The Golden Princess 3 night cruise to Melbourne

[Brisbane41]

I just got off the Golden Princess this morning after spending 3 nights from Sydney to Melbourne.

 

Overall for me it was good to see the ship again and they really know how to look after you.

 

Upon boarding I had my allocated balcony cabin on Lido deck and had a glass of sparkling wine given on arrival once the steward welcomed me back. I also had the elite mini bar set up as per usual. Each night I was given complimentary passes to the alternate dining venues like Crown Grill and Sabatini's. I got a letter saying that I was on the most traveled list and that this was to thank me for my continued loyalty. I was able to decide on each night which restaurant I wanted to eat in and they would accommodate me.

 

On the second afternoon I received a complimentary 75 minute Swedish massage. The spa was quite busy that evening but when I got the voucher I was able to be given a time without any problems at short notice. The staff are mostly Chinese in the spa who give the massages and this was apparently because in Asia the majority of the passengers are now Chinese and this is becoming a big passenger group for Princess now.

 

Then on the final night before entering Melbourne I was able to see the Emerald Princess in the Bass Strait after it left Melbourne heading for Sydney. I saw it on the radar screen first and then watched from the bridge wing as it got closer and was able to get some photos of it in the dark as it cruised past.

 

The cabin was in relatively good condition. The beds were pushed together to make a double however I felt one of the beds the mattress was completely deflated and indented into a weird crater type position. The balcony furniture was in excellent condition and the railings appeared to have a new coat of varnish. The cabin was very clean.

 

I also got to spend $100 on some clothing in the boutiques on board thanks to some vouchers I was given. I also got the usual wine tasting invitation for the 1st day at sea.

 

Overall I was happy with the experience I received. Passenger mix was different. Some clearly regular cruisers, others clearly first timers and others who looked like they did not belong.

 

Some of the funny things I noticed was the queues on one side of the buffet line that I walked straight past only to find no queues at the open serving line on the other side. I guess some people are sheep and enjoy joining long queues opposed to walking a few more meters to find out if there is less people on the other side! It was the same situation at Melbourne airport when I checked in at the Qantas terminal. I took the tram from the pier to Southern Cross Station then took the Sky bus. When I arrived other buses had arrived and there was a queue of at least 6 people behind each Qantas check in kiosk. Not wanting to line up I looked around for more and found a whole heap of kiosks just 15 meters away on the other side and quickly checked in there before going to the Qantas Club lounge before my flight. Same thing when departing the ship there were long queues of people waiting to use the lifts. I walked straight past these people to find an empty and perfectly satisfactory escalator.

[suey]

Sounds like you got some excellent extras, looking forward to sailing on her next year😀

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for your review. I too noticed some of these queues that could be easily avoided.

We also, skipped the cab queues at port and got the tram to the SC station.

[rkmw]

I just got off the Golden Princess this morning after spending 3 nights from Sydney to Melbourne.

 

Overall for me it was good to see the ship again and they really know how to look after you.

 

Upon boarding I had my allocated balcony cabin on Lido deck and had a glass of sparkling wine given on arrival once the steward welcomed me back. I also had the elite mini bar set up as per usual. Each night I was given complimentary passes to the alternate dining venues like Crown Grill and Sabatini's. I got a letter saying that I was on the most traveled list and that this was to thank me for my continued loyalty. I was able to decide on each night which restaurant I wanted to eat in and they would accommodate me.

 

On the second afternoon I received a complimentary 75 minute Swedish massage. The spa was quite busy that evening but when I got the voucher I was able to be given a time without any problems at short notice. The staff are mostly Chinese in the spa who give the massages and this was apparently because in Asia the majority of the passengers are now Chinese and this is becoming a big passenger group for Princess now.

 

Then on the final night before entering Melbourne I was able to see the Emerald Princess in the Bass Strait after it left Melbourne heading for Sydney. I saw it on the radar screen first and then watched from the bridge wing as it got closer and was able to get some photos of it in the dark as it cruised past.

 

The cabin was in relatively good condition. The beds were pushed together to make a double however I felt one of the beds the mattress was completely deflated and indented into a weird crater type position. The balcony furniture was in excellent condition and the railings appeared to have a new coat of varnish. The cabin was very clean.

 

I also got to spend $100 on some clothing in the boutiques on board thanks to some vouchers I was given. I also got the usual wine tasting invitation for the 1st day at sea.

 

Overall I was happy with the experience I received. Passenger mix was different. Some clearly regular cruisers, others clearly first timers and others who looked like they did not belong.

