IECalCruiser

We had an interesting Italian Wine and Food Pairing Luncheon in Sabatini’s on the Golden in October.  The cost was $38,

 

On 12/12/2018 at 11:06 PM, caribill said:

 

A person on the current cruise. I was sent a photo of the meal part of the Patter for a day and noticed that no dining room option was listed for breakfast. I asked was this an omission from the Patter that day and the response was that there is no breakfast in any dining room so far. I can only assume the person telling me that is accurate.

 

 

It was because I was told that there is no dining room breakfast on the current cruise that I asked if anyone else has seen this on any Princess ship. So far the replies indicate that so far it is only the Emerald and this may have just started. When I am on the Emerald soon I will definitely ask why if it is still not being offered.

 

As to what options are listed for breakfast:

  Horizon Court Buffet

  Cafe Caribe

 

Could you post the photo of the Patter?

 

One of the Club Class benefits is breakfast in the Club Class area of the MDR.  There probably isn’t room in Sabatini’s or the Crown Grill for both Club Class and Full Suites to have breakfast so there must be some breakfast served in one MDR.

 

I actually prefer getting a made to order omelet and some breakfast meats in the Horizon Court.

 

 

On the Golden at the end of October just before disembarking our Trans Pacific in Sydney they were unpacking some Pilsner Urquell but they didn’t have a new beer list.  They were also going to add some Australian beers while home ported in Melbourne.

 

Even though not on the new wine list, in the container of alcohol unloaded in Auckland was a full pallet (60 cases) of Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc, presumably for the Kiwis.

 

10/10

 

This is the first of three sea days between Pago Pago and Auckland.

 

We tried to relax today after the busy day in Pago Pago yesterday although we did attend an astronomy lecture and an interview with the Captain in the morning and watched a performance by Holly Frances, one of the two female Princess singers in the afternoon. She gave a very good performance and most of the rest of the cast was there to support her. Her great great uncle was Chick Henderson who had a million seller hit with Begin the Beguine.

 

There was a second Pub Lunch in 12 sea days today but held separately in the Crown Grill as is typical on the Golden. It was the standard first Pub Lunch menu of Fish and Chips, Bangers and Mash, Steak and Kidney Pie, and Ploughman’s Lunch with Bread & Butter Pudding for dessert. There was a line of 20-30 people waiting to get in for almost all of the 90 minute lunch. When the first one was held in the MDR along with the regular lunch there were no lines and it seemed to be a better option.  Update: I talked to the Maitre D' Carlos Serrano Da Rosa later in the cruise an he indicated that "corporate" wants as close to a "real" Pub experience as possible and prefers the Grown Grill.  I refuse to wait in line for the Pub Lunch as it is not that big of a deal.

 

About 6:30 this evening the Captain came on (not usually a good sign) and announced that we were diverting to Tonga for a medical evacuation. After we docked, an ambulance drove up the pier and appeared to actually drive into the ships hold. It then departed down the dock with the passenger. We departed Tonga at approximately 9:00. We should find out tomorrow if there will be any schedule impact. Our prayers are with the ill passenger.  Update: The Captain cranked up the speed to over 22 knots and we made it to Auckland on time.  In addition, we were informed the next day that the passenger was improving.  It was lucky that rather than somewhere in the nowhere of much of the Pacific on this cruise, Tonga was less that an hour cruising time away.

 

The port of Nuku Alofa appeared to be much bigger than I expected and this is a photo at 9:00pm at night.

10/08

 

This is the second of our two sea days between Moorea, French Tahiti and Pago Pago, Amerian Samoa.

 

There are only 572 elites on board and laundry turn around has not been an issue. We sent out our last laundry just before dinner two days ago and it was back this morning and that has been typical.

 

The port lecturer, Kay Taylor, is quite good and her lectures on each port have typically run the full hour.  They have been well attended, often with standing room only in the Princess Theater, even the one for Auckland at 8:30 this morning.  She joined the cruise in Hawaii and will continue on through to Sydney.  Her port lectures include a lot of history and they could easily be subtitled "Captain Cook Was Here Before You!"

 

There are about 120 passengers on board who did the 12 day Alaskan cruise RT from LA prior to this cruise. The muster drill must be attended at least once every 30 days so they had to attend another drill today.

I made notes on the remainder of the cruise after CC become unavailable for the few days.  I will post them for those interested.

On 10/30/2018 at 9:00 AM, Astro Flyer said:

Welcome home Brian!  We greatly enjoyed this itinerary in 2009 on the Star but in the other direction to have the long flight to Sydney first & only a drive home from San Pedro.

Thanks for the welcome Frank!  I intentionally booked the trip this was to eliminate jet lag until we were home.  We gradually adjusted for the time change dropping back one hour three times on the way to Hawaii, one hour between French Polynesia and American Samoa and two hours between New Zealand and Sydney.  This way there was no jet lag from a flight from the US to Sydney.  DW and I are still having problems adjusting to the six hour forward time change from Sydney to LAX and are having a hard time falling asleep at night.

