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Published On: Oct 17, 2003 08:01
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Oct 17, 2003 08:01
Onboard the Golden Princess: Impressions.
This is a beautiful hotel. Oh yea, and it floats.
Here are
some pictures.
Everithing's made of polymers and composit amterials which probably all seal against water and look like various woods and ceramics. There is also lots of actual glass and very ultra shiny metals. This ship is brand new. Almost a thousand feet long, it has the feel of a very expensive hotel. Even my room is clearly modeled on the concept of an upscale USA hotel room. There's a hair dryer, soaps and shampoos in the bathroom (head?) although the door to the bathroom looks like it can seal against moisture. Many things are attached - lights, TV but surprisingly, many are not. Trash cans and telephones are just like in a normal hotel. Drawers lock when closed. There's a thermostat and, of course, a view. Pretty consistent, that.
The ship is always moving a tiny bit in three different ways. There's an occasional hum (it's there all the time, but you can only feel it in certain places) of 100-200 hertz which must be engine noise. There are also occasional oscillations as impossibly strong waves cut by the ship send shivers of resonence throughout the heavier pieces of metal surrounding me. These come and go and last for a moment or two and are generally between 4 and 8 hertz. Then, of course, there's also occasional gentle rocking. (Or maybe I can feel us occasionally leaping forward). Sometimes it feels almost but not quite like vertigo. Often, it feels oddly relaxing, like stretching out for a nap in the back seat of a car moving down the highway, but without the nasty bumps.
I've got the balcony door open so I can alsy hear the sea-- it, too, is calming. The weather is fine and warm, but occasionally too humid. They must have dehumidifiers in the rooms, because when I had it open while I slept, after a while I felt briney so I closed it and felt clean again after a surprisingly short time.
There are two kinds of crew members. THose in white run the ship and enjoy a kind of awed respect from the other passengers and crew. So far, without exception, they've been white, british and short haired. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The other kind of crew are all maner of servants who behave more like hotel staff, but always so deferential that it makes me uncomfortable. Like carnies or people running on not enough sleep, they are always so willing to help, but not always mentally capable of doing so. They're accustomed to work which requires no though maybe? I don't know. I'd be more inclined to beleive that they haven't slepa dn they've been recently afraid for their jobs and/or they're starving and trolling for better tips. Or maybe they're all type A and brown nosing for tips? It's an odd feeling.
This ship carries up to 2,600 passengers. On this voyage, I have heard that there are either 900 or 1,100 of us. I have also heard that 400 crew members were recently laid off. Notice that I have no way of verifying either of these so called, "facts". But it is interesting..
Everithing's made of polymers and composit amterials which probably all seal against water and look like various woods and ceramics. There is also lots of actual glass and very ultra shiny metals. This ship is brand new. Almost a thousand feet long, it has the feel of a very expensive hotel. Even my room is clearly modeled on the concept of an upscale USA hotel room. There's a hair dryer, soaps and shampoos in the bathroom (head?) although the door to the bathroom looks like it can seal against moisture. Many things are attached - lights, TV but surprisingly, many are not. Trash cans and telephones are just like in a normal hotel. Drawers lock when closed. There's a thermostat and, of course, a view. Pretty consistent, that.
The ship is always moving a tiny bit in three different ways. There's an occasional hum (it's there all the time, but you can only feel it in certain places) of 100-200 hertz which must be engine noise. There are also occasional oscillations as impossibly strong waves cut by the ship send shivers of resonence throughout the heavier pieces of metal surrounding me. These come and go and last for a moment or two and are generally between 4 and 8 hertz. Then, of course, there's also occasional gentle rocking. (Or maybe I can feel us occasionally leaping forward). Sometimes it feels almost but not quite like vertigo. Often, it feels oddly relaxing, like stretching out for a nap in the back seat of a car moving down the highway, but without the nasty bumps.
I've got the balcony door open so I can alsy hear the sea-- it, too, is calming. The weather is fine and warm, but occasionally too humid. They must have dehumidifiers in the rooms, because when I had it open while I slept, after a while I felt briney so I closed it and felt clean again after a surprisingly short time.
There are two kinds of crew members. THose in white run the ship and enjoy a kind of awed respect from the other passengers and crew. So far, without exception, they've been white, british and short haired. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The other kind of crew are all maner of servants who behave more like hotel staff, but always so deferential that it makes me uncomfortable. Like carnies or people running on not enough sleep, they are always so willing to help, but not always mentally capable of doing so. They're accustomed to work which requires no though maybe? I don't know. I'd be more inclined to beleive that they haven't slepa dn they've been recently afraid for their jobs and/or they're starving and trolling for better tips. Or maybe they're all type A and brown nosing for tips? It's an odd feeling.
This ship carries up to 2,600 passengers. On this voyage, I have heard that there are either 900 or 1,100 of us. I have also heard that 400 crew members were recently laid off. Notice that I have no way of verifying either of these so called, "facts". But it is interesting..
Posted: Sun - April 27, 2003 at 09:07