Georgia Peaches heads to The Last Frontier…Seeking Answers…Will She Love Alaska? Live-May 31-June 7th…Teetering on The Edge

[Georgia_Peaches]

As an aside, for any of you who may be familiar with new iPhones like mine, what might I be doing wrong?  Several pics I’ve tried to post upload completely black…like this:

[DaKahuna]

55 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

As an aside, for any of you who may be familiar with new iPhones like mine, what might I be doing wrong?  Several pics I’ve tried to post upload completely black…like this:

 

 I have had that happen when the file size of the picture was too large or the bandwidth of the connection was not sufficient.  

 

  This was not a "live" mode picture or video was it? 

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

13 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I have had that happen when the file size of the picture was too large or the bandwidth of the connection was not sufficient.  

 

  This was not a "live" mode picture or video was it? 

 

 

Not a video but I can’t be sure about “live” mode. Will check it out with my next round of pics!  Thank you! 😊

[Stem to Stern]

When I was doing the Live from MSC Seascape Yacht Club last year, I found this to be problematic at first.  I'm no Apple techie, but what I found was if I created the text of the post, then clicked "Add Files" and selected the photos from my Recents album in my Photos app, then went back into the text to where I wanted the pic, then clicked "Insert" and so on until all of my selected pics were inserted where I wanted them among the paragraphs of text, then I paused my fingers and took a few deep breaths and just scrolled through my entire draft of my post before hitting "Submit Reply" to make sure all of the pics had fully uploaded and were not showing black or partially-black (partial uploaded.)  I hope this is of some help.  Although I gather you are quite agile on your own.  Is this your mother-daughter cruise?  What is for breakfast?  Heehee.

[SerraG]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

an aside, for any of you who may be familiar with new iPhones like mine, what might I be doing wrong?

I agree with @DaKahuna that it looks like a size issue. 

 

I have been fighting with photos for one reason or another my whole cruise, which is why my Live from is a little behind.   Lack of bandwidth, resizing issues and photos failing to upload, etc. Ugh. 
 

What @Stem to Stern suggested works pretty well, but it is kind of tedious on the phone to select the correct picture and get it in the right spot.  

[hcat]

the internet/ tech staff will probably be able to help you...they are great problem solvers!

 

I have android so apples/ oranges

[jwlane]

20 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

So what is the consensus on tags?

They were pretty reassuring on our trip to/from our Viking cruise in December.

[juanrod]

@Georgia_Peaches I would ask @Jim_Iain, he is the guru of all I phone pictures 

[Stem to Stern]

35 minutes ago, SerraG said:

it is kind of tedious on the phone to select the correct picture and get it in the right spot.  

This is part of the reason why I end up having to edit most of my posts.  Reading Cruise Critic text on an iPhone is next to impossible since I refuse to succumb to using readers.  But iPhone is the only way to go for me on a cruise.  I am done lugging an iPad along and switching the Wifi connection between devices.  And there is no way I would bring a laptop either.  

 

I sometimes hit the "B" in the reply box and make the text in my post bold, but I always feel like people are looking side-eyed at the bold font like I am shouting.

 

The sizing and file size of the photos were not the issues for me.  I think a bit of time was just needed to fully upload the pics, so they were not black.  Maybe it had something to do with the varying speed of the Wifi on board.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

When I was doing the Live from MSC Seascape Yacht Club last year, I found this to be problematic at first.  I'm no Apple techie, but what I found was if I created the text of the post, then clicked "Add Files" and selected the photos from my Recents album in my Photos app, then went back into the text to where I wanted the pic, then clicked "Insert" and so on until all of my selected pics were inserted where I wanted them among the paragraphs of text, then I paused my fingers and took a few deep breaths and just scrolled through my entire draft of my post before hitting "Submit Reply" to make sure all of the pics had fully uploaded and were not showing black or partially-black (partial uploaded.)  I hope this is of some help.  Although I gather you are quite agile on your own.  Is this your mother-daughter cruise?  What is for breakfast?  Heehee.

Thank you!  Will give that a try..,especially the deep breath part. 
 

Mother/daughter cruise is end of July. 😊. If I don’t drag DH with me every so often, he’ll get bogged down in work, forgetting to decompress. Part of me relishes the thought of connection issues…for his own good, of course!

