Princess Cruises, Golden Princess Caribbean Cruise Reviews

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Princess Cruises, Golden Princess Caribbean Cruise
★★★☆☆
3.1
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“We paid £500 extra for an upgrade to an outside cabin,...”

★★☆☆☆

written by on 14/01/2010

We paid £500 extra for an upgrade to an outside cabin, we got an outside cabin right on top of the stablezers. when the weather was rough it was a nightmare, the noise was so bad it was impossible to sleep,the whole cabin shook even the table lamps where shaking uncontrolaby, when I complained they said they didn't have another room for us to go to.LIE our friends got moved imediately when they put a written complaint in.We got moved after a week and eventually had a peaceful night.Never go in room229 floor 5.The ports of call unless you had booked a trip where very poor in deed, the trips are very, very expensive, I think that they must have picked the cheapest ports of call to berth in.Very dissapointing,not what you would ever expect the Hawaiin Islands to be like, the stop in Mexico again was awful.The ship, food and staff are wonderful,the entertainment is very average, by now you must be thinking, what a miserable moaning woman I am.You couldn't be more wrong, i've done quite a bit of cruising and this itinery has got to be the worst ever.If you want a wonderful cruising experience try the Ocean Village cruising around the Greek Islands, for value for money it can't be beaten, and the entertainment is really good.Sorry Golden Princess, but to travel all the way to America for what should have been the holiday of a lifetime, was very,very dissapointing.Never again.

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“We enjoyed the cruise overall and were satisfied. ...”

★★★★☆

written by rreed on 01/12/2008

We enjoyed the cruise overall and were satisfied. This was only our second cruise.
Check your bill a day or two before the end of the cruise. A fellow passenger alerted me as he had found errors and sure enough there was a charge I had not made. It was corrected easily enough.
My wife likes to sing karaoke and she and some audience members were disappointed that the hosts did not count all of the votes for the contests to qualify for a talent show. I do not think they could have counted any votes as the results were announced very quickly.
I hate mandatory tipping. The cruise lines should pay a decent wage for the workers and let people tip based on service.

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“The tours in Alaska are quite pricey. The ports of...”

★★☆☆☆

written by zoey1 on 04/10/2008

The tours in Alaska are quite pricey. The ports of call were nice but you were not given much time at all in Victoria, Canada. We had our farewell dinner on a Thursday night instead of the last night out because of arriving so late in Victoria. I found this cruise on the Golden Princess to be quite boring and am sure I would not ever go on Princess Cruises again. Six of us went and one couple bought the transfer package as all of us did and was not able to print it out before leaving home because Princess Line was having problems with their computers and when they got to the airport in Seattle they had to pay to take a taxi to the port to get on the ship. Once in their room they found their return only transfer back from the ship to the airport like it should have been. It was a bit frustrating for them and they are Gold Card Holders with Princess. They also stated they would probably not use Princess anymore. Food was the biggest factor. Hand sanitizer should be used from the time you get on board. The food however in the dining room was good, and if it wasn't you were more than welcome to send it back. Staff that took your soft drink orders took quite awhile to bring you your coke etc. back. We would be done with lunch before our soda would arrive.

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“Been on this ship the Golden Princess 4 times going...”

★★★★★

written by on 24/10/2008

Been on this ship the Golden Princess 4 times going again in 2 weeks time to Hawaii cant wait. Would recommend for all ages Food is Amazing :D

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“Having read some previous reviews about the Golden...”

★★★★★

written by Big Joe on 05/09/2006

Having read some previous reviews about the Golden Princess cruise prior to traveling, I did expect Princess to be more aggressive at promoting additional on-board spend. To be fair, the on-board activity was no better or worse than say Holland America or P&O.

Some attention does need to be paid to the Eastern Bloc Catering Crew members, particularly in-service training. The cruise was of course aimed at the American market, although there were over 400 Brits on board.

The worst area was the Shore Excursions. The staff there knew nothing about the ports of call, other than what was in the excursion programme. Still, the food and entertainment compensated.

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“I loved the the Golden Princess, definitely my...”

