Leland and Yvonne Garner

Age: 51
Occupation: US Postal Service
Number of Cruises: 14
Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Ship: Golden Princess
Sailing Date: November 24th, 2001
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean

Our cruise vacation on the Golden Princess marked the fourteenth cruise for my wife and I. The reason we hadn’t cruised before is because we just didn’t know what we were missing. We were persuaded by a friend to give it a try and we were hooked! We had the time of our lives and we now try to go at least once a year. We’ve also learned that it’s not as expensive as we once thought. We simply make plans a year in advance and after making our deposit we have ten months to save up the remaining amount due. The last two months before the cruise we save up our spending money. By the time we actually embark, our entire vacation is paid for. Also there are no credit card bills when we get home. Now isn’t that a nice thought!

Embarkation

Before actually talking about our embarkation I’d like to mention the pre-cruise documents. Even before you receive your tickets you will get a package called pre-cruise documents. In this package is a lot of valuable information about the cruise, the excursions and things you should know. The thing that impressed me most was the fact that with your booking ID number you can use your computer to access the Princess Cruises website and enter all of your information, order your excursions, arrange for a shipboard spending account and even request a wheelchair if needed. Speaking of wheelchairs, on this cruise my wife had to use a wheelchair because she was recovering from a knee operation and the service provided by the crew for those that are handicapped was excellent. Their great service made the embarkation smooth as silk!

The Ship

The Golden Princess is one of the most beautiful ships I’ve ever seen. When you first see her at the port of embarkation the crowded docks won’t give her justice. You’ll see her true beauty when you see her sitting in the blue and turquoise waters while being anchored just off the coast of one of the Caribbean islands. That’s when you’ll see that she truly is a princess all dressed in white as if adorned for her wedding.

The front or bow of the ship looks like the nose of a dolphin and the rear or stern has a giant tailfin that holds the disco in the sky called Skywalker’s. The part of the ship that from a distance looks like the mouth of a dolphin is actually a covered walkway that goes all the way around the front. There’s something special about being able to lean over the rail at the foremost point of the ship and let the breeze blow thru your hair … well … I’m almost bald but you get the idea. To get to the walkway you’ll need to go to deck seven which is the Promenade Deck. Next, go outside then walk forward to some stairs that lead up to the next level.

The inside of the ship is not as appealing to me as the outside because I’ll admit there are others that are prettier. The colors on the Golden Princess seem to be a little subdued which makes it more elegant but I personally prefer brighter colors and bold designs.

Our stateroom was very nice and had plenty of room. We would have preferred a balcony room but couldn’t afford it at the time. We settled for an outside room with a large window. We seldom looked out the window so we should have saved the money and went with an inside room. If you prefer a very dark room while sleeping you should choose an inside room – you’ll not only sleep better because it’s darker but also because it’s cheaper. One thing concerning security that we noticed is when you leave your room you have to give the door an extra tug or it won’t close completely.

The dining rooms are nice but not very impressive. They tried to give it the feel of a smaller ship but one of the ways it was accomplished is by using smaller tables. It wasn’t a real problem but what made me notice it is that on most other ships the table setting starts with all the silverware needed for the whole meal. To compensate for the smaller tables the waiters had to bring silverware for each course of the meal.

The food was out of this world! It was really that good. There were plenty of interesting entrees to choose from. Remember that when you’re on a cruise is when you order things you wouldn’t normally order at a restaurant. If you don’t like it you can order something else. If you do like it guess what – second helpings are free! One night I ordered frog legs for the first time. They were very good and it’s true they do taste like chicken. The only problem was my wife kept whispering Ribbit! Ribbit! The food in the Horizon Court, which is the informal buffet, was very good but sometimes I didn’t know what I was eating. They even had a sushi bar. I personally would prefer to have the fancy foods in the dining room and just plain old good cooking on the buffet. How about some fried chicken?

