What better way is there for a newbie ballroom dance addict to spend the Labor Day Weekend than dancing the nights away in the largest ballroom afloat with Dancers at Sea? As the smiling faces in the picture taken on the Black and White Formal night photograph attest to, there were many great minds that thought alike on this question.
A mere three months ago the only idea I had of dancing on cruise ships was the little bit I had read about dance hosts that were hired on some of the transatlantic crossing ocean liners. I imagined a few men in jackets or tuxedos being mobbed by hordes of women that wanted to dance with them. Certainly I had no idea that there was an organization that organized groups of dancers to travel together, with professional teachers and hosts at a guaranteed ratio of 1 host for every 3 single guests.
Intrigued by the concept I ventured out for my first dance cruise - a 7 night West Coast Ballroom Dancing Cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver, my home town. I had such fun that when I heard about a four night cruise from New York to Saint John and back, I couldn't resist signing up. For starters it was an excuse to visit my son in New York (New York, New York: Part I), get him to join me on the cruise, and then spend time seeing some theatre before returning to Vancouver - (New York, New York, Part II and Part III.)
Before I decided to take the cruise I did my homework, reading up on the ship from within the Cunard website. The Cunard line call the Queen Mary 2, the "grandest liner ever built." The ship can carry 2592 guests in "elegant accommodation". We booked a cabin with a small balcony. I thought that was pretty elegant since on my first cruise I only had a porthole.
Some other information from the Cunard site told me that in January 2004 the Queen Mary 2 took her maiden voyage from Southamptom, England, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her crew complement is listed as 1253, almost a 1:2 ratio of staff to guests. At 1132 feet in length the QM2 is only 117 feet shorter than the height of the Empire State Building.
But what is most important to me are the dance floors. I found mention of the G32 disco- "contemporary music with a DJ and live band," and then reading further, the Queen's Ballroom is declared by Cunard to be the "largest ballroom ever to sail the seas." And from the picture it certainly seemed that way.
The night before we were due to take the cruise I managed to get a ticket to see Burn The Floor. This incredibly energetic ballroom and Latin dance spectacular got me so fired up I could not wait to get on board and dance for hours each night.
On Friday, September 4th, 2009, we left downtown Manhattan around 2 pm by cab to go to the cruise-ship terminal at Brooklyn. The boarding procedure went like clockwork. These people are obviously used to getting 2500 people off and another 2500 on to the ship within a few hours but it is actually still quite amazing when one thinks of the logistics involved.
In spite of a line-up it took us less than half an hour to get through the immigration and boarding procedures, and find our way to our cabin. The cabin was small and compact but well laid out and it was great to be able to go out onto the small balcony and let fresh air into the cabin.
We knew that our cases would take a while to reach us so we set off to explore the ship and our surroundings. We found the spa where both of us hoped to have at least one massage. We also checked out the Golden Lion Pub where we were to meet for the 5:30 "get to know your fellow dancers."
This is the index of postings to my Travelblogue that documents my ballroom dancing-focused West Coast cruise in the Sapphire Princess from Los Angeles, California to Vancouver, British Columbia. I traveled with a group of ballroom dance enthusiasts led by Wendy from Dancers at Sea. With three hours of dancing every night,a dance workshop, excellent food on board and excursions to wine country en route, it was the perfect trip for a gourmet food and wine-loving , ballroom dance addicted, travel writer.
The nature of blogs results in the latest posting appearing first on screen, so that later events appear first. This Travelblogue index lists the postings in chronological order from pre-embarkation to the termination of the trip, as a guide to your reading.
Sadly it's time to call it a day and go back to the reality of every day life on land where I can't dance for three hours every night. At least not unless I find an equally enthusiastic dance partner!
I was up very early to watch as the Sapphire Princess passed under the Lion's Gate bridge to enter the Cruise ship treminal at the port of Vancouver. I had elected the disembarkation option of walking off the ship carrying my luggage as that was listed as the first group of passengers to disembark. I was a little bt concerned that it would be awkward to drag my heavy suitcase off the ship and through the terminal but I figured if I could travel to Europe, Asia and South Africa with it I should be able to handle a gangway.
So we had to assemble in the Santa Fe dining room with our luggage by 7:20.
I see those harbor lights... the ports of Seattle and Victoria
On Thursday, May 14th we arrived in Seattle and were moored by 9 am. I decided that I had to try out the gym facilities at least once since I lugged my workout clothes and shoes with me to California so I thought I would go there early before having breakfast. I was up at the gym area by about 7:30 and to my amazement there was not an unoccupied treadmill or elliptical machine. These baby boomers do not let a mere holiday mess with their fitness goals. I hung around for a bit admiring the view - its great to work out with a wonderful sea vista all around - and finally when someone vacated a treadmill I was able to get on it.
After a reasonably good workout I decided to check out the Horizon buffet, so after a quick shower, I dressed and went to have breakfast. It was still really cool - cold actually. We had had quite cold weather from Santa Barbara onwards. I guess it is not surprising for early May. Anyway the buffet was good- I found fruit, yogurt, and lots of coffee. I had decided that I would not bother with tours in either Seattle and Victoria, both cities that I had visited often before, and that I would try and get some writing done. I had a dance lesson scheduled and that was fun. Then I took my lap top up on deck and worked till it was time to get ready for dinner and more dancing.
That night the Sapphire Princess orchestra was playing "A Tribute to Big Band" in the Explorer's Lounge; a venue we had not used despite a slightly bigger floor than the Wheelhouse - because they always seemed to have stand up comics or trivia games going. It was actually quite nice. They played one set at 8:30 and then another was scheduled for 10:30.
