What to expect on the Golden

[The Anchor Banker]

We're on the Golden in March doing the Southern Caribbean. As this is our first Princess cruise (we've been on just about every other line), I'd like your feedback (positive and negative) along with helpful hints.

 

Thanks in advance to everyone!

[tmm100]

I'm interested in the same and am hoping you will get somre responses. What date are you sailing? We are on the 18th, which hits different ports than most other weeks.

[RNay]

If you are going the week of 3/25, we have a very active roll call going. Just go to Roll Calls - Golden Princess and choose 3/25/06.

 

Golden is a sister to the Grand, so most things you see/hear about the Grand will apply to the Golden as well. See the stickie posts at the beginning of the board for basics. Any specific questions, just ask :)

 

Renee

[cruisinfirst]

My mother and I were on the Golden's Southern Caribbean itinerary (Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten and St Thomas) about 15 months ago. Had a fabulous time! The ports of call were wonderful. We did not book any of our excursions through the ship but planned them independently. We toured St Lucia with Frank Connelly and used Godfrey's tours on St Thomas. Both were wonderful.

 

The cabins were good-sized and comfortable. There was a small refrigerator in the room which came in handy. Wished we had brought our own hairdryer though as the one in the cabin is pretty low watt and takes a long time.

 

If you like soft drinks, be sure to buy the drink card as soon as you get on board. We drank lots of Diet Cokes and club soda and the card paid for itself in the first few days.

 

During meals, we chose open seating and enjoyed getting to meet different people each night. It worked pretty well except on formal nights. The wait was extremely long those evenings so I would suggest either getting their very early or waiting til near the end of the dining hours. Dining room food was very good. Be sure to try the dessert souffles. The food at the Horizon Court was also pretty good - the only really bad item was the eggs. No matter how they were prepared they jwere awful. Not sure why??? The breads (all the breads!) on the Golden were wonderful! We often brought a couple pieces of bread back to the room for late night snacks. Also helpful if you get a little seasick. Pizza and burgers near the pool were okay.

 

Overall it was a great experience and we are planning our next cruise with Princess. Probably a Southern Caribbean itinerary again.

 

Have fun!

[AZPam]

I would be interested to hear of any names of waiters that were outstanding. We have anytime dining but prefer to find that special team and make reservations with them for the rest of the week.

 

Pam