An OCD review of Golden/Hawaii-Pictures!!

[RickEk]

Well, to each his own, right? I just read that review, and I agree with most of the points, but those things just didn't ruin the cruise for me. I agree that they did a lot of work on the ship while we were at sea- things like re-varnishing and painting and the like. I also saw them scrub the sides of the ship to remove rust stains while we were in Ensenada. But these things did not bug me. They make me appreciate that the crew is keeping up the ship. I did not notice much wear, so that must be why. It seems as if they do a great job keeping it up. There were some stairs outside that we closed so the varnish could dry... As for elevators, I am a firm believer in walking up stairs if one is able because it is great exercise and it allows me to eat more desserts (there were many people with canes and whelchairs on the ship and I figured they needed the elevators, so I wasn't going to add to their wait) and I used the elevator twice during the whole cruise- once to take our large scrapheap boat up a few floors and once when I had a headache. So, I did not notice if they were closed.

 

Children being noisy- yes, a little bit. But, kids are going to do that. I compare it to Carnival and found this cruise to be soooo much more quiet! There were some teenagers splashing in the spa once when I wanted to go in, so I just went to another spa. I saw some teenagers running up and down the stairs one day and overheard a girl say "why are we running up and down the stairs?" Well, it seems as if they are becoming more self aware. Good for them! But with only 98 children aboard during my sailing, it was pretty great! To tell the truth, I was more upset by the adults hogging all the good chairs in the sun, especially when they were sitting elsewhere in the shade. It rained a couple times and people left the open area in a hurry and in droves. But, the funny thing was seeing all the adults coming out from UNDER the covered area to run out to their hogged chairs to grab their stuff out of the rain!

 

 

Cruises are not going to give you the best cuts of meat- they are serving to the masses afterall. I had quite a few pieces with lots of gristle, but I just ate around it. They are also more than happy to bring you a new piece. The waiters are great. Food quality was a couple steps above Chili's or Applebee's.

 

 

I think that you have to do your research and know what to expect when going on a cruise, otherwise you may be disappointed. I had a really great time. But, everyone has different opinions! Sure, there are some things that I would change, or things that I might complain about, but overall I think Princess did a great job with this cruise and I was very happy with the outcome. In fact, I did not want to get off the ship. I planned to live in that tiny tiny stateroom until the end of time! Also, you have to take everything with a grain of salt.

 

But, it is interesting to hear other perspectives and expereinces as well. Thanks for sharing that link!

 

Absolutely... you have a great attitude and, hopefully, one that I share. I haven't had a "bad" cruise yet!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Thanks for the review... I'm looking forward to the rest of it...

 

I find it interesting that y'all had a fabulous time and then read another review from March which was totally different... :p

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=80921

 

 

Wow. Compared his review to mine (different sailing, but same ship/same itinerary): http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=78135

 

He even got some facts wrong such as the Port he was sailing from (and he said he's from Southern Cal?). Not very many sea day activities? I haven't seen too many ships offering a full range of activities on sea days. Bad tendering? If weather conditions aren't great, it's not Princess' fault. And I was able to get lemonade by the pool. I never asked for it in the dining room as I was using that time to get caught up on drinking water. and I can't comment on the quality of beef as I didn't eat beef on the cruise. Also, I'm guessing he was exaggerating about the kids, since there weren't too many onboard. And the biggest fault of all: not liking the Golden? We loved this ship when we were on it in December.

 

So I have to give you kudos for going with the flow and having a great time. I had tried to take photos of the menus, but often forgot or got bad shots (glare if I took the photo in the display case in front of the dining room). And often forgot or felt too self-conscious to shot photos at the table. So most of my food photos were taken in the buffet. It seems to really help the future cruisers to get in the mood for their cruise.

[apollobeach]

Thanks so much for your reviews; thanks also for the great pictures. We leave on The Golden in 12 days.....second visit to Hawaii; first with Princess.

 

We've heard so many good things about the Princess cruises we have scheduled our next two Hawaii with The Sapphire and The Grand.

 

Thanks again for the terrific review!:D

 

John/Rick

:p

[LisaroseNY]

Absolutely... you have a great attitude and, hopefully, one that I share. I haven't had a "bad" cruise yet!

 

I agree!!

 

This is a GREAT review!

 

We leave in about 190 days for the same cruise! Cant waitl

 

Would like more info on excursions also if you dont mind.

My email is lisa65@gmail.com

 

thanks!

:D

[COMBOY]

I just saw my brother and his wife off on this ship last Wednesday. I am so envious. They got their first balcony cabin on this ship and love it. He's been emailing me daily. They're having a great time.