The alternative restaurants are a great idea. For a change of pace you can make reservations and eat in a restaurant setting. On the Golden Princess there are two: Sabatini’s Italian Restaurant and The Desert Rose Mexican or Southwestern Restaurant. Many people love Sabatini’s but I’ll have to admit it just wasn’t my “cup of tea”. I’m a meat and potatoes kind of guy but this place is for the gourmet lover in you. Let me explain. After you order your entrée they bring little tastes of authentic Italian foods. Each little taste arrives about ten minutes apart for at least an hour before your entrée arrives. I suggest that you do experience Sabatini’s but my advice is to go with a group so there will be plenty of conversation between the little tastes, next make your reservation for lunch on a sea day rather than miss something in the evening and be sure to order the lobster. Also note that you will not only be charged for the meal but also for a tip for the waiter.

The Desert Rose never seemed to be crowded and that’s a shame because the food is great, the entertainment is great and it costs less, they didn’t even ask for an extra tip. The meal starts off with chips and salsa as you would expect from a Mexican restaurant but the steak was one of the best I’ve ever had. The price is only eight dollars and it includes a margarita. Sabatini’s had atmosphere but the Desert Rose had a great country band.

The Midnight Buffet is gone – what a shame. The Golden Princess didn’t even have a Gala Buffet where you come in and take pictures of the food display. Their answer for the Midnight Buffet is the fact that there is food available from room service and usually in the Horizon Court if you get hungry. Well duh! The Midnight Buffet is NOT because you’re hungry. Have you ever seen a hungry person on a cruise ship anyway? The Midnight Buffet is a tradition, something to look forward to just for topping off the perfect evening before retiring. It should be mostly desserts with lots and lots of chocolate. Lets hope they bring it back someday.

The AOL 24 Hour Internet Café is a great place to send email home to friends and family to let them know what a great time you’re having. You won’t do much surfing though because it costs fifty cents a minute. By the way it’s not really a café because no drinks are served but it is open twenty-four hours. Some of the other new ships have internet access in your stateroom for your laptop but the Golden Princess makes it available only in the “café”. Something you should know if you do use a computer is that the large prominent buttons in the center of the computer screens are for AOL users or for people who want to sign up for AOL. If a person clicked on the wrong button they could possibly enter their credit card number thinking it was for use of the computer when really they would be signing up for an AOL account whether they have a computer at home or not. The button you should click on is the small button at the bottom of the screen. AOL is great for people who are new to the internet and just don’t know any better.

The things that amazed me most about the Golden Princess are the swimming pools. There are four large pools. The adult only pool is on the very back of the ship. You can get out of the pool and look straight down at the water. The family pool that has most of the activity is on the top deck in the center and just beyond that is the indoor pool with a retractable glass ceiling. There’s also another pool in the front of the ship next to the gym. This pool has a pump at one end so you can get your exercise by swimming against the current rather than having to swim in circles. There are plenty of whirlpools and the pool areas are beautiful.

During our cruise the weather was great but there was also some pretty strong winds up on deck at times. This resulted in a little more rocking back and forth than I was accustomed to. It was almost as if the stabilizers were not working properly. Not enough to cause motion sickness but it would be good advice to bring along some seasick pills just incase. There had been a long tradition where the purser’s desk would give out Dramamine for free but that tradition is also gone. Now you have to pay.

The following is a list of things that I think need improvement. Even with these complaints we still had a great cruise and we recommend the Golden Princess for everyone. It’s just that with this information you can have an even more perfect cruise than we did.

1.  The daily schedule, which is named The Princess Patter, has some shortcomings. I thought it was interesting that most of the things that are emphasized are activities that cost money but important things like the hours for the dining room or the movies of the day were omitted.

2.  Most ships headed to the Caribbean keep the same time as the embarkation port. Princess however, changes one hour forward usually on the second day of the cruise. This wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact they didn’t announce it and it wasn’t emphasized in the daily schedule.

