Golden Princess; I've Got Questions

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

I am scheduled to go on the Historic America 7-day tour followed by the Canada/New England 7-day RT cruise from New York on the Golden Princess. I have cruised on Princess several times, but have not cruised on the Golden Princess nor taken a cruise/tour.

 

If you have sailed on the Golden Princess or taken this cruise/tour I would appreciate your expertise. Any suggestions/comments/advise you give me will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you so much. Lv2cruiseanywhere in Rancho Cucamonga, CA

[Coral]

When are you going? I am on the Oct 15th cruise out of NYC.

 

I have not done the land tour but have heard from many who thought it was an excellent tour - they enjoyed it very much.

 

I have been on the Golden before and it is very similiar to the Grand and Star Princess. It is a large ship with lots of activities, lounges, entertainment - I am sure you will like it. If you have any specific questions about the ship - post them. There are many people here who can answer your questions.

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Thanks for the input. Our land tour begins 09-12-05 and the cruise out of NY begins on 09-17-05.

 

Our most recent cruise was on the Diamond Princess, 02-05, and we loved the cabins. We have an outside cabin on Golden, E120, but not a balcony.

[Breezey]

We loved the Golden. Large beautiful ship. Main pool area is the nicest I have seen on any of our cruises (ok only 4). It is large and you can just sit in the shallow end to cool off. Nice variety of entertainment (we are not big into shows but enjoy the piano bar, watching karaoke etc). Exercise room is pretty small but you can sign up for treadmills. Food was quite good, not crazy about the set up of the buffet but always a nice variety. We liked the fact the the cabin fridges were empty so we were able to fill with our own water and soda and found the closet space good.

 

Hope that helps a bit

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Thanks, Breezey, it sounds great! We enjoy all of the shows, especially the production numbers. We also like the small music combos and piano bars also. But I always have to stop at the Casino to make my daily "donation" so I am interested in that too; especially the slot machines.

 

We go to the formal nights just because it's fun to see everyone dressed up and the dining rooms always seem to have something special on the menu on formal nights.

 

Thanks again for your input.

[calikak]

My parents and I played the nickel slots on the Golden in May. They were the same machines you usually see at the casinos in the US, and I think they had nickel, quarter, dollar, & 5 dollar machines, but I just play the nickel slots. I lost $20, they both won $50. They also do a slot tournament, someone in our cruise critic group won I think $500. It was pretty smokey by the nickel slots, but otherwise not.

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Thanks for the slot information; it's nice to know that someone wins. I never seem to see very many people winning on the ships, not like Las Vegas!

 

We have fun anyway.

[hot cookie]

We've been on both the Grand and the Golden, and I must admit, since they are both quite similar, finding our way around the ship was easier the second time around. Make sure to locate the elevator/and or steps you'll need to find the dining rooms - not all elevators go to that location. After getting lost quite a few times, we finally figured it out! :o

 

My favorite "secret" spot on the ship was the Terrace Pole, located at the rear of the ship. It was never crowded - it almost seemed like nobody else knew about it!

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Thanks, Hot Cookie, for the information about the "secret" pool, sounds nice.

 

After reading some dreadful reviews on this site about the Golden, I am glad you enjoyed the ship.

 

We love cruising and have always had an enjoyable experience.