Ballroom dancing on cruises

[mcloaked]

There have occasionally been posts which suggest that there should be less ballroom dancing on cruises, and on Cunard in particular. One recent thread included the same suggestion. However that is a preference that some people will request and argue for but let's have a look at some facts about cruises, activities and dancing.  Some passengers will have spent a lot of time training to be better at golf, and when on a cruise will enjoy going to the golf driving nets on deck to practice, and keep up their skills.  Other passengers will have a go at 'fencing lessons' despite the vast majority of passengers having no interest in learning to fence, or ever wanting to try it, but they don't suggest that passengers who do should not have that opportunity during a cruise.  Some passengers will want to go to the lessons learning how to do water colour painting, or to continue developing their skills in art via that opportunity whilst on a cruise - but I have not come across any suggestion that there should be less emphasis on art on cruises.  Others enjoy going to the gym, and using the treadmills, rowing machines and other facilities every day, or more than once in a day, to keep up their fitness levels that may have taken months or years to tune up.  Equally there are people who have spent years developing their posture, core strength, and ability to move in the most beautiful way to ballroom and Latin dance music, and even if they are not up to the level of world champions such as in the video at:

 

Ballroom dancers still get a great deal of pleasure in moving to the great music played by the ballroom orchestra, and some of the recorded music in the Queen's Rooms.  Dancers not only want to keep their skills up, but simply enjoy the sensation of connecting to the music as a couple sharing a passionate experience. Many non-dancing passengers love to watch ballroom dancing because they see that pleasure and it gives pleasure even watching.  However ballroom dancers only have this activity available at sea on a limited number of ships.  On the other hand disco dancing can be done on pretty much every cruise ship afloat - and indeed on the Cunard ships can be done every night, in the Yacht club on QV and QE - disco dancing needs no training, and little space - and indeed those who want to disco dance can do it every night - whereas ballroom dancers have evenings where the evening is cut in half by receptions in the ballroom, as well as some evenings where the ballroom is turned over to 'party nights'. 

 

On many cruises the ballroom dancing evening is cut by half in almost half the nights of the cruise due to those other activities taking up the floor. Most of the calls for reducing ballroom dancing seem to have come from those who want to do disco dancing in the ballroom, and yet the disco dancing is available every night anyway, so why is there a call to reduce the ballroom dancing even more than it has been already?

 

Equally there are other activities that people enjoy such as the casino. I don't hear any calls to reduce the casino availability on cruises from people who have no interest in gambling. There are many passengers who have no interest in the spa on a cruise - and again those passengers don't call for a reduction in spa availability.  There are short tennis courts on deck that take up quite a lot of space but I don't hear a call to reduce the options for tennis on deck. So what is it about ballroom dancing that some people feel they would prefer to have less available?  Not everybody goes to the theatre on board, but there are no calls to take the theatre away. I am trying to see the logic here? Anyone care to comment.

Edited August 3, 2020 by mcloaked
typo

[TheOldBear]

From what I have seen on QM2 - people 'vote with their feet' and the Queens Room has quite a crowd every evening.

[resistk]

Don't give Carnival any ideas or they will add even more cabins and make the ship even more top heavy after the last round of cabin additions that took out the photo gallery area and half the casino on the QM2.

Edited August 4, 2020 by resistk

[nybumpkin]

I'll probably get some angry, indignant responses, but here goes:

 

DH and I love big band, swing, Latin, etc. We enjoy ballroom dancing and don't go to the disco or the casino. However, when we tried dancing in the Queens Room on QM2 we were completely intimidated. There were too many people whirling their way around the floor who simply expected you to get out of their way and had no patience with folks who just wanted an enjoyable, albeit less polished, dancing experience. We retreated to our seats and later found our home listening to jazz in the Chart Room.

 

[MelbTone]

10 hours ago, mcloaked said:

There have occasionally been posts which suggest that there should be less ballroom dancing on cruises, and on Cunard in particular. One recent thread included the same suggestion. However that is a preference that some people will request and argue for but let's have a look at some facts about cruises, activities and dancing.

I'm a solo traveller and not into dancing (60 years ago we did country dancing at school and I was one of those who had a ribbon tied round my left leg as I could never remember which was left and right) but I do get a lot of pleasure from watching those who take to the floor (especially the gentleman hosts doing their stuff) and listening to the music.

