Holiday Aloha Part 'ekolu on the Golden Princess to Hawaii 12/19/12 to 1/2/13

[Cruisin' Chick]

Aloha, welcome to my official report of my most recent cruise!

Be aware that this won’t be a quickie one. My Virgo ascendant/Gemini moon rules my mind, and between hubby and me, we’ve got tons of photos. So pour yourself a Mai Tai, settle into a comfy computer chair and (hopefully) enjoy!

A quick description: we’re a couple in our 50s with a 15-year old daughter. This was hubby’s 12th cruise, my 11th, and the girl’s 8th. Our fifth on Princess. We were on the Hawaiian RT on the Island Princess back when it was still 15 days, December 22, 2005 to January 6, 2006. This is a great itinerary for us as we are an hour’s drive (if the traffic gods are with us) and we found that we liked going on cruises longer than seven days. So after a five year period with hubby out on workers comp and then his mother’s diagnosis of stage 4 cancer, we were more than ready to go on another vacation. And that was on the Golden Princess, December 22, 2005 to January 5, 2010.

Unfortunately Kona had been dropped as a port by Princess (even more unfortunate for those on that 2005/06 cruise as the Captain had determined the high waves made it unsafe to tender to that port). If we ever return for a land trip, Kona would definitely have to be one of our destinations.

 

 

 

Hubby and I were raring for another Hawaiian sailing, but the girl complained about being bored the last time. She was at that age that found the teen activities (probably planned by adults as far as teens are concerned) LAME. On a positive note, she, a picky eater, did enjoy the food, even though she avoided the main dining rooms. But after an extremely busy 9th grade and an even busier summer preparing to join a type-A marching band program, as well as a transfer to an ultra take-no-prisoners high school, she said she didn’t mind going on another cruise during winter break.

Hubby and I looked at the schedules for the two ships on the Hawaiian itinerary that depart from San Pedro. The Sapphire’s Hawaiian cruise was leaving on December 29 and wouldn’t be over until days into the new semester for the girl. The Golden’s dates worked for us. Plus, they have Elua, a musical duo who works to ensue the aloha spirit is on board. I took the hula classes and learned how to make leis then.

No cabins were available at that point (August), except for Window Suites, which were too pricey for us, but also in a smoky area (too close to Churchills, the cigar lounge…and yes, we had checked the hallway on our last cruise). I asked to be placed on waitlists for all inside and ocean view cabins). Within a couple of weeks, we got some ”matches.”

But each time, we checked the deck plans and decided to pass on those cabins. All of them were far forward (not good for someone like with me with motion issues). Some were below or above the Princess Theater, so we were concerned about noise if it’s cleaned late at night (on my first cruise, we were below a dining room and the vacuuming late at night kept me up). We were keeping our fingers crossed that a cabin like our last one would become available as it was completely midship lengthwise and up and down. The girl expressed her preference for a cabin up high, especially near the pools and Horizon Court. Unfortunately, if you turn down a cabin this way, your name is removed from the whole category (some categories did have some cabins we could live with, too).

[Cruisin' Chick]

eek --sorry about the font size -- cutting and pasting from Word.

 

With each turn down, we were getting worried that we might not get a cabin. I told hubby that we were getting near final payment, and perhaps right after that, some unbooked cabins might get released by TAs. The booking gods finally smiled on us, and we were offered a cabin that seemed acceptable to the whole family just a few days before final payment. It was A-732, an inside on the Aloha deck. Both hubby and the girl were happy. I had qualms about being so far aft, but I made myself a mental note to pack tons of ginger.

While taking breaks from a publicity project I was working on, I started to check out the shore excursions. The last time we didn’t book any, and we decided to try to come up with activities we hadn’t done before. The girl took a break from her studies and asked to look at the offerings. I shared her list with hubby and we decided to book one of her choices, The Atlantis Submarine Adventure in Honolulu. I pointed out the Hollywood in Hawaii – Movies and Waterfalls tour as I have read positive reviews on that one. Hubby was intrigued and the girl was definitely giving a thumbs up on that one.

