Solstice from Sydney - French Polynesia - Hawaii pictures report (Apr 8-25, 2013)

[The_Big_M]

That is your comment?

 

I thank the OP for posting the photos.

 

I understand the comment. I did find some pictures, particularly in the earlier range, looked especially that way.

[thamanrp]

Thanks guys. I finished uploading Moorea pics to my Picasa web album but I still have to resize for CC since the resolutions are way too high for this site to handle. Of all the islands we visited Moorea was our favorite. It was so beautiful. Stay tune....

 

In the mean time, please see below for the answers to your questions:

 

It was because of thamanrp's pics, that made us book our cruise on the Solstice for next yrs transpacific..after we saw his pics we booked it an hr later..

Celebrity should have you as their PR..;)

I agree...I should get something from them for the free work I'm doing for them :-) I'm sure you will enjoy the ship and the itinerary. But just in case you find it not what you expected...disclaimer, I'm not responsible and you can't blame me :-P

 

Don't worry - I don't think any of us who have cruised on her ever tire of pictures of the beautiful Solstice.

 

Since you say you were in Aqua I have to ask if any of the fabulous staff we had in Blu in February were still there? Specifically, Marian (asst. Maitre D'), Ketut (waiter), Anita & Rajeev (asst. waiters) and Sanjay (wine steward).

We've been on many cruises and this group definitely stand out as the best!

 

Most were there. We also loved Blu and never ate at the main dining room. Marian? There was a Mary, from UK, short blonde with glasses. I assume that's the same person you are referring to. Yes, she was nice and friendly. Not sure who Ketut is, we are horrible with names. Is this the Indonesian "Ooo-la-la" guy? There were no Anita waiter but there was Anita, a girl from Croatia, tall, slender and kinda pretty. She's a Maitre D at Tuscan Grille now but always hungout in Blu. Maybe she's promoted? Now it makes sense why she always came to Blu and talk to people. She's very nice and super friendly. Probably our favorite Maitre D. Funny on the last few days before we hit HI we had minutes left on our internet. So, I was just using it to look up common phrases for Indonesian (most waiters are from Indonesia, Romanian (our main Maitre D guy) and Croatian (for other waiters and for Anita). They all had a kick out of it and were really curious how I knew all the phrases. Anita was so surprised that she talked to us for a while and even taught us how to pronounce and new phrases.

 

Sanjay was there but we never ordered anything from him since we don't really drink.

 

Thank you for the wonderful photos. We will be on the Solstice transpacific cruise in October and so particularly interested. I know you hired a car in Papeete but did you notice if there were tours to join/taxis to hire near the docks? It is very difficult to find any tours to book privately.

Looking forward to seeing more photos.

 

Yes, there were a LOT of tours and taxi available. They were even a bunch of tour companies handing out tour pkg for Moorea for the next day port. We saw a few people on our stops around the island with taxi driver. Not sure how much they charge though.

 

I understand the comment. I did find some pictures, particularly in the earlier range, looked especially that way.

Yeah, some of the pictures, if you notice, were shot against the sun. Normally these pics will be very dark and you won't see all the details. So to fix these issues I had to pull the shadow and drop the highlight. Some might not look as real or over-saturated (HDR type look). Like I said, I'm just an amateur and I'm still learning all these tools in Lightroom. As I want to improve my skills any criticisms are welcome. Hopefully by my next trip I'll master all the tricks :-)

[MicCanberra]

Yeah, some of the pictures, if you notice, were shot against the sun. Normally these pics will be very dark and you won't see all the details. So to fix these issues I had to pull the shadow and drop the highlight. Some might not look as real or over-saturated (HDR type look). Like I said, I'm just an amateur and I'm still learning all these tools in Lightroom. As I want to improve my skills any criticisms are welcome. Hopefully by my next trip I'll master all the tricks :-)

The photos are great, but then I am not a photographer and only know what I like. You are right about criticism being the best way to improve but I think the criticism should be constructive and explain how it can be done better, otherwise you still don't know. Keep them coming.:D

[chamima]

Thanks guys. I finished uploading Moorea pics to my Picasa web album but I still have to resize for CC since the resolutions are way too high for this site to handle. Of all the islands we visited Moorea was our favorite. It was so beautiful. Stay tune....

