Tell Me All About The Golden!!!!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Great tips, everyone! Keep them coming!

 

Does anyone have pictures to share?:)

 

Cruzbw - See, even experienced crusers can learn something from these kind of threads!;) Now, I have to be checking out that carpet!:D

[mringenoldus]

All princess ships have a different prodominant color on starboard and port. Sometimes, it's the only way I find my way back to my cabin!!

[smoothdancer]

I did not know that about the carpeting either. We will be on the Diamond in about a month and 1/2. I am going to have to pay attention tp the carpeting.

 

Anyway, we sailed the Goden last X-Mas and loved the ship, the staff, and had a wonderful overall experience. The Wheelhouse bar is my favorite, I always enjoy going to the wine tasting, and Skywalkers is great during the daytime for great views and a quite place. If you like to dress for formal, consider an appt with one of the hairdressers. They do a wonderful job, and they do not give you these annoying sales pitches.

 

I thought the food so good in the main dining room that we had no desire to try the specality reasturants.... I think off all the lines Princess has the best pizza for a quick snack. We ordered room service breakfast often (continential for all passaners, except full suites) and the service was always quick. No longer on the bar menu but available is the Chocolate Monkey.... This is a chocolate and bannana frozen drink that is very yummy... Like a dessert really. Here is a link to our picture review of the Golden. Once at our website, cick on the Princess button.

 

http://WWW.JustCruisin-SV.com

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Read The Captain's Review Of The Golden Princess - Vancouver To Los Angeles

 

What a great review! Thank you for submitting it.:) Too bad about the midnight buffet - I hope they bring it back!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

The Wheelhouse bar is my favorite, I always enjoy going to the wine tasting, and Skywalkers is great during the daytime for great views and a quite place.

I am definately going to have to spend some serious time checking out both of those locations!;)

 

I thought the food so good in the main dining room that we had no desire to try the specality reasturants.... I think off all the lines Princess has the best pizza for a quick snack. We ordered room service breakfast often (continential for all passaners, except full suites) and the service was always quick. No longer on the bar menu but available is the Chocolate Monkey.... This is a chocolate and bannana frozen drink that is very yummy... Like a dessert really.

Yum!!!:D

 

Here is a link to our picture review of the Golden. Once at our website, cick on the Princess button.

What a great review! I am so jealous of you people who can do those web pages that are both pictures & descriptions. I am "technically challanged"!:rolleyes: That plate of crab legs & Baked Alaska made my mouth water....I've never seen that on a RCI ship. The ship looks amazing.:)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Here is a picture I found of the Wheelhouse Lounge that everyone is talking about. It's beautiful!:D

 

Many thanks to coop5054 for posting this picture on Webshots!:)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

And here is Skywalkers...My kind of place!:D

 

Thanks to birdogpilot for posting this great picture on Webshots!:)

[senior lady]

Princess hasn't had the midnight buffets for many yrs. I think they found that the amount of time and food wasted wasn't worth it.

[shawilson]

For those of you that don't want an exposed mini on Dolphin, try E729. I think it is the best mini on the ship. It has a huge, curved balcony, side view and wake view, fully covered. You could fit 15 people out there for cocktails. It is over a show lounge, but not on the side where the speakers would be blaring. Never heard a thing.

 

Didn't try room service, as my DH would go up early for breakfast and bring me back food. E729 is a straight shot up to the buffet and pools.

 

Just a note about the aft pool: It is under the walkway for Skywalker's (the shopping cart handle part of the ship, as I have heard it called) and has limited sun. If you prefer shade and watching the wake, this is your spot.

[smoothdancer]

Good point about the pools. I was on the ship at least 3 days before I even knew the aft pool was there.

 

I guess it depends on the time of year and how popular the booking is. Both on the Diamond and the Golden we booked about 8 months in advance and both times all of the minis on the E deck were gone. During the day I did not mind the exposed deck at all but at night on our cruise the balcony would really catch the wind so much so that I did not use the baclony in the evening much.