[hermajestylanie]

Absolutely... you have a great attitude and, hopefully, one that I share. I haven't had a "bad" cruise yet!

 

 

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!

[Lynda90]

Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. What a wonderful review. Hoping for more. Also really enjoying your pictures! :p

[hermajestylanie]

Wow. Compared his review to mine (different sailing' date=' but same ship/same itinerary): http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=78135

 

He even got some facts wrong such as the Port he was sailing from (and he said he's from Southern Cal?). Not very many sea day activities? I haven't seen too many ships offering a full range of activities on sea days. Bad tendering? If weather conditions aren't great, it's not Princess' fault. And I was able to get lemonade by the pool. I never asked for it in the dining room as I was using that time to get caught up on drinking water. and I can't comment on the quality of beef as I didn't eat beef on the cruise. Also, I'm guessing he was exaggerating about the kids, since there weren't too many onboard. And the biggest fault of all: not liking the Golden? We loved this ship when we were on it in December.

 

So I have to give you kudos for going with the flow and having a great time. I had tried to take photos of the menus, but often forgot or got bad shots (glare if I took the photo in the display case in front of the dining room). And often forgot or felt too self-conscious to shot photos at the table. So most of my food photos were taken in the buffet. It seems to really help the future cruisers to get in the mood for their cruise.[/quote']

 

 

Well, I loved your review! It certainly helped me and I really appreciated it. I found it hard to take pictures of the menus in the cases too, and it was hard to remember when I was in the dining room. But, I have no shame, so I took pictures of everything even if I got strange looks from my dining partners. They all ended up understanding and had a good laugh about my obsessive need to document eveything on the cruise, even the food. Husband makes jokes that he can't eat until I tell him its ok after the picture. "Wait. Can I eat now? Are you sure? You sure you are done taking the picture? I can wait. Do you need another one? How about a different angle? I wouldn't want to take a bite and ruin your pictures. Take your time. I don't need to eat right away. I am sure the food is at least still luke warm now." We both ended up providing some amusement for people at dinner!

 

I agree with your post- we just loved the Golden. Even though I have only been on three cruises now, it is my favorite ship. I can't even describe how wonderful our vacation was. It is also strange to me that most people don't like sea days and complain about having nothing to do. There were so many things we wanted to do that we had to make some difficult decisions and compromises to fit in certain activities. The cultural program really is the best at sea- from lei making, hula, music, Hawaiian shows... and all of the other activities like MUTS, trivia, comedy, games... Jeesh! I told husband about the various viewpoints of the reviews and he agreed with me: There are people who look for the negative things out there and that may tend to skew their perception! It makes me glad though that the Golden did get so many positive reviews- she certainly deserves them!

[hermajestylanie]

Thanks so much for your reviews; thanks also for the great pictures. We leave on The Golden in 12 days.....second visit to Hawaii; first with Princess.

 

We've heard so many good things about the Princess cruises we have scheduled our next two Hawaii with The Sapphire and The Grand.

 

Thanks again for the terrific review!:D

 

John/Rick

:p

 

 

You are most welcome! 12 days isn't long at all- you must be getting excited! Happy cruising- I hope you have a wonderful time!

[hermajestylanie]

I agree!!

 

This is a GREAT review!

 

We leave in about 190 days for the same cruise! Cant waitl

 

Would like more info on excursions also if you dont mind.

My email is lisa65@gmail.com

 

thanks!

:D

 

 

Thank you! I hope you have a great time on your cruise! It is just the waiting part that is hard... I will send you an email- happy to answer whatever questions you have.

[miniwheat]

Love your review, I doing the Golden to Alaska in Sept. I love seeing the pictures of the ship and of coarse the food!!:)

[hermajestylanie]

I just saw my brother and his wife off on this ship last Wednesday. I am so envious. They got their first balcony cabin on this ship and love it. He's been emailing me daily. They're having a great time.

 

 

Lucky ducks! We wished we could just stay on and were really envious of the people that were getting on for the next cruise. Even as I think about it right now, that little green envy bug gives me a bite! Maybe you can go with them next time! Glad to hear they are enjoying themselves- I hope they get some nice sunny weather. We had quite a few overcast days with on and off rain. Have you heard anything?

[hermajestylanie]

Love your review, I doing the Golden to Alaska in Sept. I love seeing the pictures of the ship and of coarse the food!!:)

 

 

I hear she is lovely for the Alaska cruise. We are also hoping to take her for a cruise there as well. I have a lot more food pictures coming- its my favorite part!

 

Have a wonderful time in September!

[miniwheat]

I hear she is lovely for the Alaska cruise. We are also hoping to take her for a cruise there as well. I have a lot more food pictures coming- its my favorite part!

