slidewilson

Thanks for all the positive feedback!! :)

I have already watched this video twice. It is exceptionally well done. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you!! :)

Hi everyone!

I got back from a Millennium cruise in Alaska a few weeks ago and just finished a short summary video - I thought you might all like to see it.

Here's the link:

Before anyone asks, I had special approval from the ship for all the drone flying :)

Thanks and take care! :)

Hey gang,

For those of you who love the Hot Glass Show, the glass artist G Brian has just posted a new video featuring the ship stage and talking about the hot glass experience on Celebrity:

Thought you'd like to have a look. Thanks!

Jim

Fantastic video, gives you a new and different experience.

Thank you!! :)

We are Equinox right now, and they DO allow smoking. There are several designated areas including one side of the pool, the promenade and other areas. It has been hard to find places to walk

 

On Solstice-class ships, smoking is allowed Deck 5 forward (port side), and Deck 12, port side. AFAIK those are the only two places where it's actually permitted. I've seen a smoking section on Silhouette Deck 5 midship.

In my opinion, it's much more of an inconvenience for a smoker to find a smoking area than it is for the non-smokers to run into a smoking area. :cool:

 

(1) I believe (and hope) they still have the Corning Hot Glass Show on three S-class ships -- it was a highlight of our Eclipse cruise and is a very unique thing for Celebrity. The newer S-class ships replaced it with another restaurant -- big deal.

 

The Hot Glass Show is still on Solstice, Equinox and Eclipse, and will remain there for the foreseeable future. They weren't put on Reflection or Silhouette and I believe that's at least partly due to the demand of having 3 glass artists on board *at all times* (9 fleetwide) that meet the high standards that both Corning and Celebrity require.

There's no Hot Glass Show planned on the Edge and I suspect that's both because it's something that would have had to be discussed/implemented from the ground up (a few years ago) and again would require more qualified artists than they may be able to provide.

Great work, Norway looks great, and Cork here in Ireland? Did you do any footage in Dublin?

Thanks Aiden!

We didn't get any footage in Dublin but then flying in/around big cities is a whole different beast, and you need a lot more approvals and planning. We decided to stick to the out-of-town scenic locations!

Thanks for the memories....we were on the Norway cruise! Still cannot believe the weather we had! A few friends thought I was exaggerating about how blue our skies were....now I will just show them your video!

Awesome! I totally agree... that weather was OUTSTANDING! Not sure if you stayed around for the next cruise but it was indeed back to gloomy grey :)

Amazing video as I was on this cruise, so many memories, please could I have a copy if possible xxxx

 

 

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Thanks Amanda! Unfortunately, I can't distribute copies of the video, but it'll be up here on Youtube for the foreseeable future! :)

Thanks!

Thanks for a lovely video. Also for the music link, as I'm always looking for music for slideshows.

 

As drones are on Celebrity's prohibited list, how have you been able board/re-board with one without having it taken away and held until the final disembarkation? I've been very tempted to buy one for a few years now, but I'd get the best use while cruising, and most (all?) lines seem to prohibit them.

Drones are indeed on Celebrity's prohibited list. I was doing some work for the company in photo and video and extensive approvals had to be obtained between the ship's officers and shoreside office. As well, we had to request permission from the port authorities for each separate port we visited. Also, the drone was stored with security the entire duration of the cruise when we weren't in port.

If a guest shows up with a drone (and without prior obtained permission from.. everyone), it'll probably spend the cruise locked up with security. Probably just a waste of time for the guest.

As an aside, I agree with the company on this one. As amazing as drones are and as much as they can truly augment a vacation experience, they can be dangerous in untrained hands and can pose a serious threat in ports. We saw plenty of inexperienced drone pilots buzzing the mountain in Bergen, flying over and far too close to crowded public areas. I saw a guy almost smash his drone into the railing, trying to land his drone from a place he shouldn't have been flying from. I'm sure the company has no interest in dealing with a drone that crashes in/on/around the ship. My $0.02 :)

Hi everyone,

I've posted a few of my drone videos here in the past. I've just sailed on the Eclipse for the Norway/President's cruises last month and was able to capture some great moments of the ship in Norway and Ireland. Have a look at my new highlight video, if you'd like:

Thanks everyone, and take care!

Jim

Thanks Jim, I have enjoyed both of your videos. Keep the drone flying for us! Are you going to be on the Equinox for the New Orleans Cruise? If so maybe we will see you then. A drone video of NO during Mardi Gras would be something!

Thank you! I'm not sure which ship I'll be on next. I try to keep my drone flights as low key as possible, so I'd probably stay away from the madness of Mardi Gras in NO if I were there :)

Enjoy the Equinox cruise, Ross is the permanent Music Director on that ship and he keeps the band running at top speed - I had a great time there!

Thank You so much for sharing the video. Nothing but the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, eastsider! :)

Thank You so much for sharing the video. Nothing but the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you!!!

