Review of Golden Princess Alaska 8/2-8/9 Part I

[Marieze]

Hi Everyone!

 

I am just going to write random thoughts about different aspects of our trip. Everything from soup to nuts!

 

We live in Portland, OR so we drove up on the Friday before our cruise and stayed in Bellevue. For Parking we left or car for the week at Seattle Cruise Park which was an excellent experience. $140. for the week. Shuttle service back and forth to pier 91. They helped with the luggage. I felt the cars were very secure as they are parked on an Armory lot that is leased.

 

We arrived at the Port at around 10:30 and there were a few others there. Everything was VERY well organized and things ran like a well oiled machine. After showing our paperwork and passports we were escorted to a check-in window and given our Cruise Cards. We were then seated in the boarding area where at 11:45 they began the boarding process. Kinda like Disneyland, you zig-zag through the ropes and wait until the people with "status" are boarded. This is also when the disabled are able to board. We waited there till about 12:15. Not bad though. We were one of the first "regular" people to board and they took our pictures and we were off to our cabin. Our luggage was already there and that was a surprise! We then went right down to the dining room and had a lovely lunch. The service was great considering it was embarkation day.

 

After reading so much on cruise critic prior to my leaving I was expecting some negatives. Some things I had read I agreed with and some, my experience was to the complete contrary. Now, I hadn't cruised in over 25 years, but I am a former travel agency owner (25 years) and have been on almost 30 cruises so I feel somewhat able to critique with some level of accuracy.

 

The ship, I felt, was in great condition. We chose an inside cabin because for the difference in price we could take some pretty awesome shore excursions. I am SO glad we got an inside. It was midship and perfect. It was nice and dark to sleep and the layout was perfect. We've already re-booked the same cabin on the Crown for next year! We were NEVER in our cabin. We showered, changed and slept and saved a bundle...what could be so bad! The cabin was very utilitarian and we had the twin beds. My son is 6'4 and his feet hung out of the end of the bed, so that wasn't great. The only real downside was the beds themselves....complete torture. Yes, we got the egg crate as soon as we boarded and it made no difference. That bed was the worst thing I have ever slept on in my entire life. Truly, the only downside of our cruise. I did bring my own extra hangers which I was glad I did, and I brought my own shampoo, conditioner and soap and was glad I did that as well. They do supply something affixed to the shower wall but again, I decided to bring our own stuff. I also brought one of those things to plug into the wall with extra sockets to charge our ipad and phones and that, too, served us well. After hearing about how the shower curtain sticks to everyone's body, I brought some of those heavy paper clamp things and they worked like a charm.

 

Our room steward, Patrick was fantastic and he provided great service. On to the Horizon Court...well....overall we weren't crazy about it. I think it's o.k for breakfast and maybe lunch (not even sure about that), but definitely not dinner. This is just our opinion. Our breakfasts were a combination of the Horizon Court and the dining room. We never experienced lines at the Horizon Court which some have complained about. For breakfast they served all your standard breakfast meats but in particular, I loved the corned beef hash with an egg on it. They also had oatmeal and grits, tons of fresh fruit, deli meats and cheese and lots of other stuff. Personally, I enjoyed breakfast in the dining room and having lox/cream cheese/bagel/onion/capers with a cup of coffee! I know there is so much controversy about the coffee, but it was fine....no big deal. If it's not "stumptown" from our roaster here in Portland, OR, to me they all taste the same haha!

 

Lunch was a combination of the International Café and the dining room. The dining room offers everything from Beef Rouladen to Club Sandwiches. The lunches I felt were o.k., nothing spectacular. The only disappointment here was I used to love their soups and felt they weren't as creamy as they used to be. My son, however, loved them.

 

For dinner, we had anytime dining and LOVED it. We eat a bit on the early side, from about 5:30 to 6:30 and never had a line and were able to have a table for two each and every night....no problem. They would ask if we would like to share, we said no and we were off to our table. People had mentioned that the two tops were right on top of each other and that was absolutely not our experience in the dining room. I never once felt too close to anyone who I felt could hear our conversation. As far as food highlights go....do not miss the goat cheese soufflé. Even if you don't like goat cheese, you MUST order this....I command you :D I had two! OMG! I have traveled extensively and have never had anything the likes of this....that alone would be worth booking another cruise! The food was very good and our service, every time was stellar. I am not a huge dessert person so I didn't go for that love boat thing everyone raves about but the cheesecake which they serve every night is creamy and delicious. The ice-cream was also very good and the orange soufflé...hmm....maybe I am a closet dessert person after all!