[exlondoner]

13 hours ago, mcloaked said:

 

 

 

Equally there are other activities that people enjoy such as the casino. I don't hear any calls to reduce the casino availability on cruises from people who have no interest in gambling.

 

In fact the casinos on the Vistas were made much smaller, presumably because they are little used on the European cruises, and provided a good site for the single cabins.

 

 

 

 

 

[Camgirl]

17 hours ago, mcloaked said:

There have occasionally been posts which suggest that there should be less ballroom dancing on cruises, and on Cunard in particular. One recent thread included the same suggestion. However that is a preference that some people will request and argue for but let's have a look at some facts about cruises, activities and dancing.  Some passengers will have spent a lot of time training to be better at golf, and when on a cruise will enjoy going to the golf driving nets on deck to practice, and keep up their skills.  Other passengers will have a go at 'fencing lessons' despite the vast majority of passengers having no interest in learning to fence, or ever wanting to try it, but they don't suggest that passengers who do should not have that opportunity during a cruise.  Some passengers will want to go to the lessons learning how to do water colour painting, or to continue developing their skills in art via that opportunity whilst on a cruise - but I have not come across any suggestion that there should be less emphasis on art on cruises.  Others enjoy going to the gym, and using the treadmills, rowing machines and other facilities every day, or more than once in a day, to keep up their fitness levels that may have taken months or years to tune up.  Equally there are people who have spent years developing their posture, core strength, and ability to move in the most beautiful way to ballroom and Latin dance music, and even if they are not up to the level of world champions such as in the video at:

 

Ballroom dancers still get a great deal of pleasure in moving to the great music played by the ballroom orchestra, and some of the recorded music in the Queen's Rooms.  Dancers not only want to keep their skills up, but simply enjoy the sensation of connecting to the music as a couple sharing a passionate experience. Many non-dancing passengers love to watch ballroom dancing because they see that pleasure and it gives pleasure even watching.  However ballroom dancers only have this activity available at sea on a limited number of ships.  On the other hand disco dancing can be done on pretty much every cruise ship afloat - and indeed on the Cunard ships can be done every night, in the Yacht club on QV and QE - disco dancing needs no training, and little space - and indeed those who want to disco dance can do it every night - whereas ballroom dancers have evenings where the evening is cut in half by receptions in the ballroom, as well as some evenings where the ballroom is turned over to 'party nights'. 

 

On many cruises the ballroom dancing evening is cut by half in almost half the nights of the cruise due to those other activities taking up the floor. Most of the calls for reducing ballroom dancing seem to have come from those who want to do disco dancing in the ballroom, and yet the disco dancing is available every night anyway, so why is there a call to reduce the ballroom dancing even more than it has been already?

 

Equally there are other activities that people enjoy such as the casino. I don't hear any calls to reduce the casino availability on cruises from people who have no interest in gambling. There are many passengers who have no interest in the spa on a cruise - and again those passengers don't call for a reduction in spa availability.  There are short tennis courts on deck that take up quite a lot of space but I don't hear a call to reduce the options for tennis on deck. So what is it about ballroom dancing that some people feel they would prefer to have less available?  Not everybody goes to the theatre on board, but there are no calls to take the theatre away. I am trying to see the logic here? Anyone care to comment.

Very well said!

 

We were non dancers when we started cruising in our forties.  We loved spending time watching the dancers and listening to the music, spending nearly every evening in the Queens Room. 

 

Then we saw lessons advertised near us and started learning to dance, inspired by watching the dancing on our cruises. We love it, though we are not that good. We still spend our evenings in the Queens Room but now we get up to dance as well. 

 

On the other hand, we don't go to the casino, night club or play tennis or golf. However, you won't see us suggesting they reduce those areas, even though, compared to the dance floor, they are often used far less in our experience. There is room for all of these things and there are plenty of ships providing the things a Cunard ship does not have (such as water slides and climbing walls etc!).

[mcloaked]

13 hours ago, nybumpkin said:

I'll probably get some angry, indignant responses, but here goes:

 

DH and I love big band, swing, Latin, etc. We enjoy ballroom dancing and don't go to the disco or the casino. However, when we tried dancing in the Queens Room on QM2 we were completely intimidated. There were too many people whirling their way around the floor who simply expected you to get out of their way and had no patience with folks who just wanted an enjoyable, albeit less polished, dancing experience. We retreated to our seats and later found our home listening to jazz in the Chart Room.

