Live From The Golden 02-02-11 to 02-16-11 R/T To Hawaii

[blinder]

Jasperdo - thanks for the info on AT. I guess there will be some wait around 6:30. Your pictures were great - I was salivating watching the photos of the International Cafe. I spend a lot of time in the library and it looked nice and cozy. I laughed heartily seeing the shower curtain and remembering the unwelcomed advances it made. :D Eva & Bert

[Gr8kruzn]

Hello everyone from the Golden Princess. We just set sail from Hilo bound for Honolulu. DW and I had a great time in Hilo today. We went on a princess sponsored excursion to the Volcano National Park and the Mono Loa nut factory. The national park was very nice. We saw some great sites and I took a ton of pictures. We even got to walk through a lava tube which was very cool. An added bonus on our excursion is our driver/tour guide. This man was arguably one of the best guides we have ever had. Tomorrow in Honolulu we are doing a cultural center/luau excursion.

 

The Golden Princess continues to be a great ship to sail on. All crewmembers I have seen have always had smiles on their faces and were always willing to go the extra mile to make sure the passengers have a great vacation. Internet service on the Golden continues to be, for the most part, good. The only problems I’ve experienced is using my IPad. On occasion, I would keep getting redirected to the log on page after I have already entered my log on information. A godsend indeed was deciding to also bring my laptop so I could type my postings in word then post them to CC, email, etc.

 

Entertainment today was Knight & Day (MUTS) at 1200, Blue Hawaii (MUTS) at 1430 hrs, Catfish (MUTS) at 1900 & 2200 hrs. Today in the Piazza there was a hula feather workshop at 1530 and evening melodies with the excellent musicians onboard. In the explorers lounge there was music by the ship band passion as well as a salsa Latin themed party. In the Vista lounge there is the production show “Words & Music.” Entertainer Tony Tilman is performing in the princess theater.

 

That’s all for now…..

 

 

Bob

 

Aloha Bob,

Thanks so much for taking your time to do live posts. It's great to hear your positive remarks about the ship and excursions. We will be on this same cruise 3/30. Question to Bob ( or anyone else who knows ) - The day we are in Honolulu the ship is to be in port from 7am to 11pm - do you think there would be a problem getting off the ship in time for a non- princess excursion at 8:45am? Looking forward to hearing more from you!

Mahalo,

Lauri

[DocM4]

Hi Blinder - Bert and Eva - are you on the Golden for the 16th February cruise? We are (Malcolm and Betty) we have a active roll call 83 of us - with a Meet and Great planned - love to have you join us - see us over on the rollcall.

 

I love reading about the ship etc., can hardly wait for our turn.

[furluvcats]

David Cole will be CD on that cruise

great! we love him and his staff is amazing!

[Jasperdo]

Jasperdo - thanks for the info on AT. I guess there will be some wait around 6:30.

There didn't seem to be any pattern to when you had to wait in AT. We always went knowing there was a possibility of that, and were happy when we got seated immediately. Enjoy your cruise. The Golden is a wonderful ship!

[Nancyquilts]

Aloha Bob,

Thanks so much for taking your time to do live posts. It's great to hear your positive remarks about the ship and excursions. We will be on this same cruise 3/30. Question to Bob ( or anyone else who knows ) - The day we are in Honolulu the ship is to be in port from 7am to 11pm - do you think there would be a problem getting off the ship in time for a non- princess excursion at 8:45am? Looking forward to hearing more from you!

Mahalo,

Lauri

There shouldn't be any problem getting off the ship at that time. People leave earlier for Pearl Harbor to beat the crowds.

[camofwilliamsburg]

Any chance of getting the listings of the excursions and scanning them when you return? The site only shows the listings without pricing until you book. We are thinking of this cruise in Oct or Nov. Thanks.

[kusscate]

Aloha Mike,

Well, no one can really see that far into the future, but as far as Leialoha and I know, we will be back on the Golden for the 2011-12 season, and that extends to that April 2012 Star cruise. Sorry! By the by, any chance you or your wife have run into any cool old steel guitars at those estate sales or antique stores?

