Picture HEAVY Indy 8 night review

[nbsjcruiser]

During on our first walk through town, Cathedral of San Juan Bautista was closed. Surprising to me. I kinda thought it would be open early in the morning given that its Lent and all. Anyway, second time around It was open so I slipped in and grabbed a couple shots. This church is such a challenging place to take pictures because of the lack of light. The only time I've seen the lights on in there is during a mass so I'm not about to wander around and take pictures then. Without lights a flash only does so much good. A good prime lens is on my buy list soon. That should help greatly.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2015 by nbsjcruiser

[nbsjcruiser]

Here I was thinking I took good pictures...WOW great work!

 

Thank you!

[mpoole3]

Thank you!

 

What do you shoot and edit with? I shoot a Canon 60D and edit in Lightroom 5.

[sg1phileshipper]

Really enjoying myself. Thanks for sharing

 

Cindy

[nbsjcruiser]

What do you shoot and edit with? I shoot a Canon 60D and edit in Lightroom 5.

 

I use a Nikon D3100, stock 18-55mm lens and for editing, Gimp, gimp.org. Gimp can be compared to a free version of Photoshop. I started using Gimp because it comes with Linux, pre-installed, which is my OS of choice. I don't do Windows. Gimp is completely supported by the Opensource Community and there are plenty of nice add-ons that I use.

[nbsjcruiser]

Really enjoying myself. Thanks for sharing

 

Cindy

 

No problem. Glad you are enjoying them.

[nbsjcruiser]

Some more street pictures then I have some picture of the Quantum when she pulled in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nbsjcruiser]

More from our walking tour

 

 

 

 

 

[cdscooby1]

In St Martin we did Bernards tours a few times. Love it you see the entire island and they are so nice and not expensive

[Green Recruit]

During on our first walk through town, Cathedral of San Juan Bautista was closed. Surprising to me. I kinda thought it would be open early in the morning given that its Lent and all. Anyway, second time around It was open so I slipped in and grabbed a couple shots. This church is such a challenging place to take pictures because of the lack of light. The only time I've seen the lights on in there is during a mass so I'm not about to wander around and take pictures then. Without lights a flash only does so much good. A good prime lens is on my buy list soon. That should help greatly.

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Mike,

 

Great photos from the cruise and I am sorry we didn't bump into each other during those 8 days. Thanks for the tip about the cemetery, we made a point to visit and were not disappointed. Judging from your pics, Teri and I did a similar walking tour in the same streets, only you appear to have been there earlier with less people around. My photo from the cathedral shows the three small candles we lit for our deceased parents and the pic at the fort has the school kids flying kites on the green.

 

We may bump into you in St Johns in October of 2016 since Teri booked a cruise out of Boston to Halifax on Serenade. We have to go to the falls this time so keep an eye out for us at the Farmers Market!

 

I enjoyed our sharing of photos on the Indy cruise thread and you have inspired me to want to upgrade to a better camera from my 3 year old simple Sony. Hopefully, once we move from California and resettle on the East Coast, I can find some cash to upgrade.

 

Dion

 

 

[nbsjcruiser]

Hi Mike,

 

Great photos from the cruise and I am sorry we didn't bump into each other during those 8 days. Thanks for the tip about the cemetery, we made a point to visit and were not disappointed. Judging from your pics, Teri and I did a similar walking tour in the same streets, only you appear to have been there earlier with less people around. My photo from the cathedral shows the three small candles we lit for our deceased parents and the pic at the fort has the school kids flying kites on the green.

 

We may bump into you in St Johns in October of 2016 since Teri booked a cruise out of Boston to Halifax on Serenade. We have to go to the falls this time so keep an eye out for us at the Farmers Market!

 

I enjoyed our sharing of photos on the Indy cruise thread and you have inspired me to want to upgrade to a better camera from my 3 year old simple Sony. Hopefully, once we move from California and resettle on the East Coast, I can find some cash to upgrade.

 

Dion

 

 

 

Nice pictures Dion and yes we were out early!

 

Good that you'll be coming to Saint John. We'll have to keep in touch and when the time comes Vanda and I would like to meet you guys and maybe give you a little 5 cent tour of our fair city. Maybe by then the snow will be gone. :(

 

I sent you a friend request via cruise critic. We can exchange emails if you like.

Edited March 18, 2015 by nbsjcruiser

[nbsjcruiser]

So now that cc seems to be back on line I can post the last of my San Juan pictures. We learned after we got back to the ship that the Quantum would be coming in and the Indy would be backing out and letting the Quantum have our berth. It was a great chance for some shots of the Quantum.

 

The very first picture I took was rather lucky in that a plane flew over at the exact moment I took the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

and that's the end of my San Juan pictures. Tomorrow I'll post Labadee and more ship pictures.

Edited March 19, 2015 by nbsjcruiser

[sg1phileshipper]

Those pics are truly gorgeous. I really need to buy a Nikon Camera :D

 

cindy

[nbsjcruiser]

Those pics are truly gorgeous. I really need to buy a Nikon Camera :D

 

cindy

 

A little secret for you. Any good SLR will do but what really makes the difference is one of these: http://www.amazon.ca/Hoya-Multicoated-Circular-Polarizer-Filter/dp/B00009R97A/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1426766836&sr=1-10&keywords=circular+polarizer+filter

 

A polarising filter is great for outside shots. It takes reflection out of the water and deepens blues and greens. It really makes pictures pop with color. As you can see, they're pretty cheap.

