flatlander321

Based on our single cruise which went to Alaska on Carnival: yes, a balcony room is worth it. We had an extended balcony which was even better.

We had port time that could have been spent off ship, but we didn't. We were off ship for the morning, but came back for lunch and should have gotten off ship again to take the tram in Juneau. I still hold a grudge against Avis in Juneau for not having an agent to rent a car that we had reserved. No rental car ruined half the day for us. At least the goldbelt was sold and Avis had to move. There might be a little justice or karma in this world. I rent many cars for business trips each year and haven't rented with Avis since that incident.

One issue with only having the passport card is it is only for "ground" transportation across the US border with Canada, Mexico, etc.

For our Alaskan cruise last year, we had passport books for all. If someone became badly injured, they could be flown back to the US without having to involve the US consulate and other special measures.

BoomerakI, very nice pictures!

Very nice color Dave!

I'm still taking advantage of the photo opportunities while on extended business travel to Huntsville, Alabama.

Having the RAW file and photoshop saved this picture from the recycle bin. The jpeg was horribly over-exposed.

Dave, I'm really learning to like the 16-50pz lens on the A6000. This picture was taken with the 16-50pz even though I should have used the 19mm sigma.

I added the auto-open lens cover to the 16-50pz last year; best $12 I've spent in a long time.

The Rocket Center at Huntsville, AL can be a nice place to visit. This shot took 2 months before everything was just right. I tried several times before but all of the glass and light make this a difficult shooting location for some shots. It is an outside Saturn 5 reflecting off of the glass but also showing the exhausts of the real (horizontal) Saturn 5 located inside the building through the glass. The Saturn 5 was the most powerful rocket system in history and what took the USA to the moon. This was not an easy shot, but I am very happy with the final picture. A6000 with Rokinon F2.0 at F8 BTW.

Shadow (the cat) liked the bounced flash. This was taken in a dark area with Dave's favorite compact lens (16-50pz on A6000) and an external medium flash bounced straight up. I'm becoming a fan of the lens as well.

I mostly caught hell for what I took, but it worked out well for our spring Alaska cruise. Skip to the end of the thread to see what was used and what wasn't.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2348110

I currently carry four 52mm filters: an ND 1000 (10 stop) for long exposure shots of moving water, a circular polarizer, a 3-stop gradient gray to balance bright skies with darker foregrounds, and a recently added ND 8 (3 stop) to allow a shallow depth of field in brighter light conditions. I have step-up rings to adapt each lens to use any of the 52mm filters.

I only use a protection UV filter on my FZ-300 since a damaged lens effectively means replacing the camera. I always use a lens hood on everything except the sony 16-50pz lens. I have an adapted lens hood for it but it typically wears an auto-opening lens cover.

The car rental places are often busy when the ships get in. It's not unusual to have to wait in line while they help others. If you were in a hurry to get somewhere and didn't have extra time to wait in line, maybe a rental car was not the best option for you.

 

I don't see how referring you to a nearby payphone is treating you like a homeless person. Most people would just have used their cell phones. :rolleyes:

There was NO avis agent to rent a car to anyone. I would have liked to use my cell phone, but it didn't work there. Instead, I got to deal with the goldbelt staff attitude. :mad:

I'm happy to hear from a fellow knife collector. Yes, the ulu is unique, but very useful. About 1/3 of my knife collection is various Swiss Army knives. The rest are practical/custom woods knives and combat/fighting knives. I tend to be a practical individual.

I really enjoyed our driving trip from Skagway. I think it and Glacier Bay were the highlights of our trip! My photography interest has not waned and I'd love another chance at photos on the trip. I've purchased additional lenses and increased my photography knowledge since the cruise.

So what happened? How did you get screwed?

I was there at the appointed time to rent a reserved car and they were not. I waited half an hour then had to leave for alternate transport options. Then the goldbelt had the nerve to treat me like one of the area homeless population when I needed to place a short, local phone call. They can both go down in flames and I'll get the marshmallow's ready to roast. Yes, I am a vindictive SOB and they both screwed me in May 2016!

I'm extremely happy to read that the avis at the goldbelt is closed. They seriously screwed us on our day in Juneau. I'll be even happier when the goldbelt hotel is closed and hopefully demolished to the last brick. They sent me to the homeless shelter (aka bus station) when I desperately needed to make a short, local phone call.

We did the rental car from Skagway for our first trip to Alaska. That gave us the freedom of choosing where and when to stop. If we return, I would like to ride the train, but I'd be tempted to get a rental car again. It was a very good day on a good Alaskan cruise.

