So what did you think of the Golden Princess?

[GUT2407]

My wife says the lighting by the mirrors are all bad unless you have natural light (Balcony cabin) on the main cabin wall mirror. The bathroom mirrors are generally too dark for my wife's liking.

 

Our DWs agree there.

[CruiseCriticAUeditor]

Great details you guys picked up! Thanks for sharing. It's interesting what different people notice, what makes them tick. Overall, Golden Princess seems to be a winner.

 

Here's what I thought.

 

Just Back From: Golden Princess

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/articles.cfm?ID=2068

 

Louise Goldsbury

Australia Editor

Cruise Critic

[happysnapper]

Great details you guys picked up! Thanks for sharing. It's interesting what different people notice, what makes them tick. Overall, Golden Princess seems to be a winner.

 

Here's what I thought.

 

Just Back From: Golden Princess

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/articles.cfm?ID=2068

 

Louise Goldsbury

Australia Editor

Cruise Critic

 

Thanks Louise for your review. We are booked on the round trip to Hawaii in 2017 and getting excited already. We have been on 4 of Princess's ships and looking forward to the Golden.:D

Glennys

Edited November 7, 2015 by happysnapper
typo

[jinxyoz]

I've also got a cabin on the baja deck, inside cabin.. Everyone on forums are telling me it's so dark in there, and really dark in the bathroom.. Is that true?

 

And we're there many power points in the room..thanks

 

 

No wasn't too bad. Good for sleeping!

One power point next to TV in a hard to reach location and one in bathroom. I always bring a powerboard (us) when I cruise.

[Aussieflyer]

No wasn't too bad. Good for sleeping!

One power point next to TV in a hard to reach location and one in bathroom. I always bring a powerboard (us) when I cruise.

 

And two next to the desk. There are mixed reports about whether you can take a power board. They have been confiscated at times.

[kuldalai]

Any power boards put in your big bags. Power boards in your hand baggage scanned on boarding will be confiscated for duration of the cruise .

[Womble99]

Any power boards put in your big bags. Power boards in your hand baggage scanned on boarding will be confiscated for duration of the cruise .

Even in your checked bag you may not get to keep it. We were asked if we had any power boards in our checked luggage before they would take them in Sydney.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Even in your checked bag you may not get to keep it. We were asked if we had any power boards in our checked luggage before they would take them in Sydney.

 

That's interesting. We've done two Princess cruises, one departing from White Bay and one from Fremantle and had no problems taking a travel powerboard in our carryon. Had problems on RCI at the OPT though.

[Scanorama]

I was on the Golden last month out of Sydney and had a powerboard in my carry on luggage. I had no issue bringing it on (as with my previous Princess cruises). They were more concerned about the bottle of wine I had in my bag.

[jinxyoz]

My powerboard wasn't scanned. Oh and the inside cabins had no power points on the desk.

[clairebearinaus]

I have multicharger thing (sorry don't know what it's called!), it has one electricity plug and a box with 4 USB points for connecting multiple chargers.

 

I hoped since it's not technically a powerboard that it might get past any cruise ship restrictions. I didn't bother to take it on my first cruise because it was so short I only had my phone with me, but it would be useful in future.

 

Has anyone successfully brought these aboard, without having to sneak them in?

[By The Bay]

I have multicharger thing (sorry don't know what it's called!), it has one electricity plug and a box with 4 USB points for connecting multiple chargers.

 

I hoped since it's not technically a powerboard that it might get past any cruise ship restrictions. I didn't bother to take it on my first cruise because it was so short I only had my phone with me, but it would be useful in future.

 

Has anyone successfully brought these aboard, without having to sneak them in?

My unit has two AU sockets and two USB outlets. I needed a US/AU adapter to operate on Golden.

[happysnapper]

I remember reading somewhere on cruise critic that power boards with surge protection on them are a real NO NO as they can do damage to the ships supply or cause a fire. Not sure of the technical issue but they are considered dangerous.

