Needing reassurance about Golden

[luvmykidz]

After sailing on the Sun Princess in 1998 as a last hurrah before having children, we finally decided now that our kids are 3 and 5 it is time for another one. I booked the Golden Princess Classic Southern for February with a minisuite. Since booking this, I have stumbled across many negative reviews about this cruise. Have I made a very expensive mistake? I hear many cruisers saying that Princess is not what it was, the food is horrible, the service is terrible, etc. When we went in 98 we had the time of our lives and found very little to complain about. As the title of this message said, I am needing some reassurance about my decision.

[CruiseFever]

We sailed the Golden in March and had a fabulous cruise. Here's a positive review that should make you feel better about your decision:

 

http://www.lifeiscruising.com/golden_princess1

[traveller99]

I just walked into the house from the Golden. Haven't even begun to unpack - That's a tomorrow thing. Chekc out Chris' review and Jon Meyerhaus', too. You'll have mine in a couple of days, along with the rest of the CC's that were on board. I found it to be a positive experience.

[derf5585]

http://www.lifeiscruising.com/golden_princess1

 

Can you post a post about another cruise site?

[JanetMarie]

DH and I have sailed her a couple of times. I hope that answers your question! Actually, we did the inaugural and then a few months after. We found the food to be good, the desserts were the same offerings, service was fine, cabin was excellent. Which is why we sailed her again. ;)

[CruiseFever]

http://www.lifeiscruising.com/golden_princess1

 

Can you post a post about another cruise site?

 

 

Absolutely Derf, another Cruise Message board, No.

 

Individual sites like ours or Buil's Cruiseclues or Bill's Caribbean Princess site are fine.

[spongerob]

Our best overall cruise to date was on the Golden. If you look at some of the other ships on my list, you will see that the bar had been set very high previously. I have no hesitations about returning to any of the Grand-class ships.

[bombero]

We sailed the Golden Princess and rated it and Carnival Glory a tie as being the best ever cruise, and we've been on 13... Don't get to whacked-out listening to the whiners who didn't like the color of the carpet when they boarded and had a terrible cruise, because the cruise line wouldn't change it for them before leaving port. Or some other horror story like that... Bombero

[HighRoller]

I was on the Golden 1.5 years ago, and I found her to be a beautifull ship and very clean and in good condition...sure you always find some peple that too make it there mission to complain about one thing or another, but that applies not just to the Golden but any ship Pricness or not....enjoy she's a good choice.

[Answer Man]

Answer Man responds: Per your request, Answer Man would like to serve up a bowl of reassurance, topped with a sprinkling of endorsement and a side order of kudos for the Golden. Answer Man sailed the Golden last fall to Canada/NewEngland and was truly impressed. The experience ranks as his #2 overall cruise experience in his modest list of 9 cruises on 5 different lines. And it takes #1 in the category of Overall ship design/appearance.

[lkmamom]

After sailing on the Sun Princess in 1998 as a last hurrah before having children, we finally decided now that our kids are 3 and 5 it is time for another one. I booked the Golden Princess Classic Southern for February with a minisuite. Since booking this, I have stumbled across many negative reviews about this cruise. Have I made a very expensive mistake? I hear many cruisers saying that Princess is not what it was, the food is horrible, the service is terrible, etc. When we went in 98 we had the time of our lives and found very little to complain about. As the title of this message said, I am needing some reassurance about my decision.

Good morning,

 

I know exactly how you feel because prior to our cruise aboard the Golden, we too had read multiple bad reviews. Not to worry......we felt that the ship was great. We started with the Star, and now three cruises later, we are about to try out the Sapphire. I am not the expert on food. We think the food is just great. Since we have only sailed Princess, I have nothing else to compare it to. Absolutely, there are some dishes that we did not care for, but if someone goes hungry on a Princess cruise, they did not explore all of the possibilities (IMHO). Service, has always been wonderful for our family. We have always had very clean rooms and wonderfully friendly room stewards. We have found that if you treat the stewards with respect, they will give back to you in so many ways. You mention that you have children. Though our son is older, he has always enjoyed the children's programs, and now the teen programs. We think that Princess helps the children on board have a great time multiple hours of the day and evening, if that is what you choose.

 

Our only "gliches" if you will,on any cruise that we have taken have been with rude passengers at times. They are going to be there no matter what and we refuse to let them ruin our vacation.

 

I hope that your vacation is great. We enjoyed the Golden immensly.

Linda

[Coolmama_1]

Ditto with everything that previous posters have said. Our first cruise was on the Golden and we are hooked for life! We had a minisuite and loved the space and balcony.

There are so many choices for dining that the biggest problem is not that you can't find something to eat. Rather, I want it all!:D

Go, have a great time and decide for yourself.

[geoherb]

We sailed on the Golden in 2001 and 2002. Both were great cruises. We went on the Star Princess last year and booked a cruise on the Grand while on it. I was a little concerned that the Grand was older and might not be in tip-top shape. But they keep everything almost spotless. The food and service were good. The variety of entertainment was excellent.

[cruiseclues]

luvmykidz,

 

We have a Golden Princess personal planning page, which has many links to Golden Princess photo albums (1000’s of cruise ship pictures), personal cruise websites, Menus (Dinner, Lunch Dessert), Patters & Kids Patters, Bar Menus, a 360 Virtual Tour, the Stateroom Locations (Deck Layouts), the Cruise Cam (bridge cam), the CDC Sanitation Inspection Scores, many review posts, and more. We will continue to add new information to the page:

 

http://cruiseclues.com/shipstips/goldenprincess.htm

 

:) :cool: :D

[sue d. miller]

The Golden is awesome!! #9, best cruise I ever had!!! Princess is my new home!!!

[catmand]

a quote from the Mel Brooks movie "High Anxiety"........"There, are you happy now, happy now!"

we sailed Star and had a wonderful time, I loved bombero and the people who wanted the carpet changed because they didn't like the color. At times I will read a negative review and think the folks really did have some problems, but most of the time when I read them I think they must have been written by my X-wife. (mrs. i hate everything).

Have a great time.

[Coral]

I cruised Princess in 1999 for the first time (Sea Princess) - and truthfully, I have not found that much of a difference in food or service the last several years.

 

The few things I have seen changes in is extra charges for things that used to be free, more pushing for fee services (wine tasting, purchasing cook books, etc.) and less food made in front of you (bananas foster, cherries jubilee). While periodically Princess will do this - it is not as common.

 

I was on the Golden over Thanksgiving last year and had no complaints. The ship is in excellent condition and our service was the same as it was in 1999. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

[fivebucs]

We must have married sisters. I am happy now! sb:D

[sue d. miller]

LOL!! :eek:

[kendon]

Did the Golden last month. Excellent ship, excellent itinerary, excellent minisuite on the Dolphin Deck, great food!!! This was our 6th Princess cruise and the best yet. Have used other cruise lines, but Princess suits us just fine. Please don't worry and have a wonderful time.