Belated Golden Review 1/26/08

[ORV]

Better late than never. Since I'm not a wanna be travel writer I'll try to keep brief. This is only my experience and opinion, yours of course will vary.

 

We flew in a day early (9 degrees when we left, definitely happy to be heading to someplace warm) and spent the night at the Crowne Plaza San Pedro. We had purchased the Sail and Fly package and had the included shuttle ride on Primetime. The only snafu was that the hotel had told me to call from the courtesy phone once we had picked up our luggage. This was a complete waste of time. All we needed to do is go out the door and to the left and cross the street(be very careful) to the center median with the Primetime representative. In about 15 minutes our shuttle got there and it was about a 30-40 minute ride to the hotel.

 

Once at the hotel we got everything squared away and headed to our room. Imagine our surprise when we opened the door and saw that we had been upgraded to a corner suite. Our traveling companions had the room next door to us and it was a real nice room, but only about half the size. One bonus to the corner suite is that you get to see the ship come right by your window on it's way in about 6 in the morning. By the same token seeing the ship in port out your window and having to wait till around 11:30 or so to head over to it is almost torture.

 

The Crowne Plaza is a really nice property and I would definitely stay there again. The breakfast that was included with the S & F package was adequate but not great.

 

Embarkation:

 

We took the hotel shuttle to the ship and pulled right up by the porters. Our luggage was gone in less than a minute. We were able to go on in and present our documents. There was absolutely no wait, just walk up to the desk, give them the paperwork and go to the large waiting room. We had a number to be in group 6. At best we waited 15 to 20 minutes and our number was called. In no time at all we were on the ship and having a cocktail. I looked at my watch once we were on deck 10 seated with a drink, it was 1:10. We had already dropped off our carryon and checked out the room. Very smooth embarkation. Princess gets high marks for this.

 

Ship & Trip:

 

We had a balcony room on the lido deck. I really like this location, with the exception of that everytime you stepped out your door there was always someone going by. This didn't cause any undue noise though.

 

Our room had fairly worn carpet and and some rust around the railing in the balcony. Did this detract from our enjoyment of the cruise, NOT AT ALL! The layout and functionality of the room was about average for a cruise ship room with the exception of the closet. The walk in closet is outstanding.

 

I've read other people mention the Golden is confusing, it can be but after a day or two you get used to it. There are some very beautiful areas to this ship. Of special note to me was the Explorers bar.

 

The theatre I felt like was about the worst of any ship I've ever been on. Very crowded, no room for the waiters and waitressess to pass by to serve drinks. Completely too small, there was an overflow almost every night and your definitely had to get there early to get a seat, period, and real early to get a good seat.

 

Another real design flaw in this area is the Players bar where cigar smokers are told is the place to smoke. This is very unfair to people that don't enjoy the smell of cigar smoke and to complicate matters even further they keep the door open so apparently people will know they are open. On other ships I have been on the special area for cigar smokers is generally not in the only path to the theatre or other public area. Just makes you wonder just what were they thinking when they did this. I'm a cigar smoker by the way. I can certainly understand non smoker's ire, but it should be at Princess, not the other smokers.

 

Food:

 

We had anytime dining and had no issues with getting in. We generally went fairly early and had no special requests other than to get in and eat. There were four of us in our group and were always happy to sit with others or by ourselves. Those that report long waits either are asking for tables of a certain size and/or showing up at the peak time.

 

I certainly don't consider myself anything as pretentious as a foodie, but I definitely know what good food tastes like. Princess has some really good food and some real average food. There was nothing I'd call bad. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room and enjoyed most of it. The service while never bad was never very personable. They definitely are working hard though.

 

The only time I was in the buffet was the first morning when we didn't realize the dining room closed at 9:00, after that we always made sure we were on time.

 

One major issue is that there is only one dining room open for breakfast and lunch. This to me is another of those :What are they thinking: situations. It might be a bottom line decision but it definitely comes at the expense of their customers.

 

The Shows:

 

Very good semi professional entertainment. I really enjoyed the ventriloquist and the singers and dancers.

 

Ports:

 

I enjoyed all of the ports, especially Cabo where we saw at least a couple dozen whales. I'd love to go back there someday.

 

Disembarkation:

 

We did self disembarkation and was off the ship and in the Primetime shuttle by about 7:20. We were one of the first shuttles out of the parking lot. Traffic was smooth on the freeway and we were sitting in our gate for our flight by 8:45 for an 11:20 flight. This is where our good luck ended though, our flight was delayed about an hour which was a concern to catch our connecting flight. Come to find out it was no concern at all though as when we did get to St Louis we found out our connecting flight had a mechanical issue. It was the last flight out to our town and the next one wasn't until noon the next day. We got to spend the night at the Marriott on American. Of course I'd rather have been home by 7:30 the way we'd planned, but if there is going to be an issue I'm certainly happy it was on the tail end and not the front end.

