Our spoiled lives aboard the Golden Princess- a detailed review

[serenity27]

Thanks for this great and fun review. I am enjoying all the pictures.

Wonderful work.:)

 

Thank you so much! I'll post more pics soon.

[serenity27]

We woke up this morning about 8 AM. Mr. Serenity ran off to the gym while I got ready for rehearsal. The photo department was filming the dress rehearsal for the cruise’s reflections video. We wore our new Hawaiian outfits that we bought at the International Market Place in Honolulu. We arrived at the Vista Lounge, which is where the performance will be, a little before 10 AM. Several of the hula dancers were already there, rehearsing with Leialoha. There were fewer hula dancers than ukulele players, which surprised me. I had thought by this point that people would have been scared to perform their new skills. I guess it’s a true testament to Dave and Dave that people truly loved this instrument.

 

 

 

Around 10 AM, Dave and Leialoha started to go over the details- what time to be there tomorrow night, the filming that they would be doing during the rehearsal for the Reflections Video, etc. Then, the hula dancers did their first dance and we watched. It is really beautiful and Leialoha has done such a wonderful job with them. After this, Dave ushered us backstage, and explained our staging. The tall people would be in front, as they wouldn’t have any risers. The shortest people would be on the first riser, which is strange. Even with the few extra inches on our riser, several of the shorties were still not seen behind the tall people. There were some VERY tall people on our cruise! The other rows behind us got taller. The band’s equipment was on stage, which created a very close and huddled group of ukulele players. Dave told us that the band stuff wouldn’t be there tomorrow night. We then rehearsed our “Tiny Bubbles” performance, which went reasonably well for me. I managed to get all or most chords.

Dave said that after the hula dancers’ first song, the curtain would open and we would be there. We all felt that we were the grand reveal. During our song, the hula dancers stepped off to the side and swayed from side to side.

 

 

 

After “Tiny Bubbles,” the hula dancers step out in front of us, and together, we all perform “Aloha Oe.” This is such a beautiful song and a perfect way to say goodbye. The story behind this song is that the last queen of Hawai’i wrote it when she was imprisoned for outwardly celebrating her culture. She wrote it as a tribute to her culture, and to the state of Hawai’i, and it’s so hauntingly beautiful. At the end of the song, the lyics say, ""Til we meet again."

 

 

 

This is a tough song for me, and for most of the ukulele players, to play. There are quick chord changes and chords that require multiple fingers. Mr. Serenity, of course, is handling it beautifully. I have learned that I can fake it. Unfortunately, once we got the film, we could only see the top of Mr. Serenity’s head! I think he should have been the star of this show, in my humble opinion. :)

 

 

 

During rehearsal, passengers started to come into the Vista lounge to prepare for Bingo. We met some very nice people there who congratulated us on pursuing the ukulele. I wished them luck with Bingo and hoped they won lots of money.

 

 

 

As we were walking out from rehearsal, the Captain came on the intercom to tell us that we would be arriving in Ensenada the following day several hours early. There were two different passengers on board who had medical emergencies, and we needed to arrive early so they could be helicoptered out as soon as possible. We later asked one of the Assistant Cruise Directors what happened. She told us that one was on a ventilator, but since the ship only has one, the other passenger had to be hand-ventilated. Crew members were taking turns volunteering their time to do this manually for the patient. It’s so sad to hear that about anyone, and I think we all said a collective silent prayer for the passengers. I really hope that those two passengers were able to enjoy their vacations up until that point.

 

 

 

When we wrapped rehearsal, we went up to the Prego Pizzeria. The pizza is really yummy there.

 

 

 

After dessert, we returned to the room for some down time. Mr. Serenity took a nap and I figured out my last minute details for the art auction- what I was going to buy. At a little before 2, we went down to the auction.I went down and got a seat on the side. All of the good seats were taken, but I already knew what I was going to get. I had been able to see most of the artwork up close, so it was fine. I grabbed my free glass of crappy champagne and a couple raffle tickets. I asked Mark, the art assistant, to make sure that our Martiros piece, as well as a Roxy painting of Times Square, would be brought up. He confirmed both for me. I ended up buying three pieces, one for my parents and two for us. To this day, we still love those paintings.