 

By the way, Sunnie my husband is a web developer so a website for us is no big deal. It is fun for me to do picture reviews. It is like an extended vacation!

[smoothdancer]

Captain,

I just read your review... Now that was so nice of you to give up your tender tickets. I do know what you mean though, while one never tires of SF, Catalina is nice for a one time visit and after that not such a big deal.... Still that was sure nice of you.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Here is a picture of the Terrace Pool - You can see how it is shaded....

I love those wake views, though. I think I can put up with the shade!:cool:

 

 

Thank you, cljr69 for posting this picture on Webshots!:)

[sonomaphil]

Here are some pics of the Golden I took just last week on the one night cruise from Seattle to Vancouver.

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/sonomaphil?vhost=community

[luvcdays]

Those are some great pics onboard the Golden!

 

I only know of 2 pay restaurants onboard the Golden. Sabatini's and Sterling Steakhouse. Can someone please enlighten me about the 3rd as mentioned by The Captain?

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Here are some pics of the Golden I took just last week on the one night cruise from Seattle to Vancouver.

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/sonomaphil?vhost=community

Wow! Great pictures! The ship is so beautiful, I just can't wait to board! You can really see those open balconies. I don't think they'd bother me at all, as long as I can go out & enjoy the ocean views, lol!:D We are on Caribe Deck -C611. Are those balconies open or more covered? Just curious.....;)

[sonomaphil]

[quote name='Sunny AZ Girl']Wow! Great pictures! The ship is so beautiful, I just can't wait to board! You can really see those open balconies. I don't think they'd bother me at all, as long as I can go out & enjoy the ocean views, lol!:D We are on Caribe Deck -C611. Are those balconies open or more covered? Just curious.....;)[/quote]

Caribe balconies are half covered, half open.

You can kinda of see it in this picture: [url]http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2032356720101799232KupvFA[/url]

From your left is the Dolphin deck, fully uncovered balconies. Next level to the right is the Caribe deck.

In this one I'm looking up from C226: [url]http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2036673230101799232FtzgZz[/url]

In this one from Canada Place, Emerald deck is lowest, then Dolphin then Caribe: [url]http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2640846360101799232eNMMsj[/url]

[sonomaphil]

[quote name='luvcdays']Those are some great pics onboard the Golden!

I only know of 2 pay restaurants onboard the Golden. Sabatini's and Sterling Steakhouse. Can someone please enlighten me about the 3rd as mentioned by The Captain?[/quote]

Only 2, Sabatinis and Desert Rose Steakhouse.

[lois1112]

another point on the carpet... the port (like port wine) side is red and the starboard side is blue.....this is true...someone pointed it out to me years ago, and sure enough its there.
great thread Ginny....can't wait until we sail!

[esmo]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Thanks Ginny for starting this thread. I have been looking for more information on the Golden as we sail her in December. I am really excited now![/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Esmo[/FONT]

[monakayk]

[quote name='NorthPhoenixGuy']I just returned from the Golden repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles.

David[/quote]
[COLOR=Purple][B]
Everyone,[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Purple]First of all....Thanks to all who have posted reviews and photos of the Golden. I have enjoyed them soooooooo much!

[B]David,[/B]

Can you tell me about the [I][U]NEW[/U][/I] menus? Where they already started on the Golden when you cruised?

I have read (on another thread) that Escargot was not being listed on the [I][U]NEW[/U][/I] menus but you would have to request it, [I][U]IF [/U][/I]your waitstaff did not mention it. Is this true?!!!! I just love Escargot and on cruises...that is the only time I really get to enjoy this special treat.

Over all...what did you think of the food on the ship in the main dining rooms? Did you have the Beef Wellington or Lobster?

Also, can you tell us about the entertainment in the theaters...what type of shows were offered...what did you think about them?

