Funship 2.0 (Liberty) Review w/Lots of Pictures

[johndavidearley]

Does the 18-270 handle macro shots like the 18-55 kit lens does? Have to look into that one

[sayvan]

Thanks!

 

Actually, I didn't use the flash much. I rarely use the built-in popup flash because it almost always produces red-eye. I'll use it when we're in bright sunlight and I just need a fill flash for a shadow, but that's about it.

 

I do have an SB600 that I used for some of these pictures - and I use that more than anything else. My D7000 has a commander built in and the SB600 is wireless, so I can do it off camera and stay completely away from red eye. I can also rotate the flash up to reflect off of a ceiling or wall to backlight the subject a lot better.

 

For the most part, though, I don't use the flash at all. For most of these shots, I set my ISO at 100-400 and use program mode. I'll set my WB depending on where I'm at, but Cloudy works for almost every situation except the room or heavy incandescant areas.

 

When I started shooting with my D3000, I always went to Apeture or Shutter priority - and those are great for specialty shots where you need a narrow focus field or a super fast or slow shutter speed...but for most shots, Program mode works really well.

 

The D5100 has I believe the exact same CMOS sensor as the D7000. What I've found with mine, is that with proper exposure, even high ISO photos look pretty good with little noise.

 

Probably 95% of the pictures that I posted are without using a flash at all.

 

Thanks for the answers.... this leads me to my next question. Are you shooting in Raw? You are correct the 7000 and the 5100 have the same CMOS sensor as well. Have you tried the Red Bubble community at all. Its a great place to display your photos and maybe even get lucky and sell a few.

[will773]

AWESOME pictures! This was a great review, thanks for posting!

[StingRaysfan]

Great review! You are inspiring me to get around to uploading my photos for our review of our recent Liberty Cruise. Your pictures are SO MUCH better then mine! They are BEAUTIFUL!

[luvcdays]

The secret door(s) are located all the way forward on Decks 9 and 10 (I think you can also get on 7 but I didn't do that so don't quote me).

 

They aren't marked or anything. You can go outside on deck 9 and there is a stairway in the middle of the ship to go up to Deck 10. You can also get back to the ship on the sides at deck 10 just like deck 9.

 

Often on this cruise there were signs on the doors saying "closed due to high wind", but there were often people out there anyway.

 

 

Thank you very much. We can't wait!

[gail811]

I am only through page 2 of your review and I am loving it! I followed the earlier thread when you left your card in the safe and I am THRILLED to see that you got it back! I can't wait to finish the review; we sail in 70 days!

[futureAG]

Keep up the GREAT work! :D Your review was fantastic!

[smitty89]

Chris!!! I am so glad you got your card back! I was kind of keeping track over the Christmas break, but just now saw your review. The review is fabulous, it made me feel like we were back on the boat again, great great job! The pictures you have posted are outstanding!

 

We had a great time on this cruise and are so glad that we got to meet you guys. And, hey, what a small world - Dave does rule! This was our second cash-only vacation! Once you do it, there is no way you go back.

 

We need to try to cruise together again, maybe with your kiddos and ours! Tell Tarren we all said hi!

[pyroguy]

Does the 18-270 handle macro shots like the 18-55 kit lens does? Have to look into that one

 

The 18-270mm Tamron lens has an f/3.5 apeture for a pretty narrof FOV for an all purpose zoom. The minimum focus is around 16" from what I've found.

 

The 18-55 Nikon has the same apeture, but the minimum focus is a little smaller, around 12" or so.

 

Hope this helps.

[pyroguy]

Thanks for the answers.... this leads me to my next question. Are you shooting in Raw? You are correct the 7000 and the 5100 have the same CMOS sensor as well. Have you tried the Red Bubble community at all. Its a great place to display your photos and maybe even get lucky and sell a few.

 

Great question. The D7000 has 2 SD slots, and I usually shoot the first shot RAW and the second slot is an Eye-Fi card that copies basic small jpegs that wirelessly transmit to my iPad.

 

However, on this trip, I set slot 2 as an overflow and took .jpg only. I was a little concerned with file sizes is why I stuck with .jpgs. Raw's on my camera approach 27-35 megs each, and my post processing software (PS CS5) can open .jpgs as RAW and you get the same options for processing (not *quite* as good as pure RAW, but still pretty close).

 

I have not tried Red Bubble...but I did join 500px and have a site there. I will check out RedBubble. (chrisbloom.500px.com)

[pyroguy]

Chris!!! I am so glad you got your card back! I was kind of keeping track over the Christmas break, but just now saw your review. The review is fabulous, it made me feel like we were back on the boat again, great great job! The pictures you have posted are outstanding!

