Live from the Golden May 16 Alaska

[donscomp]

Webcam seems to to broken or down for maintenance...:mad:

 

I know when it WAS working the iris or whatever is opened WAY to much. Cant see anything as it was so bright.

[vickie_bernie]

Please comment on how cold the venues are at night. I read somewhere on the Hawaian cruises it was very very cold everwhere. Also what is below the construction area?

 

I find the ship very comfortable; however temp is a very personal thing. I am in a short sleeve top right now with capris. But there are many around me in long sleeve tops and then a sweatshirt too.

 

Bring a sweater that you can easily throw on if needed.

[vickie_bernie]

Observations so far

 

- no live music or pipped in music for sailaway :( even if they would of had a concert or something on the MUTS would of been nice

- Comedian last night was Jim Mcdonald - monologue is a little dry but his slide show at the end is hilarious (we saw him last Jan on the Grand)

- Our cabin steward is certainly not up to our usual standard, but we are hoping it was just because of a busy day yesterday.

- the Captain is now Captain Foster

- We dined in the Donatelo Dining room last night at around 7:40 pm at a table of 10 no wait at all and meal was very good - I had the prime rib

- Naturalist is Michael Modzelewski - sounds interesting but well if you ever see him you will know what I am talking about

- Chris May is the pianist in the Promenade Lounge

- No 2 for 1 coffee card coupon! Thought this was now avail. But not that I can find.

- Richard Joseph is our CD

- Production show tonight is Cinematastic and the comedian Jim McDonald is back with a different show. Both of these shows will be on tonight and tomorrow to enable all to see

- Movies today are Yes Man and Iron Man

- Odyssey is the band playing in Explorers Lounge

- Naturalist has a lecture today called "Alaska The Last Frontier" at 2 pm

- Port and Shopping show is 10

- No Computer at sea class, or at least not that i have seen

- Wine tasting today

- suites are not done in either area but I am going to talk to some people and see what I can do.

- Crown Grill is not open yet either but is suppose to open before the end of the cruise

- Weather is lovely, a little cool and breezy but no rain

- Tonight is formal night and the champagne waterfall (which is happening at 7:30 instead of the 11:30 I have experienced on warmer sailings)

 

Off to the coffee bar for my latte (those who know me know that is where I hang :eek:)

[hydrodriver831]

Observations so far

 

- no live music or pipped in music for sailaway :( even if they would of had a concert or something on the MUTS would of been nice.

 

vickie_bernie,

 

I was watching the local Seattle news last night (May 16) and they had a story on the noise from the sailaway parties on the ships leaving Smith Cove Terminal (Pier 91). Some of the residents of the Magnolia area were complaining about the loud music coming from the ships. The Port of Seattle said the problem had been resolved. Now I know how they resolved it...No Music on sailaway:(.

 

Have you had a chance to check out the International Cafe?

 

Thanks.

[morriscats]

Vicki, we have friends sailing with you - Marilyn (Mii), Teresa (Tradogna) and Sharon (Rradogna). Please give them a hug from us and the "holder downers" are having a party:p

[VibeGuy]

Yeah, putting a high-traffic cruise terminal in earshot of one of the better neighborhoods of Seattle was going to cause a lot of NIMBY issues, and the "Bad Jimmy Buffett" factor was going to be an issue that was NEVER properly addressed in the environmental impact statements. We did brilliant work provisioning shore power, the improved bridge approaches make the whole thing possible (five years ago, not so much), etc, but they didn't even conceive of the sound impacts from something other than the engines.

[mariakitty]

Yes Rich is leaving the Golden on June 20th and will be on the Star in late August. :)

He did not say who will replace him, but maybe he will know when Vickie is onboard.

 

Yay! We are on the Star at the very end of August and I have always wanted to sail with Richard. I have heard so much about him on CC, so now I am even more excited about our cruise, if that's possible. :)

 

Maria

[LARGIN]

Vickie.. Name of the Maitre D' please... Thanks

[Colo Cruiser]

Vickie.. Name of the Maitre D' please... Thanks

 

 

Larry its Angelo Balbiani.

[LARGIN]

Larry its Angelo Balbiani.

 

Thanks.. :)

[TonyFred]

Just got off the Golden yesterday in Seattle and will be glad to answer any questions. Richard was a great CD. Edward Perrin is the Captain (at least on our cruise he was)

We loved the ship and thought it looked fantastic in all regards. We thought the food was very good (did not eat dinner in the MDR for various reasons but enjoyed the breakfast in there very much)

The Horizon Court was actually layed out very nice once you got the hang of it. We never had a problem finding a seat and the staff was extremely attentive to all of our needs. They always brought beverages to us and cleaned up immediately as we finished a plate, but did not make us feel rushed.

