Review from last weeks Golden Anyone??

[LarryF]

Would love to see someone's review from someone who sailed the Golden Princess recently! Interested to hear about the shows and other entertainment. We were on the Grand several years back and the food was excellent....how is the food on the Golden? All information would be greatly appreciated...

 

Larry

[PhilipDuq]

We returned on Sunday the 9th. We had sailed on the Grand twice before and the Island once. THis is our first time on the Golden. It's obviously the same as the Grand. The main difference I noticed on this ship was how well they handled Anytime Dining. Granted, we went to dinner around 7 PM every night and never had a problem getting a table for two. We never made a reservation and on Tuesday night we were sat in Nina's section and proceeded to request her each time we went to the dining room. Never a problem and the hostess was always very friendly. We did not always find that on the Grand in the past. If you are going on the Golden in the next month or so, search out Nina. She is a fantastic waitress!! She has an infectious (sp) laugh and knows her stuff. She is from Romania and her husband works in the kitchen. Her contract is up soon so she won't be on the Golden for long. She loves to bring you lots of stuff. If she thinks you should try something and you don't order it, she'll bring it anyway. We watched a table of two each night order two appetizers, two entrees and two desserts for each person every night. I know you can ask any waiter to bring you anything you want, but with Nina is is encouraged. She really wants to make you happy. The food was fantastic in the dining room, so so in the Horizon court. One night they a a whole roast pig, which was interesting. We didn't bother with the steakhouse or Sabatini's. I heard great things about the steakhouse and we did Sabatini's on the Grand.

 

I've been rambling.... Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

[crisp1]

Thanks, PhilipDuq, I didn't find it rambling at all. Please give more details. Which restuarant was Nina in? How about Isla Margarita? What did you do? Was the dolphin encounter offered?

[thebrat99]

I didn't find it rambling either! Would like to know what time you would recommend getting to the ship to board. Would like to miss a lot of the lines. We will be there the day before so can get there anytime.

Oh yes, the age old question...who was the CD and did you enjoy them?

TIA

Kathy

[PhilipDuq]

kathy,

 

We did the best thing for check in! We had a friend in San Juan so we dropped our luggage off at the dock at 2 PM and then went touring San Juan. We went to the Bicardi (sp) Rum factory. The tour is kinda lame but the rum drinks are good. Then she took us to dinner. We didn't make it back to the ship until about 8:30 PM. There were no lines anywhere. They were doing the life boat drill when we boarded. The best thing was that our luggage was in our room and the liquor we had ordered. We just changed our clothes and went up on deck and had a few more Cuba Libres (Rum and Coke) while we waited for the ship to depart. You could do the same thing by having a taxi take you to the pier, have him wait while you drop off your luggage (5 Minutes) and then have him take you to Old San Juan for the day. Return to the ship whenever you want and avoid the lines.

 

We discovered something on board which I haven't seen on the boards. There is a restaurant in Old San Juan whose name escapes me right now ( it's the birthplace of the Pina Colada) The ship says they will store you luggage for free while you wander Old San Juan and then you can get a taxi less than a block away. There are always taxis there. The restaurant did request $5 for storing our five bags but it was still a bargin. We had lunch there in their outside courtyard and it was very nice. I guess they have been storing luggage for folks for over 30 years. We did this on the Sunday we got back. Our flight wasn't until 3:30 PM. We took a taxi to the restaurant and then from the restaurant to the airport. It was easy and cheaper than the ship's tour of Old San Juan.

[PhilipDuq]

The cruise director was Omar, the deputy was Adam. They were both great. We saw more of Adam than Omar. We also spent time with Kent who is very laid back for a CD staff. He spent the week with the ceramics class.

 

The entertainment was okay. It was our 4th Princess cruise in 3 years so we had seen a couple of the shows already. I'm not a big fan of comedy shows. They had a hypnotist on the ship. It was lame. I give the passengers who participated alot of credit. Princess Idol was a blast and they had some really good singers.

[PhilipDuq]

Crisp1

 

I didn't check out any dolphin encounters so I don't know. Isla Margarita was my least favorite port. We were only there until Noon and there wasn't much to do just walking off the ship. I think I was there for about an hour. There is a beach to spend time on but I found it buggy. The water is very shallow so you can walk out quite aways. Our favorite excursion was on St. Kitts. We did the ships Nevis Excursion on the catamaran. The crew was fantastic and they have an open bar from the minute you board the ship (at 8 AM !) We sailed for about an hour and did a little snorkeling then sailed to Nevis for lunch (which was very good) and a little beach time. Then back on the boat and more cocktails. I think we got back to the Golden about 2:30 PM.

 

I don't remember the names of the dining rooms. Nina was in the dining room on deck 6 i think.

[pcumberl]

The cruise director was Omar, the deputy was Adam.

Is Omar new? I was on the alternate itinerary last May and our CD's name was Gavin. He was an assistant under Graham prior to that. Is Cindy still there as the Shopping Director? Also, do you recall the names of the Art Auction people? We had Billy and Bri.

 

Thanks,

~Paul

[thebrat99]

Thanks Phillip, was that place that stores the luggage Barricini's or something like that? Sounds like a plan to me tho. Thank you for the suggestion!

Kathy

[LarryF]

Thanks for all the info, Philipsdug! Were the review shows like broadway tunes or have they changed to a Caribbean type review? Did not like the Carribean shows on the Grand at all!

