My Review of Golden Princess 10/3-10/10

[twostacys]

This was our first cruise and it will not be our last. It took me 13 years to convince DH to go on a cruise, now we are hooked.

 

Oct. 2nd - We arrived a day early in San Juan and stayed at the Raddison Ambassador in Condado area. The taxi cost from the airport to the hotel was $13.50. We liked the hotel. It was clean and we felt safe at the hotel. A block from the hotel you can walk to the beach. The beach was nice. A lot of locals come to this hotel casino. Most of them did not seem to like us tourists, but we didn't let that get to us. We even had on lady close the elevator on us when we were trying to get on. We just laughed. The area around the hotel made us a little uneasy. It reminded me a lot of New Orleans. A few homeless begging for money. The longer we walked the streets, we began to get over the culture shock and began to feel safe. There were lots of people jogging and children walking the streets alone. I would recommend this hotel. Just keep in mind, if you are not used to a big city, you may feel a little uncomfortable walking the streets of Condado.

 

Oct. 3rd (Embarkation) - We left our hotel around 10:45AM and took a taxi to the pier. The taxi cost was $16.00. We arrived at the pier around 11:20AM. We were in our cabin at 12:15PM. Embarkation went smoother than I could have imagined. It was very organized. Our Cabin was C752 (an aft balcony). We loved this cabin. We explored this beautiful ship. Our bags were delivered to our room around 2PM.

 

Oct. 4th (Sea day) - We had a great day exploring the ship, laying out by the pool, and formal night was great.

 

Oct. 5th (Barbados) - We booked the Silver Moon excursion. This was a cat. sailing/snorkling excursion. This excursion was the highlight of our trip. The boat was immaculant and the service was great. The moment we stepped aboard the crew started to serve us. We snorkled with the turtles at our first stop, then another snorkle stop at a ship wreck and reef. We saw lots of turtles. They came in pretty close. Of course the fish they were being fed helped a little. The lunch on the Silver Moon was awesome. There was not enough wind to sail this day, but was still a very enjoyable trip.

 

Oct. 6th (St. Lucia) - We went to Rendezvous Resort. We got a day pass for $38.00pp. All the drinks you want, use of the pool, beach and facilities. They served a buffet lunch. The lunch was just OK. This was a very nice relaxing day. The taxi cost from the pier to Rendezvous was $8.00.

 

Oct. 7th (Antigua) - We booked Eli's Eco Tour. I hate to say it, but this was a very disappointing day. Everyone gave Eli excellent reviews. I felt like I was on a cruise ship excursion. He was overbooked by 3 people. The only place to sit was out in the sun by the engines. The hot sun and exhaust from the engines gave me a horrible headache. It was a little over an hour before we were offered anything to drink. Some people seemed to enjoy themselves, but we were not one of them. The snorkling was good, but I could not wait for this excursion to be over.

 

Oct. 8th (St. Martin) - We took a taxi to Orient Beach. The taxi was a van that had several other people on it so the taxi cost was only $8.00. We were dropped off around Bikini Beach Bar. We walked left a little ways to Coco Beach Bar. It was a nice quiet area on the beach. They wanted $18.00 to rent the beach chairs for the day. We thought that was a little high from what we read, so we walked back towards Bikini Beach and stopped at Laplaya Bar and Rest. They rented their chairs for $13.00. This is where we stayed for the day. Laplaya did not have as many beach chairs as others, but they were spaced further apart. They have great food. We spent most of the day here, then went shopping in Philipsburg. I was amazed by the number of shops. Our second formal night was this night and we had another great evening.

 

Oct. 9th (St. Thomas) - We booked Ike Witt Charters. This is a day sail excursion on a sail boat. Plenty of great snorkling. Capt. Pat was great. I would recommend this tour. It was a great way to end the cruise.

 

Oct. 10th (Disembarkation) - A sad, sad day :( We were asked to be out of our cabin by 8AM and were off the Golden by 10AM. We were through customs and had a taxi around 10:20AM.

