This was our eighth cruise (second 14-day to Hawaii), but our first cruise with Princess. Having read a number of reviews of the Golden Princess, most of which were positive, but some of which were less than helpful, this review is offered with the hope that it might be of some benefit to a future cruise traveler.

We flew in and out of Los Angeles International (LAX) and used Prime Time Shuttle for transportation to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Pedro and from the Los Angeles World Cruise Center back to LAX upon disembarkation. The shuttle was booked and paid online and worked well both pre- and post-cruise, although the wait was longer than expected (45 minutes) at the front end. Total cost was $74 round trip for two persons and luggage which included a $5 tip each way. The trip to the hotel took about 45 minutes. The trip back to the airport took about 35 minutes (we were off the ship and through security at LAX by 10:15 AM).

The Crowne Plaza was an excellent choice for the pre-cruise stay. The facility was reasonably priced, reasonably clean and maintained and conveniently located just blocks from the World Cruise Center. The staff was friendly and their free shuttle to the cruise terminal started at 10:30 AM and took less than 10 minutes door to door. Read more