Live on Golden Princess.....

[OzKruser]

Thanks for all the updates. It's hard to compare other cruise lines when you've had a good experience on one.

I've done 2 cruises on Rhapsody and Radiance from Sydney and the first one was Anytime dinning which was fantastic. We had the same waiters no matter what time we booked and the service was brilliant never had our drinks run out of food. The second one was Radiance which was a set time and we had different waiters so didn't quiet get the same experience but the food was also fantastic either in the buffet or dinning rooms.

The coffee well yeah sometimes you had to wait but as a tradie you get used to drinking out of a takeaway cup so that didn't bother me. I generally got mine early in the morning so there wasn't queue's.

The entertainment was completely different on both ships which was surprising.

 

I'd really like to try a princess cruise because it's a pain having to fly to Sydney for Rccl, everyone seems to be having a ball on the golden including my parents but they're in their late 60's so I hope that's not an indicator. With my youngest being 16 there needs to be things for them to do too.

 

 

I know what you mean we have done heaps of cruises on rccl mainly Radiance and Voyager and each time we did anytime dining on both and had the same experience as you....really good, same table each night, after the first night we requested to be assigned the same table so we could have the same waiters....there is something nice about having the same waiters, they get to know you and your family and it adds to the experience .... If it helps even though we are on traditional dining on Golden we have had the same table and waiters for the whole cruise.

 

On this trip there are quite a few teens and they seem to like the teen facilities, a good place to hang out together...,

 

If you are worried about the demographic try a shorter cruise on princess for example 8 days if you can find something you like, they tend to get more younger people on board.

[GUT2407]

Whereas we had the same table and waiter every night on Diamond.

[Anthonysyne]

The older generation don't bother me I quiet like the conversation at the breakfast table.

I'm pretty easy to please, give me a modern ship with plenty of entertainment and good food and I'm done..

Just checked out the blog the photos look good. Oh and Dad said come say hello.

I'd like to try Ovation next year but in the meantime Golden looks good. It's a bit bigger than Radiance.

[Hawka]

Loved having same table and waiter for TD I had early time they never rushed us either always pleasant and polite it was great

[Hawka]

I also had the Chicken Pot Pie on Diamond I was underwhelmed, I wonder if the standard is consistent across the line?

 

Had the pot pie was nice I did want to try the pork belly but never got to sadly

Edited December 16, 2015 by Hawka

[GUT2407]

Loved having same table and waiter for TD I had early time they never rushed us either always pleasant and polite it was great

 

 

We love TD but we treated ATD like TD, let the Head Waiter know we were very happy with the waiter on the 2nd or 3rd night, rocked up at the same time, and we always got the table we wanted with the waiter we were happy with, never had to wait more than a minute or two, most nights rocked straight in.

[Hawka]

We love TD but we treated ATD like TD, let the Head Waiter know we were very happy with the waiter on the 2nd or 3rd night, rocked up at the same time, and we always got the table we wanted with the waiter we were happy with, never had to wait more than a minute or two, most nights rocked straight in.

Awesome stuff , I was on the cruise before this I've at breakfast often I was on the same table with the Dane waiters they knew I always wanted a window seat if I could get one I didn't have to ask after the first time , in the princess theatre two waiters knew what I had to drink and that I had a drink card with out asking just got me the drink I liked .

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the live blog so far OzKruser. I prefer AD as well, suits me to be flexible and eat when I want to or when I am actually hungry.:D

[GUT2407]

Awesome stuff , I was on the cruise before this I've at breakfast often I was on the same table with the Dane waiters they knew I always wanted a window seat if I could get one I didn't have to ask after the first time , in the princess theatre two waiters knew what I had to drink and that I had a drink card with out asking just got me the drink I liked .

 

 

Yeah ours WAS Diamond, but after about day 3 don't think I showed my card anywhere to get a drink. After the first week they'd often be getting t before even got to the bar.

