We chose this cruise because it had a great last minute price, was going to three places we had not visited, and we wanted to try Princess. Princess did not disappoint us. The Golden is a beautiful ship that still has a small ship feel to it.

Embarkation was very easy. We arrived early, around 10:30AM. We were on board with time to explore before the dining room opened for lunch (12:00PM). We highly recommend starting the cruise with a quiet, elegantly served lunch in the dining room as opposed to the busy buffet. We did the treasure hunt where the passengers go to the different stores and services for an initial or stamp on their card. After collecting them all, we turned our card in at the pool party for a drawing. Not many people participate, and there are a lot of fun prizes. We won dinner for two at Sabatini's, the Italian restaurant. The dinner there was truly memorable. Seventeen unique courses preceded our entree of lobster.

Food throughout the cruise was very good. There were a lot of interesting appetizers. We loved the crusty bread, cold fruit soups, and flavorful sorbets. We had traditional dining at 5:30 and always had impeccable service. We were sorry we couldn't enjoy the delicious sandwiches in the International Cafe more often, but one can only eat so much. Ice cream on the Lido deck was a treat. We did get a coffee card and found the hot specialty drinks to be weak on flavor, and the iced drinks to be the weak hot drinks poured over ice. Read more