So what did you think of the Golden Princess?

[Esilef]

Hi, are you allowed to take drinks onboard???

 

I'm going to nz in Feb and wondered if you could take bottled water or anything else on board

 

 

Yes you are 1 bottle per adult per state room.

 

I got the soda and more package prior to cruising and you could buy it on board but only on the first night.

 

It was worth having

[Fish66]

Yes you are 1 bottle per adult per state room.

 

I got the soda and more package prior to cruising and you could buy it on board but only on the first night.

 

It was worth having

 

I don't usually drink anything other than tea and water

So hopefully they are both free :)

[kathk13]

This was my second cruise and my mums first. Last time I was on the Sea Princess.

 

Thought the Golden was lovely. We were on Caribe and had the huge balcony which was awesome.

 

We had early dining which in hindsight was a bit early. Waiters were lovely, food was delicious and our table mates delightful.

 

Found the buffet to be not quite as good quality as last cruise but still better than cooking so I'm not really complaining!

 

Muster was great, went very smoothly.

 

Loved the music trivia - hope that becomes a regular activity.

 

Downside was the early close on the casino, not so much me but mum likes the pokies - not that it was any fault of Princess. I also have to chase up credits as we purchased through my princess casino credits that weren't on our account when we boarded. When we got home they have been charged to mums credit card.

 

Other slight annoyances was getting to the Canneletto dining room, sloooow lifts, and the power adapter saga! Also, I know it was a cheaper cruise but it would be nice if some passengers remembered where they were and thought about their inside polite voices. Heard one lady outside Explorers going to f** smash some blokes f**** head in :eek:

 

Overall fantastic ship - booked on it again in Jan 2017 and have a Diamond princess cruise in March so will get to compare the two :)

[OzKiwiJJ]

I don't usually drink anything other than tea and water

So hopefully they are both free :)

 

Yes, water and tea are freely available but not the bottled water - you pay for that.

 

However you can take a pack of bottled water onboard - just stick a luggage label on it and hand it in with your baggage.

[MicCanberra]

Yes, water and tea are freely available but not the bottled water - you pay for that.

 

However you can take a pack of bottled water onboard - just stick a luggage label on it and hand it in with your baggage.

Or just buy what bottled water you want on board, it is not that expensive.

[Fish66]

Yes, water and tea are freely available but not the bottled water - you pay for that.

 

However you can take a pack of bottled water onboard - just stick a luggage label on it and hand it in with your baggage.

 

Thank you so much for telling me

[clairebearinaus]

A small bottle of water was $3.50 and a 1.5l was $5. I think I'll BYO a slab next time if we're not getting the all inclusive package.

[Aussieflyer]

I have mixed feelings about the Golden Princess, though of course any time cruising is better than being on land! There were a few things that irked me but then other areas where I felt the Princess was ahead of the bunch.

We had adjoining obstructed view cabins on Emerald, near the aft lifts. There was probably only about 15% obstruction by the scaffolding for the tenders and plenty of light got through. If booking one of these cabins it would pay to do your homework and make sure that a large tender is not in front of the window though.

 

I'm not sure the walk-in robe works all that well, especially if you were on a longer cruise. There are no doors and whilst it is nice and open, the space taken up means that the bathrooms are minuscule and there is only room for one tub chair in the cabin not a couch as on many other lines. Speaking of the bathroom, there was plenty of hot water and good pressure which was great. At least there were two dispensers in the shower, one for gel/shampoo and one for conditioner, much better than RCI that has one dispenser for some indeterminate liquid. The bath towels in my cabin were rather on the small side though.

 

We ate in the buffet on the first night and I was somewhat underwhelmed by the offerings. I had roast beef and it was tender but with a large section of fat in the middle. I felt there was a very poor selection of vegetable to go with it as well. The cheese offerings were pretty bland as well. The Bernini Restaurant on the second night was better, food was OK, not outstanding I didn't think but perfectly adequate. Service was OK, efficient but not warm (I suppose we were only there for a short time).

