Review, Golden Princess Feb. 13-27 Hawaii

[Nebr.cruiser]

Just a short review with our likes and dislikes on this Hawaii RT cruise. We have cruised 25-30 times on many different lines (Princess, RCI, Carnival, Celebrity, NCL and some defunct lines.) We've cruised the most with Princess; this was our 9th with them.

 

We are both 67 and active. We prefer at least 10 day or longer cruises, and like sea days. We're not very picky and have never had a bad cruise; of course, there are pluses and minuses on every cruise, but we tend to go with the flow.

 

Though we still had a good time, this cruise was a little disappointing because the weather was not great. We knew and expected that the weather and seas could be cool, windy and rough the first two and last two days out of LA, but we didn't expect Hawaii to be as cool and rainy as it was. We have been there three times on land vacations, all in the winter, and had always had good weather.

 

Of course, we do not blame Princess for this; it's just luck, however, it was the worst weather we've ever had while cruising. (We've been lucky before, I guess). The first two days out were cool, windy and had some rain. The next two days out were decent; we could sit out at the pool and be comfortable. Evenings, as expected, were quite cool. We like to watch MUTS at night and were able to complete only one movie because of the cold and rain. Again, just bad luck.

 

I actually expected rougher seas than we had. Not much at all on the way out, a little more waves on the way back, but not bad. Pretty windy, of course.

 

We hit a lot of rain in Hilo--I do wish Princess would port at Kona instead--but of course Hilo is a very rainy area. Temps got down to 56 at Volcano Natl. Park with rain. It was around 65-70 on the coast, a few periods of no rain.

 

Oahu was around 70 with some showers and sprinkles. Since we'd been to Honolulu sites a lot, we drove to the North Shore and around the east side of the island. While beautiful, Oahu is getting very congested, especially the shoreline development.

 

Kaui was again coolish (60-70) and rainy, but then we did choose to drive to the Waimea Canyon, which we knew has spots that are among the wettest on earth. We did get some non-rainy periods, enough so that we enjoyed some of the views. People who spent more time on the east side of the island reported more sun. We had some great coconut shrimp!

 

Maui was our best day, weather-wise, and also because we didn't rent a car and drive all over, so it was more relaxing. We just shopped, walked to the local beach in LaHaina, and enjoyed the partly sunny day. No rain! Lots of whales.

 

The stop in Ensenada is a big nothing, but I realize it's the law. We walked into town and back again for exercise and that's about it.

 

On the ship, there were many high points and a few things we didn't like. Our room was a standard balcony cabin, like many we've had before on Princess. I love the big kind-of walk in closet; the downside is that the actual room is smaller, but we managed. There is great storage space in the whole cabin.

 

Of course, that tiny shower is always a challenge. I'm just average size and I don't see how bigger people cope. Our room stewardess was good, except for an unfortunate habit of always knocking just at the wrong times.

 

I thought the ship was very well kept and I didn't notice any really run-down areas, but I don't look for this either. We like the promenade that you can walk completely around the ship on, even though you have to climb stair to do that. The stairs were closed on the way back due to wind, though. I never found the upper walking track, if there was one. I looked!

 

Loved the Zumba program! It was awesome when it was nice enough to have it on the Lido deck.

 

Since it was so cool, finding a chair on deck wasn't really a problem. There was some chair-saving going on, especially in the covered pool, but not bad. The pools were not very used because of weather.

 

We really liked the variety of movies shown, especially some that were almost first-run; Lincoln & Argo. On sea days there was usually an afternoon movie, sometimes two, in the Princess theater, and sometimes in the Vista lounge. Movies were shown in the theater or MUTS and then repeated in the stateroom the next day. There were a lot of Hawaii-themed movies.

 

For movies I'd like even more variety and not so much repeating. I also wish Princess had the inter-active tv's like Celebrity has where you can choose a movie in the stateroom and start and stop it when you wish.

 

Other tv programming is getting old, especially on the Art channel where they've been showing many of the same things for years.

 

Food: We thought there was a noticeable downward trend in MDR food quality, especially in beef dishes and appetizers. It got so that I quit ordering steaks, because they were so tough and tasteless. Note that I am from Nebr. where we have some of the best steaks in the world. Also, I don't like chicken and most seafood and won't eat veal or lamb, so this is partly my own strange tastes.

 

Strangely, we found that some of the evening buffet meals were more appetizing than the MDR. Never before have we gotten in the habit of checking both the dining room and buffet menus before deciding where to eat. The Hawaiian themed buffet the night we were in Honolulu was great.

 

I personally don't like Princess pizza, but I know many do. The only hamburger I had at the grill was not very good. I love the International Cafe for a quick bite. We didn't do specialty dining, go to the ice cream bar, drink soda or alcohol or fancy coffee. The coffee was fine for me, but, horror of horrors, I drink instant at home!

