Just Returned from Golden June 9 - 16

[Debbie42467]

Just Returned this Morning

 

Please overlook any typos and grammar errors. I have jet lag.

 

We flew Southwest. We were supposed to arrive the night before our cruise, but didn’t arrive until the morning of. I could write a whole review on Southwest, but since this is cruisecritic and not an airline critic I will keep it short.

Originally departing 5:30 pm Orlando to Vegas to Seattle arriving at 11:30 pm

Needed to do an emergency landing on Southwest’s new (2 wk. old) 737-800. They reloaded us on another plane. Was told that they could get us on the first flight to Seattle in the morning. They said they would pay to put us up in a hotel in Vegas.

Arrived in Vegas 11 pm. Waited 2 hrs. for luggage, but it was lost. Was promised to put us up in hotel overnight. This was not true because there was a fight in town. Even though I paid for a hotel room in Seattle that I can use I had to pay $190 for a room in Vegas too.

Arrived in Seattle at 10 am. Luggage was still lost. Luggage finally arrived at 1:30pm.

For those whoever wondered what would happen if your luggage is lost, this is what I experienced? I was told that I needed to wait for the first flight from my originally starting point to arrive. If my luggage is not on that flight, then the airline would have to write me a check for $100 per day per person ($600 for a 7 night cruise). The cruise company has a company in the baggage area that works with you and the airline to transport your luggage (if found) to you at the airline expense.

 

We used Shuttle Express for our transfers. Fast, reliable, and reasonable if you have children under the age of 17.

 

I can’t remark on the “staggered boarding” because it was after 2pm when we checked in.

 

Each night except for our night in Victoria I was able to make anytime dinner reservations for the time we wanted.

 

My teen liked The Remix Center and spent time there each evening.

 

Our 1st sea day was cold (40s) overcast with periods of rain. I still managed to find a dry spot to watch Big Miracle on MUTS. On the Calypso Deck they had a seafood buffet. The two lines were so long that I skipped it, even the lines for the Horizon buffet were outrageously long.

 

1st port was Juneau. It was overcast with misty and drizzly in the area. I booked us a whale watching tour with Dolphin Jet Tours. The company was great. I had great communication with Tracey. I think I emailed her with questions daily. We were lucky to see two breaching whales and some sunning seals.

 

Skagway was extremely windy making for a cold wind chill. I rent a car and drove to Carcross. During the climb up the submit I was able to pull over and my son was so excited that we had a good old fashion snowball fight (we are from FL). Just north of Carcross we stopped at the museum, petting zoo, dog sled, and gold panning company. Panning for gold was the highlight to my son’s vacation. Interesting prices in Skagway: a gallon of milk $5.99, 12 pk of soda $9.15, gas $4.88 per gallon.

 

During our Glacier Bay cruise we were able to stop at 2 out of 3 glaciers. One glacier we weren’t able to cruise by because the seals were having their babies. It was so beautiful. We did not witness any large crevices breaking off, but saw some small ice falling. On our way out of the Icy Strait Point we saw whales, but t started to rain.

 

On our last trip Ketchikan was my favorite port. I thought it was a cute town. This time around I thought differently. I walked Creek Street up through Married Man’s Trail exiting by the salmon bridge. I saw lots of trash and rundown buildings.

 

Victoria we stayed on the ship and watched Mission Impossible in the Theater.

 

Our cabin steward was just okay. No towel animals or didn't call us by our names. I know this is not required, but it makes us feel special.

 

Self laundry rooms are open every day except during the hours of 10 pm – 7 am. I did laundry on the morning of Glacier Bay Cruising and it was packed. Go early because people were waiting for driers.

 

Best Things I liked

 

The Best Cruise Food Loved the following:

Chicken Sandwich at the grill, Prime Rib, King Prawns, Beef Brisket, Surf & Turf (steak & shrimp) my steak was cooked perfectly, and the Bread Pubbing at Crown Grill.

 

Having a nightly sit down dinner with my son.

