Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Golden Princess Review Alaska RT Seattle Inside Passage 5-3-14 to 5-10-14

plattwear

By plattwear,
in Alaska

 Share

Recommended Posts

plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Finally... a day that we could sleep in. The week

had been so busy with early mornings and long

days. It was nice to be able to sleep past

8 am. Actually... we slept till 9:30 am! My mom

never sleeps that late. So it was really good for

her. We did lose an hour to the Canadian time zone.

The first order of business after getting dressed was

breakfast at the Horizon court. One thing we enjoyed

in the mornings at the buffet was the Muesli with pumpkin

seeds on top. We had never tried it before but,

a co-worker of mine had cruised Princess

and suggested we try it. Mom liked it so much

she found some locally for breakfast at home.

 

After breakfast we went to the Art Auction to

see if we won the piece of artwork in the

"guess the price" game. The auction was never

ending it seemed. We left early for the big clearance

sale in the dining room. Mom and I picked up $10 watches

each. Earlier in the week when she was sick in

bed, I attended the $10 sale. I picked up a pretty

bracelet set for my mom. (she loves jewelry)

We also shopped in one of the on board shops

to pick up a few more items while we were still

on board. (things we were hoping might go on

sale, but never did).

 

Next we stood in line for a very long time to

get quarters for laundry and to pay out our

on board account. It was announced that we would

be arriving an hour late to VICTORIA (surprise surprise).

On top of that our Ocean Wildlife & Orca Exploration

Cruise was cancelled due to our late arrival in port.

This bad news did not go over well with me at all.

As soon as the excursion desk opened we were

one of the first ones in line to book the only excursion

left that had not been cancelled for Victoria. Luckily,

we were able to get tickets for the Horse Drawn Trolley

tour.

 

Since we had a late breakfast we skipped lunch

and went to tea instead. Mom really enjoyed

the tea. I am not sure if she had ever been

to "a tea" before. I really enjoyed the little

sandwiches and the scones the most. Mom loved

the scones too. I was hoping they would serve french

macrons but, they did not. We enjoyed chatting

with the people at our table for tea.

 

Wanting to pack clean clothes in our suitcases for

the flight back home, we went back to our state room

to get our clothes to start our laundry. We watched

a movie while our clothes were washing & drying. After

our clothes were dry, we packed our bags as

much as we could. Then it was time to get

ready for dinner.

 

The last night of our cruise we were seated

at a table for two. We prefer sitting with a

large group, but everyone else had the same idea

for an early dinner I guess. The dining room was full.

For starters mom ordered the Watermelon and Feta Cheese

Salad. I ordered the Chilled Curried Pumpkin

Cream Soup. Mom enjoyed her watermelon

however, I thought the soup would have been

much better heated instead of chilled.

The Grilled Zucchini and Eggplant with Sundried

Tomato and Hearts of Romaine Salad was much

better for my salad choice. For entree's, Mom

ordered the Turkey and Dressing, I chose

the All American Meatloaf with mushroom gravy.

They were both okay, not one of my favorite

dinners. The desserts were much better however,

Sugar-Free Cherry Trifle for mom and Milky

Chocolate-Hazelnut Souffle for me (yummy).

The ship arrived in port just as we finished our

desserts.

 

We were told to meet in the Casino for our

excursion and we left soon after. We walked

off the ship and right over to the meet our

trolley driver and the beautiful horses, Duke &

Mike. Mom and I petted the horses as well.

The trolley ride took us through a residential

area to see pretty heritage homes. Our driver was

very knowledgeable of the history of Victoria,

the heritage homes and some of Victoria's

famous residents. She also took us through

a park, through the inner Harbor area, and

by the Legislative Building which was all lit up

at night. I failed to wear my bigger coat for the

trolley ride. With just a jacket, I was cold. They

did provide a large blanket to share with the other

two people on our seat.

 

Once our ride over we were back at port.

Mom and I shopped in the one

shop in the port area. I wanted to pick up

a few more souvenirs from Canada. We both

would have loved to have more time to spend

in Victoria. From what we saw it was a really

beautiful place. We re-boarded the ship after spending

too much time in that crowded little shop.

