New Golden Horizon Court!

[seattleslew]

Just had a call from our favorite waiter (11 cruises) and he says the HC is all done! He wouldn't answer more specifically and says we'll need to come see it ourselves. OK then, we will! Tomorrow at noon. I'll send as much detail as I can and will try to figure out how to send pics. We loved the old Golden and can't wait to see the new one.

[hockeygal54]

We'll be aboard in August for AK and looking forward to the remodel also! We were on Coral before the facelift to AK in 2012 then back again for PC a year ago last month and the HC was much improved. [emoji4]

[IECalCruiser]

I'm assuming the changes are the same that were made on the Grand and the Sapphire. A new serving area was added outside the main serving area. It's used for pastries in the morning, sandwiches and salads in the afternoon and desserts in the evening. Seating was rearranged to give the same capacity even with the lost space.

[greenie082756]

Just had a call from our favorite waiter (11 cruises) and he says the HC is all done! He wouldn't answer more specifically and says we'll need to come see it ourselves. OK then, we will! Tomorrow at noon. I'll send as much detail as I can and will try to figure out how to send pics. We loved the old Golden and can't wait to see the new one.

 

Sweet! Can't wait to hear about the improvements! I always felt their Horizon Court was cumbersome.

[Miss Pat]

If it's anything like the Coral it has more seating & it brighter & has a separate dessert section. The only thing that I didn't like was that you had to go all the way through the buffet area to get coffee or ice tea but it was still not a jammed up at the old setup.

The only thing they could do now to improve upon it is to get rid of that liquid coffee. ;)

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Sweet! Can't wait to hear about the improvements! I always felt their Horizon Court was cumbersome.

 

Me, too! I hope someone can post some pics. The former HC design was a weak spot on the Golden, IMO.

[waltd]

If it's anything like the Coral it has more seating & it brighter & has a separate dessert section. The only thing that I didn't like was that you had to go all the way through the buffet area to get coffee or ice tea but it was still not a jammed up at the old setup.

The only thing they could do now to improve upon it is to get rid of that liquid coffee. ;)

 

What!!!!! I use that stuff to clean my dentures.

[trbarton]

I'll be doing a BVE on May 22nd and I'll do a comprehensive review along with photos of the Horizon Buffet, the casino, photo department and see if I can find the new VIP section. Hopefully people on the next cruises will also post.

 

It's easy to post photos and I upload my photos to Photo Bucket and then post the codes into my post.

 

This is a sample of posting photos that I took of the boarding ramp when I was on the Press/Media tour last fall of the new San Francisco terminal.

 

Tom😎

[Colo Cruiser]

Good to hear about the HC.

[liltravelgal]

Just had a call from our favorite waiter (11 cruises) and he says the HC is all done! He wouldn't answer more specifically and says we'll need to come see it ourselves. OK then, we will! Tomorrow at noon. I'll send as much detail as I can and will try to figure out how to send pics. We loved the old Golden and can't wait to see the new one.

 

i'm hoping you can send photos of the Golden. I was on her May 2013 and will re visit her June 1. :D

[Casey12]

I hope it is like the Sapphire Princess. Nice addition to the buffet.

[bonandmick]

If it's anything like the Coral it has more seating & it brighter & has a separate dessert section. The only thing that I didn't like was that you had to go all the way through the buffet area to get coffee or ice tea but it was still not a jammed up at the old setup.

The only thing they could do now to improve upon it is to get rid of that liquid coffee. ;)

 

Ok- I know coffee, should be liquid. Wondering what you mean by liquid coffee?

We will be cruising on the Golden in a few weeks for the first time.

[RickEk]

Ok- I know coffee, should be liquid. Wondering what you mean by liquid coffee?

We will be cruising on the Golden in a few weeks for the first time.

 

They mean coffee that is brewed from a syrup instead of from beans.

[bonandmick]

Really, coffee made from syrup. That is pathetic. Does it taste awful?

How hard is it to brew coffee? I jut made a cup myself.

I am hoping that we can just drink what they have free on the ship, and not have them upsell us to specialty bottled waters, and specialty coffees. Are they trying to make that impossible? We don't have infinite money to spend. I am not that picky, but want at least a decent cup of coffee, it doesn't have to be starbucks.

