This was our 5th Princess cruise, previously sailing on the Coral (twice), Dawn and Grand, 4th time to Alaska. Our group consisted of one senior, four adults and one teen.
We used the same car service for our trips to the pier and from the pier back to SEATAC. Clean car, good service.
We arrived in Seattle from Los Angeles on a Friday afternoon and were taken to the hotel by Seattle Towncar & Limo Association, which was the company referred to us by the hotel, Seattle Marriott Waterfront. We have stayed at this hotel before and chose it for the close proximity to the cruise ship terminals. NCL is right across the street and Princess and HAL are approximately at 15 minute drive down the street. It is an ideal place to stay before/after a cruise and is a 5-7 minute walk to Pike Place Market. There is also a Cost Plus World Market on the way to Pike, which we found was a great place to buy some wine to take onboard.
We used the same car service for our trips to the pier and from the pier back to SEATAC. Clean car, good service.
Two weeks before our trip the our travel agent called to tell us that Princess had upgraded us from 3 mini-suites on the Dolphin Deck mid-ship to 3 Penthouse suites on the Sun Deck aft.
EMBARKATION: Went smooth enough, small line but we arrived at noon and expected that. Once inside there is a separate line for Elite & Penthouse guests, which then made it faster. We typically never arrive that early but wanted to get on to enjoy the Penthouse balconies because we had ordered chips and salsa, fruit and cheese and veggies and dip prior to the cruise and it was such a beautiful day to be out there(about 78 degrees).
CABINS: Wonderful! The Penthouse cabins are very similar to the mini-suite cabins on the Dawn. We had three in a row so once the balcony doors were all open it was huge. We moved all the round teak tables into the middle balcony and had a wonderful afternoon snack. The balconies are completely covered here and the furniture is teak, 2 chaise lounges, 2 chairs all with cushions and one round table. One balcony for a Penthouse suite is probably double that of a mini-suite. Rooms were 99.9% quiet, on occasion you could here someone running on the above deck and some mornings you could here the staff putting out deck chairs but it was brief and not too troubling.
The hallway leading into these cabins is very quiet, roomy and elegant. Not a lot of foot traffic at all. Although you will know when there is a wedding, because right across from the rooms in the Hearts & Minds wedding chapel. Ten steps away from the cabin is a door out to the back of the ship, where it was almost always deserted. So if you miss the whale sighting or a great sunset from your balcony you could be out to the back of the ship in less than 10 seconds.
When you open the cabin door you have a small area then there is a second door that takes you into a bit of a foyer area. Take an immediate left and you step up into the bathroom, go straight and you have a desk and chair on the right and a kind of wet bar area and fridge on the left. Past the desk is a couch and table. A beautiful fruit basket and flower arrangement awaited us and there is one set of sliding doors. Then you can turn to the left where there is another set of sliding doors and the bed. To the left of the bedroom is another desk and chair. Continue to your right and that is another step up into the bathroom, straight will take you to a walk in closet. Small as far as walk in's go, but large for a ship. Closet had ample hanging room and two drawers. The closet door can be shut. Right outside the closet is a built in that when opened on top houses your safe and the bottom has four deep drawers. The bathroom was spacious with one area right off the bedroom that had the jacuzzi tub and separate shower. It walked through to the sink area that had storage on both sides and then you can walk right out to the foyer area.
The beds were both comfortable and there is a curtain that can be drawn separating the sleeping area on the couch pull-out from the bedroom. When you have a teen who stays out late and sleeps in, it becomes helpful as you can still access the bathroom without disturbing them. As we had three cabins right next to one another we could just go out through our sliding doors on the bedroom side and go through one of the other cabins if we wanted to leave. Rooms were quite spacious to say the least.
There are many services provided only to Penthouse suite guests that some may not know about. Welcome glass of champagne (for all suites), free Internet and/or wifi access throughout the ship, free dry cleaning and/or laundry, free corsage and boutonniere on first formal night. One-time mini-bar set up (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Tonic Water, Mineral Water, Beer and small bottles of Vodka, Whiskey etc.) FYI you can exchange small bottles of the hard stuff for soda if you ask your room steward. Chocolate dipped strawberries and/or assorted chocolates on formal nights at turn down. Free deluxe canapes delivered every afternoon. Room service menu is different, as you have a choice of eggs and some breakfast meats in addition to the regular fare. You may have afternoon tea and meals from the dining room delivered right to your suite. You will actually get a copy of the daily menu that is posted outside the dining rooms in your suite every morning. You can get room service, including meals from the dining room delivered in your suite the morning of disembarkation.
We are "middle of the ship" cruisers and prone to motion sickness so staying all the way aft sounded a bit scary, especially on the 15th deck. Surprisingly, it worked out fine. It was a little rocky the first two nights but nothing Dramamine couldn't take care of and talking to other passengers it sounded like it was rough anywhere on the ship.
The Golden was very similar in looks to the Crown because of the Piazza. Overall, she is a nice looking ship, clean and modern. The shops look the same as most Princess ships, but we always walk through anyway. Did not use the services of the Photo, Medical, Casino or Bars so I cannot comment on those. Our sixteen year old son went to the teen center and said it wasn't as entertaining as other ships but it was a good place to meet other teens. We visited the shore excursion desk, future cruise sales and purser's desk, all with very little wait and good service. We chose this cruise because we like the Alaska itinerary. We thought the naturalist Michael M. was really cheesy and the Park Ranger in Glacier Bay was not much better. A little less about the personal lives and a little more on the wildlife and history of Alaska please!! I know several people will disagree with that because I saw cruiser's swooning over him during his book signing.
Now on to the food......we are not formal night people and on previous cruises we have mostly eaten in the buffet and on occasion in the dining room. For us to be able to get dining room meals served in our suite was awesome, twice we ate out on the balcony when in port, which with 6 of us it was a lot of fun. Anyway....the food....one word.....HORRIBLE! Five out of the six of us are vegetarians and at first I thought maybe it was just that we had few choices and little taste but after talking with my hubby (who is the lone meat eater) said all his food was bland at best! Maybe the head chef was lacking in the taste bud department? The coffee was also really bad, bitter and just plain gross! On all previous Princess ships both the food and coffee were good, sometimes great, but not this time.
DISEMBARKATION: Again, went very smoothly. Since we were in the Penthouse we were allowed to use the Captain's Circle Disembarkation Lounge which was in Sabitini's. Very nice, not crowded and they offered USA Today's, coffee (still bad), tea, water and OJ. Also a small selection of pastries. You get a small (3-5 minute) head start on your color leaving before the general population which can help you avoid some of the crowds in getting out. For example, when the Circle Host announced "Red 7" we got up and left, walking through the Vista Lounge on the way out and when we were all the way through the staff member in the lounge announced "Red 7".
Overall, the cruise was great, except for the food. We all had a good time and we always enjoy the scenery and wildlife in Alaska. Princess got us hooked on the Penthouses, not so much because of the rooms but because of the large covered balconies and services provided to the Penthouse. We had already booked our next cruise for July 2011 in the Mediterranean prior to this Alaska cruise but we upgraded from mini-suites too Penthouses. We are hoping for better tasting food and coffee on the Grand Princess!
