crochetcruise

Around 5.20 that afternoon, I was sitting in the sun studying my copy of the Princess Patter, which is something I do a lot. I don’t want to miss out on anything you know. I happened to turn it over to the back to have a read when I noticed that the Crab Shack was on tonight from 5.30 to 9.00pm Deck 14 Aft. This was the first and only time the Crab Shack was offered on this cruise. Well the shock it caused me when I saw it was real funny. I yelled out to James, while I punched him in the stomach. Poor guy was asleep and nearly fell off his lounger. The lady next to us couldn’t stop laughing.

 

You see while I was researching all I could on Princess everyone commented on the Crab Shack and said not to miss it. Apparently the meal would be wonderful. So after James snapped at me for hurting him, he told me to see if we can make a booking. I rushed on over and sure enough there was only one table available that night. But the problem was it was only at 5.30pm. And it was now 5.31pm. I told them I would have to go and tell hubby and rush off to our cabin to get changed. He said “why do you need to change. What you are wearing is ok.” So we didn’t have to get all dolled up to go to the Crab Shack which was at the back of the Horizon Court where we have never sat before.

 

 

Once seated, we had a lovely waitress from Russia who looked after us for the evening. The meal was $25 per person and like I said earlier it’s only on for one night on this cruise and there was no advertising for it except on the back of Princess Patter. And it wasn’t really an advertisement just added to the Dining Guide on the back of the Patter.

 

First we started with Popcorn Shrimp and Hush Puppies in a basket with dipping sauce. This tasted OK. 2nd course was Manhattan clam chowder and again this was OK. Main course we chose The Golden Mixed Steamer – two huge and I mean huge bowls of all sorts of seafood such as king crab, crab cluster jumbo shrimp, crab legs, lobster legs, clams, mussels, corn and new potatoes. Again this was OK. Dessert was brought to us on a trolley with a selection of Gateaux and tarts from the Pastry Shop and they were yummy.

 

 

Now I am guessing you are asking why I don’t sound overly wrapped with the food. You see I don’t really like seafood. I will have some flake or fish cooked in batter when we travel to the seaside. But having a whole meal just devoted to seafood is not my cup of tea. On the other hand, dear James loves seafood and every evening we went to the dining room for dinner he had seafood. I knew he would love the Crab Shack. Turns out he did like the seafood but he thought some of it was a bit dry. A man on the table next to us asked us what we thought of the seafood and he also reckoned it was dry. I hate to say something bad about Princess Cruises but I think they need to improve the quality of the seafood they serve at the Crab Shack.

 

Another thing I guess you are asking is why someone who doesn’t like seafood would rush over to the Crab Shack for dinner. Well as the good wifey that I am I did this for James. I knew he would love dinner here.

 

Before we tucked into the main course they brought around aprons for us to wear and then the ships photographers suddenly appeared and guess what? We had to have our photo taken much to James’s horror. Smiles.

 

 

After an alright meal we moved back to the MUTS area and sat around watching the James Bond movie - Spectre

 

When we returned to our cabin we found this waiting for us:

 

 

Night All

THANK YOU! I was searching for an Australian price for the Crab Shack. I'm not sure whether it'll be on my 3 night cruise, but thanks to you, I know to have $25 "reserved" ready in case it is offered.

Thoroughly enjoying your review and photos. Noted to CAREFULLY AND THOROUGHLY read my Patter daily!

The blue card holder was probably in a suite. We had a suite for our very first Princess cruise to Alaska. It does happen!

I will be both a Blue Card holder, and the occupant of a Suite when I sail. My friend from Boston was told about the Handicapped Accessible Window Suite, and handed the phone to ring me and let me know, with the demand, "If it's too expensive for you to upgrade from a Balcony Stateroom, let me know, and I'll send over the difference for you to upgrade to the Window Suite!" I checked it out, only AUD$500 variation, so only $20 a fortnight extra, quite doable!

8 payments to finalise my Cruise Fare, and another 6 to organise On Board Spending. I want to have this finalised a clear calendar month before I sail, so no nasty surprises!

I've already told the 2 friends who are sailing on the same cruise-no PES function for them, but I can and will organise Canapes so they can bring their choice of drink and join me in the Window Suite for a Pre Dinner Drink. As I will have attended the PES function, I'll probably be on a Mocktail for safety.

I can only speak to the Diamond. We just did the NZ/Aus cruise, and, yes, the PES lounge was held in Skywalker's. They did not check cards at the door.

Nice! Looking forward to November when I sail. My friends are both sailing separately in Inside Staterooms, 1's on the Plaza Deck, and the other's on Aloha deck, right near the bow, so leaving Sydney Harbour through the Heads and Bass Strait could be real interesting, I've heard they both can be a bit rough!

At least I have the option of walking around inside, rather than out on deck if it's rough-balance isn't my strongest point, and I don't want my cruise ruined through my own stupidity in ignoring a safety issue.

thanks so much for all the helpful answers. :D

Absolutely! I've made the decision to just purchase regular On Board Credits rather than specific Casino Credits.