 

Have a wonderful time in September!

 

Thanks this is my third time going to Alaska all with Princess!! They are my favorite cruise line, I've done NCL's Epic, and a couple of Carnivals cruise but Princess just has something the others doesn't.

[hermajestylanie]

3/19/11

Ahhh! I woke up again at 6:30AM! Not the plan, but hard with the time changes. How can husband just keep sleeping and sleeping? So unfair. So, I figured I would go to the gym again. Every morning on the way to the gym I get a cheerful greeting from my room steward. He seems like a nice guy and I feel bad for being such a slob. I guess not bad enough to change my slobbish behavior, but still. I shall tip him extra! I got to the gym at 7AM, but it was really crowded. This seems to be the most popular time to go. But I only waited about 5 minutes for an elliptical machine, so it is not too terrible. There are many signs that ask you to limit your time to 30 minutes at peak times. I usually like to go for an hour, so I hop off real quick at 30 minutes to see if anyone is waiting. If not, I just continue on! It is really nice going to the gym in the morning because I can see what the weather is like outside. Having an inside cabin, it helps me know how to dress for the day. On my way back to the room I went down to check the MDR menu, and it is French/Mediterranean night. That means frog legs, escargot, and other sea food. Our collective palate is not that sophisticated, so we called the DINE line to get reservations for the Crown Grill. They offered either 6PM or 8:30PM, so we are going at 6.

After getting ready for the day we went to grab some breakfast at the buffet.

I find it easier to go light in the morning, so I can save myself for the desserts and cokkies later in the day! Husband just goes all out. So, I had my usual and husband started off early with a coke already followed swiftly by 2 frozen drinks and another one before lunch. He really is using the restroom like a pregnant woman. Our only arguments so far are literally about the number of times he has to use the restroom every hour. I am not kidding- it makes us late for the activities we want to do, but he can’t stop himself as these drinks are

all “free.” We stopped by the photo shop on the 7th floor near the Vista Lounge to see our photos from last formal night. We actually like a couple of them, so more money to be spent! Unfortunately we had to skip the dance class for meringue today because they changed the time and we have been going to morning trivia with our team. See, already we are having to make difficult decisions as to what activities we want to keep doing. Since we both like trivia, and only one of us really likes the dance class, that is how we made the decision. We quickly found our “team” and proceeded to suck it up, only getting 11/20. However, not many teams got over that because these questions were hard! My difficulty is geography and capital city questions. I have not travelled too much, so I bomb in that area.

The couple we have been playing trivia with are planning to build a boat for the scrapheap contest later in the cruise and recruited us to help gather items for the boat and start planning out a little skit. I got stuck with the roll of “Sexy Siren” while husband got off with just being a pirate. And I got the “Now, Melanie, you have to practice. You need to be REALLY sexy, we have to play to the crowd so we can win! We will talk about wardrobe later, something skimpy. Maybe you and husband can practice later in your room!” After this comment husband decided they were his best friends for suggesting that! They are too funny! They have a blueprint for the ship (they take this really seriously) and told us to start collecting cereal boxes, asking waiters for foil, and to steal red cellophane toothpicks from the bar! So from here on out, I started saving my cereal boxes and swiping them from the trash in the buffet! And I also started worrying about this “sexy” roll as well… I was thinking about changing my mind regarding participation. Have I mentioned that I hate even standing up in front of people? I may have no shame taking pictures of my food in the MDR, but I don’t like to parade around in front of people!

 

Off to our ukulele class where we learned Amazing Graze and Under the Boardwalk.

 

 

Man! I press too hard on the stings and my fingers are starting to hurt. Also, if you don’t get to class 15 minutes or more early, you don’t get a seat! Or, at least not a very comfortable one to play in. The Wheelhouse Bar is kind of small and not set up very well for this kind of thing. The CD mentioned CC today. Someone gave him a bag of gummy bears and he told the group that everyone on CC knows he loves them and occasionally he will get a bag. These CC people are on top of things! We are really happy with the decision to go to these classes. It is really fun and everyone seems to be progressing very quickly. It really is an easy thing to pick up. There are people of all ages there participating and they seem to be having a good time. They keep the instruction light and easy as well. Husband says that if he can do it, anyone can. He is fairly tone deaf, but he is getting most of everything.

We did lunch in the MDR today.

Sorry, these are not the best pictures. I took them thru the galss this time:

The menu didn’t look to exciting and my food didn’t look very yummy when it came out, but looks can be deceiving. It was wonderful!

[hermajestylanie]

I got a salad with orange segments to start and New Brunswick chicken stew with lima beans and cornbread. It tasted like slow cooker chicken and was so tender it just fell apart! Yum!