 

As far as the shows go, the only one my son and I decided to see was the comedian and he was very funny! The whole audience seemed to enjoy him very much! We also never went to any of the movies....neither MUNS (outside) or inside. The one thing we REALLY enjoyed were all the game things they offered. Offered both during the day and night, we participated in the Trivia Challenges and any other games that the audience participates in. We really had a blast with that stuff. My son is 17 and he popped into the teen center one day and felt it was too young for him. That's something else I'm not able to report on as he didn't participate with that.

 

I did purchase the internet package and got the one that had the maximum minutes for about $200. It was well worth every penny for us. Each night and occasionally during the day we went on the ipad and could post pictures to facebook etc. Yes, the service is extremely slow but it is what it is. I liked being able to read news and see my email. My son actually began his college app online one night! Oh, before I forget, the TV in the room has all kinds of stuff....we didn't watch any T.V., but the TV Guide had all the home improvement shows, cooking shows, News, ESPN, movies....pretty much the kinds of things most people would want to watch.

 

Also, we never did make it to any of the specialty restaurants. I had wanted to try both Sabatini's and the Crown Grill but the reservations went fast. If you are considering either, as others have suggested, call right away upon boarding and get it booked. I'll know better next time. I did hear some passengers saying they did not like Sabatini's and didn't hear anything about the crown grill.

 

The International Café is fabulous. I don't think I would now go on a ship that didn't have one! The salads are great, and the Tiramisu is a must. I love Tiramisu and this was a good one! They also have a daily sugar-free dessert. I did purchase a coffee card and had a latte most mornings. Frankly, I was very disappointed in the lattes. But, that's just my opinion. Several people ordered the really fancy drinks like Frappe kinda stuff and they raved about them so those must be good. A latte is as fancy as I enjoy and again, meh. Bring your coffee container from home and they will use that if you want. I bought one of the princess containers and it didn't keep the latte warm at all. I felt that when they just put it in a to-go cup it stayed hotter longer. The hot chocolate on the other hand was great!

 

We didn't use the spa or the sanctuary so can't speak to that. My son used the gym everyday and said it was o.k. He likes free-weights and said their emphasis was more on the elliptical machines and treadmills. He also said that some of the people had their little kids in there and they were running amok and playing on the equipment....so dangerous!

 

There are a lot of professional photo opportunities. There are so many photos to mill through, I waited until the last night of our cruise when we came in from Victoria and then found our pictures. By then most people had cleared out and had already made their purchases. This was a smart move, indeed!

 

One of the things I was glad I purchased and used just about the whole trip was this passport holder thing I purchased on Amazon. It held our cruise cards, Drivers Licenses which we needed for an excursion, money, debit card and passports. You wear it around your neck and it was extremely useful. I think it was about $15.00.

 

Oh, I really need to talk about this. Dress code....what a joke! If you are a people watcher like I am, you will have a field day. I will speak about the dining room only; For breakfast one can wear shorts, sandals and pretty much anything you want. No problem. Lunch, ditto. For dinner they suggest business casual. Wow, is that ever open to interpretation! Yes, people wore jeans, yes, people wore sandals...I didn't see any shorts at dinner but truly, you can pretty much wear anything you want. Now, maybe it's just Alaska, or maybe just our maitre'd....not sure....but on formal night it was pretty much the same. I didn't see one long gown, many women were in cocktail dresses or pantsuits etc. and not one tuxedo! We were about to be seated and a family had just come in from a shore excursion and were dressed in very casual clothes and they were even seated....and this was formal night. I like it that way. My son wore a jacket and tie and I dressed but I couldn't care less what other people want to do...that's their business and that's how I look at it. How someone else dresses will not change my experience. Nonetheless, it's quite a show.

 

We only went into one of the gift shops once to buy some tums..it was something like $4.00 for one very small roll. Be sure to take any toiletries you think you may need because, wow, they really get you on the little things. A can of Pringles was $5.00 haha! But hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!

 

The laundry room was awesome. Before we left I had gone to Target and bought some of those 3x and 4x gigantic Ziploc bags. Glad I did. We used it for laundry. By Wednesday I needed to do a few loads. The change machine was broken and someone informed me they always are on all floors. I went to the pursers desk and got a roll of quarters. She tried to encourage me to use their laundry service which is probably why the laundry machines don't work....but then again...I'm suspicious by nature. It is $2.00 per load of laundry and $2.00 per dry. I needed to do two dries for each drier. They also sell detergent for $2.00 and will only make one load. Again at Target, I purchased these little travel size containers of all....and one of bleach....and glad I did.