I was thinking of putting the money I need for taxi fares in Melbourne into Casino Credits, but taking a designated purse might be easier for me-I find the taxi drivers here LOVE a customer who has the correct amount of money, even if it's $1 and $2 coins, which is how the AUD$ 1 & 2 comes. I'm always straight upfront with the taxi driver, explaining I have the budgeted amount in gold coins, is that acceptable? Never been declined, usually greeted with relief from the taxi driver, who's been caught with a large bill for a small fare too often, someone who is organised enough to have small change AND the correct amount, is VERY welcome! I've been taught by the owners of the taxi company I regularly use, that a good driver won't object to a handful of coins in payment of my fare-if any other THEIR drivers complains, they NEED to know! I am known among the taxi drivers for being organised with small change, there was much regret when I moved closer into town and no longer NEED to use the taxis as much.

I personally hope at least 1 Handicapped Accessible Vista Suite-the lowest classification, has been included on each of the new ships.

I have seen the deck plan of the Majestic Princess, and my only Suite Option would be a Penthouse, which, travelling solo, is expensive and way out of my price range. :(

With an aging population, the need for Handicapped Accessible staterooms will only continue to increase.

Just my personal opinion, others may think differently.

I have AUD$68.75 showing as On Board Credit. I received AUD$55 for my inconvenience when my original cruise was cancelled "For Operational Reasons" and there's an extra AUD$13.75, nearly the price of a Cocktail here in Australia, extra. Pretty certain it's from the TA, my cousins don't know my booking number, and to my knowledge, if they are gifting me On Board Credit, they would need this number. I am a Blue Card holder, so could be wildly wrong with the last presumption. 1 friend has already told me she's sending money over to me to take with me, "To Treat Yourself-Casino, Specialty Dining, Cocktails, Lotus Spa, Internet or Gift Services-YOU choose what you want. If you want to put a little bit towards paying for many different experiences rather than 1 Special Experience, that's your choice."

THANK YOU! I'm a newbie cruiser, have limited eyesight-technically Legally Blind, and was wondering how the food was presented. The labelling is MOST helpful to me, some things I recognise by sight, but anything unfamiliar, I'm puzzled.

228 days to sailing on the Golden Princess for me!

Here are some more pictures of my base walk around Mount Maunganui.

 

 

 

 

By the way, it pays to be friendly towards people and pause and exchange a quick word or two while out walking. You do learn a thing or two this way, just like me. While on the track, I noticed a man with a board with lots of flyers advertising tours etc. I spotted the one from KEWPIE CRUISES.

 

As usual, when I see a captive audience, I began a conversation with the poor man and told him I was doing a harbour cruise at 3pm with Kewpie Cruises. “No you’re not,” he said. “They have cancelled their cruise due to the storm last night causing damage to their boat.”

 

We were not having any luck with our organized harbour cruises. That was the second one called off.

 

So I had better hightail it back to the ship and inform dear grumpy hubby. I wonder if he is in a better mood. After the exhausting walk, especially with the humidity, I needed to replenish my body so I returned to the Golden by the wooden boardwalk along the beach front. There were people swimming in the bay. It looked so inviting. But I was on a mission to inform James of our cancelled plans and work out what to do after lunch. Should we climb the Mount?

 

I re boarded the Golden by way of Deck 5 and the aroma of food coming from the International Café stopped me in my tracks. James could wait I thought to myself as I lined up to get some lunch. While scoffing down a Tomato and mozzarella sandwich, I messaged James on Princess Messenger about the called off cruise. Surprise, Surprise but he finally texted me (the first time on this cruise mind you) and his words were “deck 15” - a man of few words.

 

So I headed up to deck 15. James was watching a special on Alaska on MUTS. He informed me that he had a lovely relaxing morning. He went for a swim and read his book in our cabin. And he was a lot happier. Horary! Must have needed a rest from silly old me! I do so much talking it would drive anyone a little nutty.

 

Once the show was over, we headed off the ship and walked into the Mount main shopping village. This was where I discovered something very unsettling. Will talk about this soon. After the walk we decided to get an ice-cream at the shop on the beachfront, just before the Salisbury wharf. It was very nice eating our delicious ice-cream while watching people enjoying the sunshine.

 

Here is a fact I learnt today:

 

Dd you know? The Princess Cruises seawitch logo first debuted in 1967. Prior to that, the Princess logo was a character with a sombrero painted on the stack due to Mexico-focused itineraries.

 

Now for that disturbing news. While at the shops, I decided to get some New Zealand cash out of an ATM machine. As usual, I always check my balance and got the shock of my life, when I realized I was missing $600. We rang our daughter in Australia who logged onto my bank website and sent us pictures of the account. There were about 7 entries in total all withdrawals for different amounts adding up to $645.70. As I am not really a big shopper when on holidays, I knew what I had spent and how much should be in my account.

 

We rang our bank back in Australia and the friendly man said that all these amounts were drawn against the Golden Princess. He informed us that they were not actually taken out of my account, but those funds were not available to draw against. So we felt a little better knowing that my account hadn’t been hacked into.

