live from the golden

[mtjlr]

Poetrylady -- Checked the Kroozcam this morning and it looks like you are docked in Grenada. Our documents said we tender there, so was glad to see you are docked. Am I right on this?

 

Thanks for the updates. Have a great cruise.

[Northender]

We will be on The Golden come the end of March and I am following this thread daily. Such great info, keep it up folks, the more info the merrier:)

 

Kaye,Would appreciate when you get back how you liked the St.Kitts RR. I think I will book it and will have plenty of time to cancel depending on what you and others have to say.

 

Poetrylady - is it possible for you to get some sample menus for our rollcall. One of our participants has set up a web-site for us and a copy of these would be great. Also, what type of excursion did you do in Grenada.

 

Seal, hope to hear about your experiences on your return.

 

Thanks ahead of time. Have to enjoy your trips for now:D

[poetrylady]

Tonight is island night on the Golden. There will be entertainment at the aft pool. We enjoyed Grenada today. Again, no tours, just walking around and taking in the character of the island. We did dock here, but another ship was tendering. Guess it depends on who gets here first...

 

Starboard cabins had sun pretty much all day today. Port side was facing the port, and there was a big Oceana ship next to us so it made for shade along the cement walkway.

 

There are some interesting shops right at the dock. You can walk through a tunnel (turn right when you get to the street) and you can go to the small inner harbor where there is a shop that Princess pushes. I really did not think it was worth the walk to go to Dot's. The shops by the cruise docks were much more interesting, in my opinion. We bought spice baskets to take home. They are everywhere, and prices are from about $5 to $30, depending on size and how many spices are included.

 

I did not mention that our first formal night was after St Thomas. The other formal night will be Aruba night. Hubby and I did not dress up first time, opting to eat in Horizon buffet. We have enjoyed the food there. Always fresh, and really very tasty. I think it worked out for the better that we did not get late seating everynight in the diningroom. We would have over eaten, for sure.

 

Tomorrow is Isla Margarita. I'm not sure if we tender or dock. I can't tell in the information we have thus far. Will be looking for pearls though. I'm going to buy several strands as they should make nice gifts.

 

Weather has been warm, mostly sunny, but we've had showers at times. It has not dampened our spirits in any way!!

 

I spoke too soon regarding the noisy neighbors whom I thought had toned it down. They had girls in their cabin last night... er, this morning (4 to 5:30am) for quite a party. I did mention it to our cabin steward. We'll see if things are any quieter tonight. I'm determined not to let it get to me!!!

[sacway]

poetrylady - love the posts as it brings back many fine memories of our recent cruise. we were portside so it's interesting to get the weather report from the other side of the ship.

it might be too late when you read this (hope not) but you might want to stop at the shack where the guy is selling El Rey chocolate bars at Isla Margarita. I only bought one ($3 seemed pretty steep!) as a "local color" holiday treat for my brother who is a big chocolate fan. He called me today and read from some sort of gourmet food encyclopedia all about the world's best chocolate and the El Rey was one of them -- something about chiola being the original cocoa bean. He lives in Lansing, MI and says he has to drive to Ann Arbor to buy this Venezuelan chocolate. So, both the chocolate and the pearls have been big hits in our extended family. Happy shopping.

Kaye - I love the Coach shop in OSJ! The bag I got there in 2002?, there were 4 colors and I got only one, and have had so many compliments wish I'd bought at least two.

Here's wishing you plenty of fine weather for the rest of the cruise, and hope your neighbors go elsewhere to be noisy.

[poetrylady]

I sure do love this little port! Wow!! From the starboard side, we once again could not see the pier so I had no idea what to expect until I showered and went upstairs to have a look from the "other" side. All we could see was open water and a few ferries coming and going. But this port is a real treat, in my opinion.

 

We have shade today, but the 89 degree temp and humidity are a bit sticky. Be ready for flies here. Little annoying flies. Bigger than gnats but very pesky. I have not had a bite or anything, they are just an annoyance. We have a few in our cabin that DH is trying to kill!! We have been enjoying our Caribe balcony a lot, and I'm afraid the flies have come in. They are also around other parts of the ship, since the gangways sare wide open.

