Golden Ending 5/9/04

[surfnsun]

winecountry - We stayed at the San Juan Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino at $155.00 plus tax. I booked it direct with the hotel and got the government rate (husband is retired military). They upgraded us at check-in to an oceanfront room. Beds are very comfortable and nice pool/beach.

[Twaincruisers]

cruiserw/kids,

CruiseCritic indicated that postings to their review area would not be posted for several days.

Rod

[cruiserw/kids]

Thanks Twaincruisers! I look forward to reading about your southern adventure.

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Westfield Friends - July 4th Golden Princess

[PatriciaF]

Winecountry,

We stayed at the Caribe Hilton, booked on line, for $120 per night plus tax ($138.65) Facilities and beach were beautiful. Room ok--bathroom spectacular. Hilton Honors members have separate check in area and complimentary continental breakfast.

[John & Janet]

Patricia, we are staying at the Caribe Hilton next Saturday before we get on the Golden. Do they have a shuttle to the pier or did you have to take a cab?

[raydon]

Any comments on how formal the formal nights were?

Golden Princess
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Radiance of the Seas
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[wolfsnare]

Are any of you "post cruisers" planning on posting any pictures of your cruise? Would love to see some!!!
Also, I've never sailed away at 11:00pm. Is there a sail away party the first night out on the deck?

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Conquest 4/03
Victory 12/03
Golden Princess 4/04 Golden Princess 6/04

[Princess311]

surfnsun,
i have a question i would like to ask you about your cruise. would you mind emailing me at [email]rea311@hotmail.com[/email]?
thank you!


*Alicia*

Golden Princess 4/10/04
*best vacation ever!*

[surfnsun]

princess311 - will e-mail you shortly.

raydon - formal nights were pretty formal, more than my first cruise on RC. Males wore a suit and tie, some wore a tux. Females wore long cocktail gowns...didn't see too many in anything other than full length gowns/dresses (although not frilly)...lots of black or dark colors. Many "dressed up" in the evening(although not formal) even when it wasn't formal night. Meaning the men were in nice slacks and shirts and females in what you might term as casual business attire. Carribean night (should you wish to partake) is when the real bright colors and carribean attire are most noticed, other than during the day. Maybe not what you wanted to hear, but I'm being honest.

wolfsnare - I can post some pictures, but I'll have to wait until my sister shows me how (probably tomorrow). I'm computer illiterate when it comes to those things. Family is coming to visit tomorrow to see all the pictures and souvenir. We hung out on the sun deck with most others and enjoyed the sailaway sipping wine, admiring the view of San Juan from the water and the manuevering of the pilot.

[raydon]

No I don't mind...My husband always doea a suit and tie at least and someties on HAL he does a tux..I think I will be doing simple black and some sparkles but I am not packing evening gowns. It took all I had to get them to FLL in November for the Rotterdam and we only live 90 miles away[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img][img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]Will be dressy though. Thanks.

Golden Princess
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Radiance of the Seas
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[surfnsun]

raydon - I think dressy simple black and sparkles will work nicely. I agree on the evening gowns! A real pain just to pack them. Probably the reason I didn't see many in dressy/complicated "gowns". Saw a couple in wedding gowns though [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] One must have been married on Carribean day in St. Maarten and did the hula hoop contest in her gown that evening and won! EVERYONE cheered her on. They got a free bottle of champagne...I don't think it was the wedding parties first [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[billybob123]

Surfnsun - there was also a bride who won the "musical men" contest on Island night, I think it was just after leaving Antigua. They dined in our dining room (we could tell by the constant clinking of glasses) and I ran into the couple in the duty-free liquor store where everyone was offering them free drinks. I told her to make sure to wear the dress in every port and see if she gets freebies like that everywhere!

[surfnsun]

billybob123 - Yup, that was the same bride! Either she took your advise or I got my ports mixed up. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] Must be the latter because the hula hoop contest wasn't too long after the musical men contest during the same island night party. Graham Seymour MC'd the hula hoop contest.

[Tak8]

A couple more questions I forgot to ask earlier. If anyone got to the pier early, how early can you board the ship? What time did you arrive in St. Maarten? I ws surprised to see my 8:15 excursion was cancelled? Do you remember the times for the two wine tastings?
Thanks, I'm a planner.

