Five Day Golden Pacific Coastal Cruise Review

[vickie_bernie]

The cruise was the Golden, five nights Los Angeles to Vancouver, with stops in Catalina, San Francisco and Victoria.

 

We flew into Long Beach, stayed at a hotel there (thru Priceline, great deal) and then taxied to the pier which ended up being $26 which included tip. We were checked in and on board around noon. We had dinner in the dining room and ended up sitting with two couples, one who was on the roll call and one who knows of CC but wasn't on the roll call.

 

The best deal onboard was book a future cruise for the Caribbean or Panama for the fall and get double on board credit!!! We've been talking about a possible Panama for Oct 4 Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale and with $600 obc it was tempting, we figured with all the other obc we would have a total of $985 but the cost of the cruise was just too high and we had to pass.

 

Food was very good, nothing new that I noticed. Had dinner one night in the Crown Grill and love the new location (done in drydock last May). Our waiter Estevan we recognized from the Emerald two years ago and it was nice to catch up with him.

 

We also ran into Joel who was a cabin Steward on the Grand last year - probably the best cabin steward we had ever had and say him and was happy to report he has been promoted to Cabin Steward Supervisor.

 

We also saw Jodi from head office who we first met on the Golden last May and we had wine with him and the Food and Beverage Manager one night in Vines.

 

We missed Catalina because of high winds and therefore had an extra day at sea. The ship was moving quite a bit that night, but not that bad. I slept like a baby.

 

San francisco, we docked and the weather was sunny but the breeze was a little cool. We got the street car to the Muni and took it to the California Academy of Sciences (show your transfer for a $3 discount). After three hours and just sitting down in the Planatarium the fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate the building.... after waiting outside for a half hour we decided to head back to the Embarcadero. We had a nice lunch ashore, picked up some champagne and got back on board. Tonight we headed up to Skywalkers for the drink of the day in the Elite/Platinum/Suite lounge, Sandleman's port for $2.99, I had four!!

 

We did partake in trivia and games and there were prizes for all events. We only won one (Movie Poster Trivia) and got ball caps.

 

The cruise director was Marahscalh Stanton, well I've had better and i have had worse, enough said.

 

Did not attend any of the production shows.

 

Movies were Avatar, Blind Side, Nine, Sherlock Homes, and Star Trek tried movies under the star but the rain started and it reminded my why I prefer sailing in the Caribbean.

 

Victoria - we docked a little late, 11 am we were two hours late. But the day was stunning (got a sunburn) and we weren't leaving until midnight so we ventured out and walked to the harbour (20-30 min) toured the legislature, went to the mall (I know go figure), had lunch, walked to Beacon Hill and then back to the ship.

 

Capatin was David Calabrese, at the Captain Circle Party he talked about the new ships, said he didn't know the name for them, but he was sure Cruise Critic knew it... :D said how many it would hold, and that there would be 25,000 crew and that they would have to sleep with the passengers! :p Very funny guy.

 

We docked at Canada place this morning and were off the ship by 845 (and we left later than our assigned time), home by 10.

 

Cabin steward left a little to be desired, three of the five days the cabin took over 4 hours to get cleanned, we gave up on the last day and said just bring us clean towels and forget the rest, came back to see not even towels were delivered.

 

No more surveys to fill out at the end of the cruise, when we got home there were two emails one for each of us to fill out an online survey.

 

Lots of first timers on this ship, about half, but it was such a great deal and it was a great way to introduce new people to cruising.

 

they even did a chef's table and a ultimate ship tour.

 

Internet was slower than molasses... but I am prepared for that now.

 

Ship is showing its age, even with drydock last year. Lots of areas where carpet is torn or lifting up. Light post up on Sun deck is missing and just wires are showing - but it looks great! All the chairs looks great still, dining room shines, new Piazza was well attended and looks nice. love the new Crown Grill area, Tours Desk... hate the Casino location as you have to walk thru it and all the smoke to get forward on deck 7.

 

All in all my final comment is I don't like the short cruises, too short, you just get into vacation mode and you have to get off, more kids than I am used to (but they were well behaved, and seemed to have fun).

