2BeOnaBoat

On 5/11/2022 at 7:29 PM, den32837 said:

When we travel, my photos are my souvenirs. The best shots end up as canvas prints on the walls at home. We have Antelope Canyon, Amsterdam, Rome, Washington DC, New York City, Neuschwanstein, Stonehenge, Monument Valley, Zaanse Schans windmills, Bar Harbor Maine, and Alaska whales and eagles on the walls. With 32 up, not much space remains.

I have the cell phone and a compact $100 Canon along, mostly for snapshots on board and shots of friends, while I use a Canon 70D for photographs off ship. Favorite lenses include a Tamron 18-400, which fetched wonderful shots of eagles on blue icebergs in Alaska and the Statue of Liberty on approach to NY harbor,  and a Tokina 11-16 which nailed my all-time-favorite shot at Stonehenge, and comes in handy in museums and other close-quarters venues.

The fact is, though, if you have a decent eye, get a good composition and have the requisite sharpness of image, many different cameras will suffice. Example: during this pandemic, while we were unable to travel, I dug out some old film shots, exposed in 1971 in DC and while stationed in Germany in the early 80s, digitized them , used modern computer photo-editing software and came up with wonderful prints for the wall,  of Washington DC monuments and Mad King Ludwig's castle.  They were originally shot with a Fujica ST-701 SLR. on Kodachrome. 

For the folks satisfied with only a cell phone camera, I will say the most pitiful sight I ever witnessed was my fellow passengers trying to shoot the Statue Of Liberty (at distance) from a cruise ship with a cell phone

 

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LOL - I shot the Statue of Liberty with my cell phone on a cruise.  But I did it without any zoom to show to relative distance.  I wanted to show people how close or far the ship was from parts of the city.

For my next cruise I've rented a 15-33mm for interior shots.  It's a pricey "L" lens and I want to try it out first.

For last 11 cruises I have attached a 11" round port hole picture showing 3 sea gulls flying over the water to the cabin door. The port hole is mounted on a large round flat magnet covered with rubber. No damage to the door.

The Wife likes me doing this. She just walks down the hall way until she sees the port hole. She then knows that she is "home".

 

Bob

Where did you find that? Great idea.

If you are looking at New England, it has a lot of ports. There is only 1 sea day so the ship becomes an after thought. I did that cruise last year in October and wore shorts with a light sweatshirt in every port. I liked it so much, I am going back in a few weeks.

I think demographics are defined more by the destination than the cruiseline. Hawaii will be an older crowd than Caribbean. Also June will have more kids (under 18) than April.

My first Holland Cruise will be this November so I can't compare the two. But you and your boyfriend will either love cruising and get hooked or not. I was hooked. :)

Thats what I'm concerned about. I have not pre paid an excursion before but this cruise may be an exception.

Looking at my next cruise, I have booked excursions and the amount shows up in the Payments/Credits section in the Personalizer. I don't think you have to pay before you board but I haven't run out of OBC yet. It looks like the cancellation policy is tougher but I was able to book the times I wanted. Maybe they are tightening up on people who "wish list" excursions just to cancel later.

"If a pre-paid shore excursion is cancelled five (5) days or more prior to sailing a refund of the pre-paid amount will be made in one of the following ways:

1) If there is a shore excursion balance for the guest named on the reservation being cancelled then the pre-paid amount shall be applied to this balance.

Or,

2) If there is no shore excursion balance for the guest named on the reservation being cancelled then the pre-paid amount will be refunded to the credit card used to pre-pay the shore excursion. Refunds in this instance will be made within 24 hours of cancellation. If the guest for whom the pre-paid excursion is being cancelled makes another shore excursion reservation within 24 hours of cancellation, the refund will be applied to the newly made reservation.

If a pre-paid shore excursion is not cancelled within the above time frame or is cancelled during the voyage prior to the "Closing Time for Cancellation" listed for the particular excursion you wish to cancel, then the pre-paid amount will be refunded to the guest named on the pre-paid reservation as a shipboard credit on this guest's shipboard folio. Please note this is done regardless of which guest pre-paid for the shore excursion."

Last time we went, it was so crowded that we wished we hadn't gone. It was way too noisy to hear what the sommeliers (if that is who they are) were saying.

They made all the elite passengers wait in line to enter and allowed the paying customers in to be seated first. I understand that but then we had horrible seating ... way in back and around the corner behind a waiter prep station so couldn't even see what was going on either. And yes, no more cute glasses .... I was trying to get the entire collection but no more. :(

Not that big of a deal either way but will probably just skip it next time around.