 

 

I must admit that on transatlantic sectors the QM2 Queen's Room floor we have also found very busy, and it was the case that for us the least considerate dancers were those in booked ballroom group cruises who at the time seemed to feel that because they were a group that they 'owned' the floor. So my experience of QM2 ballroom is not dissimilar to yours - although on a cruise a few years ago where we did two transatlatics with a Caribbean sector in the middle, the Queen's Room was actually really pleasant once the large groups left when the ship got to NYC, and the inconsiderate dancers weren't on board.  So I guess the experience on the dance floor depends on which dancers are on board when you are there.

[mcloaked]

2 hours ago, Camgirl said:

Very well said!

 

We were non dancers when we started cruising in our forties.  We loved spending time watching the dancers and listening to the music, spending nearly every evening in the Queens Room. 

 

Then we saw lessons advertised near us and started learning to dance, inspired by watching the dancing on our cruises. We love it, though we are not that good. We still spend our evenings in the Queens Room but now we get up to dance as well. 

 

On the other hand, we don't go to the casino, night club or play tennis or golf. However, you won't see us suggesting they reduce those areas, even though, compared to the dance floor, they are often used far less in our experience. There is room for all of these things and there are plenty of ships providing the things a Cunard ship does not have (such as water slides and climbing walls etc!).

 

Keep up your dancing - it is one of those wonderful skills that can be enjoyed at any level from beginner to top competition - and the level you want to achieve is entirely up to you - though to dance really well takes a combination of training, experience and huge amounts of practice (practice at least ten to 20 times as many hours as lessons!), and learn from the best teachers to get the most progress.  Enjoy it when you next get back to the dance floor once dancing restarts after lockdown.

[mcloaked]

5 hours ago, mcloaked said:

 

I must admit that on transatlantic sectors the QM2 Queen's Room floor we have also found very busy, and it was the case that for us the least considerate dancers were those in booked ballroom group cruises who at the time seemed to feel that because they were a group that they 'owned' the floor. So my experience of QM2 ballroom is not dissimilar to yours - although on a cruise a few years ago where we did two transatlatics with a Caribbean sector in the middle, the Queen's Room was actually really pleasant once the large groups left when the ship got to NYC, and the inconsiderate dancers weren't on board.  So I guess the experience on the dance floor depends on which dancers are on board when you are there.

 

Oh and by the way the top level dancers are able to fit in with a busy floor, and use appropriately small steps and still dance beautifully, except when it really is shoulder to shoulder - but they are also able to extend and take larger steps as appropriate on a spacious floor to show their true skill at moving with awe-inspiring musicality when they have more room to move. If you are a beginner then the experienced ballroom dancers will move around you provided you stay near the outer edge of the floor. Kindness and considerate dancing shows the other dancers you are skillful in the ballroom, and that is appreciated by everyone else irrespective of their ability.

[Camgirl]

6 hours ago, mcloaked said:

 

Keep up your dancing - it is one of those wonderful skills that can be enjoyed at any level from beginner to top competition - and the level you want to achieve is entirely up to you - though to dance really well takes a combination of training, experience and huge amounts of practice (practice at least ten to 20 times as many hours as lessons!), and learn from the best teachers to get the most progress.  Enjoy it when you next get back to the dance floor once dancing restarts after lockdown.

Thank you mcloaked, we are very keen to get back to our lessons, and to be back on a Cunard cruise to enjoy putting inyo practice the steps we have learnt.

[Dancer Bob]

mcloaked is right. The technical term for moving around the floor is "floorcraft". It can be fiendishly difficult, but any social dancer who doesn't aspire to it is not a good dancer. (Competition/showdance is a whole different beast, but is rude and obnoxious unless the floor is empty).

The large groups I know about are generally mediocre dancers at best. American style, with much prancing and arm waving to hide mediocrity is partly to blame, but the good American style dancers I know can certainly practice floorcraft. The groups' "dance hosts" are usually teachers trying to sell lessons- showdance at its worst. The failure of the Social Hostess to speak up may also be mentioned.

Courtesy does work both ways. Depending where you are, it may be considered courteous for the slow/standing people to either move to the centre or remain on the edge. If you can figure out "stand right walk left" on the escalator, you can figure out the basic idea.

