Golden Princess 2 Nighter - must do on board?

Posted this in reply to a review on the main Princess Board, so thought Id add here also in the local discussion.

I was also fortunate enough to be on this cruise as well, and generally concur with your thoughts, including a younger crowd and a more relaxed atmosphere than on normal Princess Cruises.

Other thoughts included;

- The Golden looked a little more tired than I expected, however I did have high expectations. Not as flashy as the Diamond, but still not as tired as the Sun Class ships.

- I love the layout of the Grand Class Princess ships in comparison to the Sun Class ships that we Aussies are familiar with. Although they have more passengers, I find that there the public areas cater for this increase well, and there are more facilities onboard for us to enjoy.

- The AFT pool is shaded, but the pool itself I thought was the warmest onboard. The shade was an option for those that didn't want the full sun, and I found it to be no problem.

- The Wheelhouse bar was midship on Deck 7, and somewhat smaller than on other ships that I have been on. Little disappointed, as I love the Wheelhouse bar, and it often was full in the evening when looking for a spot. Noted that Sabatini's and the Crown Grill were both on Deck 7.

- Food (in my opinion) was typical Princess, nothing spectacular but also nothing horrible. Dined in main dining, buffet, didn't get a chance in the specialties. I dined in anytime dining, small wait times each night, was asked to share a table both nights to avoid the wait times (one night we did, next we didn't), but if you wish to dine just with your partner (ie table for two), a table was found within 5 minutes.

- Staff and service, mostly good, being a 2 nighter it was pretty full on most times, as everyone was always on board, keen to see and try as much as possible, so staff were under the pump.

- I loved the intranet setup on my smart phone with Princess. Being able to view the patter, view your on board account immediately when charges were made (given that we no longer sign for purchases and receive receipts), and also use the messenger facility with fellow registered passengers is a great added bonus. Well done Princess for stepping in the right direction.

- Sydney embarkation process was great, Melbourne was a disaster, as the ship arrived late (due to media event), and all disembarkation times were behind. Taxi queue was horrendous, but be aware, this has happened at every disembarkation in Melbourne that I have done (maybe I am unlucky there). Sydney and Brisbane Terminals seem to do it so much better....

- It was interesting to note on this particular cruise that;

a) no platinum/elite evening lounge was offered in Skywalkers (we instead received a free drink voucher) I wonder if this will be offered on the longer cruises??

b) no "Happy Hour" was offered in the Wheelhouse Bar. I have been on 2 night cruises where they have offered this.

c) No Bathrobes or Blue Princess Carry bags were offered in the room. Had to request these.

d) As mentioned in initial post, Sundaes was still onboard offering the Free Soft Serve Ice as well as Milkshakes, etc

e) The staff were not selling the Soda (& More) Package, or coffee cards that I saw when we boarded, but they were available for pre-purchase before the cruise.

Hopefully the above info doesn't come across in a negative tone, as I enjoyed the short cruise, and wouldn't hesitate to advise anyone to check out the Golden Princess and enjoy a cruise on her.

Happy to answer any Q's, etc

Soda and more package was available on board, the other couple traveling with us purchased it at the bar on the lido deck. They put the sticker (barq's) and cups delivered to the room. We did get different style cups for each couple though?

Soda and more package was available on board, the other couple traveling with us purchased it at the bar on the lido deck. They put the sticker (barq's) and cups delivered to the room. We did get different style cups for each couple though?

That's good to hear that they were selling it.

I actually overhead a bar attendant advise that it wasn't available on this two night cruise - so obviously misinformed.

I had prepurchased it (as my wife likes mocktails), and the waiter in the wheelhouse bar on day one charged us for a mocktail, as they did not know that the mocktail was covered under the package. It was fixed, but strange as had never had that problem before.

Don't you hate it when some staff have differing answers to others, no consistency among the crew.:( At least some were able to get the package.:D

- Food (in my opinion) was typical Princess, nothing spectacular but also nothing horrible. Dined in main dining, buffet, didn't get a chance in the specialties. I dined in anytime dining, small wait times each night, was asked to share a table both nights to avoid the wait times (one night we did, next we didn't), but if you wish to dine just with your partner (ie table for two), a table was found within 5 minutes.

- It was interesting to note on this particular cruise that;

 

b) no "Happy Hour" was offered in the Wheelhouse Bar. I have been on 2 night cruises where they have offered this.

c) No Bathrobes or Blue Princess Carry bags were offered in the room. Had to request these.

d) As mentioned in initial post, Sundaes was still onboard offering the Free Soft Serve Ice as well as Milkshakes, etc

A few differences. As mentioned in my review, we (and others) had a half hour wait for Anytime dining. The way it was managed i.e. buzzers didn't go off, time was exceeded, and went up to chase what was happening was also poor.

