clairebearinaus

Yikes, ok, they're a bit hardcore over there, I'm scared! ;)

I checked the deck plans and there are definitely mini suites on Dolphin and Emerald decks marked as having a fourth, pull down bed. Hopefully it's in a configuration that will work for us.

Thanks

Oh ok, now I'm confused too. I thought I saw on the website that if you got a mini suite for 4 it came with a queen, a sofabed and a Pullman bed on the wall. Just wondering which wall, but maybe I got the wrong end of the stick.

If you've cruised in one of these, can you please tell me is the 4th pull down bed located over the main bed, or over the sofa bed in the living room?

Thanks

Not all trams in the "City" are free, which is what the poster said.

If the free city circle tram now travels within the new extended free area, then I stand corrected.

Yes, that was the bit I was referring to, apologies if it appeared I was arguing with everything you wrote.

You might be happy to hear that the signage for the free area has improved - it's printed all over the ground at stops - and they announce over the PA when you are about to leave a free area so no need to keep a lookout.

I just booked a repeat next year :D

This time 4 of us going to appease the two who missed out last week and haven't stopped harping on about it. (And who can blame them...)

It's 3 nights this time, but I'll be watching carefully for sales because it's pretty exxy, over $2000 for four of us in a balcony cabin. I might have to chuck it if the price doesn't come down but the 4 berths were selling out fast so I snapped one up and will worry about it later.

I'm sorry 6666oz but your information is out of date.

All trams in the CBD area are now free and have been for some time. This applies north-south from Victoria St to the Arts Centre, and from Spring St and through Docklands.

The free area is clearly marked at tram stops and here's a map:

https://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Images/maps/Network-maps/PTV_FreeTramZone_Map.pdf

Another for me: the family members who missed out last week were terribly jealous so we're doing a repeat next year! Plus it's semi-milestone birthdays for the adults.

11/11/16 Golden Princess: Sydney - Melbourne 3nts

The Dining Options information shows children 3-12 years at half price and children 0-2 free so the Crown Grill would be $12.50 for 3-12 year olds and free for 0-2 year olds.

They're going to regret that when they see how much my 12 and 10yos can eat! They put most adults to shame.

I jumped in to share my experience on the Golden to find it's already been quoted!

The pork belly dish isn't cured pork. It's a fairly common ingredient in Australia. Twice cooked (i.e. slow braised, then under the grill for the crackling) is lovely and works well with Asian flavours.

The Curtis Stone version was more traditional, served with some apple and potato.

My son complained that his chicken and leek pie had gristly meat, but he's a fusspot so I wouldn't take his review too seriously!

During my first cruise, last week on the Golden I was surprised to see a bunch of things in the Anytime Dining room which I'd been led to believe were inappropriate.

Shorts were one of those things, along with manky old jeans and rubber flip flops.

I must admit I spent about 30 seconds being mildly annoyed, having gone to considerable effort and expense to find 2 x new pants to fit my tall skinny DS, who grows like a weed and will no longer fit them when our cool weather returns. Then I remembered I was on holiday, and forgot about it :)

The scrambled eggs on most lines--horrible. Also desserts that look beautiful but taste like cardboard.

I've only been on one cruise but that sums up my experience perfectly.

I get a very mild version of motion sickness, just a faint headache and sense of lightheadedness if I try to read. On my recent cruise I really noticed the difference when I put a Sea Band on and then again in the morning when I forgot, and the feeling came back. They either work or are a very good placebo!

My DS is more prone to carsickness etc so I went the full gamut with him but like you wanted to avoid drowsiness, he is unbearably cranky when tired! So in addition to a Sea Band he had ginger/herbal based tablets during the day and just a Kwell overnight. He reported a couple of mild waves of nausea while indoors but they didn't amount to anything.

There was a lap pool?! I really should have spent more time exploring!

Our disembarkation from the Golden went very smoothly on Friday, though it was a little late due to the welcome curtains fanfare.

We were one of the first groups off, and carried our own bags, so this probably helped a lot. It was also a domestic cruise so no immigration and customs at the end.

We were asked to wait in the Explorer's lounge which was a) hot and stuffy and b) had no mobile reception even when tied up at the pier. I've learned my lesson and will hang around in my cabin or on an outside deck a bit longer next time and only move to the lounge at the last possible minute, and after I've contacted my ride home.

A small bottle of water was $3.50 and a 1.5l was $5. I think I'll BYO a slab next time if we're not getting the all inclusive package.

I bought the Soda and More package, at the bar next to the International Cafe before sailaway. I had to purchase a second time because the online purchase I'd made a few days before sailing hadn't come through. I was refunded for the double up, eventually after some chasing.

I did some quick sums in my head and worked out that to come out in front of the beverage package, I'd need to grab a coffee and a bottle of water in the morning, a couple of beers by the pool during the day, sunset cocktail and two glasses of wine with dinner.

It sounds like such a lot when I put it like that, especially add we're also bringing our 2 allowed bottles of wine onboard and doing the balcony dinner, but it's so easy to knock a few back when just kicking about on deck all day. The challenge will be getting my money's worth on the 5 port days.

I'm going to come home a lot fatter that's for sure!

Esilef I do hope you bought your ex a Golden Princess fridge magnet just to let him know you were thinking of him while having such a ball without him :D

Re: the ship being uncrowded. The people in front of me at the passenger services desk were trying to get their cabins shuffled around and were told the cruise was 100% fully booked. I did wonder if that was a lie to make them go away because Princess were still selling cabins up to the 27th. If it's true, then yes the ship feels remarkably uncluttered with all those people in it.