 

Now I'm home got to get me own, even have to go up to woolies to buy it:mad:, not happy.

[Hawka]

Yeah ours WAS Diamond, but after about day 3 don't think I showed my card anywhere to get a drink. After the first week they'd often be getting t before even got to the bar.

 

Now I'm home got to get me own, even have to go up to woolies to buy it:mad:, not happy.

Lol same I was just getting used to having service like that too loved it lol it will be hard to do another cruise my standards have gone high of it isn't like what I got on golden I'll be disappointed but it sounds like it is pretty good every where on princess , I'll find out next time I save enough to do another one

[GUT2407]

Lol same I was just getting used to having service like that too loved it lol it will be hard to do another cruise my standards have gone high of it isn't like what I got on golden I'll be disappointed but it sounds like it is pretty good every where on princess , I'll find out next time I save enough to do another one

 

 

We love Princess but the service on Celebrity was it's equal.

[GUT2407]

Had the pot pie was nice I did want to try the pork belly but never got to sadly

 

 

I wasn't a great fan of the Pork Belly or the Occo Busso but dd have the Chicken Pot Pie a few times, the first time (first night of Curtis Stone being offered) it was pretty empty but our waiter persuaded me to try it again later and it was much better.

 

I really didn't think any of theme were particularly better than any of the other offerings.

[Hawka]

I wasn't a great fan of the Pork Belly or the Occo Busso but dd have the Chicken Pot Pie a few times, the first time (first night of Curtis Stone being offered) it was pretty empty but our waiter persuaded me to try it again later and it was much better.

 

I really didn't think any of theme were particularly better than any of the other offerings.

 

the top rose high above on mine , the meat etc was just below give or take the rim of pot i didnt mind it i like chicken and leek pies etc the pav was yummo the lass at my table had it every night i had near the end and wished i had it every night it was so nice

Edited December 16, 2015 by Hawka

[Hawka]

We love Princess but the service on Celebrity was it's equal.

 

handy to know :-) i think a friend will be on a celebrity cruise soon

[Hobart18]

We took a cruise in November to the Pacific Islands and took my eldest grandson with us so he could meet people of his own age, unfortunately that didn't happen.The cruise was mainly made up with the older generation enjoying a great cruise and families. When I asked him later what he thought about that he said that the people he met in his age group tended to be a bit full on and over the top where as he enjoyed the company of a lot of the older generation as he gets on very well with people.

We like the traditional dining as we get to know our waiters and they get to know our likes and dislikes, always great to talk to as well. We had dinner one night at the Crown Grill, this is a very tasteful decorated dining area, the staff were great, the food was excellent. After a couple of days we eventually worked the dining options out, some mornings we would order breakfast in our room, we liked this option as it gave us time to fully wake up without trying to find a space to have breakfast in the Horizon Court. We loved the International Cafe, we went to that about 5pm, it was a lot quieter and you could at least find a seat, the only problem with this area is that it does not have enough seating areas. We also found that going up to the Horizon Court for either a late lunch or afternoon tea there were more areas to sit in. Not mad on the new coffee menu. Loved the cruise,love Skywalkers, somewhere to find a quiet place during the day.The lifts were annoying at times with having to wait for them to sail past , I couldn't come at a ship with 3 or 4 thousand people on board, you would spend most of your time waiting for the lifts to maybe turn up.

Princess just knows how to do it, they just need to work on the lifts.

Regards, :):)

[Hawka]

i didn't have too much trouble in getting a lift most times, though did have a strange thing happen a few times where you would press the level you wanted everyone else did too the lift would get to a certain spot and decide to clear choices and go the opposite way to where it was going after it dropped off someone at their floor , one poor couple hopped on at 14 and we nearly got to 6 then it went back up to 15 then down and i am sure it did it again before it decided it would go to where we wanted to go which was 6

[crochetcruise]

Hi Anthonysne, we have also done rccl and celebrity and a number of Princess cruises before. With Princess you know what you are getting tine and time again, they don't change their offering often so every time we take a Princess cruise it is very familiar and easy to settle in.