 

We visited the Explorers Lounge before dinner but ended up leaving and going to the Promenade Lounge and Bar. Explorers was woefully understaffed with one person behind the bar and one waiter. Even when DS went to order at the bar it was obvious it was going to be a long wait. The waiter seemed to drift around, not taking orders and it was impossible to get his attention. Service at the Promenade was much better and in fact that was the bar we frequented mostly.

 

Entertainment was so-so. There was a very lame 'magician' in the Piazza, some enjoyable musicians, the show was OK, but it seemed that many of the activities centred around game shows or bingo.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were handled well. it's always a bit of a bun fight to get off but I thought they did pretty well. We booked transfers to the city through the line in Sydney and there was hardly any wait - at $16ph it was definitely worth it.

 

Things that I didn't like? Well the lifts were hard to work out at times and could be very slow. There were some dead-end areas that were only accessible by one lift. I think the ceilings especially in the dining rooms were rather low resulting in a closed in feeling. The atrium is quite small and certainly not much seating for the cafe there. Although the ship was well maintained, its design does show its age a bit.

The good things? We were lucky with the weather but there were plenty of deck or lounging chairs on the decks. Those around the pool were all taken but there were lots of others. The Sanctuary looked a nice spot but was fully booked so we didn't get a chance to see it. The coffee in the MDR was good (have had some awful brews in the past).

 

Has it changed my mind about Princess? No, not really but if a well priced cruise comes up I'd think about booking it.

[Womble99]

We didn't get to eat in the HC other than breakfast during the cruise but did anyone get to try the Asian Noodle bar? It looked interesting as we went past late on the second night to see it in operation making various noodle dishes to order, think we will have to give it a go on our next cruise.

[The_Big_M]

- Food (in my opinion) was typical Princess, nothing spectacular but also nothing horrible. Dined in main dining, buffet, didn't get a chance in the specialties. I dined in anytime dining, small wait times each night, was asked to share a table both nights to avoid the wait times (one night we did, next we didn't), but if you wish to dine just with your partner (ie table for two), a table was found within 5 minutes.

- It was interesting to note on this particular cruise that;

 

b) no "Happy Hour" was offered in the Wheelhouse Bar. I have been on 2 night cruises where they have offered this.

c) No Bathrobes or Blue Princess Carry bags were offered in the room. Had to request these.

d) As mentioned in initial post, Sundaes was still onboard offering the Free Soft Serve Ice as well as Milkshakes, etc

 

A few differences. As mentioned in my review, we (and others) had a half hour wait for Anytime dining. The way it was managed i.e. buzzers didn't go off, time was exceeded, and went up to chase what was happening was also poor.

 

We did see a happy hour advertised, though didn't take it up.

 

There were bathrobes in our room, not sure about bags.

 

They had the soft serve - though it hadn't actually set on the Saturday so wasn't edible.

[Mr Princess]

G'day all. Sorry about the belated reply.

Just been on the Golden up to the Islands - Lifou, Noumea, Mystery Is, Vila, Mare.

Just a few comments:

Cruise great!

Ports great!

Staff great!

Entertainment great!

TV crap!

News for Aussies non existent!

Everything else bonzer, after all it IS a cruise!

MP.

[Stuartm]

I got a bit of a surprise when I accessed my account on my Ipad on Wednesday night to see that 2 $12 gratuity charges had appeared. I then started to doubt myself as to whether I had read the Princess site properly but as we hadn't been charged gratuities in the bar then I figured it had to be a mistake. Next morning I went to the front desk and the printout showed that charge had been reversed. Guess the Night Manager was on auto pilot.

 

Apart from that rather minor hiccup, we had a great cruise. The Golden looks great on the inside although a little 'clunky' on the outside.

 

We had been upgraded to a Mini-suite and it looked great with its new carpet and curtains. The flat screen TV's weren't as big as those on the Sapphire but plenty big enough plus it made it easier to get to the spare power point that is behind each one. We didn't need it on this short cruise but it was handy on our Sapphire cruise earlier this year.

