Dance themed cruise holidays offer a great opportunity to sharpen, improve and even learn new dance skills at sea. There are usually one or more venues on a ship that offer you a chance to dance and most ships feature a variety of music, so everyone can find their favourite type of music to dance to.
Classic cruise liners were designed for the formal cruiser who wanted to dress up for dinner and then dance the night away so have ballrooms that cater to dancers. Newer ships often have more bars and clubs, but the dance floor size might be limited. In addition, today's cruise ships have so many onboard activities to choose from that dancing is only one option of many to choose on your holiday.
Cruise passenger profiles have changed dramatically over the last couple of decades with prices remaining relatively flat as more ships have been built. Cruise holidays have become an increasingly popular option with guests looking for lots of variety in shipboard activities, ports of call, dining options, and onboard music. Today's cruiser is often very active, and dancing has become a favourite way to exercise onboard.
There are several options for passengers who have limited dancing ability and many guests will also be inexperienced so you can expect to have fun together learning new steps. Many ships offer dance lessons on board, so you can take lessons and try out what you've learned all in the same trip.
Being single doesn't prevent you from dancing at sea. Many cruise ships feature a dance host program. These dance hosts usually get to sail for free in exchange for serving as dance partners for single women (and sometimes men) on board. Tour companies that specialise in dance-themed trips also sometimes provide dance hosts as part of their tour package.
Onboard dance facilities vary greatly among ships with some of the classic liners offering good dance floors and great dance music. It is difficult to judge how good the dance facilities will be by the age or the size of the ship or even the cruise line brochures. The good thing is that almost all cruise ships have dance opportunities of some sort, but the frequency, music variety and facilities can vary from ship to ship, not just amongst cruise lines. If dancing is very important to you, work with your cruise agent to research the dance options among cruise ships as you may need to contact the ship to clarify exactly what is available. If a ship has dance hosts or dance-themed cruises, it is probably serious about attracting dancers but the disadvantage will be thats ometimes dance-themed cruises are so popular with dancers that you can't find a spot on the dance floor! Cruises with a "big band" or other music theme will also attract many dance lovers.
Most cruise ships have dancing available from three to five hours daily, with a wide variety of music scattered in the lounges and rooms throughout the ship. Most have wood floors, but some of the floors are elevated, not flat. Many have dance hosts, but sometimes they are only on "selected sailings".
Before you book any cruise holidays, decide if you want a dance-themed cruise, a cruise dance tour, or just good opportunities to dance onboard and don't forget to pack your favourite dancing shoes!