Champagne Pour.

[Oakman58]

When we took our first Princess cruise it was last year on the Diamond Princess.  When they did the champagne pour with the pyramid of glasses, they only pour a few bottles of champagne.  It seemed to be just a photo op event.

 

So my question is, was there ever a time when they poured enough champagne to fill all the glasses?

[karatemom2]

1 hour ago, Oakman58 said:

When we took our first Princess cruise it was last year on the Diamond Princess.  When they did the champagne pour with the pyramid of glasses, they only pour a few bottles of champagne.  It seemed to be just a photo op event.

 

So my question is, was there ever a time when they poured enough champagne to fill all the glasses?

 

Never seen all the glasses on the tower filled - it is just a photo opportunity. However, there are wait staff passing pre-poured champagne on trays to passengers attending the party in the piazza area while the champagne tower is going on, so people do get to have a free glass of bubbly - cheap though it may be!

[SCX22]

It all depends on how many people want the Kodak moment.  If there are a lot of people then there’s a chance that there will be the full waterfall effect.  I don’t go very often, but the last time I saw a full on champagne waterfall, was pre pandemic.  You can’t blame Princess because it’s a waste of their provisions of sparkling wine.  I never seen them serve anyone from the tower of coupes.

[dreaminofcruisin]

On our cruise in February we had some newbies along, so we went to it (otherwise we often skip it). We were commenting on how it does appear shorter than it did in our early days of cruising.... 

Or maybe it was just more special then .... ???? 

🤷‍♀️

[WonderMan3]

Word is that they are not doing this on Sun Princess.

[Thrak]

48 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

 

Never seen all the glasses on the tower filled - it is just a photo opportunity. However, there are wait staff passing pre-poured champagne on trays to passengers attending the party in the piazza area while the champagne tower is going on, so people do get to have a free glass of bubbly - cheap though it may be!

 

I have seen folks go through 5 or 6 glasses of the stuff being carried around on trays. It's not real good stuff but it (probably) won't kill you! We cruised with folks who don't book with a package and the wife makes good use of the free bubbly at that event and many of the morning and afternoon events at Effy. I don't think they will be cruising anymore and we will miss cruising with them a lot. Good folks.

[JimmyVWine]

3 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

was there ever a time when they poured enough champagne to fill all the glasses?

A Champagne Tower the shape of the ones built on Princess ships contain approximately 650 glasses.  In addition to the fact that the flow of Champagne can rarely reach the center glasses, at a rate of 12 glasses per bottle, it would take over 50 bottles to fill every glass.  Plus, due to the inefficiency of the way the liquid flows, it's not like the glasses fill at an even rate with the 650th glass being filled without any spillage or overflow of the other glasses.  So you are probably looking at a 30%-50% margin of error for overage.  Who wants to stand around for the length of time it would take to pour 75 bottles? And by the time the 650th glass was filled, the first glasses would be warm. The stuff they are pouring is hard to choke down at a proper 45F.  Once it gets to room temperature, it is best dumped into the nearest plant. 

 

Edited March 20 by JimmyVWine

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

The stuff they are pouring is hard to choke down at a proper 45F.  Once it gets to room temperature, it is best dumped into the nearest plant. 

 

Hey! What did those plants ever do to you!. I've won multiple bottles of their "champagne". The first one was "not bad". It was in 2011 or 2012 and we won it for beating the Liar's Club game. (Not only did we know what Zarf meant but told them it is not spelled Zaref. (They admitted that I was correct.) That was the cruise where I told an assistant CD he was going to make a great CD one day. (You may remember Matt O'Brien.)

 

I won one in Explorer's when we were seated near the stage and they did a small "mystery play". They asked for a volunteer to read some lines and I was the guy. (I did get a loud "aside" from an assistant CD saying "What the heck? You are doing it better than we are!" He was right. 😎) That one wasn't too bad either.

 

The other two ranged from "umm... well... Ok..." to "Oh, Hell No!". That last one got one taste from each of us and then went down the bathroom sink. I believe that one was the time I played "Champagne Hoopla" and actually put two out of the three rings over the bottle. (I had tried it one other time and was horribly bad.)

