GOLDEN PRINCESS November 12 - AD category

[Nightshade]

Hello everyone!

 

I'm so excited, I just booked a cruise for my hubby & myself on Golden Princess. We wanted to have a balcony but all regular balcony cabins were sold out (I believe there was a huge promotion recently on this category, which we, unfortunatelly, missed), so our travel agent gave us a nice deal :confused: on category AD, which is a mini suite. Wow! We don't know yet which cabin we will have, because it's a Guarantee category and Princess will let us know this information later. The price we paid for this 7-day cruise was around 2,5K with all taxes and I don't know if it's a good price or not (any ideas?).

 

If anybody have pictures of this category, please show it, I would love to see what I've just booked :)

 

Originally, we were planning to go to Mexico, but with this terrible hurricane Wilma we had to find something else very quickly & the solution was this amazing cruise (love all the ports).

[Logie]

I think you will really like the mini suite and more than likely you will get a cabin on the Dolphin Deck as the majority of the mini's are on the deck.

 

The mini's have been upgarded with the new amenties already (pillow menu, mattresses) etc.

 

I don't have a picture, but I am sure someone will. There is a nice bathroom with a tub, large walk in type closet, bedroom area with tv and then the living room area with a full size couch that pulls out to a sleeper, another tv, and then out to the bacloncy where there is a plastic furniture.

 

As far as price goes it really can vary from week to week and when you book. Some paid more and I am sure some will pay less, but I think your price is pretty good for this type of cabin. I am going the week of New Years Eve and I paid more, but expected being a holiday week. And I feel I got a great price.

 

Happy sailing and enjoy the Golden. I have sailed on her 17 days already this year and if the crew is the same you will have a nice cruise. Captain Nick Nash is on a different ship I think and not sure who has taken over.

[tcdtcd]

We have an AD over Christmas....10 days / 4 ppl = $7K,

 

7/10 of this would be $4900

 

Reduce from 4 ppl to 2 ppl = $3150, or about 26% more than you paid. I guess thats the 'holiday premium'!

[mom8x]

Nightshade,

 

There is a roll call for the Nov. 12 sailing of the Golden, with quite a few CC members chatting and planning to meet. Join us.

 

Pat

[Nightshade]

Happy sailing and enjoy the Golden. I have sailed on her 17 days already this year and if the crew is the same you will have a nice cruise. Captain Nick Nash is on a different ship I think and not sure who has taken over.

Thank you very much for your detailed answer & wishes, we already found some pictures of this cabin - looks lovely.

Yesterday we decided to read some reviews as it's our first time with Princess (we only cruised with Celebrity before), and we were terrified to come across this one written by MBMiner:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=12611

 

Wow, this guy completely destroyed Princess. We were a little bit concerned :( for a while but then decided not to pay attention to negative sides and enjoy our trip. I will write my own review after this cruise and will tell if their food was that bad compared to Celebrity.

[Logie]

Interesting review. I have a couple of things to address about some of what this review said or things that could help you address some of those concerns.

 

1. There are not very many tables for 2 so it is very likely you would be asked to share. If you want a table for 2 I would show up early the first night to get a table for 2 and then make a standing reservation for that table at a scheduled time for the rest of the cruise. You can do this for any size table or section. Nelson is my favorite waiter on the Golden and they knew it so no matter what time I showed up they held a table for me in his section. I would try to determine a time the night before if possible.

 

2. I think the bread on Princess is one of the best things about dinner. I rarely eat rolls with butter on at home, but have usually 2 every night on a cruise. I always ask for my salad dressing on the side, which is never a problem.

 

3. I would agree that sometimes the water and coffee refills have been slow on certain cruises. Also plan in advance knowing the buffet is zig zag and not much order to it. Yup no free ice cream 24 hours a day-oh well my waist line thanks you.

 

4. There are certain entrees that Princess excels in. I cannot stress enough to ask your head waiter each night his reccomendations. They hit the mark every time!!

 

5. If you have a baclony on the Dolphin deck it will be an uncovered balcony and yes the people above you can look into down on to you in your baclony. Yes the shower is small-stick your leg on the toilet to shave.

 

6. Richard Joesph was on the ship when I was on in June so I don't think that is temporary. His deputy was Frankie and he has been around for some time and a lot of people like him. Richard Joseph had a cruise critic party for us with an hour of free drinks and snacks and we all got a free Princess tote bag. Richard does not drink so he uses his allowance to treat the passengers. Email him at goldenprincess@princesscruises.com his name in the attention line or he has a web site http://www.richardjoseph.com

 

 

7. Request to have your linens changed and they will do it no problem. You do need to ask though or they don't change them.

 

Let me know if I can help sort through any thing else from that review.......ps the pizza is excellent especially if you like thin crust.

[cactusrose]

To original poster. The AD minis are aft on Emerald deck. They have the same layout as the minis on Dolphin except, instead of the balconies being open to the people on the deck above you, the balconies on Emerald deck are covered. We just got off a 27 day cruise in one of these minis and loved it. Loved it so much we booked one for a 37 day cruise on Golden in January 2007. Bottom line, by booking a guarantee you are guaranteed one of these or better. By better, I mean a higher category of mini which simply means it will be in a different location.

[Coral]

Here are some pics I took of our minisuite on the Star Princess but it looked identical to my minisuite on the Golden:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/tlassek/star2004/PhotoAlbum56.html

 

FYI - we also booked an AD on the Golden but we were upgraded to an AB cabin. So while the ADs do have covered balconies - you probably will end up on Dolphin deck with an uncovered balcony.

[cruise182]

Here are some pics I took of our minisuite on the Star Princess but it looked identical to my minisuite on the Golden:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/tlassek/star2004/PhotoAlbum56.html

 

FYI - we also booked an AD on the Golden but we were upgraded to an AB cabin. So while the ADs do have covered balconies - you probably will end up on Dolphin deck with an uncovered balcony.

 

Great pics!! Thanks for sharing!!