[wolfsnare]

Tak8, I know that one wine tasting is the same day we are in St. Lucia (Tuesday), and it starts at 3:15. I think the other wine club is on Thursday or Friday about the same time.

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Conquest 4/03
Victory 12/03
Golden Princess 4/04 Golden Princess 6/04

[pamyla]

One more question -
How rough were the seas? Did anyone have trouble with seasickness?

Thanks!

[meyerhaus]

I hope that all of you know how awesome it is that you are taking the time to answer all of these questions (especially surfnsun).

However, I hope that you know that even a description of the elevator button would get cruisers excited when it gets so close.

It seems that the summer San Juan Golden cruises are going to be QUITE popular.

Keep the posts coming! We want more!!!

Golden Princess 7/11/04
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Big Red Boat-1993 (Amy)
Celebrity Zenith-1993 (Jon)

[billybob123]

The seas were fairly choppy the whole way - the sea day from San Juan to Barbados had waves of 5-7.5 feet; from Barbados to St. Lucia, somewhere in the same range, but from St. Lucia to Antigua the waves were "heavy" in the 7.5-12 foot range. We sure felt it that night, but no seasickness that I could see. Seas were much calmer from Antigua-St. Maarten-St. Thomas... the last night it was like cruising on a lake at home. This info was all from the 'report from the bridge' channel on TV.

[wolfsnare]

For those of us on future sailings, it is my understanding from a seasoned crew member on the Golden that the weather greatly improves by the end of June!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

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Conquest 4/03
Victory 12/03
Golden Princess 4/04 Golden Princess 6/04

[surfnsun]

meyerhaus - you have a valid point! I interpreted your post as a compliment and my feedback is welcomed (thanks), but I do understand the anticipation. My intent (albeit some is just my opinion) is to provide some useful information that I craved before our cruise. Having said that, I'm afraid I don't remember the elevator buttons. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Regarding Tak8 questions on embarkation - we checked out of the hotel at 1200 and went directly to the port. Princess was boarding passengers, but it was a little slow. They served complimentary water, orange juice and samples of various rum flavors from the duty free liquor shop in the port during the wait (that helped the wait somewhat) [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] We noticed the line started moving faster about 45 minutes after we arrived, although by that time the line was quite long. There is a separate line reserved for Princess "frequent" travelers and those with suites reserved. Some who qualified for this line didn't learn of it until they elected to come in from their wait in line that extended outside the building and try the complimentary beverages. I was REALLY surprised to hear from the crew that as of approximately 1900 hours they were still waiting for about 1000 passengers to board! I didn't get the impression this was because of long lines, but late arrivals. We learned this from the crew when we didn't see the crowds we anticipated and commented "Where the heck is everybody!". Regarding the wine tasting, you are correct wolfsnare, it is at 1515. We know because a passenger on our St. Lucia island tour was wondering whether he'd get back in time. He made it and we saw him the next day. He raved about it and really enjoyed it!

[Twaincruisers]

Tak8, according to my Patter there was a wine club at 3:15 on Wed while in St Lucia.

In St Maarten we were alongside the pier about 8:00 a.m.

We got in line to board Sunday about 12:15. There was a long line so people had been checking in for awhile. Since they did not have to disembark passengers, they may have started earlier than they will on your cruise...or not!

[KayM8812]

Wolfsnare, my boyfriend and I will also be on the Golden Princess on 6/27. Have you met anyone else online who'll be joining us? We're both early 40s and looking for a relaxing, fun cruise.

[wolfsnare]

KayM8812
Hadn't met anyone up 'til now! I had even checked the roll call board numerous times. I was beginning to wonder if anyone else was going!
I'm going w/ my sister (both in our 40's). We can't wait. You are going to LOVE the Golden!! I was just on her 4/10-Eastern and it was an incredible trip! So great in fact that I immediatly rebooked this cruise within 2 weeks of coming home. Can't wait to do the Southern. Weather should be great! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]
Lisa

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Conquest 4/03
Victory 12/03
Golden Princess 4/04 Golden Princess 6/04

[KayM8812]

