Golden Alaska 5/24/14 Review

[Paula_MacFan]

I believe caribill meant that Princess hasn't mailed out paper cruise docs, with tickets, luggage tags, etc. for years. It was always an event to receive them in the mail!

 

ok then.....well I must not have been clear as the staff person never said 'mailed out'. They meant the documents are available for months in advance on the personalizer, and emails are sent out detailing the documents you must bring. Thanks for clarifying.

[dorisis]

Nice review. Too bad about the screaming baby. That would drive me up the wall.

[bconley351]

We were on the 5/10 Golden sailing. A couple of days into the cruise a box with the frame was left in our cabin. With it was a letter reminding us of the free picture, telling us to take the letter to the photo gallery to redeem it. I waited until the last day to decide what we wanted. Not sure why the later cruisers didn't get the letters, it makes no sense.

[Paula_MacFan]

We were on the 5/10 Golden sailing. A couple of days into the cruise a box with the frame was left in our cabin. With it was a letter reminding us of the free picture, telling us to take the letter to the photo gallery to redeem it. I waited until the last day to decide what we wanted. Not sure why the later cruisers didn't get the letters, it makes no sense.

 

They told us at the photo counter it was too much paper work to give everyone the voucher/letter. We thought it was odd since we got a voucher for the wine. The list was probably 6 pages long, and when we picked ours up on the last day and signed for it, there were only a handful of signatures on the pages we saw.

[petlover]

Paula, I so enjoyed reading your helpful review. What was your Cabin # ?

 

We too are in a Golden port side Emerald Mini Suite E718 on July 5 sailing.

 

I'm sorry about the crying baby, may have been teething, very unfortunate for you. We have 3 mini's for our families but unfortunately could NOT get 3 in a row, only 2. I'm concerned about the cabin with "someone else" being next door to our 20 month old grandson instead of us being next door to him. Will try to trade with "someone else" if we arrive before them since it's only 1 cabin apart. I'm sure "someone else" would rather be next door to us (2 adults) then our Daughter,S-I-L, 4 year old and 20 month old.

 

I've posted on Roll Call but afraid "someone else" may not be on the CC roll call to see my attempt to switch cabins.

Edited June 3, 2014 by petlover

[Paula_MacFan]

Paula, I so enjoyed reading your helpful review. What was your Cabin # ?

 

We too are in a Golden port side Emerald Mini Suite E718 on July 5 sailing.

 

I'm sorry about the crying baby, may have been teething, very unfortunate for you. We have 3 mini's for our families but unfortunately could NOT get 3 in a row, only 2. I'm concerned about the cabin with "someone else" being next door to our 20 month old grandson instead of us being next door to him. Will try to trade with "someone else" if we arrive before them since it's only 1 cabin apart. I'm sure "someone else" would rather be next door to us (2 adults) then our Daughter,S-I-L, 4 year old and 20 month old.

 

I've posted on Roll Call but afraid "someone else" may not be on the CC roll call to see my attempt to switch cabins.

 

We were in E728, the last cabin towards the aft. I'm pretty sure the child next to us was not feeling well -- maybe seasick or something. There was more crying and screaming than would be 'normal' for a child that age, based on my own experience. Luckily for us, they were out of their cabin for most of the day time, so it was only an issue in the morning and night. It would have really upset me if we had to listen to that on Glacier Bay day, because we really enjoyed being out on our balcony that day. I didn't want my review to focus on the crying baby issue, but I did feel it was worth mentioning. My husband and I are empty nesters and this cruise was a long time coming. We were really looking forward to peace and quiet and couple time. I'm sure the people next to us were looking forward to family time, but it did impact our cruise experience in a negative way.

[flower8]

One drawback was the screaming/crying toddler in the room next to us.

 

Did you try asking for another room? I am going on my first cruise soon and would find a crying baby next door very stressful.

 

Thank you for your review, by the way! The tip about exchanging the wine voucher is especially helpful since no one in my room drinks.

Edited June 3, 2014 by flower8

[Paula_MacFan]

Did you try asking for another room? I am going on my first cruise soon and would find a crying baby next door very stressful.

 

Thank you for your review, by the way! The tip about exchanging the wine voucher is especially helpful since no one in my room drinks.

 

We didn't ask for another room. We specifically chose that cabin for its extra large, covered balcony. No way would I give that up unless it was for a suite. It was tolerable, and we dealt with it. The cruise was still great and I don't want that issue to over shadow my memories. But having said that, I will think twice before booking another mini-suite since I now realize that is where families will typically be. There was another small child in the room next to the crying baby. We heard them occasionally on the balcony, but it was no bother (no crying or anything, just regular kid noises). Also this was our first Alaska cruise where I understand more families travel. We usually go to the Caribbean during school time so its not been an issue before.

[amandawi]

Thanks for the great review! We are leaving on this trip on the 14th!! Can't wait! That's awesome that you had such great weather.

 

One question:

I'm starting to pack this weekend and praying we'll have weather like you. Did you wear pants each day in port or was it warmer than that?

[Paula_MacFan]

Thanks for the great review! We are leaving on this trip on the 14th!! Can't wait! That's awesome that you had such great weather.