The casino machines were fairly loose. I came out about 200 dollars to the good and did not spend a lot of time in there.

We checked out the Magician in the Princess theater one night. He was good but not very original. To be honest, his "assistant" danced like she was fresh out of a gentlemens club, but hey, that didnt bother me at all!

:D

I thought there were plenty of things to keep you busy when you werent in port. And the annoucements for bingo and art auctions were brief and to the point.

We had FANTASTIC weather all week long and I hope this week's guests will find it the way we left it.

We got all the way into Tracy Arm Fjord, and honestly, I thought it was more spectacular than Glacier Bay. I was very pleasantly surprised at how amazing it was. The water was a mirror and the reflections of the mountains was breathtaking.

We got as close as a ship can get to the Glacier. The Naturalists and the Captain both announced that they had never seen Tracy Arm like this. The skies were crystal clear blue and the sun warmed the ship up very nicely.

They provided hot chocolate throughout the journey up and back through Tracy Arm.

I was glad to see that the flat screens in the room are much larger than I had thought. We had a standard Aloha deck balcony cabin. It was also a nice touch that they played reruns of the Office, 30 Rock and 2 and a Half Men during the cruise. That helped when relaxing after the long excursion days.

They also played a lot of episodes of the Love Boat and we got a huge kick out of watching those while we were cruising on Princess.

There was still some construction going on in a few places on the ship, but it did not bother us in the least. Everything we needed was done and in first class condition.

I would write more but I am still unwinding and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. :(

Questions?

[Colo Cruiser]

Just got off the Golden yesterday in Seattle and will be glad to answer any questions. Richard was a great CD. Edward Perrin is the Captain (at least on our cruise he was)

We loved the ship and thought it looked fantastic in all regards. We thought the food was very good (did not eat dinner in the MDR for various reasons but enjoyed the breakfast in there very much)

The Horizon Court was actually layed out very nice once you got the hang of it. We never had a problem finding a seat and the staff was extremely attentive to all of our needs. They always brought beverages to us and cleaned up immediately as we finished a plate, but did not make us feel rushed.

The casino machines were fairly loose. I came out about 200 dollars to the good and did not spend a lot of time in there.

We checked out the Magician in the Princess theater one night. He was good but not very original. To be honest, his "assistant" danced like she was fresh out of a gentlemens club, but hey, that didnt bother me at all!

:D

I thought there were plenty of things to keep you busy when you werent in port. And the annoucements for bingo and art auctions were brief and to the point.

We had FANTASTIC weather all week long and I hope this week's guests will find it the way we left it.

We got all the way into Tracy Arm Fjord, and honestly, I thought it was more spectacular than Glacier Bay. I was very pleasantly surprised at how amazing it was. The water was a mirror and the reflections of the mountains was breathtaking.

We got as close as a ship can get to the Glacier. The Naturalists and the Captain both announced that they had never seen Tracy Arm like this. The skies were crystal clear blue and the sun warmed the ship up very nicely.

They provided hot chocolate throughout the journey up and back through Tracy Arm.

I was glad to see that the flat screens in the room are much larger than I had thought. We had a standard Aloha deck balcony cabin. It was also a nice touch that they played reruns of the Office, 30 Rock and 2 and a Half Men during the cruise. That helped when relaxing after the long excursion days.

They also played a lot of episodes of the Love Boat and we got a huge kick out of watching those while we were cruising on Princess.

There was still some construction going on in a few places on the ship, but it did not bother us in the least. Everything we needed was done and in first class condition.

I would write more but I am still unwinding and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. :(

Questions?

 

 

Sounds great thanks for the comments.

[Colo Cruiser]

Observations so far

 

- no live music or pipped in music for sailaway :( even if they would of had a concert or something on the MUTS would of been nice

- Comedian last night was Jim Mcdonald - monologue is a little dry but his slide show at the end is hilarious (we saw him last Jan on the Grand)

- Our cabin steward is certainly not up to our usual standard, but we are hoping it was just because of a busy day yesterday.

- the Captain is now Captain Foster

- We dined in the Donatelo Dining room last night at around 7:40 pm at a table of 10 no wait at all and meal was very good - I had the prime rib

- Naturalist is Michael Modzelewski - sounds interesting but well if you ever see him you will know what I am talking about

- Chris May is the pianist in the Promenade Lounge

- No 2 for 1 coffee card coupon! Thought this was now avail. But not that I can find.