 

In the mean time, please see below for the answers to your questions:

 

 

 

 

 

Most were there. We also loved Blu and never ate at the main dining room. Marian? There was a Mary, from UK, short blonde with glasses. I assume that's the same person you are referring to. Yes, she was nice and friendly. Not sure who Ketut is, we are horrible with names. Is this the Indonesian "Ooo-la-la" guy? There were no Anita waiter but there was Anita, a girl from Croatia, tall, slender and kinda pretty. She's a Maitre D at Tuscan Grille now but always hungout in Blu. Maybe she's promoted? Now it makes sense why she always came to Blu and talk to people. She's very nice and super friendly. Probably our favorite Maitre D. Funny on the last few days before we hit HI we had minutes left on our internet. So, I was just using it to look up common phrases for Indonesian (most waiters are from Indonesia, Romanian (our main Maitre D guy) and Croatian (for other waiters and for Anita). They all had a kick out of it and were really curious how I knew all the phrases. Anita was so surprised that she talked to us for a while and even taught us how to pronounce and new phrases.

 

Sanjay was there but we never ordered anything from him since we don't really drink.

 

 

 

Yes, there were a LOT of tours and taxi available. They were even a bunch of tour companies handing out tour pkg for Moorea for the next day port. We saw a few people on our stops around the island with taxi driver. Not sure how much they charge though.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for answering about the staff in Blu.

Yes, it's the same Anita. I thought she looked regal and seemed way too competent to be a junior waiter but now it makes sense - she was in training for the Maitre D' position .

Marian was a male - he's from Romania . He seemed to hang out with Anita a lot but if she was in training to also be a Maitre D' that makes sense.

Yes, Ketut is from Indonesia - Bali to be exact.

 

 

We were in Tahiti 2 years ago. I agree that Moorea was our favorite as well. Some people on our cruise spent the night in Moorea (it's easy to get there from Papeete - just a short ferry ride) and caught up with the ship there. We actually just took the ferry there for the day. Since the ship leaves Papeete so late it's easy to take a round trip ferry ride.

 

Again, your photos are fantastic!

Thank you!

[raineyo]

I am enjoying your beautiful pictures so much. Thank you for sharing.

[The_Big_M]

The photos are great, but then I am not a photographer and only know what I like. You are right about criticism being the best way to improve but I think the criticism should be constructive and explain how it can be done better, otherwise you still don't know. Keep them coming.:D

 

Not sure if you're referring to my post, but since there's been limited 'criticism' I'm guessing so.

 

I'm like you, not a photographer, so also don't know how he did it. All I was saying is that some of the pics looked too vibrant and artificial. Without knowing the tools, or natural pics though, it can't be said how they can be done better. It's up to the photographer to work out how to rectify that. :D

[Mercruiser]

Thanks guys. I finished uploading Moorea pics to my Picasa web album but I still have to resize for CC since the resolutions are way too high for this site to handle. . .

 

Lots of CC members post links to their web albums. I wouldn't mind viewing these on Picasa if that means I don't have to wait any longer to see the Moorea pictures. Would you share the link to your album?

[kris87]

Fantastic photo's! Thanks so much for posting them. Looking forward to seeing your photo's from the rest of the trip :)

[thamanrp]

Warning - there will be lots of pics from Moorea!

 

Off all the islands we visited Moorea was our favorite island. The weather was also nice and sunny (perfect for pictures but not for photographers). When we arrived it was very cloudy. But as the day went on the sun was so strong (maybe it was closer to the equator?) so that at mid day I got the very bad sunburn. So make sure you put a LOT of sunscreen there.