Shortly after we arrived back in our stateroom

went went to bed. The next morning we were

scheduled for one of the earlier disembarkation

times in order to catch our flight home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Thank you for sharing your Alaska cruise. What wonderful memories for you and your Mom! We are looking forward to out cruise Aug. 30, 2014.

 

You are very welcome StressFree. Have a wonderful time on your cruise

next month! :-D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Great review! Can you tell me was tea served just one day or did they offer it everyday? Also, can you tell me where you purchased your rain poncho's?

 

Thank you Meh56 for reading my review.

 

I just checked the Platters. Afternoon Tea is served from 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm in the Donatella dining room everyday with the exception of Embarkation Day.

 

I purchased our ponchos at Dollar General Store for a $1. They come in a

package that is small enough to fit in your pocket, handbag, backpack etc.,

Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I enjoyed reading your review and of course enjoyed all the pictures! Did you take any pictures of the public areas around the ship?

 

I am glad you enjoyed my review and photos Hikini. I did not take as many photos as I originally intended of the ship. I did take a few. You can find the ship photos that I uploaded to photobucket at the link below.

 

http://s105.photobucket.com/user/plattwear/slideshow/DONNA-PC/2014%20Cruise%20To%20Alaska/Golden%20Princess%20ship%20photos

 

Just an FYI... I was so impressed with the size of the ladies public restrooms

on the ship I had to take photos. On the two Carnival ships I have been on the public bathrooms are so small.

 

Let me know if you are unable to view it and I will be happy to post them here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Last day... Time to leave :-(

 

Our alarm woke us up early on Saturday morning.

We had breakfast for the last time in the Horizon

Court buffet. After breakfast we went back to

our room to gather our things and head to the

casino. Our number was Red #2 for disembarkation

as our flight at SeaTac was around 12:30pm.

The one thing I was really aggravated about

during this time was a man that was unhappy

with the crew member in the Casino handling

the disembarkation. She had already told him

how to handle his problem (some fee he was

unhappy with being charged regarding his luggage).

However, he would just not leave her alone. It

was to the point of harassment. I was really

afraid he was going to cause us to be delayed.

People like him are not aware that their actions

could cost other people time and money as well.

I was real close to stepping in and letting him

know he was going to owe me money if his

behavior caused me to miss my flight. (I did say this

to my mom out loud hoping he would hear it)

Thankfully I did not have to, we embarked soon

after and the line moved swiftly with no problems.

I purchased the Princess transfer to the airport.

The bus dropped us off in time for us to check in and

grab a quick lunch before we boarded our flight

back to Texas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted

These are my final thoughts about Alaska and the GOLDEN PRINCESS.

 

1) Our Steward was really wonderful. We could not have ask for better.

One night I had a problem with the zipper on my sandal. It was stuck and I

could not get my shoe off. Our Steward pulled on it and jiggled it until

he was able to get it unstuck. That is going above and beyond. We were

not travelling with a male so, he was the only man I felt comfortable asking

for help in that situation. He brought us a vase when we ask, extra pillow,

and whatever we requested (which was not much). He always gave us extra

lotion because mom kept storing it in her purse. I think she came home with

about 4 or 5 tubes of lotion. He was never around in our room when we wanted

to go in. He cleaned our room when we were away and did a great job! I wrote

him a Consummate Host card with an extra tip. (same thing for Arthur the great

waiter).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted

These are my final thoughts about Alaska and the GOLDEN PRINCESS.

2) Even though our room was a small inside stateroom, we really did like our room a lot. It was my favorite of the cruises I have been on mainly because of the closet area in front of the bathroom (instead of in the hallway). It was great to be able to store our luggage, shoes bags etc., out of the way of our walking path. The shower was easy to use and figure out

the proper temperature when using it. (I had problems with that on my last cruise) The little shelf in the closet with the door on it was really great as well for a storage area for clothes etc. I used the safe to store money, credit cards, and passport card. It was cool that I was able to put

in a code of my own to the safe. Mom did not want to use it. She was afraid she night forget something in there. Our stateroom also had plenty of drawers for storage as well so that we did not have to leave a bunch of stuff sitting out all over the place.