 

Overall:

 

This was our first cruise on Princess. All in all it was real enjoyable. As far as a cruise line goes it was no better than Costa and the ship was not as nice. But we still had a good time. Would we cruise Princess again? Yes, but only at a good price and a itinerary that interests us.

 

While there was nothing that was bad there also was nothing about Princess that really impressed me.

 

I guess this wound up longer than I expected, thanks for reading and feel free to ask any questions.

[dpomes]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review. We'll be on the Golden at the end of March. This will also be our first Princess cruise and first time to the Mex. Riviera. :D

[newmexicoNita]

Better late than never. Since I'm not a wanna be travel writer I'll try to keep brief. This is only my experience and opinion, yours of course will vary.

 

We flew in a day early (9 degrees when we left, definitely happy to be heading to someplace warm) and spent the night at the Crowne Plaza San Pedro. We had purchased the Sail and Fly package and had the included shuttle ride on Primetime. The only snafu was that the hotel had told me to call from the courtesy phone once we had picked up our luggage. This was a complete waste of time. All we needed to do is go out the door and to the left and cross the street(be very careful) to the center median with the Primetime representative. In about 15 minutes our shuttle got there and it was about a 30-40 minute ride to the hotel.

 

Once at the hotel we got everything squared away and headed to our room. Imagine our surprise when we opened the door and saw that we had been upgraded to a corner suite. Our traveling companions had the room next door to us and it was a real nice room, but only about half the size. One bonus to the corner suite is that you get to see the ship come right by your window on it's way in about 6 in the morning. By the same token seeing the ship in port out your window and having to wait till around 11:30 or so to head over to it is almost torture.

 

The Crowne Plaza is a really nice property and I would definitely stay there again. The breakfast that was included with the S & F package was adequate but not great.

 

Embarkation:

 

We took the hotel shuttle to the ship and pulled right up by the porters. Our luggage was gone in less than a minute. We were able to go on in and present our documents. There was absolutely no wait, just walk up to the desk, give them the paperwork and go to the large waiting room. We had a number to be in group 6. At best we waited 15 to 20 minutes and our number was called. In no time at all we were on the ship and having a cocktail. I looked at my watch once we were on deck 10 seated with a drink, it was 1:10. We had already dropped off our carryon and checked out the room. Very smooth embarkation. Princess gets high marks for this.

 

Ship & Trip:

 

We had a balcony room on the lido deck. I really like this location, with the exception of that everytime you stepped out your door there was always someone going by. This didn't cause any undue noise though.

 

Our room had fairly worn carpet and and some rust around the railing in the balcony. Did this detract from our enjoyment of the cruise, NOT AT ALL! The layout and functionality of the room was about average for a cruise ship room with the exception of the closet. The walk in closet is outstanding.

 

I've read other people mention the Golden is confusing, it can be but after a day or two you get used to it. There are some very beautiful areas to this ship. Of special note to me was the Explorers bar.

 

The theatre I felt like was about the worst of any ship I've ever been on. Very crowded, no room for the waiters and waitressess to pass by to serve drinks. Completely too small, there was an overflow almost every night and your definitely had to get there early to get a seat, period, and real early to get a good seat.

 

Another real design flaw in this area is the Players bar where cigar smokers are told is the place to smoke. This is very unfair to people that don't enjoy the smell of cigar smoke and to complicate matters even further they keep the door open so apparently people will know they are open. On other ships I have been on the special area for cigar smokers is generally not in the only path to the theatre or other public area. Just makes you wonder just what were they thinking when they did this. I'm a cigar smoker by the way. I can certainly understand non smoker's ire, but it should be at Princess, not the other smokers.

 

Food:

 

We had anytime dining and had no issues with getting in. We generally went fairly early and had no special requests other than to get in and eat. There were four of us in our group and were always happy to sit with others or by ourselves. Those that report long waits either are asking for tables of a certain size and/or showing up at the peak time.

 

I certainly don't consider myself anything as pretentious as a foodie, but I definitely know what good food tastes like. Princess has some really good food and some real average food. There was nothing I'd call bad. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room and enjoyed most of it. The service while never bad was never very personable. They definitely are working hard though.

 

The only time I was in the buffet was the first morning when we didn't realize the dining room closed at 9:00, after that we always made sure we were on time.

 

One major issue is that there is only one dining room open for breakfast and lunch. This to me is another of those :What are they thinking: situations. It might be a bottom line decision but it definitely comes at the expense of their customers.

 

The Shows:

 

Very good semi professional entertainment. I really enjoyed the ventriloquist and the singers and dancers.

 

Ports:

 

I enjoyed all of the ports, especially Cabo where we saw at least a couple dozen whales. I'd love to go back there someday.

