Live From The Golden 02-02-11 to 02-16-11 R/T To Hawaii

[Cruisin' Chick]

Yeah, we all know about the signs..

 

I'm talking about the gym/fitness guys table that usually by the entrance door to the gym.. Sometimes he/she sets out clip boards with time slot reservations for the tread mills and stair masters.

 

Srpilo

 

That definitely wasn't used on the Golden at the times I was there.

[LARGIN]

How about some of the passengers currently on the Golden answer a few questions?

 

On formal nights, how many men without a jacket were observed?

How long is the waiting time for anytime dining after 7:30?

How many days for the 3 most traveled passengers?

How many days minimum to attend the Most Traveled Passenger Luncheon?

Is there a problem with designating half of one of the Anytime Dining Rooms to Traditional before 7:30?

What were the wines served at the Chef's Table?

Could you use an old coffee card?

What does the new coffee card look like?

On formal nights, what is the dress in the Crown Grill & Sabatini's?

And anything that you think we should know?

[Jasperdo]

How about some of the passengers currently on the Golden answer a few questions?

 

On formal nights, how many men without a jacket were observed?

 

How long is the waiting time for anytime dining after 7:30?

 

Is there a problem with designating half of one of the Anytime Dining Rooms to Traditional before 7:30?

My wife and I were on the Jan. 5 sailing and can answer a few of these questions for you.

1) I'd say about 5% of the men didn't have a tie or jacket on. To me they still looked stylish, and I didn't have a problem with it.

2) We always ate earlier than 7:30pm. But, a few nights we left the AT dining room at around 7:30pm, and there didn't seem to be a line.

3) There was only one AT dining room available until 7:30pm, the Bernini on Deck 5. The Donatello on Deck 6 was strictly 5:30 early traditional. Then it converted to AT. For the most part it worked out ok. We ate in the AT dining room about 9 or 10 nights. Half the time we were seated at a table for two immediately. The other nights we had a wait, ranging from 5 to 40 minutes. If we had wanted to share a table we would have been seated right away every evening.

[socaljo]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your informative report. We are sailing on the Golden on March 2 ,and in addition to changing our itinerary, they want us to check in according to cabin number ! We are asked to arrive at 2:pm. Did they do this for your voyage and did people complia ?

 

We are on the Feb 16 sailing, and yes we received that new boarding time info yesterday. Its about the same time we planned to arrive, we are close & drive. But several on our roll call are not happy, have traveled from afar, will be waiting between hotel check-out & their new 2 pm boarding time. I will try to remember to include how embarkation goes when I post a small review after our return. :D

[Nancyquilts]

We are on the Feb 16 sailing, and yes we received that new boarding time info yesterday. Its about the same time we planned to arrive, we are close & drive. But several on our roll call are not happy, have traveled from afar, will be waiting between hotel check-out & their new 2 pm boarding time. I will try to remember to include how embarkation goes when I post a small review after our return. :D

Maybe they might plan to take a book or magazine and wait down at the pier, if that's possible, instead of the lobby of the hotel.;)

[habita]

This was not done on our Jan. 5 sailing. We arrived at 10:30am and were on the ship by 11:45am.

 

I'm curious ... how was your itinerary changed?

We have the same ports but the order was changed. This caused some problems for people that had private tours,car rentals etc.

[Woobstr112G]

Good morning from the Golden Princess. Happy Valentine’s Day to all. Today Is our last full sea day before we arrive at Ensenada. After that it a short one or so mile sail to San Pedro where this wonderful cruise will come to an end. I have really enjoyed doing this live from thread. I hope that all enjoyed it and some might have gained some useful information for future cruises. This might be my last post here as internet minutes are running low. Will have to check them tomorrow. I might be able to post one last time when we get to San Pedro and I can use my I-Phone. Also, in a couple of weeks I should have pictures and the patters scanned and up on my flickr photo site.

Last night we had dinner in the Crown Grill. I had lamb while DW had the four oz Maine lobster tails. We both enjoyed our dinner as the food was goo (just not great). Service was also professional and met our expectations. I’m sure that most are aware of this but for those that don’t know, the full Maine lobster ($9.00 additional charge) is no longer offered in the Crown Grill; at least not on the Golden.