 

Pearls, pearls, pearls!! Oh, my goodness. I bought 9 strands!!! They will make wonderful gifts. They are not perfect, but they are really nice for a price ranging from about $8 to 35 or more. You can get single strands, double strands, etc. and a variety of lengths. Earrings too. There are white, pink, black, etc. I bought all white.

 

I also bought some other things that were handmade here. I've seen so many things that were made in China in the other ports, but here I've been able to get LOCAL crafts. I really do appreciate that.

 

I'm reading this thread too late to partake of the chocolate bars, sorry to say. We are ready to sail away, with everyone back on board by now.

 

I'm going to three seminars this afternoon. The first one is on Princess cruises to Europe, since DH and I want to do the Baltics this summer. Then, I'm going to a digital photog class and last but not least is another class (not free) on Photoshop. DH and I are taking all the photoshop classes we can. He also took a class on using the computer "for the first time" since he is a real beginner. There is a class on excel and word that he might also take.

 

We're keeping busy, and we're sticking to our diets!! Amazing!! Food is good, the ship is mostly in great shape, but carpeting is showing a bit of wear in places. No complaints from us though. We came to relax and chill out and that's just what we're doing.

 

We're off to Aruba in about 15 minutes.

 

More later....

[poetrylady]

I meant to say, don't bother with taking the 45 minute ride to town. All the shopping you could possibly want (and 3-4 lovelys beaches as well) is right at the pier!!! No taxis needed.

[Kaye from Chicagoland]

Hi!

 

Poetrylady - thanks for your regular posts. You've given us valuable information and it is appreciated. We are starboard as well. If you did this same cruise again would you chose starboard or port side? I'm envious that you have kept to your diets. I had originally planned to diet and workout before the cruise until my mishap on the ice with bruised ribs. I tried to go to the gym yesterday - I could do the footwork, but as soon as they started crunches I had to leave. The ribcage couldn't take it. so...I go about 10 lbs overweight. The ribs are still sore - but - not sore enough to keep me home.

 

sacway - Just curious. Are the prices at the Coach Outlet much better than the regular Coach stores in the states? My daughter bought me a Coach purse for my B-Day and I love it. I think she spent $255 - she accidentally (or on purpose?) left the price tag on it. She said she left all tags on in case I wanted to return or exchange it. It is the perfect size for our cruise and has side pockets to reach glasses and other stuff easily without opening the bag unless I need money.

 

This has been such an interesting thread!

Thanks,

Kaye

[sacway]

poetrylady - good for you! on staying on top of your diet. And the pearls - I bought 7 or 8 strands and wish I'd bought more. did manage to give most of them away. guess I'll just have to get back to Isla Margarita someday.

 

kaye - you might find yourself able to get back in shape despite ribs just by walking on this ship, it's really quite large and if you make a point to get lost a lot :-) you'll get miles of walking in each day, and if you add taking the stairs, well, it's almost as good as aerobics. Or you can go up and walk on the "jogging" track which is semi sheltered and very easy on the joints (nice padded surface). as for the coach bags, the one I get so many complements on cost only 40-50 (it's unlined, I think one person called it a "scooter" bag) and I have another black one that's great for air travel with extra pockets and big enough for passport, novel or folded over wad of papers from the office for about $125. The store will also have bags in the 200-400 range. There's a D&B purses store across the street as well. Not making it over to these shops was one thing I'm sorry I couldn't fit into this trip, won't make this mistake (I hope) next time.

[1stCruiser]

Thanks so much for the posts. Hopefully we'll be able to keep it going for the next Golden cruisers. It's great to get first-hand and "fresh" information. We are almost there (just over a week) and it makes it all that more exciting!

 

Congrats on keeping to your diet. I know how hard that is. Have you been to the gym? How busy is it?

 

Have fun in Aruba!

 

Laura

[poetrylady]

Hello again everyone,

We are docked in Aruba, along with Celebrity Century and HAL Volendam.