 

Now I understand that Princess Cruises, throughout the cruise will do dummy transactions to make sure you have enough funds to pay them. They were still doing these four days after we returned back to Australia and after they had taken the money that we owned them out of my account. It was a little nerve racking until they finally stopped doing these withdrawals.

 

We are not getting any younger and can not handle these sort of shocks, so we decided to call it a day and return to the Golden. I needed a drink.

Goodness that WOULD been scary. I was warned about this, and am organising a stand-alone account, so I have additional funds already budgeted and totally separate from my regular account. I will make sure the "ready notes and coins" are brought with me from my hometown-travel on a Saturday, and no chance to personally go to the bank while away, don't know about the access, so safer to take cash with me.

Thoroughly enjoying your review., 228 days to sailing for me, now back your review! :D

How do you picture yourself using that ocean view? Many OV rooms, especially those that have bunks for a third.fourth person, have the head of the bed under the window. You have to get up on your knees and kneel on the bed in front of the window to see out. If you have the twins separated, the night stands are in front of the window. Even if the beds are on the side wall, the majority of the OV rooms on Emerald Deck are obstructed in some way and your view will not be great. And the windows are too high to allow for a good view from the only chair if sitting by the window. Since you will want to be out on deck to see much more, and hear the naturalist telling you about the scenery and wildlife, I would spring for the accessible cabin. If you haven't sailed Princess before, the bathrooms have a step up into them and the showers are tiny. In an accessible room, there would be no step up and the shower would have a bench that folds down, and grab bars by the toilet.

You are talking about a cruise more than a year in advance. You do not know how Mom will be in a year. by then, she might have more issues that would require an accessible cabin, and there would not be any left. EM

I absolutely agree with booking an accessible cabin NOW! I use a rollator myself, an over the loo chair raiser, and grab rails near the loo and in the shower. I can manage with a lower loo as long as I have the grab rails to help me get safely to my feet.

My original cruise was booked 14 months out, was cancelled "For Operational Reasons" and I've ended up with an extra day aboard; AUD$55 in On Board Credit "For My Inconvenience" and a price reduction of AUD$35! I originally planned to book a Balcony Stateroom, but was told about the Handicapped Accessible Window Suite on the Golden Princess. It's only AUD$500 extra, and I get the Suite perks, and am 6 decks lower, so hopefully no seasickness!

It is much less stressful to book for a worst-case scenario, than try to change your booking.

Alaska is on my Win Lotto Bucket Cruise List. Enjoy your travels!

This will be covered - it is cut and dry accident on the ship. She had no pre-existing conditions about her wrist.

 

The things I wonder about is the person who has high blood pressure and is being treated for it and has a heart attack or someone with high cholesterol and has a heart issue. Or someone who falls and breaks something due to low blood sugar..... These are the tricky ones.....

I have multiple handicaps, some of which I am being treated/monitored for-Legal Blindness, Osteoporosis, Asthma. When I booked my cruise, I purchased International Travel Insurance the same day, the TA DIDN'T know that I needed it for an Australian Coastal Cruise, so I showed her the Princess Cruises brochure. I take the attitude-better to spend several hundred $$$ on insurance, than have to pay thousands of $$$$ and ruin any future chance of affording a cruise!

I disclosed all known medical conditions at that date, and if diagnosed with any new conditions, would disclose the new information and attempt to have them included, knowing it would be an extra cost. Peace of mind is priceless!

I'm in Australia. My On Board Credit pricing is 1.25 times the USD you'd pay. That is USD$100 value costs me AUD$125.

I've just looked up Salon Services and noted the AUD prices. I'll try to create a neat listing for you:

$ 83.00 45m Deep Cleanse Groom w/shave

$ 50.00 45m Exotic Hand Ritual w/manicure

$ 50.00 30m Express Shave

$ 55.00 50m Fire & Ice Manicure

$ 77.00 55m Fire & Ice Pedicure

$ 32.00 25m Frangipani Hair Scalp Ritual

$105.00 55m Pro Collagen Groom w/shave

$ 21.00 15m Repolish

$ 72.00 55m Sole Delite Foot ritual w/pedicure

$ 32.00 30m Traditional Manicure

$ 50.00 45m Traditional Pedicure

$ 50.00 30m 14 day No Chip Manicure

$ 65.00 45m 14 hay No Chip Pedicure

To the best of my knowledge, all details are copied correctly. HTH.

Fantastic,we are booked on Golden out of beijing (oct),cant wait,we also budget now for 2 cruises a year,this will be our 3rd cruise,all with princess and we are still learning the ropes.This time we will be out in the big wide world,instead of a pacific island cruise,quite scary actually.

I think you'll sail into Sydney, the day I embark for Melbourne 11/11/2016. Eagerly counting down the days!

To markandalan (hope I've remembered the name correctly, if not, my apologies.

Here are the 2016 Melbourne school terms, the Golden Princess is home ported in Melbourne, with only a few cruises from Sydney.

Term 1-01/29-04/06

Term 2-04/-27-07/01

Term 3-07/19-09/23

Term 4-10/10-12/16

Usually within a day or 2 for next year's date. HTH.

