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Live from the Golden Princess 10/25/09 to Hawaii

Waimea'sMom

By Waimea'sMom,
in Princess Cruises

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Waimea'sMom

Waimea'sMom

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Hi all, I'm onboard the Golden Princess enroute to Hilo right now.

 

We boarded yesterday, and all has gone well. I'm staying in a balcony cabin on the Baja deck with my Mom, and my spouse, mother in law and aunt in law have a minisuite on the Dolphin deck.

 

First things first, I went off to meet with the maitre'd to check on our table, which I'm pleased to see is a five seater next to the window in first seating. Unfortunately, I didn't get up to the Horizon for lunch, but I did get a yummy ham and cheese croissant at the International Cafe (toasted in the panini machine) to go with my first Diet Coke of the cruise.

 

After that, we unpacked our luggage and got together on the minisuite balcony for some Prosecco wine and sailaway. It meant I missed the first cruise critic get together, but it was lovely and fun.

 

Dinner was pretty good. I opted for the pina colada soup (though I was disappointed when I asked my waiter if I could have it served in a bowl instead of the drink glass and he refused). I followed it up with the chili option, and it was quite good. I'm happy to see that the waiter and assistant waitress were ready with lots of Diet Coke refills for me during dinner. :)

 

After dinner we listened to Dave and Leialoha from Elua play in the atrium -- some Hawaiian and some hapa haole tunes, and they ended with the Iz version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

 

The last stop of the night was in the casino, where my spouse was lucky enough to win $100 at craps. I saw a woman win 2500 quarters on a slot machine and sit there calmly -- I would have been jumping up and down. It wasn't dollars, but that is still a nice chunk of change.

 

This morning, I was up bright and early at the gym...good thing, as I was one of the lucky ones who managed to get a treadmill at 7am. They have instituted signup lists for the cruise, so I went ahead and signed up for the remaining days, I'm glad I got a 7am or 730 timeslot each day. I followed that up with a quick weights workout, then after getting ready in the cabin, I went to the dining room for breakfast.

 

I love the coffee in the dining room, but I have found really hit and miss food and service there for breakfast. Our bagel and english muffin were both cold and barely toasted (though we asked for them well done) but the Caribbean suprise fruit bowl was good.

 

After checking email, I am off to find a quiet corner to play my ukulele. I'm sorry to see that the hula lessons and ukulele conflict today, hopefully other days they won't be held at the same time so I can attend both. But I'm opting for hula today. Though this means I'm going to miss the SECOND cruise critic get together as a result.

 

Talk to you all later...

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caribill

caribill

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Dinner was pretty good. I opted for the pina colada soup (though I was disappointed when I asked my waiter if I could have it served in a bowl instead of the drink glass and he refused)

 

To me that is an unacceptable answer. If this happens again, speak to the headwaiter or Matre d' about having your reasonable request honored.

 

The kitchen may not be able to send it out in a bowl, but your waiter can put it into a bowl for you.

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reedoll

reedoll

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why drink it out of a bowl? i'm sure it is meant to be presented and served in a martini-type drink glass (though I have never had "pina colada soup" before) and be a little different to add to the dining experience.

 

loosen up, you're on a cruise....................

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bmench

bmench

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We too will be going to hawaii in march of 2010, we are really looking forward to going so i am enjoying reading about your experiences so keep them coming. We will have an interior room on d107 i was wondering how rocky it is up on the front of the ship in the dophin deck if you happen to be up in that area let me know how it is . Hope you take pictures and post them would love to see. Let us know who the entertainers are . Thank you so much.

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mycruz

mycruz

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Thank you so much for posting, this is the third consecutive Live thread for me so far this season. I'm following along while anticipating my cruise on the Golden 1/31/10 and can't wait.

 

In the gym, what are the treadmills like? are there TV's or jacks for MP3 so I can listen to music? or should I bring my own Walkman?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Waimea'sMom

Waimea'sMom

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Okay, to answer the questions first:

 

Seas: The seas are not super rough right now, although you can definitely feel the motion. I haven't seen anyone speak of getting sick, but if you are a newer cruiser, it wouldn't hurt to bring some Bonine or a patch with you. I actually quite like it when falling asleep as it rocks the boat nicely. As for the Dolphin deck, I'll have to ask my spouse/mother in law/aunt about that, up on Baja you feel the movement quite a bit. As for the front of the ship, since I'm in the back, the only time I've really been up front is at the gym. Today it wasn't too bad, but yesterday morning, you did have to hang onto the treadmill a bit to avoid falling from side to side.

 

Weather: It is very pleasant. Lots of people are disappointed that today is cloudy, but having done this trip before, I knew to expect that. The weather temp is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit -- very nice with a very slight breeze.

 

Age group: I'd guess that the average age group seems to be in the 50-60 range. A lot younger than my cruise to Asia, but not as young as those to the Caribbean or Mexico. They did say at the life boat drill that there are only 27 people under 18. Yay! Having spent a nightmare trip during Spring Break on the Caribbean Princess, that is a welcome plus.

