Just off the Golden- Review

[SorrentoCruiser]

Embarkation:

Flew in to San Juan Sat afternoon 3:30 pm, Princess Rep was very easy to find, walked us out to our bus, took our luggage in separate truck. Check in was a snap, less than 10 minutes and our bags were waiting at our door just after dinner. There is duty free liquor store between registration and where you actually enter ship. If you "hide" bottle in carryon, you can get it on board. They tell you this at cash register.

 

The ship:

I thought the ship was spectacular. I have previously cruised with NCL, RC, Carnival and Celebrity. The atrium wasn't as grand as some I have seen, but the overall layout was very impressive. The way the pools are spaced out, with different atmospheres at each, was a treat. You could be at a typical pool, with bar, band and crowds, then go forward to the "spa" pool and have the area to yourself. Except for a few times when Horizon's buffet was full, you really never had a sense of how many people were on board.

 

The restaurants:

The food was top notch. We never ate at the "premium" restaurants, did the buffet most days for breakfast and lunch, and did the anytime dining for dinner. First cruise I can remember where you have tableside drink service in the buffet. Good variety every night, and didn't have a bad meal the whole week. Too bad, as I gained my obligatory 6.2 lbs. :( The desserts were my downfall, especially the strawberry & cream cheese tart.

One small drawback is that a few of the entrees at buffet could have been a little hotter.

 

Service:

I had heard that the Princess service surpassed most other cruise lines, and I believe it. The service was outstanding. Everyone was extremely friendly, helpful, and seemed to really enjoy their jobs. I never had any crew member who seemed to be anything other than delighted to be of service. Our room steward made us a new towel animal everyday. Mom in law was on a different level, didn't have one by day 5, we said something to her room steward about it, he said he was new and did not know how to make them. He asked our room #, and while we were at dinner, found our steward, learned how to make a swan, and had it on her bed when we took mom back after dinner.

 

Shore Excursions:

 

Barbados: Did the Atlantis Submarine. Booked independently and saved $15 per person, went on same shuttle as people who booked thru Princess. It was a cloudy day and unfortunately the water was a little murky, but was a unique trip.

 

St. Lucia: Did the St. Lucia by Land & Sea. Unfortunately, we got in line a little late so we did the tour "backwards" and got the catamaran tour first. Only drawback to this is that we didn't get lunch till after 2 pm. It wasn't worth the wait. The volcano was impressive, and the views were spectacular.

 

Antigua: Did Eli's Eco Tour. Had read such rave reviews on the Antiqua board that we just had to do it. It was a gorgeous ride, only they spent more time showing us local resorts and big houses and complaining about development than the actual eco-system promised. Snorkling was good and the water is incredible.

 

St. Maarten: We rented a car at the dock and made it around the entire island with plenty of time to spare. Did the Treetop Adventure at Loterie Tree Farm. It was a workout, a lot more climbing than actual "ziplining". Don't know if I would do it again, but am glad I got the chance to do it once. Stopped in Marigot for lunch, extremely expensive. $71 plus tip for lunch for 4. 2 salads, 1 sandwich, 1 fish plate. It was tasty, but seemed a bit overpriced. Stopped at Maho Beach to watch the planes, I'm sure that was the appeal for DH, not the topless women. Only disappointment was we didn't get to spend much time in Phillipsburg, parking was impossible in downtown area, and by the time we found a spot and walked in, we had to hurry and get back. Warning: we rented "2002" or newer Toyota Corrolla from Reynolds Car Rental, ended up with older beat up Rav 4 with soft top that was not fully secured. We were glad that we had the Rav 4 as we drove up Paradise Pic and don't think a car would have made it, but the vehicle was nothing like they said we were getting. Still for $40 not too bad. Other national agency wanted $55 per day.

 

St. Thomas: We were tired and sore from the zip line and didn't do much. Took the tram to Paradise Point ($18.95 per person). I have done this in Juneau, and hiked way up the mountain. This one has a little nature trail that takes about 3 minutes to walk, and a couple of scenic overlooks. Not that impressive. Best part was the bird feeders in the shopping area that had hummingbirds flying around. Shopping was way overpriced compared to prices on the ground.

 

Note: Mom in law was given the 6:45 - 7:15 time slot to clear customs in St. Thomas. She was in line at 6:45 (still in her bathrobe), and the customs agents did not show up till almost 7:15. She said there was a huge line, and people for the second shift were already getting in line before they went thru (they were #'s 4 & 5 in line)We had 8:15-8:30 and basically it took less than a minute.

 

Didn't do too many shows, as we were up and going early every day, and stuffing our faces every evening, then crashing. The comedian was quite funny, and we heard good things about the other shows.

 

Disembarking:

This is one area where NCL has Princess beat. On NCL you can stay in your stateroom until called for called for customs and even order room service if you wish. Princess wants you out of your cabin by 8 am. They serve breakfast at Horizons while you wait, which can take up to 4 hours. It was the easiest customs I have ever been thru, they never even checked our passports.

 

Overall, it was one of the best cruises I have been on. By far the best caribbean cruise. It was just over way to soon. I would definately book with Princess again.