 

We went ashore for a while after breakfast this morning. There is all kinds of shopping within easy walk of the pier. Lots of designer labels (some fakes if you go a block or so inland to shop) and lots of stuff made in China. Many of the souvenir shops had the same things, over and over again. I went on a hunt for Tortuga rum cakes to take home, but found only a very few, even though they are mentioned in Princess shore shopping paper, and the price was very high for them. I've purchased them in Grand Cayman and thought they were much more reasonable.

 

I noted all the booths for renting cars and jeeps, just as you step off the ship, but I didn't see anyone manning any of them!! Maybe we slept in too late and all the jeeps were gone... although we had decided against renting one anyway.

 

I also went looking for "smeercheese"... something we found in Amsterdam last month. Did not find it... darn... it's sooooooo tasty, but would not have fit in my diet, so maybe just as well.

 

The only thing I bought here was a coffee mug (I collect them). DH did not buy anything at all, not even a Cuban cigar. We both were rather disappointed in Aruba, actually. This island could be anywhere. Now, Grenada and Isla Margarita had a lot more character, in our opinion.

 

Tonight is the second formal night. And today was the $15 per bag laundry special, so we gathered two bags full. I'm not sure how soon we get them back... not that we need anything immediately.

 

Weather here continues to be cloudy, and I think I felt a few sprinkles while out walking. There is very little rainfall annually on Aruba, so it is not a big concern at all.

 

Once again, our balcony was starboard side and faced OUT rather than into the port. We saw open ocean... but the privacy on our side of the ship has really been nice. Sometimes when you are in port, if your balcony faces the pier all the time, you think people might we "watching" you.... ha ha ha. That has not been a problem.

 

Kaye, I might want to do port side next time around... if I repeated this cruise. Although, now I don't need to know what's out there since I've already seen it.

 

Deck chairs are very plentiful. Even though we have a full house on this cruise, you can always find a place to sit. Shade or sun. Take your pick. Plenty of space. Now, we shall see if that holds true tomorrow, when we are at sea all day. I think lots of folks enjoy their balconies on this ship.

 

Gotta run. I'll post tomorrow if there is anything special to tell you about. Now that ports are done, we will just be relaxing and repacking for San Juan disembarkation on Saturday morning. We're staying at Caribe Hilton for one night. I'm looking forward to that.

[Kaye from Chicagoland]

Poetrylady,

 

Once again thanks for your continued posts and information. We are following you closely. It will be a few days before I will be able to post on this thread since we're flying in a day early (Jan13) and I don't have a laptop. I am Platinum so I can use the the free internet service. Just keep bumping the thread up so I can find it. Internet service on Princess (in my experience is very slow). I probably can't post until Jan. 15th or 16th.

 

Enjoy your at day at sea and wish you easy disembarkation and fun in San Suan!

Talk to you soon,

Kaye

[Northender]

Poetrylady and Kaye

 

I am watching this thread and look forward to keep it going by the next group of Golden Cruisers:)

 

Have written many tips and Kaye, waiting to hear how your experiences go.

Altho I am not platnum with Princess, when I get onboard, I will try and keep notes and sign on a couple of times to keep everyone up to date during our cruise.

 

Again, thanks to all who have kept this going. Sorry it is Friday for poetrylady but it sounds as tho she had a wonderful time. Its not quite over:D

[poetrylady]

It's our one full day at sea. We got up around 8:30 to make coffee and enjoy the morning air on the balcony. We've spent a LOT of time on our balcony this cruise. DH is a cigar smoker, so it's nice that we have a place for him to light up. DH is also working on research for a book, so the peace and quiet have been a godsend (other than the 3am parties next door!!!)

 

The starboard vs port side is an interesting question. I don't know whether I'd switch sides or not. Guess it really doesn't matter, in the long run. It all depends upon which ships arrive first and at what time, I think, whether you are facing out or in, while in port. There are usually two sides to the pier, and Golden could be on either side, so it's a toss of the dice pretty much.

 

The seas were only a little bit rough once during this cruise. It was the night we were going from St Kitts to Grenada. We had quite a distance to cover, and the capt was making tracks! The ship did a bit of rocking. Most of the time though, the seas have been very calm. Most enjoyable!!!!