 

Like I said above, a friend drinks the stuff carried around during the Champagne Waterfall and I have seen countless others doing the same so, even though it's not suitable for someone with a developed palate, it is certainly suitable for the hoi polloi. While we have been know to observe the event it's usually just more to check out the people who bothered to dress for the Formal Night and those who don't. (We did have a cruise where a biker wore his do rag and colors but he was always clean, polite, and never foul mouthed so we considered him to be an ideal cruiser.)

 

I tend to drink Bulleit Bourbon or Single Malt Scotch or Irish Whiskey and am more likely to be found with a double, straight up in my hand than the bubbly being carted around. (I may do a bit of Red Breast drinking on our upcoming cruise.)

Edited March 20 by Thrak

[c-boy]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

A Champagne Tower the shape of the ones built on Princess ships contain approximately 650 glasses.  In addition to the fact that the flow of Champagne can rarely reach the center glasses, at a rate of 12 glasses per bottle, it would take over 50 bottles to fill every glass.  Plus, due to the inefficiency of the way the liquid flows, it's not like the glasses fill at an even rate with the 650th glass being filled without any spillage or overflow of the other glasses.  So you are probably looking at a 30%-50% margin of error for overage.  Who wants to stand around for the length of time it would take to pour 75 bottles? And by the time the 650th glass was filled, the first glasses would be warm. The stuff they are pouring is hard to choke down at a proper 45F.  Once it gets to room temperature, it is best dumped into the nearest plant. 

 

🤔 remind me never to ask you what time it is.

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

Hey! What did those plants ever do to you!. I've won multiple bottles of their "champagne". The first one was "not bad". It was in 2011 or 2012 and we won it for beating the Liar's Club game. (Not only did we know what Zarf meant but told them it is not spelled Zaref. (They admitted that I was correct.) That was the cruise where I told an assistant CD he was going to make a great CD one day. (You may remember Matt O'Brien.)

 

I won one in Explorer's when we were seated near the stage and they did a small "mystery play". They asked for a volunteer to read some lines and I was the guy. (I did get a loud "aside" from an assistant CD saying "What the heck? You are doing it better than we are!" He was right. 😎) That one wasn't too bad either.

 

The other two ranged from "umm... well... Ok..." to "Oh, Hell No!". That last one got one taste from each of us and then went down the bathroom sink. I believe that one was the time I played "Champagne Hoopla" and actually put two out of the three rings over the bottle. (I had tried it one other time and was horribly bad.)

 

Like I said above, a friend drinks the stuff carried around during the Champagne Waterfall and I have seen countless others doing the same so, even though it's not suitable for someone with a developed palate, it is certainly suitable for the hoi polloi. While we have been know to observe the event it's usually just more to check out the people who bothered to dress for the Formal Night and those who don't. (We did have a cruise where a biker wore his do rag and colors but he was always clean, polite, and never foul mouthed so we considered him to be an ideal cruiser.)

 

I tend to drink Bulleit Bourbon or Single Malt Scotch or Irish Whiskey and am more likely to be found with a double, straight up in my hand than the bubbly being carted around. (I may do a bit of Red Breast drinking on our upcoming cruise.)

Whatever happened to Matt O?

[startedwithamouse]

4 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

Word is that they are not doing this on Sun Princess.

Piazza

The heartbeat of the ship, the Piazza on Sun Princess reflects an exciting evolution, surrounded by a multi-tiered sphere of glass offering expansive views as well as a wide selection of entertainment every voyage. Here guests can continue to enjoy beloved musical acts and performances, as well as favorite game shows and an elevated Champagne Waterfall event.

[suzyed]

The "Champagne" is only drinkable if ice cold and mixed with OJ....even then, it's probably not worth the calories.   We won a tie breaker at Trivia once and they gave us a bottle...we gave it to the runner ups!

 

[WonderMan3]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

Piazza

The heartbeat of the ship, the Piazza on Sun Princess reflects an exciting evolution, surrounded by a multi-tiered sphere of glass offering expansive views as well as a wide selection of entertainment every voyage. Here guests can continue to enjoy beloved musical acts and performances, as well as favorite game shows and an elevated Champagne Waterfall event.

I'm just telling you what people onboard Sun are reporting in other forums. Two different passengers confirmed this. There was a captain's reception in the piazza but no champagne waterfall. One of them asked staff if this was a miss for that particular cruise and was told they will not be doing it on Sun. 

[cr8tiv1]

Maybe...just maybe...this event wasn't ready for Prime Time....EITHER.

