David Rosenberg

Age: 37
Occupation: Physician
Number of Cruises: 5
Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Ship: Golden Princess
Sailing Date: November 24th, 2001
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean

It has been a few weeks since my cruise on the Golden Princess. I went with my girlfriend, and again with my parents. I drove to Florida from Georgia. Atlanta had some weather delays Friday before the cruise and I felt better in not having to deal with the stress of cancelled flights in Atlanta. The lesson here is to try to fly out a day or two prior to disembarking. The people in the cabin next to us were taking their 85-year-old father on his first cruise. He had been looking forward to the cruise for a year. Princess would not fly the father to their airport 90 miles away so they could then fly together. Delays in Atlanta resulted in the father's flight being cancelled. I don't fault Princess and believe the people should have driven the 90 miles to pick up the father and bring him back to all fly together.

I believe the cruise companies were feeling the pinch from 9/11. At about $500 a person for this cruise I was not surprised to see they had apparently cut back some when compared to my earlier cruise this year on the Grand. All in all we made the best of this cruise and as always we enjoyed ourselves. Princess is still the best value and nicest ships for those who vacation like me.

We were disappointed in the aerobics and exercise programs. They did not offer the cruisercise bucks on this cruise. This was a program where they gave you monopoly money for working out. At the end of the cruise you could spend the money in the gift shop for items with Princess on it, like tee shirts. In addition they had filled the workout room with spinning bikes. The spinning classes had a charge associated with them, about $10 a class. Also they were now charging about the same for kickboxing classes and yoga classes. The classes were limited. Additional exercise programs and games such as daily walk around the ship and exercise competitions were no longer available. The downside was I gained weight this trip. The upside was that I found other enjoyable offerings on the ship besides exercising.

Some other passengers and we were disappointed and frustrated with personal choice dining. We were placed in personal choice when we requested second seating traditional cruise dining. Don't wait in the long line the first day of the cruise to change things if you receive the unwanted personal choice. Just show up at second seating on the first day, the dining room will be empty, trust me. We were dumb and did not do this. We waited in line an hour for a Godfatheresque style meeting with dining room manager. I felt like the character Luca Brasi rehearsing reasons they should change my seating while waiting in line to see the "Don". I even offered a very good bribe to no avail. The bottom line is, learn to say "I love personal choice dining" with a smile. Repeat it a couple of times, it will grow on you.

Personal choice doesn't really exist. I believe there is an underlying plot to change to this new dining plan to take away our choices. I am sure this feeling has nothing to do with my paranoia. Let me try to explain. My personal choice was to have second seating traditional dining for my dining experience on board. Why was I so adamant on eating second seating? First, I wanted the same waiter and assistant for my entire cruise. Look, in general, the wait staff is not happy with this change. They seem overworked and lacked any reason to treat you any better then you would be treated at your local Chinese buffet. It is not that the Chinese are not pleasant people, but they want you in and out quickly. The wait staff had to turn tables quicker, never got to know their diners, and never had the incentive of earning a greater tip then is being charged to "you" at the end of your cruise. This tip is automatic, a no-brainer. All the waiters get paid the same now. Those waiters at regular cruise seating do not work as hard, have better relationships with their diners over the course of the cruise and hence have a better chance at getting additional tips. Why? There are only two seatings in traditional dining and sometimes people don't show for dinner, giving the waiters a bit of a break.

My experience with one day of personal choice dining was awful (to me) for many reasons. First, I brought my own wine and the waiter, prior to doing anything else, ran to charge me the $10 corking fee. He was correct to do so, but this would have not happened in regular dining. There is a give and take relationship that builds and plays out over the cruise with your wait staff. The waiter may chose not to charge the $10 in hopes of making the money back later in some way such as increased cocktail sales or additional tips. Second, my waiters in personal choice were rushed and not as attentive as for my preferences I would have liked. The waiters were not given tables of diners in a way that would allow them some recovery time to give personal attention. On the other hand, my waiters in second dining built a relationship with us. They did not charge me a corking fee for the specialty wines I brought on board with me. I then as a result bought more of their alcohol and wine then I normally would have over the course of the cruise. My waiters in traditional dining made more in tips from us in the long run.

Personal choice allows you to go to dinner at any time you want during the offering hours of usually from 5 to 10 PM. Keep in mind you may have to wait at peak dining times for the table of your choice especially if there are only two of you. You may never know who you will be seated with each evening (good and bad). Who you walk into the dining room with may become your companions for dinner. This would be a great strategy for a single person looking to eat with that special other. Plan your entrance to the dining area right behind that person. Personal choice allows you to choose from the dining room, one of the other specialty restaurants (may come with an additional charge), the buffet and room service. Keep in mind that in traditional seating you always had to the choice to eat in the buffet or in your room whenever you wanted. Don't quote me, but I think they are trying to get rid of traditional dining. I am a purist when it comes to cruising (when it suits me) and I will surely miss it if it goes. Keep in mind that you may not have a "personal choice" if you chose traditional dining, and they don't give it to you.