 

When we sailed on the Grand and the Princess, they would have ice cream in the Horizon Buffet around 2:30 or 3pm and they really didn't announce it....did they do that on the Golden??

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

[PhilipDuq]

Kathy - It was called the Barraccina (sp) All the taxi drivers know about it.

 

As for the ice cream - We enjoyed the ice cream on the Island last year. They didn't have it on the Golden that I noticed. On the Island they had it all afternoon and into the evening. You know, I never went to Horizon around 3 PM so they may have had the ice cream.

 

Philip

[PhilipDuq]

We saw only one show on the Golden and it was a Broadway tune review. I saw the same show on the Island last year but it was only the 4 singers. Now they added all the dancers to it. I didn't see the Carribean show but I know they had one.

[PhilipDuq]

Paul,

 

I think Cindy is still the shopping gal. Don't know about the auction as we never went.

 

Philip

[pcumberl]

On the alternate itinerary, the immagration check was done in St. Thomas which was the last stop before heading back to San Juan. Where does the Explorer itinerary do its check?

 

Thanks,

~Paul

[travelhound]

Paul,

 

Where you on the route that went to St. Lucia? If so, do you remember if you cruised past the Pitons while on the ship? We're trying to decide on an excursion and don't want to miss the Pitons, but would also like to snorkel. If we see the Pitons while on board, either on the way in or out, then it will make the decision easier.

 

Thanks,

Teri

[pcumberl]

Yep, St. Lucia was our 2nd Stop after Barbados. You can see the Pitons from the ship (off the starboard/right side when coming in, and port when going out), but not close enough, IMHO. It was also very overcast the day we were there (pretty much the entire trip was - had 5" of rain the day we returned to San Juan, which is another story). If you don't want to miss them, I'd suggest doing some kind of shore excursion there. Don't miss going to Froggie Jacks for lunch though - excellent food and a great location overlooking the bay where the cruise ship is docked. Hope this helps.

 

~Paul

[travelhound]

Paul,

 

Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry about the bad weather. That always bites on vacation! Did you go outside of the port area in St. Lucia and get near the Pitons? We've been there twice and love the area around there. We haven't been to any restaurants though, so we'll have to check out Froggie Jack's. Thanks for the tip.

[Laura7015]

We were on the Golden last week (1/9/05-1/16/05). We did not cruise past the Pitons, but we were coming from San Juan, not Barbados as is the normal itinerary. When we left St. Lucia, we sailed pretty far out to sea to the west before heading south, so no views. Someone said they have to be a certain distance from shore to be in international waters and open the casino, but I don't know if that's true.

[pcumberl]

Teri,

 

As Laura mentioned, the ship does not cruise by the Pitons - it's in the distance and you have to look for them. Laura, any reason why you guys didn't go to Barbados, or did you end up there at some other point during the week?

 

~Paul

[travelhound]

Laura,

 

Thanks for the reply. As Paul asked, what happened to Barbados? Did you just have another day at sea? Any other Golden tips you may have? We're leaving on Feb 20th and being that it has been between -20 and -5 for the past 4 days, I'm so ready for some warmth!

[kokimojo]

Just off from b2b on the Golden...

...there was an ice cream bar mid-afternoon in the Horizon Court.

...I think the cruise 'shopper's' name was Gayle.

...We went to Barbados - gorgeous as usual.

...Grenada was still in poor shape but I am so happy to have seen it. The attitudes of the Grenadians is great...and it helps us appreciate how much we have.

 

Have a 'Golden' time!

[San10s]

Travelhound - We too are on the Golden on 02/20/05. There is a pretty good group of us comparing notes and chatting over on the Roll Call boards (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=96615). I hope this link works. Come join us! :D

 

Have you cruised on the Golden before? Have you found any interesting excursions to do? I have only booked one so far.

 

Judy

34 days until we sail on the Golden! :D

[travelhound]

Judy,

 

We've already booked all of our excursions online. They are all snorkeling excursions, almost all with catamarans. That's our favorite island excursion. We can't do that in MN in February! This will be our 16th cruise, but we've never been on Princess, so it should be fun. We've done this exact route twice and it's one of our favorites. The last time was 10 years ago though, so we're looking forward to going back, especially to St. Lucia.

 

It's coming up fast!

[Laura7015]

On last week's Golden, they flip-flopped St. Lucia and Barbados - we went to St. Lucia first and then to Barbados next day. Something about too many ships in one port. We were the only ship in St. Lucia. It was nice that it was less crowded, although the people hawking souvenirs and tours were that much more agressive.

[San10s]

Thanks for the reply Travelhound. I just realized I gave you the wrong link. Here is the right one that will connect you to all the other cruising buddies on the Golden 02/20/05 cruise. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=47634

 

Snorkeling is the top priority for my DH and Larry (traveling with us too). It was our last cruise that stopped in Barbados where I finally learned how to snorkel ....and lost the panic that had been an issue for me in the past. :eek: We went on a Catamaran and I just loved laying in the nets on the bow of the boat.....while sailing along...with the water splashing up every once and a while.

 

So in St Lucia, we have not been snorkeling before and I assume that you feel it is a good area to do that. What ship's tour do you recommend or are you booking something on your own?

 

This is our 15th cruise but we had not been to Antigua before. We have made up for lost time since we didn't start cruising until our 25th anniversary 7 years ago! :D

 

Please come find our posts on the roll call for our cruise. Sharing your knowledge of these islands will be helpful.

 

Judy

33 days until we cruise on the Golden