 

We had Anytime dining and it worked perfectly for us. Unless you try to eat at the most popular time 6-7?--we never had a wait of more than a minute or two. We didn't reserve ahead. I did notice, more than other times, that the waiters in Anytime are not as personable as some.

 

The age of passengers definitely skewed older; I'm sure we were below the average!, but there were some younger and a few children and teens. Barely noticed them. Most people were polite; a few seem to be always oblivious of others, as usual.

 

There were two things that we really did not like on this cruise. The first was the horrible 'new' balcony furniture. The chairs with a foot stool were so uncomfortable that I literally could not use them for lounging--I tried pillows, all different angles, ack. Maybe they would be ok sitting bolt upright, but that's all. This was our first Caribe balcony and I spent less than 30 minutes trying to sit in those chairs. Luckily the weather was too bad to need the balcony much. I wonder if anyone sat in the chairs before they were purchased; and, the stool doesn't even match up for the chair in heights.

 

To me the table was fine and we did have the blue matting!

 

The second disappointment was the new show format. We did not like the 30 minute shows at all. They seemed rushed and over way too fast. Yes, you can go to more shows in a night if you want, but unfortunately some of the other entertainment was lacking, and also affected by the 30 minute limit. Several of the variety entertainers did not seem happy with the format either.

 

The production shows were standard, except too short. We loved the British Invasion show, which we had not seen before. The other entertainers were kind of lacking; possibly we have just been on enough cruises that all comedians/hypnotists/magic acts/production shows, etc. start to seem ordinary. We did not like the local Hawaiian music show in Honolulu, but we seemed to be in the minority. I wanted a cheesy standard hulu show with a troupe and everything!

 

The good news; 'What a Swell Party!" was gone!

 

We usually go to shows 5-10 minutes early and always find a decent seat, even before the 30 minute format.

 

So, that's our take on the Hawaii cruise. Will we cruise to Hawaii again? Even though we like sea days, probably not, partly because we just didn't get much warm weather while at sea, and in IMO Hawaii is better done on a land tour. Will we cruise Princess again? Of course, though I hope they do rethink a couple of the recent changes. We do seem to get great prices with them and this cruise was no exception. Sorry this got so long; I intended it to be a mini-review!

[iceleven]

I'm really confused. I thought the Grand Princess was on an entirely different itinerary during this time. Ft. Lauderdale, South America, Central America and up the Pacific Coast to San Francisco. Something like a 47 day cruise?

There is a very long thread which has been kept quite current on this.

[cardqb]

OP stated in another thread this review was for the Golden Princess.

[mollyanne]

Got to be the Golden?

[iceleven]

Oops, I see you have tried to correct this by starting another thread explaining it was the Golden Princess. Of course, that makes sense and I should have put two and two together.

 

Well, it was an interesting read and I am sorry the weather wasn't in your favor for much of the trip. From what I read, the advantage of the time you went is being able to see more whales but the weather can be less favorable. We will be taking the Grand, out of San Francisco, April 10th. We've never crossed the Pacific before and the total of 9 sea days has my husband a bit worried. But you mentioned the Zumba classes and he is a big fan of Zumba and wants to stay active. Do you recall how many days they offer this?

 

We'll be taking the rest of your review of your time spent on the islands into consideration, especially renting cars. Are there car rental agents near each of the cruise ports or should we book them ahead of time and do you have any recommendations?

[Nebr.cruiser]

Oops, I see you have tried to correct this by starting another thread explaining it was the Golden Princess. Of course, that makes sense and I should have put two and two together.

 

Well, it was an interesting read and I am sorry the weather wasn't in your favor for much of the trip. From what I read, the advantage of the time you went is being able to see more whales but the weather can be less favorable. We will be taking the Grand, out of San Francisco, April 10th. We've never crossed the Pacific before and the total of 9 sea days has my husband a bit worried. But you mentioned the Zumba classes and he is a big fan of Zumba and wants to stay active. Do you recall how many days they offer this?

 

We'll be taking the rest of your review of your time spent on the islands into consideration, especially renting cars. Are there car rental agents near each of the cruise ports or should we book them ahead of time and do you have any recommendations?

 

Yes, I am very sorry about the mistake in the ship. I can't figure out how to edit the heading.

 

We like sea days, but most of those on this trip were cooler and rainier than we expected. In April it should be better?

 

They had Zumba every sea day, usually regular Zumba and Zumba Gold, which was advertised as for senior citizens. The time and place changed daily, so check the Patters.

 

I did Zumba Gold the first sea day, as I didn't get up in time for the other. It was fine, not that much easier than the regular class; I have a feeling even the regular class was toned down some, but as I haven't taken a Zumba class at home, I don't know for sure.

 

Usually it was at 9 by the Calypso pool. Sometimes later, never earlier. If the weather was bad it was on the stage in the Vista Lounge; I think the Zumba gold was always there.

 

The bad thing is that it was quite crowded; I often didn't feel I had as much room to move as I wanted. The good thing: it was free!

