!!! BREEZE !!! Western Caribbean ^_^ The Ultimate Review and Complete Pictorial Guide

[gambee]

Gambee,

I just wanted to drop you a quick note and say how much I thoroughly enjoy reading all of your reviews. I had read the Breakaway one prior to this one but had to go back and read all of your other ones now. :) You have a true talent for photography as well as writing and it is very much appreciated here. I am heartbroken to hear about your grandmother. I'm sure she will be cruising along side you in spirit.

 

If you don't mind, I have a few off cruise questions. I also have the Rx100 and the new a6000 (along with the olympus tough tg-2), I was wondering if you have any preset or setting tips and/or developing presets for adobe? My photos are far from as awesome as yours but I am new to this "advanced photography" stuff. I was also wondering if you could recommend a good case for the a6000 with maybe a zoom lens and the pancake or kit lens? I've been looking several places but many do not show you the inside of the case to see how much room you would have for how many lenses etc.

 

Thanks so much in advance for any help you could provide. I look forward to reading many more of your future awesome reviews. :)

 

Lol, thats funny that we have the same cameras, well almost, I sold the RX100. as far as settings go, well to be honest I stay in automatic mode a lot of the time. Well indoors I go to aperture mode and go to the widest aperture for low light and the same for when I do portraits. On P, A, M, S mode I set the camera to vivid, but that is just a personal thing as I love bright colors. But like I said a lot of the time I am in Auto mode, I shoot very fast and rarely compose frames.

 

Developing tips? well I use light room, I dont do much other than increase color saturation, sharpen, and clean some noise. I really do very little editing, plus I shoot everything in jpeg, I have never shot raw before. Just too much work, and the engine on these cameras is fairly good at it. Specially the one on the A6000.

 

The case I use for my A6000 is this one

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=697263&gclid=CMuYu8btsL8CFc3m7AodKjgAwA&is=REG&Q=&A=details

 

Great case, I love it! I fit the camera and 4 lenses nicely accommodated and without a risk of scratching your expensive equipment. It is well padded, and I have not had any issues with it. I also love the roughed look.

 

The only thing I did to it was to remove the Donke sign, as I dont need anyone knowing that I have expensive equipment in there. Donke mainly sells camera bags, and a lot of pros use them. Thieves around the world know the sign when they see it, so thats just as a precaution.

Edited July 6, 2014 by gambee

[PortSideCruzan]

 

Hi Gambee :)

 

Just a quick question. I have watched many YouTube videos concerning the

Breeze and I don't see any food trays in the Lido Marketplace Buffet; plates only.

Did you notice any trays at the buffet? I don't see any anywhere.

 

 

 

:)

[gambee]

 

Hi Gambee :)

 

Just a quick question. I have watched many YouTube videos concerning the

Breeze and I don't see any food trays in the Lido Marketplace Buffet; plates only.

Did you notice any trays at the buffet? I don't see any anywhere.

 

 

 

:)

 

No trays that I saw anywhere, now that I think about it I have never seen trays on any of my cruises.

[PortSideCruzan]

Hi Gambee

 

Just a quick question. I have watched many YouTube videos concerning the

Breeze and I don't see any food trays in the Lido Marketplace Buffet; plates only.

Did you notice any trays at the buffet? I don't see any anywhere.

 

 

 

No trays that I saw anywhere, now that I

think about it I have never seen trays on any of my cruises.

 

Hi Gambee :)

 

Thank you for your reply. I felt strange asking the question, but had to ask

due to a disability I have. I assume I can simply ask for a tray or bring a room

service tray to the buffet.

 

Every cruise my wife & I have been on during the past 3 decades there have

always been trays in the buffet. Sailed with Carnival, Princess, Royal and

Celebrity; when I didn't see trays on the Breeze (via photo's & YouTube video's)

it stood out to me, and I noticed it right away because of the disability.

 

Again, thanks Gambee for your reply, have a terrific day!

 

 

:)

Edited July 6, 2014 by PortSideCruzan

[Bonbi]

Lol, thats funny that we have the same cameras, well almost, I sold the RX100. as far as settings go, well to be honest I stay in automatic mode a lot of the time. Well indoors I go to aperture mode and go to the widest aperture for low light and the same for when I do portraits. On P, A, M, S mode I set the camera to vivid, but that is just a personal thing as I love bright colors. But like I said a lot of the time I am in Auto mode, I shoot very fast and rarely compose frames.

 

Developing tips? well I use light room, I dont do much other than increase color saturation, sharpen, and clean some noise. I really do very little editing, plus I shoot everything in jpeg, I have never shot raw before. Just too much work, and the engine on these cameras is fairly good at it. Specially the one on the A6000.