 

Enjoy

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks. :)

 

Showing more wear!! Thats not good. :(

[BalconyGal]

Thank you I was wondering about this cruise. I agree short cruises :mad:, but better than no cruise at all! :p

[MTJSR]

I came across the bay to check on one of my favorite ships, having recently sailed her to Hawaii. You really had a fantastic day for San Francisco considering it was rainy and cold the day before, when the Sapphire was in town. I almost took the cruise with you because the price was so good. I would have had to be psychically removed from the ship though, 5 days is just a tease. Hope you got some of the wonderful bread available all around the wharf.

[Coral]

Where is the new Crown Grill area?

[PescadoAmarillo]

Welcome home, Vickie, and thanks for the review!

[Colo Cruiser]

Where is the new Crown Grill area?

 

Right behind the passenger services desk port side.

Where the casino used to be.

[Coral]

Right behind the passenger services desk port side.

Where the casino used to be.

 

Interesting - thanks. I guess I wasn't paying attention when they re-did the ship.

 

Vicki - thanks for the review.

[cruisingallover]

Great review Vickie!!!

 

See you on the water as Rex would say ;)

[Coolmama_1]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

[Caribensun]

Thanks for the review, we will be on a one nighter in Sept. not liking to have to walk through the casino.

[truffles68]

Thanks for the review ! I am just indecisive about whether I should sail Golden or Sapphire this summer to Alaska. After reading reviews on both ships, I really wonder which one is in better condition ? Any ideas ?

[MTJSR]

With 3,000 people climbing in and out of these ships weekly and a crew on constant upkeep duty, I think you will find both ships in nearly identical condition. To me.....and I could be picky if I had nothing better to do, could find issues with a new ship. The Golden is in fine shape and I had two weeks to check it all out. Personally, I would sail the Golden again, if they had the same Hawaiian entertainment superstars onboard (ELUA) and (David Cole) but if they were on the Sapphire, I would sail on that ship instead. I doubt you would have the same island experience this pairing dishes up on any other ship.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review ! I am just indecisive about whether I should sail Golden or Sapphire this summer to Alaska. After reading reviews on both ships, I really wonder which one is in better condition ? Any ideas ?

 

 

I would choose the Golden due to all the updates and the fact that it does not have the goofy DR setup like the Sapphire has.

We also noticed many of the railings on the Sapphire that were in dire need of sanding and finishing both the cabin rails and Promanade deck. I was surprised.

[vickie_bernie]

After getting off the Golden for five days and getting on the Sapphire today for one day to get back to seattle all i can say is

 

I would definately sail the golden again in a heartbeat! She is beautiful... especially since the retrofit. Sure there are issues, there are on EVERY ship even the newest. I just wanted to comment that there were some things I was surprised to see that had not been repaired.

 

We sailed 28 days on the sisters ship the Grand last year and she has not had the retrofit so in a hearbeat I would sail the Golden again.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks for the review ! I am just indecisive about whether I should sail Golden or Sapphire this summer to Alaska. After reading reviews on both ships, I really wonder which one is in better condition ? Any ideas ?

 

I much prefer the Sapphire's double pools in the aft area. That's my favorite spot. When I'm on the Golden or Grand, I always miss that extra pool back there. I just like the 'feel' of the Sapphire/Diamond - seems to flow a little better than the Golden.

 

OP - Thanks for the review. I appreciate it!

[vickie_bernie]

I much prefer the Sapphire's double pools in the aft area. That's my favorite spot. When I'm on the Golden or Grand, I always miss that extra pool back there. I just like the 'feel' of the Sapphire/Diamond - seems to flow a little better than the Golden.

 

OP - Thanks for the review. I appreciate it!

 

good point, i forgot about the extra pool.... will check out that extra pool today when i get on in Vancouver, it is hot hot hot here, definately need sunscreen

[VibeGuy]

Rather than "goofy", I think the DR setup on Sapphire is "intimate" and "restaurant-like" and "comfortable" - I'm especially fond of the banquette seating in the Anytime DRs.

 

I too noticed carpet wear issues on Golden yesterday - especially in the Skywalker itself - the lounge was fine, but the Skywalker tube carpet was in rough shape.

