sandseeker3

Here's a good resource for all the Celebrity menus https://profcruise.com/celebrity-menus/

I'm not low sodium but I am a vegetarian and can't do any dairy due to severe intolerance.  So I'm used to dealing with cruise lines on dietary restrictions.  Carnival has always handled it very well.  Just clearly communicate your needs to the Maitre'd and your wait staff and you will be very well taken care of.  

I'm booked on my first back to back and looking for tips from anyone who has done one before.  What happens between the two cruises (will I need to check in again?) and any other info you think would be helpful.  TIA!  

This whole string of posts is making me starving!  I also found a ton of Carnival menus posted here if anyone is looking for other menus.  https://profcruise.com/carnival-menus/

Here's a really helpful resource written by my favorite cruise writer: https://profcruise.com/alaska-which-glacier-is-best/ It sounds like Vancouver is best in terms of calmest seas and seeing the most scenery.  

On July 18, 2019 at 3:21 PM, sassyshar said:

Thank you for posting the menu's and for also sharing a link to your review of the Breakaway.   The review was very informative and entertaining to read.   

Your welcome!  I can't take the credit for compiling the menus or for the Breakaway review though.  Credit goes to @ProfCruise

On July 16, 2019 at 11:26 AM, NCLGirl2013 said:

So I see lobster on the Ocean Blue menu. I wonder if that is an upcharge with the SDP?

Can anyone confirm if there is an upcharge?  I'm curious too.

If you are looking for all the recent Bliss menus you can find them here: https://profcruise.com/ncl-menus/

On July 6, 2019 at 7:27 PM, vicd1969 said:

I went on the Southbound Golden Princess on the 7-day June 22 sailing. With Alaska being the destination and not the ship, my summary may be a bit incomplete compared to a normal review. I didn’t spend as much time onboard doing typical cruise ship things. This was my first cruise on Princess, I have done a few on HAL and Celebrity.

 

Embarkation: Fastest embarkation ever, since we stayed in Whittier for a couple of nights before the cruise and got to the terminal around 11:30. Luggage drop off a breeze, zero wait for this non-priority group. I don’t remember a complementary welcome drink but the international cafe was a great first stop right below the guest services desk.

 

Cabin: Smaller than my experiences on HAL and Celebrity. I travelled with my nephew, so space was okay. No couch and only 1.5 outlets, though I was prepared thanks to previous CC discussions. We were port aft, only noise issues were machinery noises related to early morning dockings. Temp control was fine, as was toilet. Shelf space kinda small, fine for a 7-day trip but could be an issue if you didn’t want to hang your shirts and pants. They did have plenty of hangers to use. The open hanger closet could have used some sort of organizer to optimize the space. Cabin Attendant Jaime was terrific.

 

Public spaces: For Alaska, this ship was terrific, so many spots to do viewings. The covered bow was great for wildlife spottings. I liked easy access from buffet to top decks to view scenery, then run back to eat a bite (or two). Never felt really crowded, the kids in our group always were able to find deck chairs to put their stuff when going swimming. Did have to wear 3 or more layers on the promenade deck when the ship was underway, but it was shorts weather when viewing time for glaciers came. Sky walker lounge underutilized during day, nice place to chill for peace and quiet. Using stairs could be a bit confusing with limited access on certain decks depending on where you were. Even this is an old ship, didn’t experience any leaks or creaks.

 

Dining: A mixed bag compared to HAL and Celebrity. Good news: a few theme nights in the MDR like Alaska cuisine night and the first formal night were special. International cafe and later availability of buffet a noted plus. Five of us did the Crab shack dinner since that was a free perk for three of us. The Maitre’D generously applied the child rate to me so it was only $15. Really nice meal with proper tools,  though it’s not all-you can eat.  Buffet wait staff were quick to offer fetching drinks and omelet orders for you. Though we had early fixed dining, we ended up at our official table only 2 nights - it’s Alaska and excursions along with afternoon activities made it difficult for us.  Princess was very accommodating of our crazy schedules.