Since the girl was bored on the last trip, and I know how much school work she has (an AP class in World History, Honors English, Trig, Chemistry, Spanish 2 as well as many hours at band practice and the band competitions) so we wanted to come up with some plan or activity for her. Hubby asked me to research the Internet packages. We selected a nice big package that gave some extra minutes for booking prior to the cruise. Plus, we can give my email address to neighbors and family members so they can send any important, but non urgent messages to me.

After checking our cruise personalizers (fortunately our passport info was there so I wouldn’t have to input our data), we we’re all set. Printed out our boarding passes and several luggage tags.

Then on December 4, I got this strange email.

Dear Princess Passenger,

 

We show that you have purchased a pre-cruise transfer or a pre-cruise hotel package with transfer. As of today, we have not been provided with the required independent air information for these transfers. This missing information must be provided ASAP or your transfers may be cancelled. This information may be submitted via the Cruise Personalizer at www.princess.com.

 

If you have already provided this information, please disregard this notice.

 

Notice: This is an automated email; please do not reply as it is undeliverable.

This email had me scratching my head in puzzlement. Why would we have purchased a transfer or hotel package with transfer when we live in the same county as the port we were leaving from? I figured it was probably sent to us by mistake, but decided to call Princess anyway. It turned out that when we had booked our cruise, somehow we were charged for the transfers! I told the CSR that we were never asked if we needed a transfer, and that the booking agent and I were even talking about how it’s a convenient cruise for my family as we can just drive south to the port. The person said she’ll refund it on the credit card. I looked on our original invoice and there was a “package” listed. I should have been more careful to check the invoice when we first got this despite being busy. But this fee wasn’t listed when I was checking prices (with the port fees and government taxes) and wasn’t mentioned at all to me when I was booking.

I brought this up on the Princess facebook page and the answer I got was that it’s standard. WTH?

At least that was the only unhappy surprise. The other emails we got were the standard ones from the captain, the dining staff, the cruise director (even though that one didn’t have the specific info about shows, MUTS movies, etc,.,that my daughter and I were waiting to read up on. Just a link to a generic video about entertainment that may be onboard).

[Cruisin' Chick]

On December 13, I received an email: 5301 SPECIAL MOVEOVER OFFER

Princess is extending a special offer to guests booked on the December 19, 2012 Golden Princess sailing. Move to an alternative sailing and receive:

* 50% of cruise fare back (as refundable OBC) * Free Upgrade to a balcony stateroom! * Air change fees covered up to $150 per person (Princess Air protected) Suggested Alternatives include: * Golden Princess 14-day Sailing January 30, 2013 * Other dates are also available.

Since we could only go when school is out, accepting this offer was not an option for us. But I’m sure someone jumped at this offer. We had received a similar offer back in 2003 the day before a cruise—full refund plus upgrade to a balcony stateroom. We’d turned down that one, too.

One thing that had an impact on our cruise, that actually turned out to be a positive experience was in helping out a 18-yr-old. I “met” Harry Cotterill on another cruising website a few years ago. He loves cruise ships (as do many of you reading this) and has the ambition of becoming a designer of cruise ships. He just got into a maritime university program, but in the meantime, many of his online friends have been helping him by presenting cruise ship illustrations to captains. Here’s his website of the drawings that have already been presented http://dreamdesignscolchester.weebly.com/index.html.

As no one had presented one of the Golden, I sent him a message about our upcoming cruise. Just a couple of weeks before our cruise, I received a tube in the mail. I did resist the urge to take it out for a look see, but I wanted to keep it nice and dry, just in case we had a rainstorm on embarkation day, just as we had two years before.

Before the cruise, both of us were emailing someone in the PR department in Santa Clarita. Harry said he was told I would get a name of an onboard contact. December 18th rolled around, and I still didn’t have a name so I was concerned.