 

Keep in mind that we drove to Seattle so I didn't need to worry about flying and baggage allowance considerations.

 

Later today I will post the balance of our trip including shore excursions and disembarkation and any other random thought that I can think of!

 

Marieze:D:D

Edited August 16, 2014 by Marieze

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your review, whats the comedians name?

[jasbo49]

Thanks for Part 1. We'll look forward to Part 2. I'm glad the anytime dining worked out for you. I remember you were concerned about whether you could get a table for two every night, and it sounds like that worked great.

 

I'm tuned in here partly because we're going on the Golden Princess in October. Different itinerary and experience for sure, but I figure some of it crosses over.

 

Can you tell me what you can drink for free at the International Café? I asked on another thread, but I don't think the person who answered understood my question. Can you get milk, juice, regular coffee, ice tea? The same things you can get at Horizon Court? It's hard for me to believe your only choices are water and extra-cost drinks.

 

Jim

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review and looking forward to part 2.

[shredie]

Ditto on the Tums warning! :D

[caribill]

Now, I hadn't cruised in over 25 years....

 

The only disappointment here was I used to love their soups and felt they weren't as creamy as they used to be.

 

Recipes have changed in 25 years.

 

Thanks for your report. Looking forward to part 2.

[caribill]

Can you tell me what you can drink for free at the International Café? I asked on another thread, but I don't think the person who answered understood my question. Can you get milk, juice, regular coffee, ice tea? The same things you can get at Horizon Court? It's hard for me to believe your only choices are water and extra-cost drinks.

 

At the IC only tap water (chilled) and milk are at no extra cost.

[Tallcruiser]

Thank you for posting your review. I am looking forward to part 2.:D

[OldSeaDog]

Thanks for this review. In return, here's the recipe for Princess goat cheese souffle:

 

Princess Cruises Double Baked Goat Cheese Souffle Recipe

 

Ingredients:

1 pint milk

1 oz baked garlic puree

1/2 lb goat cheese

8 egg yolks

1/2 pound butter (room temperature)

1/2 lb flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup Gruyere cheese for sauce

Butter for molds

1/4 cup parmesan cheese to coat molds

2 cups double cream (can use heavy cream)

Instructions:

Preheat over to 375° Butter 6 3/4 cup ramekins and dusk with parmesian cheese.

Place the milk into a heavy-bottom sauce pan, bring to a boil, and whisk in the baked garlic. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Mix butter and flour until a roux is formed, now called beurre manier.

Whisk the beurre manier into the milk/garlic and beat well over the heat, allow to cook out to a thick consistency.

Add in the egg yolks and beat well, allow to cook out.

Bring the pan to the side of the stove, add in the crumbled goat cheese, beat until dissolved and season lightly.

Whip up the egg whites to a stiff peak and fold throughout the mixture retaining as much as possible.

Place the souffle mix into a piping bag and pipe into pre-buttered parmesan coated silpat or ramekin molds.

Divide soufflé mixture among ramekins and arrange in a large baking pan just large enough to hold them. Add enough hot water to baking pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake soufflés in middle of oven until slightly puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes, and transfer to a rack.

Let soufflés stand, uncovered, 30 minutes (soufflés will fall slightly).

Lightly butter a baking sheet. Run a thin knife around edges of soufflés. Invert each soufflé onto palm of your hand and carefully put, right side up, onto baking sheet. Soufflés may be made up to this point 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.

Increase temperature to 425°F.

In a small saucepan bring cream with remaining teaspoon thyme and salt and pepper to taste to a boil. Remove pan from heat and keep cream warm, covered. Bake soufflés in middle of oven until slightly puffed and heated through, about 5 minutes.

Transfer soufflés to plates. Spoon 2 tablespoons cream over each soufflé. Princess serves with a decorative salad.

[baggal]

Along with Princess's Fettucine Alfredo, its a heart attack on a plate!

 

 

And don't forget the cheese cake and creme brulee for dessert.

 

Enjoy!

[azrose]

looking forward to the pics and more....we're leaving on the Golden in less than 2 weeks now :D

[Arizona-Cruising]

:D

 

Extra plug ins behind the TV and the small rail to hold devices. Some TV have a USB port to plug in devices. do not recall on the Golden last time.

 

I bought a lighted plug in that has access to 3 plugs and a dual usb port that plugs into the wall.

 

Reflection: is it wrong on a cruise we talk of so many plug in devices....haha ;) technology.....

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for the first part of your review.:):):)