New ship or Golden, would you change booking

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p.g.

Guest
Hello, in a bit of a muddle here, we are booked on the new Caribbean Princess for May 15 th , but to quite frank the price sucks. We have an outside obstructed and for the SAME price we could go on the Golden ( in Feb) in a balcony cabin. We had a balcony on the Grand and LOVED it (we were upgraded from an inside to a balcony) we were hoping for an upgrade or a price reduction on the Caribbean( yes I know it's still a long way off) but we all know you can't count on upgrades( especially with it being a new ship) .
So I guess my question is, is the Golden as nice as the Grand, exactly the same?Should we give up the the chance to go on a "new " ship just to get a better cabin/or save money? I like the idea of going sooner, I 'm tired of waiting( booked this one in June)but I don't want to go on a less exciting ship! HELP, Golden cruisers tell me your opinions. Oh its the same iternery both ships.Thanks
 
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Kathy & Dave

Guest
I wouldn't expect much of a deal on a new ship. I'd love to try the Caribbean Princess too someday. We have been on both the Grand and Golden and had an awesome time on both. The Golden is a beautiful ship! Almost identical to the Grand, but newer. The only difference I noticed was minor - Golden has more computer stations in the Internet Cafe, slight difference in the floor plan, but pretty much the same. Maybe someone else will know exactly what's different. From what I've read, there are things about the Caribbean Princess that I might not like - such as the lack of a roof over one of the pools. The solarium pools are much quieter - a lot less people. You can always find a lounge chair. I don't think you'd find the Golden less exciting than the Caribbean. They both have the same lounges, disco, etc.

If the deal is right, you could try a BF guarantee. There are only 4 of these cabins and your chances for upgrade are good if you book early. We did and ended up with a BA on the Lido deck. That was a fantastic location! We tend to book early and have had better pricing with the BB category. Our favorite spot is towards the back of the Caribe deck. Yes, the balconies are tiered, but we hardly ever saw anyone on theirs unless we were heading into a new port. Next week (finally!) we are back on the Golden again, this time in an aft balcony. We're really excited about this one!

If it were me, I'd book the Golden, save a few bucks and wait until the newness wears off for the Caribbean and the prices come down.

Whatever you choose, I hope you have an awesome time!
 
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CaribbeanSun

Guest
Go with the Golden. The Caribbean Princess is like taking the Grand and putting another deck of 500 passengers on the ship without making the public spaces bigger elsewhere. I think the ship will be too crowded. The space ratio is not good on this ship.
 
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lamayboy

Guest
take the GOLDEN, always take a bigger cabin, and always go with less passengers!!!! HOWEVER, is it the same itinerary? ETC?
 
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