3.  The public announcements made by the captain and crew are often missed if you are in your room. The reason is that there are no speakers in your room that you can control. The speakers that are in your room are only used for emergencies. If you want to hear the regular public announcements you have to turn on your television and tune it to channel 35. If your television is off or if you’re watching another channel you miss the announcements.

4.  Wheelchair access throughout the ship is very good with one important exception. Wheelchair access in the main showroom is almost non-existent. If you’re in a wheelchair and want to watch the shows in the Rainbow Theater you have to go to the deck where the upper level is located and have someone push you up a rather steep L-shaped hallway. You can then watch the performance only from behind the last row at the very back of the theater. Also you need to be careful going back down the ramp because there’s a four-inch high metal ridge that looks like a speed bump about halfway down the ramp. We witnessed an elderly lady be thrown from her wheelchair because her husband didn’t see the “speed bump”.

5.  The design of the ship is such that to get to certain areas you have to be on the correct elevator. It’s not that much of a problem after you learn your way around but “to add insult to injury” the deck plans or little map of the ship they give you is useless. It is only a side view of the ship and not very detailed. For example the atrium is not even on the diagram. This little problem was the source of most of my frustrations but it’s something you can easily solve. The Princess brochure that’s available from your travel agent has excellent deck plans in it. Just cut the page out and bring it with you. If you forget, just sneak one from the Future Cruise Consultant on board.

6.  Personal Choice Dining is a great idea on the surface but in reality it’s not everything it’s “cracked-up” to be. When you make reservations for your cruise your travel agent will ask you if you want traditional dining for dinner or if you want personal choice. Once you make your choice it’s very difficult to change it. Most cruise ships today have what they call “open seating” for breakfast and lunch. What it means is that you just show up anytime you want to within a time period of a few hours. When you arrive at the door the dining room personnel will seat you where they want you to sit. Personal choice dining is for all practical purposes just “open seating” for dinner. Let me explain: It’s advertised that you can make a reservation for when you want to eat dinner that evening and you can even specify a certain table. The reality is that you can only make a reservation for when the dining room isn’t busy which is when the dining room first opens or later in the evening when there plenty of empty tables. If you want a specific table they will only hold it for you if you’re going to dine when the dining room first opens or shortly thereafter. Even if you have a reservation you still have to wait at the door until those in line in front of you, that just happened to show up, have been seated. Now I hate to “bad mouth” something that’s supposed to be so positive but I’m just “callin’m like I see’m”. While I’m on my soapbox please let me continue. Personal choice dining does solve what has been in the past a real problem. The way it used to be was that if you came back late from visiting the port, or more likely if you over slept while taking a nap your only choice for dinner was to eat from the buffet. Now with personal choice you can still have a nice restaurant style dinner when you’re running late or just want to finish a movie. Personal choice solves that problem but it also causes some problems that you may not be aware of:

A. When most of the ship’s passengers are divided into two groups and having dinner at a specified time it worked as a form of crowd control. You could easily get a seat in the theater because half of the passengers were having dinner.

B. There used to be a cocktail party to meet the captain for each group of passengers but now it’s logistically impractical.

C. If you don’t have the same waiter each evening you lose something that always made the cruise experience special.

D. Something that is even more special is the singing and dancing by the dining room personnel. This can only take place if everyone is ending the meal at the same time. With personal choice, people are coming and going all the time so the singing and dancing is gone along with an opportunity for some of your best cruise memories.

My opinion is that they should bring back traditional dining and just have an area of the dining room for those arriving late. Another idea is to have an alternative restaurant that doesn’t cost extra and doesn’t require reservations.

This concludes our very first cruise review. We hope this information along with my rants and raves can in some small way help you to have a perfect vacation.

Thanks to Tom Ogg for his CruiseReviews web site. Also be sure to read Tom and Mary’s page.

If anyone has any questions please feel free to email us.

Leland and Yvonne Garner

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