On 10/30/2018 at 6:49 AM, BerthaButt said:

My husband and I are going to do this cruise in Sept 2019 on the Ruby.  How was the flight home?  Did you have any stops?  I'm really dreading the flight home to Sacramento. 

I couldn't find a reasonable way to book business/first class all the way from Sydney to LAX so I used AA miles to book Hawaiian's lay-flat business seats from Sydney to Honolulu and United miles to book economy plus seats from Honolulu to LAX.

 

I will have more discussions about our experiences in the Sydney and Honolulu airports later.

 

 

I agree with beg3yrs that excursion prices will be the lowest when initially released.  As it gets closer to the cruise date prices may increase $10-$20 on many excursions while some stay unchanged.  When Princess didn't require payment when booking excursions we would book any excursions we were interested in taking as soon as they were released.  We take more private tours and DIY it more now but still book, and pay for, Princess excursions as soon as they are available.

On 10/27/2018 at 1:34 AM, Ferd Berfle said:

 

And Grand Marnier Souffle for dessert!

With a side of Nutella Ice Cream 😊

We disembarked the Golden on 10/22 after a 28 day cruise.  We were aft on Caribe deck.  One day there was some water running from the ceiling down both walls a few cabins aft or ours but the issue was quickly corrected.  There was also a leak from the ceiling in the Princess Theater that impacted about six seats for several days.  The most significant leak was on Fiesta deck outside of the corridor used to access the window suites.  It would come and go, but it seemed there was a fan in the main corridor in that area more often than not throughout the cruise.

 

The second aft elevator used to access the aft MDR and Skywalkers was repaired with parts apparently delivered in Honolulu.  Throughout the cruise, each of the three elevator banks would occasionally have one elevator out of service for a while but it was not always the same one.

 

Other than the above which had little impact on our cruise, we had no issues with the condition of the Golden and even though we had TD in the aft MDR, those issues had little impact on our 28 days on the Golden.

On 10/27/2018 at 7:11 PM, montgomeryfamily said:

I always asked them to make it with milk at the IC.  Several times I saw them putting in some water and when I reminded them I wanted it with milk, they all stated they used a little water to blend it together to make it smooth and then added the hot milk.   And when I observed closer, this is what I always observed them doing.  They used the powder which was used for the flavored coffee drinks, but there was also hershey's syrup if you wanted them to use that.  I don't think it would be as rich as the powder.  I never saw them use the instant packages.

 

I have asked for hot chocolate at a couple of the bars which claimed to have it available, but it was always made from the instant pkgs.

Having read threads discussing whether the hot chocolate was made with water or milk, I made it a point to notice.  They used the same process on the Golden this month.  When I asked the barista why he first added water to the several heaping scoops of powder, his answer was that it was easier to dissolve the powder in water.  Steamed milk was then added to the dissolved powder mixture.  There was Hershey’s syrup next to the powder but the hot chocolate made from powder tasted so good that I never tried it made with Hershey’s syrup.  We had exchanged our mini bar for two coffee packages for our 28 day cruise and the hot chocolate, as well as Mighty Leaf teas and fresh brewed coffee were all included as complimentary.

We had the most traveled of all current Princess cruisers on this cruise.  They had a total of 2,475 days (6.78 years!) at the start of the cruise and will pass 2,500 by the end.  There were a lot of days between them and number 2 at 755 days and number 3 at 687 days.

 

I didn't get all of the statistics but 947 were only doing one of the legs of the cruise so there was close to a 40% turnover in Auckland.  At least surprising to me, there were 602 or more than 20% of the passengers doing this 28 days cruise as there first on Princess.  You think you might want to check out Princess on a shorter cruise first.  I was also a bit surprised that there were only 572 elite on board.  Although of the 810 platinum starting the cruise, 120 became elite at the end of the cruise.

 

That is all I have on the statistics front.

I had a chance to see a copy of the new Vines wine list being rolled out in Sydney. The prices are in AUD but I have included prices in USD ($) if they are offered by the glass on the MDR wine list or on the old Vines wine list.

It looks like the wines on the old Vines wine list are priced to sell and will be replaced by new wines when inventory is sold out. The two white wines not on either wine list are Australian and have probably been added for the Aussie market. The Verdelho is an interesting wine. In Portugal it is primarily used in Madeira but in Australia it is used to produce a white wine. We had an opportunity to try Verdelho on our Hunter Valley wine tasting tour. A nice, drinkable wine but I preferred the Semillon.

