The perfect cruise was planned for over a year. We would sail on April 1 from LA to Hawaii and back aboard the Golden Princess. Luxury, great food, super staff - all based on a previous Princess Cruise that offered such an experience. Wrong! Seems the Golden Princess was scheduled for dry-dock at the end of the cruise. Unfortunately, the esteemed owners didn't wait until the ship returned to LA. Some venues (area for small children, the Arcade for starters) were never available and as the trip progressed more and more areas closed - the casino, pools, hot tubs (and they put more and more deck chairs away each day). By the time the ship docked in LA, even the shops had closed and paper was taped to the windows. And who wants to see workers hauling building materials along the decks, hear hammers, drills and other construction equipment day and night?

All that, coupled with food that ranged from okay to awful (the Desert Rose Restaurant was an exception), an indifferent and often surly wait staff (especially in Horizon's), waiters that argued amongst themselves as well as with passengers made looking forward to dinner a joke.

We were lucky enough to have a wonderful cabin attendant! Read more