 

Aloha,

Dave

 

Well you'd BETTER be on the Golden in April 2012, because EVERYONE from April of 2010 has booked it just for you and David and Leialoha! We are excited about our reunion cruise!

 

Danilo and I (and the whole family) will NOT be seeing you in Alaska this summer! We are doing the Coral in May.

 

Hope you and Leialoha are well!

 

Catherine

[Elua]

Aloha Catherine,

Well, I always play it on the safe side, but seeing as how the Golden will be the full time Hawai'i ship, at least for the 2011-12 season, we will be there. We will not however be on the Sea or any other ship this summer. Leialoha and I are putting our full efforts and time into buying a place on O'ahu, so we will have to miss the Alaska season and see everyone in Hawai'i.

 

Aloha Nui,

Dave

[dllyon]

Has anyone been to the Liliha Bakery on Oahu.

 

Thanks

[kusscate]

Aloha Catherine,

Well, I always play it on the safe side, but seeing as how the Golden will be the full time Hawai'i ship, at least for the 2011-12 season, we will be there. We will not however be on the Sea or any other ship this summer. Leialoha and I are putting our full efforts and time into buying a place on O'ahu, so we will have to miss the Alaska season and see everyone in Hawai'i.

 

Aloha Nui,

Dave

 

Well congrats on THAT! I live in a great place, but I'd move to Hawaii in a New York minute!

[dj_crusin]

Any chance of getting the listings of the excursions and scanning them when you return? The site only shows the listings without pricing until you book. We are thinking of this cruise in Oct or Nov. Thanks.

 

We are going on this cruise next Wednesday. I am E-mailing the shorex file to your address.

[Anubi]

Bob, we're waiting to hear a report on the Chef's Table...come on, make my mouth water!! ;)

[Woobstr112G]

Good afternoon from the Golden Princess. Today is the first of four sea days as we sail to Ensenada. Our stop in Maui yesterday was great. We participated in a whale watching excursion in the morning. It was a very enjoyable excursion and I took a lot of great pictures. About the only detractor was the boat was rather crowded and getting the good picture was at times difficult. After the whale watching excursion concluded, we did a little shopping and purchased several cute crystal items from a local vendor. We didn’t stay out too long, as I wanted to give my DW a chance to rest up before our Chef’s Table dinner.

When the time to go to the Chef’s Table finally arrived, we made our way down to the International Café where we meet up with the Maître Di. After brief introductions we donned our white lab coats for our tour of the galley on deck six. The galley tour was very nice and informative. We had some very nice French champagne along with some very tasty horsd’oeuvres(sp).

One thing I’d like to mention about the galley tour is the issue of the requirement for women to wear close toe shoes. All the literature along with the CC postings I’ve read say that close toe shoes were a requirement to do the galley tour. My DW ended up wearing sneakers because her single pair of close toe shoes she brought were too painful to wear. I was later told by the waiter captain, who showed us around, that she could have worn open toe shoes. I also noted that another participant was in fact wearing open toe shoes.

After the galley tour concluded, we made our way to our special table in the Bernini dining room to begin our adventure. The entire dinner was very nice. Each course was paired with a very nice wine; all of which I enjoyed with the exception of the very sweet desert wine. The main course consisted of Slow roasted veal shank & veal rack. My DW does not care for veal so the chef gladly substituted a very nice beef selection for her. After the dinner was concluded, the women at our table each received a single long stemmed red rose. Each participant received a group picture and each couple received a copy of the princess cookbook that was signed by the chef and Maître Di.

All in all, the Chef’s Table was a great experience. I’d post some pictures, but the ship’s internet is slow and all the uploading would eat up my internet minutes. When I get back home, I will upload pictures to my flickr photo site. Not to make the review a total bust, here is the menu for the chef’s table.

