Various street performers in the piazza on deck 5 in the center of the Atrium make this area of the ship a fun place to have a drink or people watch. On our Mediterranean cruise on the Emerald Princess, the street performers included a mime, acrobats, stilt-walkers, pianist, violinist, and wacky comedians. Everyone seemed to enjoy the casual, almost impromptu-seeming, entertainment.
The atrium was also a good place to sit and use the Wireless Internet access, which is available in all common areas of the ship. A few electric plug-ins are scattered around for those who like to use AC rather than their computer batteries. Fees for using the Wireless are the same as for using the Princess' computers, but you don't have to stand in line and there is no time limit. Like most cruise ships, the fees are high and the Internet connection was sometimes frustratingly slow.
