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While waiting for the Fine Wine Tasting event to begin, my wife and I sat in the Good Spirits Bar waiting for the 2:45 PM door opening for the event. There was a live music performance going on that was not listed on today's list of events.
Ever since we attended our first live music performance in The Piazza on this cruise, we realized there were some significant problems with the layout of The Piazza. One significant problem can't be fixed as it originates with the design of the ship. The other problem could easily be fixed with a little effort by whoever of the crew is in charge of the stage placement in The Piazza. Keep in mind that this is not a deal killer for us. The Sapphire Princes is still my favorite of all Princess ships, but we generally avoid coming to events held in The Piazza due to lack of seats from which to see the stage.
The first significant problem is that The Piazza is way too small for the number of passengers on this ship and the amount of events that are held in this space. I don't know what the ship designers were thinking. Just about every time we walk through The Piazza, we see that every seat is taken. I don't know if people squat there all day, but it is almost impossible to get a seat, especially when any event is going on. Plus, The Piazza has very little seating to begin with. The Piazza has two massive staircases that plop right down into it which removes a huge amount of space for seating. Every Princess ship we have ever been on have two massive staircases in The Piazza, but that isn't usually as big a problem on other ships as The Piazza is usually a lot bigger with a lot more seating. Maybe that is because we've usually been on larger Princess ships that can afford to have a bigger Piazza.
An additional problem with The Piazza is that there is nowhere to sit on the 2nd and 3rd floors of The Piazza (Decks 6 & 7). In other Princess ships we've been on, they've had bars and restaurants on the upper levels right off The Piazza with some seating placed right up against the railing so that you can look down upon the performance. On this ship they have Customer Service and shops overlooking The Piazza on the upper levels. Thus there is no seating on those levels. You have to stand against the railings if you want to watch a performance from the upper levels. Whenevere there is a popular event in The Piazza, the railings of the upper level, and even on the two huge stairways, are filled with people standing.
On some of the other Princess ships we have been on, you could see The Piazza stage from ALL of The Good Spirits Bar, ALL of the Vines Wine Bar, and ALL of the International Cafe seating area that are all on Level 5, the same level as The Piazza stage. You could also see the stage from some of the seats at many of the bars on Level 6 & 7. This alleviated the problem of any lack of seating in The Piazza area itself. On this ship, only a small part of the Good Spirits Bar has a view of the stage and none of the Vines Wine Bar or the seating for the International Cafe in addition to no seating on the upper levels.
Alfredo's Pizzeria does have a lot of seating and a clear view of the stage. However, with the new Princess policy of turning Alfredo's into a pay instead of a free restaurant, they will not let passengers sit in there without paying for their meal. As a result, this perfect seating area for enjoying Piazza performances goes to waste and is mostly empty much of the day.
Princess could go a long way to fixing the seating problem without any changes to the design of the ship. All they would have to do is more the stage from where it is hiding between two elevators to under the starboard side stairway. That is where they had the stage on our last Princess cruise. In that location the stage can be seen by ALL of the seating area in the Good Spirits Bar and Vines Wine Bar which would greatly supplement the amoount of seating in The Piazza itself. Personally I would suggest they add some bar stools and bar tables right up against the railing on Levels 6 & 7 to add even more good seating space to The Piazza. We've been on Princess ships that did this which greatly added more good seating for viewing performances in The Piazza.
Above Left: View from the Good Spiris bar. Little of it has a view of The Piazza stage. But notice the stairway on the right. On our prior cruise,
they put the stage under that stairwasy which provides a view of the stage from all of the Good Spirits bar.
Above Right: View from the Vines Wine Bar. None of it has a view of The Piazza stage. But it would have some view of The Piazza stage if it was
under the stairway show in the photo. It is a somewhat obstructed view, but that is where my wife and I sat most of the time on our prior
cruise and enjoyed watching the performances that were held on the stage under that stairway.
Above left is Alfredo's Pizzeria. It has a perfect view of the current location of the stage as can be seen in the above right photo. But notice how empty it is. There is nowhere to sit in The Piazza and they won't let you sit in Alfredo's unless you pay for your pizza. Before the Princess new policy when Alfredo's used to be free, this was the perfect place to sit to watch The Piazza performances while enjoying a pizza for free. Alfredo's Pizzeria would still have a good view if the stage was moved to under the stairway.
If I can find somewhere to submit my suggestions to Princess, I'll do so. I doubt they would implement my suggestions, but it would tremendously increase the amount of seating with a good view of The Piazza stage and certainly increase how often my wife and I would be willing to sit and enjoy performances in The Piazza. Right now, few performances in The Piazza aren't so good that we'd be willing to arrive hours early to grab a seat or to stand up through the performances. Almost all of the bands that perform in The Piazza also perform at other times in one of the many other bars in the ship that have a huge amount of seating. Thus we just wait for them to perform in some other venue.
Thank you for participating in this entertaining and informative event, you will enhance your understanding and appreciation of premium wines by sampling a selection from our renowned million-dollar cellars. Due to the exclusivity of this event a $35+18% Gratuity per person Non-refundable fee will automatically be applied to your shipboard account. We look forward to your graceful presence. -- Alejandro Leo Diaz
They used Riedel Wine Glasses for the tasting which are the glasses that should be used for a fine wine tasting. Above right are my notes from the wine tasting. Click on any photo above for a larger and clearer image.
Click on each photo on this page for a larger and clearer image or click on the first photo for a slide show.
If in this report you see any typos, misspellings, factual errors or other types of errors, please let me know.
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