Golden Princess review - Mexican Riviera 9/29/07

[Cruisin' Chick]

The only theme night that we've seen on our three Princess cruises was Island Night on the Hawaiian cruise. I guess if you're going on a Halloween cruise, you'll have a reason to bring on a costume.

 

The dining rooms have theme nights but that basically refers to the cuisine featured and the waiters' outfits.

[cruisePRN]

Great review but i have to comment on something. You said you arrived for dinner a half hour late and some nights even later. That is very rude to your tablemates and terribly hard on your servers. Most of us veteran cruisers would like to see the ship close the dining room door 15 minutes after dinner hour and send latecomers to the other venues.

[fishmaniac]

Great review but i have to comment on something. You said you arrived for dinner a half hour late and some nights even later. That is very rude to your tablemates and terribly hard on your servers. Most of us veteran cruisers would like to see the ship close the dining room door 15 minutes after dinner hour and send latecomers to the other venues.

 

CruisPRN,

I agree we should not be late to hold up fellow tablemates, however closing the doors after 15 mins is just plain anal. :eek:

Also, we didn't have any tablemates. We were by ourselves the whole cruise! Sorry for not putting that in the review.

I had a hard time summarizing the whole event the way "most others" do their reviews on this board.

My detailed review will be laid out in a day by day format.

 

The first night we were there around 8:40 only to find out we had a table for 4 to ourselves! (SWEET!)

Our waiter told us the other couple were newlyweds gone AWOL! haha.. We didn't see them once. lol.

 

I should add that 2 different 2nd seating times were shown, 8:00 and 8:15.

So close the doors 15min after what?...Can you imagine the chaos?

 

I asked when the latest we could get in there for dinner and he told us "Anytime!"..."but if the doors are closed

and the lights are out, you would be too late!"...haha..funny guys our waiters. They were awesome.

And regardless of how late we came in, we were always done before 1/2 the dining room was.

[Bunti]

Thanks for the review and all the answers! We are looking forward even more --if that's possible---to our 12-1 cruise!!

 

Only thing I am a little nervous about is any time dining, haven't done that before, and love traditional.

[thegreatwallendo]

We'll be sailing the Mex Riv iterary on the Golden soon, and I wondered if you could clear up some confusion over the old menu vs. new menu debate.

 

Were your cruise menus divided into "small plates" and "large plates" (the new menus) or the more traditional ones with appetizers, soups, salads and entress like past years?

 

Also, do you remember whether the dining room china was new new all white variety, or the older pink/orange floral pattern?

 

Your recollections may help us decipher whether this fall/winter itinerary has the new menus rolled out or not.

 

Thanks for anything you can contribute!

[fishmaniac]

Thanks for the review and all the answers! We are looking forward even more --if that's possible---to our 12-1 cruise!!

 

Only thing I am a little nervous about is any time dining, haven't done that before, and love traditional.

 

Hi Bunti,

One thing I can say about anytime dining or dining in general is it's the most crowded between 6:00 - 7:30pm (including Traditional). Most people want to be finished eating by 8:00 since thats when the entertainment starts. For example, on the first formal night they had a broadway-type show at 8:15 and then again at 10:15 (Princess Theatre). Also, there was a comedian at the vista lounge (Rodney Johnson) at 8 & 10 as well. So those that ate before 8:00 had the most choices available to them. (not fair for us late seating traditional diners! :D)

 

Or they may want dinner and a show but retire early to prepare for a port day. So be prepared for crowds during the peak hours.

 

There are 2 rooms for Anytime dining: Bernini - deck 5 and Donatello -deck 6. Forgot to mention deck 5 in my review as having the Bernini dining room which is located right next to the lobby/atrium. You will be assigned a dining room and it will be specified on your room key/card.

 

I hear you can try to reserve a specific table/waiter if you like it the first time out, but I'm not sure.

 

Hope you have a great time!

 

We'll be sailing the Mex Riv iterary on the Golden soon, and I wondered if you could clear up some confusion over the old menu vs. new menu debate.