Another thing on my mind was the transportation to the port. Before our first Hawaiian cruise, we realized that there was no way all of our stuff would fit into either of our car trunks (we love our Saturn sedans – good gas mileage and pretty reliable – and to this date, we still have my 1999 one, hubby’s 2002 one, and even his original 1993 one which he gave to his mother, of blessed memory, and is our back up car, sitting in the drive way of her house, which we jointly inherited with hubby’s brother, who lives there). I booked a town car with Cool Cars, which seemed a good way to go, but hubby seemed to feel some attitude from one of our drivers. I thought they were all right, but there are other fishes, um, shuttle companies out there.

Last time, I went with Prime Time shuttle and that was a major disaster. We’d booked a private van to pick us up from our house in the Valley to the port, and the reverse for two weeks later. Got an email confirmation with those details. But the driver didn’t show up – and when I called, was told the driver was waiting to pick us at the port! On the day we got off the ship, the PT curbside rep didn’t have our name on his list. Yep, the driver was waiting for us back in the Valley. My message on their customer service (ha) voice mail got ignored as did my first email. Had to threaten to go to the credit card company to finally get an email response. Never again.

So I did a lot more research this time, including trying to find if there was any reports on the Better Business Bureau website, the Yelp website and some other travel websites I can find by googling (a little info on Trip Advisor, but that wasn’t all that helpful in the long run).

I looked on the websites for the different companies and emailed requests for a quote for a private van that would hold two large suitcases, two large plastic crates (one holding hubby’s music stand, music, and other miscellaneous stuff, and the other holding a box o’wine, some two liter bottles of soda, and whatever little stuff that didn’t fit into our bags), a garment bag, hubby’s backpack, a guitar and two carry-ons.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Here’s the first photo. It’s one of the plastic crates. Hubby printed out some photos from the Internet of ships from the early 20th Century to decorate them, and then taped on luggage tags. Two traveling companions, Tigretta Lily and Moo Cowlatta, are checking out it out.

 

 

It was kinda an eeny meeny decision. I called On Time. At first, I was put off by the brusqueness of the person answering the phone. I guess I got him in the middle of another call as he asked if he can take down my number and call me back. I almost felt like just calling another one, but decided to see how it goes. When he called back, I told him the details and he confirmed the rate. Since language comprehension seemed to be a bit of a problem, I asked if I can book online and he said fine. He had said I’ll get a call the night before, but didn’t. So I was a bit nervous. I called a couple of hours before the scheduled pick up, and the guy knew immediately about the pickup and even volunteered the community, which was definitely where we live and not the port.

The driver got to house around 9:50am, ten minutes early. We were ready (garage door already locked, furnace thermostat turned down, perishables from fridge tossed out, etc.) so we opened the door and loaded our stuff into the SUV. He didn’t seem fazed by our stuff, which was a good sign for hubby. Fortunately, the traffic was holiday light (relatively speaking for the notorious 405 freeway). When we reached West Los Angeles, we can see snow on San Bernardino Mountains, undoubtedly fresh from the precipitation that fell in Southern California over the past few days. Fortunately, today was sunny.

You know you’re getting near the port when you see the Vincent-Thomas bridge.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We arrived at the World Cruise Center and berth 93 around 11:10am or so.

 

 

After showing our cruise docs at the door and then filling out the health forms, we proceeded to the check-in area. We were directed to the line for those with cabins on the top decks, which included the Aloha deck. Only two parties were in front of us in the Aloha/Lido line (yea!), and we were sent over to the check in person handling elite when he became available, as he didn’t have any elites to process.

After going through security, we were told to wait in the non-Elite waiting area. That was around 11:35am. Playing on the giant screen in front were promos for the Royal Princess (a harbinger for all the promotion to come for the next two weeks). Around 12:05, the elite passengers were told they could now board the ship.

Finally, those with a group 3 ticket were allowed to get in the line to get onboard -- with the advisory to have passports and cabin card ready to show. Then we got our embarkation photo taken (Princess newbies, note that there’s no charge to take this or any other photo. I know it’s a bother when you have your carry on stuff and for some embarkation ports such as San Pedro, you’ll probably have a coat or sweater on—but go ahead and take the photo). As you are getting on the ship, you’ll have another photo to take, the one that gets embedded into your card.