Below is a copy of my very long review of the Grand Princess for our December cruise. Please feel free to post any questions you may have. I would be more than happy to answer them if I can. Please note these are my opinions only -- I provided this cruise with an overall 3 out of 5 stars.

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We are a retired couple in our mid-fifties, early sixties that cruise often. This was our 20th cruise on Princess and our 48th cruise overall. We live in the Bay Area, much like a great majority of the others on this particular sailing.

 

EMBARKATION: Travel across the Bay Bridge to the pier in San Francisco was quick and easy in the late morning. Upon embarkation, we got in line inside the terminal and waited only a short period of time to get through the security line.

 

We took a couple of bottles of wine onboard, thus we were asked to join the short line to have these checked at another small table within the security area. This was also accomplished quickly and were in the preferred check in line in no time at all. Check in was also quick and efficient with the clerk being knowledgeable and friendly. After we were checked in, we were directed to the boarding area. The entire security and check in process only took about 20 minutes total followed by elite passenger embarkation that started just prior to noon.

 

We only took carry on luggage so unpacked quickly as soon as we boarded. We booked a cabin on the very aft of the port side on the Caribe deck and most everything looked to be ok. Our room steward greeted us shortly after we boarded and asked if there was anything else we needed. We headed down to the embarkation lunch in the main dining room. Oftentimes, the embarkation lunch in the main dining room is discouraged but we were greeted by a friendly host that seated us at a shared table for six without question.

 

We toured the ship a bit after lunch and soon it was time for the muster drill. Our station was in the Vista Lounge and noticed that all check in machines were functioning properly (unlike our drill on our last Princess cruise). The presentation started and ended on time so we were quickly back in our cabin to return our life jackets and start the cruise.

 

Because it started pouring outside, the sail away party was held in the centrum / piazza area by the cruise activities staff. We did not attend but noticed the hallways were very quiet throughout the remainder of the day. The sail away was delayed by a little over an hour and the captain came over the PA to notify us of the delay as well the sea conditions as we were leaving the Port of SF. We were warned that it would be rough sailing out and that was no lie. The halls were empty and there was a lot of creaks and knocks throughout the rather empty hallways. That night (and a few others) were so rough that it almost knocked us out of bed throughout the night and being in the very aft of the ship, lots of shaking of the cabin. I got many bruises from running into the handrail in the hallways so often. While there were not a lot of white caps during this cruise, the swells must have caused this type of movement which I liken to bouncing around in the ocean. Someone mentioned that the stability of the ship was affected when they removed Skywalkers but don't know if that is the case. I can only honestly say that is the least stable ship on which I have sailed. I've sailed on this itinerary many times before and in December before and this was worse than all the other times, possibly some of which was due to my cabin choice.

 

SHIP INFORMATION: I think the Grand is one of the older Princess ships in the fleet. Whereas we've sailed on several other ships, this would be my least favorite of all. The ship itself had some of what I would consider major design flaws, including the ventilation system, location of the casino, a lack of a central staircase leading to the passenger decks and did not feel very stable in the open ocean compared to other ships on which I have sailed in much rougher sea conditions. The whole ship creaked, knocked and shook quite a bit as already mentioned.

 

There were also some obvious maintenance issues and just an overall old and tired feeling in some of the public areas and at the very least, in our stateroom. The balcony edges, as well as the pipes and braces used to hold the pipes to the structure were broken, dented and/or rusted. There was a lot of paint dripped down onto the blue matting they use on the balcony with a lot of debris stuck within the small openings. This, in addition to the rust and railing dents, made the balcony way less appealing as it just felt filthy. It did appear that the above balconies were washed and ours caught the debris. The carpet near the balcony door was not secured so lifted up at the edges, the door itself would stick terribly on the tracks so it was nearly impossible to close the door all the way and our shower temperature control was broken. The latter two problems were fixed immediately upon reporting them and a follow up message was left on the phone to make sure they were fixed to our satisfaction, which they were. This was most appreciated!! Of note, the dial broke again on the last morning of the cruise so no hot water for our shower, whereas before it was fixed the first time, it was either burning hot or scalding hot. Our mini-fridge was not in working condition at first and had no cooler dial but seemed to work a bit better later during the cruise. Our room steward filled an additional ice bucket for us every day to keep our mini bar items chilled. He did this without our request so again, this was most appreciated.

 

Everything else was ok in our stateroom except for the sheets that were stained by the feet, that we hadn't noticed until later in the cruise. They weren't our stains, so this should never ever happen. One of the robes we also requested was quite stained, again, not our stains. They were laundered so not fresh stains but these should have never made it up to the passenger decks as such. The towels that were provided were fresh and clean each and every day.

 

There were several areas onboard that needed maintenance, such as the carpeting on the aft stairwell, the couches in the Wheelhouse Bar as well as some at the One5 and the ones outside the Explorers Lounge, some seats in the theater and the hot tubs throughout the ship. As mentioned, there were pipes that were supposed to be braced up against the structure of the ship but those had all broken free due to rust and painted over and rusted right through the coats of paint. So much rust down the length of the ship as far as the eye could see.