 

Breakfast was awesome!  Scrambled eggs, sausage, assorted fruit and pastry…. Starbucks coffee, of course. But I’m full of embarkation butterflies, so didn’t have room for  much. 
   

As an aside, I didn’t know the complimentary breakfast was a thing until we checked in.. a very pleasant surprise….other pics are black… 😡. 

[hcat]

interesting photo..looks diff from other posts..

 

I take  pics on my Android  phone ..then I  hit the "Add Files"  box in a post ,  and then find images I want  to post..  I pick abt 3 or 4  and they upload.  to sep them i then hit edit and space them and re post

(learned that from Jim)

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 minutes ago, hcat said:

interesting photo..looks diff from other posts..

 

I take  pics on my Android  phone ..then I  hit the "Add Files"  box in a post ,  and then find images I want  to post..  I pick abt 3 or 4  and they upload.  to sep them i then hit edit and space them and re post

(learned that from Jim)

Yeh, I have no idea how that pic turned out with no background… lol. 😆 

[Stem to Stern]

8 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yeh, I have no idea how that pic turned out with no background… lol. 😆 

It is one of those new buttonless iPhone features.  😂🤣😂

DH purchased an iPhone photography class.  I haven’t explored it yet, but he has been watching lesson after lesson and learning about all kinds of miraculous new features.

https://iphonephotographyschool.com

 

Edited May 31 by Stem to Stern

[Jim_Iain]

26 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yeh, I have no idea how that pic turned out with no background… lol. 😆 

 

Another feature of iPhone (relatively new).   If you open a picture and tap on it you will see a light around the main subject.    You can copy and paste -  pulling the subject out without the background.  

[Jim_Iain]

23 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

It is one of those new buttonless iPhone features.  😂🤣😂

DH purchased an iPhone photography class.  I haven’t explored it yet, but he has been watching lesson after lesson and learning about all kinds of miraculous new features.

https://iphonephotographyschool.com

 

 

It is a great resource.   That is where I learned so much about iPhone photography.   He starts out slow with how to hold the Phone/Camera and then moves onto composition. 

[hcat]

Jim..and othe photo pros..

You and  some others create truly amazing  photography.  Works of art.

 

Most of us just post photos taken along the way.. simpler the better for me.

 

I like seeing pics of the ship,  staff,  food,  activity on board, ports and excursions..but  I will never be an artist and appreciate any effort by others to share!  Never knew  I- phones were so complicated.   Hope you can help Georgia post some of her pics.

 

Sign me  " just point and shoot"

Edited May 31 by hcat

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Not a video but I can’t be sure about “live” mode. Will check it out with my next round of pics!  Thank you! 😊

If your iPhone is automatically shooting in live mode, you can turn that off.

[markeb]

3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Not a video but I can’t be sure about “live” mode. Will check it out with my next round of pics!  Thank you! 😊

If you open the camera app, there’s a “bullseye” icon at the top. If it’s yellow, you’re in live mode. Push that icon and it will turn white with a line through it and you’re out of live mode. 
 

Otherwise it’s probably a file size and bandwidth problem. 

[the penguins]

On 5/29/2024 at 12:52 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Alaska…the last frontier…marked by rugged terrain dotted with ferocious wildlife braving the elements in a daily quest for sustenance against a backdrop of undisturbed glaciers and snow-capped mountains…where survival is truly of the fittest and not for the faint of heart…we bravely embark on the Edge of an adventure of a lifetime!  Cue theme music from Star Trek…and let’s begin!

 

Welcome to my live review of our travels to Alaska!  This is an entirely different kind of cruise from our norm that was largely brought about by a bargain basement fare that first came to my attention in a post made by @Hrhbob almost a year and a half ago!  It was hard to say no to a 7 night cruise in the Retreat with all the perks:  gratuities, $600 OBC, premium wifi and premium drinks package…remember when?...all in for right at 5K!  My how things have changed since we made that booking! 

 

The intent of my live from is not necessarily to review the ship.  @SerraG has been doing a wonderful job of that in her live blog and I have hung on her every word, photo, and pro tip!  My angle is on the Alaska experience itself, how Celebrity does it, and all the prep work it took to get us to T-2 days until embarkation.  And speaking of prep, if you’re new to Alaska like me, a can’t miss thread by @no1racefan1 is a must read!  Thank you, ma’am!