★★★★★

written by chair on 07/09/2008

I loved the the Golden Princess, definitely my favourite Princess ship. I love that it has a glass roof that it can close over the top of one of the pools if it rains, something the sea princess doesn't have but needs. The ship was spotless, great shops on board. We felt totally looked after by our cabin steward, room service was fantastic. Plenty of sun loungers. Just the right amount of kids on board, not too many but just enough for my kids to play with. There are no slides into the pool, or climbing walls, or ice rinks like some other cruise ship companies which is great as it doesn't attract loads of kids ! Great desserts but I really wanted a chocolate fudge cake which they didn't do! Amazing holiday, just the best !

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“We boarded in 15 minutos, in Los Angeles Port....”

★★★★★

written by on 14/05/2008

We boarded in 15 minutos, in Los Angeles Port. Stateroom, Inside, at first sight it was claustrophobic, but in less than 30 minutes you get used to it and our steward was the best. Food, was good but not great, its not like it used to be, normal to regular.
Service, its amazing, in all areas, always with a smile. Princess its reliable for it service, I will do it again.

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“I had the worst vacation ever on this cruise line. I...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by geemilz on 09/01/2007

I had the worst vacation ever on this cruise line. I was charged almost $1,000 due to flight times changing and having to scramble for any remaining flight to the port. I was then told by the 0800 line to, leave the luggage at the airport, because there wasn't enough time to collect them and Princess will make sure they arrive at the ship. When I arrived at the ship, there was still over an hour to spare when leaving the dock and my luggage never arrived for the entire week, though I was told almost daily that it would be arriving, so I didn't buy clothes on the any of the three stops. Now Delta and Princess have managed to lose the two bags and it has been two weeks since my return and they do not know where they are.

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Jp20's Response to geemilz's Review

Written on: 09/02/2007

Just wondering if you bought the flights through Princess Cruises? Because if you didn't, then it wouldn't have been their fault. I'm planning a cruise out of Ft Lauderdale, which is coming up soon, and I did not purchase a flight through Princess, and it happens to be the same carrier as you had. Sure enough, I checked online and they changed the flight to a red eye instead of a morning flight, so we changed our tickets for the day before, and we will arrive in Ft Lauderdale the morning before our cruise. If I didn't keep checking online we would have arrived the day after the cruise left port. The Internet is available, so people keep checking the times of your tickets! We were never notified either!!

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Geemilz's Response to geemilz's Review

Written on: 09/02/2007

Unfortunately it was through the cruise line, so I had blind faith. You were wise to keep checking. Enjoy your trip, and if they tell you that they'll take care of the bags, be cautious!

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“This Princess Cruises, Golden Princess was my second...”

★★★★★

written by Terri B on 22/02/2006

This Princess Cruises, Golden Princess was my second and Dan's first. I had to practically beg Dan to go on this cruise. Princess was everything we expected and more. The crew made us feel like royalty and very comfortable.

Arrival in Florida - We stayed at the Ramada Inn -- word to the wise - DON'T - Very dirty, doors didn't lock; only a trickle of water for our shower, beds smelled, were horrible. Food was expensive and awful. The morning of the cruise, we took a hotel shuttle to the port.
Port Arrival - We arrived at the Port 2 hours before embarkation. This was okay in that we were practically first in line and that we were able to meet many people that had cruised before. Everyone was sooooo upbeat; we were excited to be experiencing everything.
At 11:00 am we started the embarkation process and were in our stateroom by 11:20am.

Accommodations
We stayed on the Emerald Deck at the front of the ship and stayed in a balcony room. The room seemed larger than we expected plenty of closet storage, small bathroom. TV had up to date movies, small refrigerator, table, queen bed, and 2 night stands. The balcony had 2 deck chairs, dining table and 2 dining chairs. Our cabin steward kept our room very neat and clean. Clean deck towels were provided 2 times a day. We highly recommend a balcony room - If we didn't feel like being around a lot of people, we would go to our room, have drinks, lunch or whatever. Sometimes we just wanted to read and relax---- this was the place to do it.

The ship was immaculate and beautiful, the crew was very friendly. Ages of the passengers were mostly in their 40's. Although, we did see plenty of younger families and older cruisers. I honestly don't remember how many pools were on board, but we spent most of our time in the 'adult only' end of the ship. I think this was on deck 12 at the back of the ship, wonderful for reading and relaxing. The other pools were fun and exciting for those that like to party...and we did do some of that. The cruise director had plenty of activities booked... so much to do. He made you feel like he's known you for such a long time.