Were your cruise menus divided into "small plates" and "large plates" (the new menus) or the more traditional ones with appetizers, soups, salads and entress like past years?

Also, do you remember whether the dining room china was new new all white variety, or the older pink/orange floral pattern?

Your recollections may help us decipher whether this fall/winter itinerary has the new menus rolled out or not.

Thanks for anything you can contribute!

 

Hi Wallendo,

 

According to your description, we had the older dinnerware and the old style menus. Well, at least we did in the Traditional dining room.

 

Here's a pic of a lunchtime menu and a pic of a desert plate.

 

 

 

HTH and have a great time!

[bethminas]

My husband and I went on the Carnival Pride and weren't to impressed last year. Have heard good things about the Golden Princess and am looking forward to it.

 

We're doing her again on Novemeber 24th...just because....

 

Only this time, I know better about the Canaletto Dining Room and just how to get to it.....and, I'll know what food to order and what to add and sutract from that.....

 

I'll also visit Skywalker's...and, walk more on-deck.....it was too hot and humid and windy to enjoy much of the "deck experience!" Hopefully, in November it will be less humid.....if not, we'll walk deck 7 again.....

 

We've change our cabin to a mini-suite....much more room....I won't have to wait until my DH is out of the way to do my hair!!!!!!

 

Thanks again, for your great review and I'm glad that your very first cruise has "hooked" you....isn't it fun????? ;)

[thegreatwallendo]

Hi Wallendo,

 

According to your description, we had the older dinnerware and the old style menus. Well, at least we did in the Traditional dining room.

 

HTH and have a great time!

 

 

THANKS for answering my question - it will be great to experience the "old" menus and then come back later to experience the new ones after they are rolled out to all the fleet.

 

Appreciate the pictures very much!

[Dani24]

Hi Bunti,

 

There are 2 rooms for Anytime dining: Bernini - deck 5 and Donatello -deck 6. Forgot to mention deck 5 in my review as having the Bernini dining room which is located right next to the lobby/atrium. You will be assigned a dining room and it will be specified on your room key/card.

 

They assign you an Anytime dining room?

 

Hmm... not sure how much I like that. When we sailed on Sapphire, there were 4 Anytime dining rooms, and you could select any of the four you wanted to dine at each night (made it much easier to get a reservation for the time you wanted). If they assign you a dining room on the Golden, then it doesn't seem like Anytime will be any better than Traditional (and perhaps even worse!)

[fishmaniac]

They assign you an Anytime dining room?

 

Hmm... not sure how much I like that. When we sailed on Sapphire, there were 4 Anytime dining rooms, and you could select any of the four you wanted to dine at each night (made it much easier to get a reservation for the time you wanted). If they assign you a dining room on the Golden, then it doesn't seem like Anytime will be any better than Traditional (and perhaps even worse!)

 

Hi Dani,

 

Well, I'm not 100% possitive they assign anytime dining rooms but they did assign traditional diners w/ their time and table on the room key.

 

Perhaps someone who had Anytime dining on the Golden could chime in?

 

Also, the two Anytime dining rooms on the Golden is the SAME size as the four in the Sapphire. The Sapphire just divided the rooms in half. Just check out the deck plans and you'll see what I mean. ;)

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[ottergal]

They assign you an Anytime dining room?

 

Hmm... not sure how much I like that. When we sailed on Sapphire, there were 4 Anytime dining rooms, and you could select any of the four you wanted to dine at each night (made it much easier to get a reservation for the time you wanted). If they assign you a dining room on the Golden, then it doesn't seem like Anytime will be any better than Traditional (and perhaps even worse!)

 

 

A group of 4 of us were on this sailing as well and had the Anytime dining. They don't assign you a dining room, you can go wherever the lines are shorter. :) We found that Bernini tended to be less full at 7:30 - the time we generally chose to go eat. Maybe because people had to walk down another flight of stairs?