 

Some of the funny things I noticed was the queues on one side of the buffet line that I walked straight past only to find no queues at the open serving line on the other side. I guess some people are sheep and enjoy joining long queues opposed to walking a few more meters to find out if there is less people on the other side! It was the same situation at Melbourne airport when I checked in at the Qantas terminal. I took the tram from the pier to Southern Cross Station then took the Sky bus. When I arrived other buses had arrived and there was a queue of at least 6 people behind each Qantas check in kiosk. Not wanting to line up I looked around for more and found a whole heap of kiosks just 15 meters away on the other side and quickly checked in there before going to the Qantas Club lounge before my flight. Same thing when departing the ship there were long queues of people waiting to use the lifts. I walked straight past these people to find an empty and perfectly satisfactory escalator.

 

i was on the cruise too and i also was given a letter stating i was the Most Travelled passenger and if your signature is correct i have done a lot more cruises than you...i could have a free meal in Crown Grill or Sabatinis for one night only (not every night) and bring along a guest too....maybe you could have been in the top 2 or 3

[Thorpe]

Add me to being on the cruise too.

 

First time with a Black card , I was very excited [emoji51]. I also had a window suite, and in my previous cruises have only had balconies but I fell in love with the window suite. Probably helped being cold and not balcony weather. I would book one again without hesitation. Only drawback was the 136 stairs from deck 6 to the spa, I took a rest around deck 10 !

 

I only wish I had of been in it on the previous cruise to Tassie the week before on the Dawn Princess where we had 5.5 metre swells , with the swell/waves coming in and covering the Windows on deck 5 in the coffee shop for a short time. ( not that the Dawn has window suites [emoji12]) but it would have been great to have the huge windows to watch that to myself.

 

I'll never get a most travelled letter but did get a drink voucher from the captain. It was first time on The Golden and I found her easy to get around.

 

Have read on here that sometimes they don't have the 2 mini bar set ups and you have to ask. But both were in the cabin. The 2nd one was on a tray all wrapped in glad wrap, so it was easy to swap out for a bottle of wine. ( Just like to add that I didn't drink all the alcohol myself [emoji15] my sister and her partner were on a different deck and joined me for pre dinner drinks ) and we carried some of the little bottles off.

 

Now 2 days in Melb then back to reality ............

 

 

 

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Edited November 14, 2016 by Thorpe
Was going to add that a lot of the spa girls we encountered were Sth African for a change , didn't notice any Chinese but then again I wasn't taking too much notice. The manager was a man.

[Brisbane41]

i was on the cruise too and i also was given a letter stating i was the Most Travelled passenger and if your signature is correct i have done a lot more cruises than you...i could have a free meal in Crown Grill or Sabatinis for one night only (not every night) and bring along a guest too....maybe you could have been in the top 2 or 3

 

Go back and read it carefully as it has not been edited and report back when you find the precise phrase.

[Brisbane41]

Add me to being on the cruise too.

 

First time with a Black card , I was very excited [emoji51]. I also had a window suite, and in my previous cruises have only had balconies but I fell in love with the window suite. Probably helped being cold and not balcony weather. I would book one again without hesitation. Only drawback was the 136 stairs from deck 6 to the spa, I took a rest around deck 10 !

 

I only wish I had of been in it on the previous cruise to Tassie the week before on the Dawn Princess where we had 5.5 metre swells , with the swell/waves coming in and covering the Windows on deck 5 in the coffee shop for a short time. ( not that the Dawn has window suites [emoji12]) but it would have been great to have the huge windows to watch that to myself.

 

I'll never get a most travelled letter but did get a drink voucher from the captain. It was first time on The Golden and I found her easy to get around.

 

Have read on here that sometimes they don't have the 2 mini bar set ups and you have to ask. But both were in the cabin. The 2nd one was on a tray all wrapped in glad wrap, so it was easy to swap out for a bottle of wine. ( Just like to add that I didn't drink all the alcohol myself [emoji15] my sister and her partner were on a different deck and joined me for pre dinner drinks ) and we carried some of the little bottles off.

 

Now 2 days in Melb then back to reality ............

 

 

 

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The balcony was useful with the cruising past Wilson's Promontory. My last cruise was in a full suite for my birthday that I really enjoyed. Only got one mini-bar setup on that cruise.

 

Though I do currently have several future cruises booked with Princess at this stage and only recently did a cruise with them in July. I will be on Emerald Princess in January and Diamond again next October/November for the last of the Japan season.

 

On all previous cruises I have been invited to the most traveled event and the letter said that it was because they did not have the event on the short cruise.

[tazza_0712]

Thanks for your review. It was good to read comments from someone else that was onboard for this short cruise.

 

As for queues, I never found any major issues, but I did also notice that one side of the Horizon Court was packed whilst the other was basically empty during lunch time on Sunday. Having said that, the staff never advertised the fact that both sides were open, and in most cases throughout the cruise (that I noticed anyway) one side was usually closed. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that passengers would see a side open and assume the other was closed. Staff should crowd control anyway.

 

Taxi queue was stupidly long, and I can't understand why Melbourne is unable to supply a decent number of cabs in a short amount of time.

