!!! SILHOUETTE !!! Western Caribbean- The Ultimate Review & Complete Pictorial Guide!

[TruRed76]

Loving your review! I leave in two days for our cruise on the Summit and I hope to see your pictures using the underwater Sony camera. I love my Sony DSLR so much that I bought the exact same underwater camera as you for my upcoming trip. Absolutely love the Sony products this far. I am curious to see how it performed!

 

Quick question, any advice on caring for the camera? I am nervous to take it underwater (silly, I know!). I have read to rinse it with freshwater immediately after using it in saltwater. Your thoughts? Any other advice? Thanks for your help - don't know how much longer I will have internet access so wanted to ask in case you didn't get to that part of the review before I left :)

 

Laura

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[still-learning]

Well when I got back from the photo shoot from south beach I started looking at my pictures. Soon enough I noticed massive amounts of little specks on most of my pictures, it was something that I was not familiar with. I started fixing my pictures and noticed how time consuming this was. By then I was extremely worried and freaking out, there was no way I would be able to do an epic review with that much work going into fixing pictures.

 

To give you an idea of what my pictures looked like, I am posting this image. I circle around the dust particles for easy viewing.

 

 

 

After a little research I learned all about the wonderful world of sensor dust . I also learned how to do a test and found out that my sensor looked like a dalmatian, it was horrible. I spent the rest of the weekend doing research on ways to fix it and I was even thinking on buying a new camera. My bf always says that I am way too dramatic, I was freaking out ( a new camera was not in my budget). By sunday evening I had settled on two products VisibleDust SL-788 Arctic Butterfly with Light and Vdust Swabs. I wont go into the details of how easy to damage a sensor and all the details. I had both products overnight and they were due to arrive on tuesday, all this at a price of $118 .

 

When the products came in I rushed to attempt to fix the issue, the brush which was step #1 did not fix it fully. Then I moved into step #2 the wet swab and that pretty much took care of the entire problem. I am not entirely sure why I get like this every time before I travel. I am a nervous wreck, lol.

 

Anyway here is the comparison pictures of the before and after test. The sensor was really dirty, I am really not entirely sure when it got like that. It had to be after the Allure cruise at some point. Maybe testing out the new lens?

 

 

 

 

 

The good thing is that now I have both products to travel with me just in case the same issue appears mid-trip. I am very happy that I decided to go to Miami to take those pictures, otherwise doing this review would had been a nightmare.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing All these details including how you solved these problems! I grew up with with 35m photography and only switched to digital last year. I know about cleaning lenses, mirrors etc... on old cameras but digital sensors??? :o Thank you for your help because I am "Still-learning!" :D

[helen haywood]

Oh, dear, Gambee, please tell me that you did find the hamburgers at the Mast Grill!!!! Celebrity's hamburgers there are the best I've ever had on a cruise ship!!

[aquaseeker]

Gambee I am loving your review! I think your pictures are stunning. Your videos are making this review highly enjoyable, and I feel like I was on board with you. So much so that after seeing the drink menu I'm ready for a cocktail, and that's saying a lot because it is early here. Really good narative, oh I can't wait to read & see more. Please post some pictures of you & your mom during your adventures on the cruise. She sounds like a lot of fun.

[gambee]

I purchased a zoom lens for my Nex-5. Hopefully it'll get good use next week

 

You will love it, I found myself using that lens a lot more during this trip.

 

When do you plan on starting the thread?

 

Another awesome review, gambee!!!! I am enjoying this so much :)!!!

 

Barb

 

Thank you Barb, welcome aboard.

 

Wow awesome start! We also love the W hotels and agree X reminds us of them :)

 

I have a serious question for you... how the heck do you have the time to write such an amazing review? :D;)

 

It took me months to complete my review :eek: I work full time, grad school full time, and planning a wedding. I need to know your secret! :rolleyes:

 

I struggled between uploading pics, videos, typing in word, transcribing from my paper journal etc. You have it mastered!

 

You rock! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

-Ashley

 

Hello Ashley,

 

well at this point a have time in my hands, but besides from that I guess you need a system that works for you and you need to be organized. This is actually much easier than the Allure one, during that one I was creating the system. With this one everything is set in place, I just go with the flow. But yeah they take a lot of time and energy.

 

 

Which reminds me, where is my coffee?

 

Thanks for following along.

[gambee]

Thanks for the review so far it's great :)

 

I agree with you on the burgers in the buffet, we just go to the Mast Grill instead :)

 

oh my, I never ate there :(

 

Loving your review! I leave in two days for our cruise on the Summit and I hope to see your pictures using the underwater Sony camera. I love my Sony DSLR so much that I bought the exact same underwater camera as you for my upcoming trip. Absolutely love the Sony products this far. I am curious to see how it performed!

 

Quick question, any advice on caring for the camera? I am nervous to take it underwater (silly, I know!). I have read to rinse it with freshwater immediately after using it in saltwater. Your thoughts? Any other advice? Thanks for your help - don't know how much longer I will have internet access so wanted to ask in case you didn't get to that part of the review before I left :)

 

Laura

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

Hello laura, she is a very sturdy camera. You can rinse her after the saltwater use and make no sand gets in between the cover and the camera. As far as a camera goes, well you know she is not DSLR. Her pictures/videos are somewhat soft and lack color, but that can be corrected. That said I absolutely love the camera, you have no idea how handy this system is. Have no worries actually I dropped mine already (not proud about it).

 

BTW, my mom wants to take her away from me, lol.

 

Have fun on your cruise.

