Golden Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
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Golden Princess - Should be called Tarnished Vagabond

Review for Hawaii Cruise on Golden Princess
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Chaimsohn
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Dec 2009

I chose the Golden Princess expecting to have a pleasant sail to and from Hawaii and anticipated that the service and food would be at least as good as a 5 day Carnival ship. I realize now that I set my food and service expectations too high!!! I traveled with my companion of 25 years. We were assigned the AnyTime Dining - this was terrible. I want to know who my servers are and I do not want to re-train the staff every night. I talked to the Head Waiter and after the 2nd night I was given a specific table for 2 and the same staff for the balance of the cruise. (This was the best thing to happen with respect to the dining.) From the first night until the last I found the following: The food was not hot, the entrees were frequently overcooked and tasteless. The "cream" soups had no cream, but instead were thickened with flour. The desserts (except for the ice-cream) were from canned fruits and the pastry was not light and buttery. I have found in my travels that complaining about the food really serves no purpose, so I just don't order or eat what is unpleasant. Unfortunately on the Golden Princess this left few choices for dinner. The soups were not edible, the Salmon was dry and tasteless, the meat was over-cooked EXCEPT for the lamb on the Chef's night. The salads claiming to have garden fresh tomatoes and avocados were a disgrace. We both agree that the Ice-Cream was excellent and the cookies from the International Cafe were the hit of the cruise. The wine selection was good and not overpriced, so we enjoyed a bottle of wine each night, with bread and ice-cream. By the 6th night we discovered that the chicken pannis from the International Cafe were the best meal, so this became our dinner. We realize that food in a buffet is typically so-so. Well the Golden Princess went out of its way to make the so-so unedible. By the 5th day the fruit was over-ripped. As for the spread in general - we tried eating here for breakfast and lunch, as the food in the dining room for breakfast was cold and/or tasteless, the the mini-sandwiches stale, the carving station was heavy on the pork and the one day they served turkey the meat was too tough to chew. I did enjoy making my own salad each day, although the vegetable choices were limited. As for our cabin, it was no better or worse than suites on other ships. However our room steward was never able to figure out when we were not in the room. If I forgot to put the "Do Not Disturb" on the door he would come in, this could be at 7:30am or 7:00pm. When I did put the "Please Clean Our Room" on the door, it might be 3-4 hours before our room was cleaned. I think that is a bit long to wait. This was my first and last time on a Princess Ship. I loved the sail to and from Hawaii, I was not interested in the Ports of call - but have no complaints about the itinerary. I will be looking for another ship to travel on to and from Hawaii.

Cabin Review

Cabin Sui

We stayed in D503. Our cabin was what we expected, although I would have liked a 2nd chair in the living area. Our view was what we expected, but the cigar smoke from our neighbors hindered our enjoyment. We did hear most of the conversations of people and staff in the hallways and everytime a door would close the noise carried into our room.

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