 

 

Here are two of the paintings we ended up buying:

 

 

 

 

 

[serenity27]

After the auction, we stayed in the Explorer’s Lounge for Lazy Day Trivia, which was at 4:30. I went down to the International Café for a couple cookies, while Mr. Serenity waited for our Trivia friends to arrive. They arrived, and we played Trivia. These questions were so hard! We ended up not winning again, and asked ACD Josh to give us magnets anyway for supporting his activities. He said that he would tomorrow if we didn’t win. I wanted a magnet!

 

 

 

At dinner that night, we saw Eve, the British ACD who co-hosted our “Married” game, come into the dining room. She was wearing a uniform with the Union Jack on it to prepare us all for “British Invasion.” I’ll talk more about “British Invasion” later but here’s a pic of all of the Assistant Cruise Directors in their uniforms.

 

 

 

[serenity27]

As we had a perfect view of the entrance and we were at the center of the dining room, we could see the show perfectly. She saw me watching her, and getting my camera ready, and made a cute joke about it. She said something like, “Get the camera ready!” The crew was starting to create a buzz in the dining room as they were all getting ready for the parade. Suddenly, the lights went out, and “Will you be my girl?” came on. All of the chefs paraded out with their baked alaskas, and a little light on top. They used to have a little fire while walking with the desserts, but Natalie told us later that a chef on another ship dropped her flaming Baked Alaska, and created a little fire. Princess understandably had since decided that the chefs should not walk with fire.

 

 

 

After the parade, which was so fun, Eve made a beautiful speech that started with “From the good ship to friendship…” Don Luigi and Head Chef Jeremy were both there as well. We cheered for both as we had met Head Chef Jeremy in Sabatini’s, and of course, had our meeting on the first day with Don Luigi. Then, Gene served our Baked Alaska, which was amazing as always. This is one of the traditions I love most on Princess Cruises. I love traditions, and this is something I always look forward to. It’s also one of the reasons I won’t do Anytime Dining. After we had our tea and coffee, we left for the Princess Theatre to see "British Invasion."

[serenity27]

We got great seats- front row, center. We had such nice people surrounding us and had some nice conversations during the 40 minutes that we waited for the show to start. The instrumentalist, Craig, from the other night, came to sit in our row. We congratulated him on a great show and he told us that he thought British invasion was Princess’ best show. He raved about it, so I was extra excited to see it.

 

 

 

Finally the show started, and it was great. They covered songs through all major decades of music, and they did it beautifully. There was a great mix for everybody of all music tastes. Mr. Serenity sang throughout it, which made me happy that he was also enjoying it so much. It is one of those shows that I didn’t want to end. It was truly that good. I gave it a standing ovation.

 

 

 

 

After the show, Dave Cole came out to thank the crowd as usual, and then we left to go to the Piazza. They were having a “New Year’s Eve” party. Earlier in the day, people had written their names and cabin numbers on balloons, and then they stuffed these balloons into a net, or as Eric, the DCD asked on the Morning Show, “Who’s Annette and why is she getting stuffed?” :)

 

 

 

Mr. Serenity and I danced for a while in the middle of the piazza, along with several other passengers. It was just fun to party. We did the countdown like we do on New Year’s Eve, and then the net dropped the balloons. Dave would catch six balloons, and those six with the names and cabin numbers on them would be the people who would win a bottle of champagne. We played with the balloons for a while, as some people popped them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went to bed to prepare for Ensenada.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We usually sample a lot, even in the MDR, but this was specifically a sampling of literally 18 courses. I wonder if they changed it since we cruised.

 

Glad it wasn't something bad keeping you away. We did have some craziness in our life with things happening to my hubby (a workers comp case and then his mother had stage 4 cancer so he was helping her put her affairs in order before she passed) that kept us from taking vacations between 2006 and 2010.

 

David Cole was our CD on our 2005/06 cruise and that was before Elua was hired on. So not much going on Hawaiian wise other than lei making lessons and uke lessons. We brought our uke with and our girl (then 8) and hubby took lessons. David was on vacation apparently during our 2010/11 cruise and David Bradshaw stepped in, but was basically absent at most activities. I decided to take the hula lessons and performed the last night of the cruise in the Aloha 'Oe show, which was during the intermission of Princess Pop Idol. Last December, Sammi Baker was the CD on the cruise (like the others, was the holiday cruise) and she was such a card and was everywhere with her enthusiasm. Once again, I took the hula lessons, and we performed right after the Passenger Talent Show on the last day, which was right before arriving in Ensenada.