Many years ago, there would always be a couple of excellent dancers, and several I could work with. After Cunard joined the race to the bottom a decade ago, the good dancers stopped traveling. These days, unless I travel with a group, I expect to be disappointed, my last trip on QE was a complete flop. Several lady friends who should be Cunard's demographic, have also sworn off.

[mcloaked]

Yes - floorcraft - quite analogous to driving along a road. If everyone sticks to the general rules then everyone can go along quite easily, and faster cars can overtake the slower ones. Or a bit like walking around a shopping centre - most people can get to where they want to go without bumping into someone else along the way.  On a relatively small floor such as in the Queen's Room (at least compared to the generally larger floors available on land), having people in the centre as well as the edge often leaves no acceleration lane between stationary couples in the middle and slower couples on the edge so it works much better if slower dancers stay at the edge and leave the centre for couples moving more to overtake. Of course for roads and shopping centres when it is really packed then everyone is in a traffic jam and some days or evenings we have to accept are like that on the dance floor, especially on Gala Nights! Of course there are occasionally a few couples who will do a modern jive to every piece of music in the middle of the floor, and then if the music is really a progressive dance like a waltz, quickstep or foxtrot then couples can easily be blocked and unable to do the dance that the music calls for....  but most of the time that doesn't happen in reality!

[corporate services]

There are always some dancers who feel that they have the right to dance in full ballroom, competition type hold and dance at speed.  There is not the room in the Queens Room for this, in my opinion it is a social situation and dancing should be done socially.  I have been around ballroom dancing for many years, good dancers can weave their way around the floor (floorcraft) without charging at full speed and without their arms up and elbows out.  Arunas and Katusha are world champions and are beautiful dancers but I am pretty sure they would never consider dancing in full hold in a social situation.  The Queens Room is for everyone and consideration should be shown,  I have heard many people say that they felt intimidated and would not venture onto the dance floor because of 'better' dancers and that is sad.

[mcloaked]

2 hours ago, corporate services said:

There are always some dancers who feel that they have the right to dance in full ballroom, competition type hold and dance at speed.  There is not the room in the Queens Room for this, in my opinion it is a social situation and dancing should be done socially.  I have been around ballroom dancing for many years, good dancers can weave their way around the floor (floorcraft) without charging at full speed and without their arms up and elbows out.  Arunas and Katusha are world champions and are beautiful dancers but I am pretty sure they would never consider dancing in full hold in a social situation.  The Queens Room is for everyone and consideration should be shown,  I have heard many people say that they felt intimidated and would not venture onto the dance floor because of 'better' dancers and that is sad.

 

The better dancers are those who can dance with their frame when the space is available and move as space permits - there are times on most evenings when it is a full floor and dancing small is the only option, but there are other times on the same floor when there are a few couples only and dancing big is perfectly possible without getting in anybody's way. It's being adaptable and considerate as well as skilful that make for a good dancer! By the way Arunas actually only does competition dancing, and doesn't do social dancing! Katusha is possibly open to being persuaded in a social dance!

[corporate services]

My point was that IF Arunas and Katusha found themselves in a social dancing situation, that is what they would do.  I have seen world champion dancers on the floor in the Winter Gardens in Blackpool during social dancing sessions - or should I say general dancing sessions, but none of them were dancing in a competitive hold.  My husband was a competitive competition dancer, reaching quite a high world ranking level, but would never dream of 'dancing big' in the Queens Room, packed or not.

[mcloaked]

I guess everyone decides what they want to do on the dance floor. Of course it is perfectly possible to have full frame and dance small - they are separate things.  The ballroom frame (or Latin posture) is what gives the couple the right balance on the floor allowing movement in any direction being in perfect control at all times, and also allowing proper connection between the couple. The size of steps taken for any figure is independent of that. Of course if there isn't enough space to allow upper arms and elbows to extend and affects the other dancers, then good couples will let their arms down so as not to conflict as they move. Of course some couples just want to move around the floor to the music enjoying each other's company, and are not trying to show how well they dance, but not everyone is like that.

[DWhit]

On 8/4/2020 at 3:32 PM, mcloaked said:

 

If you are a beginner then the experienced ballroom dancers will move around you provided you stay near the outer edge of the floor. 

