Hi, everybody!!

My husband and I are 1st-time cruisers and I want to pick everybody's brain about cruising so as to avoid pitfalls/take advantage of knowledge, etc,etc,etc.

ANY ROTARIANS CRUISING 4/22?!?

Husband plays golf and so that is an option if anyone knows info on THAT.

Any really SUPERFUN things to do in the various ports? Anything TO AVOID??

THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE,
skbnwinters ;O)

we'll be on the Golden as well! See you there. This will be my 4th with Princess (was on the Sapphire, Coral and Diamond in the past).

Hello. Since this is your 4th cruise, you must feel pretty at-home on board. I envy that!

Seems a little overwhelming still, right now.

My first question is prompted from a GREAT review I just read but it was from 2005, don't know if I should post to one that old, and it was for the DIAMOND, not Golden.

DO YOU RECOMMEND TRADITIONAL DINING VS flexible? Why? Why not, etc?

Do kids really go berserk around the pool area as this is my favorite place and I am not the type to just look the other way if it is too, too noisy or DANGEROUS even. Don't the lifeguards do their jobs?? Isn't there a nice, quiet ADULTS ONLY POOL?! THAT would be yummy. :O)

I'm thinking that with so much time to prepare in advance that all will go smoothly.

Sounds like a WONDERFUL LIFE, cruisin'! Cheers, skbnwinters

quote:

Originally posted by HeyEliza:
we'll be on the Golden as well! See you there. This will be my 4th with Princess (was on the Sapphire, Coral and Diamond in the past).

We just came back on a 7d on the Diamond and I just wrote a review here. Wait maybe a day or 2 for them to post that. No need to be overwhelmed, just come to have a great time.

We've always picked anytime seating so I can't really comment on the traditional. I could be wrong but I think in 2004 at the Sapphire, they had 4 anytime dining rooms and each one had a diffent menu. They had a Asian restaurant (Pacific Moon), Southwestern (Santa Fe), a steakhouse (Sterling) and Vivaldi (Italian) which made sense. It was great bec that evening you can decide whether you want Italian or Asian food. I could be wrong then but what was different this year on the Diamond was that all 4 served the same menu each night and each dining room had a specialty dish.

The anytime dining still had a wait if you didn't have reservations. It's not hard to get reservations although the specialty dining like Sabatini could be full for formal nights. Our days were pretty predictable on the ship so we kinda knew what time we wanted to eat so I just called ahead for a reservation anyway.
The service at any of dining rooms were great so regardless of which you pick, you can't go wrong.

Yes, there's a adults only pool. I think on the Sapphire there was even a topless area. This last cruise on the Diamond, there were more kids than the longer cruises. I didn't see the sign for a topless area :-)

Noise also bothers me but i never once thought through the 7d that a kid was doing something annoying. I guess it really depends, i remember seeing just a handful of kids at the Coral.

Sorry for the long post, hope this helps.

Eliza

quote:

Originally posted by skbnwinters:
My first question is prompted from a GREAT review I just read but it was from 2005, don't know if I should post to one that old, and it was for the DIAMOND, not Golden.

DO YOU RECOMMEND TRADITIONAL DINING VS flexible? Why? Why not, etc?

Do kids really go berserk around the pool area as this is my favorite place and I am not the type to just look the other way if it is too, too noisy or DANGEROUS even. Don't the lifeguards do their jobs?? Isn't there a nice, quiet ADULTS ONLY POOL?! THAT would be yummy. :O)

Hi skbnwinters, and welcome to Cruise-Chat!

We were on Diamond Princess last year to Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas. The Golden Princess itinerary is somewhat different, but there are a couple of overlaps.

As to your questions, as we were onboard in 2005, same year as the reviewer...


We prefer traditional dining as I enjoy the rapport that develops between the dining room team and the passengers, as they tend to learn your likes and dislikes very quickly. For instance, I like to close out my dinner with a cup of tea and a cheese plate, and this was brought to me without having to ask past the first night. I also like knowing that my table is there waiting for me every night and that I will not have to wait in line. The downside to traditional dining is that you might want to spend more time onshore without rushing to get back for an early seating, or you might find the late dining time a bit too late. Of course, there is always the buffet for those evenings, but it is not nearly the same.

There was an adults-only pool on Diamond Princess for our sailing, but I did not use it as I had a child with me. I did note some kids running around the general pool area and cannonballing into the pool, so my son and I would just come back when those hooligans were not there. But, be assured that there is an adult-only pool. I walked by it a few times and it was quiet. There is also a deck one up from the general pool, under the retractable cover, that overlooks the pool but is out of the "line of fire" of any unruly kids. I spent some time here and enjoyed.

LisaP....you sound like somebody I'd like to talk to since you have been to 2 of the cities we will stop in. Here's the problem:

I want VERY MUCH to do the horseback ride to the waterfalls. HOWEVER, it seems cruisers are knocked out BOTH AM & PM!

I have emailed the contact and asked if he couldn't roll back the leave time or assure me we will be back in time....leave time and maybe we could put his entire group together thus making it nice for HIM, too.

WHAT DID YOU DO IN ACAPULCO AND CABO? (I know we are going to see the cliffdivers, fer sure.)

Thanks.

In Cabo San Lucas, we did the cruise line's excursion that included both a boat ride to view Los Arcos up close (excellent) and a stop at a beach (good -- but my son would rate it excellent). Our travel companions went whale watching, in addition to their Los Arcos boat trip, and said it was spectacular.

We didn't go to Acapulco. Some other time...

Regarding the horseback ride, if it's something you really want to do, it may be worth it to bite the bullet, so to speak, and go with the cruise line.

Thank you so much for the info because I am finding it difficult to book anything....either because the ship doesn't get there in TIME TO LEAVE or we don't get back to THE SHIP IN TIME. Smackdown comin' and goin'!

Soooo....we'll see. Like you say, maybe the CRUISE tours will have to do but they won't let me book....is it TOO FAR IN ADVANCE or something?

Thanks again. :O)