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

[rakes5]

Loving your pictures here. We are taking the similar trip next year. I had been lurking on your roll call, and saw your earlier posts.

 

A couple of questions about Sydney. IT looked like you were doing just what I am planning. Besides the ferries, how did you get around Sydney?

Did you just walk?

For example, the Opera, how far was it from your hotel?

Where did you stay?

 

Any suggestions on getting from the airport to the hotel, and hotel to the cruise?

 

Thanks,

 

Waiting for more

[thamanrp]

Again, thank you everyone for your kind words and comments. Trust me it really helps (specially during the sorting, editing, enhancing, uploading, and/or sharing) to know that someone appreciates the work.

 

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.

 

:-) I agree with you. One of the reason is that I want to print on some of those pics. So I have to keep it that way specially I have to over-sharping the picture to have a good printing result. If you look closely at the panorama view of Moorea you can see that the leaves are bright and oversharpen. So, when the lab printer prints out the pic it should come out normal.

 

Also, for some reason, Lightroom 5 beta does this effect specially in a bright and sunny scene. Some of the pics I even have to push down the green. I used LR 4.3 in Sydney so it wasn't so bad. When I got home from the trip LR5 beta was available so I figured I try the new features they have. But it's been slow and producing some of the effect you are saying. I'm still keeping all the settings this way so when they fix LR5 and release I can just port it over to see the actual production result (instead of having to re-do all the work).

 

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!

 

OK, is Marian the tall Romanian guy with glasses? He is the main Maitre D now in Blu (since he always checked us in. Sometimes it would be Anita or Mary). As for Anita, maybe she really got promoted. I saw the Blu crew (waiters) were all hanging out at Bora Bora Matira beach and she was there with the Blu people.

 

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

Yes, we loved Sydney. It was so beautiful with so much to do. We plan to do Australia and New Zealand cruise in the future, for sure.

 

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?

I'm flattered that you can't wait to see the pics :-) I could link my web album but you will be bored with a bunch of pics. In the end you will be like...this guy take a picture of everything. :-)

[MicCanberra]

Loving your pictures here. We are taking the similar trip next year. I had been lurking on your roll call, and saw your earlier posts.

 

A couple of questions about Sydney. IT looked like you were doing just what I am planning. Besides the ferries, how did you get around Sydney?

Did you just walk?

For example, the Opera, how far was it from your hotel?

Where did you stay?

 

Any suggestions on getting from the airport to the hotel, and hotel to the cruise?

 

Thanks,

 

Waiting for more

The Solstice should dock at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT), this is opposite from the Opera house (about 500 metres around the bay, past all the ferry terminals). There are plenty of hotels close to the OPT, you can walk, ferry, train, bus or taxi quite easily around the Sydney CBD.

[thamanrp]

Loving your pictures here. We are taking the similar trip next year. I had been lurking on your roll call, and saw your earlier posts.

 

A couple of questions about Sydney. IT looked like you were doing just what I am planning. Besides the ferries, how did you get around Sydney?

Did you just walk?

For example, the Opera, how far was it from your hotel?

Where did you stay?

 

Any suggestions on getting from the airport to the hotel, and hotel to the cruise?

 

Thanks,

 

Waiting for more

We either took a train and mostly ferry (and lots of walking). I'd suggest the day you are planning to go to like Manly beach to get a day pass. So, you can use that to visit Manly, Luna Park for the amazing view of the harbour, and also go to Darling Harbour on a ferry. Or if you stay 3 days or longer to buy a pass. We only spent 2 days there so we didn't get the 3 or 7 days, can't remember) pass.

 

If you stay at Circular Quay the Opera House is in a walking distance. Depending on how many days you plan to be in Sydney but I loved the Circular Quay area. We stayed at the Marriott Circular Quay which is like 5 mins to the opera house. And on the day you board you just push your luggage down the street (less than 5 mins from the hotel) to drop off your luggage. Very convenient. Also, Marriott have free wifi!

