Dance the night away with these cruise lines

Dance lovers will find a lot to like on cruise ships — whether your tastes run towards ballroom, club scene or taking a whirl around the open decks. Strap on your dancing shoes, the offerings on these cruise lines will have you on your feet and shimmy-shaking in no time.

Holland America Line: HAL has jumped on the dance craze big time with its popular “Dancing with the Stars: At Sea” program, tied-in with the hit ABC TV show. On all 15 of the line’s ships passengers can take dance classes and pair up with a member of the shipboard show team for a fleetwide completion. Dance pros and celebrities from the TV show are onboard six theme cruises this year.

Cunard: Those with dancing feet will be dazzled by this line’s ballrooms, done up with crystal chandeliers and wooden dance floors. You’ll feel transported back in time when you walk into the room for themed balls featuring a live orchestra. Dance classes are taught by pros, and gentlemen hosts are on hand to dance with ladies. But it’s not all about formal; Cunard’s three oceanliners also have discos.

MSC Cruises: Attracting an international crowd, this Italian line’s MSC Divina has a lively dance scene that includes daytime and nighttime classes — the floor in the Black & White Lounge gets packed for 8 p.m. lessons in cha-cha-cha and merengue. Two professional ballroom dancers give instruction. The disco sees late-night action and there are also casual, come-in-your-bikini dance sessions at the pool.

Costa: Dancing is a popular activity on Europe’s top line. Italian-style cruising brings opportunity to show off your ballroom style on large dance floors and a disco scene that goes well into the night. Dance lessons are part of the activities menu. Don’t miss the rollicking themed dance parties on the Lido deck.

Norwegian Cruise Line: Norwegian has some of the coolest shipboard dance clubs including the Bliss Ultra Lounge and outdoor Spice H2O, where topflight DJs spin tunes. Not to miss is the White Hot Party, where most people wear white. On the New York-themed Norwegian Breakaway, dance classes include opportunity to learn moves from The Rockettes (the ship’s godmothers).

Celebrity: The dance scene on this line’s Solstice-class ships includes lively Quasar discos. If you get tired dancing you can swing in retro bubble chairs. The Let’s Dance activities program includes classes in salsa, jive and other ballroom styles.

Carnival: Carnival dance clubs have funky themes, like Frankenstein’s Lab on Carnival Miracle. DJs are trained under a partnership with DJ IRIE, their catalogs deep – they spin everything from current dance hits to golden oldies. The line also offers a bunch of beginner dance classes on every sailing.

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