Men dance their way to a nearly free cruise

By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff, 12/1/2002

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I should have listened to my mother.

Back in the seventh grade, I tried to persuade her to let me skip ballroom dance classes. But she would always say no, telling me that a man who could dance well was worth his weight in gold.

She was right, as usual. Today, single men who dance well are such hot commodities on cruise ships - where women outnumber men by a large margin - that they can sail all over the world virtually for free.

David Winter, 68, who lives in the Chicago area, has been on two around-the-world cruises and visited seven continents in the last 10 years. He just returned from 32 days sailing in the Mediterranean with nearly all his expenses covered, including air fare to Rome and the return trip from Lisbon.

''If you like to dance and you like people, give it a try,'' Winter said. ''It's a wonderful way to see the world.''

Cruise lines are also looking for people with other skills, including bridge instructors, chaplains, and lively speakers knowledgeable about art, wine, history, and other topics. In return for two to three lectures a week, the speaker typically receives free air fare and a cabin for two.

Susan Dellinger, 59, of Tampa speaks professionally on communications and has been a cruise speaker since 1988, sailing once or twice a year. She said she loves to travel and meet the passengers, but that the novelty has worn off for her son, husband, mother, and sister. ''They've already been everywhere,'' she said.

Jean Unsworth, a ''senior'' from Chicago, has parlayed her expertise on European art and history into a number of speaking tours on cruises. On a cruise from Lisbon to Athens, with interim stops in Spain, France, and Italy, she lectured on Spanish artists, Impressionism, the Italian Renaissance, and Greek sculpture and architecture.

''It is definitely a vacation, enhanced by the opportunity to meet the people to whom I lecture,'' Unsworth said.

Cruise lines take applications themselves for speakers, but many prefer to deal with agents who screen people for them and charge a fee for their services. Bramson Entertainment Bureau (www.bramson.com) and Lauretta Blake (www.theworkingvacation.com) are two well-known agencies.

Blake's Web site currently says she has openings for destination or port-specific speakers aboard Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody. Dellinger, who has worked with Blake from the start, said she believes someone who is a good speaker can handle virtually any assignment.

''It is better to have a professional speaker who does his or her homework on a destination than a dry, impersonable expert,'' said Dellinger, who recently spoke on Mozart and Strauss on a Uniworld waterways cruise through Hungary, Austria, and Germany.

Blake, who has been working as a cruise line booking agent since 1984, said she often ends up interviewing interesting candidates by phone. But she advised serious candidates to send in a video showing them speaking. ''That's what most of the true entertainers do,'' she said.

Blake also recruits Gentleman Hosts, her trademarked program that brings single men ages 45 to 70 aboard cruise ships to equalize the male-female ratio on the dance floor.

What she's looking for is sociable single men who are good dancers. She isn't interested in jumping and jiving, as my mom used to call my gyrations on the dance floor. Candidates need to know how to waltz, fox trot, rumba, cha-cha, jitterbug, and, most importantly, how to lead. To make sure a candidate is as good as he says he is, Blake requires new recruits to pay for an independent dance instructor to evaluate them. It usually costs $25 to $30.

Blake is very careful about her Gentleman Hosts. They have a uniform of sorts aboard ship (navy blazers, black tuxedos, and white dinner jackets) and wear no baseball caps or T-shirts. She points out that Gentleman Hosts are not paid to dance with female passengers, nor do they work for the cruise lines.

''They are volunteers who enjoy, and consider it a common courtesy, to dance with women traveling by themselves,'' Blake writes in one press release. ''They assist many ladies and passengers, but do not escort.''

In a telephone interview, Blake said: ''We have a strict code about no fraternizing. The men are not seen as escorts or gigolos. We cannot have that.''

Hosts pay a brokerage fee to Blake ranging from $28 to $38 a day depending on the cruise, and in return typically receive air fare to and from their home, a shared or single cabin aboard ship, all meals, a bar and wine allowance, a laundry allowance, and the chance to take shore excursions for free or at reduced rates.

Winter said he is usually identified as a host at the start of a cruise when the crew introduces itself to the passengers. He said the single women on the ship know who he is and why he is there.

''Most of the time it's a lot of fun,'' he said. But he admitted that there is the occasional cruise where hosting feels like work.

He recalled one cruise around the world aboard the Queen Elizabeth II, when there were 400 single women aboard, 80 of whom were interested in dancing. On that particular cruise, he said, there were only 17 unattached men, including himself, other Gentleman Hosts, and crew members who were competent dancers.

''It was like a production line,'' he said, chuckling.

Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com.