General Ship Photos
Grand Suite Photos Grand Suite Guests
Various odd photos
The October 13th, 2001, Golden Princess maiden voyage out of Ft. Lauderdale, included the
usual security one has come to expect prior to boarding, however no lines lead to a swift
mid-afternoon embarkation. Having booked the Grand Suite for our 13th wedding anniversary
we looked forward to relaxing in this unique suite, totally different in design than the
Grand Princess 'Grand Suite'. Details on the suite will come later with our appreciation
as well as complaints. Enough travelogue, on to the nitty gritty.
The sister ship to the Grand Princess and physically identical in many ways, however the
subtle differences are what we came for and we certainly appreciated every one! We
love this class of ship and tried to look objectively at all the aspects. The decor,
'Personal Choice' dining and of course service are our main objectives on any cruise.
Taking a look at the ship photos will give you a great idea what life is all about on the
Grand Class ships.
Click on the photos for high resolution pictures
The 'Aces' Cardroom included small sandwiches along with complimentary sodas, etc. This
room stayed very busy throughout the cruise. So much so, it was difficult to take a
picture without being 'shooed' away by the very quiet crowd playing bridge, sprinkled with
a few Gin Rummy players.
Very subdued artwork throughout makes for a nice overall warm feel throughout. Those who
do not like the intense lighting, and decor of other cruise lines (use your imagination)
will love this ship.
Covering the rear Terrace pool on Aloha deck 12 for evening entertainment was a fabulous
idea we very much appreciated! We always think it's such a waste of space when the pools
close at night and nothing is 'happening'. Outdoors enjoying the breeze, sailing away from
St. Maartin as the sun set was absolutely what we needed.
Bernini Dining Room, where we dined 'Personal Choice' every evening. We were lucky enough
to have a wonderful waiter named Rafar, that took the extra trouble to insure, along with
the Maitre d' that we were able to hold a table in his section every night. This was a
test of the 'Personal Choice' dining system. It passed with flying colors, indeed service
was much better than traditional dining in our opinion...as our particular waiter had to
wait three tables, only one being a 10 seater and we never experienced anyone seated at
the table for 10 all week. One evening, the three of us (Don, Barry, Lori) dined at the
table for 10 alone because our table for four was not available. When we peeked,
main/second dining looked to be full at all tables. We dined leisurely and at our
tempo not the other way around. The food? More like Celebrity than Princess really,
we usually have at least something that is bland or cold when it should be spicey, hot,
etc. Not on this cruise, perhaps coincidence that the head Chef from L.A. was onboard? We
asked and were told he really stayed out of the way most of the time.
Rafar confirmed the idea is working wonderfully for he and his staff as well as all the
wait staff. More calm, less stress equals better for all. Be sure to ask for the 'special
reserve wine list' if you enjoy fine wines, the basic is good, but not great.
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