BEAUTIFUL SILHOUETTE - East Caribbean - Photo Video Trip Report 3/1/15

[ian09]

I've been playing around with my GoPro before we leave as you suggested. What other settings would you recommend me adjusting for shooting outside as well as inside the ship? Thanks again

[FRMPEI]

I've been playing around with my GoPro before we leave as you suggested. What other settings would you recommend me adjusting for shooting outside as well as inside the ship? Thanks again

 

The best thing you could of done was download the Go Pro app. So I pop a fresh battery into my Go Pro 3+ and fumble my way through the menus to check my settings what a pain. So much easier to use the Go Pro App.

 

Here are my recommendations:

 

1) Memory - Must spend money on good fast reliable memory. IMO no name slow memory will disappoint. I use SanDisk Extreme Plus 64GB.

 

2) Use the Go Pro App vs Remote - Tip: where you store your Go Pro make a label with your wireless name and password used on it.

 

3) Camera Picture mode - set to 12MP and only use in appropriate lighting conditions.

 

4) Burst Mode - Completely your choice - I rarely ever use. When I do usually by mistake.

 

5) Timer - Again personal choice - Great for time lapse. But I prefer to record it in video and use the video clip in Post production edits.

 

6) Video - I like 1080p (superview) 60fps with Low light set to on.

 

7) Protune - I have not used and would require extra editing in post production to use.

 

8) Remember you can run the camera upside down if you change that setting.

 

Hope this helps? Show us some of your videos when your get back.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

 

Molecular Bar Video - Dragonfly

 

Before I get to far into St Maarten I wanted to share with you a quick 29 second video of Molecular Bar. Give it a view.

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

 

Day 5 - St Maarten

 

When we finished docking in our berth NCL Gem was already following behind us and backed in directly behind us.

 

Picture of NCL Gem before it turned around to back in.

 

 

Now it was the big fellows turn to turns itself around and back in beside Regal Princess. Last picture of Regal Princess before the 225K Gross Tonnage Allure of the Seas blocked our view.

 

 

So amazing to watch this giant of a sea vessel to be able to so graciously manoeuvre itself in beside the pier.

 

 



 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten

 

So that is four down and two more to dock. But first a few close up shots of Allure before Costa arrives.

 

Two storied Sky Lofts Suites and Flow Rider.

 

 

 

Seating area of Aqua Theatre

 

 

Seven Seas Navigator arriving but Costa must dock first

 

 

Costa Mediterranea arriving to pull right in beside us.

 

 

We have been out on our balconies for about an hour watching all this exciting action. (well! exciting to me) Time to get down to the main dining room for some breakfast before our day on St Maarten. While we were sitting in the main dining room I noticed the Costa pulling along side us through the MDR window.

 

Costa Mediterranea and Seven Sea Navigator now docked.

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[podsnel]

I just love your TRs- your photos and vids are just amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing- we have our 1st cruise on Celebrity in many years this upcoming November on Summit in the Southern Caribbean, followed by Sept 16 on Silhouette France and Italy. I am REALLY looking forward to both!! Thank you for all of your tips- :)

[FRMPEI]

I just love your TRs- your photos and vids are just amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing- we have our 1st cruise on Celebrity in many years this upcoming November on Summit in the Southern Caribbean, followed by Sept 16 on Silhouette France and Italy. I am REALLY looking forward to both!! Thank you for all of your tips- :)

 

 

Thank you such much for your encouraging comments. It had been a long labour of love but, I will get to the end I promise. I still have so many more stories, photos, and videos to share.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten - Tony's Taxi

 

This is going to be a very busy day here in St Maarten 17000 guests + crews of 6 ships. I had a great start to the day seeing some ships for the first time ever. Allure I had never seen outside of being docked beside us at Fort Lauderdale. Regal Princess the same only saw it on Day 1 for the first time at Fort Lauderdale. Had never seen a Costa ship before unless I have seen one in my own Charlottetown Harbour. I will have to check my pictures on that one. Now I have seen Seven Seas Navigator before but never in the Caribbean but a few times in my own Charlottetown Harbour.

