This was a rather inexpensive last-minute cruise for us, but we would not do it again.It was our first cruise on the Golden which we find too big, too crowded, very noisy (even in the library) and above all far too cold, we felt we were in a meat-locker. Going to Hawaii, we had packed a light windbreaker and sweater/jacket each. We wore them every single day and needed fleece in the public rooms.

Our "fully obstructed oceanview" cabin was great. The bottom of our large window looked over the top of the lifeboat below, so we had plenty of view and daylight. It was also the only place where we could control the temperature and be comfortable. Emerald Deck amidships was an ideal location on this rather rough and rocky trip, we wonder how much the balconies higher up actually got used. Since we'd been to Hawaii four times before and in fact got married there 22 years ago, we'd hoped for some warm weather but the highest temp we ever reached was 74. It was mostly overcast or cloudy and rained in Maui.

Back to the basics. The food in the dining room ranged from wonderful to inedible, but the service in the Bernini Anytime Dining Room was excellent, although it slipped during the last couple of days. I had requested low-fat/low-cholesterol, but after the first 3 days the head-waiter became unavailable and I was left to my own decisions and that was fine. There was plenty to choose from, I used good judgment and portion-control and neither DH nor I gained an ounce, in fact we lost a couple of pounds, even after the gargantuan feast in Sabatini's. Read more