The loss of sommeliers is a Princess loss not an elite one. I miss being able to learn about wine. I'd find something on a flight and the trainee at Vines (the true $ommelier worked the dining room) would suggest other wines. They could create a custom flight then you could further narrow down what you like. The rum slingers they have now wouldn't know decent wine from mad dog! I've asked 2 what their favorite wine was just to be told they don't like wine. Princess might as well gut Vines and put in a decent micro-brew pub.

Sorry, back to laundry - the most enjoyed and hated elite perk.

Greetings —

a bit of a "foodie" (I love to cook and collect cookbooks)

Artsy - you can over indulge without knowing it, especially on your first cruise. You can easily gain 1 or more pounds a day. So I suggest being picky. Go for quality over quantity, but don't be too upset if quantity wins its share of battles.

Oh and being on your first cruise, your sea legs might take longer to adapt as they are as new to this as you. Don't worry if an occasional wall nudges you. Soon enough your sea legs be in sync with the rest of the ship.

You can't find a BLT, but they have enough in the buffet to make one. I add egg too.

Also, the Hazelnut ice cream is good in coffee.

Fax: 661-753-0180 is currently going to voicemail. Odd for a fax machine!

 

I guess I'll try later once the fax machine has got some coffee and settled in for the day.

I called their fax from my cell and got a fax machine - looks like it's on my end. I guess I'll report the fax machine we have at work... or feed it coffee!

That is because the ship is chartered to various Chinese travel companies who then market the voyages.

 

Princess does not offer cabins on these voyages to the public. Only the Chinese travel companies involved can do so.

Fax: 661-753-0180 is currently going to voicemail. Odd for a fax machine!

I guess I'll try later once the fax machine has got some coffee and settled in for the day.

They are printed in color so yes, they are the same color as the cruise card.

I am single and am not sure why that is a problem.

On one cruise I went with my cousin back to her room to grab her camera. I let her try the door a few times before pointing out the name tag. I then suggested we try the same room on a different floor. :p

We enjoyed our Baltic cruise on the Regal Princess last month - the one sour note was the endless commercialism.

 

Every day the Princess Patter seemed to have a huge list of activities - but on closer inspection, more than half were just promotional events for the shops, the spa or the art gallery.

 

I had a spa treatment which was quite nice, but was then given the hard sell for two products which cost more than the treatment - she actually walked away saying, "I'll just add these to your account" and I had to call her back to say no. Totally destroyed the relaxing effect of the massage!

 

The first formal night was the champagne pour, which was a joke - instead of the spectacle of champagne cascading down the tower of glasses, we got an endless queue of guests coming up to the podium to add a tiny splash (so they could get their photo taken of course!). We were all crammed into the space under the balconies because so much space was taken up by that queue and the roped-off areas for formal photos. It lost all sense of atmosphere, it was all designed to suit the photographers.

 

Are all Princess Cruises like this?

The spa and the new art people have gotten worse, I avoid both. The champagne waterfall doesn't bother me as much. But I am usually at Vines so it comes to me more than I go to it.

What is roll call?

The roll call on this site is a place where people on YOUR SPECIFIC cruise can post and share ideas that are specific to your cruise. They will set up a Meet and Greet and I'd recommend that as you can meet other passengers as well as some ship's officers; though the kids may not enjoy the M&G as much.

Go to the main page and look for the roll calls section. Then find your line (Princess), your ship and your date.

Ketchikan is a photogenic town. Skagway very small and walkable - think Northern Exposure if you ever watched that show. Alaska is the most demanding cruise I've taken from a "pictures" perspective. Batteries and memory cards oh my! But keep in mind the scale and try to capture things in your pics to relate that scale. A couple "how to"s on google before you leave is a good idea even if just as a refresher.

I'd like to try it. So far most of the complaints are about bar stools.

As far as the name, it seems plenty appropriate - “Salty Dog” is nautical slang for an experienced sailor who has spent much of his life aboard a ship at sea.

Not as far back in the time machine... Princess had it's own art dept.

This year will be my first, I am going the week before the original poster. Any advice idea on Saint John/New Brunswick or Halifax?

 

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO 2BeOnaBoat: At St. John if you go see the reversing waters go in the morning. The waters don't reverse as well in the afternoon. Go on a tour of St. John and you will also go to the reversing waters and the old market. You could also go to St.Andrew. It is a place built by loyalists after the American Revolution. It is an all day trip though.