 

On this cruise I met some of the most polite, friendly, outgoing people except for one kid who ran on the elevator pushed all the floors and ran out (little brat).

 

Princess doesn’t overly push drinks, photos, or bingo cards for you to purchase.

 

Things I Didn’t Like

 

Lack of Activities and Entertainment

 

Only one Comedian performing two shows for the week.

 

Did not care for the signer of Shooting Star.

 

Except for staterooms or dining area I never noticed anyone cleaning public arrears. In the past I always remember seeing someone whipping things down like the stair handrails, public restroom, or the deck area. I even spent hours in the casino and never noticed anyone whipping down machines.

 

Keep this in mind: Our return flight was scheduled for 11:50 am from Seattle. I selected to disbark at 8:30 am. Debarking was running 20 minutes late. When we arrived at the airport, I looked at the check in luggage line at Southwest and said to myself that it wasn’t too long, but to my surprise they have another arrear where the line starts and it was long (40 mind.) On our flight I sat next to a man who was on the Golden too. He was traveling with about 5 or 6 in his family and they missed their 11:20 am flight. He said they waited an hour in the check in luggage arrear.

 

We had a Wonderful Cruise and Created Memories that we will cherish for a Lifetime

 

p.s. Please overlook any typos and grammar errors. I’ll blame it on jet lag.

 

Debbie

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the review. Have you seen the show, "On the Fly" which is essentially a reality program featuring SWA? :)

 

On my Star cruise in March, the crew were constantly wiping down handrails, elevator areas, etc. throughout the day and evening for the entire cruise. Just like it's possible to meet someone the first day and never see them again on the cruise (unless they're loud and obnoxious in which case you see them constantly), perhaps you just didn't see the cleaning that goes on. :)

[highheel girl]

Thanks for the review. :)

 

We flew SWA from Seattle off the Star last week.

We had a 10:55 flight.

First self disembarkation group off was 7:50.

We had a town car reserved, stopped at Starbucks right near the pier on the way and were at the airport by 9:00 am.

When we have early flights we always do the earliest walk off group.

[fun_one]

Debbie,

Thank you for your review of your cruise. My husband and I are going on the Golden in 2 weeks (leave on the 30th) so I believe our itinerary is very similar. I had a few very specific questions.

 

1. We are interested in dining at one of the Specialty restaurants and wanted to know what night would be the best night to skip the MDR? The others in our group aren't interested in the Specialty restaurants so we will do this on our own but didn't want to miss Formal nights with the others. I have seen sample menus but are not exactly sure of what night they serve what menu.

 

2. Just how cold was it? We live in Texas and have only cruised the Caribbean so are not used to packing for a cold cruise. It appears that it may hit 60 during the day but obviously it can get cool at night and/or if it rains. I just don't want to overpack heavy things if I don't have to.

 

3. What else would you do in Juneau? We are doing a whale watch but know we are in that Port all day until 10:00 pm so wondered if people typically got back on the boat for dinner and then off again to wander around the town? I assume it is light there very late.

 

4. Did you by chance happen to purchase wine at any of the ports and bring it back onto the ship? There have been many threads about what has worked for people and I was hoping to hear first hand from someone who tried it.

 

5. Did they have wine packages on that sailing? Again, I have heard some people mention they are piloting a wine package program on some ships but haven't heard definitively whether or not they are available on the Golden.

 

Again, thanks for your time!

Barb ara

[caribill]

2. Just how cold was it? We live in Texas and have only cruised the Caribbean so are not used to packing for a cold cruise. It appears that it may hit 60 during the day but obviously it can get cool at night and/or if it rains. I just don't want to overpack heavy things if I don't have to.

 

 

 

For current temperatures at Alaskan ports go to http://fp.homestead.com/Alaskaweather.html

[Debbie42467]

Debbie,

Thank you for your review of your cruise. My husband and I are going on the Golden in 2 weeks (leave on the 30th) so I believe our itinerary is very similar. I had a few very specific questions.