Edited November 9, 2015 by happysnapper

[ozmonkeyboy]

I have multicharger thing (sorry don't know what it's called!), it has one electricity plug and a box with 4 USB points for connecting multiple chargers.

 

I hoped since it's not technically a powerboard that it might get past any cruise ship restrictions. I didn't bother to take it on my first cruise because it was so short I only had my phone with me, but it would be useful in future.

 

Has anyone successfully brought these aboard, without having to sneak them in?

 

I did the 2 day cruise on Golden Sydney - Melbourne and had no trouble bringing such a unit on board.

 

I have never had trouble on any of the Princess ships with the multiple USB charger unit.

[spirit28]

Two weeks & one day before we get on board Golden for NZ - anyone know if there is a 240v outlet in the cabin anywhere? I have heard that sometimes the bedside lamps run off 240V, but probably non an AU socket but more likely a UK socket.. Brother needs to take his CPAP machine (luckily in a cabin by himself!) and wanted to know if he need a voltage converter (US to AU).

[Relaxing Robbies]

Two weeks & one day before we get on board Golden for NZ - anyone know if there is a 240v outlet in the cabin anywhere? I have heard that sometimes the bedside lamps run off 240V, but probably non an AU socket but more likely a UK socket.. Brother needs to take his CPAP machine (luckily in a cabin by himself!) and wanted to know if he need a voltage converter (US to AU).

 

Check the CPAP power unit and you will probably find that it will run on any power from 110 to 240 volts. The same with camera and phone chargers.

We haven't been on Golden, but have been on the Grand Princess, which was the first of the grand class of ships. We took 1 US to Australian converter plug and attached a normal Australian power board (no surge protection) so that we could plug in DH's CPAP and various chargers.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[CruiseCriticAUeditor]

Does anyone remember how much the Drink of the Day (cocktail) was?

[clairebearinaus]

I had Drink of the Day once, it was a Mai Tai and was $13.95, which I was a bit disappointed about because that was the standard cocktail price and I assumed DOTD was a special.

 

It had an eye watering amount of alcohol in it though!

[CruiseCriticAUeditor]

Thanks Claire. That's what my notes said, but I thought I must be wrong!

[spirit28]

Check the CPAP power unit and you will probably find that it will run on any power from 110 to 240 volts. The same with camera and phone chargers.

We haven't been on Golden, but have been on the Grand Princess, which was the first of the grand class of ships. We took 1 US to Australian converter plug and attached a normal Australian power board (no surge protection) so that we could plug in DH's CPAP and various chargers.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Thank you for the info will pass the info on - we certainly will enjoy :)

 

Must be getting close now with an SMS received today saying not to arrive before our staggered check in time..

[Aussie FF]

Disembarked yesterday.

Had a great cruise.

Still prefer RCI for a fun and partying cruise.:)

If you don't do shows and slow dancing music, it's very tame.

Did not like their drinks. And I tried many.:)

I was disappointed that the DOD was standard price.

I did have many happy hour cocktails that were $13.95, and still got the second one for $1, even though the Patter said they must be under $10.

Also prefer the night clubs on RCI. The DJ was horrible. (He was nice, but his music was techno crap, am I showing my age?).

Edited November 13, 2015 by Aussie FF

[crochetcruise]

Sorry just saw this thread, so excuse my post in the other Syd-Melb 2 nighter thread.

 

I was also fortunate enough to be on this cruise as well, and generally concur with your thoughts, including a younger crowd and a more relaxed atmosphere than on normal Princess Cruises.

 

Other thoughts included;

- The Golden looked a little more tired than I expected, however I did have high expectations. Not as flashy as the Diamond, but still not as tired as the Sun Class ships.

- I love the layout of the Grand Class Princess ships in comparison to the Sun Class ships that we Aussies are familiar with. Although they have more passengers, I find that there the public areas cater for this increase well, and there are more facilities onboard for us to enjoy.

- The AFT pool is shaded, but the pool itself I thought was the warmest onboard. The shade was an option for those that didn't want the full sun, and I found it to be no problem.