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing All these details including how you solved these problems! I grew up with with 35m photography and only switched to digital last year. I know about cleaning lenses, mirrors etc... on old cameras but digital sensors??? :o Thank you for your help because I am "Still-learning!" :D

 

You're very welcome,

 

yes they are great products, you wont regret purchasing them.

 

 

Oh, dear, Gambee, please tell me that you did find the hamburgers at the Mast Grill!!!! Celebrity's hamburgers there are the best I've ever had on a cruise ship!!

 

Oh my my my =(, please don't make me cry. I never read that anywhere, I guess I will have to cruise on an S ships again to try them, =).

[gambee]

Gambee I am loving your review! I think your pictures are stunning. Your videos are making this review highly enjoyable, and I feel like I was on board with you. So much so that after seeing the drink menu I'm ready for a cocktail, and that's saying a lot because it is early here. Really good narative, oh I can't wait to read & see more. Please post some pictures of you & your mom during your adventures on the cruise. She sounds like a lot of fun.

 

Glad to have you aboard :), I hope you continue to enjoy the review. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

 

BTW, it is never too early to have a cocktail ;)

Edited April 2, 2013 by gambee

[shoelover536]

I'm loving your review as well! Your review of the Allure was very entertaining and made me want to try sailing on her someday. (So far I've only been on X and have another X cruise in the works - I love the S class ships!)

 

PS: I love that you travel with your mom. My mom was my favorite travel companion as well. The memories you are creating with her are priceless and you'll have so much to look back on later, when you need to.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review! :D

[helen haywood]

Oh dear. Yes, you will have to go back. The fries at the Mast Grill are also fantastic. Ok, I'll stop now.

[Tom47]

Hi Gambee

My own X review pales beside yours, but it was a different ship/itinerary, so here it is

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1787067

 

I have done others, but all are fairly short.

 

Tom:)

[gambee]

I'm loving your review as well! Your review of the Allure was very entertaining and made me want to try sailing on her someday. (So far I've only been on X and have another X cruise in the works - I love the S class ships!)

 

PS: I love that you travel with your mom. My mom was my favorite travel companion as well. The memories you are creating with her are priceless and you'll have so much to look back on later, when you need to.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review! :D

 

You have to try the Allure one day, she is a marvelous ship. Thanks for joining in this review, glad to have you with us. I agree with you, the best part of traveling with mom are the memories one creates. They will last a lifetime and then some :)

 

Oh dear. Yes, you will have to go back. The fries at the Mast Grill are also fantastic. Ok, I'll stop now.

 

:(

 

Hi Gambee

My own X review pales beside yours, but it was a different ship/itinerary, so here it is

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1787067

 

I have done others, but all are fairly short.

 

Tom:)

 

Hi tom, thanks for coming aboard. Ill have to read your review once I am done with this one, this takes so much time.

[gambee]

The Fun Factory

 

Ok lets see, the Fun factory. Well Gambee has no use for the fun factory and to be honest I rather be as far as I can from here, lol. But it came to my attention that my reviews have a wide range of readers and that includes families with children that could use the information. So mom and I made a quick stop there to see what it was all about.

 

Aside from the obvious in the pictures I will tell you what some other cruisers shared with me during our voyage. You will noticed that the kids area in the ship is relatively small, but that is apparently part of the design with X ships. The kids program is designed so that the kids are not always in there, a lot of the activities are scattered around the ship and promotes them to go out. I wish I remember who told me this, but she told me that her kids like to be out and about much better. I could totally understand why, I could not imagine being stuck in a room while in such an amazing ship. But I guess different lines have different ways of doing things, I am sure they are successful in their own way.

 

Our sailing was during spring break so we had more children than the usual amount on X, that said I think the ship did a great job at keeping them distributed. I never encountered a situation where I was terribly affected by lots of kids (other than my stateroom neighbors). There are always places to relax and enjoy a quiet afternoon if that is what you like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

This is my first picture with the ultrawide, hope you like it. This lens is all about lines.

 

 

 

[lightning bolt]

Oh, dear, Gambee, please tell me that you did find the hamburgers at the Mast Grill!!!! Celebrity's hamburgers there are the best I've ever had on a cruise ship!!

 

 

You are right, they are the best burgers. We have named them crack burgers as we want them every day.:D:eek::D

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

Just outside the arcade is this path

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

Back inside, by the way that door closes and looks from the inside. We had to wait for someone to walk into the arcade to open the door for us =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

This is the room for the older kids I think 12-17, but cant recall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

And here is the room for the younger children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FRMPEI]

Oceanview Cafe

 

 

 

 

OMG! When I first seen your first interior photos I said to myself, " I wonder if I will recognize any of these folks?" That lovely lady with the pink top bag over shoulder and beige shorts is my wife, Donna. Now that is pretty cool.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[gambee]

 

The kids have a nice view!

 

 

I wonder what kind of games they got there. Maybe some free internet lol, Yeah right.

 

 

 

My mom made a comment of how plain the walls were, this area was really lacking some decorations and kids like stuff in the walls. Maybe this is something they can improve upon.

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

No worries these rocks are a solid piece :D, when I saw it I was ummmmmm, thats not good. Then I touched and walla! safe for kids =), no worries parents.

 

 

Thats about it for the kids zone, not much more I can comment on it this is as close as I got to that area for the entire cruise. I have to say that most kids seemed to be having a great time aboard the ship.

 

 

[gambee]

OMG! When I first seen your first interior photos I said to myself, " I wonder if I will recognize any of these folks?" That lovely lady with the pink top bag over shoulder and beige shorts is my wife, Donna. Now that is pretty cool.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

 

That happened a few times on the Allure review. Funny you mentioned it.