In between the Cruise people held a "Passenger Feud Gameshow" - apparently like Family Feud- something I have never watched. Anyway to keep our seats near the floor, Carrie who was standing in for Wendy, suggested we wait it out. Raoul entered four of us as a team to play. I agreed to be one of the team members but luckily our team did not get selected.
We danced the second set and then most people seemed pretty exhausted and took of to their cabins. I have this problem that the more I dance the more energised I get - sort of like a wind-up toy that just keeps going instead of wearing down - so it took me ages to fall asleep with big band music running through my head.
Astoria and the South Oregon coast Wednesday May 13 The ship schedule stated: Arrive Astoria, Oregon 7 am - depart 5 pm.
When pre-booking my tours I decided that after three days of dancing and two wine tours it would be time to have a relatively quiet day, try out a Deep Tissue Massage in the Spa and catch up with my writing. That was wise planning as I was by that time three days behind in posting to my travelblogue. But the evening before, Raoul, Nancy and Dean had invited me to join them and share costs of a drive down the south Oregon coast to Tillamook. It took me about two seconds to decide that if I could change my Spa appointment I would join them. A phone call later and my massage was set for Friday , and I was up for the trip.
The view through my window showed a grey overcast sky so I decided jeans and layers would be wise. Raoul had rented the car so after assembling at the Passengers' Services Desk at 9 am, we disembarked onto the pier of a cold and very rainy Astoria and made our way through a series of market stalls to the rental car area. As Nancy observed ironically, the overhead announcement said it would be ”partially cloudy” but they neglected to mention that the other part was rain. Lots and lots of rain! It was very cold and wet but being from Vancouver, I found it nothing out of the ordinary.
Monday May 11The Gourmet San Francisco Food and Sonoma Wine Tour
Part 1. The Food
We docked in San Francisco around 8 am and were scheduled to depart at 10 pm that evening. I had chosen the tour that left at 8:45 and would be back to the ship by 4:45 pm, leaving time for a quick shower and change from jeans into dancing attire. Unlike Santa Barbara where we had to anchor out in the harbor, the Sapphire Princess docked at the pier so for this tour, this ticket indicated that we should meet at the tour bus on the pier. Hmmm... well I guess there will be signs and plenty of helpful cruise staff to direct us to the right bus.
After another 3 hours of late night dancing, getting to sleep after 1 am again, and needing to get up early for the tour, I figured that I would need all the extra sleep time I could get. So I thought it would be a good time to try out the room service breakfast. Unlike in a hotel, there is no extra charge for getting a continental breakfast delivered to your cabin. So I hung out the form requesting my breakfast at 7:30 and to my surprise the breakfast was actually delivered promptly at 7:30 - how do they do that with the huge numbers of people on board?
By 8 I was showered,and dressed, and with fruit, yogurt and a couple of cups of coffee in my tummy, my notebook and camera in my purse, and I was ready to taste and drink the best of San Francisco and Sonoma. We board the bus. This time our group was a little smaller- maybe 30 people including the tour guide, Jim, and John “from the office” who was called in to help with the in-city part of the tour. It is 9 am and we are eager to get going.
The tour guide is pacing outside the bus and checking a list. A frantic-looking lady gets into the bus and calls out “Have you seen Nick?” Nick apparently decided to go and get a coffee and is nowhere to be seen. The minutes tick by. The tour guide is pacing. Nick's wife is hovering. Eventually Nick saunters up to the guide, coffee in hand, blissfully indifferent to the fact that a bus-full of strangers have been kept waiting for him. I think that this is going to be another interesting day.
My son is driving me to the Cruise Terminal. We turn it into a family outing so my grand-daughter can see what a really big ship looks like. It's a short 1 hour drive along the highway to the cruise ship terminal at San Pedro from which the Sapphire Princess is to sail. We made excellent time until we got to the last turnoff to Harbor Boulevard where somehow we missed the turnoff. As, far too late, I yelled "go right, go right" we found ourselves driving onto a very very - yes very - long bridge to the opposite side of the harbor. I looked back with dismay as the Sapphire Princess rapidly receded into the distance.
To make matters worse there was a huge traffic jam on the bridge and the traffic appeared stalled. I had visions of missing the boat- really. Well, not really - since it was only leaving at 4 and of course we were there hours before.
As the two lines of traffic slowly inched forward and the minutes ticked by, I couldn't help but remember one day on a long ago family visit to Provence, when we were trying to leave Avignon. We kept missing the exit which was admittedly poorly marked and ended up driving over the same wrong bridge at Avignon at least three times. This made it into the family annals of travel stories, remembered with much laughter as our own special version of "sur le pont d'Avignon" at later family gatherings. Well hopefully history won't repeat itself with Keith instead of Bob as the errant driver. Keith assured me, and himself, that it should be simple to do a U turn at the other end and get back to the right exit.
We finally got past a stalled truck which was causing all the problems. the traffic surged and we rapidly found our way back to Berth 93. I handed my suitcase over to a porter and hoped I would see it again sometime soon. And then it was goodbye to kids and grand-kids and time for me to board. Considering the numbers of people that need to be dealt with in a very short time, it all went really quickly and I found my way to my port side cabin. It was great - not too many places for me to misplace things. The only flaw was the paucity of outlets for plugging in my computer and other chargers.
What better way is there for a newbie ballroom dance addict to spend the Labor Day Weekend than dancing the nights away in the largest ballroom afloat with 
On Friday, September 4th, 2009, we left downtown Manhattan around 2 pm by cab to go to the cruise-ship terminal at Brooklyn. The boarding procedure went like clockwork. These people are obviously used to getting 2500 people off and another 2500 on to the ship within a few hours but it is actually still quite amazing when one thinks of the logistics involved.
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