Golden Princess sails around Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and Asia. In October 2015, it became the largest cruise ship ever to be based in Melbourne. You’ll never ran out of places to hangout as this ship has plenty of space with four swimming pools, nine whirlpools, 10 restaurants and cafes, and a wide range of entertainment venues. For a must-have Princess movie experience, Princess’ pioneering Movies Under the Stars has made its way to Golden Princess’ Calypso Reef Pool. For the children, there are supervised activities in the Fun Zone and Remix.

[fa type=”bed”] Accommodation

Golden Princess makes sure you are not sunlight deprived; it has 736 cabins and suites with balconies. Cabins include standard insides, outsides, balcony and suites. Standard cabins are subtly decorated in beige, cream, baby blue and other soft colours, and come with flat-screen TVs, safes, mini-refrigerators, hair dryers and desks. Six sizes of suites are available, including two Family Suites, each of which can sleep up to 10 people. The Owner’s and Penthouse Suites are the highest cabins on the ships, offering expansive ocean views. They feature separate bedroom and sitting areas and marble bathrooms, each with both a shower and a tub.

[fa type=”cutlery”] Food

Anytime dining offers flexibility. Show up in the designated dining room whenever you feel like it, between 5.30pm and 10pm. Golden Princess has two main dining rooms: Bernini dining room and the Donatello. Each night, diners have a choice of two pastas, appetisers, soups and salads, and main courses. Always-available selections include Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, broiled chicken breast and grilled beef medallions. Dining options continue out by the Calypso Reef pool, where chefs toss pizzas at Prego Pizzeria and grill burgers and hotdogs at the Trident Grill. Satisfy your sweet tooth with soft-serve ice-cream and all manner of sprinkles at Sundaes Ice Cream Bar. If you like Italian flare, don’t miss Sabatini’s, with $25-per-person extra charge. Favorites include the buffalo mozzarella, fried calamari, and lobster three ways.

[fa type=”ticket”] Activities

Golden Princess makes sure your body is well taken care of. The Lotus Spa offers a range of wraps, massages and treatments, including facials, Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture, men’s barber services and teeth whitening, done by competent therapists. Although the aerobics area takes up a major portion of the gym, treadmills, stationary bikes and ellipticals are available, along with weight-training equipment and a small assortment of free weights. Golden Princess hosts a variety of free fitness programs, including stretch, Zumba and abdominal classes. Pilates, yoga, boot camp and Tour de Spin sessions cost an additional $12 per class.

[fa type=”group”] Families

Although the Fun Zone, the activity area for three- to 12-year-olds, isn’t as large as those found on later Grand-class ships, the program is the same and is well thought-out. For most of the day, kids spend much of their time in the bright red, blue and yellow room face-painting, colouring, making puppets, decorating masks and playing games. At Remix, the teen centre located on the other side of the Fun Zone’s computer alcove, the older ones mingle and play Ping Pong, foosball and cards. They also get to know each other during hip-hop dance classes, obstacle races and pizza parties. Teens can hang out, sun and soak in their own hot tub on the teens-only deck area, which is accessed by a set of stairs just outside the youth lounges.