MDSue

You'll have to forgive the blurriness of the first pic, but in my haste to get the picture- I had the settings all wrong. The second picture that is further out is better

I just came back inside from watching (11p.m) and I can still barely see her in the distance.

The reason I stayed at the Conrad is because a few years back when I was here I noticed that about 45 minutes after the ships would depart the Pan Am pier, they would sail by the ocean side of the hotel. This year, we got really lucky to get a room with a great view of the ships at the pier.

I just happened to be sitting outside on the balcony enjoying an ice-cream cone and waiting to see if the other two smaller ships would depart. I was so surprised when I thought I saw the CB moving. I feel really lucky to have caught her heading out. I wasn't sure if she was just moving to another dock or going on a trial run, but we went out to the ocean side to see of she would sail by- and when she did- I felt like a kid in a candy store.

We watched her until my sister got tired and ready to head back in.

Here's the shot's of her looking out to the ocean from our hotel:

close to shore:

headed out to sea:

Ok- we watched her depart the Pan Am pier from my balcony. We went to the front of the hotel after she disappeared from sight and went to see if she would sail by on the ocean side- and right on clockwork about 45 minutes later- she just headed out to sea.

So the best I can tell the CB is on a trial run and she's looking good! Seemed to be moving a a good clip!

Talk about excited! woo hoo!

Took a pic- but it's blurry- will post soon

Was just sitting on our balcony enjoying the nice weather and looking out at the ships in port when I heard two ship horn blasts- at the same time we saw the CB backing up very slowly.

I'm not sure if it's moving out to sea or just another dock to make room for an incoming ship. I'm guessing that they need to give up their berth for an arriving ship.

She just disappeared out of view

Here is a pic I took of her moving out:

Don't know where but it is backing up right now- will keep you posted!

Sue, have a good cruise :)

 

 

 

 

Srpilo

Thank-you and all the rest who have responded! We always manage to have a great time on a cruise- it's so nice to be treated like a queen for a week.

Here's a closer view of the ship:

Thanks SO much for this thread, Susan. We too are anxiously awaiting the April 1 cruise. Please let us know if the CB makes any movement (perhaps indicating a trial run). I've been watching the WebCam to see if she changes position at all. Great photos too! Enjoy your time in San Juan. See you on Sunday!:D

Yoiur welcome- I debated whether to bring my laptop or not, but decided at the last minute to haul it with me.

I'm thinking that WE are going to be the trial run, but will let you know if she moves (unless she sneaks out overnight). It's nice having a view of her from our balcony- She is at the Pan Am pier with two smaller cruise ships (At least that's all I can see).

We sail her on the 15th so I'll be anxiously reading your reviews and I'm looking forward to your pictures. I hope everything goes well for you all!! Please post some photos from the IC so I can drool over the food some more, lol :D

Will do!

Thanks everyone, I'm looking forward to a great trip- hopefully!

Lovetravel101- We did the same cruise last year, except it was on the Star instead of the Emerald. You will love it. That was my favorite cruise ever. I loved sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale and the itinerary is great. There were very few children onboard the 10 day cruise (love kids and don't mind sharing the ship with them- just an observation)

Here's a few pics I managed to upload. Sorry for the big size, but I don't know how to make them smaller on Photobucket and I couldn't get the other site I use to upload.

last night- view of theCB from my balcony. You can barely see the movie screen lit up

a daytime view:

view from our hotel- The Conrad Condado:

Hi everyone,

I don't normally do live cruise reviews because I'm to busy having fun to spend much time online, but many of us are following the Caribbean Princess repair process closely. I'm going to try and provide pics and updates as we go- Hoping for the best and prepared for whatever.

My sister and I arrived in San Juan last night. We are staying at the Conrad Condado Plaza which is across the lagoon from the Pan Am pier.We have a beautiful view of the Caribbean Princess from our balcony. Last night the CB was lit up in all her glory and the movie screen was on. Hopefully, the crew was being entertained onboard. I'm sure they are all anxiously awaiting a new group of passengers after a two week shut down for repairs.

I received an email from Princess Thursday morning stating that we are going to board as scheduled on April 1st, but the itinerary might be effected by the ongoing repairs. I'm hoping we will make it to all five ports- but going to have to see how it goes

The Internet service here at the hotel is spotty and I know it's really slow onboard- but will post as I can.

