Golden Princess Jan 2018 Review highlights!

We had a wonderful room steward Edmundo on Caribe deck, dined in MDR daily at 5:30pm, great food and food choices. I loved the ship's Singers and Dancers and the amazing ship orchestra band. The shows and entertainment were really great. If you like Broadway/theatre dont miss 'Born to Dance': brilliant.

Heaps of different movie options, daily activities and games were plentiful.

I had read previously how the ship was dated, desperately in need of refurb etc. Honestly we thought it was great-there was some frayed outdoor carpet needing replacement out on one of the top walking decks thay was quite unsightly but that was less than 1% of the ship looking unsightly.

Best Horizon Court buffet tip: Majority of people seem to eant/need to sit in main buffet area, so endeavour to go out to one of the 'out the back' seating areas, easy to find a seat and quieter too. Even better was the outside dining area looking out at the wake.

Sorry the rest of my review is a bit rambling. I will post it on the princess board as well in case someone has any questions...

Melbourne: dropped luggage at 1030, initial check in from 1100.

In addition to suitcases, dropped off cooler bag of bottled water for taking into port. Luggage arrived approx 1:30pm. Requested 2 Bathrobes. Check fridge temp as may need to make fridge colder. Lots of closet storage, and space for suitcases under bed or under clothes hangers.

I used the Princess Mobile planner on my phone, instructions will be on P.Patter ie switch to aeorplane mode, turn on wifi then use the golden princess site to view events, dining etc. Was very handy if you didnt have Princess Patter with you each time. (Fyi there are spare Patters at guest services counter).

Hints: Enter the Drink of the Day competition via watching The Wake Show each morning, esp early in the cruise when there are less entries. If you dont drink alcohol you can order any other drink up to the same value as a cocktail.

Request bathrobes on your first day (and fresh fruit if you want).

Magnetic Hooks/Magnets: as all the main walls are magnetic, we found our hooks really handy for cruise lanyards, our hats etc. The ones from Amazon only held a few hundred grams, I woukd definitely recommend ones that hold up to 2kg as it would have been great for clothes drying, hanging heavier items.

Room service menu is on the Phone App or in the blue folder of info in your room.

Take a dozen or more of bottled water (in Australia there is water package deal that other countries have on Princes s) helps with Port day hydration to take with you out and about. To buy bottled water on board (Fontelle brand) it is $3 for a 500 or 600 mL.

When ordering Breakfast Room Service be prepared for them to knock on your door 15/20 minutes before your requested time (better early than late but warning you just so you are looking presentable!) Also, have the small coffee table or foot of the bed cleared, as they prefer to carry it in for you and set it down.

The best (free) coffee is the Room service coffee or the one served in MDRs. I brought boxes of Moccona Vanilla Latte sachets and mixed it in with the buffet area coffee plus a sachet of Moccona full strength coffee like u get at hotels, worked a treat!! (Took the edge off the Princess coffee (although it was drinkable if desperate, but a little on the weaker side).

Although there is a TV Channel guide via TV, we found it handy to write on paper all the TV Channels. (There are about 4 movie channels inc a Family channel) Movies change daily and are repeated 3-5 times that particular day)

Bathroom amenities: hand pump shower gel + hand pump shampoo/cond combo, hand soap, 1 small body lotion, 2 drinking glasses, 2FWashers; 2 Hand towels and 2 Bath towels, Bath mat.

Room and amenities: 2Pillows each, very comfortable bed, cooler fridge, room safe, approx 8 drawers, 16-20 coat hangers, cupboard with six big shelves, 2 drinking glasses with ice tongs (you can request an ice bucket), pen and notepaper on desk, 3 bottles of water (which you must pay for if you drink them).

Lunch for embarkation day: One of the MDRs was open for lunch, also Intl Cafe and Buffet.

MDR: Sparkling water or bottled water is offered first-bear in mind this is not free so if you want, just request 'tap water'.

Caribe balcony (deck 10) C726 was a bigger size, 9 x 9 ft, about 40% overhead coverage from door then exposed overhead for the remaining 60%. We had 2 chairs/2footstools,1 small round table.

Horizon court: Reasonable range of food ...except they thought having only 2 handbasins at each entrance would be sufficient for 2600 pax cruise ship so be prepared to queue for the basins (it's worth it of course, to avoid getting sick or spreading sickness). Yes sometimes people bypassed the basins but in fairness some of these just wanted to get to the back of the ship outside and were simply walking straight past all food.

British pub food lunch: held on Day 2 and Day 11 at the Crown Grill, eg battered fish & chips; steak & kidney pie, bread & butter pudding..A good way to go to Crown Grill for free!

First night we had Welcome/Intro from Entertainment crew, a Song & Dance number and comedian Steve Allison, lots of laughs had. We went to the show about 7:30m for a 7:45pm start and found seats pretty easily.

Second Day/Night: Golf championship challenge begins, Lemon Meringue Pies!