Entertainment for today is Voyage of the Hokule’a (MUTS) at 0900 hours, Killers (MUTS) at1030 hours, Salt (MUTS) at 1230 hours, The Winning Season (MUTS) at 1430 hours, The Switch (MUTS) at 1900/2200 hours. Today in the Piazza there will be a renewal of vows ceremony at 1130 hours. Tonight in the Princess theater there will be the production show British Invasion at 2015/2215 hours. Comedian-Variety performer Steve Carte will be in the Vista lounge at 2030 hours.

Tonight is our last formal night so I’m looking to getting dressed up in the Tux for one more time and spending a nice evening with some great tablemates we have come to know on this cruise. Truly wonderful people.

I mentioned the treadmill issue yesterday. I had a bit of a scary moment as I worked out yesterday in the late morning. I was doing a final two minute sprint at 7.2 mph with a 3% grade incline. As I was running, the treadmill belt suddenly stopped. I almost went down and off the back of the treadmill. This could have caused significant injury but at the last second, I was able to grab the pulse bar which sort of broke my fall. Just a little tweaked left ankle is all. After the incident, I reported it to the passenger services desk. I was later informed that there is a problem with the motors in the model of treadmill they have on the ship. They are in the process of replacing the motors and should get another shipment delivered when we dock on Wednesday in San Pedro. One other thing about those earlier mentioned reservation sheets. I have not seen them used on the entire cruise.

Well that’s all for now. Hope all are well…..:):):)

Bob

[LARGIN]

Good morning from the Golden Princess. Happy Valentine’s Day to all. Today Is our last full sea day before we arrive at Ensenada. After that it a short one or so mile sail to San Pedro where this wonderful cruise will come to an end. I have really enjoyed doing this live from thread. I hope that all enjoyed it and some might have gained some useful information for future cruises .

Bob

More useful information please. :confused::confused: See post #152

[Susie51]

I have enjoyed reading your review. Do they still have trays at the buffet?

[Sunviking]

Thank you for doing your Live from Bob. Your posts have been very informative for those going on this same cruise after you this week.

 

I have had problems with the treadmill stopping on occasion when I was on it. I'm not a runner, but rather a walker, and even so it was disconcerting. I didn't know that the whole lobster was no longer available. Thanks for that info.

 

I think it's kind of interesting about the Most Traveled Luncheon. A couple of years ago my daughter and I were on the Coral Princess and were invited to the most traveled lunch. I had only just become Elite and had nowhere near as many days as many of the people who post here. Clearly, the cutoff from one cruise to the next varies on the population on the ship. What happens on one sailing has no relevance on another. Oh well, it was a nice luncheon and maybe someday I'll get to again. It won't affect my cruising enjoyment either way!

[Pepes Pal]

More useful information please. :confused::confused: See post #152

Bob, There were many on this "live" including myself that have found your posts very informative. You've done a great job. Thanks so much for using your precious internet minutes (I realize none were free & that you had to pay for them!) for our benefit. They couldn't have been more useful! Thanks again.

Welcome home from many & Misha on Wednesday!

[judyjudy56]

Thank you so much for doing this live thread. We will be board the Golden on March 2nd and can hardly wait. I have warned my DH about the treadmills. Hopefully they will be repaired by then.

[csshelto]

We will be taking the same cruise March 30th and appreciate the time you took to provide the information. This will be our first Hawaii 14 night cruise and I have been a little concerned after reading some of the other Golden Princess reviews for Hawaii.

 

Most mentioned bad weather from November to January which I hoped (and you confirmed) would not be an issue for our late March cruise. Thank you. It is also good to see where some reviewers statements about poor staff service and attitudes are incorrect or recently improved.

 

We sailed the Sapphire to the Mexican Riviera in April 2010 and are saddened that the Horizon Court is similarly afflicted on the Golden Princess.

 

Looking forward to your photos...