 

Disembarkation:

 

We did self disembarkation and was off the ship and in the Primetime shuttle by about 7:20. We were one of the first shuttles out of the parking lot. Traffic was smooth on the freeway and we were sitting in our gate for our flight by 8:45 for an 11:20 flight. This is where our good luck ended though, our flight was delayed about an hour which was a concern to catch our connecting flight. Come to find out it was no concern at all though as when we did get to St Louis we found out our connecting flight had a mechanical issue. It was the last flight out to our town and the next one wasn't until noon the next day. We got to spend the night at the Marriott on American. Of course I'd rather have been home by 7:30 the way we'd planned, but if there is going to be an issue I'm certainly happy it was on the tail end and not the front end.

 

Overall:

 

This was our first cruise on Princess. All in all it was real enjoyable. As far as a cruise line goes it was no better than Costa and the ship was not as nice. But we still had a good time. Would we cruise Princess again? Yes, but only at a good price and a itinerary that interests us.

 

While there was nothing that was bad there also was nothing about Princess that really impressed me.

 

I guess this wound up longer than I expected, thanks for reading and feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks for posting, our views were similar to yours, we cruised a week earlier. We didn't find the ship any harder to find your way around than other ships, in fact in some cases it was a little easier. We found the food to be above average with some meals being just so-so. We did think breakfast in the dining room was really bad and very slow. We would cruise Princess again, we had no real complaints, but it just didn't WOW us like we were hoping.

 

Nita

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review, we eat most breakfast/lunch in the dining room and thought that one dining room being open was more then enough. :)

[bhopal21]

We were on The Golden last week and never saw a need for more than one dining room at breakfast or lunch. Most times when we were in there it was less than half occupied.

 

MIke:)

[ORV]

We were on The Golden last week and never saw a need for more than one dining room at breakfast or lunch. Most times when we were in there it was less than half occupied.

 

MIke:)

 

Maybe it had to do with the weather, our sea days were chilly and windy. The lines at times were backed up almost to the pursers office area.

 

If this is not normal then I could see why they usually don't have them open.

[bhopal21]

Maybe it had to do with the weather, our sea days were chilly and windy. The lines at times were backed up almost to the pursers office area.

 

If this is not normal then I could see why they usually don't have them open.

 

You might have a point there. Our weather was beautiful all week until Friday and it was very windy and chilly on the way back.

 

Mike:)

[princess76021]

Ship & Trip:

 

We had a balcony room on the lido deck. I really like this location, with the exception of that everytime you stepped out your door there was always someone going by. This didn't cause any undue noise though.

 

 

how big was the balcony? what do you mean by "always someone going by"? is it a passway to somewhere? i was under the impression that it was only rooms at that end.

 

thanks

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to post a review.

[ORV]

Princess all those numbers,

 

The balconies on the Lido deck are the standard size, I think they are 9 x 5 but don't quote me on that. I didn't measure but I think that is what I've seen posted here.

 

By "someone always going by" yes, our room which was L309 is next to the last room before you get to the doorway that is an exit to the outside area of deck 10. Very conveinent for getting to the bar or the grill.

 

If you check here you'll see what I mean

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/np/deck_plans/np_lido.html

 

One thing I forgot to mention is that we were pleasantly surprised when we got our final bill and there was a $100 credit on there compliments of our Online travel agent. I really didn't expect that.

[princess76021]

Princess all those numbers,

 

The balconies on the Lido deck are the standard size, I think they are 9 x 5 but don't quote me on that. I didn't measure but I think that is what I've seen posted here.

 

By "someone always going by" yes, our room which was L309 is next to the last room before you get to the doorway that is an exit to the outside area of deck 10. Very conveinent for getting to the bar or the grill.

 

If you check here you'll see what I mean

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/np/deck_plans/np_lido.html

 

One thing I forgot to mention is that we were pleasantly surprised when we got our final bill and there was a $100 credit on there compliments of our Online travel agent. I really didn't expect that.

 

 

thank you!! :) i thought the balconies were smaller on the lido deck.

 

i am leaving in 2 weeks and i have L214, which is closer to the front of the ship!!! i was worried that there would be allot of traffic!!:eek:

 

thanks again for your info!!!:D

[ladypalmtree]

Hello, thank you for your review...We will be on the Golden next month...Hi Dawn = }

[ko57]

I too was at the Crowne Plaza the same night you were and had the same upgrade of room. I happened to wake up just in time to see the Golden arrive. What a thrill!

 

My only problem was that Primetime Shuttle didn't have my name either coming or going. It made for some confusion but they honored my letter of confirmation coming and the voucher going.

 

Yes the weather was cold on the sea days, but the ports were wonderful. It's a trip I'd love to do again.

[JacquieP]

Could anyone give me more information about the "Sail and Fly" package from the hotel? I can't seem to find any information on their website.

[ORV]

Could anyone give me more information about the "Sail and Fly" package from the hotel? I can't seem to find any information on their website.

 

You have to call them. Sorry but I don't have their number handy right now. I found it on the West Coast departures board.

[MSUcruisers]

Could anyone give me more information about the "Sail and Fly" package from the hotel? I can't seem to find any information on their website.

 

Call 310-519-8200. It is $239 for two people. I am currently trying to get more recent feedback on this offer.