 

Today there was a big sale in the Bernini diningroom of tee shirts, sweat gear, purses, costume jewelry, clothing, scarves, etc. etc. I picked up a couple of things at 50% off, but opted to put them back down and not buy anything. But there were some interesting things, and the diningroom was full of sale stuff and passengers shopping. Some were hauling out bagsful. I don't know if this sale is something they try on every cruise or not. Maybe because we sailed the last day of the year, they were trying to unload some of their overstock items before getting all new for 2006. Who knows...

 

Laundry has not yet reappeared from yesterday's $15/bag special. Cabin steward Ramida has assured us that we will have it back today, in time for packing. Here's hoping she's right... (I'm sure she is).

 

There is line dancing today in the atrium. Looked like fun, but I was on my way to something else so did not stop. Trivia was a good time yesterday afternoon. Tough questions though!!! My team did not win, but we gave it a good shot.

 

We need to pack today and get ready to leave the ship tomorrow. DH was complaining about having to get out of the cabin at 8 in the morning. I told him it was the only morning he's had to get up early so he should not complain. LOL We'll hope for the best, come morning.

 

I'll be in touch!

[Kaye from Chicagoland]

We are down to the final days now.....We leave on Friday at 4:00 a.m. (yawn). I will try to post as often as possible on this same thread. Let's try to keep it going. Try to post often so we can bump it up to where I can find it. Poetrylady is using a laptop and may be having an easier time accessing than I will (?). Northender I will give you my honest review of the St. Kitts Scenic RR tour. I will also post on the San Juan Ports of Call board upon return.

 

Poetrylady - it sounds like you had a nice cruice in spite of your neighbors. Tell them to stay away from C329on Jan.14 - 21. We like our sleep, even if it is not much. Best wishes for a safe trip home ( it goes too fast, doesn't it?). Did you have a CC 'Meet and Greet'?

 

Happy cruising to all,

Kaye

[STUR]

Portrylady

 

after reading your post everyday I cantwait till Friday when we leave

 

YOUR REPORT WAS GREAT

 

Glad to hear you had a wonderfull Cruise

 

STUR DAYTON,OHIO

[poetrylady]

Embarkation started about 8 this morning, and our group (with no on-going flight or post-cruise tour) was called just before 10. We had breakfast in the Horizon Court. It was very busy, but we found a table and stayed put for a while, and then moved down to deck 7 where we sat for maybe a half hour before being called to get bags. The longest line was waiting to show our passports to US immigration.

 

Embarkation was on deck 6, and they pretty much wanted everyone to stay away from deck 6 until their tag color and number was called.

 

By about 10:40, we were checking in at the Hilton. Problem: we can check in but we cannot get into a room for at least two or more hours. And I've got a Hilton Honors "silver" card. So, we sat by the sea, sipping iced tea, and watched people and iguanas (4 of them, a big family I guess) eat lettuce. Some people were hand feeding them. Nice entertainment to while away some time.

 

We don't really want to leave the hotel area as I don't want to lug my laptop with me. It isn't all that heavy, but I don't want to leave it here in the lobby either!!! So, we are sticking pretty close. Lots of activity here... people coming in from cruise ships and people leaving on cruises today.

 

Golden was once again joined by the Celebrity Constellation and the Seranade of the Seas Royal Carib. These two ships were docked at Pan Am pier. Golden once again docked at pier 4, across from Sheraton Old San Juan.

 

I meant to tell all of you about a large group of over 200 cruises on our ship. They all wore "I'm with Marge" shirts. Marge (we never saw her) wore a shirt that said, "I'm Marge." Marge paid for 204 people's flights plus mini suites on the Dolphin deck. I want to know how to get on her list of friends!! Hahaha

They all seemed to be having a lovely time. I guess she had invited a number of other people who could not join her for one reason or another. If I understand correctly, Marge lost her wealthy husband recently, and wants to spend some of his money. She spent quite a bit this past week, I'd say!!!

 

Anyway, we are off the Golden and will have fond memories of our cruise. We both think our favorite port was Isla Margarita. We were both a bit disappointed with Aruba, but had we gotten farther away from the cruise pier and Oranjestad we might have had a better impression of the island.