 

This is how we rated everything:

Food - 9

Service - 9

Cabin - 10

Ship - 9

Embarkation - 10

Disembarkation - 9

 

If I had to complain about something, it would be that I felt a little more motion on the ship than I thought I would. It didn't matter if you were aft or mid ship. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them.

[sue d. miller]

Welcome home, and also to the world of cruising!! Isn't it the best?? We are all hooked here, and I am so glad you had a wonderful cruise!! We hope you will stay on with us. There will be many posters with lots of questions. It would be great if you would help us answer them!!! :)

[CruiserGreg]

Glad to see you liked C752. We have that cabin on the Golden for the December 12th sailing. I'm really looking forward to finally having an aft cabin.

 

Greg

[LizBeth953]

I was also on this sailing and will post a full review shortly...

 

I had the pleasure of meeting the TwoStacys and they are lovely people!

 

I am sorry the Eli's Tour was disappointing for you, we loved it!

 

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise, we had a fantastic time as well....it's definitely addictive!

[ernstbass]

I was on the ship and will follow with a review - A626 - It was a wonderful week, wasn't it? I would certainly recommend this ship!! (review will follow)

[Brennivan]

Glad to hear you had a great time. We booked the same itinerary for Barbados and cannot wait. We will be on the December 12th cruise and are very excited.

 

What is the latest you can get of the ship the last day? Our flight, back to NYC, is not until 6 p.m. and was wondering what to do to kill time.

[twostacys]

What is the latest you can get of the ship the last day? Our flight, back to NYC, is not until 6 p.m. and was wondering what to do to kill time.

 

Well our flight home was at 5pm. We were off the boat at 10am. I imagine we could have stayed for about another hour. Our luggage tags were orange which was about halfway down the list. We just went ahead and got off since we had so much time to kill. We took a taxi to BarraChina (sp?) rest. in Old San Juan. They store your bags for a $5.00 tip. The food and service was great there. Most of the shops are closed on Sundays, but there were a few open. We got to the airport around 1pm. Make sure you get there early. There are very limited seats at the gates.

[2BCruising]

TwoStacys, thanks for your review. In the Condado area, are there many places to shop and have dinner? I assume you mostly walked around the main street in Condado. I can't wait to hear from the other folks about their cruising experience on the Golden. My DH and I will on the same cruise itinerary on 10/31. We can't wait.

[twostacys]

TwoStacys, thanks for your review. In the Condado area, are there many places to shop and have dinner? I assume you mostly walked around the main street in Condado.

 

There are lots of places to eat. We had lunch and breakfast at Danny's International Rest. They have good food and good coffee. We ate dinner at Tijuana's Bar and Grill. Both are just down the street from the Radisson and both had good food. There were a few clothing stores, a WalGreens, and a local liquor store where we stocked up on Corona for the cruise. We brought it on the ship with no problems. And yes, we just stayed on the main street of Condado. The further we walked down (past the Walgreen's) it started to feel unsafe. I think we were leaving the tourist area and entering the local hangouts.

[2BCruising]

Thanks for answering the Condado questions. I have more pertaining to the cruise. On your excursions, did you take your passport or a photo copy with you? Did you end up taking a waterproof bag with you? Also, which dining option did you have (anytime or traditional)?

[twostacys]

Thanks for answering the Condado questions. I have more pertaining to the cruise. On your excursions, did you take your passport or a photo copy with you? Did you end up taking a waterproof bag with you? Also, which dining option did you have (anytime or traditional)?

 

We had anytime dining. Since this was our first cruise and we did not know what to expect, we went with anytime so were were not tied to a certain time. We enjoyed eating when we felt like it. We only had to wait one time for 15 min. That's because it was formal night and we went at 8:00. 7-8:30 seemed to be the time most people went to dinner. Sometimes we felt like company and chose a large table and sometimes we just wanted to 2 of us. I would do anytime again.

