Tayana Freedom 45

When you debark they have the shuttles back to the Palm Garage waiting outside of Terminal 29

You park in the Palm Garage and they have shuttles that take you to terminal 29. 

Hi,

In 2017 I did a private tour of Aruba with Tourbylocals.  I thought it was excellent and worth the price.  I was able to see what I wanted.  I also learned a lot about Aruba during the tour.

Diane

Hi,

Do not choose 7634 which is over the Schooner Bar.  I could clearly hear the piano player in the cabin.  He would play until 12:30 p.m.  In the afternoon I could hear the music trivia in the afternoon.  I stuck it out for three nights before asking to be moved to another cabin.  Fortunately they had another cabin to move me to.

21 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

My DW went over to this area in search of her chocolate dessert and found a chocolate croissant and a chocolate pastry, neither of which rose to her chocoholic standards. 😎

 

Which chocolate desserts/treats from which venues met her chocoholic standards? 

11 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s a list I found in the liquor store. Hope you can read it.

 

 

Thank you very much Ken.  This is perfect.

Hi Ken,

If you have a chance, please post the price of the bourbon being sold in the liquor store.  If you already posted this, just tell me and I will go back through this thread again.  I am enjoying your review and am looking forward to sailing on the Edge Sept. 4th.

Thanks, Diane

Pre-Covid, if I recall correctly, your "cabinmate" would get the benefits of your status on Celebrity.  I do not know if this is still true now.  Maybe call Captain's Club and ask?

I did the same cruise the end of November 2015 and the weather was gorgeous. The only rain I recall was a short rain shower after we had finished going through the Gatun locks.

Hi,

How far in advance did you book your stay at the Harbour 360? I am researching for my June 2018 cruise.

Thanks,

Diane

I finally made a decision and I ended up buying the Olympus OM-D EM 10ii. The touch screen and the in body stabilization is what ended up being the final deciding factor between the Olympus and the Sony. Now I am learning how to use my camera.

Thanks again everyone for their help and input.

Diane

Thank you to everyone for your help. After going to the store over the weekend and playing with the cameras, I have it narrowed down to the Sony A6000 and the Olympus Om-D Emc 10 ii (I did briefly play with the flippy screen of the OM-D EMC 5 ii but quickly reminded myself that it was not in my budget). They were the two that felt comfortable hold. I played around with the menus on both and I feel comfortable that I could learn either one without too much frustration. So now I will do a bit more reading and decide which system I want to buy into.

I know I am over analyzing everything, it is just that once I buy something I tend to hang on to it for a long time.

Diane

Tomorrow I plan to go to a store and handle again all three models. I have played with all three last month at the store and I have likes and dislikes on each. These are the current deals I have seen on one of the big known online camera retailers (starts with A); I round prices up to the next dollar:

A6000 with 16-50mm & 55-210mm for $698 (not loving Sony lens selection, love auto focus, concerned about having to dig through menu interface without touch screen)

Panasonic GX85 with 12-32mm & 45-150mm & gift certificate for $698 (love lens selection & touch screen, concerned about continuous auto focus)

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II with 14-42mm & 40-150mm for $800 (see comments above re GX85, also concerned regarding menu interface).

Of course these deals good be gone by the time I make up my mind on which one to get.:)

Thank you again to everyone for your great suggestions and different perspectives for me to think about.

Diane

You can get the a6000 with 16-50 and 55-210 for about the price.

 

I teach photography and do some professional shooting. I use dSLR and mirrorless. If you want to spend $5,000 to $10,000 on top gear, pro dslrs have advantages.

For an ordinary consumer, I no longer recommend traditional dslrs.

Nothing wrong with dslrs, but if you compare the pros and cons of a consumer grade dSLR, like the d5500, compared to a mirrorless like the a6000, almost all the pros go to mirrorless.

Advantages of dSLR -- slightly better battery life. Turns on faster (instant vs 1/2 second). And subjectively speaking, some people prefer a larger body or prefer an optical viewfinder. Except consumer dslrs have very low quality optical viewfinders.

 

Compare a camera like the a6000 to the d5500... the pros of the a6000...

Larger viewfinder.

Ability to preview exposure in viewfinder.

Ability to review images in viewfinder.

Full time face detect autofocus over the entire frame.

Focus points across the entire frame

Faster and more accurate autofocus

Same image quality (actually the same sensor)

Far superior live view/LCD autofocus experience.

Far better video experience -- better af, ability to use viewfinder for video.

Much faster burst rate

Smaller camera

The list goes on. There was a time when mirrorless had slower AF, but that's no longer true -- mirrorless af in some of the newest cameras is far better than dslrs.

Thank you for the list of differences. The smaller size of the mirrorless is definitely appealing to me. I have ruled out getting a P&S camera. So I am making progress with my decision making.

Vic,

Your pictures are terrific. If mine come out half as nice, I would be quite happy.

Dave,

I have also admired your pictures. It is one of the reasons I am considering the a6000.

Thanks, everyone for your responses and suggestions. This weekend, I will go play with the cameras again at my local big box store (I do not plan on buying there but it is easy to play with them).

Diane

At an $800 budget point, I would suggest the EM10.2 with the 14-42mm kit lens [$649] plus a 40-150mm tele zoom [$99]. This combo covers the full frame equivalent of 28 - 300 mm. Prices are from Olympus' direct to consumer online store [getolympus.com].