 

One question:

I'm starting to pack this weekend and praying we'll have weather like you. Did you wear pants each day in port or was it warmer than that?

 

Yes, we wore pants. We each took a pair of shorts just in case, but never wore them. We have some light-weight hiking pants that we wore a couple days. The only day we wore our insulated pants was on Glacier Bay day, and we could have gotten by with jeans. Have a great time!

[petlover]

We were in E728, the last cabin towards the aft. I'm pretty sure the child next to us was not feeling well -- maybe seasick or something. There was more crying and screaming than would be 'normal' for a child that age, based on my own experience. Luckily for us, they were out of their cabin for most of the day time, so it was only an issue in the morning and night. It would have really upset me if we had to listen to that on Glacier Bay day, because we really enjoyed being out on our balcony that day. I didn't want my review to focus on the crying baby issue, but I did feel it was worth mentioning. My husband and I are empty nesters and this cruise was a long time coming. We were really looking forward to peace and quiet and couple time. I'm sure the people next to us were looking forward to family time, but it did impact our cruise experience in a negative way.

 

Thank you Paula, happy that you had that larger balcony. On the online deck plan all the port mini's (E718-E278) look the same size so not to scale.

Good for the future to know that E728 is larger.

Our cabins are E718, E722, E724.

 

So happy you had such great weather too :)

[Paula_MacFan]

Thank you Paula, happy that you had that larger balcony. On the online deck plan all the port mini's (E718-E278) look the same size so not to scale.

Good for the future to know that E728 is larger.

Our cabins are E718, E722, E724.

 

So happy you had such great weather too :)

 

The end aft cabins have much larger balconies, no neighbors to the back, and nice wake views. Here's some pictures I found online before our cruise to give you an idea.

[pmd98052]

Where did the ship dock in Juneau? Was it right opposite the Mt Roberts tramway or the dock much further out from town?

[Paula_MacFan]

Where did the ship dock in Juneau? Was it right opposite the Mt Roberts tramway or the dock much further out from town?

 

We were at the furthest dock from town, or the 'bottom' spot on the port map. But it seemed we were close to the tram as we sat there and watched it from our balcony with no problems.

[WAshgirl]

Thanks for the detailed review! We will be on the same cruise July 19th! Can't wait!:)

[Foamer]

Thanks for the review - I'm feeling somewhat better about our upcoming cruise.

 

I guess the 5/14 cruise just had enough problems occur that it triggered the "I'm not having fun here" response in several people, who then wrote up reviews. I can sympathize.

[Lammy23]

Thank you for posting this review! My husband and I will be on the Golden in September and it is our very first cruise. I was happy to read about your experience viewing Glacier Bay from your balcony. We booked a balcony on Caribe and, while we do plan on going up on deck for some of it, were really looking forward to spending time on our own balcony, as we are not really fans of being crammed and fighting for deck space (just how I envision it, maybe it's much more lax!).

 

Crossing our fingers for no little ones disrupting our cruise. I get it, families need vacations too. But it doesn't change the fact that a constantly crying baby is downright obnoxious when you're trying to unwind (for others as well as that family, I'm sure). And, as a nanny, I am very much looking forward to NOT hearing any children. :)

[Starlaker]

I, too, am happy to read your positive review. The ones from the 5/14 cruise were not good. We were able to snag E731 with the big balcony on the starboard side for our Sept cruise and we are really looking forward to it. We had the corresponding balcony on the port side for our Panama Canal cruise and it was wonderful.

[dmbehlke]

Thank you for posting this review! My husband and I will be on the Golden in September and it is our very first cruise. I was happy to read about your experience viewing Glacier Bay from your balcony. We booked a balcony on Caribe and, while we do plan on going up on deck for some of it, were really looking forward to spending time on our own balcony, as we are not really fans of being crammed and fighting for deck space (just how I envision it, maybe it's much more lax!).

 

Crossing our fingers for no little ones disrupting our cruise. I get it, families need vacations too. But it doesn't change the fact that a constantly crying baby is downright obnoxious when you're trying to unwind (for others as well as that family, I'm sure). And, as a nanny, I am very much looking forward to NOT hearing any children. :)

 

Which day are you leaving, we are leaving out of Seattle on the Golden Sept 6th

[Lammy23]

Which day are you leaving, we are leaving out of Seattle on the Golden Sept 6th

 

We jump on after you get off. :) We're on the last sailing of the season, September 13th.

[SwimCarrie]

Have they upgraded the TV's on Golden to be On Demand?

 

My husband once told me it's silly to worry about hearing crying babies when you're travelling without them and all you want is quiet time. The beauty: They may be crying, but you don't have to do anything about it!!! It's all in your attitude. ;)

[AryMay]

Although it was also a great view from the open decks, we couldn't hear any of the same sounds we had heard from our balcony due to the people talking and ship's noises. So for all the people who say you need to be on the open decks to enjoy, I say compare for yourself. I would say we enjoyed the experience much more from the quiet solitude of our balcony, where the sensory experience was completely different.