 

It was very easy to take a train from the airport to Circular Quay I would recommend that over a taxi.

Edited May 17, 2013 by thamanrp

[The_Big_M]

Wow, so beautiful. Really looking forward to this now! Like the last Moorea ones in particular.

 

Interesting that the bungalows have got solar panels in them too.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

As everyone has already said, wow wow wow! Stunning! Actually because of this report and your pics we finally found our next dream cruise! THANK YOU! We are going to do this itinerary in 2015! We actually want to book it by the end of the month so I have a couple questions if you do not mind:

 

1.) what side of the ship would you recommend? My parents like to be on the side that allows you to see the most coastline or best views from docks. For instance, on our med cruise we were Port and got to see a lot of the coast line!

 

2.) How were the seas? I hear the Tasman Sea can be rough and I am worried about the 2 long sea day stretches over the pacific. How were the seas?

 

3.) Sea days- the 2 long stretches, how were they? Were you busy? We enjoy a couple days in a row but 4-5 in a row (and twice) seems like a lot.

 

However, with that said, Australia, NZ, Bora Bora, and Hawaii all in one trip? YES PLEASE!

 

Any advice or tips? Thank you in advance!

[upwarduk]

[ Quote]2.) How were the seas? I hear the Tasman Sea can be rough and I am worried about the 2 long sea day stretches over the pacific. How were the seas? €[/Quote]

 

The Tasmin Sea was like BA mill pond when we sailed Jan 2008. Far worse was outside Sydney Harbour to Melbourne, but we had had a poor week weather wise prior to sailing. It all depends on the weather conditions at the time.

[emmy]

Thank you for these wonderful photos. We will be on Solstice in October

doing Sydney to Fiji and return. Will be first time on Solstice class but not first time to Sydney.

 

Jannandjohn... hello hope you are well. We shared an Oasis roll call thread awhile back!

[jannandjohn]

Jannandjohn... hello hope you are well. We shared an Oasis roll call thread awhile back!

Hi Emmy, I could never forget you girls, in your pink feather boas:)

[thamanrp]

As everyone has already said, wow wow wow! Stunning! Actually because of this report and your pics we finally found our next dream cruise! THANK YOU! We are going to do this itinerary in 2015! We actually want to book it by the end of the month so I have a couple questions if you do not mind:

 

1.) what side of the ship would you recommend? My parents like to be on the side that allows you to see the most coastline or best views from docks. For instance, on our med cruise we were Port and got to see a lot of the coast line!

 

2.) How were the seas? I hear the Tasman Sea can be rough and I am worried about the 2 long sea day stretches over the pacific. How were the seas?

 

3.) Sea days- the 2 long stretches, how were they? Were you busy? We enjoy a couple days in a row but 4-5 in a row (and twice) seems like a lot.

 

However, with that said, Australia, NZ, Bora Bora, and Hawaii all in one trip? YES PLEASE!

 

Any advice or tips? Thank you in advance!

It's a great itinerary for sure. The worst part is all the cost of the one-way ticket where you could have bought round trip for the price (good thing we have a lot of mileage/points)

 

1. For this cruise it didn't really matter which side. The views weren't that impressive when we docked (Nomea - a bunch of containers in the port, Papeete - as you can see in the pics an OK view of the city). For Moorea and Bora Bora it's tendered so both sides have the same view to me. The only thing worth considering is that in Sydney the starboard side can see a veiw of Opera House. But as you will probably be checking out the ship anyways you will see it from the top deck.

