JPCruising

I would take your 24-105 and rent the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II from some one like Lensrentals.com. With 2 lens you can cover 24 to 400mm. The 100-400 version II is very sharp and would serve you well.

Those are indeed amazing photos!

 

Any thoughts on your cruising experience onboard the Joy? We were on the Treasures back in October (AMS-BUD). While it was a great trip, it does not quite rank up there as being among our favorite cruises (unfortunate in a way since it was, by far, the most expensive cruise we've ever done!)

We really didn't spend much time on the ship, but what time we did we enjoyed. It was a new ship and we loved sitting up top when cruising and we dined several times at Arthur's in the back of the ship and really liked that.

In Prague I hired a local professional photographer to show me around and to get me to the best places at the right time to create great images. His name is Jan Tichy and I would highly recommend him to anyone who likes photography, his website is: jantichyphotography.com

Fabulous photos!!

What equipment do you take with you?

For those aerial views..do you have a drone? Really great!!

thanks..

Rick

Hello Rick, I used an Olympus *****-D E-M1 camera with either the 7-14 f/2.8 or 40-150mm f/2.8 lenses. I also borrowed my wife's 12-40mm f2.8 at times. I went with the Olympus setup over my Canon camera for the weight savings. The "aerial" views where taken from the hill sides, I don't have a drone and never plan to use one.

Hi JP, your pictures are fabulous!. I want to look into this for my upcoming river cruise in April. How long did you book with each photographer? That way I can get a sense of time when I inquire.

We flew into Prague two days before the tour and I photographed for around 15hrs. In Budapest it was a 4 hr photo tour as that was all the time I had free before returning home.

I can't believe you hired a professional. I think he should be hiring you!! Great photos.

Thanks for the kind words. I hired a pro not for instructional help but to maximize my limited time for photography in both Prague and Budapest. Both local pros are more than willing to help the novice but in my case they were used to get me to the best locations at the right time. I had a lot of fun taking photos on this trip.

Great pictures! I haven't gone to your website yet, but are the ones in your previous posts all from Prague?

Photos 1,3,4 & 7 are from Prague. Photos 2 & 5 are from Budapest and Photo 6 is from Bratislava

Here are a couple more photos from this Danube cruise

This was my first river cruise and first trip with Tauck and both were fantastic. I very much appreciated the all inclusiveness of the Tauck trip, there were no additional cost. It is very relaxing to have everything taken care of and not having to tip. Photography is my passion and I very much enjoyed photographing the beautiful scenery on this trip and have posted the images on my website at: http://jprimages.com/travel/tauck/danube/2016

In Prague I hired a local professional photographer to show me around and to get me to the best places at the right time to create great images. His name is Jan Tichy and I would highly recommend him to anyone who likes photography, his website is: jantichyphotography.com

Here are a couple of my photos

I am going on a Europe river cruise this summer and my wife let me know she was not going to haul around heavy Canon gear on this trip. I use 2-1DX cameras and 5DS, and my lens include 400mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8 and 100-400mm II. We had been doing a little research but happen to stop by local camera store recently and the Olympus rep was there that day with a full display. We were extremely impressed with the new Olympus Pen-F and loved the 12-40mm f/2.8 & 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro lenses which we purchased for her. I was still planning on taking some of my Canon gear but decided the lightness and compactness of the Olympus system made more sense so I purchased the Olympus OMD E-M1 and 7-14mm f/2.8 and we will share the 40-150mm f/2.8 I am extremely impressed with the Olympus camera and lenses and just love how light everything is in comparison to what I usually carry around. I have been to Alaska twice and if I was going this summer I would definitely make my life easier by leaving my Canon gear at home and would take my Olympus OMD E-M1, 7-14mm f/2.8, 40-150mm f/2.8 and would purchase the Olympus 300mm f/4.0 as well. The Olympus cameras have a 2X crop factor so the focal length equivalent would be 14-600mm and you can use the 1.4 tele extender on the 40-150 & 300mm for even more reach. The in body stabilization on the OMD E-M1 is excellent and I am amazed at the shutter speed I can shoot at and get sharp images with the 40-150mm handheld. All that being said I photograph a lot of sports and action photography and still prefer my Canon gear for that. But for fun and travel it is my Olympus gear.

Just got back on Jan. 13 from 10 day HAL Zuiderdam Panama cruise, this was a partial transit where our ship went through the Gatun lock into the Gatun lake and turned around and came back out. I decided to take the ship excursion to tour the Gatun Lock and Expansion project and really enjoyed getting the perspective from being on the ship and watching the ship go back through on land. I have posted my photos at: http://jprimages.com/travel/hal/zuiderdam/panama/canal

I did get up early to try to get a good position on the front bow. The opened the access shortly before 6:00 am and I was one person back from the front. As the sun rose it did get quite crowded but by 8-8:30 the crowds really thinned out. We had great weather with no rain and a nice breeze and very few mosquitos.

Just got back on Jan. 13 from 10 day HAL Zuiderdam Panama cruise, this was a partial transit where our ship went through the Gatun lock into the Gatun lake and turned around and came back out. I decided to take the ship excursion to tour the Gatun Lock and Expansion project and really enjoyed getting the perspective from being on the ship and watching the ship go back through on land. I have posted my photos at: http://jprimages.com/travel/hal/zuiderdam/panama/canal

I did get up early to try to get a good position on the front bow. The opened the access shortly before 6:00 am and I was one person back from the front. As the sun rose it did get quite crowded but by 8-8:30 the crowds really thinned out. We had great weather with no rain and a nice breeze and very few mosquitos.

