Golden Princess: a further refinement of Princess Cruises' Grand plans - new cruise ship

Cruise Travel, July-August, 2002 by Theodore W. Scull

Can the sweet life at sea top this--a lofty perch ensconced within a tubular glass pod suspended 155 feet above the foaming wake? By swiveling 180 degrees, the entire length of the Golden Princess stretches away before me toward the horizon. Skywalkers, this space-age capsule. provides a quiet lounge during the day and a pulsating disco at night. Even access is cool--a travelator (a moving walkway) slopes upward from the deck below.

The 109,000-gross-register-ton Golden Princess entered service in May 2001 as the newest sister to the line's Grand Princess, splitting her time between wintering in the Eastern Caribbean and summering in the Western Mediterranean. (In the world of megaliners, the Golden Princess falls roughly between Carnival Cruise Lines' 102,000-grt Carnival Destiny class and Royal Caribbean's 142,000-grt Voyager of the Seas class.) With a service speed of 22.5 knots and an overall length of 935 feet, the Golden Princess is huge, and the long treks between cabin, lounges, restaurants, and outside decks are constant reminders of her mass. Yet within she seems smaller, because the scale of public rooms aims not to overwhelm.

Unless you delight in bounding up and down scores of steps, the elevators linking the 14 passenger decks will see lots of use, and it is worth experimenting to find the best routes to avoid lengthy waits. The elegant and understated three-story atrium has attractive metal work covering the lift shafts and balconies, which are for looking into the well and enjoying the quartet that fills the void with music.

The three main restaurants--named after the Italian artists Bernini, Donatello, and Canaletto--offer both traditional reserved tables at two seatings and restaurant-style open-seating that allows dinner passengers to request a table between 5:30 p.m. and midnight. Some passengers come aboard with specific dining reservations, then decide to switch to open-seating part way into the cruise. A bit of confusion and a wait for a table may occur during the busiest dining times between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.

The food is good standard fare in the main dining rooms, but something rather special is offered in the theme restaurants. At Sabatini's, the Italian staff hopes you will arrive hungry and with time on your hands because the multi-course Italian tasting menu includes eight antipasti, four kinds of pizza, minestrone soup, salad, three pastas, a choice of six entrees such as tiger prawns, sea scallops or veal chop, and four desserts. They don't take kindly to, or even begin to understand, "No thank you, I am full." Reservations are required, and the $15 extra charge is well worth the outlay.

The Desert Rose, a walk-through lunch and dinner venue, has a Southwestern Tex-Mex design and food such as tequila chicken fajitas, white-bean enchiladas, and chili- and cumin-rubbed catfish fillet--four tasty courses for a moderate $8 charge. Casual and low-key, it's worth a return visit.

High up on Lido Deck, Horizon Court is open 24 hours, and late at night a section becomes a wait-served bistro, a feature on all Princess ships. The pool area has a grill for hamburgers and hot dogs plus a second counter for pizza by the slice. Sundaes and scoops of ice cream come with shoreside prices.

Three entertainment lounges include the two-level Princess Theater for the lavish shows; the smaller Vista Showlounge for singers, comedians, and lecturers; and Explorers, featuring a band playing amid the wild jungle animals of the Egyptian, Moroccan, and tropical decor.

Clubby and sedate, the dark-paneled Wheelhouse Bar is a pre-dinner gathering place enveloped in P&O maritime art, ship models, and photographs--an attractive collection touting the company's 165-year history trading to the British Empire, carrying immigrants, colonial servants, travelers, and troops, in addition to offering leisurely cruises. Other public spaces include the vast Atlantis Casino, attractive open-plan lounge bars facing the atrium, and of course, that high-up perch in the sky.

One of four main pools, widely separated to help distribute the masses of sun worshippers, is positioned under an all-weather retractable glass roof, and a second features a mildly strong current to pretend swimming mightily against. Three have flanking whirlpools, social centers for all ages all day and into the night. The large-windowed spa is high and forward on Sun Deck and offers aerobics, steam rooms, saunas, massage, a beauty parlor, and a full range of treatments, plus a moderate-size gym--some say it could be larger. For active out-of-doors types, there is a golf simulator, nine-hole miniature golf course, paddle tennis court, basketball, and volleyball. Constitutional walkers can completely circumnavigate the ship from the pointy end to the flat transom and back, provided they use the steps at the forward end of Promenade Deck that lead up to Emerald Deck and its covered walkway located below the mooring deck. (By standing here at the very bow, you can be the first to arrive in port, and the first to leave.)