 

Champagne & Sparkling

• Mionetto Prosecco Brut Gold - AUD 13 / $10
• Nicolas Feuillatte Brut - AUD 15
• Veuve Clicquot Brut - AUD 20

White Wines

• Verdelho, Briar Ridge - AUD 9 - not on either wine list
• S.A. Prum Essence Riesling Kabinett - AUD 14 / $11
• “Anthilia White Blend, Donnafugata - AUD 9 / $8 - on old Vines wine list
• Laurenz V. Singing Gruner Veltliner - AUD 13 / $10
• Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc - AUD 12 / $9
• Chablis, Seigneurie de Tanlay - AUD 9 / $8 - on old Vines wine list
• Conundrum White - AUD 15 /$11
• Shaw and Smith Chardonnay - AUD 15 - not on either wine list
• Attems Pinot Grigio - AUD 15 / $11

Rose Wines

• Charles & Charles Rose - AUD 12 / $8

Red Wines

• Babich Black Label Pinot Noir - AUD 15
• Frescobaldi Chianti Rufina Nipozzano - AUD 15 / $11
• d’Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz - AUD 14 / $11
• Errazuriz Estate Carmenere - AUD 12 / $9
• Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon - AUD 16 / $12
• ‘Embruix’ Vall Llach - AUD 11 / $10 - on old Vines wine list
• Ancient Peaks the Renegade - AUD 15 - not on either wine list
• Petite Sirah, Spellbound - AUD 9 / $8 - on old Vines wine list
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine du Vieux Lazaret - AUD 10 / $8 - on old Vines wine list
• Garnacha, Artazuri - AUD 9 / $8- on old Vines wine list

I think that Karma (or the Secret Princess Passage Contract Enforcer) got me on this cruise.  I had mixed one bottle of port with 21 bottles of wine.  The alcohol table didn't check the bottles and after paying the $255 in corkage for 17 bottles (DW and I booked the cruise as a B2B and DD booked the cruise as one cruise so we were allowed 5 bottles with no corkage), we went to our cabin.  The port and 4 bottles of wine were in a cloth wine carrier.  As DW and I were trying to keep the door open while getting our carry on bags into the cabin, the bottles fell out of the carrier.  Fortunately only one bottle broke, but it was the bottle of port   The entire bottle of port spilled on the carpet, but fast action by our steward and other Princess staff were able to clean up the wine so that there was no evidence of the crime.

I will repost when I can figure out how to reduce font size 😱

After a wonderful cruise and four beautiful days in Sydney, we arrived back in LAX a little before midnight on Friday and were home by 2:30.  I am know dealing with my typical post cruise cold 🤧🤒 which started to hit me the day before we left Sydney.

 

I didn’t figure out how to start posting again while we were away.  I will post my impressions of the cruise in the next few days.  However, my first report is that I boldly got on the scale this morning after 37 days and am pleased to report that I only gained 3.1 pounds 🙂  That is an accomplishment because I can gain that much on a 4 day cruise 🤔  I have been on a low carb diet and on board the Golden my primary exceptions were the 21 bottles of wine we brought on board and the Chocolate Journeys desserts.  Gaining weight was one of my big concerns on this cruise but I appeared to manage my diet fairly well.

No way I’ve been able to locate beyond Princess stating it’ll be implemented fleetwide this Fall.

 

With reports from some ships that as a result of limited inventory the wine packages were not available you may not be able to depend upon having them.

The Bartender at Vines said the new Wine list was being rolled out fleet wide but didn’t have any timing. I will try to get some more time info over the next two weeks. We attended both the Maitre ‘d and Grapevine wine tasting. Most of the wines were from the old wine list although the Grapevine tasting included the Conundrum from the new wine list. Interestingly, the Maitre ‘d tasting had two Australian wines that were not on either list.

 

 

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Brian...you appear to be using the CC/Tapatalk app which based on a Princess forum stickie will no longer be useable beginning on Tuesday.

 

Even the Princess forum will be Read-Only for several days as CC implements a new system including a new mobile site but no app.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/announcement.php?f=197&a=518

Thanks for the heads up. After the 10th I may be unable the post until I figure out the new system when we got to Auckland on the 14th and I can use my $10 International day pass,

 

 

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Some Food for Thought:

 

We are on our tenth sea day of the cruise and the Pub Lunch has only been offered once.

 

We have been eating breakfast and lunch in the Horizon Court but all but one dinner in the dining room. There are fresh made omelettes and other breakfast items and for lunch plenty of items to make a nice salad and plenty of protein choices. The one dinner in the Horizon Court left us wanting more. We really like the appetizer, soup and salad options in the DR. We have our own table for three for earlier TD and have very good waitstaff. You can arrive anytime between 5:15 and 5:45.

 

Many other Princess ships list the theme for the evening buffet on the back page of the Patter but not on the Golden. Although not every night, we have often stopped up there later in the night and haven’t notice any themed buffets except for German night.