French Champagne & Horsd’oeuvres(sp)

Blue crab margarita with mango slaw

Foie gras terrine on brioche eith stone fruit jam

Roast red new potatoes with caviar and sour cream

Risotto with lobster & asparagus

Lemon sorbet (with Gray Goose vodka of course)

Roast veal shank & veal rack carved tableside with forest mushrooms

Baked camembert with pine nuts with port wine reduction

Iced cointreau parfait florentines tuiles with raspberries

****NOTE: The raspberries were soaked in Whiskey****

Not much on tap for me today. I do plan to work out later and also each of our remaining days on the ship. I’m going to get back into a regular workout routine so it will be easier to lose some of the weight I’ve gained on the cruise. DW has a massage and hair appointment on tap as tonight is our second formal night.

Entertainment today consists of the winning season (MUTS) at 1100 hours, Knight & Day (MUTS) at 1500 hours, Easy A (MUTS) at 1900/2200 hours. In the piazza there is music throughout the day. In the vista lounge there is a comedy hypnotist (Joshua Seth). In the princess theater there is the production show Callente.

Internet speed is beyond slow today. Earlier today when I originally composed this, I could not get connected, via my laptop, while I was sitting right outside the internet café.

Hope all are well….. :):):)

Bob

[bronxgirl25]

Thanks for the review Bob. Glad you are having a great time. I want so bad to do a CT in October for our 40th anniversary! Hope they choose us.

[Sunviking]

Great report, Bob! Continue to enjoy and worry about the weight when you get home.

[Anubi]

Wow! Also its nice to know that they'll do a substitute, I'm not one for veal either, much to rich.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I'm looking forward to the pics. Enjoy the rest of the cruise!

[Michelle19]

Just out of curiousity, how do you get on the captains table? We are going on Golden to HI in April and would love to experience that!

[gubby]

Sounds scrumptious! I am glad to hear that Holli's back seems to be on the mend. That massage will be wonderful for her. Enjoy the rest of your days on board. The workout may be fine but worry about the gained weight when you return home.

Ciao,

Nikki

[CruisinLow]

Just out of curiousity, how do you get on the captains table? We are going on Golden to HI in April and would love to experience that!

 

As soon as you board the ship, call D-I-N-E (3463) immediately and tell them you want to sign up for the Captain's Table. They will put you on a list and will contact you if you are chosen. I would also go down on the first day and talk to the Maitre'D and tell him that you want to make sure that you are on the list for the CT. Best of luck. It is a fantastic expereince.

[kath00]

Thank you so much for the review. Chef's table sounds amazing. We'd like to do it on our Alaska trip too.

 

Could you let us know how the seas are coming home? Calm or bumpy?

 

Thank you. Katherine

[TERESAh]

As soon as you board the ship' date=' call D-I-N-E (3463) immediately and tell them you want to sign up for the Captain's Table. They will put you on a list and will contact you if you are chosen. I would also go down on the first day and talk to the Maitre'D and tell him that you want to make sure that you are on the list for the CT. Best of luck. It is a fantastic expereince.[/size']

 

On our cruise, it seemed like everyone on the waiting list got to go as they kept adding more chef's dinners every night. We were on the waiting list and went the 3rd sea night, and others who were below us on the list went also, but at a later date.

[Michelle19]

Thanks ann!! <3<3 ;););););););

[Lynda90]

Bob, thanks for the review of the Chef's Table and glad to hear you enjoyed it. Enjoy the rest of your cruise and will be looking forward to your photos when you return. :p

[atlasali]

Bob - We are on the cruise right after yours. I just received an "Emergency Notification Urgent" from Princess. It has a staggered arrival time for boarding beginning at 12:00...last group is to arrive at 2:30.

 

Did you received a similar notice and have such a schedule?

 

We are the last group. The notification also states, "all passengers must be onboard 1 hour prior to sailing ...failure to do so will result in denied boarding." Can we even get checked in and physically on the ship in less than 30 minutes?