Golden Princess Review
Rating by category
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Food: We thought that Princess would be better than Carnival, although they are owned by the same company. We like Carnival better for the most part and Norwegian is also better than Princess. The food in the dining room was awful, just plain awful. My husband will eat anything and he even hated it. We were a party of four and we were seated at a table for two at the very back side of the restaurant despite having told the cruise line that one of our party walks with a walker! There was a step up to get to the part of the dining room we were in and she could barely manage it and there was no room for the walker. This made us feel bad. We like to drink tea, there wasn't even room on this table for two to put four small pots of tea so they had the nerve to tell us to share, keeping in mind those pots contain hot water for one person. Awful! The food in the buffet was gross; there was no omelette bar, just weird scrambled eggs floating in water and mushy toast. So food, not good at all. One thing we liked food wise was that there were little cafes that were included in the price that you could get little cakes etc and tea and that is something we didn't see on any other ship. That was nice.
Cleanliness of public areas and rooms:The public areas of the ship were dirty when we cruised in 2010 but more recent reviews have said that has improved; I hope so. When we went the arms of the upholstered chairs were disgusting, you could have scraped dirt off of them. The rooms were clean and comfortable and the room stewards were so great.
Entertainment: Top notch on this ship, a real saving grace. The band, "Indigo" played and they are fantastic. The music director at that time was great too, he took the time to talk to my son who plays the drums and was very personable. The naturalist onboard was simply fantastic. She took the time to explain a few things to my son for his project which was due upon our arrival back home, a real personal touch.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Hallways on this ship are not safe! There are cleaning carts parked all day and night and never removed, even when not in use. Please note, wheelchairs and walkers can't get by these carts and there are at least five in each hall so it's like a gauntlet trying to get anywhere. Even people walking have to turn sideways to pass these obstructions which are a fire hazard that is illegal in any nation I know if. In Canada, a firefighter must be able to navigate a corridor in full gear without impediment of any kind; on this ship, that would be impossible! And please note that I have photo evidence of our friend's wheelchair and walker with this cart to prove that they cannot pass in the halls. If a person is unable to stand briefly and fold up the chair or walker, they cannot get past. A person alone in a wheelchair who can't stand will not get out of their hallway. This is a fire hazard and Princess ignores it despite all the problems their owner's Carnival corporation has had recently. It's a disaster waiting to happen on this ship. I have never seen a ship with cleaning carts in the halls all day and night and never put away when not in use and I have been on six cruises so I know what I'm talking about. I don't know how Princess gets away with breaking fire codes that apply in most nations. Is it because they don't care because they're registered elsewhere? Those carts are a disaster waiting to happen and despite repeated requests to move them when not in use, nothing was ever done. Seriously, this is a disaster waiting to happen.