Piano Bar- What's the appeal?

[SpringBreakMom]

I have seen lots of posts about how people love the Piano Bar. What is it that makes it so special? I must have missed it on my first Carnival cruise so I feel like I am out of the loop.

[mcfam5]

Piano bar's (on land or sea) are just a fun way to let loose, have a few drinks and belt out a few classic tunes with your fellow bar mates. It is an interactive experience, a few steps down from karaoke. I love me some Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, etc.!!!

[SpringBreakMom]

So is it kind of a sing-a-long?

[mcfam5]

Yes it is a sing-a-long bar. The piano player will take request and most people in attendance will sing along! Lots of fun!

[golfadj]

Some of the musicians are better than others butr a good one sure makes the cruise more fun.

[soccersharon]

Brad Alexander was fantastic! We had a GREAT time with him on the Liberty in November!

[Lexi03]

It's something that you can't imagine if you haven't experienced it. If you have a good player and a good crowd it is awesome. Everyone can request songs and the whole bar will sing along. It is better than kareoke for me because you get to sing along but not in front of everyone! :p

[SpringBreakMom]

Sounds like such fun, I can't wait!

[frito58]

Some of the musicians are better than others butr a good one sure makes the cruise more fun.

 

Ditto, we have been on cruises that we have went every night and had a blast , and have been on cruises , and it was like dang he sucked but might go once or twice for something to do.

[ricew001]

We went every single night that Wally was at the Piano Bar on the Carnival Victory in January. My husband is a musician and I love music so we had a lot of fun. With the same folks, you have "inside" jokes and "special" song lyrics and it really bonds you.

 

When we got off our plane in Charlotte, lots of other cruisers from the Piano Bar were there and we began singing those "special" songs. Loved it!

 

And there's always a waitress or waiter to bring you drinks....

[Time2CruiseAgain]

Hoping we have a good piano person on the Legend next week! We had fun on th Dream last year at the piano bar!

[ddloml]

When we sailed the Spirit we had an enjoyable time in the piano bar before our 8:15 dinner seating one evening. I don't remember there being any smoking in that piano bar - however it was early in the evening and there weren't many patrons there yet before dinner.

 

On our recent Elation cruise, the piano bar was definitely a smoker's lounge!:mad: We didn't spend much time there because we couldn't breathe!

 

Is smoking allowed on all the piano bars on Carnival? Or were we just lucky on the Spirit?

[ricew001]

Unfortunately they smoked on the Victory in the piano bar too. I had to leave only one night because of the smoke.

[DarthGrady]

I love a piano bar, I wish they could get dueling pianos going on the ships. When the piano bar is "right" it is a ton of fun. By "right" I mean a good piano man, a good crowd (with everyone between sober and black-out drunk), good sing-alongable music and plenty of audience participation. I have had some great nights in there when it all comes together. Unfortunately the whole place can easily fall flat. Usually its when the crowd is too sober/uptight or if the player isn't doing the right songs.

[CruiseDirections]

Brad Alexander was fantastic! We had a GREAT time with him on the Liberty in November!

 

Soccersharon- I agree with you, Brad was great on the Liberty last month. We had a lot of fun with him, the only thing that wasn't fun was all the smoke in the Piano Bar. There is no smoking around the piano but it is still very smoky, you would think they would have better smoke eaters in there.

[divetrash]

Oh, piano bar... how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... LOL

 

Seriously though, I love the piano bars because it it one of the most comfortable, welcoming and inclusive place on the ship, especially if you are on your own. As others have said it's a lot of fun when you have a good entertainer and a rowdy crowd in there singing along. I like to sing, but I would never inflict my singing solo on anyone, so no karaoke!

 

However, I have to admit, I do like to sit and listen too. So I also really enjoy the quieter piano bars that have a decent entertainer in them.

 

The Magic and the Splendor are the only totally non-smoking piano bars (well, the Splendor used to be, I don't know if it still is.) Others will not allow smoking around the piano, only at the tables and banquettes. It's usually a call made by the CD and hotel director, with some input from the currrent entertainer.

 

Go, have fun and cut loose a little!

 

Happy Cruising,

 

Laura

[SkyMaster]

I've been told that whether the piano bar is smoking or not, is totally up to the piano guy/gal. If they want it smoking, then that's the way it is. I pretty much agree with a lot of you, and LOVE the piano bar when the musician there is good, and entertaining, and there isn't too much smoke. I always stick my head in,,,,even if it's smokey, to see what's up. Sometimes it's worth "fighting" the smoke to enjoy the entertainment! :cool:

 

"SKY"

[jessemon]

Yet another smoking debate starts....LOL:rolleyes:

 

To the "OP"...

Piano bars on any cruise line is great. People are close together, having a few drinks and listening to musiic....What could be better or a better place to meet people....:cool:

[KruzinKat]

The best thing about the piano bar is interacting with the piano player and the other people sitting around the piano. The music is not that important to me.

[chillinvillian]

On my 1st cruise our room was right above the piano bar. There is nothing like being woke up to rocket man! From that night on we decided if you cant beat em join em and had a blast!

[Nvr2old2cruise]

We are taking our granddaughter on her first cruise (graduation) on 6/4 on Liberty. She will turn 18 on 8/12. Is the piano bar 21 or older? Will they kick her out if she goes in with us to enjoy the entertainment? Thank you in advance for your response.

 

Carol

[divetrash]

We are taking our granddaughter on her first cruise (graduation) on 6/4 on Liberty. She will turn 18 on 8/12. Is the piano bar 21 or older? Will they kick her out if she goes in with us to enjoy the entertainment? Thank you in advance for your response.

 

Carol

 

There is no age limit, but it's not a place for children. An 18 year old however is not a child.

 

Some of the players do get a little ummm.... "mature" (R-rated) with their content, but that is usually after midnight and most will announce it before they launch into their more "blue" songs.

 

Have fun and Happy Cruising,

 

Laura

[bbmom2boys]

Of our 6 cruises Duane the piano man on our Sept 2009 Liberty cruise was one of the best memories we have ever had! By the second night the scene was straight out of a "Cheers" episode! We knew each other by name the place was standing room only and we be-lined from dinner to get our seats at the bar. Duane would encourage us(the crowd at the bar) to be the "beat" behind his piano so we banged on the bar with our hands to the beat! Duane was and will never be a great singer and that did not matter at all!

 

On the contrast side...we sailed on the Dream in January of this year and the guy was AWFUL! He did NOT want to be there and he was vocal about that! There was one lady he flirted with so as soon as she came around he had to take a "break" which was a blessing because it was painful!

 

Hoping for Duane on the Freedom September 23rd!

[mcfam5]

We spend quite a bit of time in the piano bar whenever we sail but one thing struck me as funny this past time (2 weeks ago on the Legend) that we have NEVER experienced before. A few of the nights we went in to the piano bar there were about 5 kids in there who were definitely under the age of 6. Sitting right at the bar. My first thought was, there was no room for adults to sit who presumably were going to be coming in and ordering drinks. Also, some of the music (IMO) is not for the preschool/kindergarten crowd.

 

It definitely changed the atmosphere of the bar and we left within 10 or 15 minutes on the night it happened. I have children of mine own who cruise with us, but in my opinion a bar (of any sort) is not a place for kids.

[AWCHIEF]

I enjoy the piano bars up to a point. Most people seem to have fun and enjoy the music. Eventually I just cannot breath and have to leave. I am looking forward to the mostly smoke free piano bar on the Magic.