Entertainment volume in Piazza

[Tedferg]

Old subject, we just completed a transpacific on the Royal. Great cruise, however, I must complain about the volume level from the entertainers in the Piazza. Could not hold a conversation with DW from two decks up. Also the hosts for bean bag toss and similarly in Princess Live - they have a microphone but still see a need to shout! Volume in main theater was OK.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Yep...it has gotten progressively worse, it seems.

 

 

[cali-croozer]

Yes, although I loved our cruise on the Royal, I was looking forward to quiet time in the piazza and there was little of that, except for early mornings. I was surprised they don't have most of the activities in another area. I enjoyed line dancing and zumba but felt we were the entertainment with everyone watching. Surely, there's an unused lounge that could be used for such activities. 

[wolfie11]

Well, at least it’s easy to find spots in the IC during Piazza “games” since no one can relax and chat while all the screaming and cheerleading is being blasted on all decks of the piazza and adjoining areas.

[SargassoPirate]

I just completed a post cruise survey and there was actually a question about the volume for shows and entertainers.  I've complained on every survey for years about over amplified shows and music.

 

On the Regal recently the P&E lounge had amplified music most evenings and it was difficult to hold a conversation with other guests - the whole point of a social gathering.

 

The Piazza noise was so bad that we avoided it anytime there was music or anyone with a microphone.  Over amplification does not overcome bad acoustics in a space like that.  The only exception was a Scottish piper in full regalia a couple of evenings

 

But, as long as people will sit there and take it, the cruise line has little incentive to lower the volume.

[PacnGoNow]

I hope all of you complained on your survey.

It is bad on every ship we habe been on. Worse on the Enchanted/Sky, as the piazzas are even bigger and constant games, dancing, etc.  Even crew complained, they couldn’t hear the orders.

 

The Sapphire is a smaller ship and less games going on with screaming, but when the singer or guitarist takes a break, they turn their backup, prerecorded music to a high volume.  We just leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[memoak]

All Royal class ships have so many venues around the piazza it is almost impossible to get away from the noise. A little better on Grand class but some band and hosts just seem to scream

[SargassoPirate]

2 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

I hope all of you complained on your survey.

It is bad on every ship we habe been on. Worse on the Enchanted/Sky, as the piazzas are even bigger and constant games, dancing, etc.  Even crew complained, they couldn’t hear the orders.

 

The Sapphire is a smaller ship and less games going on with screaming, but when the singer or guitarist takes a break, they turn their backup, prerecorded music to a high volume.  We just leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We either leave or don't stop by at all.

 

What I always wonder about is why people sit there and take it?

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 minute ago, SargassoPirate said:

What I always wonder about is why people sit there and take it?

It's a (long) variation of the whole "chair hog" topic.  Once you are able to actually find a seat in the Piazza you are afraid to get up!

[memoak]

20 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

We either leave or don't stop by at all.

 

What I always wonder about is why people sit there and take it?

One problem on Royal class ships is that many venues like pizzeria, sushi bar and Crooners are all surrounding the piazza  and the noise just goes straight up into the venues

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Old subject, we just completed a transpacific on the Royal. Great cruise, however, I must complain about the volume level from the entertainers in the Piazza. Could not hold a conversation with DW from two decks up. Also the hosts for bean bag toss and similarly in Princess Live - they have a microphone but still see a need to shout! Volume in main theater was OK.

I have written on this topic here more than once.

 

More importantly I have spoken with a CD/ED about it on one ship when ran into them.  The guy said he's always after the young sound guys to not go overboard.  But clearly they want the party atmosphere.  I also have mentioned it on post-cruise surveys.  But clearly they don't listen to little old me since nothing has changed. 

 

Perhaps the new Sun Class will be different since they have that theater in the round concept.  But I am not holding my breath.

 

The Piazza/Atrium was never built to have loud music pumped up and bouncing all over the place. 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

We either leave or don't stop by at all.

 

What I always wonder about is why people sit there and take it?

We do not.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

I hope all of you complained on your survey.

It is bad on every ship we habe been on. Worse on the Enchanted/Sky, as the piazzas are even bigger and constant games, dancing, etc.  Even crew complained, they couldn’t hear the orders.

 

The Sapphire is a smaller ship and less games going on with screaming, but when the singer or guitarist takes a break, they turn their backup, prerecorded music to a high volume.  We just leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think more of us need to seek out and complain directly to the CD/ED about this.  You could also try asking the tech in the Piazza running the sound system.

[trin880]

4 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Yep...it has gotten progressively worse, it seems.

 

 

And not adding fuel to the fire, some performances at the piazza were bad, bad, bad....Some classic or well known songs just should not be recreated by ship's band, regardless, and extra amplification was just making many people wince. 