 

1. We are interested in dining at one of the Specialty restaurants and wanted to know what night would be the best night to skip the MDR? The others in our group aren't interested in the Specialty restaurants so we will do this on our own but didn't want to miss Formal nights with the others. I have seen sample menus but are not exactly sure of what night they serve what menu.

We did not do any specialty restaurants. We had anytime dining and each morning I would call to make a reservation. I'm sorry I don't remember what was server each night, but I do remember: 1st night they offer prime rib. The 1st formal night was busy! Long lines. The second formal night is in Ketchikan. They offer lobster with king prawns and short ribs. I would search to see what others had posted for menus. Once on the ship you can ask a waiter what is server each night and deside then.

 

 

2. Just how cold was it? We live in Texas and have only cruised the Caribbean so are not used to packing for a cold cruise. It appears that it may hit 60 during the day but obviously it can get cool at night and/or if it rains. I just don't want to overpack heavy things if I don't have to.

I understand about packing. Being from FL myself, I had to learn what they meant when others suggest to dress in layers. It is a great way of not over packing. Do pack a water resident jacket. I purchased a few of those disposable raincoats at the dollar store and they worked great. It was in the 40s & 50s (it was like FL winter), but when we are cruising on the water it was cold and windy. One evening the tv said the wind was a 7 near gale force.

 

3. What else would you do in Juneau? We are doing a whale watch but know we are in that Port all day until 10:00 pm so wondered if people typically got back on the boat for dinner and then off again to wander around the town? I assume it is light there very late.

I'm not sure, we only did the whale watching tour and Mendenhall Glacier.

 

4. Did you by chance happen to purchase wine at any of the ports and bring it back onto the ship? There have been many threads about what has worked for people and I was hoping to hear first hand from someone who tried it. Sorry, I don't know I don't drink.

 

5. Did they have wine packages on that sailing? Again, I have heard some people mention they are piloting a wine package program on some ships but haven't heard definitively whether or not they are available on the Golden. Not sure

 

Again, thanks for your time!

Barb ara

 

Hello Barbara,

 

You are going to have a wonderful time.

 

Happy Sailing,

Debbie

[Debbie42467]

Thanks for the review. :)

 

We flew SWA from Seattle off the Star last week.

We had a 10:55 flight.

First self disembarkation group off was 7:50.

We had a town car reserved, stopped at Starbucks right near the pier on the way and were at the airport by 9:00 am.

When we have early flights we always do the earliest walk off group.

 

Great Advise

 

Debbie

:)

[cruiselvr1]

Just Returned this Morning

 

Please overlook any typos and grammar errors. I have jet lag.

 

We flew Southwest. We were supposed to arrive the night before our cruise, but didn’t arrive until the morning of. I could write a whole review on Southwest, but since this is cruisecritic and not an airline critic I will keep it short.

Originally departing 5:30 pm Orlando to Vegas to Seattle arriving at 11:30 pm

Needed to do an emergency landing on Southwest’s new (2 wk. old) 737-800. They reloaded us on another plane. Was told that they could get us on the first flight to Seattle in the morning. They said they would pay to put us up in a hotel in Vegas.

Arrived in Vegas 11 pm. Waited 2 hrs. for luggage, but it was lost. Was promised to put us up in hotel overnight. This was not true because there was a fight in town. Even though I paid for a hotel room in Seattle that I can use I had to pay $190 for a room in Vegas too.

Arrived in Seattle at 10 am. Luggage was still lost. Luggage finally arrived at 1:30pm.

For those whoever wondered what would happen if your luggage is lost, this is what I experienced? I was told that I needed to wait for the first flight from my originally starting point to arrive. If my luggage is not on that flight, then the airline would have to write me a check for $100 per day per person ($600 for a 7 night cruise). The cruise company has a company in the baggage area that works with you and the airline to transport your luggage (if found) to you at the airline expense.

 

We used Shuttle Express for our transfers. Fast, reliable, and reasonable if you have children under the age of 17.

 

I can’t remark on the “staggered boarding” because it was after 2pm when we checked in.

 

Each night except for our night in Victoria I was able to make anytime dinner reservations for the time we wanted.