We have a few days pre-cruise in San Juan to hang-out. We ate at the on-site Denny's this morning. Must be the fanciest Denny's I've ever seen. The service and food were excellent and the decor was clean and modern. Our waiter. Randall, was friendly and welcoming. It was a nice way to start our vacation.

Today, we have no set plans. We walked down the street to a local gift shop to find a much-needed Mountain Dew and then took a walk around the beautiful grounds here at the Conrad. The weather is iffy- sunny one minute and a few showers the next.

Will try and post pics soon, but so far I've had no luck uploading them to my photo-hosting website.

Hope to hear from some fellow April 1st cruisers and others so we can share our stories

Susan

Great shots so far, Here's some that I've taken:

from the air- landing

San Cristobal fort in Old San Juan

Old San Juan street

view of Plaza De Armes

Note - this Financial Times artilce is only available to subscribers directly at the FT site. However it is available to everyone who does a Google News search on "Costa crew facing alleged settlement pressure".

 

Costa crew facing alleged settlement pressure

 

I wish I could access the article- when I google search the article- it just takes me to the Financial Times link which won't allow access without registering. How did you get to the link?

It's one thing to say "At my level of training and experience, it was not possible for me to grasp the seriousness of the situation. As such, I relied upon the Captain and his orders to bring the ship and passengers to safety." It's quite another thing to say "We gave information to the Coast Guard that I knew was a lie." (And they knew it was a lie - within a few minutes after impact, they had assessed three compartments as flooded. They knew they were not simply having a power problem.)

When I watched one of the crew being interviewed on one of the specials (can't remember which one), she said that another crew member told her early on that the ship was going to sink because of the amount of flooding in the compartment. This makes me think that if a lower level crew member from the engine area knew the ship was sinking then the higher-ups must have known early on also. My guess is that they were all hoping that they could safely ground the ship before that happened and perhaps that's why they didn't order the abandon ship earlier.

I'm sure we are all quite eager to find out how such a breakdown of communication and chain of command could happen on such a huge/modern cruise ship.

I just know that if my superior ordered me to lie about a situation as dire as this, I would have refused. I mean, obviously the coast guard is going to find out sooner or later- you can't hide a 160 foot gash nor a sinking ship.

I can understand how complete and total shock could render one person useless and incapable of command, but not the whole fleet of officers.

I do hope the whole truth comes out one day- it will be a lesson in psychology.

I never said they werent telling the truth, just that they are all watching out for themselves now. Its a case of everyone for themselves and dont worry about the flak or fallout...

 

Rgds

I think the officers are making themselves look even more culpable. At what point do second or third in command decide that in the event that a distracted captain without his reading glasses crashes a ship into a rock and puts a gash in the ship that will most certainly sink the ship decide to override the orders of the captain and make a common sense decision for themselves? They simply should have refused to lie.

I can just imagine the judges thoughts when he asks the other officers if they knew the ship was sinking and they answer: "Oh yes, there is no doubt that the ship was sinking and sinking fast, but I was told to lie so I just told the Coast Guard that everything was fine." Judge:"What did you suppose was going to happen the the crew and passengers onboard?" Second in command: "Well, the safety of the crew and passengers was the responsibility of the captain, sir. It was not my job to worry about their safety. I did my job honorably because I followed the captain's orders exactly. The accident was not my fault."

Obviously this is just speculation on my part, of course, but their argument doesn't fly with me. They didn't crash the ship, but clearly took no actions to prevent the crash or save the passengers once the disaster unfolded.

The crusing industry and most certainly Costa cruiselines needs to have a policy in place where the safety of the ship and the passengers becomes more important than following the orders of an errant captain in extreme cases such as this one.

Ravi, Your flower captures are stunning! I especially love the first one

The photos we have from a video taken and sent to the Minnesota TV station to pass on to the family, show Mr and Mrs Heil 2 people back from the doors to Lifeboat # 6. This was one of the 3 life boats that was unable to launch:( Our guess is that they tried to make it to the other side to try and board another life boat. Obviously, they did not make it:(

 

Joanie

excellent observation

I have not seen this article linked before. I did not realize that the Heil's were seen alive on deck. I wonder what happened that prevented them from getting on a lifeboat.