They have one featured low fat dressing that switches every day. But, the waiters don't know what it is usually if you ask them! I usually get it on the side, but the dressing has been really good throughout the whole trip. They also have normal dressings as well.

I didn't really want to eat this based on looks alone. But, man! This was good! So , so good.

Husband got the potato chowder (but it was water based, not cream based). He liked it, I didn’t.

They also feature a soup at the international Cafe everyday as well.

He also got the fried seafood platter with calamari, fish sticks and shrimp. We decided to skip dessert to go to the ping pong tournament. Not that we thought “maybe we shouldn’t have dessert today.” It was just that we ran out of time and we planned to stop by the International Café later.

Oh, they also have a British style pub lunch in the Crown Grill on alternate sea days. Things like fish and chips, ploughman's lunch. We didn't go because I am picky, although I offered to bring in my buffet plate while husband got something. But he thought that would be weird.

Husband signed up for the Ping Pong tournament, but lost his first match to our trivia partner who does lots of competitive stuff on the ship. They are in the Princess Olympics, so we hear a lot about the events and outcomes.

[hermajestylanie]

The weather is warm today- actually nice outside, about 70 degrees. Clear skyies and beautiful!

The weather is warm today- actually nice outside, about 70 degrees. We wanted to lay out for 30 minutes by the pool, but we ran into the chair hogging problem. People suck. They just really suck. I can see them all sitting under the shade. Why do they feel the need to put all their stuff on a chair in the sun and then not use it? Can’t they see how pasty white I am? Clearly, if anyone needs sun its me. Well, I knew that there was this problem from reading the boards on CC…

Top deck near the main pool/MUTS:

MUTS screen. And look, I caught someone doing some upkeep on the ship!:

So we finally found some chair far far away from everything and partly in the shade. So we were only out there a bit. Husband got another shake and drink by this time… There was an ice carving demonstration going on in the main area by the pool/movie screen that we watched for awhile. Then we headed inside to the covered pool area (where all lounge chairs were hogged as well), so we used a dining table for our stuff. I picked up a snack in the buffet. Sugar free coconut cake was light and creamy, I also had some more of that delicious stew. The vegetables in the buffet are completely inedible at times. It is buffet food after all, it sits there for quite a bit at times. The veggies tend to be overcooked and slathered in butter.

They had these lovely flower decorations all over the ship. It really helped to add to the Hawaii theme:

 

We hopped into the hot tub for a while in the covered pool area. Although I have been really impressed by how relaxing the ship has been, especially with its lack of kids, there are still the people who don’t watch their kids. This little 5 year old girl was terrorizing both the hot tubs, splashing and ordering people around. “Put your hands out of the water so I can count your fingers. Hold your feet still underwater so I can count your legs. Clap for me. Watch me to this. I can count to 10.” Ok, so she wasn’t terrorizing everyone, she was just wanting some attention and being a 5 year old. The mother was super unconcerned and was just sitting back on a lounge chair (hogging all the ones around her for her absent family). We didn’t stay long because of this. If I had some hot tub time before this that was relaxing, it probably would not have bothered me at all. The kid did respond well when we all asked her to watch the splashing. She was only doing it accidently anyways.

After changing/showering off the chlorine (yea for freshwater pools!) we went to the International Café to get a snack. Husband got a ham croissant which we got grilled, and a baby cheesecake.

 

I picked up a freshly baked peanut butter cookie. They just fall apart in your hand- yum! They also had chocolate chip and double chocolate (drool) cookies. These cookies are great!! We headed out to the afternoon trivia with our food and were made fun of by the Scottish people who we always sit next to for eating AGAIN (they saw us snacking earlier). Trash talk is abundant during trivia. Then we were joined by a teacher (who does adult continuing education classes) and our normal partners from the UK. They related a bad day of shuffleboard losses in the princess Olympics, but they invited us to play shuffleboard with them tomorrow because I said it looks like fun. We did pretty well at trivia, but nowhere close to winning (13/20). The teacher was good though. To really win, you need a ringer. You know, those people who just seem to know everything? After this we grabbed some trivia stuff from the library area and a seat by the bar near international café by the window. What a lovely view we had of the water!

[hermajestylanie]

Thanks this is my third time going to Alaska all with Princess!! They are my favorite cruise line, I've done NCL's Epic, and a couple of Carnivals cruise but Princess just has something the others doesn't.