 

Ukulele/hula classes: The ukulele classes and hula classes are both free (as are the flower lei making and ribbon lei making classes). You do have to sign up for the ukulele or lei making, as supplies (and ukuleles) are limited. You go to the activity desk and are given a ticket for your event. I'm going to the flower lei today at 2pm, so I have a ticket for my entrance. As for the ukulele, if you bring your own from home, you probably don't need a ticket, as that is mainly due to the number of ukuleles they have available for lending.

 

Entertainers: Sorry, I don't have a list of the entertainers with me. I"ll try to post that tomorrow...

 

Soup: You're right, I should hang loose and not worry, but it is a better culinary experience for me personally to enjoy tasting it from a spoon rather than having to slurp it through a straw...

 

Okay, on to the recap...

 

First off, I know some people care about the names of the people onboard. The Captain is David Calabrese, the cruise director is Lee Childers (much to my disappointment, to be detailed later), the Chef is Norbert Sommerhalter and the Maitre'd is Angelo Balbiani.

 

Yesterday was a madhouse at the gym in the morning when it opened. They did institute a signup sheet for the treadmills though for the rest of the cruise (my rotten luck I picked one that doesn't incline so today I had to run instead of walk with an incline). I also got told by the trainer that I could not use free weights until 9am. I'm willing to grant that 8am might be required, but I really think 9am is a bit ridiculous.

 

As for food, had lunch in the dining rom yesterday (Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwich) and for dinner I chose turkey pot pie. I have found the food on this ship to be far superior to that on the Caribbean Princess last week. I havent had anything bad yet, unlike on that ship where it took days to find something good. This is bad, because I didn't gain a pound on the Caribbean and I'm scared I won't be as lucky on the Golden. Despite the gym everyday and taking stairs for everything under 8 flights, those turkey pot pies will add up. As a result, I'm sticking to fruit and cereal for breakfast, making my main meal lunch, and only having dessert if it is something I can't get at home.

 

I still haven't gone to any shows, but I did enjoy watching Elua perform. On that note, Leialoha had her first hula class yesterday, and it was a lot of fun. My mom and I both got out there to dance...we plan on trying to make all of them. As for ukulele, yesterday they were held at the same time. Luckily today they are not, so I plan to hit ukulele after morning trivia.

 

Speaking of trivia, so disappointing....our team came in second. And three questions we missed we absolutely should have known. Oh well, hopefully we will get them today. In fact, I'm off to trivia now.

 

I hope to get back on this afternoon to finish today's recap, but if not, I will allow more time tomorrow to do a proper recap... :)

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WinnieinWA

WinnieinWA

Posted
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why drink it out of a bowl? i'm sure it is meant to be presented and served in a martini-type drink glass (though I have never had "pina colada soup" before) and be a little different to add to the dining experience.

 

loosen up, you're on a cruise....................

 

All (about 15) of the cold fruit soups I've ever had came in a bowl with a soup spoon and I too would not like to slurp it out of a straw. She sounds pretty loose to me. ;)

 

Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to post. It's very kind of you!:)

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f-mattox

f-mattox

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All (about 15) of the cold fruit soups I've ever had came in a bowl with a soup spoon

 

WinnieinWA, the Pina Colada in a cocktail glass is a Princess thing; but I agree, the waiter should have immediately poured it into a bowl if that is what she wanted.

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WinnieinWA

WinnieinWA

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WinnieinWA, the Pina Colada in a cocktail glass is a Princess thing; but I agree, the waiter should have immediately poured it into a bowl if that is what she wanted.

 

If it is listed on the menu as a soup I would like it served in a bowl with a soup soon. So, is it a cocktail, fruit smoothie or soup?:confused: I don't know exactly how it was listed. But then I've only been on one Princess ship and I probably had my share of Mojito's before dinner! :p Now I know for a fact that those were listed as cocktails and served in a large glass and are VERY delicious!!;) Hic!

 

Thanks for the heads up.:)

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f-mattox

f-mattox

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WinnieinWA, you haven't tried the chilled Mojito soup yet? You're in for a treat:cool:.

 

But seriously folks; helenb, there are four pools; the lap pool at the Lotus Spa is very well protected and the Calypso Reef and Pool has a retractable cover. Neptune's Reef and Pool and the Terrace Pool are out in the open.

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4cats4me "Live from...." Rare

4cats4me

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If it is listed on the menu as a soup I would like it served in a bowl with a soup soon. So, is it a cocktail, fruit smoothie or soup?:confused: I don't know exactly how it was listed. But then I've only been on one Princess ship and I probably had my share of Mojito's before dinner! :p Now I know for a fact that those were listed as cocktails and served in a large glass and are VERY delicious!!;) Hic!

 

Thanks for the heads up.:)

 

Five year ago on the Diamond the Pina Colada soup was served in a Pina

colada glass with a straw. LOL We even have a picture drinking the

soup out of the "straw" :eek:

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cormike1

cormike1

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Waimea's Mom.....I see we are on the same cruise at this time next year. You must love this cruise so I am taking that as a good sign and really looking forward to our 1st big cruise. We have done 3 river cruises and I have done the 4-day Bahama cruise but my husband hasn't done any ocean cruises so we are enjoying reading about this cruise. By the time next year rolls around we should know our way around the "Golden" like we were seasoned cruisers lol. Thanks for posting and keep them coming.

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