Dance Classes

Hi all

I'm interested in your thoughts (and you can add to the Poll above). My wife and I love dancing old time rock 'n' roll. So, when on board, we frequently attend dance lessons of various kinds. If it's rock 'n' roll, we may not learn anything new, but it's still a bit of fun.

However, do you, like us, find that the instructors try to squeeze in five or six moves in the half hour or so? The result is that, often, participants become confused and can't follow along. It's fair enough that it's only for fun. But chances are, the majority will forget anything they learned before they even leave the ship because each move was given so little time. (Bear in mind that, in land-based lessons, 45 minutes may be dedicated to just one move).

We're waiting on a reply from P&O asking if we can provide dance lessons on our cruise in August using a different structure: Every lesson would begin with the basic rock 'n' roll step. Then, we would teach only two moves. That allows time for everyone to learn the moves quite well and we can give one-on-one tuition where necessary. The next lesson would, again, start with the basic step for first-timers. Then two new moves would be learned.

For those who attend all classes (maybe four), they could find themselves with up to eight moves. On a print-out, participants would be given the names of the moves, brief descriptions of them for reminder purposes, and a tiny bit of useful theory. Because of the attention given to each move, participants would be encouraged to have fun and take their new moves out on the dance floor after the very first lesson!

I'm wondering if this seems appealing to any others who go to dance lessons?

A few months ago I was on the Pacific Aria for a 9 night cruise. I love dancing, and in particular partner dancing, so we attended all the dance lessons. The dance teachers are members of the Show dancers and not really qualified in teaching ballroom, latin or rock and roll dancing but love to teach a complicated routine which bears little resemblance to the dance they are supposed to be teaching. I found it fun, but nothing to take away with. More concerning, there was no places on the ship to actually partner dance at night, compared to other cruise lines. I will be going on RCI later this year, and the inability of P&O to look after people wanting to dance is a major factor in that decision.

Hi

Thanks for your reply. We did RCI in February this year (Explorer) and in March last year (Voyager). We found the dance opportunities very similar to P&O. That is, very dependent on the current band(s).

It's not usually too hard to find a band providing suitable music for rock 'n' roll. But for other styles, it can be difficult. On Explorer, the excellent band onboard did a good mix including waltzes, salsa, rock, etc. It allowed everyone to do their type of dance.

But, on Voyager last year, there were two main bands. Both were incredibly good in quality. But not suited for most types of dancing.

So, I guess, it's down to the individual cruise and the individual band.

Mark.

I offered to teach a tango on our recent cruise as my husband and I are qualified Latin and ballroom teachers. The dance captain was keen but they are told what they can do and what they can teach. Good luck.

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