 

2. The sea was calm to me. The two days from Sydney to Noumea was very calm. Once you leave Noumea, the second or third sea days the waves pick up a little. But I would still consider it calm comparing to the Caribbean or Alaska. As you get closer to Papeete the sea calms down again. It's very windy though from Noumea to Papeete. From there to Hawaii the sea is not too bad neither. I get motion sickness very easily and normally takes a medicine on the cruise. I think I stopped taking the medicine right around Papeete and felt OK the rest of the trip (except when we were in Maui taking the life boat to shore, that one killed me because the boat had to sit and wait like 5+ mins for the port to be clear). You can see this pic of the ocean. This is right around the international dateline. The waves are not that big at all:

 

 

3. There were many things to do on the ships that I'm sure you will find something. We like the more laid back so we spent most of the days in our room or balcony. The guest speaker, Milos, was very good and funny. I love that guy and wish he was my professor in college. They have so many interesting topics and I love those presentations.

[MicCanberra]

Weather and the oceans are so changeable at any time of the year, it may be rough, it may be calm, it may be hot, it may be cool.:D

[Diane Rose]

Absolutely stunning pictures! You inspire me. I have a Nikon D5100 and only use it in Auto mode. I am going to have to take some classes to learn some of the lingo that you use.

 

Just sailed the Solstice Wine Cruise. She truly is a beautiful ship.

 

Diane

[jannandjohn]

I will certainly be keeping this thread saved for future reference..:)

Edited May 18, 2013 by jannandjohn

[UniPac]

thamanrp: First, let me say that your picture really look incredible. Wish to see them in higher resolution!

 

But i also wonder concerning how much you used Photoshop/Lightroom on them. I didnt read every single posting, but what i found is:

 

Aargau, I'm surprise to hear that you find them over saturated. Most shots were just RAWs and I only fixed shadows (+100), highlight (-100), black, and whites in Lightroom. That's it! I never touched the saturation or vibrance. I try to keep my shots as close to what I saw when I took the pics. I'm guessing you have Canon camera? Some people with Canon hates Nikon colors for some reason. I used to have Canon but switched to Nikon where there was a deal with this D600.

 

Esp. the night shots in sydney look like you did more than just a few "auto adjustments"?

[OhioDogLover]

Lovely photos. As stated often by others, it makes me want to go back to Australia and to take this itnerary. Thank you for sharing.

 

Ohiodoglover

Edited May 18, 2013 by OhioDogLover

[ILVet65]

Incredible, stunning photos!!! Thank you so much for sharing. But I'm torn on whether to show my wife...the up side: she would absolutely love them, the down side: a lot more overtime to pay for this cruise because it will be booked in an instant...;)

 

Thanks again for taking/posting these. Celebrity would do well to hire you into their marketing department.

 

Gerry

[CruisingGatorGirl]

It's a great itinerary for sure. The worst part is all the cost of the one-way ticket where you could have bought round trip for the price (good thing we have a lot of mileage/points)

 

1. For this cruise it didn't really matter which side. The views weren't that impressive when we docked (Nomea - a bunch of containers in the port, Papeete - as you can see in the pics an OK view of the city). For Moorea and Bora Bora it's tendered so both sides have the same view to me. The only thing worth considering is that in Sydney the starboard side can see a veiw of Opera House. But as you will probably be checking out the ship anyways you will see it from the top deck.

 

2. The sea was calm to me. The two days from Sydney to Noumea was very calm. Once you leave Noumea, the second or third sea days the waves pick up a little. But I would still consider it calm comparing to the Caribbean or Alaska. As you get closer to Papeete the sea calms down again. It's very windy though from Noumea to Papeete. From there to Hawaii the sea is not too bad neither. I get motion sickness very easily and normally takes a medicine on the cruise. I think I stopped taking the medicine right around Papeete and felt OK the rest of the trip (except when we were in Maui taking the life boat to shore, that one killed me because the boat had to sit and wait like 5+ mins for the port to be clear). You can see this pic of the ocean. This is right around the international dateline. The waves are not that big at all:

 

 

3. There were many things to do on the ships that I'm sure you will find something. We like the more laid back so we spent most of the days in our room or balcony. The guest speaker, Milos, was very good and funny. I love that guy and wish he was my professor in college. They have so many interesting topics and I love those presentations.

 

Thank you!!

