Review: Golden Princess NYC-Halifax

After receiving the email from Princess offering a 4-day cruise for
$169, there was only one logical thing to do: Book it. It's cheaper
than staying home. The offer was for an inside cabin on a round-trip
cruise from New York to Halifax, departing October 19, 2003. With
taxes and fees, the cost was still only $200.

This was my sixth cruise, including a past cruise on the Golden
Princess in 2001, and other Princess, RCCL, and Celebrity cruises. My
wife, Susan, has been on some 25 cruises on many different lines.

We drove from our home in northwestern New Jersey to New York. It was
one hour from leaving home to exiting the Lincoln Tunnel. At about
11:30 AM, we were looking from our car into the bridge of the Golden
Princess. It was another hour and a half till we were able to get out
of the car. The traffic was a nightmare, even by New York standards.
There were 4 cruise ships in port (Golden, QE2, RCCL Serenade, and NCL
Dawn). If I ever do this again, I will try something different.
Those on the cruise came many different ways, but the passengers
happiest with their experience took a train from NJ to NYC and then a
taxi to within 2 blocks of the pier, then a short walk with luggage in
tow.

The personnel in the New York cruise ship terminal were not the nicest
people you could imagine. I will try to forget the details. Parking
was $24/day. Expensive, yes, but not so expensive as to make me seek
alternatives. However, the traffic situation made me swear never to
do that again.

After parking, embarkation was pretty fast. We were upgraded to an
obstructed-view cabin that really had a great view. We found the
cabin ourselves. I'm not really an old-timer, but I sure do prefer
being walked to my cabin. Despite having been on this ship
previously, we had to stop a few times to ask for directions.

We went to the Horizon court buffet for lunch. It was very good. I
started to forget the hassles of traffic.

We decided to take a short walk to the USS Intrepid museum. As we
were getting off the ship, they warned us to be on board by 3:30,
while we thought we had till 4:30. This gave us only an hour for the
museum, so we decided we'd rather see the museum on the day we
returned. The weather was nice so we walked over to it anyway. We
were reminded how rude the cruise terminal staff were. On our return,
they couldn't understand the concept that we had already been on
board. One even lectured us that we're in a foreign country and have
to carry our passports and obey the local rules. He even laughed at
his own stupidity when we said we were from New Jersey. I'm still not
sure what he was thinking. Perhaps he thought we were crew.

At sail-away, we talked to an assistant cruise director, who told us
every cabin had been filled, though there were a lot of singles so the
passenger count was 2400 (capacity is 2600).

Most other couples we talked to paid the same fare we paid, and had
similar cabins. Almost all were from the New York area. We don't
make a habit of comparing prices on board, but everyone was so excited
at the deal they got, it was a common conversation opener. We heard
from other people over the week that paid much more for the cruise (as
much as $800/person for an outside cabin). Another person won $500 in
a lottery, and went to a TA and said "find me a cruise for $500."
Guess what she paid? $500. The moral of the story: Choose your TA
carefully. I'd be happy to recommend mine. Some people used an
Automobile Affiliation Agency (get my drift?) with an otherwise good
reputation and ended up pretty unhappy.

Entertainment: This is the primary reason our next cruise will be on
RCCL. Our last 3 cruises in a row have been on Princess. We've seen
the same mediocre production shows offered on all 3 cruises. The
music is pre-recorded, and played way too loud. On the Sun Princess,
we actually saw dancers wearing fake microphones to make it look as if
they were actually singing. Admittedly, the singers and dancers on
this cruise were the best of any we've seen on Princess, and I didn't
notice any fake mikes. We skipped the Gaetano magic show, though we
did enjoy it the first time. We were happy to see guitarist Duncan
Tuck perform again.

