My wife and I booked the Golden Princess Eastern Caribbean Cruise with a group from the University of Georgia Athletic Department. This was our first crusie, so we can only tell you what we experienced on this cruise since we have nothing to compare it to. In talking with others on the cruise who have been on many cruises, they indicated that we had set a high standardfor our first cruise and we agree since we could find little wrong with this first experience. Before I start the trip report, here is a little information about my wife and I.<br><br>We are in our mid-fifties and qualify as "Empty Nesters"[Linked Image] since our youngest child just turned 30. It doesn't always seem that the nest is empty since 3 of our 4 children live within one mile of our house. This includes all 5 grandchildren ranging in age from 12 to 20 months. My wife is a Type A personality. She is always active and has to be doing something all the time. I am the classic Type B personality, give me a book, a recliner on the beach, and the sun and I'm good to go for a week. Despite this being our first cruise, we have traveled a good bit over the years and had visited both St. Maarten/St. Martin and St. Thomas on previous vacations.<br><br>Pre-Cruise<br><br>We have friends who have a condo in Daytona Beach, so we decided to spend the Friday night before the cruise in their condo. On the way to Daytona Beach, we stopped in St. Augustine and took the tour of the old city. It was very interesting seeing the narrow streets, the different architectural styles, the old forts, and the old churches in this historic city. We even drank from the Fountain of Youth. No, we haven't noticed any benefit yet, my hair is still turning gray.[Linked Image]<br><br>Upon arriving in Daytona Beach we realized it was "Spring Break Week'. What a trip! College kids everywhere and cops on every corner. We had a great seafood dinner at DJ's Under the Bridge. We arrived at 5:00 PM and had to wait in line for about 45 minutes, but the food was delicious. Lula had the crab cakes and I had the shrimp and devil crab combination plate. After dinner it was back to the condo and we crashed early. We planned on leaving at 7:30 AM on Saturday morning for the 4 hour drive to Ft. Lauderdale.<br><br>Arrival<br><br>We hit the road bright and early Saturday morning. We had planned on arriving at Port Everglades at 11:30 AM and spending a relaxing afternoon on board ship prior to the 5:00 PM scheduled departure. However, due to highway construction on I-95 (major delays and backups while three lanes merge into 1)[Linked Image] just north of Boynton Beach (Hypoluxo area) and two lanes merging into one for security checks as you enter the pier area of Port Everglades we were about 1 1/2 hours later than planned. We spoke to a couple from Orlando who almost missed the sailing due to the construction problems. They left Orlando at around 11:00 AM expecting to be in Port Everglades by 2:30 or 3:00 PM. They were the last passengers boarding the ship. The departure was delayed 10 to 15 minutes to allow them to get on board. My advice to those who may be driving to Port Everglades from the north is to use the Florida Turnpike instead of I-95.<br><br>The Golden Princess<br><br>This ship was launched in 2001 andis only about one year old. Therefore, everything on this ship is new and in top notch shape. It has a capacity of 2600 passengers and a supports a crew of 1100. You would think with this many people on board it would be extremely crowded. However, this ship is so large that crowding was never an issue. Now finding your way around ship was something else. We spent the first two days on board lost. [Linked Image] We never felt crowded in the buffet line nor did we have any problems finding seating in the Horizon Court.<br><br>The Golden Princess has 4 swimming pools, 9 jacussis, a fitness center, spa, beauty salon/barber shop, 17 bars and lounges, a disco, casino, library, and an AOL Cafe. We checked out a couple of books from the Library after finishing the ones we brought with us. It is not necessary to even pack books when cruising on the Golden Princess, since they have such an excellent selection in the on board library. I also used the AOL Cafe on two occasions to keep up with the NCAA basketball tournament scores. It worked well but is a bit pricey at .50 per minute.<br><br> Our Stateroom<br><br>When we booked the cruise we were confirmed on the Baja Deck 11. However, our travel agency was able to upgrade us to the Aloha Deck 12. Wer were in an aft cabin # 707. This cabin is on the Starboard side of the ship and faced Pier 2 at the dock in Ft. Lauderdale. We really loved [Linked Image] the location of this cabin. It is only a short walk down the hall to the Terrace Pool on the Aloha Deck. From the Terrace Pool it was on a few steps up to the Outrigger Bar on the Horizon Terraceof the Lido Deck 14. This was the gathering place for our group during the entire week of the cruise. Additionally, the cabin is very near the aft elevators and stairs. We could reach the Horizon Court Buffet on the Lido Deck 14 in less than a minute. Not good for a guy who needs to lose weight!<br><br>Since the cabin was near the elevators, access to the Expolorer Lounge and the Vista Lounge on the Promendade Deck 7 and the Canaletto Dining Room on Fiesta Deck 6 were extremely easy. If you plan to spent a lot of time in the Atlantis Casino, the many shops in the Grand Atrium, the Desert Rose Dining Room, the Bernini Dining Room, or attend a lot of performances in the Princess Theatre; they you would probably like a cabin more forward in the ship. It would save you some time and steps.<br><br>The cabin was decorated very nicely. There was plenty of hanger space for our hang up clothes, storage space for luggage, and there was a storage cabinet that included a self-service safe. The storage area and bathroom were on the left as you enter the cabin. The bathroom was small but about what we expected. The shower was large enough for our needs. However, one of the guys in our group is 6'6'' tall. He indicated that if he ever dropped the soap he would have to call his wife to pick it up. I bet he had trouble getting his head low enough to wash his hair.[Linked Image][Linked Image]<br><br>The main cabin consisted of twin beds made up as a double bed. Reading lamps on bedside tables on each side of the bed. There was a desk and chair between the bed and sliding door to the balcony. Across form the desk was another chair, TV stand with a small refrigerator underneath and a small table for fruit.