 

 

So how did we end up with Tony's Taxi today? Our original plan for St. Maarten was simple... We all wanted to got to Maho Beach and watch the airplanes land. We were going to do what we did last year just take a taxi to Maho and a taxi back. Then we got thinking...Wow! there are going to be a whole bunch more ships and people in port this year than last year and the taxis will be busy. That is when Donna went into action. Donna is not a registered user of Cruise Critic and therefore never posts but she does read it. Donna got reading the St Maarten forum and was researching for private tours. I think Donna sent out three e-mails requesting availability. One of those e-mails was to Tony's Taxi. My God the man could not be any more helpful in the preplanning process. One evening after sending an e-mail to Tony our phone rang and it was Tony confirming information...No Deposits required. Donna was the main point of contact with Tony and it was clear when Tony meet us that Tony directed his questions to Donna the decision maker. Donna told Tony what we wanted... A tour of St Maarten with no Beach Break ending at Maho before returning to ship. (Hey! We have some of the nicest beaches in the world minutes from my driveway. Beside I have Irish skin and I don't lay out on beaches.) The cost for the Six of us was $50/person (+tip) for four hours.

 

I will not even make you wait to end of this section to tell you how pleased we were with the service and the hospitality that Tony showed us. We would highly recommend Tony's Taxi. Tony's was by far the best private tour we have ever hired he even beat out our previous #1 Ruben from Roatan.

 

We meet Tony at the sand parking lot. The SXM Port authorities trying their best to keep the little man down. Under the guise of security and safety. But we all now the reason why Tony is not allowed in the main area?

 

It was clearly evident that Tony loved "my island" as he would refer to St Maarten. Tony had a special way with his story telling. Sometimes Tony would throw in local folklore. To make sure we were listening Tony would throw in some quizzes. Tip! make sure you know the answer to... What is the highest peak on the island? Answer: Paradise Point @ 1376 ft. Tony had a very nice clean and comfortable Nissan mini Van Taxi. You Know the kind we don't have here in Canada or the US? Tony includes all the extras like Water, pop, Snacks, liqour and towels. Yes! Towels! to wipe your feet off.

 

Tony's Taxi

 

 

Our first stop was a scenic lookout spot which I believe on the right is French side and left is the dutch side. I may have this backwards? I am glad Tony can't quiz me on this right now or I would fail. LOL!

 

 

Our next stop was somewhere along the Atlantic Ocean side. We had stopped here at the same place back in 2013. There was a local guy who was showing the tourist the seas urchins and star fish etc. That is him in the next picture with the red hat. (Calvin the Sea Urchin Man). I know some of you probably have also stopped here?

 

 

 

Tony talking with the boys.

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten - Tony's Taxi

 

At the next stop which was along a road with mangrove trees. Tony orders us all out of the van and of course we all comply and have no idea what Tony has in store for us. Tony reaches into his van and comes out with a head of lettuce and starts handing chunks of it to us. He then tell us to start feeding the iguanas and as soon as the lettuce hits the ground a whole herd (I think that is technical term for what you call a group) of iguana come waddling up to feed on the free lettuce. Tony told us not to get to close because it would scare them off. Another taxi had driven up with some passengers who were not english speaking and they got a little to close and Tony tried to tell them to get back a bit. There was a rather large iguana pretty close and had it been startled the whip from its tail would have hurt.

 

 

Not sure but maybe Iguana Hanky Panky was about to happen here?

 

 

When we get back in the taxi Tony figured we might of been the first group to feed the iguanas this morning and people following may have not very hungry iguanas to feed. Back in 2013 we did a about an hour stop at Orient beach (Yes! the nude one and Yes! my curiosity got the best of me) so Tony knew that we only wanted to stop for a few minutes just to see. Yep! it was pretty busy and No! we did not venture to the nude end.

 

 

Tony helping with sandy feet and refreshments.

 

 

Before heading off to Maho beach Tony drove us to a scenic vantage point up on Paradise Point. Driving up this road I notice where Loterie Farm is located (they have Zip Line) I will store that in my memory. The road up top to the scenic vantage point was not a road in very good condition at all. This road definitely keeps the mass of buses away from this area. Just no room for two buses to meet just enough room for mini vans at most.

 

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten - Tony's Taxi

 

Next up Maho Beach but to get there we had to drive through the very busy Marigot (french side) we opted not to stop there. But we did make a point to stop at the 1648-1948 boundary marker. Donna and I were first here back in 2005 but this area seems to be spruced up quite a bit more now 10 years later.