Well, it's nice to meet you, Lisa. I have found a couple of other people here, but went ahead and opened a roll call anyway. I haven't cruised in over 10 years so am really looking forward to this one.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wolfsnare:
KayM8812
Hadn't met anyone up 'til now! I had even checked the roll call board numerous times. I was beginning to wonder if anyone else was going!
I'm going w/ my sister (both in our 40's). We can't wait. You are going to LOVE the Golden!! I was just on her 4/10-Eastern and it was an incredible trip! So great in fact that I immediatly rebooked this cruise within 2 weeks of coming home. Can't wait to do the Southern. Weather should be great! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]
Lisa

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Conquest 4/03
Victory 12/03
Golden Princess 4/04 Golden Princess 6/04<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[sameekee]

!! Warning...this is long!!
[B]Precruise:[/B]
Hubby and I just finished our first cruise...flew from DFW to San Juan on 05/08, boarded Golden Princess 05/09, disembarked 05/16. Went with another couple who have cruised more times and with more cruiselines than I knew existed. The cruise was a gift for ourselves for 25th wedding anniversary.
Stayed at Marriott and Stellar Casino in San Juan. Had an oceanview room. Room was alright, view was spectacular! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif[/img]
[B]Getting on board:[/B]
Got to the Golden around 12 noon, ship didn't sail until 11 pm, so had a good portion of the day to look around San Juan. The embarkation (is that a word?) onto the ship was great...while we were plenty early, there were others who were even earlier! We were seated in a room (yay for air conditioning!)and offered water. We sat for approximately 15 min, then were ushered in through check in, customs and then (finally) on board.
[B]Stateroom:[/B]
Our room was on Aloha deck, room 422. Room was immaculate and typically small. Tiny bathroom, which is expected, with awesome water pressure. No trickle down effect here! Small mini-fridge and tv, which was great, and 2 twin beds pushed together for a king. Mattresses were rock hard, tho, and the gap in the middle left a little to be desired, but hey! I didn't have to make the bed or clean the room, so it was [I]all[/I] good! Our steward, Prudy, was wonderful. She knew what we needed before we realized it! Our balcony was covered which was great for those days where too much sun was too, too much or we received brief showers. It was large enough to enjoy coffee in the morning for 4 ppl (other couple traveling with us came over), drinks in the evening and playing cards alone...sometimes a couple of thousand people can get on your last nerve.
[B]Islands and excursions:[/B]
We visited St. Thomas...good for shopping; St. Kitt...been there, done that, don't care if I do it again; Grenada...appropriately named the spice islands, be sure that when you ask for a coke, you specify coca-cola...'nuff said about that!; Isla Marguerite...it was ok, but just ok, won't go there again; and Aruba. Now Aruba is just about the most bee-u-ti-ful place I've seen. It's a definite "do-over"...only I'd fly there and stay for a week or a year or something.[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] We went on a few planned excursions and got brave a did a few on our own...end result? About the same!
If you do plan on going ashore to an island, make the time to listen to the information offered you about the place you are going. It's well worth the time and effort to hear the information.
[B]Food[/B]
The food on Golden was scrumptious. I gained 3 pounds in 7 days (it has only taken me 8 months to lose 40 lbs...something's wrong with this picture) We chose personal choice dining, as it allowed all 4 of us to be more flexible on our dining times. We dined at night primarily at Bernini. We didn't do the Desert Rose or Trattoria. Breakfast was generally sent to our room, and we hit the buffet for lunch. If you go hungry on this cruise, it's your own fault! They also offer sugar-free foods, and will meet your dining needs if you let them know ahead of time.
[B]dress and formal wear[/B]
The formal evenings were not a thing to be frightenend of: few men wore tuxes, most wore suits and changed immediately after dinner. Ladies wore shimmery, black things for the most part--with the exception of one well-built young woman who wore the world's tightest,shortest red spangledy dress with the most impossible high spiked heels I've ever seen. She looked hot, but I couldn't have done it! Formal nights, hubby wore dark suits and ties, I wore black dressy slacks, shimmery black/royal blue top (both on clearance at Foleys...$10 each! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]) and black heels one night, and a pale yellow long skirt and blouse the second night. So don't go out dusting off your formals from prom, you don't have to get THAT dolled up! Rest of the time, most ladies wore sun dresses or nice capri sets, men wore Docker-type shorts or nicer denim shorts with sports shirts or tropical-print shirts.
