Host Bonjour

Hello Cruise Photographers 📸 🚢 At 71 pages loaded with enough ships to probably circle the equator a few times, it seemed like we were overdue to start compiling another volume of stunning images of ships in port. It can be the one you're sailing on, others in port or if you live in or near a port, show us what you saw. (Great view of RCL on the West Side Highway Sunday but it was super hot and I was running late for an event I was coordinating! 🤪 err... well the ship was in the berth, I was in the car 🙃) Here is a link to the original Ships in Port Photo topic for anyone interested in browsing the history, or if you've previously posted in the topic and would like access to your content. The topic is closed to new posts, but still lives here on the board and won't go anywhere. Really looking forward to the new collection! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to create and share these wonderful images. Keep well and smile 🙂

OK I'll lock up this thread and link it into the new one. Thanks for the feedback 🙂

I'm associated with a nonprofit centered around photography, and there are definitely photographers who still use film as well as other traditional types of film processes. At a recent event we had, there was a booth run by an organization (Penumbra Foundation) that does tintypes, and they have darkroom space available (for anyone in the area) plus they have education and a museum: actually, there are many places to go for darkroom space. So it's alive and well. Check out B&H photography (I have no connection to them or any camera shop/retailer other than they have locations in my area), who has online classes and seminars, plus they sell used equipment, the camera is rated in terms of its condition so you pretty much know what to expect. B&H Photo has been in business for a long time, they have the most options: a decent selection of used cameras and even some new ones, though they not really comparable to the used ones in terms of functionality so it wouldn't be much of a learning curve. There is also Adorama (assortment of very inexpensive cameras) and MPB (a few used Leicas). There are indeed many YouTube videos by many people, though not everyone teaches the same way (or should teach) and not everyone learns the same way, or at the same speed. Choose carefully. The best thing to do may be to look around for an adult education or community college course on film photography. The International Center for Photography has classes on film photography, but again, that's if you're in the area, however, there are wonderful photographic centers in many places throughout the US (we get to know them through alliances). Not sure if grand-nephew lives near you in coastal GA, but I'd be happy to send suggestions for arts/photography nonprofit organizations to look at in other areas that may also run educational programs. SCAD is an art school nearby in Savannah which you probably know about should he get bitten by the bug and want to pursue a degree for a career. Learning film photography is much better in person because it's important to be processing and making your own prints in order to fully grasp all that goes into the image from start to finish. Work can still take place later on in the digital image making process when editing an image, but the approach is different. Knowing how to make film images also will probably increase the quality (and save post production time) with digital photo making. Let us know if you need more info and how it all goes 🙂

Hi everyone! Wanted to check in and see how you all felt about maybe retiring this thread–it would not be deleted, only closed to additional posts–and we start a fresh topic for Images of Ships in Port. Why? I think the original post was made a decade ago (some ships might be out of commission or sold/renamed?) and at 71 pages, impractical for a leisurely look at some photos 😉 We would also be able to link the original topic into the first (or second) post of the new topic, so it would be easy to access within the new topic. I'll wait for comments to see what you think and it's sounding like a good idea, we can move ahead with a fresh new topic. Thanks to everyone for making this a fun, informative, and creative forum, true to the Cruise Critic community style 💯😎 Colleen

Asking for recommendations is always allowed. 😉 What we need to avoid is anyone starting a topic promoting anything specific because what begins as a well-intended piece of information about an experience, opens up the floodgates to others with similar or competing businesses posting links to their own websites. After 25 years, we've seen it all. Please go ahead let us know what you need help with. If the community here has any experience with the hotel/tour/taxi etc., they will let you know, or if not, they may let you know what they used that did work well, which IS permitted, because they are directly replying to your question. Thanks for asking, and please always reach out if you have any questions about the community. There are hosts/mods always lingering around here. 🙂

@hallasmNYT used to allow access to 5 free articles per month to folks who didn't subscribe, I wonder if they removed that access, it would be disappointing (not to mention a discouragement to potential subscribers!) but I see you are actually IN Denmark, so I wonder if it's an international limit? But, I send links to friends oversees and they can read if it's under the limit, I believe. Interesting... Anyway, the above New York Times piece from June 16, 2022 was written by: Lisa Abend Images by: Dennis Stenild. Thanks Terry.