 

Can't say I experienced any queuing issues at the airport, but went straight into the Virgin lounge and utilised their Premium Exit security line to bypass the crowds.

 

Was a terrific little weekend, so glad it was a 3 nighter and not the usual 2 night stint. That extra day really made a difference. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

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[mrs and mrs]

We had 2 invites to wine tasting, but were to drunk to attend, and 1 invite to a special art auction which had no champagne so we left.

Do these count.;)

[rkmw]

Go back and read it carefully as it has not been edited and report back when you find the precise phrase.

 

not sure what you mean but i'm only saying what i got one free dinner at the steak house and you seemed to be only in a balcony and why should you get that special treatment, did you pay extra to get those priviliges

 

if you have over 500 days with princess and p&o thats ok

[Lanwood]

i was on the cruise too and i also was given a letter stating i was the Most Travelled passenger and if your signature is correct i have done a lot more cruises than you...i could have a free meal in Crown Grill or Sabatinis for one night only (not every night) and bring along a guest too....maybe you could have been in the top 2 or 3

 

You guys are lucky...

Us poor people in full suites didn't even get a complimentary specialty restaurant on embarkation night - (yes I know fine print is for cruises 6 days or longer)....

[Brisbane41]

not sure what you mean but i'm only saying what i got one free dinner at the steak house and you seemed to be only in a balcony and why should you get that special treatment, did you pay extra to get those priviliges

 

if you have over 500 days with princess and p&o thats ok

 

I think it is at the discretion of the host on board as to what perks you get. There seem to be more if I have future cruises already booked or have recently sailed.

 

They also do issue things based on certain cruise credit points you have. Once you reach certain milestones there are other things on offer as one off until you reach the next level that they do not publish as to what they do.

[rkmw]

I think it is at the discretion of the host on board as to what perks you get. There seem to be more if I have future cruises already booked or have recently sailed.

 

They also do issue things based on certain cruise credit points you have. Once you reach certain milestones there are other things on offer as one off until you reach the next level that they do not publish as to what they do.

 

i know how many cruises i have done and the number of days and being the most travelled they should be looked after but i dont go to the host and ask for perks, if i'm given them thats fine

 

i get the generous loyalty benefit and thats fine, anything extra is a bonus

[happysnapper]

Some fine examples of the have and the have nots. Most of us belong to the "nots" and don't we have a ball.:D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

How many days did the Most Travelled Passenger have ?

[MicCanberra]

How many days did the Most Travelled Passenger have ?

 

Good question,

I was told (by a friend) that the Captain said it was around the 800 mark. A sizeable tally but not compared to some I have sailed with that have closer to 2000 (i.e Mr and Mrs King).

[rkmw]

Good question,

I was told (by a friend) that the Captain said it was around the 800 mark. A sizeable tally but not compared to some I have sailed with that have closer to 2000 (i.e Mr and Mrs King).

 

 

dont know how many most travelled letters were given out and i got one and i havent done 800

[Brisbane41]

How many days did the Most Travelled Passenger have ?

 

Do not know. For some inexplicable reason there was no photograph and biography of them in the patter which is what they usually do.

 

Also I forgot to mention I was last on a Princess ship in July on the Diamond Princess and know that this has changed since then. This time they had two lifeguards sitting and watching each swimming pool on the Lido deck. I found this quite strange as I was not used to having staff watch the pool as you swim and this is definitely a new development.

[Thorpe]

The Circle Host had to leave the ship in Sydney for personal reasons and the Future Cruise guy was looking after both roles , which is perhaps why there was nothing in the Patter.

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

The Circle Host had to leave the ship in Sydney for personal reasons and the Future Cruise guy was looking after both roles , which is perhaps why there was nothing in the Patter.

 

 

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It did seem to lack the usual offerings. We have always received a letter in the past but these things happen.

[The_Big_M]

Also I forgot to mention I was last on a Princess ship in July on the Diamond Princess and know that this has changed since then. This time they had two lifeguards sitting and watching each swimming pool on the Lido deck. I found this quite strange as I was not used to having staff watch the pool as you swim and this is definitely a new development.

 

There was a death on RCL a few months ago, with a child in the pool, which has increased attention to that area (and brought calls for life guards).

[Thorpe]

Quick question to the folks on the cruise ---- Have you received your email survey about the cruise yet ? I haven't yet ...but my sister did ( she was in a different cabin)

 

 

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[Lanwood]

Quick question to the folks on the cruise ---- Have you received your email survey about the cruise yet ? I haven't yet ...but my sister did ( she was in a different cabin)

 

 

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Yep - we both got ours yesterday around lunch time....

[Thorpe]

Thanks Lanwood, that's around when she got hers.

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

Quick question to the folks on the cruise ---- Have you received your email survey about the cruise yet ? I haven't yet ...but my sister did ( she was in a different cabin)

 

 

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Yes, 12.50pm yesterday.:D