Golden Princess Review: February 18-25

[tapia]

Golden Princess: February 18-25

San Juan, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Martin, St. Thomas

 

First off, let me just say hi to Dave H & his wife. I was fortunate to meet them my first day at the buffet. I also was making my run to the Calypso bar after the muster drill, but I ran into a problem. Since my grandmother is in a wheelchair and can't climb the stairs, we were supposed to have a crew member help her downstairs and then again up. This didn't happen--long story short, I didn't make the bar--sorry! Also, I didn't see anyone else after that point :-( But, I had a great time and hope everyone else did as well!

 

The Ship Itself:

The Golden Princess

The only other cruise I have taken was actually on this same ship. So, I really knew what I was getting and loved the ship anyway. For some reason, I remember that we had to pay for the pizza last time on the ship. You'll be happy to know that it is now free :-) I think they should make the ice cream free all the time like Carnival. I heard a lot of complaints about this on the ship. Personally, I don't care much for the night-life, since I'd rather be up during the day enjoying myself. But, I have heard this is a lot better on other ships.

 

I was a little disappointed with the casino. They had blackjack tournaments and slot tournaments. But, I didn't see one texas hold-em table or tournament. They should have had one........... Also, I have NEVER been in a casino where I didn't see a constant game of craps. I actually played by myself one night for 20 minutes. After no one else came over, I gave up. It's just not fun by yourself. I guess this is more the crowd then the casino's fault though. Of course, I did get a different opinion from my mom/aunt/grandmother. They said the slots here are better than anywhere else because it isn't crowded. (I guess this is more of the 'crowd' thing as well.)

 

Embarkation / Debarkation: THE BEST. Embarkation was a small line that went quickly--this was about 11:30. It took us about 20 minutes to get through the line and get to the line to get in. Sadly, they didn't open up the ship until about 12:15, so we did have a small wait. My only question is: Where was the express check-in line? I didn't even see one.............. Also, they didn't take the wheelchair people separately here to get on the ship. So, it was almost a free-for-all getting on and being in a wheelchair didn't help.

Getting off at the ports: I NEVER had a wait to get onto the ship. Maybe a 1-2 minute wait to scan my bag, but that's it. All-in-all, it was a great process.

Any questions you have about people in wheelchairs to disembark, just let me know and I'll answer.

Debarkation: Didn't have a wait. We just got off when we were called, got our bags, and left. It was easy and seamless.

 

There were HUGE lines to buy pictures the last day after the first seating. (I used the put all my pictures in an envelope so I could see what I wanted on the last day.) If you hit the line before the first dinner seating, you were fine. There was no wait, just a lot of people looking at the pictures.

Pools: These are HUGE compared to Carnival. They are also freshwater.

You can actually swim in them. FABULOUS. Enough said.

 

The shows were pretty good. I enjoyed each.

 

This was my first balcony. It was VERY worth it. Just being able to walk outside while in your room is worth every penny! I was on the Lido deck (14), which I can say was the BEST location possible. It was GREAT! I had a covered balcony, which I could see was smaller than the ones below me. BUT, I'd rather not be looked down at. (I got quite a few 'views' of things I didn't want/need to see.)

 

Dining: I opted for traditional and loved every minute of it. I liked getting to know my waiter (fabulous) and being able to see the 'early' version of the shows. I know some people have different opinions on the dining options, but I loved it.

Also, the midnight buffet was great each night. It actually had food (Carnival only has deserts.). The only night that was bad was the last night of the cruise. Food wasn't replenished and really wasn't good at all.

 

All in all, it was a beautiful, clean ship. We loved it.

 

Any questions, please let me know and I'd be happy to answer!

 

Ports:

Barbados:

After reading this board, I decided to book with Cameron. We were supposed to go to Harrison Caves (me, DH, and my father), then go back to the ship to drop off dad & pick up my Aunt and my mom. We got to Harrison Caves at 8:45 and found that the first tour wasn't until 9:30, not 9 as we originally heard. So, Cameron took us to a close look-out point, which was truly gorgeous. Then we went back to Harrison and had the tour, which was beautiful. Then we got back to the ship and went to the nature preserve, which wasn't what I expected. It was a little rough to walk around. But, my husband and I had a great time and DH made a friend (a cute little monkey). I would be my aunt and mom would have had a better time if they wore sneakers. The ground was a bit uneven.... From there, we went to Bathsheba and had a view from two different sides, which was gorgeous. He even gave me a map of the places we went to at the end of the day: Bridgetown, Deep Water Harbour, Holetown, Speightstown, The Reserve, Cherry Tree Hill, Morgan Lewis Mill, Barclays Park, Bathsheba, St. John’s Church, Highland Adventure Centre, Harrison’s Cave, and Gun Hill. (not in that order)

 

Cameron didn't have to take us to those extra places, but he did and we were able to see extra sides of Barbados we wouldn't have been able to otherwise. It was amazing and beautiful and I thank Cameron for showing me his country.

 

St. Lucia:

After reading this board, I decided to book with Frank.

 

Let me just say that we had such a great time with Frank. I was traveling with my parents, grandparents (2), an aunt, and my husband. So, there were 7 of us. My grandmother also has needed the assistance of a wheelchair or a walker for the last couple of months now, due to hip surgery. So, I knew we needed to go at our own pace. So, I spoke with Frank and requested the tour as well as it to just be the 7 of us and have him, personally, as the driver. Then I booked. A few days before I left he e-mailed me to ask if 2-4 people could accompany us and I said my grandmother needed to go slow, so I would prefer it to be just us. I also asked if he could have some kind of stool to make it easier for my grandmother to get in and out of his van. He e-mailed me back that it would be no problem and that he would see us soon.

 

This was all before we left. In St. Lucia, we got off the ship, followed his directions to where we would meet, and met up with him right outside. I found he ended up making a step that my grandmother would be able to use, which was fabulous. We started off. He's very friendly and would answer any questions we asked the whole way. We stopped at many 'lookout' points and were able to see so many places on the way. On the way back, Frank even put my husband on the radio after calling in. It was truly memorable and Frank made our visit to St. Lucia amazing. This was the one stop my grandparents got off the ship and went to see the country and I am truly grateful to Frank for making it fabulous!

 

 

Antigua:

After reading the board, I decided to book myself and my husband on Eli's Xtreme Adventures tour. Out of all the tours we could have booked, I truly can say we thought this was the BEST. We had an AMAZING time. We went to so many places and saw so many different things. It was fabulous.

I can agree that some people wouldn't like the tour because the boat went very quickly, but it was worth it to me. Exhilarating and fun! We saw parts of the island that no one else could have possibly seen. It made me fall in love with Antigua.

 

The ONLY negative of this trip was the HUGE sunburn I got. I was wearing waterproof sunscreen, but it didn't stop the salt water that was splashing me to take it off every-other second. So, despite my re-applying, I got burnt to a crisp and this really put a damper on the rest of my trip. We were sitting in the last row. Take my advice, don't do that unless you REALLY HATE the waves. (less bumps, but you get splashed and have sun on you the ENTIRE time)

 

St. Martin:

I was going to go to the butterfly farm and rent a jeep and go to the French side. But, I was too burnt to do it. Instead, I ended up just going shopping. I got some great blue diamonds (a ring and a necklace). DiOro International gave me a great deal and I'm really happy with my purchase.

 

St. Thomas

Here, I was again too burnt to do much and ended up getting earrings to match my purchase in St. Martin.

If anyone has ANY questions about anything, please let me know!

[chrysalis]

Thanks for the review.

 

I am interested in your comment that "the midnight buffet was great each night"....are you talking about the 24 hour buffet in the Horizon Court or something different?

[tapia]

Actually, we had traditional dining each night. But, that didn't stop DH from having dinner each night AGAIN at the buffet. He then brought that it back to our balcony and ate again. He thought that was great.

 

But, I was talking about the midnight buffet. I didn't attend once actually. But, DH did once and my father did as well. They both loved it and said different food was put out at a certain hour on one of the sides of the 24 hour buffet. Perhaps this was actually the same thing.

 

Thanks for pointing that out!

[kendon]

Thanks for the review. I am going on this cruise in April, same ship and itinerary for the second time. Thanks for the reassurance that it's still great.

[Mia]

Thanks for the review! Which nights were the formal evenings? Thanks!