Interesting.  We live in the US, and they taught us in our ballroom lessons that for the travelling dances, the more experienced dancers go in circles around the edges, while the inexperienced couples should stay more in the middle, allowing the experienced couples to move easily around them.   But, I have always thought that is its more natural for the inexperienced couples to try to stay out on the edges.   Especially on a ship where many couples just want to have a special occasion dance, and do not want to get in anyone's way.  I know when we started ballroom dancing, we headed to the nearest corner.   

[mcloaked]

19 hours ago, DWhit said:

Interesting.  We live in the US, and they taught us in our ballroom lessons that for the travelling dances, the more experienced dancers go in circles around the edges, while the inexperienced couples should stay more in the middle, allowing the experienced couples to move easily around them.   But, I have always thought that is its more natural for the inexperienced couples to try to stay out on the edges.   Especially on a ship where many couples just want to have a special occasion dance, and do not want to get in anyone's way.  I know when we started ballroom dancing, we headed to the nearest corner.   

 

If that is the advice in the USA about inexperienced couples going to the centre, that explains a lot about what we have seen in the Queen's Room!.  For International style ballroom and Latin for travelling dances it has always been clockwise around the floor, and inexperienced dancers at the edges - even in the competitions where for example if you watch the Viennese Waltz heats you will see everyone going round the floor anticlockwise, with the only exceptions when couples gently move diagonally to the middle to do a few fleckerls and then gently join in the general flow around the room. Other competition dances with foxtrot or waltz can move against the flow but the standard of floorcraft is such that other dancers can do stationary figures or change choreography to continue flowing around the room even if in unconventional direction, Social dancing wherever I have been other than on the ships, has been keeping to anticlockwise movement, with less experienced at the edges since if everyone keeps to those simple rules then the floor tends to be ordered and not chaotic.  If people gather and don't move with the general flow around the room then it generally ends up with big traffic jams, and people can't go anywhere. With a relatively small floor having near stationary couples in the middle causes a lot of traffic jam issues and a lot of dancers are then stuck completely - in that situation we usually take small steps to the nearest edge and leave! 

 

It would actually be really helpful if they would announce two successive dances of the same style - for example "The next two dances will be slow foxtrot, the first for less experienced couples, and the second for experienced couples" - then the less experienced couples would not feel intimidated as much and feel they can get on with dancing smaller step sizes, and then the more experienced couples could move more in their session, and also for both the density of couples would be less and make it easier for everyone - and yes you would get less 3 minute dances but a better experience overall. Another thing that would be useful for Viennese Waltz, would also be two successive dances - one for International style and the other for American style (smooth) - the two often conflict badly on the same floor because in International style it is flowing always around the room apart from fleckerls in the centre, whereas American Smooth Viennese couples can stop dead and 'open out' which gives a complete barrier wall and anyone coming up behind doing International style finds an impenetrable brick wall ahead and has to completely stop until the opening out couple then regain some movement and carry on round the floor.

Edited August 7, 2020 by mcloaked
typo

[ilv4cruising]

Reading these posts have made me a little nervous about traveling on the QM2 for a transatlantic trip.  I've been planning a trip on the QM2 for years (to celebrate my first transatlantic 50 years ago), but due to COVID we had to cancel it for this year.  We hope to reschedule for 2021 or 2022.  I love to ballroom dance (although it has been many years for me).  However, I do it for pure enjoyment and not to pretend I'm a pro (or on dancing with the stars).  My husband has kindly offered to take lessons with me as he doesn't dance that much (chronic back pain due to a couple of spinal fusions).  Therefore we know he will be limited on what dances we will attempt (possibly foxtrot but keep it "basic/simple").  However, if people dancing expect everyone to dance like they have years of experience (and not just for pure pleasure and happiness) and will get frustrated with us for "being in the way" (yes we would stick to the edge of the floor), this will not only intimidate him but make him anxious to try to "keep up" (which has the potential for putting him into more pain than normal).

 

So now I'm wondering if it is worth the money (since I wanted to splurge on this trip). 

 

So my question is this.  For those people that have been on the QM2 and have danced, is there an expectation that you need to be a certain level?  Or do people dance for enjoyment?  Are dancers trying to "compete" and show off?

