Golden Princess 11/26 Review

[Richard]

We sailed the Southern Caribbean on the Golden on November 26, visiting Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Martin and St Thomas. We had smooth seas and perfect weather, sunny and warm in the mid 80's each day. We had a balcony cabin on Carib deck [deck 10] which was very nice and the balcony was very large and partially covered. The only rain we had was the day we boarded and the day we returned. No big deal at all.

 

First I'll give you some of the minor negatives we found just to get them out of the way. I am sorry to say that the Cruise Director Omar, was by far the worst Cruise Director I have had in 10 cruises, including 3 on Princess. He was very impressed with himself and seemed like a fool on his morning TV show. The only time you saw him was when he introduced a program in the Princess Theater. Unfortunately his leadership set the tone for the entire Cruise Staff. This was also the slowest check in. Princess usually is the best at embarcation but this time we had to wait a very long time to board after checking in and there was no place even to sit down for over an hour. A minor problem with my wifes cruise card. She was given a Blue card instead of Gold and when we asked about it the comment was maybe she used a different name on her other cruises. Pretty dumb comment. Took a while to correct on board. Also the safe in the cabin was locked and the door to the balcony was so tight it could not be easily opened. These problems were eventually corrected. As for the good parts of this cruise.... The ship is still in very good condition and the crew is always painting and cleaning. The food in both the dining room and Horizon Court was fine and I thought all the service crew, waiters, asst waiters, and cabin stewards did an excellent job. The entertainment was what you would expect, commedian, singer, bands, and production shows. Nothing very special but this is a cruise ship you know. The casino is a different story... the tighest slots you can imagine but again this is a cruise ship. As to the complaints I have read about the Coffee, I found the Coffee to be very good and I don't see what others were complaining about, but that's my taste and not everyones. Since we were port intensive, except for our one day at sea there were few organized activities during the day but most passengers were off the ship enjoying the ports. Of all the ports, I enjoyed St Lucia the most, it is a beautiful Island. St Martin's roads were very crowded as I rented a Jeep to tour the island. We were there for week some years ago and the traffic this time was impossible. We went to Orient Beach which is a must see for this Island. Wide beach, warm water and very smooth sand. One of the nicest beaches you can find.

 

All in all I will say that Princess does a very good job. Modern ships, good overall staff, good food, and a large choice of entertainment venues. They were very organized at debarcation as usual, and it only took minutes to locate our luggage and a cab. I think Princess give you the best cruise value for you dollar and we will certainly sail with them again. If you have any questions I'll try to answer them.

 

 

 

 

I

[LARGIN]

Thanks for the review...

[CruiseFever]

Glad to see that all in all you had a good time. We really liked the Golden too!

[bicycledude]

Thank you for the report I'm glad to hear you had a good time. I'm doing that same itinerary on the 24th. Would you mind answering a few questions ?

 

1. Did you make it to the gym on the ship ? If so did they have enough machines (bikes in particular) and were they in good condition ? Did they have any fitness classes ?

 

2. Does the boat dock or do you need to take tenders into the ports ?

 

3. Did any of the islands seem amenable to renting a bicycle and riding around on my own ?

 

4. Were the crew enforcing the rules about carrying aboard beer or liquor ?

 

Alan

[Terre]

Thanks for the review. We'll be on the Golden in April and all info is helpful.:D

[jbrambach]

Hi Richard,

Glad to hear you had a good time.....just a couple of questions:

 

What time (about) did they do the muster?

 

Also, did the cruise staff do any activities during the day? I was thinking about staying on board at least 3 days being that this is a very port intensive cruise. Wondering if they will run activities?

[amapola]

She was given a Blue card instead of Gold and when we asked about it the comment was maybe she used a different name on her other cruises. Pretty dumb comment. Took a while to correct on board.

 

This is an honest question, as I've been on only one Princess cruise (but ready to go on my next one soon :) ). Is there an advantage to having a Gold card? I know past cruisers have the repeaters party, but are there other perks that can be obtained with the gold card? Just curious!

[jbrambach]

This is an honest question, as I've been on only one Princess cruise (but ready to go on my next one soon :) ). Is there an advantage to having a Gold card? I know past cruisers have the repeaters party, but are there other perks that can be obtained with the gold card? Just curious!

