Jasperdo

Actually it's called the Unlimited Soda & More Package. ;)

On your first day on the ship, the soda and UKP packages will be sold all over the ship. You can't miss the tables they have set up. There are two types of cards. One is for soda only. The other is the one you asked about. It is called the Ultimate Kids Package, but anyone can get it.

My wife and I took a taxi to Pearl Harbor in January. We were on the Golden Princess, docked at the Aloha Tower Terminal. There is a taxi stand right outside the building. Everyone there was going to Pearl Harbor. We shared a 7 passenger van, and it cost us $5pp, and that included the tip. We left the ship as soon as we could debark, around 7am. We were in Pearl Harbor before 8am, and were given tickets for the 8:15am tour.

After the tour we spent a few hours looking in the museum and walking the grounds. We took the city bus back into Honolulu. It was right up at the street corner, cost us $2.50 pp, and took us right to Iolani Palace, which we explored after lunch.

I returned from the Crown on Dec 6. One of the pools had live music for an hour or so around lunch and around four in the afternoon on sea days. The band was called Passion...two female lead singers, a drummer, keyboardist and guitarist. They also played in one of the clubs at night and at the carribean deck party and at sailaway.

This was the Golden Princess Room Service menu in January:

Jasperdo,

I enjoyed eveyone one of you pictures as well. Great job!!!

Mike

I just wanted to thank you again for the excellent review. Especially enjoyed all the photos.

I totally agree with you about the drink servers in the Horizon Court. It was one of the few complaints we had with the Golden. They were very slow in clearing tables and getting drinks. It seemed like they just wandered around aimlessly. I wound up going to their serving station and pouring my own orange juice every morning. Lunch and dinner aren't bad. The self serve drink station is very convenient. But, at breakfast, the OJ is kept in pitchers at their little stations. Not that big a deal. But still, they could have been a bit more attentive than they were.

I don't think I will every have a bad cruise! Even if we have to miss every port, just being able to get away and be in that atmosphere is wonderful! I can't complain when my meals are there ready for me to eat and someone comes in twice a day to clean up after me! Thats what vacation is all about!

Excellent review so far. Really enjoying the photos. We had a fabulous cruise on the Golden in January, and you're helping me relive it.

I would just like to add my thanks to Dave and Leialoha. My wife and I were on the Jan. 5 sailing. The music of Elua is magical. We listened to it as often as possible while on the ship. We bought their CD and listened to it on the drive home. I still find myself singing their wonderful Hawaiian tunes. They are a warm and gracious couple. Without a doubt, they were the best Cultural experience we have ever had on a cruise ship.

If you read this, Dave and Leialoha... Mahalo. You guys made this cruise very special for us.

Jasperdo - Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying the review. We never had to wait in line for the Thrifty Shuttle. There was either one waiting there or one was pulling up as we came out of the terminal. We are the types that like to get off the boat asap, so I'm not sure if there would have been lines if we had waited a little later. Thrifty and Dollar share shuttle buses. In every port there are signs telling you where to go to catch a shuttle, taxi, excursion bus, etc. We never had any problem figuring out where to go. Make sure you join Thrifty's Blue Chip program. It will save you from waiting in line at the counter. There may still be 1 or 2 people in front of you, but not nearly as many as in the regular line. When you get on the bus, sit as close to the front of the bus as possible. That way you will be one of the first ones off and to the counter first. We never had a full bus either going to or coming from the car rental location. Hope this helps.

This has been an outstanding review. Thanks for taking the time to be so detailed and including all those wonderful photos. Even though my wife and I will be on the Golden Princess instead of the POA, your review has been very helpful. I am especially interested in your rental car experiences in Hilo and Kauai. We have rental cars reserved through Thrifty as well. It sounds like it worked flawlessly for you. That's good to hear. I do have one quick question about the Thrifty shuttles in Hilo and Kauai. Is there a line to stand in if the shuttle isn't there? Or is it a free for all with everyone trying to scramble onto the shuttle when it arrives at the dock? And is there a sign letting you know where to catch the shuttle?

Our first cruise together (our honeymoon) January 1995 out of San Juan to the Panama Canal on Celebrity's maiden ship Meridian.

 

I believe the Meridian sank while suffering a major engine fire while cruising for an Asian line in the late 1990's.

 

Great thread...........

My wife and I sailed on the Meridian out of San Juan, also. Our cruise was called the Ultimate Caribbean and went to 9 Ports of Call on a 10 day cruise.

Although not technically a Cruise Ship, I also sailed on BC Ferries 'Queen of the North'. It was built as an overnight ferry and had cabins. It also sank, south of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, in 2006.

Sapphire Princess also has a resistance pool for swimmers.

That pool isn't covered, though. Isn't that the pool in the Lotus Spa? The only covered pool on the Sapphire is the Calypso Reef Pool.

The Sapphire Princess has a covered pool as well.