 

The case I use for my A6000 is this one

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=697263&gclid=CMuYu8btsL8CFc3m7AodKjgAwA&is=REG&Q=&A=details

 

Great case, I love it! I fit the camera and 4 lenses nicely accommodated and without a risk of scratching your expensive equipment. It is well padded, and I have not had any issues with it. I also love the roughed look.

 

The only thing I did to it was to remove the Donke sign, as I dont need anyone knowing that I have expensive equipment in there. Donke mainly sells camera bags, and a lot of pros use them. Thieves around the world know the sign when they see it, so thats just as a precaution.

 

Thank you so much!! I have had the Rx100 for a few years and have also used it in auto. (I am actually debating on selling it as well now that I have the a6000 haha). I only had a few issues with iso in low light indoors with the rx100 on auto that made me debate about shooting in raw and/or manual and then developing them. I wasn't sure if the a6000 would be as easy but glad to hear it is. I've only got to play with it on the 4th during fireworks and the photos were amazing but I put it on manual for that with some recommended settings I found on the tip list. ;)

 

Thanks again for your wonderful reviews and for your reply. :) Hope you're having a good weekend.

Edited July 6, 2014 by Bonbi

[Bonbi]

Here is a sample:

[gambee]

Here is a sample:

 

Quite honestly the RX has nothing in the A6000, and I say that kindly. I was very disappointed with my Breeze pictures. Well I guess she is smaller, but that is about it. I would not consider shooting another review with it, that is why I got rid of so quickly after arriving home.

 

what that on tripod? The one issue that I have found with the NEX/A6000 line is that they have trouble focusing in very dark situations like fireworks. Other than that they are great cameras.

 

Nice pic by the way.

[Bonbi]

Quite honestly the RX has nothing in the A6000, and I say that kindly. I was very disappointed with my Breeze pictures. Well I guess she is smaller, but that is about it. I would not consider shooting another review with it, that is why I got rid of so quickly after arriving home.

 

what that on tripod? The one issue that I have found with the NEX/A6000 line is that they have trouble focusing in very dark situations like fireworks. Other than that they are great cameras.

 

Nice pic by the way.

 

Thanks!

I wasn't impressed with the Rx on the Sun but then I liked a lot of my pics with it on the Epic so go figure. I had my husband take shots with the rx at the same time at the fireworks and the a6000 smoked it by far (and he had the tripod!). The pictures were muuuch more crisp and much more detail on the a6000 than the rx. I like the convenience of just slipping a small camera (rx) in my pocket but sofar at least the a6000 is more impressive even for a moron like me that doesn't know much about advanced photography. ;)

 

Actually, it wasn't with a tripod. I have a gorillapod that I usually use but its the original one not the new slr one that is more heavy duty. It works great with the rx but not so much with the a6000, it kept wanting to fall over and I wasn't going to risk it so I just propped it on my lap and tried to be still and hoped for the best. haha I plan to get a better tripod before my next cruise for the a6000 though. :)

 

It may be hard to tell with such small samples but here is a comparison of the rx and the a6000 that night.

Edited July 6, 2014 by Bonbi

[Bonbi]

oops.... the 2nd one above is actually rx also (the 3rd one is still a6000), I mis labeled it. Here are two more a6000 to compare to the 3 rx above.

 

I read somewhere that if you put focus on manual and then put the focus points on "infinite" instead of a specific area on the nex cameras that it does better for fireworks. So, I tired that. I was pretty pleased considering I had no tripod. Not perfect but still much better than the rx WITH a tripod. I also did a longer exposure to get the extending light trails (2-4 sec) and f/11 aperture.

 

In these thumbnail pics they look out of focus (at least on my computer they do) but actually they are crisp and clear and have lots of detail that the rx lacks.

Edited July 6, 2014 by Bonbi

[gambee]

Very nice, by the way they sell a stronger gorillaopd for heavier cameras like the A6000. That's the one I have, I forgot what its called, but if you go on amazon you can see the weight that they can hold.

[crusinpsychRN]

Thank you so much for all the work you put into doing this!

[CraftyJGinSC]

Gambee, I just finished your Breeze review! So thorough, and i LOVE all the photos (even if you're not in them!). We leave in FOUR DAYS (!!) on the Paradise, which will stop at 2 of the same ports you did. We've also booked Stingray Sailing in GC, so I was super excited to see your photos of that excursion! Won't go near those sailboats in Cozumel, though! I hope to be snapping pictures like mad and documenting everything, not for a public review, but for my family's scrapbook! Thank you for sharing yourself and your time with us!

[SinCity2003]

When my husband brought up going on Carnival, I turned my nose up at him. We sailed RCCL Enchantment of the Seas last August and liked it, so wasn't really sure I wanted to do Carnival. I immediately came back to CC and found your review and told him, we're going. 43 days til we sail.

 

Thank you for your detailed report. I looked at every picture, read every word and watched every video. you rock!!