 

We stayed Sat in San Juan at the Caribe Hilton. It was fairly expensive ($350 per night) and the hotel showed it's age. The grounds and pool area were impressive, with it's private beach and coral reef. This was our only real "beach" day and we both ended up falling asleep under a palm tree.

 

Hope this was helpful and I will be happy to answer any questions that I can.

[makeup face]

Thanks for the review...I was wondering if that duty free liquor store was still there:D :D Do they also have water and sodas?

[katef]

Glad to hear you liked Golden. We're sailing on her next week and can't wait! Thanks for the review!

[SorrentoCruiser]

Don't remember seeing that. There is a store across street from terminal that had them. We carried ours in our checked luggage a 12 pack of each.

[flyguy404]

Thanks for the review. I just rebooked my 04/02 sailing on the Star to the 04/29 San Juan to New York sailing on the Golden. Other than the delay in getting info out on the cancellation over the weekend Princess has been great. That is why I wanted to stay on a Princess ship. Thanks for the info.

[bhopal21]

Makeupface,

 

The answers are yes, yes and yes. The liquor store is after check-in and before security on the right. They will tell you several times while you are in the store if you purchase liquor to put it into a carry-on and it will go right past security. Trust me, it did. The beer, sodas and water you can carry right on.

 

Mike:)

[flyguy404]

Sorry to be off topic bhopal21 but is that pic in your profile a Whippet?

[bhopal21]

No, 'Zydeco' is a greyhound rescue. Our second and the most affectonate animal that we have owned.

 

Thanks for asking!

 

Mike:D

[bubbadog]

thank you for the review ,sounded as tho you guys had a blast,i cant wait to be on the golden was on her in europe and loved it,and have had major back problems and need more surgery,plus just went thru a disco-gram(grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr),so ill be runnin to her on the 8th of april,with luggage and wife in tow,and i will need a bahama mama fast lol:)):rolleyes: ty for the review it helped bring my spirits up a lil bit;)

[makeup face]

Makeupface,

 

The answers are yes, yes and yes. The liquor store is after check-in and before security on the right. They will tell you several times while you are in the store if you purchase liquor to put it into a carry-on and it will go right past security. Trust me, it did. The beer, sodas and water you can carry right on.

 

Mike:)

 

Thanks Mike:D Are you still able to get on and off the ship in San Juan. The last time I sailed from there was January 2001.....before 9/11 so I wasn't sure exactly what.... if any... had changed:eek:

[bhopal21]

Are you still able to get on and off the ship in San Juan.

 

You bet. We got off the ship and reboarded twice.

 

Mike:)

[makeup face]

You bet. We got off the ship and reboarded twice.

 

Mike:)

 

That's the answer I was looking for....thanks again:D :D

[Lynda90]

Thanks for sharing. Am considering this ship for a cruise in 07 and the more I read about it, the more I am leaning towards it.:)

[makeup face]

Thanks for sharing. Am considering this ship for a cruise in 07 and the more I read about it, the more I am leaning towards it.:)

 

I was on the Golden (New England) in October. Beautiful ship.....you'll enjoy her:D

Just remember the color of the carpet where your cabin is located....you'll be okay:eek:

[gopher's girl]

Brings back the memories! Thanks for posting your review.

 

I was also able to get off the Dawn in San Juan after embarkation... we toured the downtown area. This is especially nice because the ship does not leave port til 11 pm. We were back on in time for dinner though.

[donna5]

Thanks for the review...I was wondering if that duty free liquor store was still there:D :D Do they also have water and sodas?

 

 

That was at the pan american pier where the golden use to dock. Apparently they are now docking downtown.

[racepoint]

I, too, was on your cruise, Sorrento. In one word, it was FABULOUS!! First time with Princess, but I couldn't help but notice the differences between the other lines I've sailed. How about no x-ray machines nor beeping security contraptions in the photo area, as on Carnival. Nothing on Golden but a simple sign "Please pay for your photos before leaving this area." It was nice to be treated like the honest person that I am. And we did buy photos, which I hadn't on prior cruises. The other big and noticeable difference with Princess was that they allowed drinks in the pool. On embarkation, my sister and I put on our suits and hit the hot tub. A bartender approached us and asked if we wanted to order a drink. I asked if we could drink it while sitting in the hot tub and was assured that we could. Two large margaritas later, we were on our way to a relaxing, fun week. Also, speaking of bar service, Princess bartenders are NOTHING like the bartenders on NCL who hound you constantly for drink orders. The reason quickly became apparent to me when I signed my first receipt for a drink. On NCL, in addition to the automatic 15% gratuity, there is an Additional line for you to add a further gratuity, which most people feel obligated to fill in with an extra buck or two. (My logic on NCL was always, "if I get it at the bar myself, no added tip. If they bring it to me in my deck chair, add an extra tip." Well, that added up really quickly.) No such additional tip line on the Golden bar receipts. It kind of levels the playing field for the Golden bartenders. My daughters had the soda stickers on their card and we never experienced a degree of lessened service when they ordered "just a soda." All staff truly seemed to enjoy what they were doing and we were always greeted pleasantly in the hallways, any time of day, by passing staff. One noticeable exception was an older waiter in the Canelletto dining room, late seating, that caught our attention while he was being "quite grumpy" to the passengers at his table and especially the other waiters. The table appeared to have about 15 or so people. We chuckled when his table was empty on the last formal night and he kept pacing around, obviously "stood up". I agree with Sorrento that everything about this ship was top notch. The only complaint I could muster up (and it was a daily complaint) was the layout of the Horizon buffet. It is absolutely the worst I have encountered on any ship. There are two entry points where you pick up your plate and silverware and jump into line, but soon you find people crossing over and not flowing with the traffic. Heck, I did it myself, because of how they had things laid out. Anyone who has been on this ship knows what I'm trying to say. That said, the food was great, both for breakfast and for lunch. Quite a varied assortment and everything was good, if not great (short ribs and barbecued chicken at lunch, for example) If you're on the fence about booking this cruise - DO IT! I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[SorrentoCruiser]