 

All three times my hubby brought his guitar (since we're within driving distance of the Port of LA, not a problem).

 

Can't wait to read more about your cruise.:)

[cvpends]

Loving this review! Thanks for all the work you put into it...and for not giving up :D

[kath00]

Loving this review! Thanks for all the work you put into it...and for not giving up :D

 

Same here! We may be booking after I show your review to DH!! :D

[cardqb]

Thank you for the great review! Very entertaining. Find your sense of humor refreshing!

[serenity27]

Glad it wasn't something bad keeping you away. We did have some craziness in our life with things happening to my hubby (a workers comp case and then his mother had stage 4 cancer so he was helping her put her affairs in order before she passed) that kept us from taking vacations between 2006 and 2010.

 

David Cole was our CD on our 2005/06 cruise and that was before Elua was hired on. So not much going on Hawaiian wise other than lei making lessons and uke lessons. We brought our uke with and our girl (then 8) and hubby took lessons. David was on vacation apparently during our 2010/11 cruise and David Bradshaw stepped in' date=' but was basically absent at most activities. I decided to take the hula lessons and performed the last night of the cruise in the Aloha 'Oe show, which was during the intermission of Princess Pop Idol. Last December, Sammi Baker was the CD on the cruise (like the others, was the holiday cruise) and she was such a card and was everywhere with her enthusiasm. Once again, I took the hula lessons, and we performed right after the Passenger Talent Show on the last day, which was right before arriving in Ensenada.

 

All three times my hubby brought his guitar (since we're within driving distance of the Port of LA, not a problem).

 

Can't wait to read more about your cruise.:)[/quote']

 

That's good to know about the other CDs. My parents want to go on this cruise after we raved about it and I know the CD makes a huge difference in our experiences. I wish more Princess cruises went out of San Pedro because it's so convenient for all of us!

[serenity27]

Loving this review! Thanks for all the work you put into it...and for not giving up :D

 

Thank you so much! I'll be finishing it up within the week and will explain just how much this trip affected us. :)

[serenity27]

Same here! We may be booking after I show your review to DH!! :D

 

Thank you! We really, really loved the cruise. From what I understand, the different CDs really make a big difference, so be sure to find out when David Cole is sailing and when Elua are working with him. We still think of them often and are so grateful for how much they do for all of their passengers.

[serenity27]

Thank you for the great review! Very entertaining. Find your sense of humor refreshing!

 

Thank you! My husband tells me I'm funniest when I'm not trying. :) Enjoy the rest of the review (which I will finish within the week).

[serenity27]

Glad it wasn't something bad keeping you away. We did have some craziness in our life with things happening to my hubby (a workers comp case and then his mother had stage 4 cancer so he was helping her put her affairs in order before she passed) that kept us from taking vacations between 2006 and 2010.

 

David Cole was our CD on our 2005/06 cruise and that was before Elua was hired on. So not much going on Hawaiian wise other than lei making lessons and uke lessons. We brought our uke with and our girl (then 8) and hubby took lessons. David was on vacation apparently during our 2010/11 cruise and David Bradshaw stepped in' date=' but was basically absent at most activities. I decided to take the hula lessons and performed the last night of the cruise in the Aloha 'Oe show, which was during the intermission of Princess Pop Idol. Last December, Sammi Baker was the CD on the cruise (like the others, was the holiday cruise) and she was such a card and was everywhere with her enthusiasm. Once again, I took the hula lessons, and we performed right after the Passenger Talent Show on the last day, which was right before arriving in Ensenada.

 

All three times my hubby brought his guitar (since we're within driving distance of the Port of LA, not a problem).

 

Can't wait to read more about your cruise.:)[/quote']

 

I forgot to say that I'm sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. I can only imagine how tough that is but it's nice that you were all able to say goodbye and she was able to get her affairs in order. I hope your husband is doing better and that you're able to relax and cruise again.

[serenity27]

Today we arrived in Ensenada around 10:30 AM so the ill passengers could be evacuated. The ship’s officers asked all passengers to clear the gangway area so that they could evacuate the patients without interference. I don’t know if passengers complied. I can only hope.