 

Also, Cabo was great and we did a fun excursion with a "pirate" ship with snorkelling, but we *all* got stung by jellyfish during our time in the water. One poor gal was stung a lot... I felt really bad for her. I never saw a jelly, but I still have the stinger marks on my legs (a couple of us still do) and so if you are at all sensitive to stings you should ask if they are out or not. The guys on ship were ready for stings (a bottle of stuff to spray on it.. nobody had to pee on anybody. :p ) but they didn't warn us. I think some people are really allergic to them and should know, is all.

 

Nice trip.. but man was it HOT! :eek:

[monakayk]

Hi Mona K,

 

Yes, we checked out Skywalkers a couple times. The first time we went, the DJ was playing hip hop music. The second time we went, he was playing requests. I believe there was a different theme each night and some night had 2 themes. Like from 10-12am they had 80's and from midnight on, they had motown. I'm sure you'll be able to get your boogie on some how! ;)

 

And YES, they had escargot on the menu! I just couldn't pull the trigger and order them. :D

 

My detailed report will have all this info. I should be done sometime next month! lol

Thanks for answering my questions with this additional info!

[Musky Ike]

fishmaniac,

 

As a fellow fishing nut I am interested in your comment about fishing from the pier in P.V. If I brought a pack rod I could fish there? Are there license and/or other restrictions? It might be kind of cool just to say I did it.

[fishmaniac]

Mona,

You're very welcome!

 

 

fishmaniac,

As a fellow fishing nut I am interested in your comment about fishing from the pier in P.V. If I brought a pack rod I could fish there? Are there license and/or other restrictions? It might be kind of cool just to say I did it.

 

Musky,

YES....fish at Los Muertos pier if you get the chance. I didn't have a rod with me so I lost out on the chance to "say I did" which is what counts! The locals fishing there are really friendly and I'm sure you'll have a blast even if you fish for only a little while.

 

I've checked with the Mexican fishing department (San Diego office) and you do NOT need a license fishing from land (or piers or docks).

 

Hope that helps and tight lines!

[Musky Ike]

Thanks a lot,

I have a little ice rod that would pack easily, or I might beak down and buy a new travel rod. If the locals are using hand lines I guess casting distance is not an issue.

 

Also, you mentioned the starboard side on the Golden is non-smoking. Were you referring to staterooms or public areas? We requested non-smoking and are on the port side, hope it's not too bad. I don't care for stale smoke smell. I suppose I could call Princess but I doubt anything else is available anymore. Maybe I'll just throw in a can of room deoderizer in case. ;) We sail in a week.

[Tammiko]

You've been wonderful to answer all of these questions! Now I have one to add of my own. I have never cruised with Princess before and have been doing a lot of reading on CC and have seen quite a bit about classes offered (Ceramics, Computer, Camera & T-Shirt Painting etc.). Does the Golden also offer these or are they only on the longer cruises? We are on the December 1st Sailing.

[KarenCL]

I'm taking my Mom on the Nov 10 Golden sailing as a birthday gift. Do you remember which production shows were on board? I will be so anxious to see anything but "Piano Man" again for the 20th time!!! It seems to be on just about every Princess ship these last few years. Thanks! Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[wizard-of-roz]

Smoke smells come into your cabin from anyone smoking on their deck......it's the one thing I hate about veranda cabins.....we've been lucky on our last few cruises.....except in the Wheelhouse Bar....OMG...don't sit in the rooms with the ashtrays.....

We actually made boxes on our cruise, in September (7 days)....it was fun....and, they had ceramics, on deck....it was way too hot so we didn't go!

We did not see "Piano Man" as one of the production shows.....maybe we missed it!

Kevin Hughes (the comedian) was a riot..and, it's very difficult to make him laugh....he was laughing out loud!

[wizard-of-roz]

I meant my husband was laughing out loud.....communication via email can be so hard to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:p

[tequilasunrise]

Thanks a lot,

I have a little ice rod that would pack easily, or I might beak down and buy a new travel rod. If the locals are using hand lines I guess casting distance is not an issue.

