Golden July 2 - 9 brief review

[Golfermom2]

Just back to reality from an awesome Alaskan adventure. Here's my highlights:

 

We were in B630 balcony on Baja deck. Teenage kids were across the hall in an inside stateroom. Room was great and I loved having the balcony when it was warm enough to get out there. Which was most of the time if dressed properly. The only problem was in Glacier Bay I couldn't really watch from there as all it took was one smoker to ruin the clean fresh air of the Bay for the rest of us. Too bad, but we just spent the day on deck. We had a beautiful day so that worked fine.

The kids loved having the freedom and independence their cabin afforded them. The went to the teen club mainly to meet kids and then went from there. They did say that the programs, for the most part, were "lame". And the teen room was tiny, tiny! (Esp. compared to the space you get on a Disney ship). They each (dd almost 16 and ds 14) met kids they spent the week with and loved the trip. We saw them for excursions and dinner (most nights) and that was about it! They used the pools even if we never put a suit on.

 

Food was great - too good, really. :) We had Anytime dining and went early most nights. It seemed to get crowded by 6 or so and if you didn't have a reservation you had to wait. Didn't make sense to me since it is called Anytime dining? :p We worked it. We were surprised at how people dressed. I made Trent put on nice pants and a nice shirt every night and he commented on how others were dressed. Oh well, to each their own. We ate in the Crown Grill one night - the desserts there were the best we had all week. Horizon Court was fine - never really had dinner there except the last night but the only time we had a problem finding a seat was the last morning breakfast when everyone was there. Definitely a big enough selection of food. The only thing we didn't like was having to wait for drinks. We would've preferred self serve to speed things up.

 

Speaking of drinks - we bought both the Ultimate Kids sticker (for all) and the coffee cards (for the 2 of us) right off the bat. Kind of annoying, really, having sailed on Disney where soft drinks aren't extra at the drink stations and you can get it yourself anytime. Abby enjoyed the Mocktails. I'm not sure we totally got our money's worth, but it was sure easier to show the sticker and not deal with charging every time.

 

The International Cafe was my favorite. Alex was the first person I saw every morning (usually right at 6 am!). He remembered me from the start and always was ready with a smile and coffee. And the food there was the best.

 

Shows were ok. Stardust was my favorite. Michael the naturalist was wonderful. I got one of his books autographed and he was so personable and interested in each and every person there. Not to mention his talks were inspired.

 

We got lucky with mostly good weather. Still needed layers outside most times.

Juneau we took the tram up - awesome views - and hiked the loop. Then we did the canoe trip across Mendenhall Lake. The best. We got closest to the glacier w/o going on it in a helicopter. Canoed right next to ice bergs. We got rained on going back across the lake - made for a chilly ride back to the ship.

Skagway we took the train right away - again, awesome views. Then we did the zipline. Fun for all. Tom and I did a little shopping after while the kids went back to the ship - they couldn't wait to get back to their new friends.

Glacier Bay was great. Overcast but not much rain. We saw a humpback breech 10 - 12 times down the side of the ship as we were leaving. Really something.

Ketchikan we went fishing with Ken from Northern Lights. He was the best. We caught 4 King Salmon by 8 am. It quieted down then and we only got 3 more, but that was enough! We each reeled one in with Abby and Tom reeling at the same time. It's much harder to do than it looks. Then Abby took a nap and the rest of us shared the last 3. Ken was great with the kids, esp Abby who was not particularly thrilled with the whole thing. Esp. when he hit the fish with the bat. But he got her to catch one despite all her misgivings and she did have a good time. He called some eagles and we got some good pictures of that. Definitely a highlight of the whole trip. Ken was so down to earth and casual - made us feel right at home.

Victoria the kids went to town briefly - one of the girls Abby met lives there and was getting off the ship and she showed them around a little. Tom and I stayed on the ship and watched Casablanca.

We did the Seattle tour after disembarking and that worked out great. We then stayed at the Westin overnight so had the afternoon to further explore Seattle. Tom and I got up early Sunday and walked back down to Pike Place Market as they opened up before we had to get to the airport and come home.

 

Overall, we loved the Golden. Every staff person was friendly all the time. Even the kids commented on how nice everyone was. I do think our steward Cristina finally gave up on cleaning the kids room by the last day. I don't blame her at all as they had clothes everywhere and slept in til we got them up (kind of like home.....) :rolleyes:

 

I can answer any questions anyone has!

 

Georgianne

[OhioDogLover]

Georgianne<

Nice review; it sounds as if you all had a really good time.

Ohiodoglover

[boaterette]

Nice review. Did the ship just let your teenagers off by themselves or did you have to go with them to give permission?

[Golfermom2]

They got off by themselves. We weren't sure, esp since it was Canada so we watched from the deck until we saw them walking down the pier. :p We told them they had to stay together and gave them a time to return and it was fine.

[j cruiser]

Thanks for that great review. We're going in a couple of weeks. Can't wait!

[OurDogCisco]

We are booked for Eastern Carribean on the Ruby and frankly I'm nervous about the decor and kids' club. I'm a very visual person and I love taking pictures. Disney and RCCL are very visually appealing to me. Did you feel that from Princess? My kids will be 11 and 14 when we sail so I'm worried about the clubs. They have been on 5 Disney cruises and 1 RCCL cruise. We just came off the Dream with the water slide and all.

[Working 2 Cruise]

We are booked for Eastern Carribean on the Ruby and frankly I'm nervous about the decor and kids' club. I'm a very visual person and I love taking pictures. Disney and RCCL are very visually appealing to me. Did you feel that from Princess? My kids will be 11 and 14 when we sail so I'm worried about the clubs. They have been on 5 Disney cruises and 1 RCCL cruise. We just came off the Dream with the water slide and all.

