Live from the Golden Princess

[sacway]

Hi everyone!

 

Actually we are in Juneau at the Seaport Cyber Cafe (no cafe really) about a 10 minute walk from the ship. Lots of PCs and $6 an hour.

 

Weather is dreary. Raining pretty steady.

 

The ship is great (this is our 2nd Golden cruise, other so. Carib in winter; our first AK cruise) and the waitstaff is very nice.

 

My plan to duck out the back for a private balcony on the stairwell was a bust, since we got our inside cabin on Baja. Still, nearly works. Insides on portside on Aloha, you can just head out the back door. The back three decks are open and with overcast weather, very good place to hang out.

 

The "adults only" pool has been taken over by kids, however, and no one has been keeping them out. Luckily there aren't too many on board, and they are nice enough, and heck the grownups are hardly using it....

 

So we will be online tomorrow in Skagway if you have any questions.

 

The comedian was pretty good last night but he got off today. There's so much "art" for the auction that you can hardly walk down the hall on Deck 7.

 

This morning we saw about 30 Orcas in several pods. Saw only a few spouts yesterday.

 

Overall, a really terrific cruise so far.

[AlaskaGolden]

If anyone is interested in what they're eating:

 

http://www.alexlucy.com/friendspage/goldenprincessmenus.html

 

Excellent cruise -- enjoy the ports, the food, the crew, the entertainment, and all the other amenities of the Golden Princess!

[monakayk]

Have a great cruise.

 

Can't wait to hear more. BTW, are these the current menus they NOW have on the Golden?

[Cobraman]

We will be on the Golden in October; a couple of questions if you don't mind.

 

Have they followed through with their plan to install wireless internet on board?

 

Most of the cruise ships now have cellualr service if needed, is the Golden included in that group?

 

Thanks in advance.

[sacway]

There is wireless in some public areas, not in the rooms. However it is very pricey, I think 50 cents a minute.

 

I remember that I'm supposed to have a signal onboard, and I guess I do, sometimes, but not everywhere. My phone beeps no signal/signal a lot. I haven't checked with my carrier (Cingular) on the price for that.

 

Today we rented a car from Avis and drove to White Horse. It's cool, overcast and breezy in Skagway, but up in the Yukon it's a bright sunny day, people on the streets in shorts and flip flops.

 

We also saw a young bear cross the road just outside of town. And I saw some whales off the back of the boat this morning.

 

For those of you (I'm one of them) who prefer traditional dining, we decided to experiment this time with anytime rather than visit the maitre'd and request a change. So far, so good, and no need to hurry back to the ship for dinner. We are early diners and haven't had a problem getting a table.

 

Some of the entertainment is the same as our last cruise on Princess, about 18 months ago. I'm not sure how frequently they redo the production shows, that was a surprise for us.

[LUV THE SEA]

Thank you for taking the time for your info- We are leavin on the Golden- inside cabin forward room even number-not sure what side of the ship-not sure if I am near any outdoor deck-

Your review has made me so excited- I hope the weather stays good in skagway-we are going on the train ride.

How is the cruise director- Is ther a salmon fest on deck one day? What other trips do you pla? We are leaving for Seattle on Friday-so it is almost here Any info you can give me would be great I have never been on Princess and never to Alaska..so if you have the time to share info- We are on the waitlist for late dinner-does late dinner have any problems with seeing the shows?

Have a great trip-thanks again!!

[monakayk]

We will be on the Golden in October

Cobraman,

 

So when in Oct. are you crusing on the Golden, if you don't mind me asking?

 

My DH and I with 2 DFs are going on Oct. 27th. We have a roll call going if that is the date for your cruise...we would love you to join all the folks who will be on that cruise.

 

Here is the link to the roll call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=522125

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the live from thread. :)

[Cobraman]

Cobraman,

 

So when in Oct. are you crusing on the Golden, if you don't mind me asking?

 

My DH and I with 2 DFs are going on Oct. 27th. We have a roll call going if that is the date for your cruise...we would love you to join all the folks who will be on that cruise.

 

Here is the link to the roll call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=522125

 

Hi Mona, we are leaving on the 13th of October. This will be our third time to Mexico on this itenerary. Once on the Diamond Princess, followed by a ride on the Celebrity Summit. We really enjoy the area, we vacation there often, utilizing the all-inclusive resorts. I've already signed on to the roll call for our departure date. Just FYI - we just got back from a 14 night cruise to Hawaii on the Celebrity Summit April 27th - May 11th. Now that was a blast.

[sacway]

Straightforward disembarkation albeit they didn't call out groups in order. Quick cab to airport, $29 plus tips (Princess X-fers were $18 apiece so we gave the cabbie a great tip instead)

Overall a super cruise.

Splendid weather at Tracy Arm and great glacier viewing. Yes, salmon bake was Thursday lunch covered pool deck.

So sorry about the air accident on Sun Princess, we all received news notice Thursday after leaving Ketchican, it was also on the front page of the Ketchican newspaper.

We took the Neets Bay bear cruise that was fantastic, only a dozen pax on a fast boat (custom construx, 3 250hp outboards.) Some who went salmon fishing there also came back quite happy.

With the odd port times anytime dining was ideal for us. Food at the buffet and on deck was better than our last Princess cruise and more uniform in quality. More once we get home.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for taking the time to post. :)

Safe travels home.

[sacway]

luv the sea - I think last week was the last for the cruise director and a new one will board today. also, again because of times in port, the show times were a little bit different from usual, but you shouldn't miss much whether you eat early, late or any old time. All even #s are portside, all odd are starboard.

 

It seemed like we had Cingular service (icon and green light), but I usually can surf the web and download my email on my Treo and couldn't do either onboard, except when we were in ports and I figure I'm using portside cell service then. So maybe it's voice service only?

 

thx AlaskaGolden for the menus, these look like the ones we saw, too.

Spouse thought meats were very tough and all were cooked well done. We ended up eating at the buffet several nights (but made both formal dinners, and we both enjoyed the lobster tails at 2nd formal night) and focused on the fresh vegetable and rice dishes. The veggies were excellent. Even at the buffet most but not all lunches and dinners two flavors of ice cream and so we avoided the $$ for ice cream by the pool.

 

DH was very perturbed by sporadic coverage of US sports -- CNN coverage was int'l and so soccer oriented. Esp with the Bonds HR derby and MLB. The Players bar has lots of TVs but no more coverage than the one ESPN channel, and often there was no crawl, or no signal. Further, on most cruises there's a daily "newspaper" of headlines incl. box scores but not on this one. So he was going mad from shortage of sports news. Short port times in Ketchikan and Victoria meant that since we had excursions in those towns we'd get off, get on our tour, came back with no time at all for newspapers, surf in i-net cafes, etc. But again, a fabulous cruise.

[SoFloDeb]

If anyone is interested in what they're eating:

 

http://www.alexlucy.com/friendspage/goldenprincessmenus.html

 

Excellent cruise -- enjoy the ports, the food, the crew, the entertainment, and all the other amenities of the Golden Princess!

 

 

Thanks for posting the menus! While there I got nosy and was looking at your "fur kids'" pics - wow, they are beautiful! I love Goldens and hope to have one or two one of these days. We have two cockapoos and we really wanted to get Goldens but our yard is very small and we work a lot of hours, so we decided when we're getting closer to retirement, we'll get the Golden.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[lucy2800]

Hi! It sounds like you had a great cruise. Any information that you weren't able to post earilier is appreciated. Can you tell us what people were wearing when not leaving the ship (days at sea) and how were most people dressed in the dining room both on formal nights and on the other nights of the week? Did you go into either Sterling's or Sabatini's? What was the dress code in these restaurants if not dining in one of them on a night that was not Formal? I look forward to hearing from you. We are off to Seattle on Thursday! We can't wait!

 

Have a great night! :)

Robin

[sacway]

Hi Lucy -

 

Really good questions, since I had a lot of the same ones. This was our first AK cruise, we usually go to the Caribbean during the rainy season here at home.

 

I only saw one pax in pj's and Princess robe. That was less than usual in the Caribbean. Mostly people wore sweatshirts or sweaters over a t-shirt or polo, and long pants (jeans) when wandering around the ship. Some of the more mature pax wore resort wear. I did see a lot more hawaiian shirts than you'd expect in AK. As the trip went on, lots more AK-themed shirts and other wearable souvenirs were on display.

 

We went to both formal nights -- I'd read elsewhere that people tend to wear their fancier clothes 1st night and nice pantsuits, say, the 2nd night (if not the same pants with a new top). That didn't happen here. We saw many long dresses on both nights, and men in both nice suits and a few tuxes. One difference from the Caribbean cruises, again, was how early people were showing up in the atrium area in fancy attire, as early as 4 pm. Many were getting family and group shots, so that might be one reason to show up early. Also, because for our cruise the sunrise was so early (between about 4:30 and 5:00 most days) more people started their days earlier. Plus, one of the two anytime dining rooms opened at 5:30 (5:15 on the last night, so people could eat before going to Victoria) and the other at 6. It was always easy to get into the restaurants early in the evening, and people were dressed pretty casually, turtlenecks, polos, I didn't see anybody turned away, but not too many tank tops and shorts outfits this week. When we'd leave the restaurants, there were lines at times, even passing out those "flasher" pager things you might see at restaurants in town so you wouldn't have to stand there and wait. That wouldn't happen if you had Traditional Dining, of course, but you'd have to be prepared to eat at certain times. We were asked several times to show our cards to confirm that we really were "Anytime" diners.

 

Some people didn't go formal at all and ate in the buffet. So no matter what you were wearing, you wouldn't feel out of place wandering about the ship.

 

After Ketchikan, a lot of us went directly into the dining room with coats, packages and all. This turned out to be smart, since everyone who went up to their rooms to drop off everything and tidy up before lunch all came downstairs at the same time, while we were still eating, and they had to wait for us to finish first.

 

We had wanted to try Desert Rose (the steakhouse) since we have heard the meat there is excellent. But we couldn't get up a serious enough appetite to pay for dinner since there was plenty of tasty-enough food available all day long. I spent a lot of time on deck topside walking, and in less favorable weather or fast travel (the ship goes more than 20 knots so quite a bit of wind) would walk on the Promenade Deck that wraps around. You could see the diners at Sabatini's and I was surprised one night that so few people were eating there! A whole row of tables wasn't even set up with silverware and plates. I also heard a waiter (?) encouraging a couple to try S's so I got the feeling it was seriously underutilized. (on this trip, anyhow) We almost missed the only sushi lunch buffet (Friday?) in the pool area since it was advertised in the patters as a Chinese something. Sure enough, the waiters were dressed Chinese style and there were Chinese lanterns but they were serving sushi! Not the raw style, however, just shrimp, smoked salmon, veggie, and a couple other things, but it was a nice change of pace and the smoked salmon was quite good. I'd had salmon for breakfast that morning and I think they saved the best of it for lunch! For sure, if you see something that looks interesting in the buffet, try a tiny bit and if you like it go back for more. Many of the dishes did not repeat all week. For instance, I only saw chicken tikka once.

 

A fun difference from our earlier cruises was the last night. Because we were in Victoria from 7 till midnight, Princess asked everyone to put the bulk of the luggage out before dinner, i.e., between 4 & 5 pm. So most everyone had that done before they went ashore, and by the time they got back on board between 11-12 pm they were not about to settle down or go to bed, and they'd already finish packing. There were movies playing in both the princess theater (show room) and the vista lounge and the buffet was doing a brisk business. Lots of live music in the lounges and atrium and most everybody still up and around.

 

As suitable as the buffet was in terms of the food this trip, we tried to make it a point to eat in the formal dining rooms at least once a day, and share a table so we could meet other people. We met some amazing ones! including someone who'd been working on video games for decades (if only those young fellows in the arcade knew...) and a retired entrepreneur who provided some of the most interesting and useful thoughts I'd ever heard on leadership.

 

We also enjoyed tea time from 3:30 to 4:30 in the Donatello restaurant (I think -- the one midship on the 6th deck). Not the world's greatest scones, and no clotted cream, but again a good enough scone, fresh cream, hot tea, and good company. I think we went 5 days this week.

 

Unbelievably, it was almost impossible to meet with the future cruise consultant to figure out what cruise to take next. I went down three separate days and waited for quite a long time each time (took a book once, and had a lively conversation with a couple people another time, so not all lost). The consultant, meeting with someone else, would never acknowledge us or anyone else who dropped by, there was no sign up sheet for the very few hours the desk was manned, and there was no limit for how long the consultant would spend with any one person. I can't imagine she met with more than 30 or 40 couples all week, out of over 1000 onboard. Each time I went down, at least a half dozen people would drop by but eventually wandered off. So if you know for sure you want to cruise again with Princess, then just fill out the form and drop your $200 deposit for a "cruise yet to be named." I didn't, just on general principle after watching this. If they want my reservation, they darn well are going to have to ask for it!

 

By contrast, the Princess Captain's Circle (repeat cruisers) staff at the purser's desk was often available and very cordial. That was a very useful conversation for us. About a fifth of the cruisers on this run were repeaters. Also, we had a fabulous little cocktail party with the Captain, who posed for pictures with cruisers at the end of it. We'd just taken one of the offered drinks at the general "Welcome Aboard" cocktail party but they weren't very good. At this next one we requested our favorite drinks specifically and got them, including a second round before the end of the party. The Captain seemed like a really great guy and everyone was thrilled about our day in Tracy Arm, though part of that was fortuitous weather.

 

Also, for the most part, the kids stayed in the two "family" pools and the adult areas were left to the grown ups. The pool temps were listed on one of the TV channels -- middle 80s F so plenty warm enough even in the rain. In fact, the hot tubs were just as popular in the rain as in the sun.

 

For those of you with shoulder spasms and sore feet from carrying your road warrior luggage on the road all the time, I cannot praise the massuese Regi highly enough. Yes, it's expensive. No, they don't offer Port Day prices after you leave port, even though it's a port day. Also, one of the other pax I met had a great haircut, courtesy of the salon. She'd arrived onboard with a botched one, but the stylist was able to remedy it.

 

I heard few complaints all week either of a very general nature or even worse, totally wrong! For instance, two ladies were complaining that we weren't getting to Victoria till 7 so that was a waste. We went to Butchart Gardens since we never had gone on several earlier visits to Victoria, where there was a Cajon-style band playing in a clamshell fronting a large sloping grassy area (lots of preschoolers running about having a great time) and came back through town about 10:30. Chinatown and wharfside were hopping on a Friday night. So if you don't want to do a Victoria tour, you can either cab in or walk to town (signs posted say 30 minutes -- we've done it before and it's a nice walk past a couple of parks and a residential neighborhood), whoop it up for a while, then come back. Or just walk in the seaside parks, those are great too. It didn't get dark till after 9 pm -- the moon came up just before we left Butchart at about 9:30. So even though it was only a few hours, this was a fine stop.

 

The staff was friendly and helpful throughout the ship. Our room steward Mario was very responsive to requests like a bathrobe (though we'd put it into the Princess website, not in the closet) and a feather pillow. Once I asked what type of cookie was being served and the server immediately went off to see what other types might be available, coming back with two more varieties. Little things, but really gave a sense of interest and concern.

 

This really was a great cruise, I think it's about our 11th and only our 2nd with Princess.

[monakayk]

aWe almost missed the only sushi lunch buffet (Friday?) in the pool area since it was advertised in the patters as a Chinese something. Sure enough, the waiters were dressed Chinese style and there were Chinese lanterns but they were serving sushi! Not the raw style, however, just shrimp, smoked salmon, veggie, and a couple other things, but it was a nice change of pace and the smoked salmon was quite good. I'd had salmon for breakfast that morning and I think they saved the best of it for lunch! For sure, if you see something that looks interesting in the buffet, try a tiny bit and if you like it go back for more. Many of the dishes did not repeat all week. For instance, I only saw chicken tikka once.

 

 

We also enjoyed tea time from 3:30 to 4:30 in the Donatello restaurant (I think -- the one midship on the 6th deck). Not the world's greatest scones, and no clotted cream, but again a good enough scone, fresh cream, hot tea, and good company. I think we went 5 days this week.

 

 

Thanks for this great info. I do have a few questions.....:confused:

 

Sushi lunch buffet: Where is this served near the pool? And which pool? It is not served in the Horizon Court buffet during lunch?

 

Afternoon tea: Do they serve any type of 'tea sandwiches' or desserts besides scones? Is there music in the restaurant...a pianist playing? Do they sit everyone together like during lunch or breakfast, or can you sit with just your friends at a table?

 

Where is the Capt. Welcome Aboard party held? Do they have other FREE drinks served beside champagne? Any hors d’oeuvres served? Music for dancing done at this party?

 

What did you think about the shows...with the ship personnel? Where they worth going to?

 

In the main dining room: Did they serve Escargot, Pate, Beef Wellington? Did you try them and how were they?

 

Did you use the spa showers? Just wondered what the set up for them were.

 

I have read some folks write in the room service menu hot food items and they were brought to them. Did you try this? Just wondered if it really works. How were the Eggs Benedict...if you tried them? What type juices are served during breakfast?

 

Thanks again!

[sacway]

Hi monakayk -- Your answers are inline here.

 

Sushi lunch buffet: Where is this served near the pool? And which pool? It is not served in the Horizon Court buffet during lunch?

 

It was in the Calypso pool area (the one with the roof) just forward of the Lido Buffet, starboard side.

 

Afternoon tea: Do they serve any type of 'tea sandwiches' or desserts besides scones? Is there music in the restaurant...a pianist playing? Do they sit everyone together like during lunch or breakfast, or can you sit with just your friends at a table?

 

Yes, tea sandwiches and cookies were also served. Yes, there was a string quartet, quite good. Yes, they do sit you in tables, you can request a table for two, or sit with friends, or strangers, or by a window. When it came to seating, I never heard "no" (beyond not letting Traditional diners in for Anytime dinner.)

 

Where is the Capt. Welcome Aboard party held? Do they have other FREE drinks served beside champagne? Any hors d’oeuvres served? Music for dancing done at this party?

 

The Welcome Aboard reception was in the three-story atrium area. I believe you can get other drinks by asking. I had a rum punch that was among the several drinks they were offering at hand, but it was neither very rummy or very punchy. There were hors d'oeurves, I forget just what. There was live music, I didn't see any dancing though.

 

What did you think about the shows...with the ship personnel? Where they worth going to?

 

The first show we'd seen on a cruise 18 months ago. So we assumed (maybe wrong) that the others were repeats, too. It was a fine show, if you like productions. They were well attended, in fact, so were the lecturers. Often, the theater and the vista lounge were full and people were turned away. So you might want to get there early if you want to be sure to get a seat.

 

In the main dining room: Did they serve Escargot, Pate, Beef Wellington? Did you try them and how were they?

 

I saw all of these on the menu and even in the buffet. I can't say how good they were as we didn't eat any of them. There was a sprinkling of caviar on several occasions, I ate all I could find, and it was pretty good.

 

Did you use the spa showers? Just wondered what the set up for them were.

 

Yes I did. They are off the main hall in the spa area, off the hall to the gym. There were a few small lockers, towels, two showers and plenty of soap, shampoo, conditioner. This area is not adjacent to the sauna and steam rooms. To access these, you go out by the spa pool -- at the far end are a pair of each, men and women. So it would be a bit risque to go to the locker room, wrap yourself in only a towel, trot down a public hall, out a door, across a pool deck and into the steam room. So people were in their swim suits, even though there were separate facilities.

 

I have read some folks write in the room service menu hot food items and they were brought to them. Did you try this? Just wondered if it really works. How were the Eggs Benedict...if you tried them? What type juices are served during breakfast?

 

Juices -- cranberry, orange, apple? Not grapefruit. I did have EB in the main dining and they were also served at the buffet. They were okay but I didn't repeat this choice. The ones in main dining didn't look any fresher than the ones in the buffet. They do have a fry cook upstairs frying eggs sunny side up, those seemed the freshest.

 

We didn't use room service, the breakfast card had suggested times that weren't a good match for our schedule. I did see lots of platters outside rooms so it seemed a lot of people used it and were happy with it.

[monakayk]

Thank you sooooooooooo much for all the answers to my questions. I have saved this info to refer to again before we leave on our cruise.:D