Just back from Golden Princess
Dec 24th, 2001, 07:06 AM
#1
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Just back from Golden Princess
Just back from Golden Princess eastern Caribbean cruise, with ports St. Martin, St. Thomas and Princess Cays.<BR><BR>Had a great time. Big, beautiful ship. Cruise was sold-out, but never felt crowded.<BR><BR>First time with Personal Choice dining. It worked well for us, we had a table for 2 every dinner except one. Would recommend everyone to make a table reservation every night if planning to dine between 6:30 and 8:30. Some people reserved the same table every night and thus got the same waiters. Two formal evenings. Rest were quite casual, many cruisers in blue jeans, shorts and sandals in PC dining rooms.<BR><BR>Dining room service was excellent. The portions were large and the food tasty. Recommend the prime rib!<BR><BR>Our cabin was large and well organized. The steward was excellent.<BR><BR>Love that Princess has a fridge in every cabin and fresh water, adult only pools.<BR><BR>Feel free to email me any Q's.
Dec 30th, 2001, 06:08 PM
#4
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Nope. I don't recall anything in the Patter about suggested dress.<BR><BR>I thought of a couple tips: Princess has no problem with passengers carrying their own (duty free) beverages on board. One seasoned cruiser travelled with his blender to make tropical smoothies. Secondly, there appeared to be laundry rooms with irons and ironing boards on every deck. $1 for a wash and 50 cents for a dry.
Dec 31st, 2001, 07:47 AM
#6
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Mark:<BR>We are going on Golden Princess Feb. 2.<BR>Did you eat at any time at Sabatini's? We have read great things about the brunch available with all the fabulous sea food and drinks but no mention of the evening meal there.<BR>Do you know if it's the same format as the brunch? Is it buffet or a-la- carte?<BR>Is cover charge the same $15?<BR>
Jan 5th, 2002, 08:23 AM
#8
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You can no longer bring booze for personal consumption aboard Princess-they have packages w/choice of booze, mix, etc you can purchase on board. Sabitini's is the best - incredible food and service, well worth the $15 charge - make reservations well in advance.
Jan 23rd, 2002, 07:11 PM
#11
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I was on Golden in November.<BR><BR>The reservation process for the Desert Rose and Sabitini's is not handled very well.<BR><BR>You can make reservations for both restaurants at Sabitini's on the first day. There are no phone reservations taken that I know of (perhaps later in the cruise, but definitely not the first day when you want to make your plans).<BR><BR>On that first afternoon, lines begin to form at Sabitini's a few hours into the boarding process. My fiance and I were lucky to get there early and be the 10th in line. By the time we got to the front the line had grown 5 fold. Why? Because 1 person takes the reservations in a booth where you are forced to sit down and discuss your life story with him.<BR><BR>Normally I would like the personalized service, but not while people are forced to stand waiting in a hallway when they could be enjoying their cruise.<BR><BR>But wait, here's the kicker. Those who were unfortunate enough to be waiting when the time came for the security drill had the doors shut in their face and were told to simply try again later...after some had waited for almost an hour!<BR><BR>Not a very good way to start off your cruise.<BR><BR>My advice...wait to make your reservations until the second day. The restaurants were rarely packed (even though our cruise was completely sold out). You may not get the absolute best reservation times, but you will save yourself the hastle of waiting in a long line on your first day of vacation.<BR><BR>-Tango<BR>
Feb 1st, 2002, 07:37 AM
#15
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We were on the Grand at Christmas time. We opted for personal choice and liked it because we could eat dinner when we wanted. The wait staff was very excellent and the meals were delicious. The only drawback was that you don't meet new people like you will with traditional seating. Yes, formal night is the same regardless of which dining room you choose. I never saw anyone in shorts for dinner but some did wear jeans on the casual nights. <BR><BR>Regarding the alcohol, they were searching everbody's belongings before re-entering the ship and "holding" the booze until the end of the cruise. You cannot buy/bring your own!!<BR><BR>Our room steward was horrible. He kept re-hanging our used, soiled, wet towels even though we left them on the floor. There was a spill spot on the balcony table the first day (from previous guests)...it stayed there for the entire cruise! I thought the overall cleanliness of the ship was below par compared to others (Celebrity) I've sailed on recently. We also thought the level of service was disappointing too.
Feb 1st, 2002, 08:52 AM
#16
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We sailed the Golden Princess the week before Christmas 2001. We sailed Celebrity Horizon Christmas Week 2000.<BR><BR>I found both ships to be very clean. The dining room service was superior on Princess. I suspect this was due to the fact that ships are packed for Christmas week. Many more families.<BR><BR>I can only relate my experience, but I never saw Princess confiscate any bottles. Sure they x-rayed the larger bags. But, on St. Maarten and St. Thomas people were carrying boxes of duty free bargain bottles.<BR><BR>Personal choice dinner reservations are made daily by phone, starting around 8:30 a.m.<BR><BR>We have cruised four times and our cabin steward was excellent every time.