 

Now the Not-so -good: Buffet choices weren’t as good compared to HAL and Celebrity, especially Breakfast. No smoked salmon most of the mornings, custom omelet was small and used processed egg mixes. Dinner and lunch didn’t provide a “wow” moment, except for one time when sashimi and sushi was offered. Hamburger grill was between HAL’s Dive-In (yummy!) and Celebrity’s patties under a heat lamp experience. A few of us ate in the Crown Grill and didn’t like the Ribeye, though to be fair they should have ordered a different cut for what they wanted as infrequent beef eaters.

 

Activities / Entertainment: With a few kids and most of the adults not into the performing show scene, I can’t comment on entertainment since I didn’t attend any show. We did participate in Trivia a bit when the scheduling allowed. One of the Trivia hosts, Tavo, was an amusing guy. We did win one contest, got a sparkling wine bottle as the prize. The kids loved swimming, and The Golden Princess gets the thumbs up for having 2 decent-sized main pools for kids. Because of the port schedule we had, we didn’t get to do any organized activities during port days. I didn’t get to see much of the CD, however. He was an enigma to me as he didn’t participate on any of the activities I attended. For Alaska, the most important activities person is not the CD but the onboard Naturalist. Dr. Schumann stood out for helping us spot wildlife and view glaciers. We saw quite a few whales, mountain goats, sea lions, etc. during our day in Glacier Bay thanks to her keen eye. Excellent addition to the crew.

 

Internet: the onboard text function worked well. The internet did not. Since I had to connect for work purposes, that meant using the internet at odd hours like 2 AM in the library. Good thing the International Cafe was only a short skip away 😄. Cell data coverage was fine in the ports, best for AT&T then Verizon.

 

Disembarkation: Was organized well,  but we had time to wait it out. Was not a fan of the speakers hissing static loudly after 830, guess they really wanted to kick us off sooner than our scheduled time 😋. Immigration and luggage collection went by very quickly. For those of you who want to drop off luggage and visit the city before catching your flight, I would recommend going to the doorman at the Pan Pacific hotel instead of using the cruise terminal luggage drop off. 

 

Overall, I had a positive experience on the Golden Princess. For what you want to do for an Alaskan cruise, she more than fits your needs. I would be a bit more hesitant to spend a long sea journey on her, however.

 

 

Thanks for the review and the comparison to other lines.  I'm glad your overall experience was good!

2 hours ago, newcruise12 said:

On the June 8, 2019 sailing:

Captain - Gavin Pears

Hotel General Manager - Carlo Gunetti

Cruise Director - Corey Moir

 

I’d been working on a trip report, but since I’ve been sick after the end of the cruise, had been talking myself out of finishing it. Will try to get something done soon, in case it might be of any help. 😀

I hope you feel better and can finish your trip report!  I would love to read it.

1 hour ago, Dulciana8 said:

I think some of these hacks are pretty good— others, aren’t practical for our family... we’ve done four cruises with our 5 year old. (We’ve cruised Disney and Holland America.) For example, I would not bring my own plates, but that’s simply because my child has always eaten off regular dinnerware at home— I have, however, been known to travel with tot sized utensils! And, I’ve become adept at tying cloth napkins into bib style covers (because we don’t bring bibs from home either) over the years to protect little John Johns and linen suits on Gala nights! 

 

I would add to this, that I have loved using my Tula carrier probably as much as the umbrella stroller while on vacation.. and if my child had his way, he’d still ride in the carrier! I’d also add bringing your own beach toys (or was that on the list???). Additionally, we always bring a travel sized bottle of Dawn dish soap for cleaning stuff in the cabin! 

 

What else? Oh yeah— a thermometer for the pediatric first aid kit!

Great suggestions!  The carrier is a good one.  And the soap!  

This has some great ideas for items to pack.  https://profcruise.com/what-to-pack-and-not-pack-when-cruising-with-a-baby-or-toddler/ I love the shower curtain and painting smock hacks.  Any others veteran cruisers with young kids would recommend? 

21 hours ago, galaxyglue said:

We'll be aboard the Golden later this month. I've seen folks post photos of the menus, any chance someone has recent photos of the daily schedule? I've never cruised on Princess and I'm trying to get a feel for what they offer. 

I'd love to see these too if anyone has them!