This was the first morning, other than the Hawaiian ports, that we were not attending ukulele classes. It felt so strange and we really missed it!

Mr. Serenity went to the gym as soon as he woke up, and I slept through it. I was not nearly as disciplined as I wanted to be! When he came back , we got ready for breakfast and watched “The Wake Show,” as we did every morning. We ate breakfast (it was really lunch by the time we got there) at the International Café. I had the chicken cashew salad and Mr. Serenity had a Panini. When we were done, we decided to see Ensenada. We didn’t plan to spend much time there, and we wanted to get it over so we could get back onto the ship for our activities.

 

Here we are arriving in Ensenada:

 

 

[serenity27]

We took the shuttle to downtown (it was $3 for a roundtrip ticket). Mr. Serenity had remembered from last time he was in Ensenada that you could walk this path, and it’s just a few streets to downtown. However, we didn’t want to get lost in Mexico, so we followed the crowd and took the shuttle. Eric, DCD, and his parents were also on the shuttle.

When we got off the shuttle, we all looked like lost puppy dogs. After hearing so much about the crime in Mexico, we were all a little concerned. Dave Cole tried to calm the passengers after British Invasion by telling us that the city was perfectly safe. But still, we were all concerned about our safety. Eric and his parents started to walk to downtown, and the entire group followed him. We followed him as well, but we kept our distance so not to be obvious. It was quite a sight. Eric and his parents were walking down the street. And about 20 feet behind him was the entire group (minus Mr. Serenity and me) from the shuttle, stopping when Eric stopped and walking when Eric walked.

We figured Eric was the best one to know where he was going. Eventually, we lost Eric and his parents, and continued walking on the main street. Within about 30 minutes, we decided to turn back, as there wasn’t really anything to see. We went back to the shuttle, and I had a margarita as we waited for the next shuttle to arrive.

 

 

I'm happy because I'm drinking a margarita :):

 

[serenity27]

We couldn’t help but notice the strong police presence throughout Ensenada. They were never without their machine guns, something that we found strangely comforting. We eventually took the shuttle back to the dock, and the driver gave us a little bit of a tour along the way.

We went through security, which included an x-ray machine, and were back on the dock. We walked through the shops at the dock, but didn’t find anything that we wanted. We walked along the dock to look at the sea lions, who were super loud and hilarious. We walked past a booth, and Mr. Serenity started to grab me. I turned around, and saw what he said. A baby lion. We went over to him and his handlers, and found out he was just over a month old. He was adorable. They said that their organization protects creatures like this one, a true African lion named Simba. We could take a picture with him for $25. We were able to hold him, and we took tons of pictures with him. He even started to lick and nibble on our ears. He made the cutest little noises when he was uncomfortable, and his little roars were priceless. We hope that this is a legitimate company, and we hope they take good care of adorable little Simba.

 

Meet our new friend:

 

 

 

This is where the shuttle picks us up:

[serenity27]

We went back onto the ship to get a better view of the sea lions. We walked along the promenade deck seven, and watched the sea lions. I filmed them in all of their glory, making their noises, chilling out in the sun and going for little swims. They are a fascinating group.

After the sea lions, we walked over to the shuffleboard deck. I have never played this before, and as it’s such a cruise staple, I needed to. Mr. Serenity and I first played against each other, and I beat him. It was just beginner’s luck. A couple from Santa Clarita who we had seen at Trivia and Ukulele lessons, came over to ask if they could play, too. We decided to play couples, us against them. Mr. Serenity played really well. I was a disaster. Not only did I not score any points, but my pucks would often land on the -10 points! They were great sports, though.

We all went down to Trivia, and they asked us to join them. We had seen our Trivia friends going on a tour, so we assumed that they would not make it. We told this couple, Darryl and Jean, that if our partners did not show up, we would join them. They didn’t show up, so we ended up playing with Darryl and Jean. The trivia started out easily enough, and then suddenly got really hard. We ended up coming in second place, and as Kelly, not Josh, was leading the event, we didn’t know if we would end up getting magnets. We told Kelly what Josh had told us the day before, and she gave us magnets. Mr. Serenity and I each got one, and then we got two for Darryl and Jean as well. I know it's a minor enjoyment, but I really like that the cruise director's staff on Princess has enough prizes for almost everybody who really wants one. I think it's better to give a lot of people a souvenir magnet than one person a huge gift basket.