 

I am sorry about your grandmother :(

[gambee]

Thank you so much for all the work you put into doing this!

 

You're very welcome :)

[gambee]

Gambee, I just finished your Breeze review! So thorough, and i LOVE all the photos (even if you're not in them!). We leave in FOUR DAYS (!!) on the Paradise, which will stop at 2 of the same ports you did. We've also booked Stingray Sailing in GC, so I was super excited to see your photos of that excursion! Won't go near those sailboats in Cozumel, though! I hope to be snapping pictures like mad and documenting everything, not for a public review, but for my family's scrapbook! Thank you for sharing yourself and your time with us!

 

Thank you for reading, glad you loved the review :). Hope you're having a great cruise!

 

When my husband brought up going on Carnival, I turned my nose up at him. We sailed RCCL Enchantment of the Seas last August and liked it, so wasn't really sure I wanted to do Carnival. I immediately came back to CC and found your review and told him, we're going. 43 days til we sail.

 

Thank you for your detailed report. I looked at every picture, read every word and watched every video. you rock!!

 

I am sorry about your grandmother :(

 

I hope you have a great cruise! I was the way before trying out Carnival, now it is among my favorite cruise lines! I can't wait to sail with them one more time :)

[azcurlytop]

Gambee,

What an amazing journey I have just taken with you! Thank you for the photos, artwork and detailed story of your trip! I am forever a follower of your travel logs! Thank you again :):D

[gambee]

Gambee,

What an amazing journey I have just taken with you! Thank you for the photos, artwork and detailed story of your trip! I am forever a follower of your travel logs! Thank you again :):D

 

Glad you loved it, MSC Divina is coming up next in August :)

[DGP1111]

Additional "Thank You" for the great info/insight. :)

 

I've used one iTunes app (ToonCamera) for quite a while now to achieve a very similar animation effect for photos. I tend to use it as an afterthought, but now that I'm seeing the impact several of yours make . . . I'm going to tinker with it more often.

 

.

[mosiegirl]

Glad you loved it, MSC Divina is coming up next in August :)

 

 

Ahhhh... :( You won't like it... food not as good as it is on Carnival :(

[gambee]

Additional "Thank You" for the great info/insight. :)

 

I've used one iTunes app (ToonCamera) for quite a while now to achieve a very similar animation effect for photos. I tend to use it as an afterthought, but now that I'm seeing the impact several of yours make . . . I'm going to tinker with it more often.

 

.

 

Yeah I have heard of a few apps here and there that achieve similar results, glad that yours is working out good for you. I have now acquired a new Sony camera and the color on the illustration more are much more vibrant.

 

Ahhhh... :( You won't like it... food not as good as it is on Carnival :(

 

That is not quite true for everyone. If I have learned anything with cruising, is that I will not judge a ship unless I travel on it first. I am well aware of the controversial reviews that Divina is getting, but I will not let that jade my perception prior the cruise. I am going in with an open mind just how I went into the Breeze and hope for the best. The Breeze did not disappoint, and go figure that I waited to try Carnival for so long. We plan on having a great time, we need this cruise more than anything right now, and we are super excited to board her already :)

[anewmac]

Loving your review!!! I love all the talk about your time, and observations. Your thoughts on the early boarding has confirmed my thoughts to not get it. Im only at your Key West day so playing catch up. But really enjoying all the pics. You take great shots. We are on the Breeze in March different itinerary but liking all the ship info. Thank you!!

[bar10der421]

Recently found your review and as Breeze has been on my radar I started reading and could not stop. Thank you so much for your thoroughness, great pics and great commentary!

 

I guess you pushed me over the top so to speak and my best friend and I booked yesterday for a "just us girls" trip in October.

 

I will probably read the rest of your reviews and it may make me try another cruise line. I guess I am the opposite of the people who look down on Carnival. I started with them and I always say unless they make me mad or disappoint me I will stick with them.

[jerseygirl777]

Gambee, Are you still going on NCL's Getaway Aug.9th & if so are you doing a live review? Linda:confused:

[gambee]

Gambee, Are you still going on NCL's Getaway Aug.9th & if so are you doing a live review? Linda:confused:

 

Hello Linda, no I am on MSC Divina for Aug 9. I had forgotten that I has a cruise on Getaway, lol. I cancelled that one long ago, got a great deal on Divina and decided to finally try her out.

 

I will not doing a live review, but I will do a full review once I get home as I always do :)

[jerseygirl777]

Hello Linda, no I am on MSC Divina for Aug 9. I had forgotten that I has a cruise on Getaway, lol. I cancelled that one long ago, got a great deal on Divina and decided to finally try her out.

 

I will not doing a live review, but I will do a full review once I get home as I always do :)

Thanks for answering me & I'll look forward to your review when you get back- Bon Voyage! Linda