This was only our third cruise. The first one in 1995 with Hawaiian American and in 2000 with RCL on the Grandeur of The Sea. My husband and I are not the athletic type that goes snorkeling or scuba diving. We enjoyed cruising for the relaxation.

We flew in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday, December 7. All went well with the flight and arrived around 11:30. I do think the next time I cruise I will fly in to port the day before. I did feel it was more stressful flying the same day as sailing. We took the transfer bus which was already waiting. When we got to the Princess terminal it was very crowded. We did have express check in. But that didn't seem to matter. The lines were long. When I finally got up to the counter the girl saw my express check in and kept apologizing to me because I had to wait so long. Apparently too many people don't read signs and were in the wrong line. We probably reached our cabin around 1:45

We were on the Emerald Deck, port side, aft, room 718 mini suite. I was really happy with our room. It was more than what I expected. What was really nice was the private balcony. I think the highlight of my trip was having coffee on my balcony every morning watching the sun come up. Our cabin Stewart Patrick was wonderful. I needed some things a few times and he was right there for us. Our room was kept spotless all week. If anyone wants a mini suite on the Golden I suggest don't get the ones on the Dolphin deck. As there is no roof over their patio and every deck above can look right down on you. Ours on the Emerald deck was perfect. The bath tub was of nice size and lots of cupboards and drawer space.

We choose PC dining. the first night we had to wait 30 minutes for a table for two. After that we decided to dine early around 6:00 and we requested the same section all week. Our two servers were Jenny from South Africa and Happy from Thailand were fantastic!!!I was concerned about service changing since they eliminated how the tips are given out. But Jenny & Happy treated us like we were their only guests. We did tip them extra at the end of our trip. We found the food to be excellent. Especially their cold soups. Anywhere we ate I was happy with the selections and quality and taste of the food. I think I gained 20 pounds.

As for the ship I found it to be spotless. I saw many times crew members washing railings, walls, etc. The ship is beautiful but, I do find it was hard to get around on. Too many times have to go up and down steps to get where you wanted to go. The elevators I thought were confusing. You never knew when you got on an elevator which floors it would go to. That was a big complaint that I heard from most people.

The entertainment was pretty good. Better than what we had on my two previous cruises. Now for the Casino. Those machine were so tight it was ridiculous. People didn't stay long in there because on one was getting anything. I would put a $10 in a machine and not get one coin back. You don't expect to win big but at least get something to keep you playing. They need to loosen up their machines a little.

And yes you do feel the motion of the ship this large. The first night out we hit rough water and the ship rocked and rolled. After that the water was calm but I still felt the boat movement.

Princess Cays was a nice island. Weather was great, the BBQ they had was good.

The staff on the Golden I found all to be very friendly. Lots of areas to layout on the decks. My favorite spot was in the aft on deck 16. Nice and peaceful. Not as crowded at the two main pools in midship on deck 14.

We really enjoyed our trip. As for the Princess Cruise line. I would definitely cruise with her again and on the Golden. I do have to mention that the week we were on the Golden that I would say that 75% were people over 70 years old. What happen there were so many groups booked that week of senior citizens from Florida. There weren't a lot of children, but the ones that were on the ship were very well behaved.

Looking forward to booking my next cruise.