 

Now, I say I wonder if I will love Alaska because I truly don’t know.  I’ll be on a cruise, which I love, so there’s that.  But this one’s different.  First, it’s far-far from home with a four-hour time difference!  I’m used to embarking in my own time zone.  Second, the packing struggle is real!  I recently read a comment on the Alaska board where someone boasted that they were able to pack all they needed for Alaska into a single carry-on.  How is this even possible I wondered as I trekked to my Alaska staging area in search of any items I could purge.  Purge!  Not a chance!  In fact, the more I read, the more I add to my suit case.  Just yesterday I threw in a dress so as to offset the grunge factor that so many of my already packed clothes portray.  And third, I’m just not sure I’m going to love the weather.  I like cool temperatures, so that’s good…but I’m not a big fan of rain.  It’s wet… and I don’t like being wet.  Ketchikan is the rainiest city in Alaska receiving up to 160 inches of rain per year!  I am now the proud owner of rain pants/boots/and jacket…

 

But I’m going in with an open mind and a feverish hope that I will be able to get past the aforementioned first world problems in order to enjoy the beautiful scenery and wild life for which Alaska in known!

 

We’ve booked Alaska on two other occasions and for reasons I don’t remember, we cancelled them.  I wondered in the back of my mind if we’d do so for a third time but once final payment rolled around, it was a done deal.  Knowing that I would want to take as many nice pictures as an iPhone could muster, my next move was to upgrade my device.  A necessary evil and one that I dreaded as there is nothing like home…a button, that is…and I was fondly attached to my little 8 plus...but @Stem to Stern talked me off the ledge and was quite right when he pointed out that a simple swipe has replaced the antiquated home button of yore.  And I have caught on quite nicely.

 

Today is our final prep day…and it will be a busy one!  The hardest part about leaving for any cruise is saying goodbye to my fur babies, Pipercat and Jane Doe, whose name was shortened to JJ (for Just Jane) after she decided that she wanted to take up permanent residence with the rest of us.  DH rolls his eyes whenever I mention the cats…for which he harbors mild disdain and only tolerates because of me.  I can’t really blame him though…Pipercat exhibited her displeasure over our impending departure by relieving herself in his open suitcase.  Fortunately, his clothes weren’t packed and he wasn’t home.  I explained away his brand new suitcase by pointing out that he was going to need more room for his warm weather gear…animals just know. 🤷‍♀️

 

Some of you may recall our adventure last March when we nearly missed the boat, quite literally, when embarking in San Pedro for a Mexican Riviera cruise.  Without the help and knowledge of fellow CC members who were following my thread, I am convinced the ship would have left without us. The PTSD perpetuated by our near miss experience has prompted me to book the earliest flight departure possible…a 7 AM on Alaska Airlines.  And since we live nearly 1.5 hours from the airport (with traffic), our pick-up time is scheduled for 3:45 AM.  Yikes!  But this allows us two subsequent chances to catch a flight should something hinder the 7 AM departure.  Fingers crossed for smooth travels.

 

Additionally, as this will be our first experience with Alaska Airlines and the self-tagging of luggage, I have equipped our cases with a TILE tracking device, similar to an Apple air tag.  I like the concept of knowing where my bag is but have wondered if it will just create more anxiety if, say…my bag shows it’s in Portland while I’m in Seattle…but I have them none-the-less and they appear to be working because I get periodic notifications that my bags are indeed in our guest room just one floor up.

 

Next up…what we’re packing and how we plan to spend our day in Seattle including accommodations and points of interest…

 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our Alaska cruise but sorry it doesn't come close to being the "Last Frontier".

For goodness sake it has: towns, roads, airports, railways in fact all the "benefits" of modern society.

Try Antarctica (not on a scenic cruise but an expedition cruise) if you really want to see the Last Frontier.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here's a lesson I learned a few weeks ago when we were lucky enough to be on our Alaska B3B when the Northern Lights were in full form on May 10th. The iPhone SE photo on the left was the original one that I took, as my SE model does not offer a delay shutter function. The enhanced photo on the right was the result of when I clicked on the "Magic Wand" while in Edit mode. 

