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Golden Princess 1/23/05 Review

CyndiNYC

By CyndiNYC,
in Princess Cruises

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CyndiNYC

CyndiNYC

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Well my hubby & I are bk from our Southern Carribbean cruise on the Golden Princess from 1/23-1/30. All i can say is "AWESOME"!:D Here is our review:

 

ARRIVAL: Well we were suppose to fly in on that sunday to Puerto Rico but due to the blizzard in the North East we had to leave NYC the day before and stay at the Courtyard Marriott in Isla Verde. Very nice hotel! We went the next day to the airport for our transfers to the Pier. The ship at first glance is awesome, huge and well taken care of. In the pier terminal there is a liquor store. We brought some beer, rum and soda and snuck it in. It saved a lot of money that would of been spent on onboard drinks. Embarkation went very smoothly. We went through the embarkation process and into the ship and our rooms within 15 minutes.

 

OUR ROOM: We were on the Aloha deck, with a balcony room on port side. Great room. Shocked by the size, never been on a cruise so i was hoping to be in a room similar to a hotel room. But oh well. Our room was great. Lots of closet space and shelf space, even in the bathrooms. Our cabin steward, Camile, was awesome. Took very good care of us and was always greeting us with a smile!

 

Overall, first impressions were positive. This was our first cruise, celebrating our one yr anniv. and were not disappointed. Next: MORE REVIEWS

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CyndiNYC

CyndiNYC

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Continue review:

Well as we spent our first day at the pool, eating, and just enjoying ourselves in our new home for 8 days we were very impressed. The Golden has several pools, the adult pools are the Terrace and Spa pool. Both very well kept. Never saw any kids there. The other two, the Calypso and the Neptune are huge and just as well kept. There are children there but there were not too many kids and those who where there did not misbehave.

 

We had our first lunch and dinner at the HORIZON BUFFET. Very well cleaned, the staff was very prompt in cleaning up the tables, helping us with getting sodas, coffees, etc. The food choices were abundant and great.

 

FOOD: We ate at the Donnattelo, the Bernini and the Desert Rose Steakhouse. The steakhouse is a $15 charge pp. This place is worth the price. The filet mignon and the meal in general were YUMMY!:p The other two are great as well. I am not use to eating four course meals plus dessert but hey you gotta make sacrifices when on vacation! I am allergic to seafood but my husband loved it and said that the seafood (shrimp, lobster, scallops, crabs, sushi, etc. were all tasty). The food presentation was very creative. You will not go hungry here. At times we had breakfast brought to our rooms so we can eat overlooking the ocean on our balcony! Great!!!!

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Can't comment here, did not see the shows. We are from NY so we are use to seeing broadway shows, concerts, etc. so we did not feel it was necessary to do that on this trip.

 

SHIP OVERALL: The ship is great. The ship is well taken care of, the staff is very helpful, kept it all cleaned and were very attentive to the staff.

 

NEXT REVIEW: EXCURSIONS

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CyndiNYC

CyndiNYC

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EXCURSIONS: We did ship sponsored excersions and two on our own.

 

ST LUCIA: We did the Northern Island Drive and Beach thru the ship. Great excursion. THe tour guide gave us a great history of the ship, she even taught us some phrases in creole. The beach was beautiful and the sun is glaring. SUN BLOCK PEOPLE!!!!! Highly recommend this tour.

 

BARBADOS: We did the Jolly Roger Pirate Ship thru the ship. Hubby wanted to be a pirate for a day so why deny him the pleasure. The ship was so much fun. The rum punch was free and over flowing. The music was great. The "PIRATES AND WENCHES" all had a great time. The beach was so pristine. Soft sand, crystal waters, a great time. Hubby walked off the plank! HE LOVED IT!

 

ANTIGUA: We did the Sail, Snorkel and Beach thru the ship. Well i can't swim for the life of me so i didn't snorkel but hubby did and loved it. They drop you off by a coral reef in the ocean and you see the wonders of the coral and the fishes. From there they take you to the beach. Another great time there. Great trip if you love to snorkel and are new at it.

 

ST MAARTEN: Did our own thing, we went to Great Bay Beach. For $5pp you take a water taxi right by the pier to the beach. There for $10 you get 2 beach chairs, 1 umbrella and 2 drinks (beer, soda or mixed drinks). The water is awsome, so clear and blue. The sand is soft. We got there by 9:30am and we had the place almost all to ourselves. By 12:30ish it starts to get filled up. Its close to the pier and right behind the beach is the shopping area in Phillipsburg. You can't go wrong there. WE LOVED IT!!!

 

ST THOMAS: This was our only non beach trip. We took a $3pp cab ride to the town to do our shopping in Charlotte Amalie. The taxi's are in full supply right by the pier. They drop you off by the flea market which is a great place to get great prices on items ($10 for 5 tshirts). The purple papaya at the end of Main Street is a great place for cheap prices on rums and souveniers. Stores are a plenty there.

 

OVERALL: We loved it, no complaints what so ever. The food, the guests, the staff, the trips, the islands were incredible. Our only regret was that we missed our two cats. This trip has totally convinced us that we would definetly do this again and with Princess.

 

CAN"T WAIT TO SEE THE PICS! You cannot go wrong with them!

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mmsoko

mmsoko

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Cyndi, thanks for the review.

 

What time did you get to the pier from the hotel?

Trying to plan for March. We're staying in Isle Verde night b4 cruise.

Did you go into Old San Juan or just "hang out" near hotel?

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CyndiNYC

CyndiNYC

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Mmsoko,

 

well we actually had the airport transfers already so we just took the cab bk to the airport ($10) and then took the transfers to the pier. We got there like in 20 minutes or so. If it wasn't for the transfers the ride from the hotel to the pier would of been about 10-15 minutes i believe.

Our flight got us into San Juan by 6ish so no hanging out really. We stayed in the hotel for dinner and a dip in the jacuzzi! We've been to San Juan before so we did not really need to do a tour of the area. But Old San Juan is beautiful, especially at night. I say go for it! Trust me its great.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Joe1690

Joe1690

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I was wondering whether the ship docks at the old san juan pier like the Carnival Destiny does or if it docks at the Pan-American Pier where the Adventure of the Seas (RCCL) docks. Thanks for the information.

 

Sincerely,

 

JC

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