Comedian Steve Allison's second show then Peter Byrne (tribute to Neil Diamond) Seats began filling up a bit earlier from here on in ie we got to the Princess Theatre about 7pm /7:10pm ish for the 7:45 pm shows. People were annoyed they hsd to get there early to get a seat for the show, but there is a 2nd show on the same night, There is no fairer way of doing it. I would say, for all the people complaining be careful what you wish for ie they may in the future instead assign you to a show or they may only open doors just before the show..I believe nothing wrong with first in best dressed. My husband and i would both be seated from 7pm and its a good time to write your review and to cull photos on your phone/camera, chat with those next to you/around you. My hubby would usually go to the men's room just outside the theatre, so down my handbag would go to save his seat for 2-3minutes... Some other passengers were spoken to disapprovingly when they did this, another was told she was lying when her hubby ducked to the toilet for a few minutes. To me, there is a difference in protecting your partners seat for a handful of minutes when you have both been there for the last 30minutes VS one of you reserving seat/s for a few people for a long period of time.

Fourth Day: . Lawn Court Challenge 1st and 2nd, FliptheCup challenge 3rd place, Golf challenge, Afternoon Trivia 1st place, Hot August Night Neil Diamond tribute show by fabulous Peter Byrne

Day 5: Port Chalmers/Dunedin We caught a minivan (Explore Dunedin) $5 each oneway. Public town bus is $6 ea ow and the large shuttles were $15 return (big long lines for these). We walked to Olveston House from the Octagon , looked around the gardens. Other people there seemed to have really enjoyed the house tour.

Arrived back 2pm for warm veggie soup, chicken sandwiches/tomato & mozzarella toasties then french vanilla slice...on your return you can use wifi at the big i-site shed...there will be a poster on the wall with wifi password.

*Remember to bring your photo id to show NZ Immigration when returning to port. Drivers licence fine if you don't want to carry your passport around.

Disembarkation Day: Scheduled for 9:30am and we were right on time (had to be out of Stateroom 8:30am. Hint: if you want to vire a different style of cabin for ypurself for another trip on that ship, this is the time to do it- we asked the room stewards first but they invited us to view the vacated Mini-Suite/ aft Suite/ interior-it gives you a good idea of their bathroom layout and how it compares to the room you have just had.

Hope this helps others for your next cruise :)

Thanks CRUISER GAL1973 for the great informative review of your Golden Princess cruise. We are off on her next Saturday and looking forward to it. Just a couple of questions if you don't mind - did you find embarkation easy and what time did you embark? We have a Caribe cabin too but mid forward.

Leigh

Hi ask as many Qs as you need! we arrived by taxi around 1030am at Port Melbourne, dropped off our suitcases and cooler bag of bottled water, they advised can enter terminal from 11am so we walked round the wharf area. There is a small IGA shop within 5mins fyi for anything last minute! We got to terminal and received cruisecard and i think Princess Patter. On the Patter you will nite which Main Dining room is open for lunch. We had to wait about 15minutes until allowed into next room with seating, due to lack of seats in that main area where security and immigration area. We sat for maybe 15-25 mins and they progressively called rows of seats. Then security and immigration and tgen boarded! Went to our room close to midday, room ready, then went to lunch in the main dining room😀

Hi ask as many Qs as you need! we arrived by taxi around 1030am at Port Melbourne, dropped off our suitcases and cooler bag of bottled water, they advised can enter terminal from 11am so we walked round the wharf area. There is a small IGA shop within 5mins fyi for anything last minute! We got to terminal and received cruisecard and i think Princess Patter. On the Patter you will nite which Main Dining room is open for lunch. We had to wait about 15minutes until allowed into next room with seating, due to lack of seats in that main area where security and immigration area. We sat for maybe 15-25 mins and they progressively called rows of seats. Then security and immigration and tgen boarded! Went to our room close to midday, room ready, then went to lunch in the main dining room😀

Thanks CRUISER GAL 1973, yes I was aware of the IGI, we know the area quite well. Our daughter will be dropping us off about 12.30 pm so assume we will be able to be drive through to the terminal as others have told us. It seems you enjoyed the food in the MDR, how did you find the International Cafe? Was that where you had the soup and sandwich?

Leigh

Thanks CRUISER GAL 1973, yes I was aware of the IGI, we know the area quite well. Our daughter will be dropping us off about 12.30 pm so assume we will be able to be drive through to the terminal as others have told us. It seems you enjoyed the food in the MDR, how did you find the International Cafe? Was that where you had the soup and sandwich?

 

Leigh

Hi the International Cafe was awesome, food variety changed approx every 6-8 hours (well the dessert/baked items anyway), yes great soups (changed daily) and yummy salads, toasted swiches, ham n cheese croissants, salads. 24hours.

Hi the International Cafe was awesome, food variety changed approx every 6-8 hours (well the dessert/baked items anyway), yes great soups (changed daily) and yummy salads, toasted swiches, ham n cheese croissants, salads. 24hours.

That sounds good CRUISER GAL 1973. Another question if I may - did you have to take your life jacket to the safety muster?

Leigh

HI Possum52,

We were on the some cruise, no life jackets to muster,

Also weather was a little rough for some missed fiordland and Auckland ( somebody said it was missed due to unpayed docking fees at Auckland )

Cheers Don

That sounds good CRUISER GAL 1973. Another question if I may - did you have to take your life jacket to the safety muster?

 

Leigh

Hi, No life jackets needed for muster drill.

Thanks for the review.

Thank you for all the info CG 1973! :)

Looking forward to our first Princess cruise.

Nice review thank you.

Tony

Thanks CRUISER GAL 1973 and getting older slowly for info re muster drill. Did it go more smoothly without having to take the life jacket?

How did the Golden handle the rough weather? I'm expecting some next week after Cyclone Gita.

Leigh