 

To the person who can't decide: I LOVE Sapphire (25 days onboard in the last year) because everything just feels "right" to me. The thing is, Golden has the Glacier Bay days this year from Seattle, and Glacier Bay is stunning. So...it's a tossup. Any other itinerary, it would, hands down, be Sapphire or Diamond.

[Coral]

Between Sapphire and Golden - I would choose Golden and the weeks that go to Glacier Bay. That is the best itinerary!

[Woobstr112G]

The cruise was the Golden, five nights Los Angeles to Vancouver, with stops in Catalina, San Francisco and Victoria.

 

We flew into Long Beach, stayed at a hotel there (thru Priceline, great deal) and then taxied to the pier which ended up being $26 which included tip. We were checked in and on board around noon. We had dinner in the dining room and ended up sitting with two couples, one who was on the roll call and one who knows of CC but wasn't on the roll call.

 

The best deal onboard was book a future cruise for the Caribbean or Panama for the fall and get double on board credit!!! We've been talking about a possible Panama for Oct 4 Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale and with $600 obc it was tempting, we figured with all the other obc we would have a total of $985 but the cost of the cruise was just too high and we had to pass.

 

Food was very good, nothing new that I noticed. Had dinner one night in the Crown Grill and love the new location (done in drydock last May). Our waiter Estevan we recognized from the Emerald two years ago and it was nice to catch up with him.

 

We also ran into Joel who was a cabin Steward on the Grand last year - probably the best cabin steward we had ever had and say him and was happy to report he has been promoted to Cabin Steward Supervisor.

 

We also saw Jodi from head office who we first met on the Golden last May and we had wine with him and the Food and Beverage Manager one night in Vines.

 

We missed Catalina because of high winds and therefore had an extra day at sea. The ship was moving quite a bit that night, but not that bad. I slept like a baby.

 

San francisco, we docked and the weather was sunny but the breeze was a little cool. We got the street car to the Muni and took it to the California Academy of Sciences (show your transfer for a $3 discount). After three hours and just sitting down in the Planatarium the fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate the building.... after waiting outside for a half hour we decided to head back to the Embarcadero. We had a nice lunch ashore, picked up some champagne and got back on board. Tonight we headed up to Skywalkers for the drink of the day in the Elite/Platinum/Suite lounge, Sandleman's port for $2.99, I had four!!

 

We did partake in trivia and games and there were prizes for all events. We only won one (Movie Poster Trivia) and got ball caps.

 

The cruise director was Marahscalh Stanton, well I've had better and i have had worse, enough said.

 

Did not attend any of the production shows.

 

Movies were Avatar, Blind Side, Nine, Sherlock Homes, and Star Trek tried movies under the star but the rain started and it reminded my why I prefer sailing in the Caribbean.

 

Victoria - we docked a little late, 11 am we were two hours late. But the day was stunning (got a sunburn) and we weren't leaving until midnight so we ventured out and walked to the harbour (20-30 min) toured the legislature, went to the mall (I know go figure), had lunch, walked to Beacon Hill and then back to the ship.

 

Capatin was David Calabrese, at the Captain Circle Party he talked about the new ships, said he didn't know the name for them, but he was sure Cruise Critic knew it... :D said how many it would hold, and that there would be 25,000 crew and that they would have to sleep with the passengers! :p Very funny guy.

 

We docked at Canada place this morning and were off the ship by 845 (and we left later than our assigned time), home by 10.

 

Cabin steward left a little to be desired, three of the five days the cabin took over 4 hours to get cleanned, we gave up on the last day and said just bring us clean towels and forget the rest, came back to see not even towels were delivered.

 

No more surveys to fill out at the end of the cruise, when we got home there were two emails one for each of us to fill out an online survey.

 

Lots of first timers on this ship, about half, but it was such a great deal and it was a great way to introduce new people to cruising.

 

they even did a chef's table and a ultimate ship tour.

 

Internet was slower than molasses... but I am prepared for that now.

 

Ship is showing its age, even with drydock last year. Lots of areas where carpet is torn or lifting up. Light post up on Sun deck is missing and just wires are showing - but it looks great! All the chairs looks great still, dining room shines, new Piazza was well attended and looks nice. love the new Crown Grill area, Tours Desk... hate the Casino location as you have to walk thru it and all the smoke to get forward on deck 7.