From research here and on youtube, the train experience seemed more variable depending on how full the rail car was, how difficult it was to get a good view inside and outside the rail car. Would it be foggy? The train has a set schedule to keep, but you control the rental car. We also had a long port day. It was 7am until 8pm so we didn't have to rush.

review of our May 2016 cruise: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2366744

Also, I can't get Dolphin to answer the phone or email me back - I know the season is basically over and they want a break. The website shows I can book via website, but I have questions - I don't want to book NOW, just b/c I really don't want to pay until Jan or Feb, but time slot could be gone, correct? Is there any AAA discount that anyone knows of?

I think you'd be safe waiting until January to make the whale watch reservations with Dolphin. No idea about any AAA discount.

You might get a 10-15% discount on some independant excursions if they're fully-paid before January 1. We did for Orca Enterprises (subsequently purchased by Dolphin in March 2016) and the flightseeing trip to Misty Fjord in Ketchikan.

I don't think there is a best time of day for whale watching except whatever fits your on-shore time the best.

Our whale watching experience with back-to-back 2 hour trips on May 19, 2016 in Juneau:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=50228411&postcount=10

We did back in May.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=50228411&postcount=10

Nice baby frog pic!

Updated links for long-exposure waterfall pictures at Letchworth State Park, NY. I didn't like the posted picture so I replaced it with 3 better ones....

upper falls:

middle falls:

lower falls:

I recently purchased a Manfrotto Compact tripod with 3-way head for travel and other uses. I like the video-type head for still camera use. It is 65" tall fully extended and collapses to just under 18" for compact carry and easily fits into a carry-on bag for air travel. It comes with a padded carry bag that you can sling over a shoulder. I'm happy with mine and it seems like a good travel tripod option. They list for $100 new. I found mine used for a bit less than $50 on ebay. Be careful with ebay, many used/demo ones don't come with the quick-release plate. That's another $15 and there are no cheap knock-off plates that I could find. Note that it does not come with any bubble levels. I use a bubble level that fits into the camera hot shoe. Also note that the handle sticking out to the side folds down beside the primary handle for compact storage. The center column is reversible for close-up shots with the tripod over something like a flower or something on the ground.

Post your favorite travel tripod and why you like it.

https://www.manfrotto.us/manfrotto-mkcompactadv-bk-compact-advanced-with-3-way-head-black

Thanks for the kind words, flatlander. Thanks also for reminding me what a little gem that Sigma 19mm is. I haven't used mine much since I got the Rokinon 12mm and your photo has me thinking that I should drag it out and put its remarkable sharpness to good use.

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dave

I purchased a used sigma 19mm to cover the wide end of the 16-50pz lens. I mostly shoot landscape and wildlife pictures. I currently have the Rokinon 12mm and Sigma 19mm for landscape photos, the 16-50pz lens for 25mm-50mm shots, and the 55-210mm kit for telephoto use. I am seriously considering a fast 30mm/35mm lens for museum and general indoor use.

I forgot to list Peety with those who have guided me. This calls for another picture. :)

Another one from the same location with the Rokinon 12mm f2 in place of the Sigma 19mm.

This is a good comparison between 12mm (ultra-wide angle) and 19mm (wide angle) lenses on an APS-C (1.5x crop sensor) like the A6000 and lower-priced DSLR cameras.

A nice test shot of my new (to me) Sigma 19mm lens on the A6000 at a local reservoir. Thanks to Dave, Havoc, and Zackie for helping me to become a decent photographer.

Lower Falls at Letchworth State Park, NY

Heron in Flight

I caught this sunrise through the clouds a few days ago.

Morning Fire

I first saw a camera like this at a birthday party 2 days ago. It was setup with a birthday backdrop and silly accessories like glasses, hats, boas, and funny sayings. It was intended as party favors and worked well for that. Business card size pictures are right, they're small! What's the point! You might as well take an Etch-a-Sketch if you like photo challenges on a cruise ship. This has to be a troll account and question.

I apologize for this post. I should not have been online that night. It was hard for us to gather the funds to pay for even one Alaska cruise. To take a trip like that and rely on such a basic camera to document it seemed, well, just wrong. However, it is their trip, money, and memories. They should enjoy it however they like. Sorry to anyone offended.

I first saw a camera like this at a birthday party 2 days ago. It was setup with a birthday backdrop and silly accessories like glasses, hats, boas, and funny sayings. It was intended as party favors and worked well for that. Business card size pictures are right, they're small! What's the point! You might as well take an Etch-a-Sketch if you like photo challenges on a cruise ship. This has to be a troll account and question.