Things to do:
After we left our cabin on the first day, I booked a spa treatment at the Lotus Spa - manicure, pedicure, and massage for the next morning. It was absolutely the best thing I could have done. The massage was completely relaxing. The manicure/pedicure area overlooked the ocean, relaxing music, wonderful aromas, friendly crew....I was in heaven and so relaxed.
We also experienced a wine tasting at $7.50 per person, well worth it. Dan took a cooking class, he loved it. We experienced a couple of shows in the Princess Theatre, very enjoyable. All activities were listed in the Princess Patter. There was just so much to do, we couldn't do everything we wanted. The lounge acts were funny; the lounges also had terrific dancing and entertainment.

Dining
Anytime dining is the way to go. We usually dined in the evening at Donatello's; smart casual, except for formal nights. Women dressed in anything from sundresses and sandals to long dresses and shoes. Men were in khakis and open neck shirts to pants and sport coats. Five new entrees every night as well as the regular menu .5 courses! I couldn't begin to eat all the food. For the most part everything was very good. And you could have as much as you wanted ..we couldn't eat all 5 courses, can't imagine asking for more. The wait staff was exceptional, anticipated our every need.

Daytime dining was usually in the 24 hour Horizon Court. The food was very good, especially for buffet style dining. The wait staff was younger, and probably not as refined as the more formal dining area, but it didn't detract from the experience. The views were amazing! What a way to dine!

St Maarten/St Martin
We took an island tour by bus, very enjoyable. After the tour we walked the streets, shopped, had a drink on the beautiful beach and walked back to the ship overall nice experience.

St Thomas
Didn't know about the jewelry until the tour activities director on the ship kept giving pointers about the best jewelry buys on the island. What deals you can get on jewelry!
We took a 3 hour snorkeling trip, well worth the money - $65.00 each. The water was a little cooler than I expected, but still very nice. We saw so many stingrays, and they were quite friendly too. We were with a nice, fun group of people. They served rum punch, sodas, snack foods, and fun music. Highly recommended.

Princess Cays
Owned by Princess. BBQ, snorkeling, souvenirs, nice island. Unfortunately it started off as a very cloudy day, and cleared up about 1 hour before we had to leave. Next time, I'll probably stay on the ship, get a spa treatment - usually discounted on Port days, and relax or participate in one of the ship board activities.
Disembarkation

Not too bad, we waited about 45 minutes to leave the ship. Had no problem finding our luggage. Princess had busses for those of us that had airplanes to catch. We got to the airport about 4 hours before our flight, had lunch, and wished we were back on the ship.
Overall experience

Wonderful, highly recommended. Dan is now hooked and has already started booking our next Princess Cruise. This time we are taking our entire family. I can't believe how wonderful it was. Next time we are going 2 days early so that we can relax before the cruise and enjoy everyday of the trip without being worn out from getting there. We will definitely stay at a nicer hotel before hand though.

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“I would like to tell other possible cruise passengers...”

☆☆☆☆☆

written by quickfingers on 20/08/2004

I would like to tell other possible cruise passengers about the experience my family and I had on our recent cruise on the Golden Princess.

Once we got on the cruise, we were bombarded by people trying to sell us an unlimited amount of soda for $22.50. I was under the impression the soda, about a six cent cost to the cruise line (all from the fountain), was included in the cost of the cruise. The cost of a soda was not included.

When we check into our room, my family met our cabin steward. I found out in the first few minutes that he did not have a great command of the English language. I asked him about any special places I should not miss on the cruise. He told to look in the catalogue. He was very good on getting us the things we needed for our stateroom, but that was all he was good at. You could not ask him a lot of questions about the ship. He always met us with a smile and a thank you.

We had a minor problem with our room keys. We went to the purser's desk to get the keys straightened out. The purser was very helpful. When I asked her where the sports bar was on the ship, she told me that there were four bars on the ship, but she did not know which one was the sports bar. I had to find where the sports bar was on my own. I thought, incorrectly, that the purser should know where thing are on the ship. As it turns out there are at least 10 bars on the ship.

The first night after we set sail, my wife and I went to the Skywalkers' Bar. It was about 11:45PM. Our 15 year old daughter walked up to us. Passengers under the age of 18 are not allowed into the Skywalkers' Bar after 11:00 PM. She told us that she was there with three of her friends all under the age of 18. She told us that she just walked past the two people supposedly checking the age of the passengers going into the bar. They weren't even asked for their ID. A few nights later, she told us that she was in the bar before 11 PM. No one came around after 11 PM to check to see if the passengers were over or under the age of 18. She could stay there as late as she wanted to. Our 15 year old watched one of her 20 year old friends get drinks at the Skywalker's Bar without the bartender asking for his ID. It was after 11 PM when this happened. I can only suppose that the bartender just assumed that any passengers in the bar after 11PM must be over the age of 21.