 

 

Just thought I'd pass this little tidbit along, just in case @Georgia_Peaches you are able to see the Nothern Lights around 11 pm tonight if the clouds go away. 

 

 

Aurora Dashboard (Experimental) | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

 

Edited May 31 by Ken the cruiser

[AbbyCruiser45]

7 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

As an aside, for any of you who may be familiar with new iPhones like mine, what might I be doing wrong?  Several pics I’ve tried to post upload completely black…like this:

I just went through this with my live! It’s some new setting. When selecting your pictures, click the option button in the bottom left here: 

 

Once you get there, choose the settings that I have highlighted here: 

 

 

That should do it! You’ll need to do that every time you post a batch of pictures, but it’s an easy fix. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

We thoroughly enjoyed our Alaska cruise but sorry it doesn't come close to being the "Last Frontier".

For goodness sake it has: towns, roads, airports, railways in fact all the "benefits" of modern society.

Try Antarctica (not on a scenic cruise but an expedition cruise) if you really want to see the Last Frontier.

 

It was my attempt at poetic license. lol

[Lastdance]

19 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

It was my attempt at poetic license. lol

Even the Moon isn’t the last frontier, but it can appear that way to those of us who haven’t been.  Just like everything else, we all have different filtering systems🤷‍♀️.  Your poetic license is still valid🥰,along with the ability to update!  

Edited May 31 by Lastdance

[MarEll1]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

We thoroughly enjoyed our Alaska cruise but sorry it doesn't come close to being the "Last Frontier".

For goodness sake it has: towns, roads, airports, railways in fact all the "benefits" of modern society.

Try Antarctica (not on a scenic cruise but an expedition cruise) if you really want to see the Last Frontier.

 

The state nickname of Alaska is The Last Frontier. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Embarkation day didn’t disappoint. Edge is a nice ship in and IMO, she’s in great shape!  Had my first eclass ship experience not been on Ascent, I’d have no idea how different Edge’s layout is from the new ships. 
 

First, the martini bar is quite different in layout with the bar tucked to the far end of the space with limited seating around the bar itself. We enjoyed our embarkation cocktail here soon after we boarded. 

 

Next, we went to the Sunset bar…another of my favorite areas…but not as much on Edge. The space isn’t laid out the same as Ascent as it doesn’t have terraced seating and the bar area is not as enclosed. 
 

Our stateroom is awesome. We met both our room attendant and Butler early on and my preembarkation request of extra hangers were in place upon arrival. Our sparkling wine was already chilling and we have a lounger on the balcony. There is an umbrella in the closet and it’s a decent size… big enough for me and half of DH. 

I asked our room attendant if sleeping with the door open would impact rooms around us and he said no. So, in a cruising first, we slept with the door open!  It was amazing!  The room was chilly, as I was hoping, but there were extra blankets under the bed that our attendant set up for us at turn-down. Sleeping bliss!

 

We dined in Luminae for lunch. It was good! But the space itself is not my favorite layout compared to S class. We were seated at a 2 top. I had the view of Seattle and DH had a view of the wall. People were seated next to us but they were perpendicular to our table and the felt very close. But we enjoyed the meal…no pics but DH had the burger and I had the pasta. DH ordered a bourbon and peaches as per usual but this one was different in that it tasted like there was jalapeños in the drink…a spicy B & P?

 

After lunch we continued our exploration of the ship. The Retreat lounge is very nice. The indoor space isn’t as large as Ascent and there’s no bar. On Ascent there is a bar where this small sofa is located:

 

Last night we dined in Eden. This is our favorite restaurant on E class and last night’s meal was delicious. 
 

We didn't attend any shows last night but we did enjoy a live set in Eden prior to heading to the casino…which wasn’t open. 🙃 More on that later. Instead, we went bar hopping. This morning I remind myself that it isn’t necessary to try every drink on the menu in the first day!  The rule of the day is pace myself…and I will leave it at that 🤦‍♀️. 
 

The casino opened after 9 pm. The vibe was quiet and there were many games that were new to me…. Like the Mummy machine that I stumbled upon and played for several hours. It was generous and when I finally cashed out, I had almost enough on my ticket to cover more than half my cruise fare!!  
 

We are looking forward to a relaxing day at sea!

 

Edited June 1 by Georgia_Peaches