 

Some of the interior areas of the ship were extremely drafty and cold, including some parts of the main dining room and in the casino. Numerous passengers complained but they couldn't turn the air conditioning down or the whole ship would be affected.

 

The smoke from the casino oftentimes poured out into the surrounding areas such as by the purser's desk and at one of the entrances to the casino. One passenger was heard complaining as he booked a window suite and was plagued by the smell of smoke in his room. Unfortunately, they could do nothing for him as the ship was full. Lesson learned as I could also smell a strong odor of smoke while at the front desk tending to my paperwork.

 

The dining areas, including the Crown Grill, the MDRs, the International Café, Vines, Alfredos, the buffet and outdoor grill / pizza bar were all in good condition and looked well maintained. I especially loved the area in which they tucked the library.

 

The Internet Café was ok, but many of the stations had no computers -- so looks as though half of the stations were empty and there were oftentimes lines waiting to use one of the available PCs. The internet was slow but not the worst -- it did kick me off once and logged me onto some other account when I logged back in. I reported it but the staff member said he had not heard of this before. Not wanting to even risk using someone else's minutes, I logged completely out of that PC and logged onto another one under my own log in.

 

I loved the area in the shade just above the back pool. It was furnished with comfy outdoor furniture -- great place to sit and read a book or just relax. It was very underutilized in my opinion.

 

The wine cellars is tucked into a nice little corner and beautifully appointed but also underutilized.

 

SERVICE: Now, this is where this ship excelled -- the staff and crew. We had amongst the best service ever and always with a smile.

 

Our room steward was fabulous, seemed to anticipate our every need. He would drop everything to let us into our room if we were carrying plates or coffee back to our room. He should have never be put in the position of having stained sheets / robes for the passenger cabins, so do not fault him for this. He was never intrusive and just did an overall excellent job....one of the best we've had. He also reported those problems mentioned above to his supervisor and maintenance ... which were remedied quickly.

 

Bar service in both the Wheelhouse Bar, Crooners, the casino and the One5 were exceptional. We were never left thirsty wherever we went.

 

The service at the pub lunch in the Crown Grill, in the Main Dining Rooms, Alfredos, the International Café, the Trident Grill and the buffet was never anything but perfect. I was so impressed by their new service at the buffet, especially in the morning hours. They bring your egg order to your table to you (piping hot by the way) instead of you waiting in the food service area to reduce congestion. It really is one of the best improvements that could have been made on Princess. There were always plenty of waiters to make sure your coffee was filled and that you got juice with your breakfast. In the evening, the chef would do most everything possible to make sure he would provide something to your liking.

 

The only question I would have is why there were no turkey products available throughout the ship during the morning hours. Sometimes, they would offer me a special order of turkey sausage in the buffet but couldn't do it in the main dining room. They only had pork sausage and bacon available and this wasn't so on the Star Princess last month. Also, service was fabulous in Alfredos but would have liked to have a Caesar salad option available as well. The International Café staff was great and seemed to go above and beyond to make sure their patrons were happy and satisfied. The coffee bar oftentimes had long lines but somebody would come by to see if brewed coffee was requested to alleviate having to stand in line.

 

The maitre'D in the main dining room was also fabulous, as were the waiters and waitresses.

 

Room service was always quick and our order was always accurate. Very friendly room service staff onboard.

 

The front desk, photography and boutique staff was knowledgeable, friendly and efficient....just excellent all the way around. We started referring to the entire staff as the staff of 'yes' as we rarely heard the word 'no'. Even the pool attendants were friendly and attentive and were always busy cleaning something.

 

ACIVITIES AND ENTERTAINMENT: The cruise director and activities staff were energetic and talented. They organized a very fun deck party as well as entertainment in the Piazza. We missed some of the shows as they conflicted with our dinner schedule but did see the comedians and enjoyed those shows immensely. We have noticed they no longer schedule any hypnotist shows and always enjoyed those. We wish they would bring those back. For trivia lovers, this would be your trip -- seemed like they were held several times per day. They did get a little too intense for us as the groups were a bit too competitive, so we stopped going after a few times. Bingo and line dancing classes were also offered but we didn't attend those either but they both looked very popular.

 

There were also drawings and contests throughout the cruise adding to the fun. If there were lectures offered, we missed those.

 

What is nice, is there is an app that can be used to check on the activities for the day as well as an area to check your bill from your own device without using any internet minutes. NICE touch, Princess.

 

The bands throughout the ship, the piano player at Crooners and guitar player/singer offered a variety of music throughout the ship. We particularly liked the band that oftentimes played at the Wheelhouse bar. They did a great variety of music just for listening or for dancing.

 

The wine tasting was fun although they no longer provide one of those cute little shot glasses with it. This was certainly not a deal breaker for us.

 

The captain's club event was nice but the drinks they served were just ok. The white wine they served had actually turned a bit. I didn't think it was drinkable. The red wine was ok.