When we got to the cabin, did a cursory check of all the papers on the desk. At one point, I noticed an envelope. I figured it had our shore excursions tix inside. But when I finally got a chance to check, it had priority tender tickets. I wondered out loud where our shore excursions tickets were and hubby said, “Oh, I put them in the safe.” I asked if they were okay, and he replied he hadn’t checked them. Rolling eyes, I suggested we look, so he got them out so I can make sure we had three tickets each for the two excursions I had booked.

[Cruisin' Chick]

And so now, my explanation of how I roll. I tried to take photos of the menus and dishes, but remember, I’ll not a young puppy so sometimes I forgot. I will post the ones I took. Also, if you search for Kruz Princess’s Sapphire Menu thread, she listed just about all the dinner entrees. We had a few differences on our sailing as it was a holiday cruise, but for the most part, our menus followed her list.

We never ate in the MDR for any breakfast or lunch. All breakfasts were eaten in the Horizon (or we took the food back to the cabin to eat there). Hubby is a major fan of the made-to-order omelets and the girl of the waffles in the Horizon.

For hubby and I, lunch at sea was taken in the Horizon or else, the grilled chicken sandwich and fries you can get at the Trident Grill (which also serves burgers and hot dogs) right by the outdoors pool on deck14 (the pizzeria is also there). Sometimes our little one joined us for dinner; sometimes ate with her friend’s family at another times. I’ll also go into our one and only specialty dining experience later.

Here’s the lunch menu from one day at Donatello’s (if you wanted the MDR experience for breakfast or for sea-day lunches):

 

 

I didn’t check on another day to see if the menu changes each day.

 

 

 

You can also get various sandwiches, paninis, salads and soups, as well as yummy desserts 24/7 at the International Café, in the Piazza, midships Plaza deck. No charge for the food items. Here’s some examples of the fare as well as a sign with costs for specialty drinks.

[Cruisin' Chick]

More IC yumminess:

 

 

 

 

[Cruisin' Chick]

Also, I didn’t take a lot of notes as I went along, even though I had a tiny notebook in my purse, but I did note down specs from the navigation channel shortly after waking up. So I may do a bit of “oh, I forgot about this” backtracking.

I’m scanning in the Patters as I’m writing this. Because Webshots is no longer, I’m going to see if Photobucket works out and will try to post a link. Will also see if I can insert the Patters into each day’s post (keep your fingers crossed).

I will also try to answer questions so don’t be shy about asking ‘em. If I don’t have the answers, maybe one of your fellow forum members will know.

Since many people like to know: the Captain was Vincenzo Lubrano. The cruise director was Sammi Baker. Unlike the CD on the last cruise (David Bradshaw), she was very present. She emceed shows, she was at the NYE party.

Our cabin steward was Florante.

 

 

Our waiter was Ador

 

 

 

and his assistant Theo.

 

 

 

More random comments:

People mention the color of the rugs, but I used the gold diagrams that you can see (if you have good vision, me, I have to go closer) that say if it’s the port side or the starboard side. So I would look for this sign that says PORT. PORT = LEFT = EVEN cabin number. If you have a starboard cabin: STARBOARD = RIGHT side of the ship = ODD cabin number.

[caribill]

We show that you have purchased a pre-cruise transfer or a pre-cruise hotel package with transfer.

 

This email had me scratching my head in puzzlement. Why would we have purchased a transfer or hotel package with transfer when we live in the same county as the port we were leaving from?

 

I brought this up on the Princess facebook page and the answer I got was that it’s standard. WTH?

 

 

 

 

Yes, the default option is to include the transfers. However, the agent you booked with should have changed that option as you obviously did not need or want it.

[Pam in CA]

I'm loving your review but I'm about to crash for the night. Will read it in the AM. :)

[caribill]

Here’s the lunch menu from one day at Donatello’s

 

 

I didn’t check on another day to see if the menu changes each day.