 

We used an online agency to rent our cars, kind of like a broker, I guess. I think it was something like carrentals Hawaii. I just submitted the dates, times and kind of car we wanted and they emailed me back with quotes. There was no cr. cd information taken; we just paid when we got to the car rental place, and we could cancel at any time.

 

Prices varied from $30-$50; for compact cars. We used Avis in Hilo; they only charged $5 to upgrade to a full-size car. The agency in Oahu and Kaui was Alamo. We paid about $20 extra on the spot to upgrade to a full-size in Oahu, already had a free upgrade in Kaui as they were out of compacts. All the rentals were fine, except I hated the maps provided by Alamo.

 

We decided not to rent on Maui as we had been there before and just wanted a relaxing day. We called when we got ashore and cancelled. No problem at all.

 

The car rental agencies were pretty close to the port in Hilo and Kaui and they had shuttles. I think it's fairly close on Maui as well. In Honolulu, it's farther to the car rentals (airport) and we had to wait quite a while for the shuttle from Alamo.

 

Have fun!

[Nebr.cruiser]

It was the Golden Princess, of course, sorry--fingers moving faster than brain, I guess.

[caribill]

Food: We thought there was a noticeable downward trend in MDR food quality, especially in beef dishes and appetizers. It got so that I quit ordering steaks, because they were so tough and tasteless.

 

 

There were two things that we really did not like on this cruise. The first was the horrible 'new' balcony furniture. The chairs with a foot stool were so uncomfortable that I literally could not use them for lounging--I tried pillows, all different angles, ack. Maybe they would be ok sitting bolt upright, but that's all.

 

 

The second disappointment was the new show format. We did not like the 30 minute shows at all. They seemed rushed and over way too fast.

 

Did you give feedback on these items in the post cruise survey they e-mail passengers?

 

If not, I suggest writing a polite letter to Princess about these.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Nebr.cruiser]

Did you give feedback on these items in the post cruise survey they e-mail passengers?

 

If not, I suggest writing a polite letter to Princess about these.

 

Yes, I addressed them in the post-cruise survey.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Hey, someone changed the thread title for me! Many thanks. How did you do that?

[cr8tiv1]

Hi SciFi....Thanks for taking the time to post a review. My intent was to get one posted, but I haven't even started writing it yet.

 

I agree, Hilo had torrential rain. More rain than I have seen in a long time. Lucky we were not in Honolulu this weekend. They were under a Flood Watch. From what my family is saying, this has been a colder than normal winter.

 

I am "for" the 30 minute shows. I didn't like having to rush through the early seating to sit in the Princess Theater for 30 minutes before a show to get a good seat. I thought moving to 3 thirty minute shows was a good way to spread out the crowd. I was able to find a seat at any of the last 2 shows. The Vista Lounge performances was a different story. Always crowded.

 

I am hoping to get my review written in the next week or so. At least before I get on another ship.

 

So glad we had a chance to meet at our pre-cruise dinner and Meet & Greet events.

 

Renee (displaced local girl)

[caribill]

Hey, someone changed the thread title for me! Many thanks. How did you do that?

 

Check your other thread about the title. The answer is there.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Check your other thread about the title. The answer is there.

 

Yep, I saw it. I will from now on check my thread title more carefully before I post.

 

Renee, thanks, it was nice to meet you too. In spite of the weather we were able to get a lot of much-needed relaxation in.

 

We do Anytime dining, so that may make a difference in getting seats at the shows; we just plan our meal times so that it doesn't interfere and gives us plenty of time to get to where we want to.

 

I agree, the Vista Lounge fills up fast.

[Cruisin' Chick]

It was pouring rain in Hilo when we got off the Golden on Christmas Eve. Fortunately we were just going shopping -- the two previous Hawaiian cruises we had decent weather there.

 

I tried Zumba for the first time on our cruise when there were some Gold classes in the Vista right after a couple of Leialoha's hula classes. I'm guessing that it's more my speed.

[gingera]

Usually, the eastern side of the Hawaiian islands are wetter than the other side. Hilo is known for the wet weather, but if you are an orchid lover like I am, then it is not a problem. We had a great time visiting the flower nurseries.

 

The first time we took a land tour of Hawaii(the Big Island, Kauai, Oahu, and Maui) the weather was very cool and rainy. We were very disappointed. The other times we have visited these islands, the weather has been OK. The mountain of Maui required winter coats one year though.

[Babs02]

 

 

But you mentioned the Zumba classes and he is a big fan of Zumba and wants to stay active. Do you recall how many days they offer this?

 

Zumba fitness was every sea day, about 9am, either in the lounge or on deck. Zumba gold was only available on the 4 sea days going out & 1 sea day coming back. Zumba gold was usually around 12 - 1.30pm, in the vista lounge.

 

I tried out both but mainly gold as the time suited better.

 

Barbara