Holiday Aloha on the Golden Princess 12/22/10 to 1/5/11

Our last cruise was the Hawaiian round trip out of Los Angeles five years ago on the Island Princess, and ever since, we’ve discussed how we would love to do this cruise again. Since then, the 15th day and the port of Kona were dropped from the itinerary. Unfortunately, when we sailed in 2005, Kona was the one port we had to miss due to high waves that caused the Captain to decide not to tender there. Even then, we wanted to repeat this cruise. All those sea days on a Princess ship and Hawaii to boot adds up to a great vacation.

After the rough years that my husband has had since then, including his mother’s terminal illness, he certainly has needed a fantastic vacation. But he needed to feel ready himself; until then, he felt he wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself.

A couple of months ago, he asked me if I thought there would be available cabins for this year’s holiday cruise to Hawaii. I didn’t think so as back in 2003, we had tried to book this cruise and it was already sold out some months before. In the meantime, we'd decided to go with an Alaskan cruise the next year on one of the new ships. After that cruise, we booked the Island Princess 13 months prior to its 12/22/05 sailing date.

Even though I thought it would be fruitless, hubby suggested we could check it out anyway. I went on the Princess website and checked the avails for the Golden Princess, 12/22/10 sailing. All of the inside categories were waitlisted.

By then, I was thinking we’ll have to wait to go in 2011. After all, there were going to be two Princess ships doing the Hawaiian run. But we decided to check out the obstructed oceanview categories for this year’s date. Just about every category in this type of cabin was waitlisted, except one.

It was around 10pm by then, so first thing in the morning, I called and asked if there were any cabins available. Sure enough, E421 was. I had the Princess website up on the computer, with the deck plan page for the Golden on the screen. I clicked on the Emerald deck and saw that the cabin was midship (my desired location as this itinerary tends to have rough seas the first couple of days, and I tend to suffer from motion sickness). It also appeared from the deck plan that the lifeboats were to each side of the cabin, but not directly in front of it. But an obstruction wouldn't be a dealbreaker.

We said we’ll go for this one, but please waitlist us for the inside cabins too.

Days later, I got a phone call that an inside cabin became available. As I didn’t have the computer on, I asked where it was. Far forward. I said no thanks. Later on, I read the email that was sent at the same time, asking if we’re interested. I noticed that the price was higher than what we were paying for E421. Hubby suggested we keep the cabin we had, so after getting another email about an available inside, I called and said we’ll stick with what we have.

As this was our fourth cruise with Princess and we were still under 50 days, we would still be Gold. I told our daughter that she would be in the teen group now. Definitely she was happy about that. I also went on the websites for the four Hawaiian ports and ordered brochures.

Hubby had said he just wanted to relax and not even bother with shore excursions. Which was fine with me. I just wanted to go on the cruise. (We did three excursions the last time, all booked through Princess.) So I didn’t bother to really look at what was available on the Princess website.

I did check a few times to see what other cabins were available just for the sake of curiosity. There were still window suites – at a cost of about $5,000 per person. Was even less interested when I realized these were close to the cigar bar.

I had started printing out luggage tags and discussed with hubby the various options for reinforcing the paper. Hubby decided to paste the new tag over the ones to our previous cruise. I bought a package of plastic inserts (the type you use with a lanyard) and cut the Princess paper tags to fit inside.

We didn’t have flights nor hotels to be concerned about. But we needed to decide on how to get to the Port of LA. We wanted to bring more things than would fit in either of our car trunks.

I called a few shuttle companies to get a price on a vehicle with a lot of trunk space. We also wanted to avoid sharing a vehicle and having to travel all around to do so. The least expensive exclusive van was with Prime Time Shuttle so I made reservations for a pick up from our house on the 22nd at 10am, a time selected because I knew that there was a major construction project going on the 405 freeway. I also booked the return for the 5th.

Finally the time came to pack and do any last minute errands (going online to put a vacation hold on our mail, etc.). There was a fly in the ointment when my daughter showed me her thumb the night before the cruise. It had started hurting and now it looked like a spider bite on the really bad end of the spectrum. If I had seen it earlier in the day, I would have taken her to Urgent Care. By the time I saw it, the Urgent Care Center was closed or would be soon. I applied some antiseptic, hoping it would heal on its own.

