smurfm69

After reading your review and seeing the great pictures, I am seriously considering doing this on our upcoming cruise for my wife's birthday. Carnival should definitely hook you up with a free cruise for all the business you are giving them from your review and amazing pictures.

I guess all good things come to an end. Like everyone else, I really enjoyed your review and pictures. Have you been down here to N'awlins to take pictures? I'd love to see the French Quarter through the eyes of your camera.

We have stayed in a port hole room before and had no problems at all. We prefer the cat 4J rooms, but if money is an issue, I would choose a PT cabin. You get lots of natural light from those windows and the price is great!

I'm starting to run low on photos to share too! :-( Only the rest of day 6 (back on the ship) and a sea day (day 7) left.

I was just thinking to myself that I hate to see your review come to an end. The tiger pictures are so great. My high school mascot was a tiger and I would have probably spent the money to take those pics too.

Cool story, and amazing picture of that shack.

Glad to see you're back and posting more great pictures. Great work!

Awwwww! You went to my website? How sweet! I truly do love what I do as a wedding photographer. I am not a conventional wedding photographer.. a bit outside of the box. I don't know if you read my story on my website or not but I think that it really plays into my ability to see the world differently through my lens.

 

I guess it actually would be fine to share here since this is also partially about getting to know me.

 

I was on a successful career path as a writer with a major publishing deal when my mother got sick with cancer and rather abruptly passed away. She was my rock, my entire life and she was the only family member that truly supported me, despite my sexual orientation.

 

When she passed away, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't finish my novel because I felt trapped creatively and uninspired. To make matters worse, I didn't have any recent photos of my mother because we'd moved around so much and left stuff here and there. We'd also had a bad house fire which wiped out most of the photos from when I was younger with her. Not being able to see those photos of her to help me through the grieving process somehow made it difficult for me to remember her healthy. Instead, I just flashed back to the memory of her open casket funeral. I would lie awake at night for months on end, crying myself to sleep and being awoken by the nightmare of that image of her.

 

I called everyone I knew that was friends with her as well as family members and nobody had any recent photos of her to help my healing process. For the next 2 years after she passed away, I'd barely cope although I was good at faking it. But, I spent those years unable to write, unable to release the creative beast within me. I had always taken pictures of places I visited throughout the years but never really taken any of people. My basic love and good eye for taking photos for fun coupled with not having the images of my mother inspired me to open my photography company. Not just to make a living but to put a mark in history by leaving pieces of my hard work hanging on hundreds, perhaps thousands of walls, telling the stories of others lives and helping their families to heal when they pass on.

 

I have never felt this fulfilled doing anything else with my life. My mother may no longer be living but she is embedded in the stories I tell through my lens and will forever be etched in my heart. The loss of her inspired greatness from within me and for that, I will forever be thankful. It's still very hard not having her here and I miss her like crazy, especially on holidays. But, I know she would be proud of me and as children, isn't that the one thing we most want and need? For our parents to be proud of us? I know deep down I've accomplished this but my journey has only just begun. I hope to take my skills and do something truly great with them one day that perhaps will exceed even the wildest ideas I've already had on my own. :)

Sorry for your loss and can sympathize a little on the loss of pictures. My mother-in-law passed away in 2000 and thanks to that bitch, Katrina, we don't really have any pictures of her. We also lost our wedding pics, tons of baby pics of our daughter, and about 50 VHS tapes of home movies. But you have to pick yourself up and soldier on. You obviously have done that. I hope the rest of your relatives can now see how brightly your talent shines through.

Looking forward to more great pics from the cruise!

I was looking at the photos on your website and was just blown away! You have a great way of taking traditional pictures and capturing special moments that tell a story. But your true gift is how much fun you make the event look. One can't help looking at the pictures and saying, " Wow, that looks like a memorable and fun time! I wish I had been there!" You obviously have a passion for what you do.

Like someone else had posted earlier, I have read mostly negative reviews about the Dream. Reading your review and seeing the great pictures has made me feel better about sailing on her. This will be our 9th cruise and we haven't had a bad overall experience yet. Some have been better than others but no matter what, you're on vacation with lots of great amenities. I have always been a glass half full type of person, so I try not to dwell on the negatives. Keep those amazing photos coming!

I'm really enjoying your review and amazing pictures. We are trying out the Dream next year and can't wait! It looks like y'all had a great turn out from your roll call. That adds to the fun of cruising getting to make new friends. The roll call for our Dream cruise is pretty dead but it's still a long ways off so maybe it will pick up. Ok, quit wasting time reading my post and continue with the great review. lol

We knew about this dude ahead of time thanks to CC. I was hoping to run into him and get a good picture to post on here but didn't see him.

We also had cabin 9203 on the Victory and loved it! You have a picture window to look out of and just a short walk puts you on the wrap around open deck in the front of the ship. Best part is the price with these cabins costing less than a regular ocean view room.

I miss that Blue bus too. lol St. Lucia was definitely our favorite stop on the cruise, and this tour was definitely worth the money.

We just got back from a great cruise and St. Lucia is really beautiful! Our tour with Cosol and his brother yellowbird, was one of the best we have ever been on. Lots of yummy food and the best rum punch I have ever had. I would do this tour again in a heartbeat.

I got the Marriott Stellaris for $105 per night for our 2 night pre cruise stay in May. I can't wait!

We did it a few years back and while there are a few spots that are a little slippery, we didn't feel it was unsafe. Everyone forms a human chain by holding hands so that helps to keep your balance. There is usually an extra guide that videos the climb. If you want to buy the video, try to be closer to the front of the group as you will have more face time there. Have a great time on your cruise.

Carlos n Charlies in Cozumel. We had just a little bit of fun there. hehe

There are some sedans, but most of the taxis at the port are vans.

From the port to the airport is a distance of about 15 miles and mostly interstate so should not take long to get there. I suppose with the increased price of gas that it is possible the taxi fair has gone up but it still shouldn't be much more than $15 per person. Planning to spend any extra time here before or after your cruise?

There are usually a bunch of taxis at the port lined up waiting for people getting off the ship. You will have a great time I'm sure and if you get to the terminal for around 11am, you should be on the Fantasy before noon.

Hmmm I don't know for sure, but I think it is a flat rate of like $10 per person. Hope you have a great time down here and a fun cruise.