 

We had a great time on this cruise and are so glad that we got to meet you guys. And, hey, what a small world - Dave does rule! This was our second cash-only vacation! Once you do it, there is no way you go back.

 

We need to try to cruise together again, maybe with your kiddos and ours! Tell Tarren we all said hi!

 

Hey, Gwen, glad to hear from you! We had a great time too, didn't even know you guys were kool-aid drinkers too :)

 

I think I saw a one or two pics of your family in HMC that I took of the kids swimming but I didn't want to post them without permission. I can send them to you though if you pm me your email address. I don't think they're great closeups or anything...but maybe gets the kids from another vantage point.

 

Feel like cruising next July? We'll be on the spendor on the 29th! We will have our kiddos with us then too.

[smitty89]

We love that Kool-aid! Feel free to post the pics, I will send my email!

 

As for July....I will talk to Chris and see what he thinks!

[smitty89]

gwensmith77 @ gmail .com is the address Chris, and thanks!

[caljencruisers]

L♥ve, L♥ve, L♥ve your review.

[Rositer11]

Well, I have tried to send Monica a little Thank You for her help, but she's thwarting my plans.

 

First, I asked her for a mailing address where I could send something. She said nothing was necessary. So, I friended her on FB because I know you can send gift cards over FB. She accepted, then unaccepted quickly. Shucks.

 

Is there anything else anyone can think of that I can do?

My wife and I could take it to her. We are sailling in 4 weeks and we could take it to her. She has already made us chef's table reservations.

[sayvan]

Great question. The D7000 has 2 SD slots, and I usually shoot the first shot RAW and the second slot is an Eye-Fi card that copies basic small jpegs that wirelessly transmit to my iPad.

 

However, on this trip, I set slot 2 as an overflow and took .jpg only. I was a little concerned with file sizes is why I stuck with .jpgs. Raw's on my camera approach 27-35 megs each, and my post processing software (PS CS5) can open .jpgs as RAW and you get the same options for processing (not *quite* as good as pure RAW, but still pretty close).

 

I have not tried Red Bubble...but I did join 500px and have a site there. I will check out RedBubble. (chrisbloom.500px.com)

 

Thanks again for the answer. I am also using Photoshop CS5 (or should I say learning) and also Lightroom 3. This is a never ending hobby we have.... both cruising and photography can be addictive. Again, thanks for taking the time to answer questions and for the great review. I did a review of my Panama Canal cruise with tons of pics last year and know the time involved (you can find the link in my signature..I was using a Lumix camera then).

[kmd107]

Great review and even better pictures. Could you post a link for the bottom St. Thomas night shot?

 

I have tried to get this myself but either my camera or skills are not up to par.

 

 

 

A little bit about the Chef’s Table. Wow. Best thing I ever did on the ship. It ended up being almost 4 hours and there were 4 couples total in our group. We had 9 courses (the courses we had are the new Funship 2.0 courses). Now, I’m a little fuzzy on it, but I would estimate I had a full bottle of champagne and about 2 bottles of wine in that 4 hours. I know that sounds like a lot, and I’m not someone who normally drinks at all...but I would imagine everyone in our group had about the same amount. They just kept filling the glasses and it was a great experience. The food was incredible. We were able to ask specific questions of the head chef about some of the new Funship 2.0 restuarants (like Guys going through 1200 5oz burgers per day) to how you can order your WCMC however you like it (rare, medium or well-done), because they make it purposefully multiple ways as passengers have different preferences. This was a great experience and I would recommend it in a heartbeat. And, since it was Taren’s Birthday, they made her a cake.

 

...Taren’s Chef’s Table Cake...

 

...And a night time picture of St. Thomas before we left...

[ViolaSwamp]

Great review, thanks for posting it!

 

I sailed the Liberty (Western) back in October 2010, before the upgrades. So I am excited to see photos of the changes.

 

I was fortunate enough to book a cabana for our upcoming Eastern Liberty cruise nexr month at $199, before the price increase went into effect. I am still not sure which cabana I want to snag for us. It will be me, my husband, and our daughter (age 8). Want to be near the action - restrooms, bar, music - but not right in the thick of "traffic". We were at HMC on a HAL cruise back in 2009 but did not get a cabana then, and also it was before the new pirate bar.

 

ANYWAY I am wondering, based on the above interests, which cabana would you recommend we try to reserve? Thanks. :)

 

Also, what is the Chef's Table? I take it that you do not mean the Steakhouse, but I would like to know what that other option is all about.