- Richard Joseph is our CD

- Production show tonight is Cinematastic and the comedian Jim McDonald is back with a different show. Both of these shows will be on tonight and tomorrow to enable all to see

- Movies today are Yes Man and Iron Man

- Odyssey is the band playing in Explorers Lounge

- Naturalist has a lecture today called "Alaska The Last Frontier" at 2 pm

- Port and Shopping show is 10

- No Computer at sea class, or at least not that i have seen

- Wine tasting today

- suites are not done in either area but I am going to talk to some people and see what I can do.

- Crown Grill is not open yet either but is suppose to open before the end of the cruise

- Weather is lovely, a little cool and breezy but no rain

- Tonight is formal night and the champagne waterfall (which is happening at 7:30 instead of the 11:30 I have experienced on warmer sailings)

 

Off to the coffee bar for my latte (those who know me know that is where I hang :eek:)

 

 

Hi Vickie, just wondering about the Captain, they have Captain Foster listed as the Staff Captain on the Princess website Golden photos. Is he in fact the Captain now? Thanks

[KansasScrapper]

Just got off the Golden yesterday in Seattle and will be glad to answer any questions. Richard was a great CD. Edward Perrin is the Captain (at least on our cruise he was)

We loved the ship and thought it looked fantastic in all regards. We thought the food was very good (did not eat dinner in the MDR for various reasons but enjoyed the breakfast in there very much)

The Horizon Court was actually layed out very nice once you got the hang of it. We never had a problem finding a seat and the staff was extremely attentive to all of our needs. They always brought beverages to us and cleaned up immediately as we finished a plate, but did not make us feel rushed.

The casino machines were fairly loose. I came out about 200 dollars to the good and did not spend a lot of time in there.

We checked out the Magician in the Princess theater one night. He was good but not very original. To be honest, his "assistant" danced like she was fresh out of a gentlemens club, but hey, that didnt bother me at all!

:D

I thought there were plenty of things to keep you busy when you werent in port. And the annoucements for bingo and art auctions were brief and to the point.

We had FANTASTIC weather all week long and I hope this week's guests will find it the way we left it.

We got all the way into Tracy Arm Fjord, and honestly, I thought it was more spectacular than Glacier Bay. I was very pleasantly surprised at how amazing it was. The water was a mirror and the reflections of the mountains was breathtaking.

We got as close as a ship can get to the Glacier. The Naturalists and the Captain both announced that they had never seen Tracy Arm like this. The skies were crystal clear blue and the sun warmed the ship up very nicely.

They provided hot chocolate throughout the journey up and back through Tracy Arm.

I was glad to see that the flat screens in the room are much larger than I had thought. We had a standard Aloha deck balcony cabin. It was also a nice touch that they played reruns of the Office, 30 Rock and 2 and a Half Men during the cruise. That helped when relaxing after the long excursion days.

They also played a lot of episodes of the Love Boat and we got a huge kick out of watching those while we were cruising on Princess.

There was still some construction going on in a few places on the ship, but it did not bother us in the least. Everything we needed was done and in first class condition.

I would write more but I am still unwinding and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. :(

Questions?

 

 

Would you be willing to post the Princess Patters??? Did they do port photos? Nightly causal & formal photos??

[CruisinNoob]

We're cruising on the Golden on May 30th and I have a couple of newbie questions since this is our first time cruising with Princess.

 

(1) I've heard they've put flat screen TVs on the Golden during the drydock. Do these TVs have any inputs so you can hook up a portable DVD player? I was thinking of bringing one.

 

(2) We'll be staying on the E deck in a room with overhead bunks. Does anyone know how these are set up? My wife is pregnant and we'll be travelling with our four year old, and I'm trying to figure out who will sleep where.

 

Thanks in advance if anyone knows!

 

- Alex

[chris2597]

We're cruising on the Golden on May 30th and I have a couple of newbie questions since this is our first time cruising with Princess.

 

(1) I've heard they've put flat screen TVs on the Golden during the drydock. Do these TVs have any inputs so you can hook up a portable DVD player? I was thinking of bringing one.

 

(2) We'll be staying on the E deck in a room with overhead bunks. Does anyone know how these are set up? My wife is pregnant and we'll be travelling with our four year old, and I'm trying to figure out who will sleep where.

 

Thanks in advance if anyone knows!