 

 

 

Except for the always available items (such as the hamburger and veggieburger), the lunch menu is different each day.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Even though I didn’t see any mention in the Patters about this, the announcements on port mornings included admonishments not to take food off the ship. We’d packed some factory-sealed snacks like Clif bars, crackers, etc., just in case we had growling tummies while in port.

For you joggers (or walkers, like me): it’s 2.5 laps around the Promenade deck (including the walk up to deck 8 and back down again) equals 1 mile. We did encounter the bow area sometimes closed off, probably due to high winds. So many of us would just go back and forth between the accessible area, which was most of the deck.

For those of you new to Princess, you’ll have a Patters (the daily newsletter in your cabin) when you first arrive.this one will have a summary of the itinerary (each day’s dress code is listed) and arrival and all aboards for each port.

Also, a summary of the entertainment, which shows will be in each venue as well as a listing of the Movies Under the Stars (fondly or not called MUTS) selections. Many times, if you miss one of these movies that you’ll want to see, check your Patters for screenings elsewhere (on the Golden, in the Vista Lounge or Princess Theater) and your cabin TV guide. Also, concert films and US football may be shown on MUTS.

The Patters will have lots of activities listed as well as ways to contribute to the secondary onboard revenue.

About the song and dance shows that many of us love, they are now 30 minute in length on the Golden. For the ones we went to, the last show didn’t seem to fill up. We saw three shows that we’ve seen before, and honestly, we didn’t mind the shorter length. There were announcements about not seat saving, but if people were going to that trouble, they didn’t need to. Often the Princess dancers and singers would stage a preview in the Piazza of some of the shows in the early evening the day before.

On the Golden, the Horizon Court is divided up into four sections, the two main parts that have the serving islands and main seating, and two back rooms that have additional seating (and that’s where we would usually head with our plates – more available tables).

The waitstaff will often pounce on you, asking if you want beverages. But there is a coffee/tea/hot water counter if you want to serve yourself. Often I would grab a glass and pour my OJ (in a regular size glass –those puny glasses don’t hold enough OJ for me, as I don’t drink coffee) or lemonade. If you’re new to Princess, yes, it’s okay to bring your own mug. Hubby has his for coffee and I have one to hold soda and the aforementioned lemonade.

Hand sanitizers that are located at the entrance to the food serving area.

(a crew member was stationed right there)

Horizon Court salad bar:

 

 

Carving station:

[Cruisin' Chick]

I'm loving your review but I'm about to crash for the night. Will read it in the AM. :)

 

Except for the always available items (such as the hamburger and veggieburger), the lunch menu is different each day.

 

Thanks for the info on the menus and the transfers. And I'm going to head off to bed myself as I need to get up in five hours:eek: as the girl goes back to school and her first class starts before 7am.:eek::eek:

[Chipster2]

Thanks for posting your review, as we will on the Golden Princess in just over 1 week!

[Alison12]

cruising for the first time in March. Can I ask 2 questions

 

1. Is donatello one of the "free" restaurants or is it the one with the cover charge.

 

2. Is the lemonade that is free like 7up or sprite (clear) or is it like what us Brits would call cloudy. ONly I have a very fussy teenager

[clueless2]

Thanks for taking the time to write the review. I look forward to reading the remainder. We'll be on the Golden in March. First cruise to Hawaii!

[panamatiger]

Thank you also from us. We'll be on board in April 2013. Even though it's been warm 45 degrees in NH, Hawaii warmth sounds so much better

[Cruisin' Chick]

Thanks for posting your review, as we will on the Golden Princess in just over 1 week!

 

Thanks for taking the time to write the review. I look forward to reading the remainder. We'll be on the Golden in March. First cruise to Hawaii!