Spent that last night trying to fall asleep, despite the level of excitement building inside. There was still some rain forecasted for, so I was extra glad that I had scheduled the 10 am pickup.

Wednesday, 12/22/10: Getting Onboard

This morning, in our entryway were two large suitcases, a garment bag, some carry ons and backpacks, and two plastic crates (one for our beverages, the other for the music and stand and other stuff), and a guitar.

I was taking along a little friend, Lady Moo Cow Latta, and she was more than ready for her first cruise.

At 10 am. Hubby suggested I call the shuttle service to make sure the driver was on his way to the right location. I had explained to the reservations clerk that the driver shouldn’t use GPS as it’ll take him or her to the wrong place – by a half mile. I did give her specific directions to her and requested she add them to our booking.

On the phone, I was told the driver was waiting for us “at the harbor.” I said no, the driver was supposed to be at our house. I pointed out that I was holding the email confirmation that had the right info. She put me on hold and then came back and said she talked to her supervisor. She asked what time did our ship sail. I ignored that question as I wanted to be on my way to the port, not waiting all day and risk other problems happening to keep us off that ship. And stressing out the whole time.

She said there weren’t any vans in our area. She also asked how many of us were in my party. I said that we have quite a bit of luggage, thus, the reason for the van. More consulting with her supervisor. She said they found a van that can get here by 10:50.

Around 11 am, a van arrived. The driver said this was actually a bigger vehicle than the one we had reserved, that his schedule was changed around to pick us up. As far as I was concerned, that was the company’s problem as it was one of their employees who had screwed up. We didn’t blame the driver. He actually hauled ass to get us to the World Cruise Center where the cruiseships sail from in San Pedro. Luckily, he didn’t get pulled over for HOV violations (crossing the solid line separating the carpool lane from the rest of the freeway; if you don’t change lanes where there’s a dotted line, you can get socked with a fine of over $700).

We arrived at the berth a little after noon. While he was unloading our luggage, he pointed out the shuttle pickup island to my husband so we can get our ride home in two weeks.

We walked inside the terminal and were immediately directed to a counter to fill out a health survey, asking if we had been sick recently. While I was filling it out, the girl was giving me a look as she had just finished recovering from a sinus infection the week before. I told her not to say anything; after all, she wasn’t contagious anymore. She also has hay fever, so she’ll be taking antihistamine during the cruise, just like me. After that, we got into the checkout line for the non-platinum/elite/suite passengers. Unlike last time, when we were able to just walk up to a clerk, there was a bit of a wait. When we looked out the window, we can see it pouring outside.

Finally we reached the front of the line and were checked in. We schlepped our carry-ons over to the security area and put our stuff on the conveyor belt to be scanned. Then we were directed to the outside walkway, got our embarkation photo taken and finally crossed that bridge onto the ship. After getting our photos to be embedded onto our cabin cards, we were directed into an elevator.

The decks are usually referred by the deck name and number, ie. Plaza Deck 5, which has (from forward to aft): passenger cabins, The Princess Fine Arts Gallery, The Piazza (the lowest level of the grand atrium) which contains The International Café, the Lobby Bar, the Library/Internet Café, Vines Confectionary, The Vines Bar. Midship is the Bernini Dining Room, which is used for anytime dining.

Deck 6, the Fiesta deck has lowest level of the Princess Theater, Players Cigar Bar, passenger cabins (these are the window suites), the Crown Grill (specialty restaurant), Captain’s Circle office, Future cruise Sales office, the video arcade, the Shore Excursions Desk, the Hawaiian activities Desk, Passenger Services desk, the Essence and Calypso Cove stores, the Donatello dining room (midship), and the Canaletto dining room (aft) which is for traditional dining.

Deck 7, the Promenade Deck: the upper level of Princess Theater, Grand Casino, the Promenade Galleria (contains the Meridian Bay and Facets shops, the Promenade Lounge & Bar), the Explorers Lounge, the Wheelhouse Bar, the Photo Gallery, Sabatini’s (specialty restaurant), and in the aft, the Vista Lounge.

Deck 8, the Emerald Deck: just passenger cabins, including ours.

Deck 9, the Dolphin Deck, 10, the Caribe Deck, Deck 11, the Baja Deck and 12, the Aloha Deck are also passenger cabin only decks.

Decks 8, 9, 10 11, and 12 all have a self-service laundry room, with washers, dryers, ironing boards with irons, change machines, and laundry soap vending machines.

