Cruising: Cruise ship hosts spend their days on the dance floor

For older men who know the difference between a Waltz and a Foxtrot, being a cruise ship host offers evenings in the dance floor spotlight and days in the ocean sunlight traveling to places they would have never seen otherwise.
"I've done well over 100 (cruises), including two 100-day world cruises, and I've visited 116 countries," says host David Larsen, a 64-year-old retired engineer from Florida.
It's not just singles (older and younger) that are looking for a whirl around the dance floor. Some married women with non-dancing husbands are as eager for a dance as anyone. Hosts have to be willing to dance with all interested ladies, regardless of skill level, age or marital status.

Thanks to the popularity of television shows like "Dancing With the Stars" and the number of older single or widowed women who find cruise ships an enjoyable getaway, the need for male dance hosts doesn't appear likely to wane any time soon. Some sailings have as many as eight hosts on board to take care of 20 or more single ladies.

"On a Europe cruise I had asked a lady to dance. She hesitated, then agreed and hobbled onto the dance floor holding on to my arm," remembers Ed Champy, a 71-year-old from New Hampshire who's been on more than 75 cruises. "We danced gently in place. She told me she was a stroke victim and said that I had given her a new outlook on life and that she wouldn't let her problem stand in her way ever again."

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