Live from the Golden

[shirlmac]

We want to add our THANK YOU to each one that posted during the cruise. We are on the June 11th sailing so it is getting close. Your information was the best we have seen and ever so helpful. Thanks again and safe journey home.

[captbill]

Never have done 34 days - but how bad can it be??

 

I'm betting it beats a sharp stick in the eye!

 

Lots of cabins available now that some of the agents have started collecting final payments. As you mention, the price reduction is nothing to sneeze at either! Make yourself comfortable and stay awhile, we'd love to have 'ya!

[June Bug]

We board the Golden the same day you disembark...keep us updated on the weather, ports of call, etc. We would love to hear from you while you are onboard the ship for updates if you are able. Thanks so much!

June

[blackpool belle]

I will be following your cruise with interest because it's the same itinerary as mine on the 11th July. If possible I would like to know how close the railway stations are to the ports in Zebrugge and Rotterdam and Le Havre. Any info will be much appreciated.

[June Bug]

If you were responding to my cruise dates, (June 21-July 1)...then I will be glad to let you know regarding the port information. I can't wait, and I'm sure you are just as excited!

I will respond after my return, so keep an eye out.

June

[Elcruzer]

Hi all! Just back from our tour in Belfast and it was absolutely fantastic. This was another CC-organized tour (huge thanks to Lynne for organizing this one!) through Minicoach.co.uk.

Sounds like everyone had a fabulous time. Would you mind answering a few questions - How many passengers per bus? Do you have a contact name, I saw on another post a mention of Caroline & husband? What was the cost per person?

[Host CJSKIDS]

If you were responding to my cruise dates, (June 21-July 1)...then I will be glad to let you know regarding the port information. I can't wait, and I'm sure you are just as excited!

I will respond after my return, so keep an eye out.

June

 

Thanks June, I'm on the cruise with Blackpool belle so I'd also love to hear all abouto your cruise!

[AJY46]

We are traveling on the Golden in July. We are on the European Capitals cruise for the 31st July, so if there is anyone on the ship at the moment planning to continue this thread your reports will be helpful to plan our trip.

 

After the Hamburg stop can you let uis know how far the port is from the main train station. Could you also report on whether there are taxis at the quayside in Hamburg?

 

When are the Formal nights? What is the entertainment for teens like?

 

Thanks

[Podgieree]

On the June 1st sailing, we're having our sailaway party right after the muster on the pool deck, so we can meet and mingle and watch the ship sail out of the harbor. Could someone please tell me the name of the Cruise Director on the Golden?

 

Bob

 

Your Cruise Director will be Richard Joseph. (He is fantastic!) He joined the ship in Belfast and started officially as the CD 6/1. -Podge

[Michelle1234]

"I will be following your cruise with interest because it's the same itinerary as mine on the 11th July. If possible I would like to know how close the railway stations are to the ports in Zebrugge and Rotterdam and Le Havre. Any info will be much appreciated."

 

Hi, we were on the Golden from NY so went to the same ports. In Zeebrugge there are no port facilities whatsoever. Princess has a bus that for something like $12 (cash to an external company - not Princess) round trip took us to the railway station in Blankenship (5 min). It was our last port so I do not seem to have the Patter for the exact details. We were there on a Sat when the Zeebrugge trains weren't running. There are taxis at the port also but they are 45 Euro flat rate to Brugges which was a 20 min ride. Don't bother going to Brugges early as nothing opens until 9:30 a.m. We got right up and headed out at 7:30 that morning and had a nice stroll around an empty town until our bike tour. There are maps around Brugges that show a tourist office in the square next to the main square. It has moved but there are very helpful kiosks that run in a number of languages to get information from and a public bathroom (.35 euro to use) right across the mini square it is on. The big tourist "I" was gone from the building so it was hard to find but if you look for it where it is shown on the maps in the square it is there. In our stroll around town there appeared to be quite a few museums to see and the architecture was spectacular.

 

In Rotterdam there is a free bus provided by the city to the city hall area (shopping and site seeing) and the train station. They literally roll out the red carpet for the cruise ships. Even had free umbrellas to borrow for the day. We liked the art museum (for local art, the bus driver will drop you off special after the train station if you ask), the maritime museum (great outdoor old ship with staterooms highly decorated - walkable from either city hall or the ship, right in-between the two) and took the boat tour to the Kinderjinck (sp?) windmills. We had gone over to Delfshaven (not that interesting but had the best lunch I had on the entire trip) so took a tram back to the ship and walked to the boat dock. It was very walkable from the ship. You cross over the large bridge and it is 200 meters to the right. The walk to the bridge is very short also. The longest component may be the bridge. The boat tour was relaxing and they had drinks and munchies on board to order, but wear sunscreen as we got sun burnt on an overcast day. It took 1 hr to get there. We has 75 min. to explore the windmill (4 or 6 Euro extra) and then an hour to get back. It runs once in the morning and once in the afternoon (2:15 I think as that is the one we took but best to check their web site). The whole city we found walkable but we like to walk alot.