 

Thanks!!

[01 Cobra]

Thank you for sharing your photographs and cruise experience! I loved the picture of the conch shells on the beach in Grand Turk. So glad you had a wonderful time! :D

[italianfemmy]

Also, what is the Chef's Table? I take it that you do not mean the Steakhouse, but I would like to know what that other option is all about.

 

Thanks!!

 

Chef's table is completely different. In my signature, there's a link for my review of my cruise on the Carnival Dream. In that review on Day 4, you'll read all about Chef's table, complete with the full menu and about 50 photos of our experience with it as well as a full review on the experience itself.

 

If you don't want to have to read through the whole review to find it, skip to page 11. The review of Chef's table starts mid way down the page on post #218. Enjoy!

[MI Snow Bunny]

Your review and pictures were just great!

 

Thanks so much for sharing!

 

Sailing on the Liberty next month.....Can't wait!

[funfamilyof6]

...My Ribeye...

 

...The Chocolate Sampler...

 

Honestly, I didn't like the chocolate sampler all that much. (Sorry guys, but I really didn't). There were some weird combinations like mango & amaretto in there that I didn't care much for. Would have rather just had WCMC. Others we talked to LOVED it though...so maybe it's just me.

 

The steak looks very good, we may have to try the steakhouse. :)

 

Thanks again for the great review....now that you have helped me book the Liberty (we had a very difficult decision between Freedom and Liberty). We have mostly cruised RCCL recently, but we wanted to give Carnival a try since RCCL is so much more expensive and the ports never seem to change, we have 4 kids, 3 who are teens. I have a question for you.

 

We went with Conquest Class mainly (I know this will sound kind of silly but we have teen girls who LOVE volleyball) for the volleyball court. The volleyball court should be separate from the basketball court. Do you remember seeing this when on board?

 

Did you notice a lot of volleyball playing going on in the Sport Deck area?

 

Also, how do you get to the Sport Deck area? I see it when I click on Spa Deck but the Sport Deck area looks separate.

 

Thanks in advance for your help and thank you again for the great review and beautiful pictures. We can't wait to see the dance area (I think) with the tattoo arms.

[TennesseeMates]

Great review we will be on Liberty in Sept. Love seeing the new changes.

[pyroguy]

Great review and even better pictures. Could you post a link for the bottom St. Thomas night shot?

 

I have tried to get this myself but either my camera or skills are not up to par.

 

Sorry for the delay - busy for the last few days.

 

here you go!

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LBdvCsY0lca3VYrOSxl5S3nSzfoaKSbBPPbFRDNSO2E?feat=directlink

[pyroguy]

Great review, thanks for posting it!

 

I sailed the Liberty (Western) back in October 2010, before the upgrades. So I am excited to see photos of the changes.

 

I was fortunate enough to book a cabana for our upcoming Eastern Liberty cruise nexr month at $199, before the price increase went into effect. I am still not sure which cabana I want to snag for us. It will be me, my husband, and our daughter (age 8). Want to be near the action - restrooms, bar, music - but not right in the thick of "traffic". We were at HMC on a HAL cruise back in 2009 but did not get a cabana then, and also it was before the new pirate bar.

 

ANYWAY I am wondering, based on the above interests, which cabana would you recommend we try to reserve? Thanks. :)

 

 

 

 

Also, what is the Chef's Table? I take it that you do not mean the Steakhouse, but I would like to know what that other option is all about.

 

Thanks!!

 

Great question!

 

here's a direct link to a picture I took while on HMC just for this purpose: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kpBYnhLN3FRsA3IJbCI_WnnSzfoaKSbBPPbFRDNSO2E?feat=directlink

 

The sign is a little weird - it shows MORE cabanas than are actually there. However, if you see the little restrooms sign in the middle - that's 9&10 there...so you have to count up or down. I would guess 8-11 would be good for what you want to do.

 

The chef's table, in my opinion, spoiled me for the steakhouse. Honestly, it did. Not that the steakhouse was bad, but by comparison, the Chef's table was so much higher in service, it was just beyond comparison.

 

The Chef's Table is a small group of passengers (8-12 I believe) that are taken on a Galley Tour by the head chef on the ship. You get a few appetizers and make WCMC. Then you are taken to a private dining area where they serve wine and a 7 course meal and explain the ingredients and why they were chosen for each course.

 

For the chefs table, you contact the steakhouse for reservations, just like if you were getting reservations for the steakhouse.

 

Hope this helps.