This was my first cruise, and I was travelling just with my 10yo son so we gravitated towards the pools and spent very little time on the lower decks. I also don't need or want much entertainment on a holiday, happy to find a comfy spot and do very little.

The cruise itself we could not have been more fortunate with the weather and sea conditions, it was smooth as anything, fine and sunny. The Sydney harbour sailaway, rounding the rocky cape of Wilsons Promontory and the sunrise sail into Melbourne (with curtains and helicopters!) were all spectacular. But you probably just want to know about the ship!

Courtesy of a lovely upgrade, thank you Princess, we had balcony cabin A523 on the Aloha deck. Convenience wise, the location was perfect for the two of us who gravitated towards the pools and the quick eats just one flight of stairs up. So easy to just grab a cup of tea whenever. We did hear some noise of scraping chairs and high heels on the deck above and while it didn't wake us up, I will choose one deck down, or well forward under the Lido deck cabins, for longer cruises. Our room was clean, comfortable and well serviced. They'd also decorated it for DS's birthday, which he loved.

The open deck areas are fabulous. There always seemed to be plenty of deck chairs and seating around the bars and eateries. Great to have the choice of open air or undercover (but still sunny) pool areas right next to each other. DS reports that the water was pretty cold in the outdoor pool. There are hot tubs galore and always space in one when needed. My favourite spot was up on the sun deck where I could supervise DS in the pool a deck below, and have a gorgeous view of the ocean but well sheltered from the wind, and half watch whatever was playing on MUTS.

Apart from stopping for a few minutes to watch a mildly funny magician en route to dinner, and grabbing some souvenirs, we didn't spend any time exploring what the ship had to offer indoors. The lounges all seemed nice enough with that dark wood maritime kind of ambience, not something I'd use unless the weather was foul.

We popped into kids club to register and it was officially declared 'lame' by DS, the 8-12 room is very small and focused around a TV, with a bleak little area off to one side with a bunch of playstations (I bring my children on holidays to get them OFF their screens!) and some pleasant but not very energetic staff hanging about. For future cruises I can see this as an evening babysitting option while having a relaxed adult dinner that isn't punctuated with a million "close your mouth while you chew"s, otherwise my boys will want to be out and about on the ship. According to the kids' club signage, there were 62 3-12yo children on board. My social butterfly DS managed to find most of them and by day 2 there was a small posse of young boys hanging out together in the pools having a ball.

Food - I should qualify this by saying I work in Melbourne CBD and live inner suburban so am spoiled rotten and my standards are very high. I found the whole food offering a bit 'meh', but I do understand the limitations the ship has in serving the kind of interesting and exotic food I like. Really enjoyed the MDR and in future will orient my day around dinner there and just snack the rest of the time. Both the pizzeria and grills' offerings looked very average, as did the hot food in Horizon Court. The salads, fruits, antipasti and pastries at the buffet and cafe were slightly more appealing.

More on the MDR - we had Anytime Dining - thanks to those here that recommended we switch - and just wanted a table for 2. First night we were there at 7.30ish and given a buzzer which went before we could even order our drinks from the bar next door. Next night we were there at 5.30 to make the movie later, and walked straight in. I could REALLY have done without being forced to get up and do the chicken dance after the bombe Alaska parade, but lots of people seemed to enjoy it.

There are 3 new standing menu items from Curtis Stone - pork belly, a chicken and leek pie, and osso bucco. My pork belly was nice but the crackling was hard/chewy and inedible, if I wasn't in holiday mood it would have been sent back. The Chocolate Journey dessert was nice, as was the prawn cocktail. DS was made a fuss of with a chocolate birthday cake and a rendition of Happy Birthday. I like the ambience and service of the MDR overall.

I was pleasantly surprised by the drink prices though there do seem to be so many opportunities to grab a beer ($7.95 Corona) or a cocktail ($13.95), it does add up and I'm considering the package for my big cruise next year.

Didn't meet any senior ship staff, only really dealt with whoever was serving me at the time and they were all perfectly polite and efficent, not at all intrusive.

Unlike a pp I was actually surprised by the lack of bogan behaviour, there were a few people looking worse for wear after dark on the second night but weren't doing anything annoying.

All in all a fabulous cruise and I am now officially addicted :)

Loved it. LOVED IT! I can't even process it all yet but will be back with more later. Tired too, after getting up early for the golden curtains. Very impressed that you started posting while we were still out there Esilef!

Thank you!

I'll keep my eyes peeled :)

Have you purchased your son a drink package? The soda packs are cheap and no bill surprise for you.

Yes I have thanks, and a Princess teddy bear :)

I'll look out for you too Esilef. my boy is very social and will be on the hunt for other kids to run around with. And I like your sense of humour, reading what you wrote about mailing your ex in another thread I think we might have something in common :)

I've really enjoyed sharing the buildup with fellow cruisers in this thread, and it's probably saved my loved ones from me boring the heck out of them! Not sure if it's the done thing on these boards but DS and I will be fairly easy to spot, and we'd be chuffed if anyone does recognise us and wants to come over and say hi. I'm really tall, 40s with long brown hair (sorry, that sounded like a personal ad!), DS is a lanky mini-me.

Happy cruising all!

Thanks Mic, I'd also rather he didn't explode!

I'm sure I read in a few threads on the main Princess boards that there is an MDR open on embarkation day, seems to be a bit of an open secret, with the staff reluctant to admit it. I'll check the patters and report back, but doubt we'll go, would rather be up on the open decks.

That's worth getting up for, thanks for posting!

(I'll be enjoying the spectacle from the other side of the curtains, what a great welcome home! :D)