 

We did not connect with any other CC passengers. I think there were maybe a few on board though.

 

Everyone have a wonderful time on your upcoming cruises on Golden!!

[jetsfan]

Thanks poetrylady, I have loved reading about your cruise. We leave on April 22nd. Have a safe trip home!

[STUR]

Embarkation started about 8 this morning, and our group (with no on-going flight or post-cruise tour) was called just before 10. We had breakfast in the Horizon Court. It was very busy, but we found a table and stayed put for a while, and then moved down to deck 7 where we sat for maybe a half hour before being called to get bags. The longest line was waiting to show our passports to US immigration.

 

Embarkation was on deck 6, and they pretty much wanted everyone to stay away from deck 6 until their tag color and number was called.

 

By about 10:40, we were checking in at the Hilton. Problem: we can check in but we cannot get into a room for at least two or more hours. And I've got a Hilton Honors "silver" card. So, we sat by the sea, sipping iced tea, and watched people and iguanas (4 of them, a big family I guess) eat lettuce. Some people were hand feeding them. Nice entertainment to while away some time.

 

We don't really want to leave the hotel area as I don't want to lug my laptop with me. It isn't all that heavy, but I don't want to leave it here in the lobby either!!! So, we are sticking pretty close. Lots of activity here... people coming in from cruise ships and people leaving on cruises today.

 

Golden was once again joined by the Celebrity Constellation and the Seranade of the Seas Royal Carib. These two ships were docked at Pan Am pier. Golden once again docked at pier 4, across from Sheraton Old San Juan.

 

I meant to tell all of you about a large group of over 200 cruises on our ship. They all wore "I'm with Marge" shirts. Marge (we never saw her) wore a shirt that said, "I'm Marge." Marge paid for 204 people's flights plus mini suites on the Dolphin deck. I want to know how to get on her list of friends!! Hahaha

They all seemed to be having a lovely time. I guess she had invited a number of other people who could not join her for one reason or another. If I understand correctly, Marge lost her wealthy husband recently, and wants to spend some of his money. She spent quite a bit this past week, I'd say!!!

 

Anyway, we are off the Golden and will have fond memories of our cruise. We both think our favorite port was Isla Margarita. We were both a bit disappointed with Aruba, but had we gotten farther away from the cruise pier and Oranjestad we might have had a better impression of the island.

 

We did not connect with any other CC passengers. I think there were maybe a few on board though.

 

Everyone have a wonderful time on your upcoming cruises on Golden!!

AGAIN THANK YOU POETRYLADY

YOU SOUN LIKE A LOT OF FUN ITS ASHAME YOU COULD NOT BE WITH ALL OF US NEXT WEEK ON THE GOLDEN

 

HAVE A SAFE FLIGHT HOME

 

STUR DAYTON,OHIO

[sacway]

poetrylady - safe travel home & thanks for taking the time to post all week, helped me with the inevitable after-the-cruise blues to remember each of these places. BTW, DH & I actually walked off the ship into one of those car rental places dockside on our second trip to Aruba. We rented a tiny Suzuki or something and drove ourselves to the beach and around the island, it sounded like the engine ran on a rubber band and the clutch was a ... well you get my drift. Anyhow, it was a bit too much adventure for me, if I were to rent a car again, I'd do it through one of the nationals and set it up before going. And this time, DH had a good day at the marina casino, so we are still big on Aruba. It's not much fun, though, if you just go to the mall, which is pretty much like a mall anywhere except for more jewelry stores.

kaye - we will want all the particulars! and stur - we'll want to hear how the train ride goes for a rail buff. so keep the faith.

[poetrylady]

We are enjoying a nice breakfast at Caribe Hilton. We were upgraded to the executive floor (with wonderful views, including the ships in port) and free wifi so here I am once again.

 

We fly back to Chicago this afternoon. The change in weather will be the biggest shocker, I'd guess. Today San Juan is absolutely gorgeous. It's one of those kind of days where you really DON'T want to leave.