 

DINING: Beyond the excellent service, the food was anywhere from ok to excellent. Options for those that don't eat red meat were not as plentiful as on other cruises we've sailed on but did manage to find something somewhere onboard; sometimes better than other times. The pizza up on the pool deck was very good, maybe even better than that in Alfredos. The Trident Grill now has cooked chicken available rather than having you wait 10-15 minutes for this option. Additional items such as ribs, onion rings, chicken wings, etc are available after 6 PM for a casual style dinner. The items at the International Café are also very good for a small snack and we never found it hard to find a seat to enjoy it.

 

CABIN REVIEW: Our cabin was all the way aft on the Caribe deck. There was an extra little area on the balcony but not used. The balcony furniture was adequate but the balcony was rather unappealing as described above. The room was average with a couple of malfunctions that were quickly remedied. This was not a great room choice for an unstable ship. The curtains blocked out the light very well furniture was in good condition. The bed was ok but could have been softer, a pillow top was added to make it more comfortable. The tv worked well with a nice clear picture. There were plenty of drawers and shelves for storage. The closet is about half the size of the other Grand and Crown class ships but definitely adequate. The bathroom tiles and sink were in good condition and the air conditioning system worked well no noisy fans. We could feel the walls shake from slamming doors of surrounding cabins but otherwise was a quiet location.

 

ADDENDUM: While I forgot to add this to my original review, whomever is in charge of the public restrooms might take another look. The upkeep and monitoring was not at all apparent....certainly not a bragging point for Princess.

 

PORTS OF CALL: Since we only took one tour from Princess, this is the only one in which I will go in depth. We took the Cuyutlan Turtle Sanctuary and Salt Museum tour. This was definitely one of the best tours we've ever taken and was well worth our time and money while visiting Manzanillo. Our bus was air conditioned and quite comfortable with a tour guide that spoke English well. The turtle sanctuary was, of course, the highlight and we were lucky enough to each release our own recently hatched turtle into the ocean. The salt museum was interesting to us, but not so much by others. We finished the day with a fabulous lunch in a local restaurant, complete with frosty beers. An excellent day all the way around. We had time to tour the pier area which is now located down by the sailfish statue instead of by the container port so this was a plus.

 

We took a tour off the ship in Puerto Vallarta which was just ok but was then highlighted with a stop at the Tequila distillery in the Mismaloya area that was fantastic. We stopped for a bucket of beers inside the terminal area ... they were ice cold and so appreciated and had very friendly service there.

 

We only got off to go to the little shops in the pier area in Mazatlán to pick up some hydrocortisone cream to stop the itch from some bug bites I got in either Puerto Vallarta or Manzanillo and then headed back onboard. There were 4 ships in town that day so extremely crowded and chaotic.

 

We stayed onboard while in Cabo and enjoyed what we thought would be the solitude of an empty ship. There were a lot of people that had the very same idea so not exactly quiet but was very enjoyable, nonetheless. While sailing from Cabo back towards San Francisco, we were on the balcony to get some great shots of the sunset. The captain came over the PA to announce our position and that we might see some whales. No sooner did he say that did a whale completely breech right off the aft port side of the ship. It then continued the show by slapping it's tail in the water at least 2 dozen times. It looked to be having quite a lot of fun providing us with quite the show. That was probably the best whale watching tour we've been on ... and all just off the side of the ship.

 

DISEMBARKATION: One of the most organized disembarkations that I've experienced. Our ride was available a bit earlier than thought but were given an earlier walk off disembarkation that morning and were disembarked within minutes of our scheduled time. Well done, Princess!

 

SUMMARY: Overall, the cruise was pretty good and we met some very nice people onboard and had some of the best service ever. Although this was my first cruise on the Grand, this ship is my least favorite in the Princess fleet and will most likely cancel one of two future cruises I have booked on her. If the service weren't so great, I would probably cancel both. I usually try to sail in the first couple of weeks in December as our schedule is flexible and pricing is good. I do hope that Princess swaps out one of her newer ships to be home based in San Francisco in the very near future and hope to get such a great staff and staff onboard.

THANK YOU! I had read on an earlier post from another cruiser, that it is possible to check the Patter and your folio without using Internet minutes. My understanding of this is-I can check the Patter and my folio balance using my laptop-I do not have a Smartphone, I am Legally Blind so struggle with sending text messages-usually some WILD spelling!:D I will also do a review of my cruise, and will have the laptop with me to create this in a Word Document.

If you buy a Future Cruise Deposit, it will be charged to your credit card that is on record.

THANK YOU! I know there's a deposit for the Adelaide mini-bar-can take cash and get it refunded the morning of departure, have done that when the card had a glitch; the Future Cruise Deposit where I intended to pay that amount ONTO the card before I embarked; and the Melbourne hotel, when the mini-bar deposit amount is unknown, it's a recommended hotel and my first stay there. I'll "guesstimate" AUD$100 a night to be on the safe side.

I'm going down to an Outlet Shopping Mall, where a branch of my preferred supermarket is, so any drinks or snacks will be bought there, it's MUCH cheaper than the mini-bar-and any "savings" will be promptly "earmarked" for International Travel Insurance, which I'll get in January when I book the next cruise.

