golden princess xmxs cruise

[VK3DQ]

Hi folks.

Nice trip melbourne to auckland but storm closed gisborne so slow nine knot trip to wellington where its cool and cloudy.

 

Ship has been good if a little crowded in public rooms. Our grand suite is very ni ce a haven of tranqulity.

 

Food good but buffet a little limited in range. Sabatinis breakfast great and mdr club class very good

 

So off we go into town shopping.

 

Regards.

John

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Have a nice day in Wellington.

Enjoy those Mimosas at Sabitinis breakfast...:D

 

[GUT2407]

I hope it’s all going well John

[sewgood]

Glad to hear you are enjoying your cruise, your suite, breakfast at Sabatinis and Club class. Sounds like no matter what the weather you will still have a good cruise.

I agree with you that some public areas were crowed. We found that on the Golden we had to pick our times to go and get a coffee at the IC otherwise it felt very crowed and hard to get a seat.

But with a suite you can hopefully take your coffee back to your room to enjoy.:)

I have read on the Princess board that one of the Grand class ships now has a coffe bar on the pool deck mixed in with the ice-cream bar. This hopefully helps with the lack of seating for people trying to have a coffee at the IC. If this works I hope they put it on other Grand Class ships.

 

We had a cruise to NZ on the Emerald this year where after Auckland a mid latitude rain depression followed us down the coast. We missed Gisbourne and Akaroa but we had a fabulous cruise with extra sea days and met lovely fellow cruisers whom we still keep in contact with.

 

I hope you have good weather from now on and thanks for keeping us posted.

[getting older slowly]

glad you are enjoying the Grand Suite, we were directly under it on our last NZ cruise Dec 16, yes bad weather we missed Akaroa, dunedin and fiordland, but saw picton instead and extra sea days which were great, we are going again end of jan 18, starting at fiordland finger crossed, and again we will be under the Grand Suite. But the best thing is we are cruising again

 

Cheers with a G&T Don

[Kiwi Kruzer]

They are at Akaroa today. Looks like the weather is clearing up for them Have a great day'

This from the Akaroa cam at noon.

 

[getting older slowly]

By the way have noticed if the Golden is travelling slower ie 17kt instead of 21kt, as been posts on CC about the Golden on up coming NZ cruises not stopping at Auckland.

and glad you are enjoying time aboard

 

Cheers Don

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Sailing into Dunedin this morning....from the Royal Albatross cam

 

[Kiwi Kruzer]

and sailing out this evening...

[MicCanberra]

Loving the photos David.

[MicCanberra]

Keep the review coming John and enjoy your cruise.

[VK3DQ]

Keep the review coming John and enjoy your cruise.

 

 

HI Folks

 

Well we are now back in Melbourne with many memories to share,

 

NYE was a blast we were in the Vista Lounge with Blue Jade providing the entertainment . this quartet of two Ladies and two Gentlemen form Argentina made the night a great hit , the lead female singer was great and very versatile, singing a wide range of songs old and new , we enjoyed NYE and stayed up late !!!! :halo:

 

The weather was colder than some trips with lots of snow on the mountains going through the sounds.

 

AS I have said the suite was great and we hosted a number of morning teas one for cruise critic people and a couple for our Radio Amateur friends there were quite a few "Hams" on board

 

anyway still a bit shattered so will post some more observations later but all in all we had a very pleasant cruise with no major issues at all and a few nice supprises

 

Regards

 

John

[MicCanberra]

Thanks John, glad you had a great time.

[NSWP]

Thanks John, good to hear it was great, now you will never go back to an inside cabin after your suite !!:cool:

[VK3DQ]

Hi Folks

 

Boarding at Station pier was a bit of a zoo despite "priority" boarding .. me being on my mobility scooter was lumped with the wheelchair folks , this was fine but not quite what one has come to expect from RCCL and Celebrity where separate boarding lounges are provided , but with station pier the antique it is one was expecting much worse ..disembarkation was worse involving a long walk in the cold and rain to the carpark ...great for a 93 y/o lady pushing her case along :cool:

 

First night out was a freebie in the Crown Grill a very nice meal ..veal chop for me and a fillet for the MIL Elsie ... my ball and chain I think had a steak

 

and then a fairly early night as we were shattered ...:eek:

 

One thing now that we found strange , all of the ships senior officers were virtually invisible never got to see any of them , here we are traveling in the biggest and most expensive suite in the ship and not a hint of and invite for drinkkies from anywhere.... Very different from RCCL no Captains cocktail party for suites guests ,,,,, strange

 

More as I have time to type

 

Regards

 

John

[VK3DQ]

Thanks John, good to hear it was great, now you will never go back to an inside cabin after your suite !!:cool:

 

 

Er Yes .. we are actually double booked in September where we have to choose between Majestic Princess or Carnival Spirit with suites on both .. but next trip an extended aft balcony on Carnival legend

 

Regards

 

John

[LC1950]

Pleased to read you enjoyed your cruise John. That suite sounds wonderful.