 

We only took our photo ID with us on excursions. The only time you need your passport is to embark/disembark and at customs in St. Thomas. You show up at your assigned time at the Vista Lounge before leaving the ship. Show your passports or Birth Cert. and ID to the customs agents. They give you a card to allow you to leave the ship on St. Thomas. You can go put your passports back up in your room so you don't have to carry them with you. We only took a zip lock bag with us on beach days (St. Martin).

[mmsoko]

Love to read reviews with port info on them.

 

We'll be staying at the Embassy Suites, Isle Verde (i think) before cruise. Any idea how that compares to Condado area?

[diane52]

Welcome back two stacys. It was so nice to meet you at the Monday lunch. Sorry that our paths never seemed to cross again. We also had a wonderful cruise and so did my parents. They thought everything was wonderful. We did Lawrence of Antigua in Antigua and Glory Tours in Barbados. I would recommend both of these tours for any of you out there. We did scuba diving in St Lucis with Frogs. It was spectacular right at the base of the pitons, and you got a 45 minute boat ride out there included! I told you to be careful Stacy, cruising can be so addictive!!

[auntieann]

Wonderful review Stacy. Think I can agree with you on Eli's. Although we had a good time I thought it was crowded and I thought they limited it to 12. But the Golden did not disappoint! We sat next to Dianne in Traditional dining. You haver super parents Diane!

[Stevesan]

Thanks for answering the Condado questions. I have more pertaining to the cruise. On your excursions, did you take your passport or a photo copy with you? Did you end up taking a waterproof bag with you? Also, which dining option did you have (anytime or traditional)?

It is a good idea to take a photo copy of your passport and a credit card on independent shore trips. It will make things a lot easier if for an unforeseen circumstance you miss your reboarding time and have to make your own way to the next port. I wouldn't take the passport. Under these circumstances, immigration officials should accept the photo copy.

 

I've never had a theft problem on a snorkel boat, but I still wear a PADI certified water proof packet for valuables and documents. Splash Caddy makes a good product:

 

http://www.watchfuleyedesigns.com/products.php?id=3&PHPSESSID=2c300c09011a20f306a1c950ffe9c57b

[twostacys]

Love to read reviews with port info on them.

 

We'll be staying at the Embassy Suites, Isle Verde (i think) before cruise. Any idea how that compares to Condado area?

 

Sorry, I'm not sure where Isle Verde is. We only went to Condado and Old Town that I know of.

[2BCruising]

Stevesan...thanks for the URL. I'm getting ready to order a Splash Caddy.

 

TwoStacys...Did you end up taking a cab from Condado to Old San Juan? If so, how much was the cab fare?

[twostacys]

TwoStacys...Did you end up taking a cab from Condado to Old San Juan? If so, how much was the cab fare?

 

We only went from the pier to Old San Juan. You can take a bus from Condado to Old San Juan for $.25/pp but the locals did not recommend this for tourists.

[thedris]

Hi Everyone,

It was great meeting everyone in our group. What is really neat is that we had 20 show up for our Cruise Critic lunch on our day at sea.

 

As for reviews:

I agree with Stacy that the Silver Moon catamaran was great. The boat looked brand new, they only take a maximum of 10 people, the two guys crewing were very nice and cordial. It is well worth the trip. Oh one thing, I think that Stacy (man) did have a little trouble with his snorkle while we were swimming with the sea turtles. And that would have been my thumb covering it. Cheers Man.

 

The Rendezvous was also a pretty good pick. Very relaxed and laid back. The staff was very polite and helpful. The beach was great and I thought the food was pretty good as well. For the price, we felt it was very nice.