[Woobstr112G]

Good morning from the beautiful Golden Princess. Well the dreaded day is here. Our last full day on board. We received our yellow 8 luggage tags last night. We are scheduled to be off the ship around 1030 tomorrow:(:(:( I will start packing a little later as soon as DW gets up. We have to have our luggage outside the cabin by 2300 hours tonight. Later we arrive in Ensenada to comply with the Jones act. I don’t remember reading, but I believe our stop in port is only about four hours.

Princess did a very cool Valentine’s Day for its passengers. They had nice decorations in the Piazza and the captain officiated over a renewal of vows ceremony.

Not going to do much of anything today as I’ve come down with the dreaded end of cruise sniffles. Serves me right for forgetting my airborne. DW has one more massage to go later on today.

The Gala dinner (MDR) was very nice last night. The lobster and prawns were cooked well and were very tasty. Tonight is the farewell dinner when we will get our baked Alaska parade.

Today’s entertainment is Cirque Du Soleil – Delirium (MUTS) at 0930, Whales..Unforgettable journey (MUTS) at 1200 hours, Legends of the Guardians (MUTS)M at 1300 hours, Secretariat (MUTS) at 1500 hours, and Red (MUTS) at 1900/2200 hours. The piazza has the usual musical melodies. Dave & Leialoha (Elua) will be hosting a meet and greet in the Piazza at 1900 hours. The production show British Invasion will be in the princess theater at 2015 hours. Mentalist Joshua Seth will be in the Vista lounge.

This will probably be my last live from post other than to respond to any questions that might come up. I will be writing a review of my cruise when I get back and as time permits, will start uploading pictures to my flickr photo site.

I have really enjoyed doing this live thread. I hope that all who have stopped by have found my postings informative as well as fun and enjoyable to read. The Golden Princess is a very nice ship and this is a great itinerary for a two week vacation.

Take Care All.....:):):)

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

Bob, There were many on this "live" including myself that have found your posts very informative. You've done a great job. Thanks so much for using your precious internet minutes (I realize none were free & that you had to pay for them!) for our benefit. They couldn't have been more useful! Thanks again.

Welcome home from many & Misha on Wednesday!

 

Jusy;

 

Thanks.....:):):) I'll give you a call when we get home.

 

Bob

[jandbatsea]

I have so enjoyed your reports and can hardly wait to board tomorrow! Thanks for all the wonderful information and insights and have a safe trip home.

[Michelle19]

I really enjoyed the last 2 weeks following your live thread. Thank you for taking the time! Super excited for our trip on Golden in April!

[Lynda90]

Thank you, Bob for taking the time to share your cruise with us. Looking forward to meeting you and Holli at the hotel in Venice! :p

[Sunviking]

Thank you again, Bob, for doing your live from. Have a safe trip home. While it's always sad when a cruise is over, just think about the fact that it won't be all that long before you're on your way to Venice.

[Let's travel]

Hi Bob

 

This sounds like a great idea, thanks for sharing your experience on the Princess with us. We are thinking of taking a cruise to Alaska on the Golden Princess in August with our two young daughters. That is what caught my attention. It sounds like a fantastic ship, we have never cruised before so need all the help we can get.

 

Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

Thanks

Nessa

[TERESAh]

Thanks for your threads---we are going in April so really enjoyed hearing from you

[hermajestylanie]

Do you have any food pictures? :D

 

 

Thank you for the detailed review! I await my departure for the same cruise on 3/16 and am giddy with excitement!

[Woobstr112G]

Do you have any food pictures? :D

 

Thank you for the detailed review! I await my departure for the same cruise on 3/16 and am giddy with excitement!

 

The only food pictures I have are of the Chef's Table. They are on my flickr page. The link to my flickr site is in my signature. I am uploading the final pictures of Maui (non food:)) and the page will be complete in about 15 minutes. After you click on the link the individual Golden Princess link will be a square button on the right side of the page.....

 

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

I really enjoyed the last 2 weeks following your live thread. Thank you for taking the time! Super excited for our trip on Golden in April!

 

I'm sure you'll have a great cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[MTJSR]

Just viewed your photos and they are excellent. Having done this trip myself, surprised to see just how much I missed and I though I took a lot of pictures too.