. You will find the Manila Quartet playing in the Ocean Bar every night. We usually danced three of the four sets (5-6, 7:15-8:15 and 11-12). They are very accommodating and when they found out that we love to Rumba, we could always count on them playing a Rumba rhythm within the first two or three selections after we arrived. They even do a rendition of the “Beer Barrel Polka” (only one brave couple tried that once).

 

The Crow’s Nest has the larger dance floor, but the music did not attract us. Our two other HAL cruises yielded the same results – the Ocean Bar was the place to be for smooth and rhythm dancing. There is one word of caution, though. If the seas are a bit rough, keep your steps very short and compact. Otherwise, you will be humming and singing an adaptation of Carole King’s song when you say, “I feel the floor move under my feet. I see the sky tumblin’ down, a tumblin’ down”. Also, be careful with the irregular shape of the Ocean Bar dance floor and the 5” stage platform. You may find yourself doing a nifty bit of footwork to avoid a train wreck.

 

Don’t let the smallness or irregular shape of the floor keep you from dancing – go for it and enjoy yourselves. Dancing through life is the best way to go. As our ‘noms-de-plum’ indicates, we take every opportunity we can to kick up our heels!

 

Fair winds and smooth seas!:)

 

Ray & Kay – Dance2Nite