Guests can now Rumba, Samba, Cha-Cha, Waltz or Swing into the spotlight in “Invitation to Dance,” the cruise line’s newest production show featuring guests as stars onboard Explorer of the Seas. Created in conjunction with Louis van Amstel, Emmy-nominated choreographer for ABC-TV’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and Cheryl Burke, two-time winner on the show, “Invitation to Dance” transports the world of professional ballroom dancing to the high seas.

Guests sailing on Explorer have the opportunity to compete for the honor of best ballroom dancers at sea. With the guidance of professional dancers, stylists and make-up artists, guests may just realize their true calling while on vacation.

Chosen during an evening of ballroom dancing at the beginning of each cruise, four couples are selected to participate in the “Invitation to Dance” production show later that week. The finalists work with Royal Caribbean’s professional ballroom couples to learn slick dance moves, attend costume fittings, and receive star treatment in preparation for their Royal Caribbean stage debut.  Showtime is an exciting evening in the spotlight for the dancing couples as they join the Royal Caribbean cast on stage and compete against each other for the applause and support of their fellow guests.

 

 

The grass is greener-and real--on Celebrity Solstice-class ships. Celebrity Cruises introduced the latest new Solstice feature - a one-half-acre real grass lawn called the Lawn Club at the back of the ship that will include a putting green, bocce court and an area where guests can relax with a picnic and feel the grass between their toes, as Royal Caribbean chairman and CEO Richard Fain put it, announcing the feature in New York last night.

Noting that, technically, it would be a lot easier to install artificial turf for the Lawn Club, Fain said that plastic grass "is not the way we do it on Celebrity." The mantra at Celebrity, he noted, is to provide an authentic experience.

"We are all very excited about this. Everyone thinks that this will be an amenity passengers will truly enjoy," said Fain.

The Royal Caribbean chairman even took off a shoe and sock to demonstrate that the grass really is real by running his toes through the grass on a piece of turf resembling that to be planted on the Solstice Lawn Club -- Tiff Bermuda grass, which is the standard used on golf courses, according to the Solstice architect.

The Lawn Club will also include the Hot Glass Show, another first in the industry, developed in collaboration with The Corning Museum of Glass; the Patio on the Lawn; the Lawn Club Shop and the Sunset Bar.

Celebrity president Dan Hanrahan noted that the Celebrity Solstice will be the first ship to have a groundskeeper when it makes its debut in December. He said Celebrity worked with the University of Florida and the ship's architect to develop the lawn, which both executives noted is an extremely complex task.

In fact, Fain said, the half-acre lawn, which is the equivalent of 8.2 tennis courts, adds 50 metric tons to the weight of the ship and the fresh water required to maintain it adds another 50 metric tons. And another 50 metric tons is added to the design to balance the load.

Celebrity today launched a new TV ad campaign, which features the Lawn Club, on Good Morning America and cable television.