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Posted by Sue Bryant Mar 19, 2007 |
Gentlemen who can dance, are sociable, community-minded and aged between 40 and 70 are in big demand on cruise ships, where there are always more single ladies than men. For this reason, a lot of cruise lines offer gentleman dance hosts, which for many single men of a certain age, could be the dream job.
Chicago-based company The Working Vacation, owned by Lauretta Blake, is the leading recruitment agency for gentleman hosts on cruise ships worldwide and is always looking for new recruits.
Hosts sign up for individual cruises through The Working Vacation, although many will spend several months a year at sea. The trip isn’t free – hosts pay a small daily fee of $25 to $28 on premium cruise lines like Silversea Cruises, but this represents an enormous discount on the brochure price. And although the criteria for gentlemen hosts are very strict, there are plenty of vacancies.
But, as the name suggests, this is a working vacation, not a freebie. “You must really like people,” says Lauretta Blake. “You have to be absolutely sincere and you must be able to dance socially.”
Gentlemen hosts are single gentlemen aged 40 to 70, gay or straight. Familiarity with dances like the waltz, quickstep and rumba is essential and you have to be comfortable walking up to complete strangers and making conversation. In addition to dancing in the evenings, joining in with shipboard activities and going on the shore excursions is essential. Needless to say, getting ‘involved’ with passengers is strictly forbidden!
Benefits vary from cruise line to cruise line but for the daily fee, hosts receive accommodation (sharing with another host, except on world cruises), meals on board the ship, a drinks and laundry allowance, air fares (in some cases) and shore excursions.
“Many of our hosts have backgrounds in the areas of business, law, finance, travel, medicine, education and military,” says Blake. “Most of them are retired or semi-retired. We ensure that our hosts meet the highest standards through referral interviews, personal meetings and dance reviews with professional dance instructors.
“This level of quality and integrity allows us to provide the cruise lines with hosts who are caring, outgoing, and excellent social dancers.”
Cruise lines offering gentleman host programmes include Delta Queen Steamboat Company, American West Steamboat Company, Silversea Cruises and NYK Cruises (through The Working Vacation, www.theworkingvacation.com). Others include Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Holland America Line, Crystal Cruises and Fred. Olsen Cruises.