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, cali-croozer said:

Yes, although I loved our cruise on the Royal, I was looking forward to quiet time in the piazza and there was little of that, except for early mornings. I was surprised they don't have most of the activities in another area. I enjoyed line dancing and zumba but felt we were the entertainment with everyone watching. Surely, there's an unused lounge that could be used for such activities. 

They used to do Zumba on the Lido in the mornings.  Now everything but dinner is in the Piazza it seems.

 

If you cannot tell by now from my posts - LOL - this is maybe my biggest peeve on board Princess now.

[PacnGoNow]

11 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

They used to do Zumba on the Lido in the mornings.  Now everything but dinner is in the Piazza it seems.

 

If you cannot tell by now from my posts - LOL - this is maybe my biggest peeve on board Princess now.

Zumba, line dance, etc is in the piazza on Royal class where the piazza is bigger.  The smaller ships or Grand, it’s more like in club fusion.

[PacnGoNow]

16 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I think more of us need to seek out and complain directly to the CD/ED about this.  You could also try asking the tech in the Piazza running the sound system.

We tried with the sound man on the Enchanted, it was lowered a little, but the next set was right back up.  Always a pet peeve of ours. 

[cr8tiv1]

The Grand/Gem Class ships…..used to have the party band play in the Explorer’s Lounge.  Now they are in the Piazza.  2+2…= ZERO !  Party band + dance floor are gone (both from the Wheelhouse and Explorer’s Lounge).  
 

Princess doesn’t seem to know how to fix things.  They wreck good things by making changes.

 

I feel so sorry for agents at Guest Services (that’s the name written above counter/aka Customer Service/aka Purser).  To be subjected every day has got to be OSHA violation.

[sunviking90]

Yes, it seems to be getting noisier. I’m not against having fun activities but they seem go over board with the constant “fun”. I actually avoid the piazza now except for early in the morning.

We just made elite, but we are taking our next cruise on HAL for a little peace and quiet.

[Britter16]

We walked out of the seafood restaurant on Sky cause couldn’t talk to each other. I wouldn’t pay money to eat in a disco volume venue.

[Carnevale]

On Discovery last week the volume was a significant problem in and around the Piazza. We tried different things to get it corrected and it was turned down but only by a small amount and not for all events/performances.  We also left almost all of the performances in the theatre very early due to excessive volume.

 

GS ignored our first complaint. We tried again. The 2nd agent was much better and put in a report to the entertainment area but they ignored it.  To her credit, the 2nd GS agent phoned to see if the entertainment staff had contacted us.  We also asked a bar mgr to get it turned down and he tried but came back to tell us that the sound tech said it couldn’t be lowered which of course is not true.  GS even tried to tell us they get complaints about it not being loud enough which is hard to believe.

 

We also reported this issue on the survey as we have done in the past but Princess never seems to listen to its customers (has the excessive volume impacted their ability to listen?). It’s our biggest concern with Princess and, after last week’s sailing, I am not sure we would continue to sail on Princess except that we already have paid for our February cruise.  If that one has the same problem then we likely will be done with Princess.

[MissP22]

4 hours ago, Carnevale said:

GS even tried to tell us they get complaints about it not being loud enough which is hard to believe.

I guess you have their answer. 😄

[SargassoPirate]

8 hours ago, Britter16 said:

We walked out of the seafood restaurant on Sky cause couldn’t talk to each other. I wouldn’t pay money to eat in a disco volume venue.

Good for you.  More people need to do that.  And let them know why you are leaving.  

 

 

[Outerdog]

I hadn't really noticed this problem before. But last trip on Ruby... Piazza was really bad. In one particular instance, the game was some variation of corn hole or whatever which involved pax tossing balls into a target. Each and every throw resulted in the host screaming loud OOOOHHHs into the microphone whenever the player missed. It went on for half an hour. It is so bad, the bartenders were complaining with customers and visibly annoyed. They couldn't work like that.

 

Second to this has got to be that annoying cocktail performance they make the bartenders do at Good Spirits. No one cares. No one. If you're not familiar, every day around 5:00 pm while everyone is getting a drink before dinner, the bartending stops while several cocktails are demonstrated and presented with frequent loud interruptions by a canned travel show playing on the monitors and loudspeaker. It's dumb. We sat through several of these mostly because we were seated at the bar. You could easily see the bartender was just over the whole extravaganza. 

Edited November 1, 2023 by Outerdog

[MissP22]

26 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

Good for you.  More people need to do that.  And let them know why you are leaving.  

 

 

They should be demanding a refund as well.