 

My teen liked The Remix Center and spent time there each evening.

 

Our 1st sea day was cold (40s) overcast with periods of rain. I still managed to find a dry spot to watch Big Miracle on MUTS. On the Calypso Deck they had a seafood buffet. The two lines were so long that I skipped it, even the lines for the Horizon buffet were outrageously long.

 

1st port was Juneau. It was overcast with misty and drizzly in the area. I booked us a whale watching tour with Dolphin Jet Tours. The company was great. I had great communication with Tracey. I think I emailed her with questions daily. We were lucky to see two breaching whales and some sunning seals.

 

Skagway was extremely windy making for a cold wind chill. I rent a car and drove to Carcross. During the climb up the submit I was able to pull over and my son was so excited that we had a good old fashion snowball fight (we are from FL). Just north of Carcross we stopped at the museum, petting zoo, dog sled, and gold panning company. Panning for gold was the highlight to my son’s vacation. Interesting prices in Skagway: a gallon of milk $5.99, 12 pk of soda $9.15, gas $4.88 per gallon.

 

During our Glacier Bay cruise we were able to stop at 2 out of 3 glaciers. One glacier we weren’t able to cruise by because the seals were having their babies. It was so beautiful. We did not witness any large crevices breaking off, but saw some small ice falling. On our way out of the Icy Strait Point we saw whales, but t started to rain.

 

On our last trip Ketchikan was my favorite port. I thought it was a cute town. This time around I thought differently. I walked Creek Street up through Married Man’s Trail exiting by the salmon bridge. I saw lots of trash and rundown buildings.

 

Victoria we stayed on the ship and watched Mission Impossible in the Theater.

 

Our cabin steward was just okay. No towel animals or didn't call us by our names. I know this is not required, but it makes us feel special.

 

Self laundry rooms are open every day except during the hours of 10 pm – 7 am. I did laundry on the morning of Glacier Bay Cruising and it was packed. Go early because people were waiting for driers.

 

Best Things I liked

 

The Best Cruise Food Loved the following:

Chicken Sandwich at the grill, Prime Rib, King Prawns, Beef Brisket, Surf & Turf (steak & shrimp) my steak was cooked perfectly, and the Bread Pubbing at Crown Grill.

 

Having a nightly sit down dinner with my son.

 

On this cruise I met some of the most polite, friendly, outgoing people except for one kid who ran on the elevator pushed all the floors and ran out (little brat).

 

Princess doesn’t overly push drinks, photos, or bingo cards for you to purchase.

 

Things I Didn’t Like

 

Lack of Activities and Entertainment

 

Only one Comedian performing two shows for the week.

 

Did not care for the signer of Shooting Star.

 

Except for staterooms or dining area I never noticed anyone cleaning public arrears. In the past I always remember seeing someone whipping things down like the stair handrails, public restroom, or the deck area. I even spent hours in the casino and never noticed anyone whipping down machines.

 

Keep this in mind: Our return flight was scheduled for 11:50 am from Seattle. I selected to disbark at 8:30 am. Debarking was running 20 minutes late. When we arrived at the airport, I looked at the check in luggage line at Southwest and said to myself that it wasn’t too long, but to my surprise they have another arrear where the line starts and it was long (40 mind.) On our flight I sat next to a man who was on the Golden too. He was traveling with about 5 or 6 in his family and they missed their 11:20 am flight. He said they waited an hour in the check in luggage arrear.

 

We had a Wonderful Cruise and Created Memories that we will cherish for a Lifetime

 

p.s. Please overlook any typos and grammar errors. I’ll blame it on jet lag.

 

Debbie

Towel animals are on Carnival. I have never seen one on Princess.

[Debbie42467]

Photos of Margerie Glacier

 

 

 

Notice Some Ice Falling in this Photo

 

Notice Ice Falling in this Photo

 

Debbie

:)

[srpilo]

Thank you Debbie

 

 

 

 

Solid report

Srpilo

[Debbie42467]

John Hopkins Glacier

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Very Clear Bald Eagle

[Debbie42467]

As we sail through Icy Strait we saw whales just before the rain.