We did see a happy hour advertised, though didn't take it up.

There were bathrobes in our room, not sure about bags.

They had the soft serve - though it hadn't actually set so wasn't edible.

Thanks everybody for contributing to this little thread that I started. I’ve only started a couple in the past and never had one create so much comment/interaction.

This was our 3rd cruise and our first on a Princess ship. Here’s some comments of mine on the experience

1. We flew up from Avalon Vic to join the ship. We spotted the Princess rep at the Sydney airport who was offering transfers at $29 each. As we only had carry on the train at $17 was a better option.

2. Once at circular quay we went straight to the ship for early boarding as we had a cabin on Deck 14 Lido and scheduled boarding time of 12pm. At check in we were given the wrong sail cards but didn’t realise until we were up on level 2 about to board. We found a Princess shore staff member who took us back down to level 1 and sorted it quickly. A minor inconvenience.

3. Once on board we headed to our cabin L307 on deck 14 Lido, port side forward. We booked the guaranteed BF balcony at $271 per night and ended up with this BC cabin. The cabin was nice although starting to look a little tired. Great location, close to stairs/lifts and also pool/bar etc. Nice and quiet.

4. Plenty of exploring before sailaway – we really liked the aft area on the ship – horizon terrace, terrace pool, outrigger bar etc. It’s a pity the ‘adults only’ concept of the terrace pool escapes some people.

5. Whilst we’re not really nightclub people, we did end up in Skywalkers for awhile on both nights. We were impressed by the location, how you access it and the layout – very impressive.

6. As mentioned earlier the cruise was in $AUD. Drink prices were reasonable - $6.50 for a Fat Yak beer ($8.25 on Carnival Spirit) and $13.95 for Margaritas with a twist

7. We did find the ship quite crowded at times and if it wasn’t at capacity it must have been close. There were certainly plenty of travel agents on board.

8. The staff were generally good with a couple of exceptions. The beverage staff in the dining rooms were poor – forgotten drink orders, unaware of what beers available, drink orders delivered to the wrong tables. And also the bar waiters were overwhelmed at times and the wait to get a drink was long. This was more an issue of insufficient staff.

9. We found the ship a bit of a rabbit warren but I guess if we were on board for a few more days we would’ve got it sorted.

10. We had anytime dining and found that different to prior experiences. We were bumped from Donattellas to Bernini’s one night. Waiting for a table of 2 was only a few minutes. A little bit of showmanship by the restaurant staff on the final night.

11. The food was good without being great – nothing to complain about though.

12. The entertainment was good. The British Invasion was very well done in the theatre. According to the cruise director it’s one of six shows they put on during the 13/14 day cruises. Comedian/impersonator was good, trivia etc all good.

13. The outdoor spas/Jacuzzis were not what I expected. The water temp was hot (too hot for me) and there was no way to get the jets flowing. So it was really just a hot bath and not a spa as we know it.

14. The Sanctuary on deck 16 looked very nice but at $20 pp for ½ day or $40 pp for full day we didn’t bother

15. The lap pool was only filled about midday on Thursday. It was a nice spot and not used by many.

16. Movies under the stars was popular although the audio was very loud (maybe I’m getting old)

17. The average age of the passengers wasn’t as old as I was expecting for a Princess ship but I guess the fact that it was only a 2 dayer enticed younger ones/families

18. Players bar on deck 6 was underutilised. It was a cigar bar up until it arrived in Australia and still had that distinctive aroma. It’s now being turned into a whisky bar

19. We really liked the explorers lounge and wheel house bar on deck 7 – great feel to both of them.

20. The emergency briefing was the most detailed we have experienced – very thorough.

The ship was good without being great and is starting to show its age. In reviewing the ship and the experience, I couldn’t help but compare her to Celebrity Solstice and IMHO she’s not at the Solstice level – with regard to the ship itself, the service or the experience.

We normally cruise with friends but they couldn’t make it this time. So we made up little masks of each of them had their photo taken at lots of vantage points during the cruise. This was a bit of fun and created a bit of interaction with other passengers.

A nice couple of days away and it was nice to cruise into Melbourne.

Cheers

Rob

There was a lap pool?! I really should have spent more time exploring!

There was a lap pool?! I really should have spent more time exploring!

I didn't find it either??

...

There was a lap pool?! I really should have spent more time exploring!

Yeah it was on deck 15 outside the spa/gym area and below the Sanctuary area on Deck 16. It had one of those jets in it that you can swim against (like a swim spa) but it was out of order. Calling it a lap pool is a bit optimistic - it's only about 8 - 10 mtrs long so you wouldn't get many strokes in. A couple of the spas/hot tubs were beside the pool.

Thanks Rob for your review. Nice touch for your friends that couldn't make it.:D