Dancing in General

Following the news of the forthcoming departure of Oriana from the fleet our options for cruising seem to have reduced. We tend to like the smaller ships ( yes, I remember when 76000 tonnes replaced 45000 tonnes and we all said ‘too big’!). We also like to dance and have enjoyed the dancing on Oriana & Aurora. We have also been a few times on Azura but thought the floor was small and littered with ornaments. We have been on Oceana and Arcadia but both were long ago. What I am asking is would some posters describe the dancing as they have found it on P&O ships ( include size & suitability of dance floor/ venue and whether music is only recorded or played by a live band)

Many thanks,

Steve

Following the news of the forthcoming departure of Oriana from the fleet our options for cruising seem to have reduced. We tend to like the smaller ships ( yes, I remember when 76000 tonnes replaced 45000 tonnes and we all said ‘too big’!). We also like to dance and have enjoyed the dancing on Oriana & Aurora. We have also been a few times on Azura but thought the floor was small and littered with ornaments. We have been on Oceana and Arcadia but both were long ago. What I am asking is would some posters describe the dancing as they have found it on P&O ships ( include size & suitability of dance floor/ venue and whether music is only recorded or played by a live band)

Many thanks,

Steve

Britannia has a dedicated dance floor (the Crystal Room). They had a live band and recorded music. Also dance professionals leading classes etc.

If u want the best dancing venue go on Queen Victoria.....wonderful ballroom with great band.

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If u want the best dancing venue go on Queen Victoria.....wonderful ballroom with great band.

 

 

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The question was specificaly about P&O ships?

Britannia has a dedicated dance floor (the Crystal Room). They had a live band and recorded music. Also dance professionals leading classes etc.

Totally agree, the Crystal Room on Britannia is a fantastic venue.

We are not dancers, but really enjoyed listening to the band and watching the others. The professional dancers were always on hand to give guidance.

Dancing aside, this is a great place to chill out after dinner if you don’t fancy the hustle and bustle of the other venues.

A good sized dance floor with comfortable seating.

Following the news of the forthcoming departure of Oriana from the fleet our options for cruising seem to have reduced. We tend to like the smaller ships ( yes, I remember when 76000 tonnes replaced 45000 tonnes and we all said ‘too big’!). We also like to dance and have enjoyed the dancing on Oriana & Aurora. We have also been a few times on Azura but thought the floor was small and littered with ornaments. We have been on Oceana and Arcadia but both were long ago. What I am asking is would some posters describe the dancing as they have found it on P&O ships ( include size & suitability of dance floor/ venue and whether music is only recorded or played by a live band)

Many thanks,

Steve

Hi Steve,

We also enjoy dancing and have been on all of P&O’s current fleet of ships.

We find it great for socializing and meeting up with fellow passengers that we have met on our previous cruises.

We agree with you that the best P&O dance floors are currently on Oriana & Aurora.Unfortunately its downhill from there on with the dances floors tending to be smaller with the atrium being used for dancing on Azura as on some other P&O ships.

There is no denying that the crystal room on Britannia is good in some ways but for dancers the floor is no bigger than on Oriana & Aurora.

There is usually a mix of music to live bands and cd’s depending on the ship you are on.

BTW, in our experience sometimes dancing to strict tempo dance CD’s can be a better dancing experience than dancing to a poor live band. :)

In short, regarding the on board dancing venues unfortunately we have to put up with what is currently available in the current P&O fleet.

On a positive note we usually make the most of our on board Dancing experience irrespective of what ship we are on and thoroughly enjoy it. :D

I know you prefer the smaller ships but for us we are eagerly awaiting details of the dancing facilities to be provided on board IONA.

Happy Dancing.:D

My problem with all the dancing venues is the amount of sequence dances they do. For folk who just want to get up and do a quickstep, waltz, foxtrot etc, almost every other dance is flaming sequence. On Oriana though, we did enjoy dancing to the lovely duo in the Crows Nest on a couple of occasions, but not ballroom dancing of course.

My problem with all the dancing venues is the amount of sequence dances they do. For folk who just want to get up and do a quickstep, waltz, foxtrot etc, almost every other dance is flaming sequence. On Oriana though, we did enjoy dancing to the lovely duo in the Crows Nest on a couple of occasions, but not ballroom dancing of course.

From what I've seen they teach the sequence dances during the day. So that is what they do at night to allow new dancers to join in with the more confident. At least everybody is going in the same direction at roughly the same time.