 

I would appreciate some insights.  Thanks,

Edited August 7, 2020 by ilv4cruising

[Camgirl]

I have only been on QM2 once, and not for a transatlantic. I have been on QV and QE many times. The floor was busy but we managed to dance a few times. I am always very nervous and easily intimidated on any dance floor. Im also extremely self conscious. However, we managed several dances every night on QM2, and always dance  lot on QE and QV. As I said before, we are relative beginners. 

 

You do sometimes find couples who want to show off and think they own the floor. We tend to avoid the dances they want to use the entire floor for, or avoid the times they are on the floor. Obviously the more static dances - cha cha and rumba - limit the more flamboyant dancers more to their own spot, leaving room for the less confident. 

 

Do book your cruise, there are usually dancers of every ability on the floor, including people who haven't danced before having a go with a dance host. Go out and enjoy dancing on the beautiful floor to a live band. What could be nicer!

[mcloaked]

Yes Camgirl is right.  On any cruise there is a mix of levels and confidence of the various couples and singles who come into the Queen's Room.  There are some periods when the floor is packed, and usually then we just sit and chat and watch. At other times the floor can be quiet and then even if there are better (not show-offey) couples on the floor it is perfectly fine to dance as a beginner since the good couples will be only too happy to move such that the less experienced couples can dance at their own pace.   If when booking you could try to find out if there is a 'dance group' on the cruise then it might be better to book a different voyage, since dance groups, at least in our experience, tend to be least considerate to other dancers of any level of experience.  The other thing is that there are a lot more less experienced dancers than experienced ones!  Usually the ballroom and Latin classes are well taught by top level Internationally trained couples, who have had high level competition experience, and although group classes are always aimed primarily at beginners, they also can be booked for private lessons that they will teach at any level that you want right up to competition level.  So I would agree - take the plunge once cruises restart, and you will most likely love it.  

[Dancer Bob]

DWhit is correct. The centre of the room does work better in the typically much larger and less crowded US studios. I've seen charts showing that but can't find any original sources. International style also has many more Reverse (Left) figures, which move towards the centre of the room. (To over-simplify, many teachers tell partners to stare at each other. This causes the follower to twist to the right, making left turns difficult and opening out easy. Bad frame producing mediocre dancing.)

It's the thought that counts. As long as someone is chugging along as best they can or being courteous according to local mores, I see no reason to complain.

Don't get me started on what the QR orchestras do and don't play.

Edited August 8, 2020 by Dancer Bob

[mcloaked]

Dancer Bob - it is all down to the skill and practice and learning process as to whether reverse turns are executed well or not. If done properly (!) then reverse turns should not be any more or less problematic than natural turns! If posture and frame are maintained correctly and movements done properly then there should be no 'twist' in either partner's body too. However not everyone has the time or inclination to practice and train to the point where frame and balance, as well as weight transfer and movement are all done well.  Certainly as you say the music played by the QR orchestras can be a little variable at times - and that has been a topic that evokes quite strong responses among our cruise dance friends too....   some feedback to the band leader and the MC in the Queen's Room as had an effect at times but not usually long lasting! But we have had reactions waiting to dance where there have been 6 or 7 Viennese Waltzes within an hour and a half, or a Cha Cha played every second or third song and some dances not played at all for a few hours, or multiple quicksteps in a single band set but not a single rumba, and so on. Some bandleaders are sensitive to the needs of the ballroom dancers, but certainly not all!

[Slow Foxtrot]

Mr 'mcloaked' posts some knowledgeable comments on ballroom dancing aboard Cunard and his suggestion to perhaps have two sessions for each dance is worth considering.  If competent dancers are frustrated by novices blocking the floor and if novices are intimidated by competent dancers then maybe this solution would satisfy everybody.  For instance there could be a simple Social Foxtrot followed by the international style Slow Foxtrot. Of course it would need a competent MC to make the appropriate announcements and make them clear enough for everyone to understand.  As someone who has cruised spasmodically with Cunard for over 30 years my own personal bugbear is the lack of knowledge of a simple Ballroom Quickstep!  So many dancers, upon hearing Quickstep music, immediately go into the corners and dance jive or rock 'n' roll or anything between - meaning that dancers who wish to dance a Ballroom Quickstep might as well give up!

That's when Cunard could do with a proper MC.  But don't hold your breath. 

Furthermore, as another poster has said ' the Queen's Room Orchestra' is no guarantee of strict tempos.  Some are excellent but quite a few leave a great deal to be desired.  With Cunard it is always the luck of the draw!!