On Board:[B]on board[/B]
Star Wars lounge was fun for a night. Early in the evening 70's and 80's music was played, later on, some stuff I've never heard (and I listen to alternative rock and rap...I'm old, not dead!...) but the dancing was great! Swimming pools were fine, I guess, but who wants to swim on board when you can hit the ocean?
Tenacity was the on-board calypso/reggae band. They were quite talented in their own right, but by the time they played at night we were usually too pooped to party.
Definitely recommend purchasing the soda card. It's only $20 and it allows you all the soda and tonic water you want. Otherwise, you pay a couple of bucks for a can of Coke. Beer cost about what you would pay in a sports bar, but wine seemed a bit pricey from what I pay in my area (North Texas). Liquor was quite reasonable and I was quite surprised about that.
One night our outside door was decorated with gold balloons and a sign posted on the door announcing our anniversary. Also, we were treated to a small special dessert at dinner.
Casino area was ok, I'm just whiney because I lost, and lost badly.
Theatre was nice, as was live entertainment. If you are cruising to relax, don't read the Patter because this ship allows you to be as busy as you wanna be...and I was puh-lenty busy.
[B]Disembarkation[/B]
Tags were sent to our room to attach to our luggage. You are sent off according to your tag color. Sounds great, right? It does have it's snafu's. Keep reading
[B]**COMPLAINTS**[/B]
We ordered a drink pkg to be waiting for us on arrival, and for the couple we travelled with. We got ours on day #3, other couple never got theirs. Kept asking pursers about it and got the reply to "just wait"...cruise is over, and we're still waiting. Wonder if it will show up on my credit card bill?
Excursion staff was extrememly disorganized. Getting on the excursion was more work than it was worth. We (and others on our excursions) were sent from room to room, line to line, person to person, only to be sent back to the original place. I am not a patient person, and will readily admit that fact, but hubby, who (and it's painful to admit a good thing) is the most patient person since Job, was ready to pull heads off folks and spit down their necks. It was truly bad. One excursion was delayed (not by Princess, but by the company they contracted with) because a couple had missed the tender. Not the problem of me! I got up early so that I could be on time, as did 30 or so others, but nope, we had to wait about 25 min on these slobs, which cut our snorkle time. (Ok, it's petty, but I was pretty excited to snorkle again.)On a seperate excursion, a couple missed the taxi, so our taxi was flagged down to pick up the late comers, which over-loaded our seating. Ever sat shoulder to shoulder in a van with freshly rained on people who are fairly squishy in a van with no AC? Causes the windows to fog. On a third occasion, a couple missed returning to the boat on time, but the captain announced it and advised "anyone wanting to watch these people come on board go over to so-and-so location". What??? I told hubby that I would be too embarrassed to get back on board after being announced to God and everybody that I missed the boat...not hubby...he said he would be too glad to get back on board and not be left behind. Whatta guy!
Wait staff ranged from solicitous to snarly. We had excellent services from Thanapat in Bernini...and made the mistake of asking again to sit in his area after we had received such wonderful service. We were snottily advised by the guy seating guests that Thanapat is JUNIOR waiter (didn't know wait staff came in ranks, but hey! I'm in Texas!) and we would be seated where we needed to be since we were "[I]personal choice[/I]"...wonder if that was akin to having leprosy? Anyway, again, service was spotty at best.
Getting off the boat was not so fun. The color coded tags should make it simple right? Wrong. We were Navy 6. We listened to the colors be called...heard Navy 7 and Navy 8, but no Navy 6. Finally went to check with the crew getting you off board and they said "Oh. Guess the woman calling the colors made a mistake". About 20 of us were unhappy with her mistake (making a flying trip to the airport with ppl driving on the "wrong" side of the road and using the car horn for a turn signal is a bit scary).
Couple travelling with us said the food on Golden was great, but service was worst they had ever enountered. They have cruised Carnival 3 times, Holland twice and another line once (sorry, can't recall the name) but Golden had to be the worst service enountered...unfortunately, I must agree.
Would I choose Princess again? Dunno. Will try other cruise lines first, and go from there. Hubby travels a great deal to Far East, and he said that Princess left something to be desired...and that came from a man who will Hamburger Helper without complaining!
Well, guess this ends my journal. Hope it can be helpful to someone, if not, just delete me!