Thanks everyone for being patient with this ignorant newbie asking the most basic of questions! 2 former work colleagues will also be sailing with me, 1 I knew about, the other shocked us both with his announcement, "I'm sailing with you!" We're all sailing solo, the other 2 have Inside Staterooms, 1 on Plaza Deck, and I think the other is Inside on Aloha Deck. The other guy commented, "Oooh, up so high, it might get rough!" Might even be Lido Deck, I haven't looked at the deck plans yet.

17 weeks to Final Cruise Fare Payment for me, and then 12 weeks to finalise any On Board Credit; Gift services; Beverage Package; Internet Package; Culinary Delights; Photography Package; Spa Services; Speciality Restaurants-Crown Grill and budgeting for the Crab Shack-not sure if it's available on the cruise, but taking money to try it out and Casino Credits. Most costing has been done, I'm in the "accumulation" stage. I get my Cruise Documents by 11/10/2016, a calendar month before I sail.

1 of my friends reckoned I watched too many episodes of the Love Boat, I'm so "up-to-date" with all the details. I pointed out Cruise Critic is a primary source of information for me, go and join up yourself!

You can have as much onboard credit as you want, either earned, bought or promotion. There's no limit to the amount of onboard credit that I'm aware of. If you want to send yourself a "gift" of $2,000, go for it.

 

On Princess, OBC from whatever source is combinable. It's all added up to a total amount of credit: shareholder, military, TA, sales promotion, loyalty, future cruise credit, etc.

Pam in CA, you may be able to clarify this for me-I intend to gift myself OBC when I cruise, I already have AUD$68.75. Casino, Photography package, Culinary Delights, Internet, and Gift Services will be pre-paid, with additional funds taken as On Board Credit. What I am puzzled about, is finalising the Folio on the Sunday afternoon-how are charges incurred at the Happy Hour and PES function dealt with. I should know by midnight Saturday, what expenses I'd be likely to incur Sunday afternoon and evening, and would like to pay the estimated amount in addition to settling my folio. Is this allowed. My credit card(debit card with credit drawn against my own funds) has been lodged with Princess, I plan to buy at least 1 Future Cruise Credit, so will have funds put onto the card before I leave home.

As I'm on a Government Benefit, I pre-pay as much as possible to control nasty surprises.

Thanks for any help, I've learnt a tremendous amount already just by reading the posts here on Cruise Critic, but I haven't yet found this bit of information.

we bought them in crooners in february. Everyone wants to play cards with me so they can get the great recipes. I think they were $5.00.

 

Just ask a waiter or waitress.

thank you!

On our last Regal cruise on 3/6/16, they had paper and hand held machines. Paper was $20. for four games with one board. $30 fro four games with 3 boards. There was all so another paper package. The hand held was about 450. and up if I recall. I have now decided to stopped playing while on board because I don't like playing against the hand held.

THANK YOU Geocruise, I've been looking for the pricing and number of games for Bingo to help with my budget for my cruise in November. I will have a pack of highlighter pens with me-a tip I read on Cruise Critic for marking the Patter-and will budget AUD$25 for 4 games.

Cruise Critic members always seem to have the very information I'd been looking for! :D

Please, does anyone know which bar on the Golden Princess would have the Martini Recipe playing cards? I read Crooners have them, searched the deckplan and cannot find Crooners on the Golden Princess.

TIA. I always learn something when I come on Cruise Critic.

Crochetcruise, I notice this will be your first cruise to. You will love it. She is a beautiful ship. I miss her so much. :eek::(

If you do take photos of the lobby bar can I grab one or two for my photo book please. I took photos all all the areas except this bar and the childrens area because every time I went they were always locked.

Sure. I can easily send prints over to you, not sure about sending them digitally-EXTREMELY limited technical knowledge, but can get them printed off and posted over, if that would work for you. I've also noted to get the children's areas-can't do the upstairs in 1 section, but some photos would be better than nothing.

I did think about standing by the bottom of the staircase, and taking photos as an attempted panorama photo, overlapping the shots to be sure I cover everything. Would this be the sort of thing you're looking for?

In 34 week's time, I will have disembarked in Melbourne. Must check the Port of Melbourne Cruise Ship Schedule, so I'm in the hotel room, logged into the bridge cam of the Golden Princess as she casts off for her Tasmanian cruise.

We decided to get some afternoon tea at the International Café, while waiting for sail away. I love the cookies and fruit breads at the international café. We sat in the Lobby Bar (sorry forgot to get pictures of this bar) on the Piazza deck, deck 5 and people watched while listening to Guitar Vocalist Teodor perform. Such a wonderful life isn’t it. I could live the rest of my life like this – cruising from country to country, eating yummy food, listening to beautiful music, drinking divine wine. Who wants to join me?

 

 

Anchor Aweigh – The Golden lifted its anchor at 17.44 and away we sailed towards Wellington and the North Island. We enjoyed sail away up on Deck 15 and listened to a Pink concert on the MUTS.

 

Dinner tonight was in the dining room – Hooray – I got my way for once…smiles. We sat with a lovely bunch of people at a table for 8. I had ordered a bottle of wine ($43.75) on day 2 (I think) and they bought it out for me each evening I went to the dining room. It took me a few days to finish that bottle of wine but I had to behave. Wine does silly things to me and I didn’t want to embarrass myself.