 

aka sheldon cooper

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Whatever happened to Matt O?

 

Matt O' left Princess. He had issues with mental health and his perceived role on Princess. I don't have a FB account (sorry CC mods) but, if you do, you should be able to find his lengthy comments regarding his issues with Princess and his leaving for his own sake.

 

As for the Champagne Waterfall: I never really understood the appeal or the value but I realize that a lot of people really liked doing the pour with the Captain and getting the picture of them doing so. It's like the Baked Alaska Parade - something I don't understand and don't have any interest in but others do so I figure what the heck. As I said above, we tend to use the event as a people watching opportunity. Despite what many others say, we have seen quite a lot of "dressed up" folks hanging out and watching at this event.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

Looks impressive but I can't help thinking what a waste of champagne.

[leck57]

2 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

Looks impressive but I can't help thinking what a waste of champagne.

 

It's champagne that otherwise should be poured down the sink so don't feel so bad.

We've won a few bottles of that stuff over the years and other than the first bottle we tried, we usually just leave it in our cabin at cruise end. It is too far to bring it home and use as engine cleaner on the car.

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, leck57 said:

It's champagne that otherwise should be poured down the sink so don't feel so bad.

Not really.  It is bottles that would never be purchased in the first instance. So there is a teenie, tiny bit of savings here.  Not to mention freeing up the crew-hours setting up the darn tower.

[cr8tiv1]

It dates back to the glorious/elegant days of cruising. Now, the only ones to participate are the newbies, photo ops, and those wanting free champagne.  The problem is that the time is 7:30.  Without traditional dining times, it is in the heart of dine times. 

 

Just like the Baked Alaska run. 7:00 in one dining room and 7:30 in the other (don't know about the third.  Interrupts those dining...

 

There are several events that have fallen off my list of to do.

[startedwithamouse]

22 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

I'm just telling you what people onboard Sun are reporting in other forums. Two different passengers confirmed this. There was a captain's reception in the piazza but no champagne waterfall. One of them asked staff if this was a miss for that particular cruise and was told they will not be doing it on Sun. 

This is from the Princess website. Anything else is hearsay. 

 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2023/11/sun-princess-will-mesmerize-guests

 

Sounds like a lot of things aren't ready yet. This may be one of them. 

[SCX22]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

This is from the Princess website. Anything else is hearsay. 

 

 

The Princess website showed all Sun Princess cabins having a sofa and a Nespresso machine.  We all know that didn't become fact.  The interior rooms don't have a sofa, but a bench.  Only suites got the coffee machine, and it's a Lavazza machine.  Princess reneged on Signature benefits for some cabin types.

 

Wouldn't be too quick to dismiss everything being said by those who have written about the Sun Princess.  Princess isn't known for being on top of their website.  I will concede that there's a lot not ready action on the Sun.

[JimmyVWine]

7 hours ago, SCX22 said:

The Princess website showed all Sun Princess cabins having a sofa and a Nespresso machine.  We all know that didn't become fact.  The interior rooms don't have a sofa, but a bench.  Only suites got the coffee machine, and it's a Lavazza machine.  Princess reneged on Signature benefits for some cabin types.

And let's not forget the the layout and décor shown in the mock-ups and sample walk-through Cabana Cabin compared to what the Cabanas actually got in terms of "furniture." 

Edited March 21 by JimmyVWine

[AZjohn]

8 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

This is from the Princess website.

Then it has to be true😁🤣

[Thrak]

Given all the comments regarding the phabulous Champagne... Does anybody have an actual copy of a current wine list with prices? Something that shows what is available by the glass and how much it is? I know the Plus fare offers wine that can be ordered by the glass that isn't simply called "Merlot" or "Cabernet Sauvignon". Even it is "Bob's Dago Red" it has an actual name and an associated price per glass. It's really annoying to ask for a wine list and be handed the "Plus" wine list that just lists generic labels rather than something that shows a name and price.

[beshears]

I did not read your postings here, but the ONLY reason I wanted to do the champagne tower (and I do not drink champagne) was because I did it "24" years ago! For myself, I posted my picture from 24 years ago pouring the champagne, as well as the one I took in February, and considering my age of OVER 75, most people thought I looked just about as good as I did 24 years ago, and NO, I had not had plastic surgery. It was just FUN to redo it again after all those years.