 

Princess is much more sedate in its color scheme, which I personally find more appealing... No water slides, but you will have MUTS, movies under the stars...

[Golfermom2]

Well, if you compare it to Disney you will be very disappointed. Hopefully you are going for the destinations and not just for the kids clubs. We only went in the teen club so I can't tell you about the other, but there was not much space. I don't know if the Ruby is any different. I'm sure they do not get as many kids on the Alaska/Hawaii routes as the Caribbean, so it may be different. That being said, my kids both said they had a great time and didn't want to come home. I think it was more the friends they made and the fun they made and the independence they had to come and go and eat and whatever whenever they wanted.

[Toddy709]

We are booked for Eastern Carribean on the Ruby and frankly I'm nervous about the decor and kids' club. I'm a very visual person and I love taking pictures. Disney and RCCL are very visually appealing to me. Did you feel that from Princess? My kids will be 11 and 14 when we sail so I'm worried about the clubs. They have been on 5 Disney cruises and 1 RCCL cruise. We just came off the Dream with the water slide and all.

 

I don't mean this to sound snarky at all:o, but why would you switch to Princess with you and your kids so obviously happy with Disney and RCCL(?)?

 

My first cruise was on Disney and my second on Princess. I was shocked at the difference in size of the staterooms/bathrooms!! I thought the food was even better on Disney. We took our kids on Princess for the first time at age 18 and 15 and they had a good time, but neither were interested in the teen club. As I said, they liked Princess, but I think they would have loved RCCL!

 

Don't get me wrong, now that we no longer sail with kids, Princess is by far our favorite line! But if I was looking to keep the kids happy, I think I would stick with Disney or RCCL. I am looking forward to one day having grands that I can take on Disney!

 

For the time being, though, I love the nice, calm, relaxed feeling I get on Princess!! If you're looking for something different, you may be disappointed.

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for writing your review. We were on the Golden in February and really enjoyed sailing on her.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Jasperdo]

Thanks for the review. We were on the Golden to Alaska 3 weeks ago and had a great time as well.

[karatemom2]

We are booked for Eastern Carribean on the Ruby and frankly I'm nervous about the decor and kids' club. I'm a very visual person and I love taking pictures. Disney and RCCL are very visually appealing to me. Did you feel that from Princess? My kids will be 11 and 14 when we sail so I'm worried about the clubs. They have been on 5 Disney cruises and 1 RCCL cruise. We just came off the Dream with the water slide and all.

 

Well maybe I can help alleviate some of your concerns. We started our cruising years with Disney when our kids were 10 and 5. They are now 12 and 17. In fact our two initial cruises were with DCL. But we quickly discovered that other lines offered a wonderful experience for our family with a much greater choice of destinations and itineraries, and for a fraction of the price. Disney is great and what they do, they do very well, but there is much to like about other lines as well. We have been on NCL, Carnival and RCI too, but we keep coming back to Princess as our favorite. The ships are gorgeous and well appointed. I can't imagine being disappointed at the visual aspect. And the rest is great as well from food, to service to entertainment.

 

Frankly, my kids would tell you they prefer Princess over Disney. Quite honestly the frantic kid-packed frenetic pace of a DCL cruise was a little overwhelming to them. They have really enjoyed the kid's programs on Princess, albeit smaller and a little more relaxed. It actually provides better opportunities to connect with other kids and the counselors because the ratios are smaller and more manageable. We also do a lot together as a family as opposed to the divide and entertain model. We find that Princess is much more conducive to joint family fun as well as individual pursuits. I think any vacation is what you make it and I'm sure you will find things you really love about Princess and so will your kids, even though the Mouse is not part of the package! :)

[Golfermom2]

I agree with karatemom - it was all about the destination for us this time. I do think Disney does great stuff and there is more space in the staterooms and kids rooms, but Princess was perfect for us this time. Frankly, the kids may have had the same response about programming on Disney at this age (lame). They were really interested in meeting kids and just hanging with them. They are young teenagers and the attitudes can be challenging. :p And in other ways they want to be more adult so they liked that about the cruise.

Saying that, my dd wants to sail on the new Disney ship in 2 years for a graduation present - she does love Disney....... so we're saving our money for that!

[srpilo]

Glad you enjoyed the Golden :)

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for telling yours and your familiy's Golden cruise experience

Srpilo

[wecruisealottoo]

which side of the ship enjoyed the best views... or did it matter?

[pmc7704]

" We were surprised at how people dressed. I made Trent put on nice pants and a nice shirt every night and he commented on how others were dressed. Oh well, to each their own."

 

Were you surprised at how casual everyone dressed, or how nicely dressed everyone was ? I had heard that the Alaska cruises were a lot more casual when it came to dress codes. Not sure at this point how to pack for my Alaska cruise next year.

[Golfermom2]

Pat - We were surprised at how casual they dressed in the dining room. Jeans and t-shirts, shorts, pretty much whatever they had on. Not everyone, but more than I would have thought. On formal nights there were signs that said "no jeans or t-shirts allowed' but they didn't turn anyone away. Now, not that many did that on Formal night, but still. I still had fun getting dressed up for dinner, even just nice pants and a top for smart casual, made it seem special. I just ignored them!

 

As to which side? It didn't matter. It seems like there were equal numbers of times to see things and in Glacier Bay we were on deck mostly anyways. We were on the port side and in Juneau and Ketchikan were facing the land side which was fun.

 

G

[erewhon]

Golfermom2,

 

Thank you for the report of your cruise.