 

We will have four formal nights. We haven’t been on a cruise this long but on two week cruises with three formal nights they have typically had the Captain’s Welcome Dinner with Filet and Prawns, the Captain’s Gala Dinner with lobster and Beef Wellington, and the Chef’s Dinner with the Twice Baked Goat Cheese Soufflé, but the Chef’s dinner was served the night before the second formal night and the formal night dinner menu was good but nothing special.

 

One of the three Curtis Stone options (Chicken and Leek Pot Pie, Seafood Stew, and Roasted Pork Belly have been on the menu more than half the time.

 

The new menus with the extra charge Crown Grill items are not on the Golden yet.

 

 

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Were you allowed to bring flowers on board from Papeete? Are you stopping in New Zealand before arriving in Sydney.

I have always been able bring on flowers from Tahiti, but I heard there might be a new restriction.

 

Thank you.

We didn’t try to bring flowers on board in Papeete. We are doing four ports in New Zealand before ending our cruise in Sydney.

 

 

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I'm good with the new list overall. Certainly one may bring on whatever wines they wish and I will do the same with our 2 bottles per couple allowance.

The one thing I would like to see however is the wine service improve. I don't want to have ask for an appropriate glass, I want the servers to be familiar with opening and pouring wine, and mostly, I would like a wine steward to take charge of the wine service. Do that, and the prices will not be an issue.

 

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No Wine Stewards on Princess [emoji22]

 

 

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What I have posted is only the DR wine and drink list. The bars won’t have their new drink menus until Sydney so there will probably be more additions. Talking to one of the bartenders, he said that they will be getting Australian beers when they get to Sydney.

 

 

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10/05

 

Hello from Papeete, Tahiti! We just finished a stretch of 11 days with only 2 port days in Honolulu, Oahu and Nawiliwili, Kauai. In Nawiliwili we had booked a six hour Princess tour of many of the movie sites on the island. The tour provider was Roberts Hawaii and we had a great tour guide named Kelly. The tour was limited to 20 people so it was easier to get on and off the bus. There was a large screen where movie clips were shown prior to each of our six stops. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour but the stop at the Coco Palms site was bittersweet. We had stayed at the Coco Palms forty years ago and to see the major unprepared damage from Hurricane Iniki in 1991 was very sad. There were shuttles at the pier to take you to several different shopping areas. Much of the shopping was a short walk from the pier.

 

As for the sea days, we don’t contribute to the Casino, play Bingo, or do trivia but we still keep busy with our M&G, the Line Crossing Ceremony, dance classes, lectures, crafts, movies and other activities. For example, yesterday we went to a lecture on Twenty-One Questions to Test Your Retirement Smarts, a GoPro seminar, a Cruise Critics Astronomy Group Get Together, a showing of Destino, a short film that was a collaboration between Salvador Dali and Walt Disney, the Grapevine Wine Tasting, and a stop by the Destination Expert tp as a couple questions about Tahiti and Moorea. It wasn’t until two days ago that I could relax and listen to one of the several Audible books I had loaded on my iPad.

 

As for evening entertainment, there will only be three production shows over the 28 day cruise and two of them were within the first 10 days. Most nights the performers were/will be comedians, comedian/magician, hypnotist, impressionist, juggler, musical variety, tribute acts, and vocalists. With all of the vocalists, we have already had many opportunities to hear the talented Princess musicians backing up the performers. There will also be three folkloric shows in Honolulu, Papeete, and one of the New Zealand ports.

 

This is our 25th cruise on Princess and although food is subjective, IMHO the quality hasn’t declined and portion sizes in the DR are the same as they have been for years. We have started off each morning with a freshly made omelette in the Horizon Court and also had lunch there. We have found a wide variety at both breakfast and lunch. I usually gain weight on a cruise but I have been staying on my low carb diet, except for Norman Love desserts, and I have lost over a half of pound over the first 12 days [emoji846]

 

Why is it that when we want to go up from deck 10 to deck 14 all of the elevators have just passed us going up and we need to wait for them to go up to deck 14, down to deck 5 and finally back to us on deck 10 [emoji848]

 

 

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My two favorite reds are gone from the new list. They were: Siverado Cabernet and Overture. I am not familiar with many of the new reds.

 

 

 

I know it was mentioned that Vines still has Silverado Cabernet' date=' but I am afraid it will be gone by next March, our Hawaii cruise from LA.

 

 

 

So, what Cabernet or Bordeaux blend style wines would be good at Crown Grill? With lamb chops and Kansas City steak? Chocolate dessert? $60-$150 price range?

 

 

 

I look forward to your recommendations.[/quote']On the Golden, the old wine list inventory will be offered in Vines until it is sold out. They are already running out of stock on a number of wines on the list. Staff at Vines did not know what new wines will be offered by the glass and won’t find out until Sydney.

 

 

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