 

We just got back from an Alaskan cruise on the Coral and I couldn't agree with you more! Here is a copy & paste from the review that I am posting over on the Alaska port of call board...sounds like we both had the same experience!

 

The sounds of the glacier were intriguing...sometimes we could hear what sounded like rumbling thunder...other times it was like gunshots. I do wish people would have been a little quieter...both on their balconies near ours and also when we were up on deck. Their talking prevented themselves and others around them from hearing the glacier "talk".

[caribill]

Have they upgraded the TV's on Golden to be On Demand?

 

 

No.

[Foamer]

Well, I went to check out some of Monk's comments.

 

I personally didn't think the Horizon Court food was that bad, although we mostly used it for breakfast. My parents, who sailed on the Golden this time as well as to Hawaii 2 (3?) years ago said that they'd noticed some things had slipped, and that the quality of the food in the Horizon Court was one of them (although they thought it still fine for breakfast).

 

MDR's were generally fine, Sabatini's incredible, with the Maitre 'd Hotel stopping by to say hi and giving a respectful (and not condescending) answer to my 10 year old nephew on how they made the sauce for the chicken skewers. Very impressive. The Crab Shack was terrific for us - that's an amazing amount of seafood. For my parents it was less successful, as the night they went they had a 20 minute (my mom watched the clock) wait between getting their seafood and getting the melted butter, by which time the crab was very cold.

 

Muster. Yeah, it was a bit lengthy, but it was a heck of a lot more complete than what we'd had on the Norwegian Jewel, and I don't think it took any longer.

 

Sol Play wasn't _bad_ as long as they stuck to their own genre of music. Whenever anyone so much as waved the word "country" at them, it was a bit of a train wreck. "Country Sounds" did not contain one song that my wife or I, longtime country fans, could identify as country. Most were mid-80s pop hits. I wonder how Joan Jett would like being cast as "country?" The hoe-down was better, with the majority of the songs being played being country, although none were newer than 2000. Possibly not newer than '95. Princess (and Norwegian for that matter) seems to equate "country" and "line dancing" when it hasn't been just that for a long time. DJ Mikey up in the Skywalker a little later was excellent with a multi-decade country mix.

 

B.something, the band that seemed to live in the Wheelhouse Lounge... well, whenever we went past there and they were playing, we tended to wince and then keep going. 'nuff said.

 

I don't know if Monk took in Billy Reid in the Promenade Lounge between 9 and 11 each night, but if they didn't they missed out - he was a flat out excellent entertainer, combining on the spot comedy, audience interaction, and an excellent bit of piano playing and singing into a unique show every night. He even took the somewhat forward proposals of a somewhat inebriated South African female and turned it into a song on the spot - which was then blended into most of the other songs of his set (usually requests), to great acclaim, laughs, and singing along.

 

The only production number we saw was Stardust, and it was quite good. We got to British Invasion too late - it was packed out and there was no way we were going to get a seat. The sing-long with Frozen was well attended. :)

 

Polonius, a Polish String quartet, was quite entertaining in a quiet way, with a wide breadth of music that they covered.

 

The Piazza was usually a nice place to find a bit of peace and (gentle music included) quiet. The only times that it wasn't was on the first day out (first sea day) when, in my opinion, they sorta screwed up. The weather sucked most of the trip, and especially that day - we were not in the Inside Passage yet and the seas were pretty rough - they had the barf bags out in the restrooms, and two of my nephews needed them. So on this day when most of the passengers already feel like they've got a hangover thanks to the ships motion, they blast loud music in the Piazza as an intro for the Martini demonstration... it definitely screwed up my enjoyment. My wife and I had been trying to get as close to mid-ship "low" as we could, but that drove us straight out. Ah well.

 

The pools.... sigh. I actually only used one of the hot tubs, once, on the first night. The weather was already heading south. Now, this is a ship with 4 pools, 3 outside and 1 inside. The spa pool was drained and closed the entire cruise, although at least one of the hot tubs up there was open most of the time. But the one one all-weather pool in the place, the Calypso, spent most of the cruise closed or out of service (they actually drained and scrubbed it late the first day, making me wonder if someone had had an accident in it). The rest of the pools and hot tubs were at the mercy of the elements, and the elements generally weren't being very merciful. The hot tubs were closed randomly and without explanation - it seemed the maintenance fairies went around hanging netting on them randomly. It discouraged me from even wanting to use them, since I had no idea if they'd be open.

 

The odd: why does pulling into port in Ketchikan (and other places) involve 20 minutes of extended grinding noises from below the ship that vibrated us (and woke us up, it being about 6am) all the way up on Aloha Deck 12? It made me wonder if the Azipods were about the break off the bottom of the ship...

 

BTW, don't trust their channel listing on the TV's, apparently there are more channels on there than they mention. Or so my parents told me, after they found the Fox News channel.

Edited June 30, 2014 by Foamer

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Well, I went to check out some of Monk's comments...

 

Thanks for the review! I'll be on the Golden this fall for a short cruise to Baja, so won't have much time onboard to discover things worth doing on my own. And not much time to waste on things not worth doing. So reviews like this really help give a leg up!