 

All in all my final comment is I don't like the short cruises, too short, you just get into vacation mode and you have to get off, more kids than I am used to (but they were well behaved, and seemed to have fun).

 

Enjoy

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. Hope they spruce her up a bit.....

 

Bob

[PescadoAmarillo]

I much prefer the Sapphire's double pools in the aft area. That's my favorite spot. When I'm on the Golden or Grand, I always miss that extra pool back there. I just like the 'feel' of the Sapphire/Diamond - seems to flow a little better than the Golden.

Do you mean the two hot tubs, one on each side? I don't recall the pool situation being any different. :confused:

[boaterette]

I was on this journey also. I had a great time. The weather was wonderful. I am surprised about the kid comment. We didn't think that there was very many on the ship. I only saw around seven.

 

Those beds though are hard as rocks. Even after the egg crate. Food was very good and service was excellent.

 

Will sail again on Princess.

[Hulagirl]

We were also on the Golden for the 5 day cruise. Loved the entire cruise and was sorry to have to disembark the ship.

 

Just a few days before the cruise we were upgraded to one of the new PH suites on deck 15, Sun Deck. It was a fantastic upgrade and we loved the new suite. We were definitely high up and could feel the movement a bit more when it was windy out. Took my Bonine a couple of times and was fine.

 

Surprised about the kid comment also. Yes there were some, but not many. Thought they were well behaved and never gave them much thought.

 

Love the new features on the ship. We sailed on the Golden last year to Hawaii a month before the dry dock and looked forward to being back on the ship to see what was done. What an excellent job they did. Of course we love the IC and Vines. The Crown Grill was so elegant and nice. We enjoyed our dinner there one night too.

 

All in all it was a great cruise.

[donna5]

Yes there were more children on this one than some, I still don't know why anyone would bring an infant to the wine tasting! I also don't like it when you ask not to be seated near children and then they are right at the next table. But there were at least no problems I saw or heard of with the children. And there were not a lot of teens either. It did seem that the parents on this cruise took care of their children. Read this to say "a lot of well behaved children."

 

It was nice to meet several of our Roll Call at the sailaway. There were several of us on this cruise that were also on the Southbound Coast last fall, where we didn't get into Catalina that time too, but because of the fog. Lucky the weather was good in port. But it was quite frosty for promenade walking at times.

 

Trivia seems to be getting harder or my brain isn't working as good anymore. The chairs in explorer's need to be recaned or something. The center is uncomfortable and I would compare them to having a feel like a commode seat. Food was hit & miss on the fish. First night had a fish dish and it was moist and delicious. Twice after that it was overdone. On one night another lady and I returned our fish, it was so overdone it was like jerky.

 

We also had great waitstaff at all meals and we did anytime.

 

We did the rotterdam back to Seattle and I am not impressed with them. The food buffet and diningroom seemed good and was maybe a little better than princess.

 

The rotterdam seemed worn and gaudy to us. OK they make you wait for your rooms until 2PM, because they are cleaning them. Well then they should be clean. The night stand had something sticky on the top of them, the table near the couch had dried up stuff on top of it. There was no patter in the room on arrival and had to go up and get our account the last morning. We had asked for the bed to be queen. They were not and when I pulled down the sheet to check the bed, there were black hairs and some crumbs? on the bed. We called and they came and put the beds together and changed the sheets. But when they took off the sheet the beds looked different. But they said "No they are the same" Well one bed was soft and the other was firm. They said the reason they didn't put it in Queen like it had been requested was because when people see they have more room with the Twin configuration they leave it that way???? They said they had been busy because they have 30 cabins to take care of?? They also said they like working for HAL better than the other ones because they don't have to work as hard?? There were other suprises in drawers and closets. Ran into a few people that had the same problem with room not being clean and clothes still in closet or drawer. And some that had no problems. All we could say was "glad it was a one nighter. We thought we might buy a FCC on board if we liked it. DH said "it would have to be a special itinerary and a really good price for him to go on HAL.

 

But they do have a good wrap around Promenade for walking.

 

WE LOVE PRINCESS

[donna5]

Do you mean the two hot tubs, one on each side? I don't recall the pool situation being any different. :confused:

 

only other one I can think of is the "splash pool" for the kids.