<br><br>The balcony has tow chairs, a table, and a small stool. The balcony is very private with a roof extending from the Lido deck above and privacy panels between the balconies on either side. Lula and I spent a lot of time on the balcony reading during this trip. It is alos a great place to have breakfast or s second cup of coffee in the mornings.<br><br>Food<br><br>We took all of our breakfasts and lunches in the Horizon Court Buffet. At breakfast there was always a good seletion of fruits, breads, yogurts, juices, and the normal breakfast fare of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and french toast. Both Lula and I normally had a salad for lunch. The buffet always had the ingredients for making a great salad including several types of lettuce, dressings, and almost any topping that you could imagine. Our group was scheduled for the second seating (8:30 PM) in the Canaletto Dining Room. All the meals were execellent. We dined on Virginia Ham, Beef Tenderloin, Orange Roughy, Chicken Kiev, Grilled Swordfish, Lobster, and Prime Rib as our entries for the week. To cap off the week, the desert on Friday night was Baked Alaska. It was to die for!<br><br>Ports of Call<br><br>We arrived in St. Maarten/St. Martin early on Tuesday morning. Since we had visited the island several times over the years, we decided to rent a car and do our own thing. Our white Toyota Corolla was waiting for us and we immediatedly headed off to Dawn Beach. Our first visit to the island in the late 80's was to Dawn Beach and we decided it would be fun to spend some time there on this trip. We rented an umbrella and chairs at Ms B's. and relaxed on the beach until after lunch. I wanted to order those famous ribs for lunch, but I knew that a big dinner awaited us back on the ship. Lula settled for the hot dog and I had a hamburger. They both were very good. A gentleman sitting at a nearby table had ordered the ribs. He reported that they were as good a advertised. They certainly made my mouth water. After lunch we took the tour of the Butterfly Farm. They have some beautiful butterflies and we took the opportunity to purchase two butterfly brushes for our two oldest granddaugthers. At around 3:00 we headed back to the ship.<br><br>On Wednesday morning we arrived in St. Thomas. That morning we went into Charlotte Amalie and did the required shopping. We purchased jewelry for Lula and some t-shirts for the three smaller grandchildren. In the afternoon we went on a tour of St. John. I had booked this tour from home on the Princess web-site. The ferry left from the pier right behind the Golden Princess. During the 45 minute ride to St. John the guide pointed out homes owned by Michael Jordon and Madonna. Upon arrival at Cruz Bay, we were loaded in Safari Buses for the island tour. The tour began with a short tour of Cruz Bay and then we went our highway 10 to the highest point on the island. We stopped at several beautiful views along this drive. After a short stop for ice cream and a brief encounter with two wild dockeys, we returned to the Crurz Bay area via highway 20. This highway takes you by all the famous beaches on St. John. After about 1 1/2 hours we were back in Cruz Bay and on the ferry back to St. Thomas. On the way, the guide pointed out two islands that are for sale. If anyone out there is interested in owning your own island in the Caribbean, the asking prince is only 24 million dollars.<br><br>On Friday morning we arrived at Princess Cay. This is the Princess Cruise Lines private island in the Bahamas. The weather was overcast and rain showers were around. We decided to stay on board the ship and not venture ashore. The brochure indicated that there were plenty of activities for those who did go ashore.<br><br>Entertainment<br><br>If anyone should return from a cruise on the Golden Princess and complain about being bored; it would be clear to me that they have no interests at all. There is a multitude of things to do on board this ship. We observed ballroom dancing lessons, line dance lessons, horse races, and participated in bingo ( invested $120 and won $150 ). We alson spent a few hours in the casino. We actually won $475.00 over three different occasions, but managed to lose it all and more over the course of the week. We only played the slots.<br><br>The highlight of the cruise for us was a musical show performed in the Princess Theatre. It is called "Words and Music" and it was a tribute to Cole Porter, Richard Rogers, Fran Loesser and others who have written scores for Broadway Musicals. The singing and dancing were professional quality. The songs were from Oklahoma, the Sound of Music, Guys and Dolls, Les Miserables, and many other Broadway Musicals. <br><br>Here are a few of the other activities listed in the "Princess Patter" that are available to guests on the Golden Princess. Daily Fitness Programs, Culinary Demonstrations, Jigsaw Puzzle Tournament, Ice Carving Demonstrations, Back Stage Tour of the Princess Theatre, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Art Auctions, Classical Concert at Sea, dancing in the Wheelhouse Lounge and the Explorer's Lounge, Classical guitar in the Promenade Lounge, and the list goes on and on. Cruise Director, Alastari from England and Assitant Cruise Director, Frankie from Philadelphia made sure everyone had a good laugh during the course of the cruise.<br><br>Departure<br><br>Unfortunately, this vacation like all vacations eventually comes to an end. We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale at about 7:00 AM on Saturday morning March 23rd. The disembarkation progressed smoothly and we were on the road (Florida Turnpike not I-95) home by 9:45 AM. Some 12 hours later we arrived home.<br><br>Summary<br><br>We really enjoyed our first cruise and plan on doing more. If we were cruising on our own, I think that we would have done the Personal Choice Dining to have a little more flexibility to choose where, when, and what we would eat. I regret that we never got to sample the food in the Desert Rose. Both my wife and I are early risers and would have preferred the first seating (6:30 PM) for dinner instead of the second seating. However, since we were traveling with a group, we really didn't have a choice in that matter. Because of the second seating, after dinner all we wanted to do was crash. We let this get in the way of attending more or the performances on the Golden Princess. This is the only other regret that we have about this cruise. The bottom line is that we had a great time and will do it again.<br><br>Joe<br><br><br><br>text