Kitty Kodak

Kitty Kodak: would be interested in what you think of your new Sony when you start using it.

I have the NEX7 and a NEX5Nand was thinking of replacing the NEX5N with the a6000.

Hi

So far I love the a6000 but haven't used it in the field yet. Excellent pix

Leaving for May 7 Noordam Med cruise. Taking brand new Sony a6000 as a primary camera due to size. Do you recommend taking my Canon 6D full frame with 24-105 Lens and 70-300 lens. Or take Canon T3i with Sigma 18 -250 lens as the second camera?

Want great shots but also want to be practical with the equipment I am carrying

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As cruisers with some experience we often find that it takes most of the cruise to meet a few couples that we enjoy common interests with and wish we knew before the cruise started so that we could enjoy more time together. For that reason my wife suggested we try this forum to try to make that possible. We are departing on the 12 day cruise from Venice on the 28th of August. We are Neptune users that enjoy fine dining and good wine. My wife is a photographer who always enjoys someone else that longs for the chase of the days perfect picture. We have traveled a fair amount and enjoy discovering what shouldn't be missed at each port of call as the locals would define it. We reside in Florida but she is from Indiana and I am from Maine originally....we look forward to new friends and new adventures....

Hi

I sure wish I was on the cruise with you.....I totally understand the quest for the day's perfect picture. I am leaving on the Noordam May 7th from "Rome" to Barcelona...should be lots of great photo ops on this one. just hope I can use them well. Enjoy your cruise!

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Hi. I really enjoy photography. Will it be a problem with pickpockets if I carry around my large Canon camera?

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Hi on the spur of the moment I just signed up for Holland America's Noordam cruise Rome to Barcelona starting May 7th. Travelling solo and feeling a bit nervous. Wonder if anyone has suggestions for meeting people to do shore excursions and meals on the boat?.

In looking at tours for Italy I discovered that Share A Shore Excursion dot com does a tour in Tunisia.

It covers, Carthage, Sidi Bou Said, the Medina, and the Bardo Museum. You can book for 1 to 20 people. In comparing it to the Best of Tunisia tour offered by our HAL Noordam cruise it would be slightly more expensive if we get 6 people to sign up, but probably worth it to not deal with a crowd of people. Just a thought. This is a highly recommended company on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor (at least for Italy).

Hi Anne How was your tour I am on HAL Noordam May 7th and wonder if its worth a tour like this?

We were also glad to visit Tunisia on May 19. The ms Noordam was welcomed by camels, musicians, and a dancer, our only port welcome of the cruise.

 

We enjoyed the 8-hour HAL "Best of Tunisia" tour. Our guide made sure that we appreciated his Berber culture, which is not Arab. The atmosphere was peaceful and casual, even though there were soldiers and barbed wire around the previous leader's headquarters. Friendly people returned my smiles and welcomed us. Also, previous restrictions on photographing government buildings, etc. were history. I could photograph anything within reason.

 

We saw a lot at the Bardo Museum. I did not mind spending time in the carpet store, because we also had time to shop in the Souk.

Lunch near Carthage was nice. Sidi Bou Said was not only beautiful, but full of more shopping. I delighted in the sights and in their culture.

Our guide ended up thanking us for being brave enough to come visit his country -- after six months of unemployment there.

 

Although we felt safe, I would not have wanted to do Tunis on my own. It was a long distance from port in a far different culture. Our HAL travel guide Christina had given us lots of good tips, neither encouraging nor discouraging venturing out on our own.

Pay attention to current advice, because Tunisia is in the middle of change.

 

The nice surprise that we did not have time to explore was the cruise terminal's village of shopping stalls, complete with the camels.

You have a lot to look forward to at La Goulette, Tunisia.

 

Barbara

Hi I am going on the Noordam May 7th to Tunis. Are there any snakes in the markets like in Morocco? I am also thinking of the best of Tunisia tour but do not want to encounter snakes

I've done a lot of searching, too. Calvi looks like a relaxing place, and, outside of the Citadel there, don't know if there's too much to explore. Maybe we'll need a restful day anyway. I read in a post that a couple toured the little town, went back to the ship for lunch, and then went back to the beach for a swim - sounds good, but the bunch I'm with only has a couple of swimmers in it to begin with.

 

We did make reservations for the Pinnacle Grill's Le Cirque dinner that night; the menu looked yummy and we usually go to one of the alternate restaurants for one evening when we cruise. Hope it's worth it!

 

As for our other ports, I'm all done booking excursions except for Barcelona, that's my next 'job.' I'm surprised at how little choice HAL offers and how expensive some of the excursions are compared to other cruise excursion offerings. I found a nice one that will go to Aix en Provence and Cassis for a whole day which is costing just $20 more than the HAL offering of a 1/2 day in Aix. I read a few reviews where cruisers felt very rushed on their tours and I don't like that. Privately, we can stay as long as we like. Not happy that Marseille is the longest port stop, either, especially since it's on a Sunday. And the tour company we booked with gave me a discount because we booked our Palermo excursion with them as well.

Hi I am on HAL Noordam May 7t, 2014. We stop in Calvi….did you ever find good suggestions? Also what tour company did you use for Marseilles stop?