 

quote:Thank you also from us. We'll be on board in April 2013. Even though it's been warm 45 degrees in NH, Hawaii warmth sounds so much better (somehow I can never quote more than two at a time)

 

You're going to love this itinerary. If you tend to suffer from motion sickness, bring along your remedies. We had a lot of motion, more than our two previous times. But sometimes, it's nice and smooth. Be sure to check out the Hawaiian activities and catch the beautiful music that Elua performs just about every day.

[Pam in CA]

cruising for the first time in March. Can I ask 2 questions

 

1. Is donatello one of the "free" restaurants or is it the one with the cover charge.

 

2. Is the lemonade that is free like 7up or sprite (clear) or is it like what us Brits would call cloudy. ONly I have a very fussy teenager

All dining rooms are free. Same menu and dress code. The only "for fee" restaurants are Sabatini's and Crown Grill.

 

In US terms, "lemonade" is a fruity drink made from squeezed lemons. It's not carbonated soda such as 7-Up or Sprite.

[Cruisin' Chick]

cruising for the first time in March. Can I ask 2 questions

 

1. Is donatello one of the "free" restaurants or is it the one with the cover charge.

 

2. Is the lemonade that is free like 7up or sprite (clear) or is it like what us Brits would call cloudy. ONly I have a very fussy teenager

 

The restaurants with the cover charge are Sabinitinis and the Crown Grill. I think when the Crown Grill has its pub lunch, it's without additional charge, but I look through the Patters to verify. Donatello is absolutely free for breakfast and lunch (sea days only) and for dinner (5:30 - 7:30 for assigned seating, after 7:30 open for anytime dining). If you have anytime, you can go there after 7:30 or go to Bernini between 5:30 to 10pm. Canaletto is completely traditional (assigned) with seatings at 5:30 and 7:45pm.

 

No charge for the lemonade, but you have to get it in the Horizon Court or in the pool area. The carbonated drinks are basically Coke products such as Sprite (which I can't stand personally), Coke, Diet Coke. Since I brought my Mountain Dew, I didn't bother to check out what other beverages they sold. I'll ask my own picky teen if she remembers what other drinks were available.

 

I'll add more of my report tonight.

[cr8tiv1]

Lemonade is one of the best "free" drinks on Princess. A Horizon wait staff told us that it became standard when they were doing a promotion of Princess Cruises that said something about the Lemonade. It wasn't available before the promotion video. HA HA. I wish they would serve it in other dining areas.

 

Renee

[Cruisin' Chick]

The ship was decorated for the holidays. Here’s some shots of the Piazza all decked out, including a Yuletide “fire.”

 

 

 

[Cruisin' Chick]

If you want to check your shipboard account during the cruise, there is a kiosk right near the passenger services desk. You swipe your cabin card and the amounts charged to your card at that point will print. Note: it’s just for your card. Your fellow cabinmates need to swipe their cards, too. Each day’s “hotel charge” will be listed separately as “HC-GRATUITY.”

 

 

 

And lastly, everything is all about Princess being ”your Consummate Host®.”

Back to the cabin:

The in-boxes all were decorated with care...

 

I added my own sign (which helped us find our cabin door):

 

[jbeth]

Love all the posts and photos, BUT, I have never heard anyone referred to their daughter as "the girl". i.e.: Her name or, "our daughter"!!!!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

For those with more than two in their cabin, this is the upper bed when pulled down by the cabin steward at night. We didn’t have a problem with the bed when it was folded back into the wall.

 

 

The upper bed when back in the wall:

 

The cabins have lots of storage space. Hubby discovered that the beds were too low to stash suitcases and/or crates underneath. We hadn’t checked the bed height on cabin E421, which was our first cabin on the Golden. We were able to put suitcases and crates under the beds on the Island Princess, though. And yes, hubby sprayed our luggage with Bed Bug spray before the trip and before we left the cabin. The closet doesn’t have a door (at least all the cabins we’ve had on Princess didn’t) so it’s easier to store your luggage, etc. There’s shelving where the safe is and attached to the desk. Many drawers, too.

(ignore the pile of clothing -- I had separated the clothing to wash in the sink)