Anyway, we went up to the room to pack, as we had to have our luggage in the hallway by 11 PM. I have always been late with my packing, and I was determined to be on time this time. I also knew we wouldn’t have time after dinner to pack, so this was a good time to take care of it. We were among the first on our deck to get our luggage out, and I was proud. Let’s just say I’m not often known for being early.

Earlier in the day, the art director had called us to see if the art department could comp a meal at a specialty restaurant for us. As we had already eaten at both, we asked her for a post-comp. She couldn’t understand what I was saying (we had a language barrier- I speak American and she speaks Canadian), so I had Mr. Serenity ask her (Mr. Serenity was born in Canada so he’s bi-lingual). She agreed to, which I thought was nice.

Then, we ran over to the photo gallery so I could pick up the Reflections DVD that we purchased the day before. I now have a request for all of you! Please don't wait until you are at the front of the line to choose your pictures. Please kindly choose them before so we don't have to waste our time in line waiting for you to decide if you like the horizontal or vertical shot better. Thanks!

When it was finally my turn, the girl told me that there was another desk for the Reflections DVD. I sighed very loudly and went to get my video. Finally, we were off to dinner, about 20 minutes late. Natalie and Gene were worried that we weren’t going to show up.

They were wearing the uniforms that always first come to mind when I think of Princess waiters- the mint green jackets with their suits. We had a lovely dinner, with my Fettucine Alfredo and a delicious cookies and cream parfait. Natalie also invited us to her wedding in July in Cape Town. I thought it was so sweet. We really feel like we found a friend in her. She is such a sweet spirit and truly nice person. We exchanged information with her (even now as I post this, I can say that we’re still friends and talk on Facebook).

I'm also still friends with Fettucine Alfredo:

Gene looked devastated when we had to leave, but we needed to get to the Vista Lounge for our big performance. They had a reserved “VIP” section for us, which was off to the side with very little view. It was close to the door to the back stage, though, and that’s why they wanted the uke players there. The show started with the Princess Pop Star Finale, and both Darryl and his daughter were in it. I asked Jean, who had a great view of the stage, to film our performance, and she very nicely agreed.

The Pop Star finale was really entertaining. There were six performers, and they were all good. We, of course, rooted for Darryl and his daughter. Josh interviewed them back stage in “the green room” in a skit that had good intentions but didn’t always work well. Then, they ushered all of us back stage and onto the stage. I yelled at people to keep moving over so everybody could fit on stage. I guess I’m a little bossy when I’m backstage. :) The show went well and I faked my way brilliantly through the songs. We had fun and I’m so glad we did it. Here is our group. In this pic you can kind of see me:

And there's Mr. Serenity's gorgeous face:

After this, they announced the winner of Pop Star- it was a woman who sang “Climb Every Mountain” and was traveling with a group of 27 passengers. You can’t beat that! She had a beautiful soprano voice.

We took pictures with Dave, Dave and Leialoha:

Dave Cole’s brother-in-law got our information. It was truly a nice group.

We walked from one end of the ship to the other, and then we went up to the room, and went to bed for the last time in B401 during this journey. Sniff.

I will write more about the remainder of the cruise in the next few days and post a few more pics for you all. Thank you for reading!

[Cruisin' Chick]

I know that some people couldn't care less who the CD is, but there's plenty of people who have had the extremes and can appreciate the more engaged ones. There's even one mentioned on CC a lot who often doesn't get the Patters out until the next morning. That would really bug me as one of my favorite things to do when getting back into the cabin after dinner/night's entertainment is to pore over the new Patter.

 

On our 2005/06 cruise, we had to miss Kona (which was still part of the itinerary) because of high waves and within a couple of hours of the announcement by the captain, every cabin was given a revised Patters filled with sea day activities. That's the sign of a great CD.

 

And we did go on two cruises since my MIL's passing, the last two Hawaiian ones to be exact. About a year after losing her in 2009 (on our wedding anniversary), hubby decided he was ready to go on another cruise and he asked me to find out if we can get on the next holiday sailing less than two months away. We did manage to snag a cabin. Those cruises we didn't get off the ship at all in Ensenada, and apparently a high percentage of passengers did the same (must be all the Southern Californians who have been there zillions of times).