 

The Gold card means you have Gold Status. It shows that you are a Princess Past Passenger and are entitled to certain "perks" such as cruise critic members only party where free drinks are served. Your also get Princess's Quartlerly Magazine, and an on board circle host etc. It is all on Princess's website. You are also one step closer to Platinum level....Free internet onboard

[amapola]

Rats! I'd composed a semi-coherent message and poof! into cyberspace it went. In any case, I wanted to say thanks for your quick reply. I guess I just didn't ask what I thought I was asking (long day, too little sleep, mucho mental fog, English not first language...you get the picture :rolleyes: :) ).

 

Smiles,

[Coolmama_1]

Glad you had a great time. We loved the Golden too!

[captajohnx]

richard:

 

what class cabin did you have?

 

ba bb bc?

 

just curious, since i havent got a real clear idea of what the different designations mean.

 

thanks john

[Logie]

richard:

 

what class cabin did you have?

 

ba bb bc?

 

just curious, since i havent got a real clear idea of what the different designations mean.

 

thanks john

 

The BB and BA categories have choices on the Caribbe deck with the half covered balconies.

 

I love the Golden and can't wait to get on her for the 3rd time this year to celebrate the New years. The CD better get it together by then as it costs a lot more for this sailing!!

 

Thanks for the review.

 

Question did this CD host a Cruise Critic party and if so was it in the patter?

[Richard]

I'll try and answer all of your questions here.

Here are my answers:

 

bicycledude....Didn't make the gym.

We docked at all ports, no tendering.

I saw some bikes on Barbados.

The crew did not enforce beer or liquor rules.

 

jbrambach...I believe the muster was about 7:00PM but I am not sure.

Daytime activities were very limited, late bingo and a few inside games like trivia.

 

captajohnx....We were in a BB cabin, C239 which is just forward of the forward elevators, a good location.

I don't know about any CC party.

[mrszahm]

Hello All,

I was on the same cruise as Richard. I can answer a couple of your questions. The muster drill was at 8pm. They do their drill at muster stations that are inside in the lounges, rather than outside on the deck. I thought that this was very nice. There was plenty to do on the ship on sea day...less to do on the port days. All of the ports had little shopping areas close to the ship...some actually (obviously) made for cruisers, and in some cases..the town was right there. The coffee was fine...don't knwo what all the fuss was about. The Horizon Buffett coffee is better than the dining room. The food was great. Bikerdude, there are plenty of bikes in the exercise room, well maintained. There are a variety of pools..at least 4 that I can count, maybe 5. Huge ship, but you don't feel crowded. We did not have a cruise critic meeting set up through the ship. We did have a get together onboard, a couple of them actually. I did not make either of them, but saw some of the roll call people so I know that they happened. I did not think that Omar was that bad, but then I didn't watch his morning TV show. Which brings up the question...what makes a cruise director bad or good.??? He was there...he introduced stuff....end of story. All in all, I was very pleased with our cruise. The Golden is a gorgeous ship. We would sail Princess again in a heartbeat.

Mitzy Zahm

[MiracleL]

Thanks Richard for the info. We're on the Golden on the 24th and really looking forward to getting out of cold Maryland. We've been to all of the ports before except Barbados and Antiqua just wondering what you found interesting to do on those islands.

 

Thanks for your input.

[jbrambach]

Thanks for the replies....

 

mrszahm,

About your question re: what makes a good cruise director? I think a good cruise director is someone who has plenty of activities scheduled during the day and evening...someone who gets his/her staff motivated to get pax up and doing those activities. Also someone who is friendly and approachable. IMO

[jetsfan]

I have a question? Was there a good choice of entertainment, or were the sidewalks pulled in early. We don't stay up until the cows come home every night (okay, once in awhile we do), but was there life after 12:00? Just curious. I enjoyed reading your review. Thanks so much!

[archaeologyman]

I have a question? Was there a good choice of entertainment, or were the sidewalks pulled in early. We don't stay up until the cows come home every night (okay, once in awhile we do), but was there life after 12:00? Just curious. I enjoyed reading your review. Thanks so much!

 

Here are the patters from our 11/05 cruise on the Golden, they will give you an idea of the entertainment and times..

 

http://www.markbillings.us/cruise/

[claroquesi]

Did they get rid of the chocolate banana drink as a DOTD? I love that drink and after searching the patters I don`t see it!:confused:

[claroquesi]

Sorry. Double post. Wonder why it did that?

[jetsfan]

Thanks for the patters! It was good to read them.