 

http://www.kare11.com/news/article/963242/14/Photos-found-of-White-Bear-Lake-couple-lost-in-cruise-disaster

That's extremely sad to think that they were waiting their turn to get off and just didn't make it off in time. When I watched the special on the Discovery Channel, they interviewed a couple who went from lifeboat to lifeboat and they were all full. Then some went to the other side of the ship to try the other side, but the angle was so steep, it might have been impossible for some. One of the couples who swam to shore said the ship was tipping to the point that they would be underwater if they didn't jump when they did. The Heils were an elderly couple and I can imagine that swimming in the freezing cold water wasn't an option for them It seems likely that they were on the side of the ship that slipped underwater as people were still waiting to board a lifeboat. It just makes me angry that the captain didn't order abandon ship sooner. It seems like even a few minutes sooner could have been a matter of life and death for the people who perished.

Hard for me to come up with a "Best of All Time," so many photos taken in very different situations, and favorites for different reasons.

 

However, from my last cruise, three favorites:

 

The day before sailing on Carnival Ecstasy, we saw Freedom of the Seas leave Port Canaveral with some winged escorts:

 

My favorite photo to show just how relaxing cruising can be:

 

And five cruise ships in one photo, leaving Nassau (my current desktop background):

I love the composition of these pics- great shots, especially the "winged escorts"

MDSue,

For your Rebel, I would highly recommend the 70-200L zoom telephoto. I have the older f4 version - it now comes with stabilization. Even better would be the f2.8, but that is a bit pricey for just a little more light. Go for the pro glass, you won't regret it. I also got the 1.4X multiplier. This setup has served me well from Panama up to Fairbanks, Alaska. Great for wildlife. Next week we leave for 10 days in Costa Rica.

 

Art

I would love some L lens, but sadly they aren't in my budget this year. The 70-300 lens does have IS and works well. It's a compact lens also, which is nice (but heavy!). I know the standard 70-300 kens for Canon has a pretty bad reputation compared to others, but this version is great. My next investment will defintely be an L lens, but I think I'm going to get a flash and tripod before any more lens.

Enjoy Costa Rica, I spent 10 days there two summers ago. I got some great bird pictures. There is a small park on the road outside Poas Volcano that has dozens of species of hummingbirds. It is near San Jose. I hope you get to go there as you can get some great close-ups. We ate at a restaurant right across the street from it (I think called Fredys). Before I go to Alaska, I'm going to have to find money for a 400mm lens- perhaps the multiplier would work just as well, as an L version of a 400mm is probably way out of my reach for now.

Have a great trip-

This is far from professional (hand held), but was my favorite hummingbird pic:

MDSue,

Sounds like you had better luck camera shopping in St. Thomas than I did. Canon and Nikon are fairly similar product lines - both are good. And Boolchands does have a decent rep; they just wouldn't meet the price (I was looking at a Canon 28-70L). I, also, do a bit of business with B&H.

 

By the way, if you haven't done this already, next time you're there go up to Paradise Pt. and take a panorama of the harbor. I did it with 6 images, stitched together with Photoshop Elements, and it came out great. Use manual settings, take the photos vertically for better resolution, and overlap by about 50%.

 

Art

 

 

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St Thomas Panorama by , on Flickr

Love your pic, Art! You are way more talented in photography than I am. I'm a perpetual beginner. I think the difference between you and me was I was looking to buy my first dslr when I bought the Canon. I had my heart set on a Nikon model and their prices were a good bit less than the states (I didn't know about B&H then). The first camera store I went in just handed me a box with the price and nothing else- no knowledge, no advice, and nothing that made me want to risk my money there. When I went into Boolchands to compare, I met a great salesperson that lined up the D90 with the then new Canon T2i. He compared the features of each, gave me some hands on instruction. He set the camera up so I knew it was in good working order. I ended up buying an extra lens that cost me as much as the camera, but it turned out to be a perfect fit for me and I love it. I had no idea until I got back home that my camera set-up was not even available in the states yet. It was either sold out or not in stock everywhere I checked.

Last year, I wanted to buy another lens, but since the price was no different than the states, I decided to hold off. You do save on sales tax though.

I believe that the prices on the islands were generally cheaper than the ship's camera prices.

I will be back in St. Thomas next month and may have to give Paradise Point a try. So far, I haven't tried my hand at panoramic pictures yet.

Happy picture taking:)

St. Thomas is, indeed, part of the US. However, the major camera manufacturers consider it part of their Latin American sales territory. In the past, any camera purchased in St. Thomas came with an "international" warranty (I've asked before and, in fact, have purchased a Minolta XGM in St. Thomas a "few" years ago - with an international warranty). If people are actually getting US warranties, that is something new (better read the warranties). After Boolchands wouldn't meet an internet price from one of the New York stores on a lens for my Canon, I gave up on St. Thomas.