 

After dinner we headed to the Princess Theatre for the 8pm Tribute Showtime Soul Mates. It was called Motor City and it paid tribute to the stars of Motown. Now don’t laugh at me, but I didn’t know what Motown was and had to google it. If there are any dumb people out there like me here is a great link all about Motown - https://www.motownmuseum.org/story/motown/

 

All I can say is you learn something new every day. James thought it was boring and left (10 minutes into the show) me to go up onto Deck 15 and the Tradewinds where he watched The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I thought it was good musical. They are such charming singers and dancers.

 

Our Cruise Director – Neil Rose, born in Kent, England was a very funny man. I used to watch him and his side kick, Corey some mornings on the Wake Show on the TV. Corey was also a scream. Very amusing guys and I often saw them around the ship.

 

We watched the sun set over the ocean and then made our way to the Promenade lounge to listen to the Scottish One before one last smoke (James) on the Promenade deck then we called it a night.

 

 

 

Here is the room service thing you place out your door at night if you want breakfast in your room. I wanted to do this but some meany (and I won’t mention names) didn’t. How sad was that not to experience breaky in your stateroom.

 

Wonderful photos. I'm on the Golden Princess sailing from Sydney 11/11/2016 to Melbourne. Have noted to get photos of the Lobby Bar, and put another Memory card on my shopping list. I keep a list of what's needed, and watch for the specials!

I've got breakfast at Sabatini's but will get Room Service the last morning. Promise to take photos for you.

In most cases you can "settle" up with cash. They'll still have your card on file, however. You'll need to settle up before you leave the ship. Check VERY carefully! They can screw up. All the bills went onto my card & my partner wasn't charged for his payments. This has happened before & it's annoyance. That being said I don't like carrying that kind of $$ on board. By the time we're done(14 days)we usually have additional charges over $2000 in the following: Excursions/Alternative restaurants/Buying stuff on board & YES the Casino.

THANK YOU! I was wondering if I settle the account the morning of the final day, is it possible to pay the extra for known Cocktail consumption at the BOGO, and PES events-if they have them in Australia-that I'm not sure about? By the Saturday evening -sail Friday evening-I should have a fairly accurate idea about what alcoholic drink costs-only 3 nights so can't get the AIBP :( . I am gifting myself On Board Credit for planned Cocktail consumption, Souvenir shopping (what I can't pre-order through Gift Services), Culinary Delights, Casino and Spa Services. I will have cash with me, but would prefer to pay a bit extra when I settle the account, and know I can have this number of alcoholic drinks, then finish off the soda cans in my Suite and use the Soda and More Card I'm getting myself.

Newbie cruiser, so it's probably an extremely basic question for the more experienced cruisers.

My TA's warned me there's a FAR greater choice of souvenirs on board, than there is through Gift Services! I will be keeping a "running total" of what I spend on souvenirs, and understand about transferring money from On Board Credit to a Casino account, having a good play, then cashing out any extra, so I do have some leeway.

Next week, 19 March 16, we depart for our 25th Cruise on Princess. We too are enamored of the wonderful cocktails served on the Princess ships. We’ve been collecting and documenting their cocktail for some years now and have accumulated many for our ‘Happy Hour’ cocktail archive. With the frequent patio parties our Arizona evenings accommodate, the most popular question was, ‘OMG that cocktail is delicious, what’s in it?’ As a result, we began creating ‘drink business cards’ with the recipes for each drink. The following link will whisk you to a shared Zip file of Princess cocktails plus to satisfy even the most discerning of tastes.

 

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A5FDF5163311837!26026&authkey=!AFxhIAtdmOAgB78&ithint=file%2czip

 

After downloading the zip file and extracting its contents, We’d suggest using MS Office Word to create a business card or another program capable Avery Clean Edge Business Card 8871 to cut & paste the PNG graphic cards to print.

Comments welcomed.

My choice of Non Alcoholic-AKA Mocktails-has just almost TREBLED! I've downloaded the files, and will enjoy reading them.

THANK YOU! I couldn't find that information, and am grateful for your sharing.

Just make sure that next time you buy the "Tee Many Martoonies" card deck from Crooners! It has all the recipes.

THANK YOU1 I want to get this for a friend-and several of the martinis sound REALLY nice!

Information noted down on my Cruising Notepad #2, nearly ready to start #3, there's SO much useful information on Cruise Critic! What a hardship!:rolleyes:

We were in a mini suite on the Golden for 31 days around Cape Horn in 2014. Loved the ship itself and things like the International Cafe. That was before her makeover and move to Australia. She needed the makeover badly but that didn't take away from the ship itself. We have yet to sail to Asia but the Golden is steady as she goes, handles the big seas beautifully.

THANK YOU! Newbie cruiser here, with a LONG history of travel sickness as a kid. Relieved to hear the Golden handles big seas well, hopefully Bass Strait won't be TOO bad! I am bringing anti-nausea medication with me-not taking chances with my travel history!:D