Deck 14, Lido: passenger cabins, the outside pool area with the Trident Grill, Mermaid’s Tail Bar, Prego Pizzeria, the Neptune Reef and Pool, two hot tubs, Sundaes Ice Cream Bar, the covered Calypso Reef and pool, the Calypso Bar, the Horizon Court, which is the buffet that is divided into four rooms, the Outrigger Bar, the Horizon Terrace, which is an outside eating area. There is a retractable roof over the Calypso pool area which is opened when the weather is nice. I never saw it open on this cruise.

Deck 15, the Sun Deck: the Fitness Center with Gym and Aerobics studio, the Lotus spa with steam rooms, saunas, massage area, lap pool, beauty salon, the Youth center (with the Pelicans and Shockwaves rooms), Remix Teen Center, Tradewinds Bar, the Movies Under The Stars screen (you can see the movies from this deck and the Lido deck). In the separate aft section are the Deluxe Oceanview and Suite with balcony cabins, the Hearts and Minds Wedding Chapel, Golf Simulator.

MUTS Screen:

MUTS as seen from the Sun Deck:

Deck 16, the Sports Deck: In the forward section: the Sanctuary, the top decks for the teen and youth centers with a splash pool and teen hot tub. In the aft section: the Princess Links, the Oasis Bar with hot tubs, shuffleboard, and a chess area (with oversized chess pieces).

Deck 17, the Sky Deck: just an aft section with a Sports Court, the Skywalker (horizontal escalator walkway), the Skywalkers Nightclub.

The way to Skywalkers.

Enjoyed reading your review. I am looking for more. How did you find it will so many sea days together.

Thanks for sharing! Keep it coming......

Anxiously awaiting more... especially "Christmas" stuff - we are planning on taking this trip Christmas 2011 and I'm interested in the decorations and special events for the holidays.

Thank you for helping me relive the memories of our Nov. - Dec. cruise. To answer another question in the thread, sea days were wonderful and very relaxing!

Cruisin' Chick, I am looking forward to the rest of your review!

Thank you for helping me relive the memories of our Nov. - Dec. cruise. To answer another question in the thread, sea days were wonderful and very relaxing!

 

Cruisin' Chick, I am looking forward to the rest of your review!

How did you find the weather in Dec? Were you able to sit outdoors on the sea days or only when you got closer to Hawaii? What type of cabin did you have? Is it worth a balcony?

I am thinking of this cruise for over Christmas 2011.

Enjoyed reading your review. I am looking for more. How did you find it will so many sea days together.

Thanks for sharing! Keep it coming......

Anxiously awaiting more... especially "Christmas" stuff - we are planning on taking this trip Christmas 2011 and I'm interested in the decorations and special events for the holidays.

Had started posting it late at night my time and had to quit before I fell asleep on the desk. Thanks for the kind words thus far and I'll copy more text&pics tonight or 'morrow.

We love the sea days. Princess has so many activities as future posts will detail (and despite any horoscope changes by some dude in Minnesota, I do have Virgo rising).

Will have some Christmas and NYE photos too.

Thank you for helping me relive the memories of our Nov. - Dec. cruise. To answer another question in the thread, sea days were wonderful and very relaxing!

 

Cruisin' Chick, I am looking forward to the rest of your review!

How did you find the weather in Dec? Were you able to sit outdoors on the sea days or only when you got closer to Hawaii? What type of cabin did you have? Is it worth a balcony?

 

I am thinking of this cruise for over Christmas 2011.

So many love this itinerary, Princess will be having two ships sailing it at the same time!:)

We didn't have a balcony. I'll be trying to give info on the weather so check back when I have more posted (supervising homework right now).

How did you find the weather in Dec? Were you able to sit outdoors on the sea days or only when you got closer to Hawaii? What type of cabin did you have? Is it worth a balcony?

 

I am thinking of this cruise for over Christmas 2011.

Weather was kind of cool the first day and a half, and then it started to warm up. Bring a sweatshirt, and you should be fine even on those days... After that, the weather was great! We had an ocean view cabin over the promenade deck... :( We liked this cruise so much, we booked it for next Thanksgiving, but this time we will have a mini-suite. :D Happy times indeed! Absolutely loved that cruise... As for the cabin type, I won't be taking two cruises this year, just that one, but in a mini-suite. I feel it is worth the extra $$, especially on a long cruise like this one.