 

Art

Hey Art, You are corrrect about the Latin American warranty for the cameras, at least with my Canon. They don't really mention that either. However, when I checked to see where the offices were for the Canon Latin America, I saw it was based in Miami. So far, I''ve bought a Sony, a Canon, and a Fuji in the Caribbean. The Sony and Canon are still going strong- never had a warranty issue. My Fuji malfunctioned on the third day I owned it when the battery case came open in the water (it was a waterproof camera). I emailed the salesperson at the store (Boolchands) and received a prompt reply. I mailed them the camera and case back and they immediately refunded my money. After that incident, I am pretty confident in making purchases there.

I think Canon prices are about the same in the Caribbean and the US, so there isn't a bunch of money to be saved. You can negotiate for freebies to go with the purchase though- like memory cards, cases, etc. The Sony I purchased was a good bit cheaper than comparable US prices (that was years ago, though) and same with the Nikon model I was considering. The main benefit I got with my Canon besides the freebies is that I was able to get a brand new model in St. Thomas months before it was widely available in the US. That's what sold me on that purchase- plus I had a great salesman and hands on instruction and comparisons which I couldn't get from an online retailer.

Buying abroad might save you a few pennies, just check carefully you really are getting a "new" and not a refurbed.

 

Also with some manufactures if you bring a non USA camera into the US forget about any warranty work.

Nothing "gray market" here. I bought all of this before any of the major retailers had it in stock in the states- granted this came from the St. Maarten Boolchands, not the St. Thomas one. The store will make a camera buff drool (and spend way too much money). I've had my camera for 2 1/2 years now and have no regrets from buying in the Caribbean. Actually, I can't wait to go back and shop some more. However, there are some electronics stores there that I would not trust with my money.

That said, I love B & H too. Unfortunately, my favorite local camera store just filed for bankrupty. I think it has become impossible for the smaller, local mom and pop stores to compete with the online retailers

Orient beach sounds nice. Is it good for our grandchildren? Are there toilets available? If not which beaches should we go to?

Orient Beach is fabulous with all the facilities you need, and a water tramploine for the grandkids. HOWEVER, you will see topless individuals while there. Some parts of the beach are more family oriented and others (to the right) are clothing optional. Even on the family friendly side, there will be a few strollers walking up and down the beach sans a top.

It didn't seem to bother my kids (ages 11 and 13), but if you care, I'd stick to beaches on other islands. St. Thomas has excellent beaches as well.

As for shopping, I love both Philipsburg in St. Maarten and Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas. Both places have excellent deals.

Enjoy!

I've had good luck with camera purchases at Boolchands. They do not sell "gray" market cameras. However, you should check the warranty information. The Canon that I purchased had a Canon Latin America warranty card. Their offices are in Miami, though and luckily, I never had any warranty work needed.

Like another said, check online first and have a general idea of what you want and what you'd pay locally. I bought a $250. digital 4 years ago for $180 and got a free case and memory card also. When I bought my Canon DSLR two years ago, I got a new model that wasn't available in the US yet. I paid about the same as Internet prices, but got lots of freebies thrown in. (I made these purchases in St. Maarten, but St. Thomas has the same stores.

I've taken thousands of pictures problem-free with both cameras.

Last year, I bought a new waterproof digital and it malfunctioned on the 3rd day I owned it and was ruined in the process (the battery latch came open while snorkelling). I contacted the store via email and they replied promptly. I mailed the camera back and my credit card was refunded.

I originally posted the above story back in 2008. This year my sister joined me on our cruise again and this time she wanted to snorkel. I corresponded with Patouche charters in Tortola for months ahead of time and let him know about my sisters limitations. He was incredibly patient and helped us make her dream come true. Here is a picture my DH snapped of us swimming back to the boat with her. She held on to the life ring and we assisted her in fulfilling another dream.

 

 

 

I'm glad your sister is still managing to get out and enjoy life. My mom had a bad stroke many years ago, and she had many limitations afterwards, She and my dad were able to take a dream cruise shortly before my dad passed away, and it was probably my mom's favorite memory. The cruise staff went out of their way to make sure my mom had a great time.

Hope your sister gets to enjoy many more adventures!

I love all your butterfly pics. Do you mind telling what lens you used? You weren't too far away from my neck of the woods- never been to Ft. Belvoir though