Golden 1/23 Review-Pt II

In St. Lucia we took a cab to the Rex Hotel and walked onto the beach from there. The water was great and we had lunch down the beach at a place called Spinnakers which was delicious and very reasonable.

In Barbados we took a bad to a place called the "Boatyard". I'd been there several times, it is a bar/restaurant on the beach. You pay 12 dollars to get in which includes chairs, umbrellas and non-motorized watersports. They give you 6 dollars in food/drink tokens which was great. A lot of the crew from all the ships go here, there is a DJ and they play games on the beach. A very fun spot.

We took the Five Star Catamaran with Lunch tour from Princess in Antigua, because of currents we couldn't go to Bird Island, but they took us to the southern coast of Antigua where they stopped for snorkeling, then served an open bar. They stopped at a gorgeous beach where they served an amazing buffet. Amazingly enough, we really started to enjoy this trip after the rum punch! Be very careful though, after 4 I could barely walk back onto the ship! This was the night they had island night, definitely a highlight of the cruise.

In St. Martin we went to Orient Beach on the French side, which is definitely a must. There are tons of restaurants and places to get chairs. The food and drinks are excellent as is the people watching. There are a lot of topless, but only on the far far end is it entirely nude so don't let people scare you out of going there.

We were so exhausted from the sun and nighttime activities that we stayed on the ship in St. Thomas. My friend had gotten off to shop at the mall right where we dock which is very convenient. I would normally have gone to Magen's Bay which is one of my favorite beaches.

We ate at the Steak house the last night and was very impressed. The food was excellent and I'm a NY restaurant snob!

Disembarking the last day was very organized as usual. We were one of the last off at 10 am. I would advise that if you were flying on your own and had an early flight that you let the purser's desk know early on so that you can get priority tags. We stayed the last night in Puerto Rico at the Embassy Suites which was adequate but nothing special. We slept most of the time!

I did forget to mention one thing. Be very careful when you leave your balcony door opened at night to hear the sounds of the ocean and get some sea air! We had an unexpected visitor--a bird flew in and was flying all over our room at 2am. It was quite a scene but we eventually got it out. After we were running around screaming as if we were in a Hitchcock film...

I really had a great time on the Golden, I've actually booked again for April as most of the staff is supposed to be the same.

I did forget to mention one thing. Be very careful when you leave your balcony door opened at night to hear the sounds of the ocean and get some sea air! We had an unexpected visitor--a bird flew in and was flying all over our room at 2am. It was quite a scene but we eventually got it out. After we were running around screaming as if we were in a Hitchcock film...

 

 

The image of the bird is very funny, but I'm sure it wasn't at the time.

Nice to know that you enjoyed the steakhouse, we're particular about our beef also.

Thanks for the review! I'm on the Golden next month so I can't read enough about her. I'm on the same itinerary as you, but I don't like the beach (weird, I know :D ), so I won't be following in your footsteps :) . We've been to most of the islands before, and we plan to use Antigua as a "sea day" :cool: to relax in the middle of the week.

Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself!

Thanks for the review. I am on Golden but not until October. Will be taking the NY to San Juan route.

Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks for the review....

Just waiting until next month.

Any sign that they are installing MUTS on the Golden?

Thanks for taking time to write your review Jennifer. :D We leave on the Golden in less than two weeks. I do have a couple of questions for you -

* Did you stop and buy any soda, beer or alcohol at the pier? If so, did you have any trouble carrying it on?

* How were the seas? I have read so many posts that the Carribean seas have been rough for the past couple of months.

* Did you do PC dining? Any waiters or dining rooms that we should look for?

Thanks for your answers....and time. :)

Judy

13 days until we sail on the Golden! :D

I brought a few bottles of wine from home. No problem at all. The only thing you may have problems with is hard liquor which is easy enough to sneak on in your checked luggage.The seas were very calm, the only motion i felt was the last night and that was slight. I know the week before it had been raining, so that may have made the ship moved more.

We did do PC dining, and I usually end up with a favorite I request, but on this one we really didn't encounter anyone very special, may just have been our luck. I do remember a Cristian from Romania but I think there may have been 20 of them!

Remember to bring your corkscrew in your carryon so you can start as soon as you get to your cabin!

I do remember a Cristian from Romania but I think there may have been 20 of them!

I've attached a pic of him. Is he the same one [do you recall]?

~Paul

that's very funny! i was on the golden in may and remember that cristian! i even have a few pictures of him from that cruise...unfortunately, he wasn't on this time. i think it's the most common romanian name...you never know though, these guys come back from vacation and he could be on again...

Thanks so much Jennifer for your detailed report.

We are really looking forward to our first cruise next month.

Mike :D