[MicCanberra]

Incredible, stunning photos!!! Thank you so much for sharing. But I'm torn on whether to show my wife...the up side: she would absolutely love them, the down side: a lot more overtime to pay for this cruise because it will be booked in an instant...;)

 

Thanks again for taking/posting these. Celebrity would do well to hire you into their marketing department.

 

Gerry

Do the overtime and then surprise her.:D

[bar_20]

Amazing! Ansel Adams part deux!

 

What size did you shoot and were you using any filters?

[Kay&Mike]

Thanks for sharing your fantastic photos! Great information & phenomenal photos!

 

We're taking the reverse cruise this Oct and are counting down the days. We were on Equinox earlier this year and are looking forward to being on her sister ship Solstice. We have cruised Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora several years ago and are looking forward to being there again, but this will be our first time to Australia.

 

Thanks again for the "Appetizer"!

[madfisher]

Thanks for sharing your fantastic photos! Great information & phenomenal photos!

 

We're taking the reverse cruise this Oct and are counting down the days. We were on Equinox earlier this year and are looking forward to being on her sister ship Solstice. We have cruised Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora several years ago and are looking forward to being there again, but this will be our first time to Australia.

 

Thanks again for the "Appetizer"!

 

Hi Kay&Mike

We too will be doing the Solstice trip in October and thanks to the great photo's We are so looking forward to it. There seems to be a great deal of excitement from both AUS and the USA on the solstice Roll call site.

Mic has given about the best weather report to date as the Pacific is very changeable. I was a seafarer in a past life and have experienced both best and worst that the sea can offer. The Solstice seems to be a relatively stable ship on face value. Maybe some past cruisers can confirm this. She could be a little top heavy. We are on the 6 the floor so if she rolls we won't feel it too much.:eek:

[cirman52]

We did a TA & western Med cruise on the Solstice last year & to be honest, could have fooled me that we were on water & I have a balance problem.

[thamanrp]

Maybe it was because of the weather (cloudy most of the day) we didn't find Bora Bora as pretty as Moorea. I'm sure in the sunlight the water would have looked a lot nicer than what I have captured. Since we read that Bora Bora is much prettier from the water we didn't do any land tour around the island or rented any car. I wanted to book with the Patrick's tour but it was fully booked. Most other tours that I contacted either fully booked or never replied to me. So, plan early!!! I wanted something that would go around the lagoon so I could take some nice pictures (specially from around St Regis hotel spot/location).

 

We ended up booking with Moana Adventure “Shark Ray Coral Garden” tour. The tour was about 2.5-3 hrs long where they stopped at three different locations for shark, stingray, and coral garden. The similar shark and ray excursion from the ship would have cost $120 but the tour from Moana Adventure (which have very good reviews, even higher than Patrick, on Tripadvisor) only cost $79. I would highly recommend them. The only regret I have is that it didn’t go around the lagoon like some other tour. But I guess this give me a reason to go back to Bora Bora sometime in the future. Enjoy!

 

 

Arrived at Bora Bora

 

 

 

Pearl Beach Resot and Spa

 

 

On the boat to Vaitape - notice the local with canoe, they like to catch the wake behind the boat and paddle. Funny to watch them. The boat driveR sometime would yell at them to not get too close to the boat.

 

 

 

Soltice docked in the bay

 

[thamanrp]

Arriving at Vaitape

 

 

 

Local welcoming with music

 

 

Wooden Bora Bora map - our tour meeting location

 

[thamanrp]

Since our tour was in the afternoon, we took the bus from Vaitape to Matira Beach. I don't remember exactly but I think it cost like $5 per person one way. If you go there make sure to plan ahead when you want to come back. The bus doesn't run as often and since it was closed to lunch time a lot of people wanted to go back to the ship/pier at the same time. So it was a good 20-30 plus minutes wait before we could get on a bus to return to the pier.

 

Matira Beach

 

 

 

One of the few time where we saw a sunlight in Bora Bora