Thanks in advance!:D[/COLOR]

[monakayk]

[COLOR=Purple]Anyone know the price of a shampoo/blowdry/iron curl in the salon of women? Or have a price list or where I can find one?

Thanks![/COLOR]

[CL-JW]

[quote name='Sunny AZ Girl']I just booked my first Princess cruise on the beautiful GOLDEN! This looks like a wonderful ship, from the pictures I have seen, but I want to know everything to help past the time until I cruise.:D

So please, share your wonderful experiences on the ship! What are your favorite places to play & your favorite places to escape the crowds. Please share all of your secrets to those of us who "need to know"!;)[/quote]


[SIZE=3]Below is a link to our review from the April sailing, along with some pics.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[URL="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=548400"][SIZE=3]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=548400[/SIZE][/URL]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]We are sailing the Golden again in a week and can't wait!![/SIZE]

[carqueen1]

I just got back on Saturday from a six night cruise on the Golden...Its a beautful ship but I was very disappointed with the food:( ...I have been on 6 cruises to date and never had a complaint except for this cruise....

[2pbears]

[quote name='monakayk']
[B][COLOR=purple]Everyone,[/COLOR][/B]

[COLOR=purple]First of all....Thanks to all who have posted reviews and photos of the Golden. I have enjoyed them soooooooo much![/COLOR]

[COLOR=purple][B]David,[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=purple]Can you tell me about the [I][U]NEW[/U][/I] menus? Where they already started on the Golden when you cruised? [/COLOR]

[COLOR=purple]I have read (on another thread) that Escargot was not being listed on the [I][U]NEW[/U][/I] menus but you would have to request it, [I][U]IF [/U][/I]your waitstaff did not mention it. Is this true?!!!! I just love Escargot and on cruises...that is the only time I really get to enjoy this special treat.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=purple]Over all...what did you think of the food on the ship in the main dining rooms? Did you have the Beef Wellington or Lobster?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=purple]Also, can you tell us about the entertainment in the theaters...what type of shows were offered...what did you think about them?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=purple]Thanks in advance!:D[/COLOR][/quote]

We were on the repositioning cruise with David. I don't believe that the menus were the new ones -- at least they didn't appear to be too different than the Dawn's menus last November. We did notice that there was no escargot. Don't know if this was because this was only a 6 day cruise or if it has been eliminated from the menu. I was disappointed as I love the escargot. Also, the lobster on formal night was not like the lobster tails we had on the Dawn. It was listed as lobster tail and king prawns but they didn't really look like prawns--it was good though. Overall the food was good, but not great. We ate in the Desert Rose Steakhouse one night and it was very good. It is well worth the $15 per person charge.

We found the entertainment to be very good. They had Dan Bennett, a juggler/comedian who we had seen last year on the Dawn. He is fabulous. Also the magician )Gaetano), the comedians (Steve Smith and Kelly Monteith) and the hypnotist (Tim Triplett) were very good. We didn't go to any of the production shows.

Hope this helps. I photographed the menus for someone else here on Cruise Critic but haven't yet figured out how to post them. If you post your email address I would be happy to email them to you.

[SactoSteve]

Just got off the same cruise as NorthPhoenixGuy, 2pbears, and CarQueen. I thought the food was fine - some was very good, some was just ok. I agree that seasoning on many of the dishes was on the light side but I prefer that over it being overseasoned. We did enjoy all three of the pay restaurants - Sabatini's and Desert Rose are definitely a step above the dinning rooms for both food and service. But I don't think either quite compare with a high-end restaurant on land. Of course, so much just comes down to personal preference. We only hit the Horizon Court for one meal. It just didn't appeal to my tastes and it was a complete nut-house. But it is a good stop to just grab a plate of fruit or a cookie to take back to the room.

We enjoyed the same acts that 2pbears mentioned. Dan Bennett was great - maybe lacking in a little precision in his juggling but just hysterically funny. Of course the best humor tends to be somewhat low-brow. (Again, just personal preference!)