[JF - retired RRT]

Really, coffee made from syrup. That is pathetic. Does it taste awful?

How hard is it to brew coffee? I jut made a cup myself.

I am hoping that we can just drink what they have free on the ship, and not have them upsell us to specialty bottled waters, and specialty coffees. Are they trying to make that impossible? We don't have infinite money to spend. I am not that picky, but want at least a decent cup of coffee, it doesn't have to be starbucks.

The coffee is very subjective (what isn't?). DH thinks it tastes like Taster's Choice and doesn't mind it. Some hate it, some don't mind it, a very few like it.;)

YMWV...taste it and if you don't like it, buy a coffee card or bring your own.

[RickEk]

Really, coffee made from syrup. That is pathetic. Does it taste awful?

How hard is it to brew coffee? I jut made a cup myself.

I am hoping that we can just drink what they have free on the ship, and not have them upsell us to specialty bottled waters, and specialty coffees. Are they trying to make that impossible? We don't have infinite money to spend. I am not that picky, but want at least a decent cup of coffee, it doesn't have to be starbucks.

 

It's not the difficulty of brewing coffee from beans, it's the used grounds that are an issue. By limiting brewed coffee from beans to a few bars and the IC (or similar venue), they are limiting the amount of grounds that would have to be stored and disposed of at a later time. Personally, I don't find the MDR coffee objectionable, but then, I don't drink much coffee... YMMV

[bonandmick]

It's not the difficulty of brewing coffee from beans, it's the used grounds that are an issue. By limiting brewed coffee from beans to a few bars and the IC (or similar venue), they are limiting the amount of grounds that would have to be stored and disposed of at a later time. Personally, I don't find the MDR coffee objectionable, but then, I don't drink much coffee... YMMV

 

So, does that mean that they don't use fresh vegetables? It all adds up to compost, when cooking with fresh foods. I hope they just don't use frozen everything, and reconstituted stuff.

[caribill]

Really, coffee made from syrup. That is pathetic. Does it taste awful?

 

Actually, you probably have had coffee made from syrup in many of the restaurants you have been to on land and did not realize it.

 

Like coffee you buy at a grocery store, syrup based coffee comes in different quality levels. If a high quality syrup is used, most people cannot tell the difference from fresh brewed.

 

Speculation is that Princess does not use the highest quality syrup available.

[waltd]

Really, coffee made from syrup. That is pathetic. Does it taste awful?

How hard is it to brew coffee? I jut made a cup myself.

I am hoping that we can just drink what they have free on the ship, and not have them upsell us to specialty bottled waters, and specialty coffees. Are they trying to make that impossible? We don't have infinite money to spend. I am not that picky, but want at least a decent cup of coffee, it doesn't have to be starbucks.

 

Well thank god it's not Starbucks. Talk about bitter.

[RickEk]

So, does that mean that they don't use fresh vegetables? It all adds up to compost, when cooking with fresh foods. I hope they just don't use frozen everything, and reconstituted stuff.

 

Yes, the vegetables are fresh. The point is that they are reducing one aspect of the biodegradable waste that eventually gets flushed into the ocean. Across the fleet that equates to a significant amount of waste that is not being generated.

 

And, btw, the water onboard is better than most bottled water (it's desalinated and purified onboard). We never buy the bottled water because the tap water is perfectly fine.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Duplicate post.

Edited May 31, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[Shelly97060]

I'm assuming the changes are the same that were made on the Grand and the Sapphire. A new serving area was added outside the main serving area. It's used for pastries in the morning, sandwiches and salads in the afternoon and desserts in the evening. Seating was rearranged to give the same capacity even with the lost space.

 

I haven't seen the renovations on Grand or Sapphire but was on Golden right after dry dock and your description sounds correct. They added the new serving area, replaced the carpets and tile, replaced the tables and chairs.

[Woobstr112G]

It's not the difficulty of brewing coffee from beans, it's the used grounds that are an issue. By limiting brewed coffee from beans to a few bars and the IC (or similar venue), they are limiting the amount of grounds that would have to be stored and disposed of at a later time. Personally, I don't find the MDR coffee objectionable, but then, I don't drink much coffee... YMMV

 

Ok by me as well.....:):):)

 

Bob