 

Would you be so kind as to clarify a point for me? Were you required to take your life vest to 'mustard drill'? There is a discussion over on the Princess board with some ships requiring vests at the drill while others are not requiring them.

[possum52]

Hi Folks

 

Boarding at Station pier was a bit of a zoo despite "priority" boarding .. me being on my mobility scooter was lumped with the wheelchair folks , this was fine but not quite what one has come to expect from RCCL and Celebrity where separate boarding lounges are provided , but with station pier the antique it is one was expecting much worse ..disembarkation was worse involving a long walk in the cold and rain to the carpark ...great for a 93 y/o lady pushing her case along :cool:

 

First night out was a freebie in the Crown Grill a very nice meal ..veal chop for me and a fillet for the MIL Elsie ... my ball and chain I think had a steak

 

and then a fairly early night as we were shattered ...:eek:

 

One thing now that we found strange , all of the ships senior officers were virtually invisible never got to see any of them , here we are traveling in the biggest and most expensive suite in the ship and not a hint of and invite for drinkkies from anywhere.... Very different from RCCL no Captains cocktail party for suites guests ,,,,, strange

 

More as I have time to type

 

Regards

 

John

 

Thanks John, I was interested in your embarkation and disembarkation experiences. We haven't boarded in Melbourne yet and are looking forward to it. How far up the pier can you be dropped off? either our son or daughter will be driving us in to Station Pier and wondered what the procedure for private car drop off is. How far up the pier can you be dropped off? Is it similar to the OPT where you are dropped off close to the building and you are helped with luggage being taken out of the car?

 

Look forward to reading more about your cruise.

 

Leigh

[MicCanberra]

From memory (not the greatest), the private car drop off is near the edge of the building but still about 100m from the escalators and elevators.

[possum52]

From memory (not the greatest), the private car drop off is near the edge of the building but still about 100m from the escalators and elevators.

 

 

Thanks Mic, not too far then, much longer walk when we disembark.

 

Leigh

[getting older slowly]

Regarding car drop off point station pier , if you are priority boarding you can drive right in and be dropped at lifts otherwise about a 200m walk from the start of station pier to the lifts.

 

Glad you have a great time in your suite we will be on the Golden at the end of the month for a round NZ

 

Cheers Don

[possum52]

Regarding car drop off point station pier , if you are priority boarding you can drive right in and be dropped at lifts otherwise about a 200m walk from the start of station pier to the lifts.

 

Glad you have a great time in your suite we will be on the Golden at the end of the month for a round NZ

 

Cheers Don

 

Thanks Don, unfortunately we won't have priority boarding.

 

Leigh

[VK3DQ]

Pleased to read you enjoyed your cruise John. That suite sounds wonderful.

 

Would you be so kind as to clarify a point for me? Were you required to take your life vest to 'mustard drill'? There is a discussion over on the Princess board with some ships requiring vests at the drill while others are not requiring them.

 

Hi There

 

NO!!! you did not have to take your life vest to the "Mustard Drill" only some good ham and crusty bread :evilsmile:

[VK3DQ]

Thanks John, I was interested in your embarkation and disembarkation experiences. We haven't boarded in Melbourne yet and are looking forward to it. How far up the pier can you be dropped off? either our son or daughter will be driving us in to Station Pier and wondered what the procedure for private car drop off is. How far up the pier can you be dropped off? Is it similar to the OPT where you are dropped off close to the building and you are helped with luggage being taken out of the car?

 

Look forward to reading more about your cruise.

 

Leigh

 

 

Hi Leigh

 

Dont arrive before 12 noon then you can get dropped off right at the ship , otherwise they wont let you on the wharf

 

Regards

 

John

[LC1950]

Thank you John. That's good to know ... no more traffic jam on the stairs trying to get back up to cabin. Mmmm think I'll just head straight to the Wheelhouse Bar for a *cough* refreshing glass of cold water. ;):cool: