Meyerhaus Golden Princess Review (Parte dos)

[meyerhaus]

CABIN and DINING

CABIN- After stopping at the Purser to put in for an upgrade (no such luck), we went to our room on the Dolphin Deck, number 323. It was just on the forward side of mid-ship, and we loved it! From now on we will book inside staterooms (only to double the number of cruises we can afford) because we absolutely love the Golden’s Sun Deck: we found very little need for our balcony other than the occasional late-night read.

 

Our cabin steward, Rudolfo Arante from the Phillipines, was absolutely wonderful. We never wanted for anything, and he even rinsed off our shoes when they were too sandy! We wouldn’t have known that he did it had we not walked in on him!

 

 

The AB mini-suites are very spacious. The bathroom has a GREAT tub/shower and the closet space is MORE than adequate. The beds did separate a little, but we did not heed the duct tape warning, so it is our fault. BRING DUCT TAPE! The living area was very comfy and the coffee table was set high so that it could double as a dining table. The balcony is totally exposed, but we did not even notice. Of course, it helped that it hardly rained at all on the cruise.

 

 

Now, from this point on, I will e jumping around a little bit. I am not going to just list a play by play of every day, but will comment on the important aspects of the ship.

 

 

DINING- Loved it. It was absolutely wonderful every night. Unlike Donia and Tish, we found Donatello to be just wonderful. Reason: Johan from South Africa. He was great. We also sat one night in the area waited on by a female duo from South Africa. The assistant, Estee, was a nut, but we loved her. Here is our take on the food from the dinners that we ate:

 

 

Sailaway – Great appetizers; very light for the first night. The prime rib was blah, but it was made up for by the wonderful desserts. Donia was right when she praised the cheesecake: to die for.

 

 

Captain’s Welcome – One word=Tournedos. The beef tenderloin was the most amazing piece of beef I have ever eaten. Also had the Love Boat Dream that night; yum.

 

 

Sabatini’s – Taking the advice from this board, we spent the $40 extra to eat at Sabatini’s. We took the advice of the Head Waiter there and went on Italian night. He had a good point that once you ate at Sabatini’s, you would be disappointed with the dining room Italian Night. Well, you were all right about Sabatini’s: it was marvelous. The wait staff was constantly bringing you more food and taking care of your every need. For those of you unfamiliar with how a Tratorria works, and I know we were, here is a crash course.

 

 

When you walk in, they give you a menu: ignore it. You will be brought all of the food anyway. The only thing that they have you order is the entrée, and if you like seafood, order Tiger Prawns, Lobster Tail and the Langoustines to split. They were great.

 

 

You get bread, antipasti, soup, salad, pizza, pasta, entrée and dessert. We also got our Anniversary Cake here on our fake anniversary. Its well worth it: it’s like the best Three Musketeers Bar you have ever eaten.

 

 

Sterling Steakhouse/ Desert Rose- Very cozy. I actually hope that they leave the décor the way it is. It is a very nice interior, and calling the restaurant The Desert Rose Steakhouse would be fine. Wonderful bread, the best damn Clam Chowder I have ever had, unbelievable steak, and a great desert menu make this place a nice evening. One tip- make your reservation here later in the evening. They have great live music. On the Golden, it was Ruben Ruiz.

 

 

Chef’s Dinner – Soup this night was exceptional. The Chilled Golden Delicious Apple and Peach Soup with a Touch of Calvados was wonderful. All of the entrees looked inviting, but I had the Shrimp Creole and Amy had the Chicken Kiev: Very nice.

 

 

Captain’s Gala Dinner – a very nicely rounded dinner. The Clams Casino were great, Amy loved the Chilled Strawberry Soup and I enjoyed the Double Chicken Broth, and the lobster…very nice. We had them make a Surf and Turf for each of us with Beef Wellington. The beef was O.K. A little heavy on the liver if you ask me. All in all, the best dining room night.

 

 

Room Service – Now is a good time to discuss room service because that is what we had on the final night. We were so darn tired, that we ordered Caesar Salads, Fettuccine Alfredo (A++++), and Cheesecake to eat in our room. Glad we did it. We watched Finding Nemo as we ate in our P.J.’s.

 

 

The room service over all was exceptional. I do wish that they would make an exceptional to the rule that room service does not honor the Coke card, because I think that in the context of a meal, it creates no big problem to deliver it. I can see the nuisance of delivering a glass of Coke to a room every 10 minutes, but with a meal…come on!

 

 

The rest of the food was great, too. The Prego Pizzeria was great, the Trident Grill made a mean burger (but don’t get a hotdog here), the Haagen-Daz was good, but the Sundae Bar in the Horizon Court in the afternoon was just as good.

 

 

The Horizon Court Buffet was great if you ask me. I thought the food and service was great. We had breakfast and lunch there most of the time. It was just, well, convenient!

[DoniaG]

Jon - You really make me regret that we didn't take time to try Sabatini's and Desert Rose - they sound wonderful. I guess we just had plain old bad luck with the dining room. I wish we had found a really great wait team - I suspect it would have changed the entire experience. But I really glad that you and Amy did! Donia

 

P.S. I was really interested in your opinion of the fettucini. The night I had it, the pasta was tough (much more than "al dente"), the alfredo sauce was almost tasteless, and the whole thing was served barely lukewarm! Glad to hear that you had a better experience. D.

[mringenoldus]

I'm very interested in your information on the mini. I have an inside (so far) on this October's Golden Caribbean cruise but an AB on next Oct. Canada/New England trip. (We live in the desert and I want to see the autumn colors)

 

We had a suite on the Sun but had the chance to see a mini and they were wonderful. Are you able to compare the Golden AB to the Sun mini? Thanks!

[meyerhaus]

You will not have any regrets on the mini-suite. As far as comparison, the only thing that I can do is refer you to these two pictures.

 

Grand Class Mini - http://www.cruisestateroom.com/847932/GoldenPrincess/images/princess-grand-golden-minisuitebalcony-scale.gif

 

Sun Class Mini - http://www.cruisestateroom.com/847932/SunPrincess/images/princess-dawn-sea-sun-ocean-minisuitebalcony-scale.gif

 

I do not have first hand experience, but someone here does.

 

GOOD LUCK,

[MauiLuvr]

Loved it. It was absolutely wonderful every night. Unlike Donia and Tish, we found Donatello to be just wonderful. Reason: Johan from South Africa. He was great.

 

Johan is the man! He was my waiter in March 2003 on the Golden in the traditional dining room and gave us FANTASTIC service. I was travelling with my mother that time and he made dinnertime an absolute joy (when it could have been very stressful).

 

When I went on the Golden again this May with a group of friends, I asked my waiter, Orlando, if he knew whether Johan was still on board. Orlando checked and found that Johan was on board, but now in Donatello. I figured that meant I would not get to see him again. Little did I know that, the next night, Johan would show up at my table to say hello!

 

Luckily for me, Johan was doing a different job that week, so he was able to "escape" from Donatello and run down to Canaletto to see me. I was SO touched by that. And not only that, he came by several nights in a row!

 

I will not lie, I had a bit of a crush on Johan when he was my waiter last year but the truth is that, crush or not, he was one of the best waiters I have ever had. He was informative and attentive and skilled at his job in every respect. It was such a joy to see him again this year.

 

I'm so glad you had the good fortune to be sitting in his section and that you enjoyed his service and charm. :)

[bdjam]

We had a suite on the Sun but had the chance to see a mini and they were wonderful. Are you able to compare the Golden AB to the Sun mini? Thanks!

 

I consider it this way - the minis on the Grand Class ships are large standard staterooms - additional room from the sitting area, the larger balcony and the larger bathroom. The minis on the Sun Class are small suites - there is a separate living room, a double wide balcony, a stall shower and Jacuzzi tub and separate area for the commode...much more a mini "suite" than on the Grand Class.

 

[CruiseFever]

Jon- I've heard that you're just stuffed after Sabatinis.....yes?

[meyerhaus]

Chris,

Was I ever! However, just like a good chef can do, we were not uncomfortable becasue of how well the food was prepared: not too much oil, fat, etc.

[boblerm]

<<Sabatini’s – Taking the advice from this board, we spent the $40 extra to eat at Sabatini’s. We took the advice of the Head Waiter there and went on Italian night.>>

Do you happen to remember which night was Italian night on your cruise? (What port were you in?)

 

Thanks, Bob

[meyerhaus]

was on Tuesday. We were in Barbados.