Yes but you have to know the order of the steps, which is hopeless for a straightforward ballroom dancer. we just get the impression it's just for singles, cos it's mostly women there dancing with the ballroom partners.

Yes but you have to know the order of the steps, which is hopeless for a straightforward ballroom dancer. we just get the impression it's just for singles, cos it's mostly women there dancing with the ballroom partners.

That is why they have the classes during the day.

No dance hosts on P&O (if that's what you mean by ballroom partners). The dance professionals, and the occasional member of the entertainment team, may offer to partner solo travellers.

Yes, have confused that with FRed Olsen. Sorry. But same thing applies with the sequence.

From what I've seen they teach the sequence dances during the day. So that is what they do at night to allow new dancers to join in with the more confident. At least everybody is going in the same direction at roughly the same time.

Yes that's correct they do teach the occasional sequence dance but more often than not they teach basic steps to Latin and Ballroom dances. Also, they sometimes offer Line Dancing lessons during the day but we don't do line dancing that's not for us.:)

As you say in the evening the dance teachers usually give the dancers an opportunity to dance the dances taught during the day. Also, they do offer to partner singles.

My problem with all the dancing venues is the amount of sequence dances they do. For folk who just want to get up and do a quickstep, waltz, foxtrot etc, almost every other dance is flaming sequence. On Oriana though, we did enjoy dancing to the lovely duo in the Crows Nest on a couple of occasions, but not ballroom dancing of course.

We enjoy both basic ballroom and sequence but find it far easier to do sequence on cruise ships due to the space available. As previously said everyone is going in the same direction at hopefully the same pace. On our recent Britannia cruise the "newbies" thoroughly enjoyed being able to dance the sequence dances learnt during the daytime lessons, with experienced dancers there for them to follow. It is possible to do very basic ballroom but with all dancers having their own routine it is sometimes like dodgems on the dance floor. Latin - Rumba and Cha Cha is easier as at least you can keep within your own dance space. The Crystal room is a lovely venue to enjoy the music perhaps before/after the theatre show.

My problem with all the dancing venues is the amount of sequence dances they do. For folk who just want to get up and do a quickstep, waltz, foxtrot etc, almost every other dance is flaming sequence. On Oriana though, we did enjoy dancing to the lovely duo in the Crows Nest on a couple of occasions, but not ballroom dancing of course.

We like Dancing Waltz, Foxtrot, and Quickstep and occasionally Rumba and Jive. But we also like Sequence Dancing.

Unfortunately all too often Sequence Dancing Is looked down upon for some reason.

It is quite common for some of the steps in sequence dances to be the same as in ballroom and Latin dances. So if proficient in Ballroom/Latin there should be no problem in soon mastering the average sequence dance and it works the other way too. Learn a few Sequence dances and it helps in leaning Ballroom Latin Dances.

Most proficient ballroom dancers also dance Sequence and when danced correctly the dance will look elegant and flow smoothly. Sequence dance competitions are held regularly where new dances are danced and judged. I and my wife attended one held at the Winter Gardens Blackpool and the ladies dresses and level of dancing was outstanding.

Also, it’s worth pointing out that we have found Sequence Dancing to be very popular on all P&O ships and generally Ballroom/Latin dancers get on fine with Sequence dancers as more often than not they attend the same type of dance venues.

So to put things into perspective although we do like ballroom dancing, we, like many others also like sequence dancing and therefore there should be an equal opportunity for both to be danced.

Jean, may I politely suggest that you take the time and broaden your dancing repertoire by trying the odd sequence dance; you may just enjoy the experience.:)

I recommend for starters the ‘Mayfair Quickstep’danced to Michael Flatleys Dance above the Rainbow. It’s always a floor filler.:D

We enjoy both basic ballroom and sequence but find it far easier to do sequence on cruise ships due to the space available. As previously said everyone is going in the same direction at hopefully the same pace. On our recent Britannia cruise the "newbies" thoroughly enjoyed being able to dance the sequence dances learnt during the daytime lessons, with experienced dancers there for them to follow. It is possible to do very basic ballroom but with all dancers having their own routine it is sometimes like dodgems on the dance floor. Latin - Rumba and Cha Cha is easier as at least you can keep within your own dance space. The Crystal room is a lovely venue to enjoy the music perhaps before/after the theatre show.

Yes agreed, very well put, that’s been our experience of dancing on board.(y)