Golden Princess Review
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Having sailed on other lines previously, this was our first time on a Princess ship. There has been so much hype about Princess, I actually forced myself to be very neutral about this cruise line, lest I be disappointed (and I'm glad I did). My first impressions weren't that good when I was trying to navigate the Princess site to register. I have to say that they have one of the most user-unfriendly sites around, but several calls to customer service soon had us set.
We boarded the ship in Seattle ... all fourteen of us. Ten adults and four boys ages 6 - 10. Thankfully, we arrived in Seattle the day before so we were all rested and refreshed so the slow crowd on the gangway didn't ruffle any feathers. Embarkation was rather painless and we were soon in our cabins, ready to head out and explore the ship. All in all, the ship was well appointed and fairly easy to navigate. The only "downer" was with the quad cabins. Prior to sailing, I couldn't find any information as to the bunk layout and our T.A. assured me that there was no problem with having a queen bed below and the two bunks above .... wrong!! The bunks, when lowered from the ceiling, are positioned such that the upper bunks cannot be accessed unless there is a four, single bed configuration (I did take photos if anyone is interested). That said, we all had balconies and we had the attendant open the balconies so that the children could easily maneuver between three of the rooms ... which they loved.
The food on Princess was not memorable, except for our dinner in the Crown Grill (sans children). Our waiter was fantastic and we had so much food I think we all gained ten pounds just that one night alone. Everything was cooked to perfection and the food seemed endless. Drinks on the Golden were so-so and consistency was a problem. I have to add here that our main dining room waitperson, Paula, was absolutely fantastic as was her second in command. Our boys (the little ones AND the big ones) loved her and she was always cheerful and right there when anyone needed anything.
Cabin Review
Very nice layout for a balcony cabin. The balcony itself was good size and the overall room size was fine. I did love the fact that there was a little dressing area between the bathroom and the closet which separated it from the main cabin. The bathroom was a bit tiny but adequate (although the shower was one of the smallest I've seen on a ship). The Baja deck was perfect ... especially as it was misty while we were in Tracy Arm so we had a little protection overhead. Our location mid-ship was great, especially for that really rough day at sea we had. We were near the elevators but never heard them or people getting on or off.