 

- Alex

 

 

 

 

 

CruisinNoob (Alex) Be sure to go to the Roll Call for the May 30th Ak Golden. We have a roll call and a Meet and Mingle planned.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=920590

 

 

To answer your question....DH and I have sailed on the Grand twice and I think the cabins are pretty much identical. We sailed with our DD on one of the trip and had bunks. The twin beds on the floor can be turned into a queen or put against the wall to make 2 twins. There is a slot on the upper side of the wall where the bunks are pulled down. The bunks have a short rail around and a ladder. Most 4 yr olds will be fine sleeping on the upper bunk, while others may have problems with the fall factor. You could have the 2 lower beds put together and if there was a fall it would be onto the bed.

 

Hope you join our Roll Call. Meet and Greets are fun.

[P.A.]

Hello and thanks for the"live" feed! We are booking an Alaska (our 2nd) cruise today on the Golden. We won't be going until Jun of next year though!

 

From what I understand, there hasn't been much remodeling to the cabins (other than the suites), just curious why? We'll be in a BC balcony category (Baja deck, mid-aft). Maybe new TV's, not sure. Could you find out about that please?

 

I'm curious if the food is still as good. I've only been on Princess twice, both times, Caribbean Princess.

 

Also not sure if your itinerary includes Victoria or not, but ours does but for some reason, it's not there until like 9pm. Is that how it is with yours? IMHO I would rather see Victoria in the day time!

 

Thank you for any info you can provide! Have fun!

[NancyIL]

 

Also not sure if your itinerary includes Victoria or not, but ours does but for some reason, it's not there until like 9pm. Is that how it is with yours? IMHO I would rather see Victoria in the day time!

 

 

This year's Golden Princess is in Victoria from 7 p.m. until midnight. Cruise ships that do roundtrips from Seattle have to visit a Canadian port, and most make a short stop in the evening in Victoria. (A few go to Prince Rupert instead.)

[ivielane2]

We were on this cruise also. I agree with eveything that has been said about this ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL cruise. We have nothing but positive comments regarding eveything about the cruise. We had anytime dining for the 4 of us and had a great table in the corner by the window. We enjoyed it so much we made 5:45 reservations each night for that same table. Our waitress was wonderful. All the hub bub about Pier 91 being so disorganized was all for not! We got to the pier via Princess Transfers. There was a long long line of passengers but there have been just as long a line in San Francisco when we have sailed out of there. Disembarking was absolutely painless. Except a short while after we left the pier, the bus brakes started smoking and we were put on another bus that they had called, only a very short wait for the replacement bus. That is another good reason to get a plane late in the afternoon. Our plane reservations were not till 4:00 P.M. We will do Alaska again in a heart beat......... Doing Tracy Arm was absolutely beautiful as the weather was fantastic.

[emmysmom]

Thanks so much for posting these live updates ~ I love reading about this wonderful ship ~ makes me feel like I am cruising right along with you! :D

 

On our cruises on the Diamond, we did anytime dining and it was recommended to make reservations. :confused: Are they still recommending that this be done on the Golden?

 

Have a great cruise!

[cruisingready]

We will be on the Golden in July and can't wait to see her. Thanks for all the info

[wizard-of-roz]

We will be on the Golden in July and can't wait to see her. Thanks for all the info

 

I expect a full report!

[NancyIL]

Thanks so much for posting these live updates ~ I love reading about this wonderful ship ~ makes me feel like I am cruising right along with you! :D

 

On our cruises on the Diamond, we did anytime dining and it was recommended to make reservations. :confused: Are they still recommending that this be done on the Golden?

 

Have a great cruise!

 

We had Anytime Dining on the Coral Princess in Alaska, and we joined different people for dinner each night. If you want a table just for your group, you might want to make a reservation. If you're willing to sit with others, you shouldn't need to.

[wallslo]

how was the disembarkation??? We have a flight at 11:30 out of Seatac.

 

Thanks

[Colo Cruiser]

we're cruising on the golden on may 30th and i have a couple of newbie questions since this is our first time cruising with princess.

 

(1) i've heard they've put flat screen tvs on the golden during the drydock. Do these tvs have any inputs so you can hook up a portable dvd player? I was thinking of bringing one.

 

there is a full aray of jacks on the back but they are a bear to reach. The screen is about 20-22 inches.

 

(2) we'll be staying on the e deck in a room with overhead bunks. Does anyone know how these are set up? My wife is pregnant and we'll be travelling with our four year old, and i'm trying to figure out who will sleep where.

 

a bunk(s) will come out of the wall or ceiling and is closed up during the day.

 

thanks in advance if anyone knows!

 

- alex

 

:) :)