 

I really preferred the Vista Lounge to the Club Fusion on the other Grand Class ships. Club Fusion during the day is pretty murky and dismal whereas the Vista Lounge has big windows facing aft which makes the room very bright and inviting.

 

I liked the Piazza with the crazy-paving floor. The International Café is fine but makes for a bottleneck with everyone waiting for their coffee. I also thought the Vines shop was a waste of space. Do they really need all that room to sell a few chocolates and nuts?

 

We had a great meal and service in the Bernini the first night. We were on Anytime Dining and arrived about 8pm. We were given a buzzer and went of to Vines for a drink but had barely taken a sip when the buzzer went off.

 

The second night we ate in the Crown Grill and compared to the Sterling Steakhouse offered on the other Princess ships visiting Australia, it was far superior. The fact that it has its own dedicated space (rather than a curtained off area of Horizon Court) made such a difference to the ambiance. The menu was similar to the Sterling but with several more options. For a $25 cover charge I thought it was worth it.

 

I found the price of cocktails and wine to be very reasonable on board.

 

I like the new furniture in Horizon Court. Looks more spacious even though it was still often hard to find a seat. The food was ok but nothing startling.

 

A few years ago the Golden had a major dry dock and they moved the Casino from Deck 6 up to Deck 7. As casinos are usually dark dungeons it made for a nice change being able to look out the window and see the people on the promenade deck looking at us losing our money!

 

The downside to that renovation was that the Wheelhouse Bar was moved next to Sabatinis and compared to the Wheelhouse on the Diamond and Sapphire (it is our bar of choice) was smaller and less cosy.

 

There is a great view from Skywalkers which, unlike the Diamond and Sapphire, sits directly above the aft pool. Whilst it makes for great views it does cast a shadow across the aft pool area for much of the time so it is no wonder they changed the design in later builds. The moving walkway that leads to Skywalkers adds to the somewhat outdated futuristic atmosphere of the space but as the interior design of this bar in subsequent vessels is pretty much identical I guess the Princess designers think this 'back to the future' décor is popular. I think they could come up with something better but I still like the space.

 

So we had a great time and would certainly consider the Golden for future cruising especially as her Australian home port is Melbourne so saves the flight to Sydney. I just have to remember to pack the power adaptor. I did remember but not till we were at Tullermarine waiting for the flight to Sydney so I now have yet another US to Aus plug to add to the other 4 in the cupboard!

 

cheers

 

Stu

[MicCanberra]

Thanks Stu, it is good to get more opinions/ reviews.:D

[Team Alpha]

Just to add to the feedback/comments of others, here's my review

 

This was our 3rd cruise and our first on a Princess ship. Here’s some comments of mine on the experience.

 

1. We flew up from Avalon Vic to join the ship. We spotted the Princess rep at the Sydney airport who was offering transfers at $29 each. As we only had carry on the train at $17 was a better option. If we had luggage ore mobility issues we probably would have taken the transfers.

2. Once at circular quay we went straight to the ship for early boarding as we had a cabin on Deck 14 Lido and scheduled boarding time of 12pm. At check in we were given the wrong sail cards but didn’t realise until we were up on level 2 about to board. We found a Princess shore staff member who took us back down to level 1 and sorted it quickly. A minor inconvenience.

3. Once on board we headed to our cabin L307 on deck 14 Lido, port side forward. We booked the guaranteed BF balcony at $271 per night and ended up with this BC cabin. The cabin was nice although starting to look a little tired. Great location, close to stairs/lifts and also pool/bar etc. Nice and quiet.

4. Plenty of exploring before sailaway – we really liked the aft area on the ship – horizon terrace, terrace pool, outrigger bar etc. It’s a pity the ‘adults only’ concept of the terrace pool escapes some people.

5. Whilst we’re not really nightclub people, we did end up in Skywalkers for awhile on both nights. We were impressed by the location, how you access it and the layout – very impressive.