Dinner: We chose traditional early dining. Service was acceptable.
Our dining companions were pleasant. The menu was similar to previous
Princess cruises. Lobster was not offered. Lobster Bisque was really
just tomato soup with fish scraps in it. Alaskan king crab legs were
offered in abundance but were mediocre. Baked Alaska was offered and
was quite good. I was disappointed to see Princess started charging
for espresso drinks in the dining room. The regular coffee is not
very good anywhere on the ship. Fresh bread has always been excellent
on Princess. Assistant waiter was transparent, offering in one breath
"I'd like to recommend the berries for dessert and by the way there's
a wine tasting tomorrow; would it be OK if I bring you tickets." He
never recommended anything at any other meal. One table mate was
embarrassed because she believed it was a sincere offer, as opposed to
a sales pitch. I was happy to see she turned him down when he asked
for her cruise card. I don't like to see this kind of behavior
rewarded.

Breakfast: I was disappointed not to find salmon anywhere on the
buffet (whereas on past Princess cruises I had it every day). I was
disappointed to find the only omelettes offered were those sitting in
a warming tray. Even in the dining room for breakfast, there was no
offer of made-to-order omelettes. Some passengers tried pleading for
made-to-order omelettes with mixed success. This seems to be a
strange way to try to save money. How much money could this possibly
cost?

Horizon Court buffet: Meals at the buffet were generally quite good.
Salads (e.g. hearts of palm, shrimp, or pasta) were creative and very
good. They had great guacamole almost always available. They had
fresh, ripe cherry tomatoes on the salad bar. Drink service was
prompt, and not pushy. Crowds were usually tolerable. Some
individual passengers were rude and pushy.

Halifax: We took a taxi tour to Peggy's Cove. We split a taxi with
another couple, so it was about US $30 per person with tip. The taxi
driver was happy to give the city tour for no extra charge. It was
much cheaper than a ship's tour, and probably more enjoyable. Still,
I think Peggy's Cove could be skipped if you've ever been to similar
areas, such as New England. We saw the Citadel, which also falls into
the category of interesting but is not a must-see attraction. I
enjoyed walking the city and looking in the shops near the ship (I
believe it was called the Pier 21 shops) which sold some interesting
items.

Upon leaving Halifax, the captain warned us over the PA that we might
be in for a rough ride home. He reported 12-18 foot seas and a lot of
wind. The ship heaved and groaned a bit. Some passengers had
problems. We were fine except for walking like drunks. We'd
experienced much worse movement on the Golden in 2001 in swells
following hurricane Michelle.

Intrepid Museum: If you would like to see the Intrepid after a
cruise, it's not as easy as you might think. The now-notorious port
personnel told me it's OK to leave my car in the lot while we go to
the museum. OK, so how do I get to the car? "One person stays here
with the luggage while the other gets the car." But I want to take my
luggage to the car. "Oh, you can't do that. Nobody ever does that.
How would you do that?" Sigh. That's what I'm asking. I tried
another person. Eventually, I figured out the problem: you need to
use an escalator to get to the roof-top parking, and they won't allow
any luggage on the escalator. If you want to take your luggage to the
car, you need to find the stairs, which are not well marked. I don't
recommend this, but it worked. The Intrepid museum and Growler sub
were very interesting. They also have some moving 9-11 displays and
artifacts. Upon our return to the parking lot, most of the terminal
was locked up because the Golden had sailed away without any
passengers by noon, and we had a hard time getting to our car. Caveat
sailor.

Overall experience: Very nice overall. For what we paid, it was an
outstanding vacation. I was worried that 4 days would not be enough
to relax, but it was. It's amazing how easy it is to escape crowds on
such a big ship. Try Skywalker's (the top floor disco) during a day
at sea for a very peaceful place to watch the world go by. There were
about 5 people in the whole lounge, each with their own isolated view
of the ocean, and most were curled up quietly with a book. Also, one
night we used the hot tubs near the gym with no other people in sight
the whole time we were there (45 minutes).