If you like rccl you should like Princess. As far as passenger demographic Princess has I believe an older crowd but there are still a number of families on board with children so it works for us either way. It really doesn't bother me either way, at least with older people you don't get the hoons we see on other lines....a lot of people complain that Princess is a floating retirement home but we are not fussed either way.

 

As you can see from my blog, the ship is great, the grand class is larger the sun class which we have had in Australia before excel for the Diamond that visits each year.

There is always entertainment on board and plenty of places to go to relax without feeling crowded.

The food has been good. We are not big buffet fans so we have chosen on many days to just have breakfast at the international cafe on deck 5 consisting of a coffee and a pastry. For lunch we generally try the buffet. We religiously eat dinner in the main dining room. We chose traditional seating (5.30 a little early but oh well) as I had heard a lot of complaints about anytime dining. The menu is little more limited than I remember but the have added three Curtis Stone selections that are available everyday. I have tried the roasted pork belly and would recommend it. My husband tried the osso buco and also liked it. If anyone wants a picture of these items listed on the menu let me know....however I have always found something nice to order that I have liked. Another option for those of you who want to watch what you eat, they have a seasonal fruit plate as a starter which is a good choice to prevent over eating.

One thing I love about Princess that I wish rccl would add is the table service coffee lounges. On deck 5 and 7 you can take a seat and a waiter will come around sync take your order and serve your coffee, tea, hot chocolate etc at your table. You pay for this coffee etc but it is really good, just like a good coffee house and you don't have to drink it in those awful take away cups! Just really relaxing to do this.... We bought the coffee card so we get the coffees s little cheaper overall. You can buy these when you get onboard or order online before you board and they will be ready for you when you get onboard. I absolutely hate the rccl coffee places, long lines to get your order and then only in take away cups....takes all the relaxation out of getting a nice coffee. Lucky on rccl we get to go to the concierge and diamond lounges that have good automatic cappuccino machines so we go there instead.

 

They have also added another specialty dining option called the Crab Shack. They convert an area at the back of the buffet each night. There is a $25 cover charge but it covers three courses.

If you have any other questions please ask away and I will do my best to answer.....

 

THANK YOU! I have a Repositioning 3 night cruise sailing from Sydney 11/11/2016 to Melbourne. I wondered about the Crab Shack, will put that on my List of Cruise Expenses to save for, and take the funds in On Board Credit.

[KiwiFunCruiser]

The menu is little more limited than I remember but the have added three Curtis Stone selections that are available everyday. I have tried the roasted pork belly and would recommend it. My husband tried the osso buco and also liked it. If anyone wants a picture of these items listed on the menu let me know....however I have always found something nice to order that I have liked.

 

Hi, now that they have added Curtis Stone to the MDR menu, just wondered if they still have Prawn Cocktail and Beef medallions on menu each night. Thanks again for your blog.

[Hawka]

Hi, now that they have added Curtis Stone to the MDR menu, just wondered if they still have Prawn Cocktail and Beef medallions on menu each night. Thanks again for your blog.

 

prawn cocktail they do still have and is very nice too don't remember if the medallions were on it sorry i will see if i can find info , i saw a menu posted once somewhere

Edited December 23, 2015 by Hawka

[OzKruser]

Yes they have the prawn cocktail each night but did not see the beef medallions at all

[Hawka]

Yes they have the prawn cocktail each night but did not see the beef medallions at all

 

i dont remember seeing them either some how think they aren't there

[GUT2407]

I've got before and after photos if I can find them somewhere.

 

Pretty sure medallions went, but tri tip spice rubbed beef stayed.

[KiwiFunCruiser]

Thanks, you all have a great Christmas and a happy new year. Vacation time for me starts now.:D