All that said, I think they may have in mind getting rid of 24-hour food, like on Celebrity. They had a questionnaire on their web site asking questions about cruisers preferences for dining options. Please note that the announcement that Princess will acquire Royal Caribbean was made while we were on our cruise. What this means for cruisers will evolve over the next few years. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to be able to board the Golden (and any other Princess ship) and get a wonderful lunch meal in the buffet, something that is not offered on Celebrity. I have learned that the quality of food on board is dependent on the port of embarkation and the quality of the individual cruise ship's kitchen on any given day. The fruits and vegetables on board leaving from Puerto Rico in general is not as good or fresh as when leaving from a Florida port being these items are first imported to Puerto Rico. The kitchen's team and wait staff on the Grand, my last trip, was better in my opinion than those on board the Golden. Keep in mind that teams and individuals switch ships all the time especially when they take the best from other ships to start a new ship. The overall quality of the food and choices offered on this cruise was above average. There were a few more disappointing dishes than I would have expected, but there was always another dish to chose from to make up for a bad dish. I was not sure weather this was because of cut backs or the ability of the kitchen. As I have said before, you can always have a great meal on board a Princess ship. They have a reasonably priced wine list with some really good wines. May I suggest the Baron D'Oro, a Spanish red about $26? It is an awesome red wine for the beginner and experienced drinker. They also offer a reserve list, which was also reasonable. I suggest you call or email Princess and ask them to send or fax you an example of the actual list or previous lists. I was disappointed in their practice of pre-selling wine. I figured they would have to make up for the low cruise costs so I dealt with this intrusion. The deck staffs were also a bit pushier than I was accustomed to when it came to selling alcohol. Again, I think they were trying to increase revenues and a simple "no thank you" always worked.

As always, we enjoyed the hot tubs between 5PM and 7PM. On a ship with 3000 people I am always surprised when we are the only ones enjoying this relaxing time on the back of the boat while watching the sun set. Sometimes we go up to the buffet and get snacks and drinks to enjoy while hanging out in the hot tub. The tubs were actually hot this trip. I am always concerned about the cleanliness of these pools, but the bottom line is we survived nevertheless.

It was Thanksgiving and there were a bunch of Kids on board. All in all they were very well behaved and for most of the time pretty out of site and hence out of mind. The back pool is reserved for adults. The middle pools developed their own character throughout the cruise as people found their favorite. Depending on what you would consider the best lounge chairs there were times that they were all taken and other times when you could get a seat. Remember it is a big boat and having to find a new spot may not be all-bad, especially if you are a guy and happened to find the topless deck on your trek to find a lounge chair. My dad actually found the topless deck, not on the Golden, but he had my binoculars and scoped out the Carnival boat at one of the ports. There was a golf putting deck on board, but it is not like putt-putt. Because it was not like miniature golf I say it was not designed well. However it was fun for a time or two during the cruise. We never got to try it with some alcohol in us, but I believe, in that state, it would have been more fun.

There was a Captain's cocktail party. They did a great job on this. Lots of drinks (free) and appetizers. Lots of people too. I was excitedly surprised. There was a time when the Captain's cocktail party was held in a small room somewhere. This one was held midship around one of the pools. I give Kudos to Princess on this one. The Captain made the announcement about Princess getting Royal Caribbean during the party.

I think, post 9/11, there was an overall different feeling on board. I noticed that there were more men who opted not to wear tuxedos on formal nights than I had ever noticed before. It may be a trend but it felt weird. My dad and I decided on dark suits for this trip and it seems many other guys did also. I wonder if the other guys couldn't fit into their tuxedos also? Although there were a lot less tuxedos, it was still great to see everyone all dressed up.

Smoking is still a problem on Princess. I always get a bunch of email from smokers who don't like to hear how unhealthy and rude their habit is, but this time I'd appreciate them saving their email and rationalizations for someone who cares. We discovered the card room this trip and spent a few evenings there as a family. This was a very enjoyable room stocked with hundreds of decks of cards and many games. On most nights we were accompanied by 4 older people from Italy at the next table. There were never many people in this beautiful room. One afternoon we entered to find a group of 20-year-olds and what appeared to be parents playing cards. One of the Kids was smoking a cigar. Please keep in mind that the rights of smokers always trump those of nonsmokers on board (pun intended). This time, because it was a cigar and not a cigarette, a crew person went and made the kid put out the cigar. The kid's response was, "I never saw a card room where you could not smoke." When you think about it, it is sad that people still think this way. Anyway, the card room is supposed to be nonsmoking and cigars are banned inside the ship, especially if someone complains. Princess appeared to separate the sides of the ship into smoking and nonsmoking by only placing ash trays on one side, but it is not enforced and smokers will smoke anywhere regardless of rules. When my parents first walked into their room it smelled as if someone had just put out a cigarette. The crew made attempts to "clean" the room, however we insisted on having the room changed. The crew was very accommodating given the situation.