[serenity27]

I know that some people couldn't care less who the CD is' date=' but there's plenty of people who have had the extremes and can appreciate the more engaged ones. There's even one mentioned on CC a lot who often doesn't get the Patters out until the next morning. That would really bug me as one of my favorite things to do when getting back into the cabin after dinner/night's entertainment is to pore over the new Patter.

 

That would drive me crazy, too. I look forward to reading the new Patters, too. For us, the CDs make all the difference.

 

On our 2005/06 cruise, we had to miss Kona (which was still part of the itinerary) because of high waves and within a couple of hours of the announcement by the captain, every cabin was given a revised Patters filled with sea day activities. That's the sign of a great CD.

 

Wow-- that is amazing. It's those CDs who I believe should go far with the companies. And I wish Kona was still part of the itinerary!

 

And we did go on two cruises since my MIL's passing, the last two Hawaiian ones to be exact. About a year after losing her in 2009 (on our wedding anniversary), hubby decided he was ready to go on another cruise and he asked me to find out if we can get on the next holiday sailing less than two months away. We did manage to snag a cabin. Those cruises we didn't get off the ship at all in Ensenada, and apparently a high percentage of passengers did the same (must be all the Southern Californians who have been there zillions of times).

 

I probably wouldn't get off in Ensenada again either. I'm happy to hear you're cruising again. :)

[serenity27]

Today was Sad Day, or disembarkation day. We woke up around 7:30 AM, got ready to go, and gathered our belongings. We said goodbye to Jose Rodriguez, who was also leaving today to return to his native Mexico.

We went up to Horizon for breakfast, and got a nice seat by the window. I had a little waffle, some fruit, oatmeal, sausage and scrambled eggs. I also had a glass of orange juice. The staff in the Horizon this morning seemed impatient with us. There were fewer smiles than ever before. I know that turnaround day is tough on them, but we still deserve smiles. There was one who was very nice to us, though. I wrote a nice comment about him, along with Jose, Natalie, Gene, Dave, Dave and Leialoha.

After breakfast, we went down to the piazza. I took a few more pics of the ship, and then got some tea from the Platinum and Elite Lounge. Mr. Serenity said it was very “hoity toity” in the that lounge, the Donatello Dining Room. With classical music, and everybody speaking softly, it was a sharp contrast to the piazza, with the Hawaiian music playing. We also sat right to the crew’s departure area, where police were interrogating and frisking crew members. They asked the foreign workers, “Are you sending money back home? How much?” And things like that. It was interesting to see. Around 10:35, we decided to disembark.

We went through with no problems, collected our luggage, which was waiting for us, and went outside to wait for Mom and Dad, who arrived on time! My dad is very punctual but I take after my mother. We run on SST, Serenity Standard Time.

 

They took us back to their house, where we played a little ukulele for them, gave them some gifts, and then drove home to our house. We were both exhausted today, and not at all happy to be home, but we were thrilled to have been able to take such a wonderful and bonding trip together.

Here are some pics of the ship:

 

Happiness at the (Going to Look) Prego (If You Keep Eating There) Grill:

 

 

 

Happy Cookie Guy:

 

 

 

 

Our room as we're leaving:

 

 

 

 

 

Our closet (something that I LOVE about Princess cabins)

 

 

The buffet (or as my husband calls it, "The Jimmy Buffet")

[serenity27]

 

MUTS (different from the kind that bark):

 

 

[serenity27]

 

 

 

[serenity27]

And as we play in “Aloha O’e,” “A fond farewell…Till we meet again.”

And we have met again.

As you all know, I took a long break from writing this review. The reason for that break is truly wonderful and exciting. You may recall that I mentioned bringing our Mini Serenities back to Hawai’i to see Pearl Harbor and all of the other amazing sights. Well… now we have that chance.

Meet Baby Serenity:

 

 

[serenity27]

To tell you how much this cruise meant to us, we decided to take our “BabyMoon” in Hawai’i. We stayed right on Waikiki Beach for a week, snorkeled and watched my belly get bigger. For those who don’t know what a BabyMoon is, it’s kind of the “last hurrah” for parents before the little one is born.

Once Baby Serenity was born, we went to Santa Monica Pier and took these pics.

The three of us and our ukuleles: