Review: Golden - Mexican Riviera - 1/19 - 1/26

[SC_Sam]

Us: DW and I are fortyish. In-laws and their friend are in their 60s.

 

Transportation to LA: We flew in the evening before the cruise. We were very lucky with all the nasty weather around the country to have no delays.

 

Transportation from LAX to San Pedro: The only part of the trip that didn’t go exactly as planned was our ground transportation from the airport to the hotel. I had reserved an “exclusive” van (meaning non-sharing), with Primetime Shuttle. I followed the instructions, and we proceeded to their pickup area. They called our van and said it would be about 15 minutes. Seemed reasonable. 35 minutes and many promises later (including from personnel at the customer service telephone number I had called), we still had no van. We abandoned the shuttle approach, found a nice taxicab/van driver, asked how much it would be, and found out it was actually less than the shuttle! We got loaded up, and headed to the hotel. I called Primetime to officially cancel and was advised they would not refund my credit card. After about 10 minutes on the phone with no satisfaction, I gave up and figured I would have to deal with a credit card dispute. When I got home and checked the online credit card info, it turns out they did refund the charge, without a dispute.

 

Our cabbie didn’t know where the hotel was, but since I had printed out our confirmation information, he was able to call and get the directions. (Moral of the story: always have a printed copy of your hotel reservation confirmation.) When we arrived at the hotel, bellmen took our many bags and followed us up to the rooms after check-in.

 

Overnight accommodations: We stayed at the Crowne Plaza San Pedro. 2 of our 3 rooms were upgraded to Executive Suite rooms, which was nice. The bedding was incredibly comfortable and the bathtub was huge. After a long day of traveling and the frustration of the ground transportation, DW definitely enjoyed the nice relaxing bath.

 

Embarkation: The bellmen who assisted with checking-in had told us that the hotel’s shuttle service started at 10:30 in the morning, but if we wanted to be first out, to call for the bellmen about 10:00. We did so, and were on the first shuttle by about 10:15. We arrived at the port by 10:30. We hailed a porter to deal with our bags, appropriately tipped him, and entered the building. We were directed to a seating area. There was a coffee and muffin vendor. We were advised the ship preparations were running late and that we probably wouldn’t board until close to 1:00, but that we would be checked in shortly. About 10 minutes later, they commenced check-in. As we were early, the lines were very short, and about 10 minutes later, all 5 of us were checked-in and waiting in the “preferred” lounge. (DW and I are platinum level.) There was complimentary coffee and pastries in this area. There was a Mariachi band playing out the in the general waiting area which we could hear and enjoy. Not long afterwards, they announced that boarding was commencing, and we were onboard by 11:50! Our cabin was not yet completely ready, but by the time we returned from lunch in the Horizon Court, it was shipshape.

 

Cabin/Steward: D320 (mini-suite). The cabin was in great shape, even better than on our last Caribbean Princess cruise. Our cabin steward Vishae was very attentive. I think he may be the best we’ve had on 9 cruises. For example, on the first sea day, my wife slept in and then did yoga in our cabin. We had left the “privacy” card in the door. I saw our steward in the hall and told him to not worry about servicing the room that morning. Later, when my wife was headed out to the pool (about 1:00 p.m.), she saw him in the hall and told him the same thing, particularly since he should have been off duty by then. Instead, he insisted it would only take a minute. When we came in from the pool later, the room was nice and straight. I’m not sure if we had new mattresses or not, but the bed was comfortable, so I’m assuming it was new.

 

Entertainment/Venues: We went to the Welcome Aboard show and 2 of the comedy shows in the Princess Theater. We also went to 1 of the comedy shows and the Princess Popstar Finale in the Vista Lounge. In general, you have to arrive about 20 minutes before the show to get a decent seat. There was a new dance band (Sol Play) that played in the Explorer’s Lounge. We enjoyed dancing to their music almost every night. There was also a Mariachi Band and Bombalero, a Mexican band. My in-laws went to several of the other shows and enjoyed them all.

 

Dining/Food: We had anytime dining. We went to the Donatello Dining Room (Deck 6) every night. With a party of 5, most nights we were seated immediately with no sharing. One night, we had to wait about half an hour. We had five different teams of servers, and they were all excellent. Food was overall good to excellent. DW said the vegetarian dishes, even in the Horizon Court where she would get lunch, were tremendously improved.

 

Gym/Spa: I much prefer the layout of the spa/gym on the Caribbean Princess and Crown Princess. The gym on this ship is much smaller and feels cramped. While there is plenty of equipment with which to work out, it’s not as well-equipped as the others to which I referred. In addition, the location of the sauna and steam rooms outside with the spa pool makes no sense whatsoever. I knew of this before booking, so it was not a surprise. Still, the use of these facilities is one of the highlights of a cruise for me, and I never saw anyone use them. Thankfully, they corrected this major design flaw in the later ships in this class, placing them in the individual men’s and women’s locker rooms, where they belong.

 

Condition of Ship: I was slightly concerned after having read some of the reviews about the Golden Princess; however, I was pleasantly surprised. I saw no areas of “deferred maintenance.” There were a couple of machines (treadmill, exercise bike, and a strength machine) that were not working.

 

Ports/Excursions:

Puerto Vallarta: We did the Jungle Canopy Tour, booked through Princess since you travel about an hour from the ship, but the actual company was Vallarta Adventures. It was outstanding. This was the first zipline we'd ever done, but it was a blast. There were 9 different lines going through the jungle. Some were short and you went fast. Some were long and you went slower. At the end, you rapelled down about 75 feet to the ground.

 

It was a somewhat physically demanding activity, not from the ziplining and rapelling, but from the hikes involved at the beginning and end of the tour. Our group consisted of 12 people, ranging in age from a college age young lady to 3 ladies who appeared around 70. In fact, 8 of the 12 of us were women.

 

The guides were super, being both informative and entertaining at the same time. They were always focused on safety. I would highly recommend this excursion.

 

Mazatlan: We didn't do an excursion. Instead, we took a taxi to the Golden Zone district in the city, did a little shopping, and then went back to the ship.

 

Cabo San Lucas: We did the Dolphin Swim. It was great, except that the water was quite chilly. Still, with the wetsuit and adrenaline of playing with the dolphin, we got used to it. We spent a half-hour with the dolphin, a 7 year old named Frieda. The guide told us all about the dolphins and their training. He was great at working with a little boy in our group of 6 who got scared. He spent extra time with him and got him used to the dolphin. We got to swim with, hug and pet the dolphin, ride on her belly, get kissed by (and kiss) her, and hold a pole for her to jump over. The facility is a located right at the tender dock, a short walk away. The actual company was called Cabo Dolphins. Again, I would highly recommend this excursion.

 

Weather: It was warm enough for me to sun by the pool on the afternoon of embarkation, when I found a place in the sun, out of the wind. The first and last sea days were about the same. The port days, particularly at the southern-most ports were warmer. DW is a little more cold-natured and while out by the pool, kept a sweatshirt and jeans on. This is not a “warm weather” cruise, at least at this time of year.

 

Disembarkation: We were off the ship at about 8:30 and took a taxi to LAX, where we arrived by about 9:30. Our flight was not until 1:20, so we had to wait a while. Fortunately, our flight was on time and uneventful.

 

Crew/Staff: Our overall impression was that this cruise had the best, most friendly and personable staff and crew of any we have been on. From the captain, cruise director and staff, dining room, bar staff, cabin stewards, etc., everyone we met was happy and seemed to be doing everything they could to make sure that the passengers were having the best time they could.

[newmexicoNita]

Us: DW and I are fortyish. In-laws and their friend are in their 60s.

 

Transportation to LA: We flew in the evening before the cruise. We were very lucky with all the nasty weather around the country to have no delays.

 

Transportation from LAX to San Pedro: The only part of the trip that didn’t go exactly as planned was our ground transportation from the airport to the hotel. I had reserved an “exclusive” van (meaning non-sharing), with Primetime Shuttle. I followed the instructions, and we proceeded to their pickup area. They called our van and said it would be about 15 minutes. Seemed reasonable. 35 minutes and many promises later (including from personnel at the customer service telephone number I had called), we still had no van. We abandoned the shuttle approach, found a nice taxicab/van driver, asked how much it would be, and found out it was actually less than the shuttle! We got loaded up, and headed to the hotel. I called Primetime to officially cancel and was advised they would not refund my credit card. After about 10 minutes on the phone with no satisfaction, I gave up and figured I would have to deal with a credit card dispute. When I got home and checked the online credit card info, it turns out they did refund the charge, without a dispute.

 

Our cabbie didn’t know where the hotel was, but since I had printed out our confirmation information, he was able to call and get the directions. (Moral of the story: always have a printed copy of your hotel reservation confirmation.) When we arrived at the hotel, bellmen took our many bags and followed us up to the rooms after check-in.

 

Overnight accommodations: We stayed at the Crowne Plaza San Pedro. 2 of our 3 rooms were upgraded to Executive Suite rooms, which was nice. The bedding was incredibly comfortable and the bathtub was huge. After a long day of traveling and the frustration of the ground transportation, DW definitely enjoyed the nice relaxing bath.

 

Embarkation: The bellmen who assisted with checking-in had told us that the hotel’s shuttle service started at 10:30 in the morning, but if we wanted to be first out, to call for the bellmen about 10:00. We did so, and were on the first shuttle by about 10:15. We arrived at the port by 10:30. We hailed a porter to deal with our bags, appropriately tipped him, and entered the building. We were directed to a seating area. There was a coffee and muffin vendor. We were advised the ship preparations were running late and that we probably wouldn’t board until close to 1:00, but that we would be checked in shortly. About 10 minutes later, they commenced check-in. As we were early, the lines were very short, and about 10 minutes later, all 5 of us were checked-in and waiting in the “preferred” lounge. (DW and I are platinum level.) There was complimentary coffee and pastries in this area. There was a Mariachi band playing out the in the general waiting area which we could hear and enjoy. Not long afterwards, they announced that boarding was commencing, and we were onboard by 11:50! Our cabin was not yet completely ready, but by the time we returned from lunch in the Horizon Court, it was shipshape.

 

Cabin/Steward: D320 (mini-suite). The cabin was in great shape, even better than on our last Caribbean Princess cruise. Our cabin steward Vishae was very attentive. I think he may be the best we’ve had on 9 cruises. For example, on the first sea day, my wife slept in and then did yoga in our cabin. We had left the “privacy” card in the door. I saw our steward in the hall and told him to not worry about servicing the room that morning. Later, when my wife was headed out to the pool (about 1:00 p.m.), she saw him in the hall and told him the same thing, particularly since he should have been off duty by then. Instead, he insisted it would only take a minute. When we came in from the pool later, the room was nice and straight. I’m not sure if we had new mattresses or not, but the bed was comfortable, so I’m assuming it was new.

 

Entertainment/Venues: We went to the Welcome Aboard show and 2 of the comedy shows in the Princess Theater. We also went to 1 of the comedy shows and the Princess Popstar Finale in the Vista Lounge. In general, you have to arrive about 20 minutes before the show to get a decent seat. There was a new dance band (Sol Play) that played in the Explorer’s Lounge. We enjoyed dancing to their music almost every night. There was also a Mariachi Band and Bombalero, a Mexican band. My in-laws went to several of the other shows and enjoyed them all.

 

Dining/Food: We had anytime dining. We went to the Donatello Dining Room (Deck 6) every night. With a party of 5, most nights we were seated immediately with no sharing. One night, we had to wait about half an hour. We had five different teams of servers, and they were all excellent. Food was overall good to excellent. DW said the vegetarian dishes, even in the Horizon Court where she would get lunch, were tremendously improved.

 

Gym/Spa: I much prefer the layout of the spa/gym on the Caribbean Princess and Crown Princess. The gym on this ship is much smaller and feels cramped. While there is plenty of equipment with which to work out, it’s not as well-equipped as the others to which I referred. In addition, the location of the sauna and steam rooms outside with the spa pool makes no sense whatsoever. I knew of this before booking, so it was not a surprise. Still, the use of these facilities is one of the highlights of a cruise for me, and I never saw anyone use them. Thankfully, they corrected this major design flaw in the later ships in this class, placing them in the individual men’s and women’s locker rooms, where they belong.

 

Condition of Ship: I was slightly concerned after having read some of the reviews about the Golden Princess; however, I was pleasantly surprised. I saw no areas of “deferred maintenance.” There were a couple of machines (treadmill, exercise bike, and a strength machine) that were not working.

 

Ports/Excursions:

Puerto Vallarta: We did the Jungle Canopy Tour, booked through Princess since you travel about an hour from the ship, but the actual company was Vallarta Adventures. It was outstanding. This was the first zipline we'd ever done, but it was a blast. There were 9 different lines going through the jungle. Some were short and you went fast. Some were long and you went slower. At the end, you rapelled down about 75 feet to the ground.

 

It was a somewhat physically demanding activity, not from the ziplining and rapelling, but from the hikes involved at the beginning and end of the tour. Our group consisted of 12 people, ranging in age from a college age young lady to 3 ladies who appeared around 70. In fact, 8 of the 12 of us were women.

 

The guides were super, being both informative and entertaining at the same time. They were always focused on safety. I would highly recommend this excursion.

 

Mazatlan: We didn't do an excursion. Instead, we took a taxi to the Golden Zone district in the city, did a little shopping, and then went back to the ship.

 

Cabo San Lucas: We did the Dolphin Swim. It was great, except that the water was quite chilly. Still, with the wetsuit and adrenaline of playing with the dolphin, we got used to it. We spent a half-hour with the dolphin, a 7 year old named Frieda. The guide told us all about the dolphins and their training. He was great at working with a little boy in our group of 6 who got scared. He spent extra time with him and got him used to the dolphin. We got to swim with, hug and pet the dolphin, ride on her belly, get kissed by (and kiss) her, and hold a pole for her to jump over. The facility is a located right at the tender dock, a short walk away. The actual company was called Cabo Dolphins. Again, I would highly recommend this excursion.

 

Weather: It was warm enough for me to sun by the pool on the afternoon of embarkation, when I found a place in the sun, out of the wind. The first and last sea days were about the same. The port days, particularly at the southern-most ports were warmer. DW is a little more cold-natured and while out by the pool, kept a sweatshirt and jeans on. This is not a “warm weather” cruise, at least at this time of year.

 

Disembarkation: We were off the ship at about 8:30 and took a taxi to LAX, where we arrived by about 9:30. Our flight was not until 1:20, so we had to wait a while. Fortunately, our flight was on time and uneventful.

 

Crew/Staff: Our overall impression was that this cruise had the best, most friendly and personable staff and crew of any we have been on. From the captain, cruise director and staff, dining room, bar staff, cabin stewards, etc., everyone we met was happy and seemed to be doing everything they could to make sure that the passengers were having the best time they could.

This just shows how different an experience can be even with the same sailing. I am glad you had great service and am amazed but happy you all even enjoyed the Horizon court.

 

Nita

[Clutterlady]

This just shows how different an experience can be even with the same sailing. I am glad you had great service and am amazed but happy you all even enjoyed the Horizon court.

 

Nita

 

Nita, why are you amaized that he enjoyed the Horizon Court, a lot of people do!??!! :confused:

[newmexicoNita]

Nita, why are you amaized that he enjoyed the Horizon Court, a lot of people do!??!! :confused:

But I think more don't. Again, my experience from some I talked to (which shouldn't be taken too seriously) and my clients, even the die hard PRincess clients. Of course as I said and will always say, a buffet is just that; not meant to be gourmet food.

 

Nita

[Coral]

Thanks for a great review!

[soos1]

What kind of music did "Sol Play" Play? My husband and I love dancing, but not to anything newer than the 80s......

thanks!

Sue

[SC_Sam]

But I think more don't. Again, my experience from some I talked to (which shouldn't be taken too seriously) and my clients, even the die hard PRincess clients. Of course as I said and will always say, a buffet is just that; not meant to be gourmet food.

 

Nita

 

I agree with you, Nita. The Horizon Court is what it is. We get our breakfast there; DW will get lunch there (I usually do pizza and burgers by the pool); and we usually make a late night stop there.

 

While I agree the layout can be a bit frustrating, I'm not sure what would be a better layout. The only other line I have cruised on is Royal Caribbean, and I don't think Windjammer's layout works any better. Other lines may have better arrangements for the buffet.

 

One's opinion of food and dining service is very subjective. What one person likes, another may not. Rarely have I had "gourmet" food on a cruise, even in the main dining rooms. I just don't think that's possible when you're feeding as many people as they have to on a large cruise ship. The specialty restaurants probably get closer.

 

I take the view of trying to select the best (for me) item on the menu and enjoy it. Sometimes it's great, sometime not so great.

 

Again, it's subjective for the most part.

 

Sam

[vie lee]

On the Diamond last year ( a cruise we dearly loved) and again on the Golden this year - Felt like I needed a football Helmet and Shoulder Pads when trying to get thru the food stations. Food was good when you could get to it.

I have sailed all the mass market lines and don't remember any that were quite as disorderly.

Vie Lee

[lois1112]

I was on the same cruise and have to agree with the review.

I did Traditional dinning in the cantello dinning room. service was average....food was excellent. Food in the buffet was good...not great. I had a salad for lunch most days and enjoyed it. The pizza was also very good.

[newmexicoNita]

I agree with you, Nita. The Horizon Court is what it is. We get our breakfast there; DW will get lunch there (I usually do pizza and burgers by the pool); and we usually make a late night stop there.

 

While I agree the layout can be a bit frustrating, I'm not sure what would be a better layout. The only other line I have cruised on is Royal Caribbean, and I don't think Windjammer's layout works any better. Other lines may have better arrangements for the buffet.

 

One's opinion of food and dining service is very subjective. What one person likes, another may not. Rarely have I had "gourmet" food on a cruise, even in the main dining rooms. I just don't think that's possible when you're feeding as many people as they have to on a large cruise ship. The specialty restaurants probably get closer.

 

I take the view of trying to select the best (for me) item on the menu and enjoy it. Sometimes it's great, sometime not so great.

 

Again, it's subjective for the most part.

 

Sam

food is so subjective and you are right: can you get anything even resembling gourmet when serving 2000 to 3500. As for the service we recieved, if it hadn't been for the screw up on our pre purchased items I would probably found it ok, still not great, but not awful. Anyway, we all had a good cruise, we would do it again in a second and cruising is the very best vacation on earth.

 

NIta

[SusieS]

We have always really liked the HC buffet food, until this sailing on the Golden. Kind of reminded me of a cafeteria version of things.....

[bhopal21]

Thanks SC_Sam! Glad you had a great cruise.

 

We are on the Golden in 12 days for the third time, she is a great ship.

 

Thanks again,

 

Mike:)

[SC_Sam]

I realize that my DH has already posted about the Horizon CT and it's fare, so I'm hijacking his personna here for a comment or two. As a vegetarian, and someone who eats a ton of raw, it gets pretty old to just look at the same old (OLD) salads day in and day out, which, overall, is what the Horizon has presented on the majority of the ships we have sailed on. It's not been bad AT ALL--fresh, quality, etc, but hey, it does get OLD. How wonderful to have a variety of soups, berries (mostly on the other ships it is almostly always melons), and fantastic veggies. I was absolutely thrilled too, so see difference. Do I expect something out of Bon Appetit? Nope, it is a buffet, but you know what, it was really nice to have a choice, and a really good one. I appreciate the effort for my lunches.

 

I have to say too, that it was wonderful to have such great servers that helped with my dinners as well. The vegetarian meals were even nicer than normal, but on the nights when they didn't appeal to what I like, they were super enough to just get me what I wanted. Great job, great servers. Lots of time, it is all about the way you approach people. I couldn't have been happier with the service we got.

[merela]

It's not been bad AT ALL--fresh, quality, etc, but hey, it does get OLD. How wonderful to have a variety of soups, berries (mostly on the other ships it is almostly always melons), and fantastic veggies. I was absolutely thrilled too, so see difference. Do I expect something out of Bon Appetit? Nope, it is a buffet, but you know what, it was really nice to have a choice, and a really good one. I appreciate the effort for my lunches.

 

I can't agree more! I enjoyed having lunch at the Horizon Court. If you are a vegetarian, you will be in vegetable/fruit heaven. The Belgium endives (very expensive in supermarkets), cherry tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, watermelons, brownies, and countless seafood salads are in abundance at the Horizon Court.

[judyjudy56]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Golden this Saturday. Hopefully, the weather will warm up a bit. Still not sure what to pack. Whatever the weather, I am sure we will have a great time.

[dforeigner]

Thanks for taking time to write a review.

[ladypalmtree]

Thanks for the great review...we will be in a mini on the Golden the end of March..maybe the same stewerd? We have not been on the Golden before, but have cruised on the Diamond twice and the Sapphire once...LPT:)

[Forestlaker]

My wife and I will also be on the Golden this Saturday, Feb. 2nd. Looking forward to it.

[senior lady]

My DH and I much prefer the horizon court for eating. I like to wander around and see what's there and then decide.

 

We've been on RCL and Celebrity and I don't like waiting in a large line, waiting for people to make up their minds. They ask the server what it is and then have to decide:rolleyes: Much prefer to look and then decide what and how much I want.

 

I find that if you don't hit the Horizon court at peak times there isn't usually a problem getting your food or finding a place to eat.

[kikiwik]

Thank you so much for the review. We are on the golden on the 9th we had the dolphins booked in PV but we were unsure of it and tonight we started to look again. We were considering the dolphins in cabo and now that i've read your review and recieved an e-mail about it from sombody else i think were going to cancel pv. Also the zipline is something i want to do.

[CrusinAgain]

Thanks for the great review and so glad it was up to the normal Princess high standards. :)

[CrusinAgain]

But I think more don't. Again, my experience from some I talked to (which shouldn't be taken too seriously) and my clients, even the die hard PRincess clients. Of course as I said and will always say, a buffet is just that; not meant to be gourmet food.

 

Nita

 

Nita, both of the ships are food action stations and I do not understand why you don't like the Golden but like the Star? We did not have a problem with the Pearl's buffet area but it did serve the same food every day at every station unlike Princess. I just wished you would have known to ask for the omellete at the egg area, like I said before they don't have signs up you just know to ask just the icecreme in the afternoon - you just learn it is there.

[CrusinAgain]

Whiteboard error.

[robinru11]

Thank you so much for the great review!

[Colo Cruiser]

I missed this review when it was first posted, thanks for taking the time. :)