[Ocean Boy]

The good thing about Qunatum coming into San Juan was I finally got to hear a bit of a horn battle between the two ships and it was the only one of the week. Indy didn't even salute the condos as we sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale which was a let down. I can't believe that there is a cruise ship captain in the world that doesn't know passengers look forward to hearing the horn. Liberty did the great condo salutes sailing out of Port Everglade before us.

[nbsjcruiser]

Labadee was our next stop. I like Labadee, not as much as DW or DS - they both really enjoy the day there. To me its a nice beach day. This was our third visit there and like the other two times, we got a Cabana. It will probably be our last given the price of the things now.

 

Here's some Labadee pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

[nbsjcruiser]

The good thing about Qunatum coming into San Juan was I finally got to hear a bit of a horn battle between the two ships and it was the only one of the week. Indy didn't even salute the condos as we sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale which was a let down. I can't believe that there is a cruise ship captain in the world that doesn't know passengers look forward to hearing the horn. Liberty did the great condo salutes sailing out of Port Everglade before us.

 

Great point. I was standing there, video camera at the ready waiting for the horn. Nothing. Nada. That captain needs a kick in the pants.

[Green Recruit]

Great point. I was standing there, video camera at the ready waiting for the horn. Nothing. Nada. That captain needs a kick in the pants.

 

Which ship were you guys on ??? :rolleyes:

 

Although Quantum and Indy didn't exchange horn 'solos', at St Maarten Jewel and Indy had quite a duel going. I caught it on video and it overdrove the microphone when Jewel let go as she backed away. BTW, if you attended the Captains Corner on Indy on that trip I asked Captain Henrik which RCI ship had the fasted run during sea trials (it was Legend- 26 knts). He added that the Radiance ships with azipods could do 16 knts backwards and 8 knts sideways. As we watched Jewel back out from St Maarten, she was moving really fast. :eek:

 

Then on Labadee when Grandeur was backing away, we were on our balcony watch her slip by. But no horn was sounded. :mad:

 

Grandeur has an open bridge wing and when pulling away from Labadee's dock, several officers, captain included, were passing us slightly below the level of our cabin. I shouted out to them 'Blow the horn'. One officer gave a small 'negative looking' wave, but the captain stepped up and sounded one long blast which got cheers from the upper decks. Unfortunately, Indy did not respond. Once clear of the dock, as Grandeur headed east, she sounded 3 long blasts again.

 

 

 

[Ocean Boy]

BTW, if you attended the Captains Corner on Indy on that trip I asked Captain Henrik which RCI ship had the fasted run during sea trials (it was Legend- 26 knts). He added that the Radiance ships with azipods could do 16 knts backwards and 8 knts sideways.

 

How about the woman who said she had a cruise booked for next October and asked the captain how the weather would be? The captain gave a much more gracious answer than what I might have.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Ocean Boy

[Ocean Boy]

 

Grandeur has an open bridge wing and when pulling away from Labadee's dock, several officers, captain included, were passing us slightly below the level of our cabin. I shouted out to them 'Blow the horn'. One officer gave a small 'negative looking' wave, but the captain stepped up and sounded one long blast which got cheers from the upper decks. Unfortunately, Indy did not respond. Once clear of the dock, as Grandeur headed east, she sounded 3 long blasts again.

 

And still no response from Indy. Labadee would have been the perfect place for the two ships to go at it. I admit, I got up on deck just as Jewel had cleared the dock in St. Maarten so I might have missed something there. But there was still plenty of opportunity as Indy was leaving since there were still two other ships in port. This captain was just plain lame on the horn issue.

[nbsjcruiser]

Some more Labadee shots

 

 

 

 

 

 

From our Cabana. Btw, we got the upgraded lunch. I know there are times when Cabana people don't get them but on our excursion it specifically stated upgraded lunch.

 

 

[nbsjcruiser]

and some more Labadee

 

 

 

 

Our cabana is across the water, second one from the left

 

 

 

[sg1phileshipper]

A little secret for you. Any good SLR will do but what really makes the difference is one of these: http://www.amazon.ca/Hoya-Multicoated-Circular-Polarizer-Filter/dp/B00009R97A/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1426766836&sr=1-10&keywords=circular+polarizer+filter

 

 

 

A polarising filter is great for outside shots. It takes reflection out of the water and deepens blues and greens. It really makes pictures pop with color. As you can see, they're pretty cheap.

 

 

Thanks a lot for the tip. And I really love the blue and green, it does pop out :)

Cindy

 

 

Verzonden vanaf mijn iPad met Tapatalk

[nbsjcruiser]

Snorkelling wasn't the greatest in Labadee - the water is quite cloudy in spots. Out past the cabanas at Nellies it wasn't too bad. Here's a few videos anyway - the first one is just me floating on a mat giving you an overall look at the beach area. The next two are snorkelling videos out past the cabanas.

 

[YOUTUBE]OLlDXAqQ7ig[/YOUTUBE]

 

[YOUTUBE]egQWc_VbFbE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[YOUTUBE]bd4F8aHzSSo[/YOUTUBE]

[Green Recruit]

And still no response from Indy. Labadee would have been the perfect place for the two ships to go at it. I admit, I got up on deck just as Jewel had cleared the dock in St. Maarten so I might have missed something there. But there was still plenty of opportunity as Indy was leaving since there were still two other ships in port. This captain was just plain lame on the horn issue.

 

He may have been off the bridge... On the previous six day cruise we were in Falmouth with Allure and they exchanged parting salutes there. I don't recall experiencing any other captain tooting other companies ships, otherwise ports with more than two ships would get blasted pretty severly. St. Maarten had six in port the two weeks prior to our cruise.