Miscellaneous observations: The Princess staff (mostly) seems to
really want to please the passengers. They don't push drinks, they
don't mind special requests, and they seem interested in the
passengers as people. I like the soda card, and the staff doesn't
seem to mind getting soda when they see it. The drink staff even gets
coffee or tea when asked. The ship looks as nice as when it was new.
They changed the Southwestern restaurant layout to reduce
through-traffic. They also opened up the internet café to be more
visible. I'm not certain, but I think the library and card room area
has been reconfigured. One or two internet terminals were added to
the library. In the space where they used to offer to take your photo
and print it on magazine covers, etc, is now just a photo services
lab, and still seems like completely wasted space. After two cruises
on this ship, I never did find the mini-golf (no, I didn't try very
hard). The casino's 25-cent slots accept dollars but not quarters
(verified), and they pay out in tokens (allegedly). I like having our
names posted outside the door. I don't like all the junk mail they
put in the mail box ("sea-mail") but it's easy to ignore, and it's
better than if it were slid under the door. The Princess Patter is
too cluttered. Ship's photographers now use digital cameras.

Now we're booked on Mariner of the Seas in January. I'm excited to
see a Voyager-class ship, and I'm looking forward to the better and
varied entertainment of RCCL. I'm also looking forward to a different
menu. I'm not looking forward to the RCCL staff pushing drinks,
especially the way they do at sail-away and by the pools (no, I still
don't want a Bahamamama). I will miss the fresh water pools and hot
tubs, especially in the evenings when RCCL usually closes theirs.

Thanks to all the others who post cruise reviews regularly. To those
who found my review useful, I encourage you to post your own reviews,
however short or long they may be.

Eric

Great review Eric. Thanks.

Howard

Great review but I can't understand your fascination with visiting the
Intrepid Museum (pre or post cruise) when you are so close! It is a
nice museum but.........

1: You almost risk missing your ships departure
2: You have to hand carry your luggage up several flights of stairs
3: You almost get locked out of your car until the next day

We drove from our home in northwestern New Jersey to New York. It was
one hour from leaving home to exiting the Lincoln Tunnel.

Good review, I loved the part:

One even lectured us that we're in a foreign country and have
to carry our passports and obey the local rules. He even laughed at
his own stupidity when we said we were from New Jersey. I'm still not
sure what he was thinking. Perhaps he thought we were crew.

Don't you need a passport to leave NJ?, ROFLMAO
I know when ever I have talked to someone from NJ, I speak real slow. VBG

I also agree with you he

Breakfast: I was disappointed not to find salmon anywhere on the
buffet (whereas on past Princess cruises I had it every day).

I try to have something with fish at every meal, when cruising and would be
a little disappointed too.

Mike Quint

If you get an "obstructed-view" cabin that falls between lifeboats, the view
can be great. As compared to being right next to a lifeboat and your vision
is blocked below.

--
Greg
lid
(Remove the '.invalid' twice to send Email)


"CupCaked" wrote in message
...
(Eric Jung) wrote:

I'm not sure I understand. A cabin with an obstructed view with a
great view?

Anyway, thanks for the review. I love reading them, too :-)

Karen

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http://www.cupcaked.com/reviews
(...and leave off the "potatoes" to e-mail)

We had a partially obstructed view on the Golden Princess last year and on
the NCL Dream this year. You are between lifeboats so the view is good
except to the sides. Well worth the savings in $ in my opinion.
Laura
"CupCaked" wrote in message
...
(Eric Jung) wrote:

After parking, embarkation was pretty fast. We were upgraded to an
obstructed-view cabin that really had a great view.

I'm not sure I understand. A cabin with an obstructed view with a
great view?

Anyway, thanks for the review. I love reading them, too :-)

Karen

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http://www.cupcaked.com/reviews
(...and leave off the "potatoes" to e-mail)

Well, when I write cruise reviews, I try to point out the good and the
bad of the cruise. I also try to share my good ideas and my
not-so-good ideas. I did say "I don't recommend this."

Eric

(Adolfo2) wrote in message . com...
Great review but I can't understand your fascination with visiting the
Intrepid Museum (pre or post cruise) when you are so close! It is a
nice museum but.........

1: You almost risk missing your ships departure
2: You have to hand carry your luggage up several flights of stairs
3: You almost get locked out of your car until the next day

We drove from our home in northwestern New Jersey to New York. It was
one hour from leaving home to exiting the Lincoln Tunnel.