 

In Halifax: Everyone is going to Peggy's Cove these days. It gets crowded there and long lines for everything. There is a Harbor Walk at Halifax. Near where the ship is there is a Museum of Immigration. If you like lobster roll there is a place at the farmers market where you can get one at a very reasonable cost. Museum that has a permanent Titanic exhibit. Stores, eateries, and Cows Ice Cream on the Harbor Walk. Also along Upper Water Street and Water Street. There is a botanical garden, but, it is a distance from the ship. I was there. It is nice.

 

Most of all, have fun and enjoy your vacation.

 

Thanks, I will enjoy it. I'll add the Harbor Walk to my googling habbits.

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO krazy4kruisin: Going to Canada is a good idea especially since you haven't been there before. This year we are going back to Canada too and it will be our ninth time. You are going somewhat late for fall foliage. Most of the trees should be bare at that time of year. If you want good fall foliage go earlier in the month. However, you may have a special reason for going at that time of year. Birthday or anniversary. It maybe cold at late October. One year we went at the time we usually go, earlier in October, it was unusually cold. Other times it was pretty good. There are lots of things to do in both ports. Have a good time.

This year will be my first, I am going the week before the original poster. Any advice idea on Saint John/New Brunswick or Halifax?

I have a few notes but having never been, I'm in data gathering mode...

• Wed, 10/19 (5a-4p) - Saint John/New Brunswick: Arrive 5:00am Depart 4:00pm
  
• Saint John City Market
  
• Old City Market - Canada's oldest working farmers market
  
• Carleton Martello Tower - American Tourists storming the fort for irony :)
  
• Reversing Falls
  

• Thr, 10/20 (11a-8p) - Halifax: Arrive 11:00am Depart 8:00pm
  
• BOOKED: YHZ-100 allows 1 hour at Peggy's Cove - 11:30-2:30
  
• "The Sou’Wester at Peggy’s Cove" - Gingerbread Cake, gift shop, lighthouse, photo ops
  
• deGarthe Monument
  
• "Sugah! Confectionery & Ice Cream Emporium"
  
• St Paul's Cathedral - oldest existing Protestant place of worship
  

I know the OP is about taking a fain on the cruise. But why not just turn the air conditioning up so it's cooler in your cabin. My wife is always hot and I'm always cold so my the cabin is always freeeeeeeezing. :eek:

Tony

I use one more for the air movement. I have a ceiling fan at home and have to get used to not having one on a cruise.

I was able to gelato on the Ruby Princess November 2015. You get three scoops for $1.50 and you can mix-and-match the flavors. I really enjoyed it.You get this at the international café

Julie

I saw the same thing on the Emerald. They wouldn't take coffee card punches like the Royal did but that was a different set up. On the Emerald gelato was on the side of the sandwich/salad case by the coffee bar and easy to miss. On the Royal, it was a separate area across from the coffee bar.

Good to see.

Thanks for the review. I'll be on the Regal in Oct and hopefully the rude cruisers are elsewhere.

 

If you like Italian, order the Fettuccini Alfredo for dinner. Delicious.:D

 

--Parmesan Bowl. The Alfredo is a must.

Deck 7 you can walk all the way around the ship. Stairs are involved at the bow but it's nice after a big dinner that involved a Parmesan bowled Alfredo.

Also, how would you know how many punches are left?

And you wouldn't be able to share.

Hello everybody,

 

I think, that I have read somewhere (on cruise critic?), that Princess has a referral program for new cruisers. The new and the old Princess cruiser get some onboard credit.

 

I was not able to find anything regarding this program on the Princess website.

 

Does this program exist? Can somebody point me into the right direction?

 

Thanks

 

wintersno

https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/jsp/referral-rewards/index.jsp

We are scheduled on the Ruby for Sunday's departure to the Mexican Riviera. With the category 5 hurricane approaching we are wondering if the cruise will A) be cancelled; B) be diverted to a different area or C) go down to Mexico anyway and don't stop at ports. Thoughts??:confused:

For hurricane Sandy from New York to Bermuda, we went north and stayed at Boston. They were able to get around the Jones rules because of the hurricane (emergency situation). You might end up in San Francisco if Patricia is a huge concern. We also had 2 extra days which meant the next cruise lost 2 days. So departure date is something to keep an eye (no pun) on.