 

Our Princess patter says it there was an independent bus (chargeable to shipboard account) to Le Havre city center. ($4 each way) 20 min. transfer time. But we did not take it so I do not know the details of getting to the train station. We arranged a taxi tour to Mont St. Michele with 3 other cruise critic couples. We also stopped in a fishing village and Honfleur. Great time in Mont St. Michele and too little time in Honfleur. :)

 

Hope this helps! Others who have more details may want to fill in as we seem to be missing a few Princess Patters.:)

 

Michelle

[Host CJSKIDS]

Thanks Michele for the information,especially on Zeebrugge/Brugge. Did you have to sign up for the bus to the train station here or just walk off the ship? I've noticed that nothing opened until 9:30 in Brugge so I figured we would try and arrive around 9:00 there just to walk around and see the town "waking up".

[Michelle1234]

I believe it was announced as just walk off the ship. We took a taxi (don't recommend unless you have a group to split the fare). Those who took the bus and train said it was no trouble at all.

 

Have fun!

Michelle

[tango223]

A very big Thank you to everyone posting.........it's so informative for those of us following.

 

We are on b2b July 31 & Aug. 10.......a little nervous about the 2 cancelled Ports - should look into the "cancellation" policies carefully on our private arrangements!.

 

Disappointed about not being able to get back from Dublin late eve. by ourselves - we were going to plan a show or something on our own....How is it that Princess tells you you can't take a taxi back to the Port??? - and how disappointing is it that the Princess shuttles stop runing........ Really don't want to book the Princess evening Show Tour - sounds very touristy and hokey ...rather find something ourselves.......appreciate your comments on this??

 

Thanks again - GotToCruise (aka Renee)

 

SAVE YOUR MONEY !!!!

We went to the Dublin Caberet and Dinner and was very disappointed. Just to warn you that the show is in a very very large banquet room in a hotel where there are hundreds of people. There were 4 buses alone from Princess. All major tour operators (Globus, Trafalgar, etc had their group there. Seating can be close but for most of the people on the Princess buses, we were in the back or second group of table seatings. Hard to see and hear especially in the back. The price of the show (not group price) is 59 EUROs. Princess charged $129/person (transportation included). But IMHO, not worth the money. They had a local group of Irish musicians and dancers on the ship that evening...so the "local" entertainment was provided by the ship and there was no need to book this expensive excursion.

[tweetybird]

Just wanted to thank all the posters for the wonderful tips. We leave on the Golden, June 21st. I'm taking all my notes from this thread.:) I'll try and post when it's our turn to keep the thread going.

 

Thanks again!

Laura

[Lindypc]

Well, we have arrived home safely and I must say that this Golden Princess British Isles Cruise had the best Embarkation and Debarkation of any cruise I have been on! We had received 7:30 off tags but (don't tell anyone) while walking by the empty purser's counter on deck 5, we noticed all the tags sitting there unattended so DS grabbed some red ones which are first off with Princess transfers. If you have been following our May 22 CC boards, you may remember hearing me complain about my airplane tickets (ff miles) going from Atlanta to Detroit to Gatwick and back the same way. It adds about 5-6 hours to our traveling time. Anyway, I emailed Saint Cheryl (if you have been following us, you know that most of us used her transfer company and I CAN NOT say enough wonderful things about 'Woodford Chauffeur Cars' promptness, professionalism, comfort and their wonderful drivers) and as usual she wrote me right back promising me a driver before 6:30 AM. As promised, Princess started letting us off the ship at 6:00 AM, believe it or not and no, they did not check luggage tags. Everything was so orderly (I still have flashbacks of the Dawn Princess' debarkation--what a nightmare-- the entire ship waiting on the plaza deck for almost 3 hours) Anyway, we immediately picked up our luggage and walked to the where the cars pick up passengers (inside) and there was Collin, our jovial driver who got us to Gatwick in less than 2 hours (with a brief potty stop!). He also pointed out places of interest along the way. The good news was that I was able to get a non-stop flight to Atlanta leaving at 11:00 AM which meant I could get home 8 hours earlier!

Of course we are disappointed about the two missed ports and I was shocked that we were not even compensated for the port fees (I thought that was a given). Princess should have had a back-up plan--perhaps another port stop or an extra night at a port where we could have taken a bus to another city. People spent a lot of money to take this port intensive cruise and 6 days is too much to wander around a ship with so much to see out there! The Golden also had wonderful dining room staff and like previously stated, James Berdos is absolutely the best cabin steward. Our wish was his command. Our rooms were made up quickly and if we ever needed anything, he hounded people until it was done. I think he received extra tips from most of us. The only negative thing about our upgraded:D minisuite was that the mattress was not very comfortable; we felt the springs through the sheets. James did put an egg crate on the mattress for us but I missed the foam mattress from other cruises that I have taken.

As far as the Belfast Tour, Caroline is on maternity leave but you can write Rodney at: info@minicoachni.co.uk . I don't know if Caroline is married to Rodney (I didn't ask). We paid 22 pounds for an all day tour which is amazing.

[bts378]

really enjoyed your postings and am sorry bad weather rocked your boat! hope princess is not too much like P&O with not much to do on sea days..

diane

[blackpool belle]

Micdenver,

 

Just to say thanks for the info re railway stations/ports. Thats been very helpful information.