 

Also, you mentioned the starboard side on the Golden is non-smoking. Were you referring to staterooms or public areas? We requested non-smoking and are on the port side, hope it's not too bad. I don't care for stale smoke smell. I suppose I could call Princess but I doubt anything else is available anymore. Maybe I'll just throw in a can of room deoderizer in case. ;) We sail in a week.

 

Bring the deodorizer and a pen to leave a suggestion on their comment card--- there are currently no non-smoking rooms. Be sure to let them knwo you would like a block of non-smoking cabins, it is the only way that will ever happen.

 

If you have a balcony, you are at the mercy of your neighbors as to how your cabin smells. Fortunately, most (tho not all) are polite and you can work something out.

[fishmaniac]

...Also, you mentioned the starboard side on the Golden is non-smoking. Were you referring to staterooms or public areas? We requested non-smoking and are on the port side, hope it's not too bad. I don't care for stale smoke smell. I suppose I could call Princess but I doubt anything else is available anymore. Maybe I'll just throw in a can of room deoderizer in case. ;) We sail in a week.

 

Ike,

There are no non-smoking cabins. All cabins are smoking. Doesn't matter what side, whether a suite, inside, outside or balcony. As mentioned earlier in this thread, our cabin's previous cruisers smoked while in their cabins. But we couldn't tell, so I'd say it's not bad at all. The ventilation pushes air out under the door.

 

Smoking is allowed on all open air decks on the port side. It's also allowed in the casino and the cigar bar (next to each other). It's also allowed at the Promenade lounge near the bar (like 2 tables). It's sometimes allowed at the Explorer's lounge at the bar when it's "drinking time".

 

We never smelled any stale smoke in any areas except near the ashtray outside the casino. It was always "fresh" smoke. ;) If you've ever stayed at an old hotel like Riviera or Sahara in vegas, that is the epitome of "stale" smoke. It's in the rooms, casino, halls...everywhere. But on the Golden, it's nothing like that.

 

You've been wonderful to answer all of these questions! Now I have one to add of my own. I have never cruised with Princess before and have been doing a lot of reading on CC and have seen quite a bit about classes offered (Ceramics, Computer, Camera & T-Shirt Painting etc.). Does the Golden also offer these or are they only on the longer cruises? We are on the December 1st Sailing.

 

Hi Tammiko,

I specifically recall them having computer and "arts n crafts" classes. The computer classes had a charge (except an into thingy) and the arts n crafts changed from day to day. I do not know if they charge for a&c's.

 

I'm taking my Mom on the Nov 10 Golden sailing as a birthday gift. Do you remember which production shows were on board? I will be so anxious to see anything but "Piano Man" again for the 20th time!!! It seems to be on just about every Princess ship these last few years. Thanks! Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

 

Hi Karen,

There was no "Piano Man" from what I recall. (Unless we missed it:)) We saw "Words & Music", "Motor City" and "Cinematastic". Not bad... ;)

We also saw a couple comedians, a magician and a karaoke contest called "Princess Popstar".

 

Hope you all have a great cruise to Mexico!

[Cruising Caribbean]

You mentioned "stuffed pig".

 

I think that was me :rolleyes:

[Cruising Caribbean]

Great review but i have to comment on something. You said you arrived for dinner a half hour late and some nights even later. That is very rude to your tablemates and terribly hard on your servers. Most of us veteran cruisers would like to see the ship close the dining room door 15 minutes after dinner hour and send latecomers to the other venues.

 

Thanks for saying that, I wanted to comment on it too.

 

Seems like they had a timing issue throughout the cruise...

 

"...we got to the terminal (thank's Dad for dropping us off and picking us up.) at 3:45 pm with a 4:00pm departure!"

"We were often late getting ready and as a result didn't get to our table til 8:30 or later on several occasions."

"Almost missed our City Highlights tour booked thru the ship"

 

Kevin, just because they tell you that you can be late, it's still inconsiderate. The staff is so nice, they won't ever tell you no.

[luvcdays]

Fishmaniac,

 

Can you tell me what time the muster drill was scheduled for?

 

Thanks

[fishmaniac]

It was scheduled for 4:00pm.

 

HTH,

Kevin