After a few nights, my wife and I started to here stories from our 13 year old about how underage kids, 13 to 16, were getting drunk on the ship. On a few occasions, they had to help other teenagers back to their rooms, because they were so drunk they could not walk. There was even one incident when one of the kids was so drunk that they fell off a balcony onto another. If there had not been another balcony underneath, the kid would have fallen into the water. The ship had control over all of the alcohol. If you bring alcohol on the ship, they hold it for you until the last night of the cruise. So the only other place to get alcohol is at the bars. Where are the kids getting the alcohol? I understand that the alcohol sale on the ship is a major profit centre for the cruise company.

One night my wife and I decided to go to the midnight buffet. After we got our food, we sat down to eat. A group of twenty kids came roaring into the buffet yelling and screaming. There was NO security around at the time to try to calm the kids down. I know that the ship should not be a babysitter, but there should be some security around to try to stop this at night. The only time I did see security was when we embarked and disembarked the ship. I NEVER saw any security on the ship.

We ate at the Bernini and Donatello restaurants, personal choice seating. The food in the restaurants was good. After a while, it got to be very boring. The service in the restaurants was always good. One night my family and I went to Sabatini's. We had to pay an additional $20 a person to dine there. When our 13 year old daughter wanted to order a cola, they asked to see if she had prepaid for the soda. When you are paying an additional charge to dine, I would think that all non-alcoholic beverages would be included. I don't know who the brain at Princess cruises that thought this one up. This was just one of the many things that ruined our dining experience that night. The food at times was uneatable. I would not pay the extra $20 for this.

The buffet for breakfast was the best, although the food was almost exactly the same every day. One day we ate at Berninis' for breakfast. We all agreed that the buffet was better.

If you play craps, the game is very slow at the casino. I had one of the people running the game ask me where the nine was on the table. It takes the crap people a while to figure out the payoffs at the table. It ruins the rhythm of the game. If you do play, just be patient. Vegas this is not.

The three best excursions that we took were at Barbados, the sea turtle snorkel, very fun, the rain forest hike and swim in St. Lucia and the Trunk Bay swim at St. Thomas.

I was told by the purser to call the company to when we got back to tell them about the alcohol drinking by the underage passengers and about the lack of security on the ship. When I called the company, they told me to wait on the phone for twenty or thirty minutes. This is how concerned they are about getting you a better cruise experience.

In conclusion, with all that was right, there was so much more that was wrong with the Golden Princess and Princess cruises in general. I know that you can get to the same island with other cruise companies. My advice is to LOOK ELSWHERE!! This was my first cruise and it may be my last.

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Brianb's Response to quickfingers's Review

Written on: 06/11/2004

I have travelled around the Caribbean with Princess Cruises on a sister ship to the Golden. My first thoughts are that your main problems were with under age drinking, and your own kids being allowed access to alcohol. Firstly kids are the parents responsibility not Princess's, if you want to allow your 16 year old into an adult disco and drink then that's up to you. If they can behave responsibly where's the problem.
<br>As for drunken kids falling off a balcony, this sounds like something that has happened in a stateroom, and yes people do bring their own drink onboard despite Princess's efforts. So again this sounds like the parents fault.
<br>As for paying for sodas, it is clearly stated in the brochure that NO drinks other than in room tea and coffee are included. As for being bombarded with offers of paying for unlimited sodas on day one, when else would you want to be told about this (day 7??). $22.50 for the whole weeks drinks for the kids, bargain!!!
<br>I'm sorry if you didn't enjoy your first cruise, we had a ball on ours and are about to go on our second on the Golden Princess, so I'll follow up with a first hand review (you never know I may have to eat my words, but I doubt it).

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Dog1's Response to quickfingers's Review

Written on: 05/03/2006

My advice: educate yourself before you pay. Know what you should be getting. Go to www.cruisecritic.com for information you could have found out before going.
Babysit and take responsibility for YOUR kids/teens. Tell YOURS not to go in the bars. I don't want to pay more because YOU need babysitters/ship police when YOUR kids are somewhere they shouldn't be.

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