[racepoint]

Thanks for the great review!. I'm eating up anything "Golden Princess" at this point, as we sail in a tad over two weeks. I especially appreciate the reminder about the strong Caribbean sun. I am traveling with teens who just want to come back with a great tan, but who are starting out very pale. I have discovered that any lotion, sunscreen or otherwise, on my face makes it break out terribly - so no sunscreen for me (on my face, anyways.) There are so many fun things to do (and we already have excursions planned) that I'd hate to be sidelined with a sunburn. Just curious . . . what age crowds would you say you were dealing with on board? Did you have any problem with getting a deck chair around the pool? This itinerary only has one "at sea" day and I'm expecting a tough go at it (maybe unnecessairily.)

[tapia]

The formal nights were the 2nd night and the 2nd to last night.

(the at sea night and the night we were at St. Martin)

 

 

Age-wise. I did see a whole group of teens that were in the program on the ship. About 25 or so that were together all the time. (around 17 I would say)

 

Other than that, there were a bunch of groups with honeymooners and the like (around 25)

 

But, I would say, all in all, princess in an overall older crowd than some of the other cruise lines.

 

The pool chairs: On the at-sea day my husband and I were up at 7 and went to the buffet (I know, we are nuts to be up at that time, right?). There were plenty of chairs going in. But, by the time we got out of there around 7:45, the chairs around the main pool were GONE. It was VERY hard to get chairs and I just wanted to throw towels off, but I restrained myself........

So, we sat by the back of the pool, which I found was a mistake--it was SO windy, it was actually cold.

I recommend getting chairs at the pool as early as possible. Even on the days we were at the islands, there were no chairs to be had at the main pool.

[minimotorin]

Thanks for you review, me wife and I leave on the same trip in April. Did you dock at all the ports or did you tender?

[tapia]

We docked at every port.

 

But, I heard that if there were more ships in some of the ports before us, we could have tendered.

 

This usually doesn't happen though because Princess is the first ship in port. (Princess also leaves before most of the ships as well.)

[tapia]

Sorry, I also forgot about the wine tasting........

 

I know I asked a lot about it, so I just wanted to include what happened.

 

I went to both of the wine tastings. The first one is just the normal type with 4 different wines (2 white and 2 red) as well as a dessert wine. This was $10 (actual $9 and change).

 

Then there was the maitre d's wine tasting. This was $25 a person and it was capped at 50 people. We had 6 wines & champagne. The most expensive was a Cabernet that was just over a hundred dollars. If anyone wants to know specifics, I still have the wine lists from the tastings.

 

Any other questions, please let me know.

[SorrentoCruiser]

We are on same trip March 18th and are traveling with a 72 year old. She is still mobile, but a little slower. We were hoping to be able to see a little of Old San Juan after dropping our bags. Is it within walking distance?

 

Also, have been reading that at the ports that you don't actually dock in "town" that the lines to get shuttles are horrid, what was your experience?

 

Thanks for the info.

[tapia]

My husband and I got off the ship, but my grandmother did not. We walked to one of the forts, which is about a 10 minute walk. But, what people forget to tell you is that it is ALL up hill. Also, the fort itself is all inclines and I had trouble getting up and down myself. So, I couldn't imagine someone with mobility issues doing so. All I can say is that the area we were in was VERY hilly.

 

Where we docked, there was a line of taxis waiting to take people places. So, I would say that is your best bet. I'm sure there are also other places to go that you're not climbing hills as well....

[rustydaveyboy]

I was on the same cruise as you but for 2 weeks it was amazing to see how different the atmosphere is from week to week. Week one the casino was DEAD. The nightclub and themed nights were also dead. There was 700 children onboard and the days were filled with late sailings from each port. Week 2 it was a breath of fresh air. The casino was packed, all the shows were full and the nightclub had an amazing atmosphere. I think the success of cruise can only be determined by the atmosphere and fellow cruise passengers. The options onboard remain the same it depends what everyone wants to make of them on that particular week.

[rustydaveyboy]

Sorrento Cruiser - when you get off the ship you can walk to OLD San Juan in 10 minutes everything is quite close. But failing that you can always get a taxi outside the dock area and get taken to all the major points of interest. The fort is on one side, the old town in the middle and the castle on the other. If you were to walk between the Fort and the castle it would take 20 mins tops for a slow stroll. The streets are very pleasant to walk around I hope you enjoy.

 

If anyone else is going to San Juan I reccomend a visit to the Bacardi facotry. You have to get a water taxi from pier 2 near where the ship docks and then a taxi after the water crossing. But the Bacardi factory is free to tour and you get 2 free drinks to enjoy along the way. Well worth the visit!