 

 

I agree. I think the people are what makes Princess so special. From the staff that put so much time into the programs to the pasaangers that we meet in various activities. We had a lovely mixture and everyone was just so nice. I thought we might be board on Princess becaseu we had done Carnival the past two times and they have things like water slids, but I didn't miss that stuff at all! I was completely entertained and relaxed! Husband keeps saying "Let's go in June to Alaska. Come on, book it. Book it now!"

[miniwheat]

How was he able to get the kids drink package, it sounds great!!!:D

[4cats4me]

FYI - Those kids are not allowed in the hot tubs under the age of 11 or

12 AND if they are in the tubs they need to be supervised by their parents.

We encountered this same scenario last week on theSapphire, and one

kid was taking dives from the side of the hot tub while his parents just

looked on from their lounge chairs. The pool attendants were USELESS!!!

PRINCESS -- ENFORCE YOUR RULES PLEASE! WHY SHOULD WE PASSENGERS HAVE TO SUFFER THE BRUNDT OF YOUR INABILITY TO

ENFORCE YOUR OWN RULES????

 

Other than that, the kids were all fantastic!:D

Edited April 1, 2011 by 4cats4me

[hermajestylanie]

Yikes, I am noticing all my bad typing like "skyies" for "skies" and "galss" for "glass." Sorry about that folks, my fingers get ahead of me and I am not spell checking.

 

 

 

Dinner was at the Crown Grill tonight. We got a great booth right by the window. It was a larger table.

 

We happened to gorge ourselves silly. It was soo good! Not to be missed, worth every penny and then some.

 

 

They bring out a tray of all the differnt cuts of meat and take the time to explain them to you. It is nice to see.

[socaljo]

Hi Hermajestylanie! Great review! We were on the Golden in Feb. I was so glad to read that you didn't like the chicken salad in the IC! I'm addicted to my local deli's chicken salad, and was looking forward to having my fix onboard. But after looking at the goopy mess through the glass, I didn't even try it! I remember reading you didn't like seafood, so you probably didn't try the shrimp salad there in the IC. It was wonderful! Am trying to recreate it right now in my fridge. Princess doesn't offer a "recipe" for that, I tried, so I posted on the current cruise roll call & the next one, hoping someone will ask how its made. I have 6 shrimp soaking in a little fresh lemon juice, fresh chopped mint... so we'll see. In the mean time, I think I'll go have a little chicken salad! :D

[hermajestylanie]

Bread!!!!

I got the salad (with chucks of avocado!) and black and blue soup.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the soup, but then again, I don't like soggy bread in my soup and that is they style of this soup. But, I thought I would try it.

Husband got the tiger prawns.

Then I got the fillet mignon and NY strip.

Everything was cooked perfectly!

[hermajestylanie]

He got the 22 oz. porterhouse and lobster tail.

 

 

 

 

We shared asparagus, scallop potatoes and creamed corn for our sides.

The sides were served family style and were soaked in butter, which is not my favorite. But the meat was superb! The mignon had the consistency of butter and his porterhouse was literally falling apart, it was so tender.

Remember, you can order as much as you want! But, try not to waste food.

[hermajestylanie]

Dessert was molten chocolate cake with fudge ice cream (carnival beats it with their warm chocolate melting cake though. For me at least. I know there is lots of debate on this) for me.

Husband got cobbler with apple cider ice cream and praline cheesecake (this was really light and slightly cool, so it tasted a bit like ice cream). Dessert was very good.

 

It was an overall longer experience, 6:00-7:45, but worth it totally. Our trivia friends tried to get a reservation for tonight, but were unable to because they waited until too late. I think they tried at about noon to get a reservation? We made ours at 8:30 AM to make sure we got in, which is why I had been stopping by to read the MDR menus after the gym in the morning. You can also ask in the MDR to see the menu for the next night as well. So, I am stuffed silly as I write this. So stuffed it is painful, but it was worth it. Soooo good!

After dinner we went to the piano bar area for a bit to play Blockus and Othello, travel sized games I brought with me. I spanked husband thoroughly. “What’s this game called again? I win!” I am so glad we stopped by here because this is where we discovered the piano guy.

 

He is very talented and really very funny, but we left soon after to go up to the MUTS screen.

 

We watched The Social Network under the stars. They provided tiny tiny blankets and popcorn. There are boxes of candy you can buy at Scoops. There was a great full moon out and it wasn’t too cold. Of course, we also crabbed some cake and such from the buffet, and a pizza. There were plenty of chairs available and the movie was good. Tomorrow is Disney’s Tangled. Also, tomorrow last sea day and then Hilo! Fun! We keep forgetting that we have our leis in our fridge, so we have not worn the again even though they still look good! Today the hallway smells like puke and sewer outside our room- I wonder what it is? They have those vacuum things blowing the carpet dry.