6. As mentioned earlier the cruise was in $AUD. Drink prices were reasonable - $6.50 for a Fat Yak beer ($8.25 on Carnival Spirit) and $13.95 for Margaritas with a twist

7. We did find the ship quite crowded at times and if it wasn’t at capacity it must have been close. There were certainly plenty of travel agents on board.

8. The staff were generally good with a couple of exceptions. The beverage staff in the dining rooms were poor – forgotten drink orders, unaware of what beers available, drink orders delivered to the wrong tables. And also the bar waiters were overwhelmed at times and the wait to get a drink was long. This was more an issue of insufficient staff.

9. We found the ship a bit of a rabbit warren but I guess if we were on board for a few more days we would’ve got it sorted.

10. We had anytime dining and found that different to prior experiences. We were bumped from Donattellas to Bernini’s one night. Waiting for a table of 2 was only a few minutes. A little bit of showmanship by the restaurant staff on the final night.

11. The food was good without being great – nothing to complain about though.

12. The entertainment was good. The British Invasion was very well done in the theatre. According to the cruise director it’s one of six shows they put on during the 13/14 day cruises. Comedian/impersonator was good, trivia etc all good.

13. The outdoor spas/Jacuzzis were not what I expected. The water temp was hot (too hot for me) and there was no way to get the jets flowing. So it was really just a hot bath and not a spa as we know it.

14. The Sanctuary on deck 16 looked very nice but at $20 pp for ½ day or $40 pp for full day we didn’t bother

15. The lap pool was only filled about midday on Thursday. It was a nice spot and not used by many.

16. Movies under the stars was popular although the audio was very loud (maybe I’m getting old)

17. The average age of the passengers wasn’t as old as I was expecting for a Princess ship but I guess the fact that it was only a 2 dayer enticed younger ones/families

18. Players bar on deck 6 was underutilised. It was a cigar bar up until it arrived in Australia and still had that distinctive aroma. It’s now being turned into a whisky bar

19. We really liked the explorers lounge and wheel house bar on deck 7 – great feel to both of them.

20. The emergency briefing was the most detailed we have experienced – very thorough.

 

The ship was good without being great and is starting to show its age. In reviewing the ship and the experience, I couldn’t help but compare her to Celebrity Solstice and IMHO she’s not at the Solstice level – with regard to the ship itself, the service or the experience.

 

We normally cruise with friends but they couldn’t make it this time. So we made up little masks of each of them had their photo taken at lots of vantage points during the cruise. This was a bit of fun and created a bit of interaction with other passengers.

 

A nice couple of days away and it was nice to cruise into Melbourne.

 

Cheers

[MicCanberra]

Cheers for the review, Team Alpha.:D

[The_Big_M]

I got a bit of a surprise when I accessed my account on my Ipad on Wednesday night to see that 2 $12 gratuity charges had appeared. I then started to doubt myself as to whether I had read the Princess site properly but as we hadn't been charged gratuities in the bar then I figured it had to be a mistake. Next morning I went to the front desk and the printout showed that charge had been reversed. Guess the Night Manager was on auto pilot.

 

I suspect the gratuities may be autocharged because it hasn't been fully converted from the US yet, where that is the way they are done.

 

There were still US prices throughout shops too, so still some US->AU conversion work to be done.

[kuldalai]

Crew and ships systems will still be adjusting to Australian based cruises where it is illegal to charge gratuities to Australian guests accounts.

[MicCanberra]

I am not sure it is actually illegal, service charges are very common although usually for Australia they included in the total price.

[Fish66]

Just got off today after the two day Sydney to Melbourne. My thoughts.

 

Cabin: had an inside on Baja (first time I've ever had an inside on any cruise). Quite spacious, clean but the overall feel was a bit dated.

 

Ship: in pretty good condition. Had more of an older feel to it unlike RCI and NCL who I've cruised with previously. Felt the lighting was a bit too dark. Lounges etc all really comfortable and plenty of spaces to sit.