You can sit in just a few inches of water and enjoy a drink.

 

Here's some pics of the pools. Didn't get one of the spa pool. The smallest pool pictured is the "adults only".

 

It's Kodak Gallery, if you don't have membership, just click view photos without signing in.

 

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=gvznalc.h48vdzk&Uy=-yhwfe7&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=372908123275_44583065808

 

Enjoy. The pools are spectacular!

[Nancy&Frank]

Flyguy404

 

Check the roll calls...there are over 100 of us chatting that are on the 4/29 cruise...we have lots of activity planned.

 

Nancy

[jetsfan]

Thanks for the pool pics, they look great! We are new to Princess. Do they enforce "the adults only pool"?, or are kids there? We are the parents of 4 children, and love kids, but when we cruise alone, I don't want to see them where they are not supposed to be. Just wondering. Glad you had a great time, we can't wait until 4/22.

[SorrentoCruiser]

I never saw any kids in it, in fact for spring break, I thought there would have been more kids on board. The few I did see seemed to stick close to the kids zone or teen area.

[kendon]

Outstanding pictures of the pool. Thank you. Been on the ship twice before. Two weeks to go.......

[racepoint]

Great pics of the pools, Sorrento. They are beautiful. The water was always a very comfortable temperature and there was plenty of space to swim or hang out in the "shallows" as Sorrento suggested. If you choose a lounge chair right next to the pool, just be aware that you cannot see INTO the pool due to the "wavy" wall that surrounds the pool and obstructs your view of the water from a seated position. We found the top (Deck 15) to be a great place to sun and still be able to view all the activities in the pool. (Quick sidenote: There's been quite a few posts about lounge chair hogs. We were at the pool at 8:30 a.m. on our only "at sea" day and found six loungers in a row right near the pool. The two lounge chairs next to us had "stuff" on them. Around 9:30, the couple that owned the "stuff" showed up ever-so-briefly, in order to leave more "stuff" on the chairs. Around 11:00, two more of our group showed up and we wanted to sit together, so we suggested they take over the two adjacent lounges that had only been storage for "stuff" all morning. Sure as anything, the couple came back at noon and expected to take over the lounges they had "reserved" bright and early that a.m. There were some words exchanged, but I think they quickly realized they couldn't do this. I'm still shaking my head at their attitude. Back to the pools . . . We happened to be some of the last tags called for disembarkation on your same cruise. On our way out, we walked through the pool area and they had the Calypso/Reef pool completely drained and about six guys were standing inside the pool and were busy patching and painting. It is a beautiful, well-kept ship. Someone asked about kids in the pool. Our cruise had a minimal amount of kids because, I guess, we weren't on a full-fledged school vacation week. (Yes, I was the "bad" parent took my daughters out of school to hang out with their parents and other relatives that they only see every few years. But that's fodder for another thread.) Anyway, there were only two occasions when I noticed that kids were an issue in the pool. First, when the cruise director was trying to conduct pool games (volleyball) and there were young kids sitting on the edges of the pool. For safety reasons, their parents should have yanked them out of there, but that didn't happen. I think the cruise director finally had to ask them to leave. The other instance was when my DH, DD (14), and myself were hanging out in the hot tub and a man, his 10-ish son, and toddler daughter entered the jacuzzi with us. The toddler was clearly in a diaper (despite the "no diapers in pools" signs everywhere.) He was hanging on to her arms and dipping her down into the hot tub, with a "wheeeeeeeee". The three of us got out right away. I know that hot tubs are not known to be "sanitary" but something about watching this man dipping his diapered daughter/grandaughter into the same water we were all sharing so closely just grossed me out. I was irritated that I felt so negatively about this diapered baby all of a sudden sharing our relaxing space, yet I couldn't muster the nerve to say anytihng to him and, instead, just got up and left the hot tub.

[SorrentoCruiser]

The couple of times we sat in the jacuzzi, we used the one next to the spa pool. Very few people were ever up there, and it was nice to share the tub with only 1-2 other people instead of dozens. Less chance of "contamination" that way.