First day, continued:

Along with the day’s Patters (the ship’s daily newsletter), there was the info on the teen program, Remix, so we told the girl we would go check out the teen center in a while. We did a little unpacking and then went out to explore the ship.

As soon as we boarded the ship and whenever we were in a public area on that first day, we would be constantly asked if we wanted to purchase the coke sticker.

But first, lunch. We headed to the Horizon Court, the buffet that takes up much of the Lido deck (14th deck) and is open 24 hours a day. It has two separate entrances and when food is being switched out from breakfast to lunch, lunch to dinner, dinner to late night, late night to breakfast, the closed sign goes on the side where the switch is happening. Each side has two large seating areas. TIP: if arriving in the HC during a busy time, try looking for an available table in the back part (away from the food islands).

One thing that has changed in the last five years is that Princess now offers free lemonade in the Horizon Court and in the pool areas. You do have to ask for a beverage steward for it, though.

We could look out the window and see the other two ships in port with us: The Sapphire Princess and The Crystal Symphony.

Looking forward to hearing more! Thanks for sharing.

I really want to go on this cruise!

Thanks for posting your review. We board the Golden a week from today for the same cruise. Can't wait.....:):):)

Bob

Thanks for posting your review. We board the Golden a week from today for the same cruise. Can't wait.....:):):)

 

Bob

Hope you have a great cruise! Maybe David Cole will be back by then.

I really want to go on this cruise!

It's really a great cruise. I don't recommend it for first time cruisers because of its length and the possibility of rough seas, but for everyone else, lots of sea days with great activities, a beautiful ship, and Hawaii!

Looking forward to hearing more! Thanks for sharing.

I was trying to post some more last night, but started getting the can't get to this page type of message that I often get with this site post-10pm PT.

After that, we checked out the Remix area (on the 15th deck) and the Piazza (the bottom floor of the atrium) on the 5th floor, which opens to the 6th and 7th. A musical group was singing Christmas songs there. There’s also the International Café, which features pastries, cookies, sandwiches. You can also buy specialty coffees to go along with your treats. Walking counterclockwise, you’ll reach Vines, where you can get a glass of wine, a Godiva shop. There’s also a bar or two. The girl got a fancy pudding like dessert while hubby got himself a coffee.

The Remix Teen Center

The Piazza all decorated for the holidays

We also went into the Princess Theater, a two-story entertainment venue, as well as walked around the other levels of the grand atrium above the Piazza.

Essence, one of the ship's stores

Then we returned to our cabin, met our cabin steward. Around 3:30, before it was time to go down to our muster station, we took our customary life jacket photos that we do every cruise. We took off our jackets and carry them down to the 7th deck to the Explorers Lounge where our station was. That’s a nice thing about Princess. On some cruise lines, you have the drill outside. If it’s rainy (like it was for us) or hot, you could be miserable. With an inside drill, you can sit down and you can hear the instructions. Crew members walked around and scanned your cabin card to make sure you attended.

After the drill was the Cruise Critic meet and greet, and even though, I didn’t post on the roll call for this cruise, I did email the member who organized the meet and greet and said I'll try to be there. I had wanted to surprise one of the members, Mary, who I’ve been talking with a few years about the Hawaiian cruise. They had decided to meet at the Mermaid bar which is by one of the pools. The floor was pretty wet after all that rain, so I tried to keep from stepping in one of the puddles. Mary wasn’t there, Laurie said. Hubby, who doesn’t go on cruising boards, and I met the others.

A little later, hubby and I walked around the outside decks as it had stopped raining for a while. We noticed there were pallets of luggage outside. A crew member saw us and said that the ship was waiting for 200 passengers from the UK. They still haven’t reached the port.

We heard an announcement that the ship would be delayed in leaving, about a couple of hours. So we figured that was the reason.

A little after six, the Crystal Symphony left and then the Sapphire Princess. We were the last ship standing. We looked out at the Vincent Thomas Bridge, which is a 1,500-foot long suspension bridge that opened in 1963 and links San Pedro with Terminal Island. A major project, involved installing blue LED lights, powered by solar panels, was completed in 2005.

Wow, I wish we could have been there with you! We were on the Sapphire on that pix you posted (with Crystal right in front of us). ;)

Katherine

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.