That's me!! I'm the trombone player :)

I can't tell you how insane putting the Broadway show together was. Usually rehearsals run in very orderly fashion but that day was chaos. I don't think they've ever had problems with the technical components in Pearl before. We did have a Pearl rehearsal earlier that day and it was stopped about halfway through because of the technical issues. The staff spent a few hours trying to fix the problem and they called it off around 6pm because it just wasn't working as well as they needed it to. Most of the musicians and singers are getting ready for the show an hour before - I was called by the bandmaster and told to be in the theatre immediately (this never ever happens). We had performed some of the Broadway tunes before but most of the musicians were new to the band (we come and go on different schedules) and it's simply not easy to throw this stuff together. I remember guests opening the huge fire doors themselves at around 6:40pm - the house usually opens at 6:30pm but we were still rehearsing! It was truly a great team accomplishment that we were able to get that show up and running, and the singers sang wonderfully for such short notice!

Anyway, very much appreciate all the work you've put in here, thank you!

6 or was it even 7 ships in port that day.

 

Have to say we did not enjoy the latter part of that day at all, we went over to Marigot early but when we arrived back in the afternoon, wow it was too busy for comfort. Couple of Pina Coladas and a Frikandel soothed it a bit:D

It didn't help that it was blisteringly hot that day! I was on Silhouette and we had just finished our crossing - we were still used to chilly Mediterranean climates!

Thanks for watching!

Hi everyone,

I have a new video up - I was able to fly my drone in St. Maarten last week, on a day where Silhouette and Eclipse were next to each other on the dock, and Equinox arrived at 2pm. There were 3 other ships in port as well that day!

Please have a look:

As well, my Santorini flyover video is still up, if you didn't catch it before:

Let me know what you think. Thanks!

Jim

having been to Santorini and also cruised on the Equinox I really enjoyed this video. Great work.

can I ask what sort of drone you used and whether it came with it's own camera or did you attach a separate gopro or similar? I'm thinking about getting a drone in the future.

thanks

I used a phantom 3 professional drone. The phantom 3 and new phantom 4 comes with its own camera attached - the phantom 3 pro has a 4K camera. I imagine most drones in the future will come with their own attached camera. I think GoPro will actually release a drone next week that uses their new Hero 5 GoPro camera.

I love the Phantom series but Yuneec and some others make great drones with different features, depending on what you're looking for.

Thanks!

I am used to sailing with Cunard and dancing the night away. I am looking at a Celebrity cruise on Equinox for August.

 

I would be grateful for information about dancing. Do they have ballroom and latin dancing at night? Is the dance floor a decent size? Is the music good for dancing?

 

Many thanks

Diane

Hi Diane,

I'm currently on board Equinox as a musician in the orchestra. Yes, the grand foyer is definitely where ballroom dancing happens. If you've been on a Solstice-class ship (or seen photos), you can see the grand foyer - it's not huge, but you can fit a surprising number of dancers on there. We've had it packed a few times. The orchestra (7 piece) will play big band sets there - how often depends on when we are needed in the theatre for the guest entertainer that night. Usually it's 2 sets, once or twice a cruise. But there is always music in the grand foyer every evening - several sets by either us, the house band (5 musicians), the jazz quartet (usually 4 musicians). We also have two duos and a solo guitarist. Bands come and go and guests definitely have their preferences as to which groups they prefer. Not to toot my own horn (pun intended), but the musicians currently here are quite strong - very positive feedback from guests.

Let me know if you have any other questions.. thanks!!

Great video! We board in Barcelona on the 20th. Glad you get to go home for a rest but bummed that we don't get the chance to meet you and thank you for your videography skills in person.

Another ship, maybe! Keep your eyes to the skies for a drone :P :)

We are on the Equinox now and am just wondering why we can't see the five other ships that were in port on Sept 1... Or the white caps on the waves from the strong winds?? Beautiful video but I don't think it was from this weeks port visit...

 

 

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No, this was from our visit the week before! I would've flown the drone this week but those winds were too much!

Ok.. that's priceless!

I really don't intend to be critical at all...it's a great video...but a number of folks who have purchased drones don't realize that they have a real risk when using them....and they really need to have some sort of insurance should the drone injure someone or something due to no fault of the operator other than bad luck. If you view the video again, you're right for most of it but then there's the flight directly above the ship, directly above those folks sitting around the pool. IMHO, the individual who prepared this video is good enough to be professional (if they already aren't)...in fact I'd encourage them to think about it....but make sure you are insured.

Fair point. Fun fact though, there isn't actually an insurance company in Greece that offers third party liability insurance for drone flights. How bout that. What's a girl to do?

Your video was extra special for us as we were in Santorini on Equinox this past July celebrating my bride's birthday. So your video has put the icing on the cake of a most memorable trip!

That's so great - this is why I make videos. Thank you! :)