 

 

Group Photo

 

 

Nolan laying down in two countries at once

 

 

We arrived at Maho Beach around 12:30 PM and we did miss all but one large jet the rest were turbo prop airplane. Well that is okay because those are the airplane that we work on at our shop. It was no surprise that this place was very busy with six ships in. Everybody but Louis and I got into the water. No way I taking this t-shirt off... You already know about the Irish Skin thing right? The water people really enjoyed the water and strong waves they said they felt they were at the Wave Pool at Canada's Wonderland. So about 1:50 PM we head back to the sunset Bar to meet back up with Tony. Tony even provided water and towels to clean off your feet.

 

 

A pretty busy beach looking back towards Sunset Bar.

 

 

The only Jet for us today

 

 

Back at the SXM terminal Tony tried to enter via the main gate. But no go... keep the little man down and back to the sand parking lot for us. As you already know we had a great few hours with Tony of Tony's Taxi. Highly recommend Tony for your private St Maarten Taxi/tour needs.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[mpace58]

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

I love this place!

[FRMPEI]

I love this place!

 

Agreed!

[FRMPEI]

 

Video Maho Beach - Princess Juliana Airport Landings

 

Even though we took quite a bit of video while we were at Maho with only one large jet captured I will leave the Maho stuff to the end when I do my recap video. Now I need you to put your pretend hat on when you watch the next video. When you see the word Equinox just substitute it with the word Silhouette. Okay? If you have not seen my Maho Video from last year please give the link below a click for 3:57 of plane spotting fun. Original music by Nolan Reid.

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten

 

 

After getting dropped off back at the port we spent about a half an hour just checking out the shops and picked up a few small things. I hear people saying that St Maarten is the place to buy electronics. Yes! only if you don't know your prices at home. I know my prices and I have never seen a "super" deal in St Maarten. The few things I saw i could order cheaper online at B&H Photo or at my local Best Buy. So please be aware of any so called electronics deals in St Maarten.

 

Donna wishes she had of picked up a couple more of these.

 

 

 

Donna went directly back onto Silhouette while the boys and I first had to check out the ships that were docked with us on the same pier.

 

 

NCL Gem & Seven Seas Navigator behind Silhouette

 

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[DevilinaBluDress]

Kevin,

 

I just love your trip reports! I'm about to post my St. Maarten day - quite a bit different than yours. It's fun to compare and contrast.

 

-Molly

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten - Pier Walk

 

Quiz! First thing that comes to your head when you read the first name of this ship? Me too!

 

 

Seven Seas Navigator

 

 

 

 

Lots of ropes behind Silhouette

 

 

Allure of the Seas

 

 

The boys and I went back up to our rooms to meet Donna before we would sneak up to Oceanview to for a quick snack before sail-away. My records had Sea Seas Navigator leaving at 6 Pm but not so. Next picture captured her leaving around 4 PM.

 

 

A quick Go Pro Selfie before up to Oceanview.

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

Kevin,

 

I just love your trip reports! I'm about to post my St. Maarten day - quite a bit different than yours. It's fun to compare and contrast.

 

-Molly

 

Post away I love reading and watching your Trip Report. Can't wait to hear what happened to those Agapey chocolates.

 

Link to Molly's Video Trip Report

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[upwarduk]

My son worked and lived in Aruba in 2002. We were all fascinated by the iguanas, so I love seeing close up pictures of them- thank you.

[FRMPEI]

My son worked and lived in Aruba in 2002. We were all fascinated by the iguanas, so I love seeing close up pictures of them- thank you.

 

Where you and I live we don't see iguanas and obviously not a big deal if you see them every day. Our first time at Grand Cayman 2011 and Bus operator say, "there maybe some alligators here". Donna wanted to see because we don't have any here in Canada. Some old biddy say "we have tons of alligators in Florida". We were ready to throw here right out the window in the alligator infested swamp. LOL!

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[mpace58]

After getting dropped off back at the port we spent about a half an hour just checking out the shops and picked up a few small things. I hear people saying that St Maarten is the place to buy electronics. Yes! only if you don't know your prices at home. I know my prices and I have never seen a "super" deal in St Maarten. The few things I saw i could order cheaper online at B&H Photo or at my local Best Buy. So please be aware of any so called electronics deals in St Maarten.