- The Wheelhouse bar was midship on Deck 7, and somewhat smaller than on other ships that I have been on. Little disappointed, as I love the Wheelhouse bar, and it often was full in the evening when looking for a spot. Noted that Sabatini's and the Crown Grill were both on Deck 7.

- Food (in my opinion) was typical Princess, nothing spectacular but also nothing horrible. Dined in main dining, buffet, didn't get a chance in the specialties. I dined in anytime dining, small wait times each night, was asked to share a table both nights to avoid the wait times (one night we did, next we didn't), but if you wish to dine just with your partner (ie table for two), a table was found within 5 minutes.

- Staff and service, mostly good, being a 2 nighter it was pretty full on most times, as everyone was always on board, keen to see and try as much as possible, so staff were under the pump.

- I loved the intranet setup on my smart phone with Princess. Being able to view the patter, view your on board account immediately when charges were made (given that we no longer sign for purchases and receive receipts), and also use the messenger facility with fellow registered passengers is a great added bonus. Well done Princess for stepping in the right direction.

- Sydney embarkation process was great, Melbourne was a disaster, as the ship arrived late (due to media event), and all disembarkation times were behind. Taxi queue was horrendous, but be aware, this has happened at every disembarkation in Melbourne that I have done (maybe I am unlucky there). Sydney and Brisbane Terminals seem to do it so much better....

 

- It was interesting to note on this particular cruise that;

 

a) no platinum/elite evening lounge was offered in Skywalkers (we instead received a free drink voucher) I wonder if this will be offered on the longer cruises??

b) no "Happy Hour" was offered in the Wheelhouse Bar. I have been on 2 night cruises where they have offered this.

c) No Bathrobes or Blue Princess Carry bags were offered in the room. Had to request these.

d) As mentioned in initial post, Sundaes was still onboard offering the Free Soft Serve Ice as well as Milkshakes, etc

e) The staff were not selling the Soda (& More) Package, or coffee cards that I saw when we boarded, but they were available for pre-purchase before the cruise.

 

Hopefully the above info doesn't come across in a negative tone, as I enjoyed the short cruise, and wouldn't hesitate to advise anyone to check out the Golden Princess and enjoy a cruise on her.

Happy to answer any Q's, etc

 

THANK YOU! I'm sailing in a Window Suite November 11, 2016, so wondered about the Platinum/Elite/Suite event. I had heard it wasn't done in Australia. I was also wondering about the Happy Hour, it might happen or it might not. I will get a Bathrobe in the Suite and if needed, ask about the Princess Carry Bag.

 

A former work colleague is sailing on the same cruise in an Inside Stateroom on Plaza Deck. I intend to order some Canapes and extend an invitation to bring his Pre-Dinner Drink to the Window Suite to enjoy some Canapes, thinking Choc-Dipped Strawberries and Chilled Shrimp to be shared. I've also offered to invite him to Afternoon Tea in the Window Suite, probably Sunday afternoon, and possibly just resting in the Suite on Saturday after exploring the ship.

 

In 339 days if I've calculated correctly to Embarkation Day! Yes, I am excited, we're both Blue Card holders, but thanks to Cruise Critic, have a basic knowledge of what to expect.

[Hawka]

Loved the ship I got off on the 8th Dec , on the power board stuff they don't want ones with power surge protectors on them, maybe they do damage to things?

I had a double adapter us plug had no troubles with that at all I didn't need any other plug and 2 was all I needed most times only used one till camera battery died then was the two in use , the food and service was awesome . such a beautiful ship I hope to go on again

[Fish66]

How many power points were in ur cabin??

[Hawka]

I had a balcony there was 2 outlets us plug side by side at mirror by door to balcony and I think maybe two but they looked weird in the bath room someone said somewhere the bath room is European which is possible but it looks to have a flap to fit the us round but in but I could be wrong on that bit , there was a hair dryer there but I didn't use it