Review: Golden Princess to NZ, Feb 2016

Just got home from the Golden Princess last Wednesday. I have some patters and menus! Not sure if I have the time or patience to do a full review, but I'm happy to answer questions. Just ask! :)

I've already uploaded some patters, click below:

Embarkation Day

Welcome Letter

Sea Day

Fiordland (Scenic Cruising)

Port Chalmers (Dunedin)

Akaroa (Tender Info)

Disembarkation Info

Just got home from the Golden Princess last Wednesday. I have some patters and menus! Not sure if I have the time or patience to do a full review, but I'm happy to answer questions. Just ask! :)

 

I've already uploaded some patters, click below:

Embarkation Day

Welcome Letter

Sea Day

Fiordland (Scenic Cruising)

Port Chalmers (Dunedin)

Akaroa (Tender Info)

Disembarkation Info

What other ships have you been on.

What other ships have you been on.

This was my 2nd cruise. I have been on Royal Caribbean (Adventure of the Seas) for a Mediterranean cruise. Adventure OTS is in the same class of ships as the Explorer and Voyager, which are both currently based here.

Thanks for posting the patters! I'm always interested in looking to see if there's enough that would interest me and/or my teen.

What were the age demographics on board? Were there many kids or teens? It's outside school holidays so I'm guessing not too many.

Welcome back and thanks for sharing the patters.:D

Just got home from the Golden Princess last Wednesday. I have some patters and menus! Not sure if I have the time or patience to do a full review, but I'm happy to answer questions. Just ask! :)

 

I've already uploaded some patters, click below:

Embarkation Day

Welcome Letter

Sea Day

Fiordland (Scenic Cruising)

Port Chalmers (Dunedin)

Akaroa (Tender Info)

Disembarkation Info

Thanks for the post - most useful general info - we are going on Diamond for 7 days Tassie cruise in two weeks.

Two specific questions"

1. Dining room menu - do they still have '50 Anniversary' selection of classic dishes for dinner (they had it last year)?

2. Re heavily promoted Chocolate Journey with their chocolateer Love - do they still have choc bites in the buffet/ dining room or any special dessert created by Love?

Did you enjoy the cruise. Highlights?

Keith

How were the production shows and the entertainment guests.?

MDR Dinner Menus

I only remembered to take photos on 3 of the 13 nights. There were 2 formal nights on this cruise, and I have the menu for the 2nd formal. I also have the Asian night's and the final night's menus.

Click links to open:

Formal night

Asian night

Final night

Thanks for posting the patters! I'm always interested in looking to see if there's enough that would interest me and/or my teen.

 

What were the age demographics on board? Were there many kids or teens? It's outside school holidays so I'm guessing not too many.

The average age was 60-70+. There were only maybe 20-30 kids.

Personally, I think there is a good selection of activities throughout the day and evening to suit all ages and interests. Have a look at the patters.

MDR Dinner Menus

 

I only remembered to take photos on 3 of the 13 nights. There were 2 formal nights on this cruise, and I have the menu for the 2nd formal. I also have the Asian night's and the final night's menus.

 

 

Click links to open:

Formal night

Asian night

Final night

Cheers.:D

Thanks for the post - most useful general info - we are going on Diamond for 7 days Tassie cruise in two weeks.

 

Two specific questions"

1. Dining room menu - do they still have '50 Anniversary' selection of classic dishes for dinner (they had it last year)?

2. Re heavily promoted Chocolate Journey with their chocolateer Love - do they still have choc bites in the buffet/ dining room or any special dessert created by Love?

1) We didn't have the 50th Anniversary dinner classics menu on this cruise. I was also hoping that they would have it since the 50th Anniversary celebrations are still ongoing in other areas of the ship.

2) I loved the Chocolate Journeys stuff! Yes, they have the special desserts in the MDR dinner menu on certain nights only. They also have special pastries and muffins in the buffet and International Cafe. All the ones I tried were good! I miss the chocolate croissants at breakfast. :)

The guest entertainers in the evening shows were excellent. There was a violinist, motown tribute, magician, comedians and singers. I enjoyed all of them.

The production shows, in my opinion, were just ok. The music was mainly 50s & 60s because of the older age demographic onboard. I felt that even the dancing and stage set were not as good as the production shows on my previous cruise.

 

The guest entertainers in the evening shows were excellent. There was a violinist, motown tribute, magician, comedians and singers. I enjoyed all of them.

 

The production shows, in my opinion, were just ok. The music was mainly 50s & 60s because of the older age demographic onboard. I felt that even the dancing and stage set were not as good as the production shows on my previous cruise.

Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, I really like how X have revamped their shows to incorporate much more modern music (even songs from last year) and changed the dance routines to cater for a much wider audience demographic.

Some of the shows on Princess that I saw last year (Sept/Oct) were the same as in 2012.

Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, I really like how X have revamped their shows to incorporate much more modern music (even songs from last year) and changed the dance routines to cater for a much wider audience demographic.

Some of the shows on Princess that I saw last year (Sept/Oct) were the same as in 2012.

You're joking... I would have expected that they would have new shows at least every 1-2 years, so that repeat cruisers aren't seeing the same thing.