Regards,

Kevin Reid

What a lot of people don't realize is that for some companies, Apple & GoPro for instance, the price is the price is the price. Apple and GoPro set the price, not the store. The price of the GoPro on board the ship was exactly the same price I paid for it at Best Booboo. :rolleyes:

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten - Sail Aways

 

We were all going to watch our sail away from our balconies this evening. Before sail away the boys and I went up to deck 14 get a few photos from up there.

 

A couple of Costa's crew enjoying some down time at the bow hot tub.

 

 

Yours Truly!

 

Bocce Anyone?

 

 

Downtown from Deck15

 

 

The NCL Gem left quickly after 5 PM. The welcome back crew from Costa was providing some great entertainment for not only Costa but us on Silhouette. Not sure of the dress/costume some type of Caribbean theme and one guy dressed as a woman was welcoming guests back with a personal and up close twerking routine. It was getting a lot of laughs from both sides. We were a little late leaving because we were waiting for a late pier running couple. Of course they were heckled by both ships as they were making their made dash to Silhouette's entrance. All cameras were in place to capture the sail away.

 

 

So long St Maarten until next time

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten - Grand Cuvee

 

For dinner (supper) tonight we would we back to the Main dining Room for the second and final time. Earlier in the day we all had decided that we wanted to see Juggler Pete Matthews so we figured 6:30 PM dinner should give us enough time. Before dinner we meet up in the library and couldn't resist taking some more photos.

 

Nolan's impression of an "X" for Celebrity.

 

 

Potential 2015 Christmas Card Shot?

 

 

Nolan! Take your feet off the furniture.

 

 

Group Elevator

 

 

Maybe 6:30 PM is the secret time to get down to Select Dining because for a table of six we had no wait? Our waiter tonight was just okay and we were a little disappointed with the service. He seemed to be uninterested with us tonight. No big deal just a comment. Donna ordered the the Oven Roasted Turkey and Louis ordered the same but requested only Turkey, potatoes, and gravy on the plate. But when the Turkey arrived for Donnas it was the same as Louis'... plain. Donna didn't complain but was a wee bit disappointed in her meal.

 

Picture below of the changing right side of the MDR menu.

 

 

The plain Turkey plate in question

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten - Evening

 

Must of us had the Spinach Turnover to start

 

 

Adam had the chicken. Just noticed this even came out plain.

 

 

Michele, Nolan and I had the Steak Diane (not plain)

 

 

We had lots of time after dinner to get down to the Silhouette Theatre and get good seats before 9 PM for Juggler Pete Mathews. When Pete first walked out on the stage I was thinking that this is the same person that we saw back in 2013. As soon as he fell off the front of the stage I knew it was the same Pete. Didn't matter that we saw Pete back in 2013 because he is full of energy and interacts with crowd. I could watch him many more times and still split my sides laughing. Pete got a huge standing ovation at the end of his show. We noticed that the Liar's Club was coming up next so we decided to stick around for that.

 

 

Liar's Club at 10:30 PM and Donna and I attending this show back in 2013 and it is still the exact same show today with the same questions. I will not spoil it for those who may not have seen it yet with pictures of the words and answers.

 

Voting Remote

 

 

Of course like back in 2013 the star of the show was "that Good looking Captain".

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

Edited April 30, 2015 by FRMPEI

[FRMPEI]

Day 5 - St Maarten - Celebrity Rox & Good Night

 

Wow! it is already past 11 PM with Donna and I still up. LOL! We were all walking towards the Grand Foyer and caught all of Celebrity Rox which was quite good. This was actually the first time that we laid eyes on the Celebrity dancers/entertainers this cruise. We had a great viewing spot right at top of the entrance to the grand staircase.

 

 

"That Good Looking Captain" was also standing behind me for the Celebrity Rox show.

 

 

When the show was over Donna and I were back to our room for bed while the boys keep their night going. We were back in our in bed by midnight and I spent some time writing up my daily notes but was fading around 1 AM and had to finish my write up the next day.

 

 

Don't go away I still have two more sea days to cover. Please add your comments.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

 

[laurieal]

Can't coherently comment. Still weak in the knees from the good looking captain.

 

Still enjoying your review! Isn't it great how two people can go on the exact same cruise and have such different experiences? Love seeing what I missed [emoji106]🏼