Story by: Niki Kitsantonis Image by: Maria Mavropoulou Thank you Terry.

I send postcards from everywhere, and it's a nice time when I sit down to people watch while I write in a cafe of park, recap what I've been doing. Sometimes, for special places, I send one to myself. Easiest thing to do would be to just ask someone local to send them for you once you've written them and added the postage, such as in a cafe or restaurant where you stop, or even pop into a hotel and ask the hotel clerk to add them to their outgoing mail. It takes no effort for them to do it. And if you think they can't or won't, why wouldn't they? This is a small favor and hospitality is so wonderful. I've had worse glitches and encountered such wonderful assistance from total strangers while traveling abroad, I wouldn't hesitate to ask a small local business to please mail my cards for me. Especially given that the post office, like lots of businesses overseas, might keep limited hours or close mid-day for lunch, so if you miss the window of opportunity while out exploring, or can't find the mailbox (hint: often they're affixed to the side of buildings, quite small) you'd miss the opportunity. Take advantage of the kindness and ask people. At least for little things, it's still happening. (True story: a friend brought me an A3 size photograph he took in Paris, stopped by my uncle's hotel but somehow they missed connections. The hotel mailed it on their dime to my uncle's home after he checked out, the photo, it's the underside of the Bir Hakim bridge, is on my wall now.) 🙂 Happy travels!

Actually, it's quite specific to Sofia, in Bulgaria. My friend and his wife lived there for a while, they've lived in many places as he is an international capital markets consultant (Bosnia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China, Thailand, Mozambique, Paris, Cairo, Philippines, Bhutan, it goes on and on where I have postcards from!) as the side-to-side YES head shaking evidently was not a thing outside the capitol city. I'm not sure about Albania. As for the tipping, we've had the topic discussion on here for years on Cruise Critic (and our old sister boards Independent Traveler, Family Vacation Critic) over and over. Personal choice is always up to the individual, and special circumstances can never be predicted, but part of being a global citizen is not only abiding by the laws of the land wherever we are in the world, but respecting the cultural standards and practices. No one is ever expected to morph into or fully enmesh oneself so much as to attempt to fully localize to oneself's surroundings, as this would be so uncomfortable such as to render travel and exploration quite awkward, impractical, even possibly offensive. What is necessary is doing our best to understand the local environment (err on the side of caution always) and, respect the principles and keep them front of mind always. It's not about our comfort, we are guests. New turf, new rules. You did right cruzhappy, you asked, made nice connections and a pandemic certainly isn't something that happens much, is it? But it impacted everyone, everywhere in Italy and worldwide. So it makes sense to think on a large scale in this case because we generally do not know how relief efforts were going locally, regionally, nationally. They are working, they are getting paid. But we don't know the bigger picture, bright, dark or otherwise. And we can help, but it always makes sense to do due diligence if that's the plan, so that the help gets well utilized and managed, if one does decide to take action. Tipping is limited to one person, or a small group (hotels and tours/drivers, etc sometimes work together) so the money isn't getting much traction, whereas an organization or relief effort can stretch a dollar or euro, rand, peso, lira... to greatest extent and reach. There are ratings guides that check the effectiveness of all organizations (Charity Navigator is one) that receive donations, just use google. In this case, it sounds like everyone was happy/satisfied and relationships were formed. But it is important to think of long term effects, especially for people who live there year-round, who maybe visit and can't afford tip (students, shoe-string travelers) but still should be treated properly, that ought not create a tiered level of treatment that could emerge should the tipping become expected or adopted in a country where people are paid real wages (what's real wages is debatable everywhere, I get it, and that's not a travel topic) for their work, even if that may not be the case in a lot of countries, unfortunately. Again, it's part of being responsible travelers, good citizens. If we visit somewhere and know the person is barely getting paid or tips are part of the earnings, tip away. If you travel and want to give back to the area you're visiting, investigate the best ways to make the most of that contribution. Otherwise, pardon the pun, but when in Rome...be Roman 😎 (why be anything else?) But again, very glad you had a lovely experience cruzhappy, and thanks for sharing!