I was angered to see people requesting ash trays put in their rooms. Not only was I disgusted by this request, but also so were the stewards who have to clean these rooms. Their hands are tied though. It only takes one smoker to ruin the cleanliness of a small room creating problems for everyone that follows them. The smoking problem on the ship was enough to convince me to try the Carnival's nonsmoking ship for our next cruise.

The art auction was, as always, interesting. We spent a bit of time there watching the goings on. One funny note happened when they tried to auction a piece of religious Jewish art. The way they do the auction, anytime a piece is brought up for a second time for auction, they start bidding about $20 above the price that was paid for the same piece that sold earlier in the cruise. My girlfriend is new to the Jewish community, but she is a quick study. When the auctioneer put up the piece he stated it was sold earlier in the cruise for less than it would be auctioned for this time. When the piece did not sell, my girlfriend noted that this was no surprise to her. When my Mom inquired how she knew the piece would not sell, my girlfriend said, "What Jewish person would buy anything that they knew someone else bought for less earlier? The guy should have put it up for auction with out the explanation about it selling for less earlier on the cruise." We still laugh about this…

The entertainment was the same as when we were on the Grand earlier in the year. Like the kitchens crew and wait staff, the entertainment crew also rotates ships. The dancers, actors and comedians were wonderful and much the same. It amazes me that they have such a great range of talent. The few actors on board do all the shows. Even if you may not think the show was great, you have to be impressed with what goes into putting on all of the shows they put on day after day. If you don't like the show, get up discretely and go find something else to do. No problem. The actors are mostly young, think of them as your children or a friend's child and you will enjoy the shows even more.

As far as ports of call, I have some things to say. They sent us to Nassau instead of Princess Cays. Nassau is trying to recapture the cruise ship market. It was a pleasant stop. No great shopping bargains. The Straw market is now in a big tent like building. Most of the stuff sold is made in china. It takes 10 seconds to walk in and 10 minutes to try to escape. It seem like it is a developing tourist trap, but pleasant to just walk around.

St Thomas, in my opinion, was the worst I had ever seen it. A majority of the shops have become overly aggressive to the point of ridiculous. The change in the economy has made them even more aggressive. The bargains in St. Thomas are no longer existent and have not been for years. My recommendation is to save the $5 per person cab ride and wasted time going into town. Use this money to rent a car at Budget at the docks. You must reserve prior to going on your cruise which is easy to do on line or with your agent, about $30 - $60 for the day. Take the rental car and explore the Island and beaches. Stay away from the shopping area in town unless this is your first time to St. Thomas and you are the kind of person who likes to learn on your own. Maybe the people on the island will learn their lesson? Actually, most shop owners in town are not islanders. You'd find these same shop owners and products in New York City and the products probably for less.

If you want to shop, my recommendation would be St. Martin/ St. Maarten. I love that Island. You can still find some good deals if you know what you are doing. Deals can be had on liqueur on the Dutch side and on perfumes on both sides. Don't buy electronics anywhere on your cruise. You will always do better in the states or on the Internet and it will be safer.

One problem is that because the cruise ships leave early, you cannot enjoy a meal at one of the wonderful French Restaurants, as the best are not open until dinner. See my previous posts for lunch ideas on the French side. We rented a car for about $30 for the day. I used Adventure Car Rental and was very satisfied. We received a nice car for $32. Reserve you car on the net. When you get to the dock, walk out towards the main road and mountain outside the most distant gates of the dock. The driver will be waiting for you there to take you to the rental place to get your car. Stay away from the rental places where the busses are right after you get off the boat and don't ask those guys for information because they will lie to you. The best part of the rental experience, according to my father, is meeting the nice young lady working there whose father owns the operation. Buy your gas anywhere as the price is high everywhere.

We went back to the same hut on the water on the French side we went to our last cruise. There are a number of little shacks in this area of Grande Case Beach, but we go to the one on the water that is on your right when facing the water. What a blast. We had blood sausage, conch sausage, fried fish, ribs and for only a few bucks a person.

We found some great 1/2 price deals on Kosta Boda crystal. We found great deals on perfume. We were not hassled and the people were in general extremely welcoming and friendly. The beaches were beautiful.

Shopping on board was pleasurable. I did not mention it earlier but I purchased a signed piece of glass from the on board store for 1/2 price, a savings of over $200. When the ship changes itineraries it usually sells off old merchandise and the Golden was coming off a European stint. I got some Versace China for 1/2 off and I did not have to pay taxes. You can buy your liquor on board at very good prices especially at the end of the cruise. When you do this you may pay a dollar or two more than on the islands if you were to find the best deals. However, you don't have to schlep around all those bottles and you have more time to waste your money on other things on the islands.

To sum things up, this was another wonderful Princess Cruise. The boat was large, but manageable. The dining was very good. St. Martin was as always awesome. St Thomas was a shopping nightmare. We enjoyed traditional dining as well as all the other things we had not done on previous cruises. We are looking forward to our next cruise, probably a non-smoking ship or maybe a smaller ship.

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