 

 

Today's kit lenses [all manufacturers] are really quite refined, and the cheep Olympus zoom is an outstanding value [also works well with the Panasonic body as it also has in body image stabilization ].

 

Robin Wong has a few blog postings of interest about lenses

On kit lenses

 

40-150 Mini Review

Hi, thanks for the info on lenses and the Olympus. Right now there are very good deals on several of the cameras that I am considering.

You sound like you're on the right track and won't go wrong with any of your options. A micro 4/3rds system may be perfect for you, with the ability to keep the size down.

 

In your price range, for your needs, the only p&s I'd seriously consider is the Panasonic fz1000. It's the only good sensor quality in your price range that may give you the amount of zoom you're looking for.

 

I have shot with both the Sony a6000 and a6300.

The a6000 has a good viewfinder. It remains rather compact. It is a very quick responsive camera, exceptional, as long as the light isn't terrible. In terms of responsiveness, probably the best of your options. It's compact with the basic kit lens, and the size can stay small with primes and normal range lenses. For telephoto, there is a cheap kit telephoto which keeps the system compact. Unfortunately, the image quality is sub par -- but may be just fine for your uses. There are better quality telephoto lenses, but they become bulky and expensive.

If you're not doing a ton of telephoto shooting, the a6000 system may be perfect. And rent a Hugh quality telephoto lens just for Alaska.

Thanks for the detailed response. I am attracted to the micro four third cameras due to the size of the lenses, but I keep coming back to the a6000 which is why I am so undecided.

I'd consider the Nikon D3400 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm and 70-300mm Lenses kit. B&H has it listed on sale for $596.99. The wife has the older D3200 and loves it. The 70-300 would be great for AK. This new model has Snapbridge to allow for wireless instant transfers to your phone for uploading to the internet.

 

framer

Thanks, I will have to take a look at it. I had ruled out DSLRs because of their size but the price might make me reconsider.

Hello all,

First, sorry for another help me choose a new camera thread & the length of this thread. I am partially using this post to lay out my thoughts for myself. I have been lurking for at least a month on this forum reading all the info I could find. I really appreciated the poster who linked to the pictures of different focal lengths.

What I currently have: Sony Cybershot 350 P&S

What I do not like about it: not enough zoom, no view finder & slow between shots.

What I like about it: small form factor.

Kind of pictures I take: buildings and scenery/landscapes.

What I do with the pictures: look at them on my laptop. I am considering making photo books of some of my trips.

Budget $800 (if interchangeable lens, this budget would be for camera and 1 lens. I am not including a longer reach telephoto for 2018 Alaska cruise in this budget. I would buy that lens next year).

I have spent a month researching on DP Review, Camera Labs, etc. until I am completely overwhelmed by all the choices. The only benefit to my indecision is that the price has come down on some of the models I am considering.

Cameras I am considering (I have ruled out bridge cameras as being too bulky):

P&S: Panasonic ZS60, Sony HX90v and Panasonic ZS100;

Mirrorless: Panasonic GX85, Olympus OMD-EMC 10ii, Fuji XT-10, and Sony A6000 (right now leaning towards the GX85 because of touch screen & smaller micro four thirds lenses)(GX85 & A6000 have good deals right now).

My indecision: everytime I am about to pull the trigger on one of the interchangeable lenses camera, I wonder if it is more than I need and whether I should just get a P&S. So, I keep going round and round with information overload. I am willing to learn how to use whatever camera I get.

Thanks a lot,

Diane

If you are referring to the ice room in the Persian gardens on the Reflection, then no the Equinox does not have it. Reflection has the nicest and biggest Persian garden of the fleet in my opinion. She is the only one with the ice room.

Subscribing

I looked through my pictures. I do not have one showing the balcony. There is definitely a difference in the size. Your friends might not notice if you do not say anything. :) I had very little soot but it could depend on the direction of the wind.

Some of the balconies are wider than others. They are all the same depth. 8344 has a wider balcony. (Had this cabin on transatlantic). The widest balconies are the center ones. The cabin next to the sky suite has a narrow balcony, then 8344 has wider balcony, the next cabin has narrower balcony, then the next one is the widest balcony. I hope this makes sense. Keep in mind that the balconies above can look down onto your balcony. I have had SV cabins twice and really enjoyed them. It is a long walk to the stairs and elevators which might bother some people.

SHIP: Reflection

CABIN #: 7290

DECK #: 7

CLASS: 1A

AREA: mid-ship/aft - near aft elevators

BED NEAR: balcony

QUIET?: yes

BALCONY VIEW: good looking straight out. Looking straight down at the rail you see life boat and part of deck 5

BALCONY SIZE: larger (deeper) than regular balconies

WIND A PROBLEM?: no, protected

SOOT A PROBLEM?: no

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: I loved this cabin and its location. Did not feel much motion (as compared to sunset view).

Deck - 10

Cabin # - 1202

Class – C1

Starboard or Port Side - Aft

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – balcony

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) –

mostly quiet (noisy neighbors). Did occasionally hear a rolling sound overhead - never figured out what it was.

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – aft

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - a little wider than some (3 panes of plexi instead of 2 in railing)

Was wind a problem? no

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? noticed a little soot, but not much

Any specific problems with this cabin?

Any other comments?