I think they're doing the right things... it's important to protect Venice, otherwise there will be nothing left to see 😞 Most things have capacity limits for safety, why not historic places? It can still be visited, it just requires additional planning and a small fee. Doable. Viva Venezia 🙂

By Sarah Holt for MailONLINE by Adam Solomons for MailONLINE Thanks Terry as always!!

If it's not cold weather (even then it might be possible) you can do it if you don't need to dress for dinner on the ship. I've done my laundry in Italy, there were plenty of places to either do it myself or leave it to be done (reasonable!) so I could continue exploring or simply rest. I won't check baggage anymore, I've done the heavy lifting bringing things I don't wear or use, or realize now it's not that important. Go with black pants and/or shorts/skirt, with two neutral tops, a light covering, your personal underclothes, socks, shoes, something to sleep in, you're good. Roll it all up to save space when packing, and agree with @mapleleaves, you can get away with the carry on plus small backpack as that would count as the "personal item" so you can stash other items in there too. You won't need full sizes of anything, many things will be available on the cruise and/or locally. It's a much nicer way to travel, whenever possible. I don't miss having bruises (!!) and heaving bags up/down stairs, escalators, in/out of trains, taxis, etc. only challenge now is reaching the overhead bin, but there's almost always a taller person around to help and/or someone seated who doesn't want a bag dropped on their head 😉 . Another thing is, some travel bags really do make a difference in the way they're designed inside to help with stowing things if you're not a great packer. Give it a try if you can, maybe first domestically before you try in Italy (if possible) but otherwise, be bold and do it. There's really nothing you can't get away if you need it, and you can always get a bag if you need it to go home. Good luck!

Oh good, I thought it was me wondering where downtown London was, what have I been missing? 😱 Philadelphia's "downtown" is called Center City, I don't know who decides all of this... for the longest time I was perplexed about the High Street. It usually wasn't called High Street, I wondered why every town had a High Street but then Main Street was popular here. Eventually figured out the connotation (before I got to visiting) I guess it's part of the fun of discovering new places, dialect, phrases, terms etc. There is a downtown NYC (Midtown, Uptown, Eastside/Westside), however it does get quite specific, though no one will call you out for it. You can say Union Square is downtown, Chinatown is downtown, Wall Street is downtown.... each is not ALL the way downtown. It's relative. All the way downtown NYC can get a little sleepy at night in certain areas (not scary,) mostly in the financial district, because the work crowd is gone for the day so it can be tough to find a place to grab a bite or a comfort break. Just an FYI in case anyone new visiting ended up that far downtown in the evening. In other places north of that downtown, things are open and active later. Just an FYI, since we got into the downtown conversation. (sorry to veer away from London for a sec, but it does remind me of home in many ways, don't mean to offend) but it came up so wanted to clarify 😉 And glad I wasn't missing a mystery London downtown somewhere. (But it can be a good idea when in London to talk to Londoners and ask for their thoughts on where to wander: I did and was glad for it!!) Oh and can I say, what a cracking British GP? 🏎️💯

Do you make movie posters? Or did you want to make movie posters? It's fun! Makes me think of The Man Who Came to Earth (or whatever the name is of the 60s movie with the space ship that lands in D.C. and a guy who uses diamonds for currency) I'm like GUT and actually wait around for people to get out of the way, but I do think it's kind of cool that there's a way to do it later. Either way, it takes some bit of time. How much or how little depends on the acuity of one's PS skills, time available on site, blah blah. And if you're making movie posters 😎 I might have added a larger shark fin though 😂 but then I can be a little over-dramatic.