 

Three new ships are in port this morning. I watched as Princess and the others sailed away last night. The Carnival Destiny is sitting at pier #4 and the Adventurer of the Seas is at Pan Am. One other ship is sitting beside Destiny but I cannot identify it.

 

I hope all of you have as enjoyable a cruise on the Golden as we did. It was all chilling out and relaxing. Next, the Baltics, but probably not on Princess as we want to cruise out of Amsterdam, a favorite city of ours.

 

In nine more days we're off to Bangkok for a couple of weeks, not on a cruise, just going for (another) vacation, but this one involves some work.

[Jim & Gerry]

Stu from Dayton - Looking forward to your comments. We have also booked the Marriott through Princess for a pre-cruise stay. Keep us posted on your experience and any great excursions.

[poetrylady]

We arrived at the airport several hours prior to our flight from SJU to ORD today, and we were glad we did. We checked our bags in at UA counter and then looked around in the shops before going through security, thinking we had all kinds of time since we were so early. We had considered leaving the airport and going over to the El San Juan hotel, but opted not to (which was the right decision).

 

When we finally went to the security line, we could not believe how LONG it was. Although it moved along fairly quickly, if I were going through SJU again, I'd want to allow an extra 30 minutes minimum to get through the line.

 

We went through one of those newfangled scanning machine that blows puffs of air on you and then scans your body. It takes a few seconds more than the usual beeper machines. After the new scanner, we still had to go through the old beeper type as well! Not sure why they thought they needed both types... and they didn't have both types at all the security checkpoints. Most had just the old beeper type machines.

 

SJU is undergoing some new construction. They are adding more terminal space to the airport, but I'm not sure they know what they are doing. Anyway, traffic gets tied up out front, and there are no places to sit down in the newer terminal until after you clear security. We decided that SJU is not a very people friendly airport, in that it is not all that easy to get from point A to point B. But hopefully things will be better once they get all the work done.

 

We were hoping to find Tortuga rum cakes for a good price, but never did. The smallest ones were $8.50 and the medium sized ones were $18.00. I'd swear I bought them for a lot less than that in Grand Cayman a couple of years ago... Anyone else buy these for a good price??? They are really very delicious and they make a nice souvenir, but not at $18 for a few pieces of cake!!

[AZPam]

Can any of you who are currently on or recently returned from the Golden let us know if all ports are docked or if some are tendered? And if there are tenders, which ports? Also, were the shops open in St Thomas on Sunday for most of the day? I've read that they close fairly early on Sunday, like around 1pm??? Have to plan my shopping hunt accordingly if that's the case!

 

PLEASE keep up posting from the Golden! We won't be on until March 11, so reading about all these wonderful cruises sure helps the time fly!

 

Pam

[poetrylady]

Pam,

I assume you are doing the same itinerary we just did (St Thomas, St Kitts, Grenada, Isla Margarita, and Aruba). We docked in every port, never having to tender ashore. I liked that!

 

We were in St Thomas on New Years Day so not all shops were open. We had been advised that shops would close early that day. We had been to St Thomas a few years ago and shopped downtown, so did not venture there this time. I can't tell you for sure about shops closing early on Sundays, but I would think NOT, since there are ships in port!!

[sacway]

poetrylady - funny that you had a slow line at the airport, we had a very fast time through, much faster than we expected, since it was Christmas Eve and they'd just changed the security regs two days earlier. Goes to show you that *it never hurts to get to the airport and through security early*. SJU has improved quite a bit over the past decade in our experience; our first trip out of there, we ended up sitting on the linoleum for a couple of hours, there were no chairs, no shops, no nothing! By comparison, this time we were able to sit in a bar and watch football on the far side of security, plus I noticed several of the usual airport shops.

 

azpam - confirm that we docked in all ports, on that same route. Havenside (where the ship docks in St. Thomas) was open all day while we were there and has most of the same shops that are in Charlotte Amalie; there is a sizeable flea market near the taxi stand in Charlotte Amalie, if that's more your style. You might go into town in the morning, come back midday, have lunch on the ship, then go off the ship into Havenside for any last minute additions.