 

39 days to go:)

[Host CJSKIDS]

I believe it was announced as just walk off the ship. We took a taxi (don't recommend unless you have a group to split the fare). Those who took the bus and train said it was no trouble at all.

 

Have fun!

Michelle

 

We may just take a taxi since we're already a party of 5 if a taxi can take all of us. I figure the other may be easy but it will probably end up costing the same.

[scubydo]

Cabin steward James Berdos was the best ever...he rocks!! If all stweards were of his caliber you would never hear a complaint. We had a great time with him..I may request he be put on the Star in October so I can have him all to ourselves.Make sure you leave him a big tip...he deserves it.:)

[cynbar]

Lindypc, so glad you had a great time, many of us were following your progress -- it was almost like being there (well, not quite!!) . I'm the one who started this thread eons ago, and I'm so pleased you thought as much of James Berdos as we did. He had to be the best cabin steward we have seen in all our 15+ cruises. I'm just sorry we couldn;t bring him home. Once again, thanks for keeping in touch with all of us throughout your cruise, it was much appreciated!!

[GottoCruise]

We are in D630 July 31/Aug. 10 - Will James be our Steward??

[ZPOOD@AOL.COM]

thinking of booking this ship next spring, would love details on St Kitts, Grenada and Caracas. Enjoy your trip,

[Lindypc]

Yes, my CC pal Sue was in D630 and loved James too! Speaking of Sue, her birthday was on the day before we disembarked; her birthday cake was not much bigger than my thumb:eek:! Boy have they shrunk! Our anniversary cake in October could have fed 3 people and it was delicious.

[elptn]

Thanks for all of your updates while cruising - we are doing the same trip June 11 and I can't wait (missed ports and all). My fingers and toes are crossed that we have better weather. After seeing all of the good comments about Cheryl, we have also booked our transfers through her. She is great about emailing back and seems right on top of things. The Princess transfers were definitely out of the question (way too expensive) - there are 4 of us travelling. Cheryl (Woodford Chauffeur) definitely has good rates for the service that you get - who needs to schlep all of the luggage on busses, trains, etc.

 

Glad you got home okay - you can now start planning your next cruise!!!!

 

Elaine

[soraya]

Hi Everyone, We got home today and talk about back to earth with a bump! Really enjoyed the cruise although disappointed about Orkney. We did the Tahitian Princess last year and we were very lucky to get to the Cook Islands as that is often missed out due to bad weather, we took the attitude that if we got there it was a bonus. If I'd realised we were tendering at Orkney, I'd have taken the same approach there as tendering in Orkney is going to be very hit and miss.

 

Apart from that we had a great time. The Golden was pretty much full, but we couldn't figure out where everyone was. For such a big ship, it certainly never felt crowded and you could always find a quiet corner.

 

We loved the Lobby bar during the day where you can get coffee and pastry no charge unless you order a speciality coffee. We thought that their free coffee was better than anywhere else on the ship.

 

We enjoyed anytime dining, only queued once for 10mins and hat was because we wanted a table for two. We never had any hassle with getting a table for two which was great. But we never got through on the anytime dining line as they put you on hold and then disconnceted and we were told you couldn't book a table or time for the whole trip and then saw other people had, so it all depended on who you asked what answer you got.

 

Food was good in the dining room and the service was as good as in traditional dining.

 

We went to the Desert Rose and it was a bit of a disappointment. I wouldn't go again. Their doing the role of the Sterling Steakhouse and I didn't find their food better than Bernini, one of the dining rooms we used. It wasn't like the dining experience on other Princess ships where it's something special.

 

Room service was very limited in choice and for the Brits out there the caramel flan is creme caramel. My DH was really looking forward to trying the flan after reading something on the cc board and he was disappointed and kept looking at it saying but a flan has pastry! Priceless.

 

The gym was good, but they rarely ran the Yoga or Pilates classes as no one but me seemed to turn up.

 

The martinis were fab. I don't usually run up a bar bill at all, but managed to on this cruise.

 

At Greenock, there is a local tourist board group the Inverclyde Tourism Board, and they run free tours around the local area. I don't think they go into Glasgow though. They also had loads of info and good maps on the other ports such as Kirkwall.

 

Embarkation was a breeze arrived at 11.15am, checked in and sat in holding area where they called you by colour unless you're elite and you go strainght through. There was a coffee place and bar - both shut though for some reason. But were on the ship by 12.30 cabin ready and no hassle.

 

Disembarkation would have been easy, but the purser rang us at 5.30am to tell us that they'd forgotten to add a $10 drink onto the bill! We weren't leaving until 9am so we were not too happy with them. But it went smoothly, left the ship at 9am and we were out and in a car by 9.30, at Heathrow for 11am.

 

We used Cheryl too and met her husband on the way to the ship who was lovely. They were very professional and it was all so smooth and easy, we'll use them again if we cruise from Southampton.

 

All in all, we had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves. If anyone has any questions I'm happy to try and answer them.

 

Soraya