We were on a 7 day Alaskan cruise round trip from Seattle.  This was our 8th cruise and our 5th with Princess.

The Golden was beautiful with an elegant but friendly atmosphere.  It had just come back from drydock and quite a few enhancements were made including a coffee-shop/cafe, wine bar, and elegant atrium area where there was frequent entertainment and music offered.  Staterooms were small, but adequate in size and attractively decorated.  The closet are is huge for cruise ship standards and is similar to a walk in style rather than closet with a door as in most hotel rooms.  Standard rooms do not have couches or loveseats, but the larger rooms such as a mini suite or larger do.

The staff was fabulous.  Extremely friendly and appeared interested in providing good service with a ready smile.  Our room steward was outstanding.  The waiters in the main dining room were extremely friendly, but food service was at time slow at dinner time.  I mentioned this to one of the head waiters, who told me that they were aware of this and working out a few details to get the food out quicker, so this may have changed by now.  Food was served very warm to hot.

Food quality was very good in both the dining rooms and buffet area. Food selection was good and seemed to fit the Alaskan tone.

We particularly enjoyed that they had a naturalist on board who gave 4 or 5 different talks about Alaska, wildlife, and other interesting aspects unique to an Alaskan cruise.   He also gave commentary as we cruise up a fjord to see a glacier.

Entertainment was good.  A bit different as compared to entertainment on a Caribbean cruise.  When I asked about that, I was told that Alaskan cruises as a general rule tend to attract a slightly older passenger, which I did notice.

Fellow passengers were some of the friendliest I've met.  Our cruise left the last of May and there were not many children or families on board, but that may have been due to school still being in session in most school districts.  I would guess there would be more children and families on cruises in the mid summer.  Most passengers were over 40, but I did notice some younger couples.