Photos were taken on deck 15.

 

 

Tail of a Whale

 

 

Happy Sailing,

Debbie

:)

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thank you for the review and the pictures!!!

[I object 2]

Thanks for your review, Debbie. We're doing the same cruise in September. DH is anxious to know if King Crab is on the menu? :rolleyes:

[Debbie42467]

Thanks for your review, Debbie. We're doing the same cruise in September. DH is anxious to know if King Crab is on the menu? :rolleyes:

 

We were so disappointed that they no longer offer King Crab. :(

They offer a crab & artichoke dip as a starter which I thought was disgusting.

 

Here is a photo from our 2009 Alaska Golden cruise.

 

 

Debbie

:(

 

p.s. will post more photos tomorrow.

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Thanks for the great review! Glad you had a good cruise!:)

[highheel girl]

Great photos! :)

[RickEk]

Thanks for the review. Have you seen the show, "On the Fly" which is essentially a reality program featuring SWA? :)

 

On my Star cruise in March, the crew were constantly wiping down handrails, elevator areas, etc. throughout the day and evening for the entire cruise. Just like it's possible to meet someone the first day and never see them again on the cruise (unless they're loud and obnoxious in which case you see them constantly), perhaps you just didn't see the cleaning that goes on. :)

 

We were on the cruise before the OP and noticed the crew was constantly cleaning the interior of the ship. I'd agree that they go about their jobs as unobtrusively as possible...

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review and fabulous photos.

[1 HappyCruiser]

 

Our 1st sea day was cold (40s) overcast with periods of rain. I still managed to find a dry spot to watch Big Miracle on MUTS. On the Calypso Deck they had a seafood buffet. The two lines were so long that I skipped it, even the lines for the Horizon buffet were outrageously long.

 

 

Debbie

 

Did you happen to see what they were offering at the seafood buffet? It sounds like they had a separate line for the seafood vs the regular Horizon food line.

[rocklinmom]

Thank you for your review Debbie! We will be on the Golden on July 7th and I love to read current information.

[Cruiserkenn]

On the Star and other Princess ships, thorough cleaning takes place during the late night hours and early, early morning hours. I agree with others that discreet, unobtrusive cleaning continues at all times.

 

Usually squeaky clean!

[Debbie42467]

Did you happen to see what they were offering at the seafood buffet? It sounds like they had a separate line for the seafood vs the regular Horizon food line.

 

Sorry I tried to get a peek, but couldn't (people though I was trying to cut inline). They had two lines (two sides) for the seafood buffet and there were so many people that they zigged zagged the lines. Also at the same time the regular Horizon buffet had both sides open with lines extending out to the Calypso pool area. Besides a line for anytime dining and people returning from Ketchikan. This was the only time I noticed long lines.

 

Later in the week (I think after we leave Ketchikan) next to the Trident Grill they have a much smaller seafood buffet and I didn't noticed a line for this one. They offered bbq salmon (which I tried and was good), chowder, salmon sandwich, and a few other items.

 

Debbie

:)

[Debbie42467]

On the Star and other Princess ships' date=' thorough cleaning takes place during the late night hours and early, early morning hours. I agree with others that discreet, unobtrusive cleaning continues at all times.

 

Usually squeaky clean![/quote']

 

I didn't say that they don't clean, I used the word "noticed".

 

This is what I said:

"Except for staterooms or dining area I never noticed anyone cleaning public arrears. In the past I always remember seeing someone whipping things down like the stair handrails, public restroom, or the deck area. I even spent hours in the casino and never noticed anyone whipping down machines."

[Debbie42467]

Juneau Photos

 

 

 

Float Plane Docking Area on Juneau's Waterfront

 

 

My photos of the whales did not turn out very well. They surface fast and I forgot to switch my camera to fast speed.

 

 

Really hard to see that this was a whale breaching

 

Seals Sunning themselves

 

 

Debbie

:)