1 hour ago, Glaciers said:

This is not the specialty restaurant Crab Shack.  This is just crab cakes during short periods of time at Trident Grill on deck 14, 4pm-6pm on one day per week. The crab cakes were complimentary. The venue was temporarily billed at Tracy's Crab Shack.

Thank you for clarifying.  Do you recall if it was listed in the Patter, or did you just stumble upon it?  Not something I want to miss.

On June 6, 2019 at 6:13 AM, subaru94 said:

We were on this cruise too, and the water leak happened one night it was fixed overnight, they are an extremely friendly crew on board this ship, best we have come across and the food in the dining room was good, loved Alaska and loved deck 7 and 8 to walk around is an ideal spot when you go to the glaciers.  She is a nice size ship, we had an obstructed view cabin steward was fantastic, beds comfortable.  

Thanks for sharing your experience!  I'm looking forward to the food and service.  And of course the views!  

3 hours ago, Glaciers said:

Yes, the crab shack was complimentary, and delicious.  We didn't notice any smells and the ship overall is very well kept. The customer service was very good.

Wonderful, thanks for sharing your experience.

3 hours ago, andlep said:

Here is a great youtube review.

Great video.  Thanks!

Thank you for your detailed review.  We've never done the lumberjack show and it sounds fun.  Thanks for sharing your experience and for giving me some ideas.

Just now, Pati said:

We were on the golden to Alaska. Loved it. Didn’t see any water leaking anywhere and no smells people complain of. Had the best cabin steward we ever had. We are going cak on gold in October Melbourne to Fiji!

That's good to hear!  I'm choosing to be optimistic about the ship and know Alaska will be amazing even if they ship is on the older side.

3 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

In another post you indicated you went to Sitka on a cruise although this one indicates your first cruise to Alaska? Maybe I misread the post.

 

 

 

We just returned from 14 nights on the Golden. Unless you are going on a small ship cruise, there is no better itinerary than what the Golden provided. Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord and two times at Glacier Bay. Just exceptional. We would do it again on the Golden with the same itinerary.

 

 

 

As for the ship, it’s old and will be turned over to P&O next year. The cabin furnishing are the same we experienced on Princess 10 years ago. There were multiple leaks throughout the ship from the ceilings. During a show, water began pouring out of a light fixture drenching the people below it. The water then proceeded to drain from two other light fixtures.

 

 

 

The Crown Grill was excellent although we found most of the food hit and miss in the main dining rooms and the buffet with only brief glimpses of anything exceptional. The burger place, Trident grill, was probably the most consistent with pretty good burgers. Late afternoons they sometimes served different items. One day between 4pm-6pm they served Tracy’s Crab Shack crab cakes. They were wonderful. On a different day they would serve fish tacos and then between 6pm-9pm they served pork, chicken, spare ribs and wings. It was a nice alternative for something quick and easy.

 

We definitely chose this one for the itinerary and not the ship.  We've done Alaska before, but this one offers several new ports for us.  Sorry if my original post was confusing.  We've never been on the Golden.  I've heard other negative things about the Golden, but the water leaking sounds bad.  I hope we don't have to deal with any of that.  Thanks for the tips about the food.  I don't usually book the speciality restaurants, but I'll check out the grill for sure.  Is the Crab Shack complimentary?  

1 hour ago, relmondcrsise said:

 

This is a great one.  It was posted on here but I can't seem to find it now.  She has it on her blog too though.  Warning, I spit out my coffee while reading this for the first time.  She'll have you laughing so hard. https://profcruise.com/golden-princess-ship-review/

 

 

Thank goodness I wasn't drinking coffee or I would have done the same thing!  Love her sense of humor and writing and tons of great photos of the ship and food and information.  Thanks for directing me to it!  Keep them coming.  Getting so excited!  I'm going to look for my roll call now.  Thanks for the tip on that.

Going on my first cruise to Alaska on the Golden Princess and looking for some good reviews with lots of pictures.  Any recommendations or tips on the Golden?  Thanks in advance.  

This is great, answered all my questions.  Thanks.

We loved it!  Only time we saw bears on our cruise, so we're happy we visited.

Thanks for the review and the gorgeous wildlife photos.