Need Help re: Golden Princess

[KarlaC]

My BF and I are thinking about taking the Golden Princess from San Juan to NY in May of 2005.

I have never cruised with Princess before, but I like the idea of PC dining. That is one thing we loved about NCL. Anywho, I was wondering what the average age group of the passengers was. We are in our mid 20s and my BF is worried about not having other our age on the cruise. I think he is wrong, but he wanted me to ask anyway.

Thank you in advance for your help!! I am sure I will have more questions as time goes on.

[MauiLuvr]

Will you find a MAJORITY of passengers in your age range? No. Will there be ANYONE your age range on the ship? Yes, very likely. It's all about your (and his) expectations. If you (or he) would be unhappy interacting socially with people in their 40s or 50s, then Princess may not be the cruise line for you.

[kadiebug12]

My fiance and I are in our mid-20's and have cruised Princess 3 times and have never found a lack of people to socialize with. We always do 7 day cruises though, I've heard the longer the cruiselength the older the crowd (generally). We're not big on going to the nightclubs and partying til the break of dawn, but do enjoy cocktails and socializing which has always come without a problem on our Princess cruises. We've done the Mexican Riviera and the Caribbean.

[Trish Stewart]

We are about cruise on the Golden for our 2nd time and suggest that you will have problems. We are both in our mid-forties and met people younger and older.

 

We had a great time on the Golden I'm sure you will enjoy.

 

Trish:)

[mwalsh17]

You won't have any problem meeting other people on the Golden all 2600 of them will be in line in front of you. You can talk to most of them if you brush up on you spanish and you may even be able to enter the dominos tournement. Ages 40- 50 your kidding me this is a 60-70's inside cabin types.

Very crowded, poorly designed, mass production ship - we missed 2 dinners due to over one hour waits in the PC food distribution chamber. - Mike

[Trish Stewart]

Hi Mike

 

One of us has got this badly wrong. We thought the Golden had a real mix of ages..it was a Christmas cruise so maybe that was the difference. Lots of family groups.

 

Never had any trouble with breakfast, lunch or dinner. Longest we waited was 10 minutes.

 

We thought that she was well thought out.

 

If you want a small intimate number of people then avoid the Golden, if you want non-stop partying then avoid the Golden. Suppose everyone is looking for something different.

 

So I still think something for everyone on the Golden.

 

Trish

[enymarsh]

Wow,

just shows how personal this experience is! We've cruised on her before she started going out of San Juan, so I can't comment on the poster's statement about spanish speaking people, but on 7 day caribbean cruises out of Fort Lauderdale, we found it to be a mixed crowd as far as ages.

 

I think kadiebug12 hit on a good point, though, and not just length of cruise... you've chosen a repositioning cruise which could produce even more older people.

 

Princess has an awesome product for us but it has to match your needs. We love the classy surroundings, the excellent salad offerings in the buffet, and the freshwater pools/hot tubs that are open 24/7. I also like the feel of a larger ship but that is something you have to figure out for yourself.

 

Princess might be the right fit for you guys, but maybe not on a longer, repositioning voyage.

[zuggie]

And another thought - younger people tend to sail from ports that are closer and easy to get to. You can't drive to San Juan, and airfares are generally more expensive because of the distance. And I would agree that the repositioning cruise would appeal to more older people. Many of them will probably be on the ship for longer than 7 days. We've sailed Princess and the "Grand" class ships a number of times - and we think they're the best!

[spongerob]

Princess, and I assume other cruise lines, also like to fill their repo cruises with travel agents and similar groups. This can sometimes result in perceptions of uneven service towards "paying" passengers.

 

Generally, I think younger people do just fine on Princess, but this particular cruise might not be the best choice for you. San Juan to NYC might not be a big seller - airfare for many people will be prohibitive.

[KarlaC]

First of all, I want to thank everyone very much for all the great and honest information you have provided.

I went to my TA last night after posting and he stated a lot of the same information that was posted here: i.e 50 ish crowd and the older crowd on repo cruise. The reason why I was considering this cruise was because I found such a great deal on an internet site for a balcony cabing. My TA couldn't even beat it. In fact, Princess wanted $500+/pp for the same room that could have been booked on the internet site. :eek: YIKES!!! He even advised booking through the internet site. When he was on the phone with the rep from Princess...he was a little upset. He is right...how are they suppose to compete with the online booking agencies. However, he did say this is not a common problem. Only occurs 1 time every six months. Still, always a good remider to do a little "research" before booking.:rolleyes:

Airfare from Newark was only around $150/pp. So with my brain filled of information regarding Princess Cruises I went to talk with my BF.

We really do want to sail with Princess, but probably not next year. Maybe in a few years or so. He really wants to go on the Dawn again so I think that is what we will be doing.

Have no fear!!! Princess Cruises are definitely in our future.