This was my first Princess cruise, and I actually fell asleep during the production shows! I am a night owl and nothing has ever made me nod off at 8pm. :eek: The guest entertainers' shows, on the other hand, kept me on the edge of my seat and laughing the whole time.

You're joking... I would have expected that they would have new shows at least every 1-2 years, so that repeat cruisers aren't seeing the same thing.

 

This was my first Princess cruise, and I actually fell asleep during the production shows! I am a night owl and nothing has ever made me nod off at 8pm. :eek: The guest entertainers' shows, on the other hand, kept me on the edge of my seat and laughing the whole time.

X revamps their shows every couple of months by adding new songs and such but the shows are essentially the same. They also change shows completely every 18 months or so. Princess doesn't even change their shows that often.

Less than 1 hour and 254 days to go for me! Yes, I AM wildly excited!

Noted the Happy Hour listed in the Patter, hope that's available when I sail, it's described as A Repositioning Cruise. It's between 2 Australian Capital cities, so no need for a passport. I shall find out when I embark.

The Disembarkation information was useful, I now have a better idea of how to organise myself the last morning.

Someone who was on the same sailing as me is doing a full picture review. I think most of you have found it, but for those who haven't:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2322939

It's been nearly 2 months since my cruise and I am back on CC to do research for the next one! Since arriving home, I've been super busy readjusting to reality and battling those nasty post-cruise blues. Now that I've settled back into my regular routine, I'm ready and excited to return to the cruise world of CC again!

As I mentioned in my last post, a fellow cruiser who was on the same sailing as me has posted an awesome completed review. Please check it out if you haven't yet. I can only dream of writing a review half as a good as that.

Well, I am off to do more research for my next cruise. If there are more questions about cruising the Golden Princess and NZ, I'll stick around to answer them.

Hi ZXC. My hubby thought the same as you about the production shows. He found them boring. Me! I loved it all. I just wish they would do more of a musical with a story and it went longer. I loved the meals in the dining room, but we only went every second night because hubby loved the buffet. Go figure that out. I couldn't understand him wanting to eat there all the time.

Did you enjoy cruising with Princess? And we were so lucky with our weather and the seas weren't we.

Thank you for your kind remarks re my cruise review. It sure takes a long time to do one. I didn't realize how long it would take me.

Where is your next cruise to? I am also planing my next cruise to.

Hi ZXC. My hubby thought the same as you about the production shows. He found them boring. Me! I loved it all. I just wish they would do more of a musical with a story and it went longer. I loved the meals in the dining room, but we only went every second night because hubby loved the buffet. Go figure that out. I couldn't understand him wanting to eat there all the time.

 

Did you enjoy cruising with Princess? And we were so lucky with our weather and the seas weren't we.

 

Thank you for your kind remarks re my cruise review. It sure takes a long time to do one. I didn't realize how long it would take me.

 

Where is your next cruise to? I am also planing my next cruise to.

I agree that I might've enjoyed the production shows more if they had a story to go with it. I didn't know any of the 60s songs so I just had a hard time relating to them.

I ate in the MDR every night and loved it too. Breakfast was always at the buffet because holidays are for sleeping in and the MDR doors were shut by 9:30am. I am a foodie (I live to eat), so I could go on and on about fabulous food on the Golden. Mostly praise... but no one is perfect, right. :rolleyes:

We were very lucky with the weather in all the ports. Apart from light showers in Tauranga and windy Wellington. It was warmer than I was expecting and packed for. I had a few outfits for cooler weather that stayed in the back of my stateroom's wardrobe for the entire cruise.

In no specific order, on my wish list of future cruises are Alaska, Japan and Baltics! Now I just need to work out a yearly cruise budget and find some good deals that won't break the bank. :)

Glad that you enjoyed your cruise.

I'm on the Emerald in January and am interested to know how your disembarkation went, seeing as the Golden is basically the same ship. Did you dock at 6am? What time were you off the ship?

I have an early flight to catch and am assuming (if the ship is on time) I won't have much trouble being on terra firma by 8am? That would leave me with 90mins to get to the airport to make my check in time. It's a Saturday morning so I'm not expecting peak hour traffic - and I intend to take a private transfer.

What was your experience?

Hi Folks

One of the reasons we decided to try Explorer of the Seas was Curtis Stone ... his food is not fit for human consumption.....

appox 170 days to get fit and well for Explorer , I am going to try for it .. but no way will mr Stone cook my belly pork!

:p

Regards

John

Yes, the Curtis Stone menu items weren't great But what to you expect from a chef who is the frontman for Coles. :D :D

I enjoyed Golden, except for the ridiculously small showers.

Glad that you enjoyed your cruise.

 

I'm on the Emerald in January and am interested to know how your disembarkation went, seeing as the Golden is basically the same ship. Did you dock at 6am? What time were you off the ship?

 

I have an early flight to catch and am assuming (if the ship is on time) I won't have much trouble being on terra firma by 8am? That would leave me with 90mins to get to the airport to make my check in time. It's a Saturday morning so I'm not expecting peak hour traffic - and I intend to take a private transfer.

 

What was your experience?

My honest opinion.

Nowhere near enough time built in there.

One slip and you miss your flight.

You would need everything to go perfect.