 

We booked the excursion for the stingray and shark in Bora Bora so we didn't do this excursion in Moorea. We rented a car again to see the island. The rate for automatic, same type of car we got in Papeete, for 4 hrs was 7500 XPF (~$80) and 9000 XPF for 8hrs (~$100). So, no brainer, we rented a car for the 8 hrs and returned it at the last minute (4pm where the ship left at 5pm). Avis will have the car ready for you at the port. I highly suggest this option if you want to see a lot of the island. The tour to Belvedere lookout was already like $60 per person. There were not that many car on the road so, the drive around the island was very easy. I emailed Sandrine from Avis Moorea directly so let me know if you need the email address.

 

Arriving Moorea - the overwater bungalows to the left are Hilton Moorea where we went for lunch

 

 

View from the ship - more vibrant when the sun is out

 

 

Tendered Port - our port is on the other side of this mountain, a fisherman village called Papetoai

 

 

Solstice docking in Opunohu Bay

 

 

Edited May 15, 2013 by thamanrp

[thamanrp]

Arriving at Papetoai

 

 

 

Local welcoming

 

 

 

On the way to Belvedere Lookout - the famous "Shark Tooth" mountain in Moorea

 

 

Belvedere Lookout

 

 

Beautiful couple in Moorea :-)

 

 

 

Will post some more later tonight or tomorrow. have to do some real work :-(

[MicCanberra]

Not sure if you're referring to my post, but since there's been limited 'criticism' I'm guessing so.

 

I'm like you, not a photographer, so also don't know how he did it. All I was saying is that some of the pics looked too vibrant and artificial. Without knowing the tools, or natural pics though, it can't be said how they can be done better. It's up to the photographer to work out how to rectify that. :D

I was not having a go at any one in particular, but just stating, that by mistakes and also through constructive criticism, we learn how to do it better.:D

[MicCanberra]

Great photos, I take it that it is that you in the picture.:D

[wednesday]

Amazing photos, makes me ready for another visit to Sydney for sure!:)

[The_Big_M]

I was not having a go at any one in particular, but just stating, that by mistakes and also through constructive criticism, we learn how to do it better.:D

 

That's a given. Adding the "but" implied there was an issue.

[The_Big_M]

 

 

The reflections on the water are superb - especially in this shot with the particular water texture!

Edited May 16, 2013 by The_Big_M

[thamanrp]

Is it just me or sometimes CC site won't load or super slow? I tried to add more pics last night. Anyhow...here are more pics from Moorea

 

Solstice docking in Opunohu Bay

 

 

Mt Rotui - view from Opunohu Bay

 

 

Beach on the way to Hilton Moorea - I asked some guy that was snorkeling if he saw any fish. He said he stayed at the Hilton and walked here from the hotel. He said there were more fish here. So this might be one of the best spot to snorkel in Moorea.

 

 

 

 

[thamanrp]

Approaching Hilton Moorea

 

 

Beach at the Hilton

 

 

You can see the Solstice in the background

 

 

Overwater Bungalows - nice and clear water

 

 

 

[thamanrp]

Checking out the Overwater Bungalows

 

 

 

The water was so clear....can you see a stingray here?

 

 

Good snorkeling spot

 

 

 

[thamanrp]

Driving around Cook's Bay

 

 

 

 

[thamanrp]

Tamea beach - the island in the background is Tahiti

 

 

Calm and Clear water

 

 

 

A few topless sunbather here

 

 

Sofitel Moorea closed by

 

[thamanrp]

Lookout point above Sofitel Moorea

 

 

 

 

Panorama view - The picture does not do a justice. The view was more impressive in person.

 

 

Going back to the ship. The ship turned around when we got back.

 

 

[thamanrp]

Sailing out of Moorea

 

 

 

 

You can see the lights to the left from the overwater bungalows from the Hilton

 

 

 

[cazzi]

Wow I know this cruise is now a must . These pic are absolutely beautiful. Wow loving the review!

[MicCanberra]

Fantastic, I can't wait.:D

[POPDISPLAY]

I was not having a go at any one in particular, but just stating, that by mistakes and also through constructive criticism, we learn how to do it better.:D

I agree with regard to the Polynesian Islands. Over saturated with color and vibrancy. Almost like a transparency with a too bright bulb behind it.

Edited May 17, 2013 by POPDISPLAY