 

In Antigua, we did Paddles instead of Eli's. Paddles was great. They did not over book nor did they overlook any detail. They provided everything. (even towels if you forgot) They trip was wonderful. It started with a powerboat ride, then we did some very easy kayaking and that was also the start of the eco-tour. Then we had refreshments. Afterward we were back in the boat for an island tour and then we beached for a brief hike to some old fort ruins. At the base of the ruins, we then snorkled for about an hour or so and then headed back to the house where we started from. There, Jenne and Conrad LaBarrie (owners) had homemade cakes and cookies, fruit juices, rum punch and we just relaxed and visited for a while. They really made you feel like family. very much at home and welcomed. Jenne drove us back about 1:30 and hugged and kissed us both. This is really a wonderful treat!!!

 

No excursions on St. Martin, just shopping and eating french food at The Tropicana in Marigot Bay. (the best)

Same in St. Thomas. Just had lunch at Cuzzin's and hung out for a while.

 

As far as the ship, we also had a cabin in the aft of the ship. We were diagonally across from twostacys. The cabin was awesome but you do feel more motion than in mid-ship. The Golden is a beautiful ship. It was kept very clean and I will say that we thought that the food was excellent. It was actually better than we had expected and this is our third cruise with Princess.

All in all, we had a great time. We met some great people. Princess does a great job. For the money, Princess has gorgeous ships, has great itineraries, the food is very good and their people really seem to care. We will keep coming back.

Take care Stacy, Ann and Diane. We'll miss ya. xxoo

Richard

[Beach710]

Twostacys - Thank you for the review. A couple of questions: Are the taxi fares you mentioned per person? Did make advance reservations at Rendezvous? What time did you arrive?

We will be on the Golden 10/31 and after 2 hurricanes we are really needing a vacation.

Thanks

[twostacys]

Twostacys - Thank you for the review. A couple of questions: Are the taxi fares you mentioned per person? Did make advance reservations at Rendezvous? What time did you arrive?

We will be on the Golden 10/31 and after 2 hurricanes we are really needing a vacation.

Thanks

 

The taxi fares were for 2 people. Some of the fares included our luggage when we had them with us. We just emailed Rendezvous to let them know when we would be there. They try to monitor the number of day pass guests. I think we got there around 9:30am, which was a little early, but they didn't mind. We left around 3:45pm. I hope yall have a great time.

[CRUISAYEAR]

TwoStacys....thanks for all the good info. We are staying at the Radisson also. To get to the Walgreens and the Liquor store you mentioned, which way do we turn when exiting the front of the hotel ? And if the locals do not recommend tourists use the 25 cent trolley, how much was the taxi to OSJ ?

[twostacys]

TwoStacys....thanks for all the good info. We are staying at the Radisson also. To get to the Walgreens and the Liquor store you mentioned, which way do we turn when exiting the front of the hotel ? And if the locals do not recommend tourists use the 25 cent trolley, how much was the taxi to OSJ ?

 

To get to the Walgreens, turn right when coming out of the hotel. It's about a 20 minute walk. I don't know how much the taxi is from the hotel to OSJ. We never took a taxit to OSJ from the hotel, but know where it is from the hotel it should be around $10-$12 one way from the hotel. Make sure you get your fare before you get in the taxi. Unless you can get the taxi vouchers that state what your fare will be, make sure you get the driver to give you a rate before you leave. We were given this advice by BarraChina Rest. when we went to OSJ post cruise. PR tries to regulate how much taxi fare are, but when the dispatchers are not there to regulate the costs, the taxi drivers will take advantage of it. Also you can ask the hotel how much should a taxi cost to go to OSJ to make sure the rate is fare. BarraChina Rest. told us what we should pay when we were taking a taxi to the airport. The taxi driver did not like it too much when we asked him "how much". We had to ask twice before he gave an answer. Hope this helps!

[jhewitt]

TwoStacys

Will be going on the Golden November 21st, enjoyed your review and all the other comments. Can you tell us who the Cruise Director is and what you thought of him?

[CRUISAYEAR]

Twostacys....thanks for the info and wise advice for preventing taxi driver rip-offs.