 

Shops: mediocre. A couple of jewelry, one souvenir/clothes/ and perfume. Prices were surprisingly cheap considering our dollar to the US at the moment.

 

Entertainment: I personally thought the shows were average. Average singers and dancers and certainly caters to an older crowd. Lounge singers were shocking. Out of tune and all old material.

Cruise director is rude and arrogant (as I discovered while standing and chatting to him having a cigarette)

 

Lifts: a major problem. Slow, too many people and took a while to realize which ones only go to certain decks.

 

Food: generally very good. The restaurants and staff were of a good standard. Drink prices were fine.

 

Overall we enjoyed it (6 of us ) however I find many Australian cruisers to be an absolute disgrace with manners and decorum (walking around barefoot with a beer in hand, dripping water in lifts with only a towel covering what should be covered!!!)

 

I personally think the ship itself and what it offers is great for an older clientele. Our group ranged in age from 14 to 60 so can see good and not so good from all angles.

 

I've also got a cabin on the baja deck, inside cabin.. Everyone on forums are telling me it's so dark in there, and really dark in the bathroom.. Is that true?

And we're there many power points in the room..thanks

[OzKiwiJJ]

I've also got a cabin on the baja deck, inside cabin.. Everyone on forums are telling me it's so dark in there, and really dark in the bathroom.. Is that true?

And we're there many power points in the room..thanks

 

It depends how well the door fits. On Rhapsody of the Seas our inside cabin was beautifully dark, on Dawn Princess there was a lot of light seepage around the door.

 

All bathrooms are really dark.

 

Take LED candles to use as night lights or a small torch if dark rooms are an issue.

 

From what I've read so far there will be one 110v US power point, and you may be lucky to find your cabin has been fitted with a 220v multi-socket but don't count on it. Take a US adaptor.

[Fish66]

It depends how well the door fits. On Rhapsody of the Seas our inside cabin was beautifully dark, on Dawn Princess there was a lot of light seepage around the door.

 

All bathrooms are really dark.

 

Take LED candles to use as night lights or a small torch if dark rooms are an issue.

 

From what I've read so far there will be one 110v US power point, and you may be lucky to find your cabin has been fitted with a 220v multi-socket but don't count on it. Take a US adaptor.

What do you mean "how well the door fits"

Are you talking about the door into the cabin??

I hope it's really dark at night, I don't want any light on at all lol

Just thinking more for when I'm doing make up etc

[OzKiwiJJ]

What do you mean "how well the door fits"

Are you talking about the door into the cabin??

I hope it's really dark at night, I don't want any light on at all lol

Just thinking more for when I'm doing make up etc

 

Yes, how the door into the cabin fits. On Dawn Princess there was a lot of light seepage from outside the room, which was annoying as I like a really dark room too. Hopefully Golden will be better.

 

The lights in the bathroom should be OK for doing makeup, they are quite bright. But if you don't like bright lights in the middle of the night when using the bathroom try the LED candle trick.

Edited November 2, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[Fish66]

Yes, how the door into the cabin fits. On Dawn Princess there was a lot of light seepage from outside the room, which was annoying as I like a really dark room too. Hopefully Golden will be better.

 

The lights in the bathroom should be OK for doing makeup, they are quite bright. But if you don't like bright lights in the middle of the night when using the bathroom try the LED candle trick.

 

 

I'll put a towel across the bottom if there's annoying light lol

Thanks heaps

[MicCanberra]

My wife says the lighting by the mirrors are all bad unless you have natural light (Balcony cabin) on the main cabin wall mirror. The bathroom mirrors are generally too dark for my wife's liking.

[Fish66]

My wife says the lighting by the mirrors are all bad unless you have natural light (Balcony cabin) on the main cabin wall mirror. The bathroom mirrors are generally too dark for my wife's liking.

 

I'll take my bloody lamp then it go outside and paint my face lol