 

3) The laundry area was easy to use and convenient to our room. The Princess representative who booked our cruise recommended that we stay on Deck 5. This was a GREAT suggestion. More than once we

embarked or disembarked via this deck. Our dining room and the International Cafe were also within short walking distance. Not to mention that ... the Piazza area is always hopping with activities of some sort. We did not experience a problem with noise below or above us. Sleeping was not a problem in our room.

 

4) Alaska was amazing and beautiful. Mom said it was everything she had imagined and more. I think she did truly have a good time despite getting sick one day and a few small mishaps here and there. This trip was for her but, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. Obviously I enjoyed spending this

time with mom and helping her dream of seeing Alaska come true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted

1) The food in the dining room was really good on some nights just good.

(dependent upon what you ordered I am sure.) Horizon court during lunch

was disappointing but, not bad. The breakfast was much better. I had

read so much about the International Cafe and my expectations were

very high. The desserts and breakfast were fabulous. I never did see a

salad or sandwich during lunch that I really wanted to try. Compared to

my last cruise on the Carnival Conquest.. the food was much better on

the Conquest.

 

2) The staff was friendly for the most part. I have mentioned the ones

that I found to be exceptional. Overall, my opinion is that the cruise

staff were just okay. A bit unorganized on more than on occasion. We

stood in more long lines on this cruise than any of the other 3 I have

been on. This was one thing mom was not real happy with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I think I mentioned this before, I spent several months from October to the

end of APRIL researching, planning, saving money and paying for this cruise for my mom. Reading Cruise Critics and asking questions was almost daily.

I had high expectations and wanted it to be just perfect for MOM. We really wanted to see more wildlife and sea life than we did. This was something we were really looking forward to. My biggest mistake was booking the first cruise of the Alaskan cruise season on the GOLDEN PRINCESS. I should have booked a later date in the season.

 

Having said that, I booked this cruise on PRINCESS based on their reputation for being the best in ALASKA. We felt that being late to port 3 times, was completely unacceptable. I have never been late to port on any cruise prior to this one. I do realize 4 cruises does not make me a frequent cruiser or an expert. Another cruise line ship left out of Seattle on the same day and to my

understanding, they did not have the same issues with arriving to port on time.

 

I also felt the entertainment on the ship was lacking through out the day

and at night. With our schedule it was hard to make it to the shows

at night. Looking back over the Platters, there was really not that much

going on we were interested in. (other than watching movies) We did

miss a few things that looked interesting. But, for the most part I am really

glad we had four ports to explore. (I just wish we would have been on

time to 3 of them)

 

Lastly, thank you to all the cruise critic members that shared reviews,

answered questions and provided loads of information about Seattle,

Canada, and Alaska. I appreciate it. It was so helpful with mom's

dream to see Alaska come true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

I am glad you enjoyed it sprint180. Enjoy your trip. I do wish we could

go again. I never thought I would want to go again but, I would love to.

 

The smashed penny machines were easy to find in the ports we visited.

Right out in front of one of the busy souvenir shops or right in the entrance

to one.

Edited by plattwear
Link to comment
Share on other sites
plattwear

plattwear

Posted
  • Author
Posted

If you are interested in seeing the PLATTERS I scanned from our cruise, use the link below to the CC thread. see post 176-179

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1905952&page=9

 

If you are interested in seeing more of my photos, see the link below

to my photo bucket.

 

http://s105.photobucket.com/user/plattwear/library/DONNA-PC/2014%20Cruise%20To%20Alaska?sort=3&page=1

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mapleleaves

mapleleaves

Posted
Posted

Thanks again for posting your review. What a wonderful trip for your mother!

 

It's amazing to see the snow and ice in your photos from early May compared to photos taken in mid June. Six weeks of 20+ hr of daylight makes such a difference in the landscape.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...