I learned in High School, in NYC. I wish I would have followed the nudging of my teachers more, but it stuck with me and I'm more involved in it than ever (IRL) even though I don't have enough time right now to create 😞 I was taught in analog times but I think what you're saying still applies now (and I've written about before) understanding light/composition, AND, one of the photographers we work with (and VERY renowned) who juried an annual public radio show submission program stated the exact same thing recently when commenting about images in general (it's a smartphone "competition") in that sometimes just waiting a bit can bring such phenomenal results. Waiting is obviously not always an option (not on a moving ship) or getting back to the ship or have to be anywhere, but we're not talking about waiting hours... it can simply be a matter of seconds or minutes. Breathe, look, pause... what's it for, do you want to possibly use it later for something, is it a special location you really want to memorialize, don't just look at the screen or through a lens, look around. And I think more than anything, understand how the device works (smartphone/camera) AND the light, so you have the luxury to take a few moments when making the image, or perhaps can setup a shot in advance on devices where that's possible. There are great (short-ish, 10-15 minutes) videos with some shortcuts on settings you can use for your camera to optimize settings for certain conditions (if you don't have time for learning things right now) but it would still be great for anyone to do a tutorial on why understanding light and composition can significantly up your photo game, and there are many great videos for that. It's just a matter of finding who you're comfortable listening to, and is easy to follow (they're not all equal) since I've watched some (photographer interviews, advanced topics, and things for when I got my new camera, the manual is ridiculous) and some have camera presence, speak well, personality etc. Find what works for you. People will be L♥️VE seeing your photos and always ask when you've got new ones, home or away 😉 And thanks to Mercury'sMum for helping others get into photography at an early age. I didn't even have a camera when I started and it took a long time before I could buy a proper one, but the classes were unforgettable and led me to where I am now. Hopefully you hear from students and have followed some through fun and interesting careers. 🎉🍎 Listen to teacher everyone!!

Would a pinned topic be helpful? As this is part of our current reality and travel planning, would it be convenient to have one place to post and answer questions, as opposed to scanning through pages and topics? One would be able to jump to the latest info and/or search the topic to see whether or not the information they need has been posted. Folks can also post the latest news, updates, links as it is rolled out: when/where/how to get tests, time tables, airlines, hotels, port, etc. Let's have the yeahs and nays please! Thanks in advance.

!Hola! After a wonderful run at about 22 pages, it seems the right time to begin a new chapter of Palma de Mallorca DIY topic, with thanks to everyone, especially roger b, for making it such a wonderful part of the Spain community. I have closed that thread to new posts but it remains viewable to anyone as a valuable source of information for trip planning or if you wish to review any of the posts you have made to the topic in the past. Having fewer pages will make it more amenable to searches for new and repeat visitors alike, rather than a place where only new posts will get added on to the existing topic, making it a valuable source of information for visitors to the Spain message board. In the new thread, please continue to adhere to the forum T.O.S., as everyone here has always done, and focus your wonderful contributions on the do-it-yourself topics of interest that have made the original compilation such a rousing success. Examples of DIY inquiries/discussions are, but not limited to: Arranging transportation to/from, or while in port Restaurants Accommodations What to see or do while in port Beaches HoHo buses and ordinary buses And....other pertinent DIY inquiries This is definitely NOT the place to ask about tours, guides, etc. as that takes us outside the realm of DIY. Best answer to someone posting such a question (or a review we don't see and remove; remember you can always alert us for prompt removal!) is to refer them to a topic that might answer the question they have asked about a tour, or kindly suggest starting a new topic, so that this topic adheres to its mission. Thanks in advance everyone for making Palma de Mallorca 2.0 the success we know it will be. 🙂

Hello Spain Ports Community! Its been 7 years and 20 pages since the original Barcelona Day Tours (BDT) thread was started. I figured it was time to start a fresh thread. Please post your requests here for information and experiences from fellow cruisers with BDT. As our experienced Cruise Critic members know, this is one of the rare exceptions made when direct questions may be posted regarding Barcelona Day Tours. A similar exemption exists on our Italy ports board. The intention of this thread is to accommodate our members’ information sharing and reduce the number of similar threads so that other Spain port questions will be easy to view. And the obligatory fine print.... Please keep our TOS re: limits on discussion when posting requests/replies to posts; our rules are stated at the top of this board in the formerly “sticky” notes, now pinned topics. Remember about "one (or two) post wonders as well. Those will be removed. Everyone that posts here is always wonderful and we appreciate your enthusiastic participation on this and every single topic throughout Cruise Critic. We’re not us without you. And so about that Barcelona port stop....🚢