Have posted photos from Aruba & Curacao on my site at: http://jprimages.com/travel/hal/zuiderdam/panama Will be posting more as time permits.

Glad you had an enjoyable cruise. We'll be taking the same one in a few weeks - our first time to the canal area and Costa Rica so really loved reading your posts and seeing your pictures! We have booked the Gatun Lake and Expansion excursion too so I was glad to read that you enjoyed it. Thanks for posting.

 

May I ask what cabin category you were in before they offered you the upgrade to the Neptune Suites? Also, when you were in Costa Rica, did the ship stay on ship time or go to local time?

 

Thanks!

 

Barb

We were originally booked in a SY suite before upgrading to the Neptune Suite. We did change our clocks the night before Costa Rica.

Well got off the Zuiderdam today after 10 wonderful days. There was 3 couples in our group and we each had been offered an upgrade to a Neptune Suite which we each took. We had rooms, 7084, 7082 & 7080. None of us experienced any AC problems of plumbing issues, nor did I hear of any other passengers complaining of issues. Our rooms were very nice and I enjoyed the extra room and large balcony. All three rooms were on the port side, aft of the mid ship elevators. I found the ship to be in good order and the staff was constantly cleaning, polishing, and maintaining the ship. The bathroom was smaller than other premium suites I have sailed in on other lines and the fixtures somewhat dated but everything was functional. We had plenty of storage space & closet space. The free laundry service was a nice perk that we took advantage of on several occasions. Overall it was a very good cruise, liked the ship and staff.

Is it the Signature Beverage Card or the $50 Card?

My wife and I each received a $50 card, neither of us used the total balance. Sadly I still had the price of one soda left on the card this morning as I exited the ship.

Enjoying your review and pics! :)

 

We have Explore 4, too, and wondered how they handle the PG Dinners. It said they assign a time? Is this info in the room upon Embark?

 

Thanks!

Yes they assign the time, they delivered a card to our room after we set sail with the day and time. We were able to change the date and time to suit us better. Loved the food in the Pinnacle but found the service to be very slow if there were more than two people in your party. Had lunch one day and it took over 2 hours. Main course took over an hour to receive.

PUERTO LIMON - Jan. 10, 2014

Got into port early and because of early starting time for our Veragua Rainforest Eco-Adventure & Tortuguero Canals excursion we chose to eat at the Lido restaurant as did everyone else it seemed. Lido was very crowded, I had an omelet made to order and then proceeded to find coffee and a table. After breakfast went back to my room to gather gear for the excursion and noticed it was raining outside, but it quit before our excursion began. Boarded bus for short trip to Tortuguero canal. Had a very good guide and she explained well what we would be doing that day and our various opportunities to visit restrooms through out the day. Boarded small boats that were well suited for sightseeing. Really didn't travel very far in the canal but did get to see several types of birds, iguana, lizards, sloths and plant life. The boat guide was extremely good at spotting wildlife and turned the boat around at each sighting so both sides had an opportunity to see and photograph the animals. From there we re-boarded the motor coach for an hour ride to the rainforest. Distance wise it is not that far, but you are traveling on narrow gravel and dirt road through the hillside to get to the Vega Rainforest which is a privately owned operation. The facilities were good there and our guide was informative. Being that I was there to photograph things I was not as interested in the many exhibits and the amount of time that the guide took talking about the exhibits, I am sure others appreciated it. All in all it is a long excursion but we enjoyed it. We did get back to the ship a little past the all on board time, but being it was a HAL excursion that was not a problem. Back to our room hot and tired, we cleaned up and went to the thermal pool to soak and relax before dinner at Le Cirque. The Pinnacle Grill was “transformed” to Le Cirque, different plates and menu. My wife very much enjoyed her meal and mine was okay but I was not overly impressed and much prefer the regular Pinnacle menu. Attended the main show at 8:00 but was so tired from the day that I left early to call it a night.

PANAMA CANAL - Jan. 09, 2014

Wife and I got up early to go to the bow with some friends to watch us entering the canal. On deck 4 starboard side the opened access to the front. I was positioned almost at the front rail and a crowd built up rather quickly. If you want a good position best plan to get up early. Totally loved the experience of the Gatun lock and photographed the entire process, although I left at 8 to go to the Pinnacle for breakfast. Enjoyed breakfast as we sailed into the Gatun Lake. We finished breakfast and met in the Vista Lounge to await the announcing of our Gatun Lock & Canal Expansion tour. This was a really good excursion, our guide decided to go to the Expansion area first to avoid the congestion at the Gatun lock, then we returned to the lock in time to see our ship going through. Weather was hot, no rain and a great breeze. A short bus ride to Colon and we were let off at the pier area and shopped for awhile because our ship had not reached the dock yet. Went to local grocery store in that area to purchase some Panama coffee. Boarding the ship was easy and we enjoyed dinner at the MDR. The main show was the Illusionist James Cielen which everyone in our group really enjoyed. He put on a very good show that will keep you wondering how he did things. BTW, AC is still working extremely well, actually turned it up as I was getting too cold.

SEA DAY - Jan. 08, 2014

Having a leisurely day on the ship. Breakfast at the Pinnacle Grill, good as usual, processed photos this morning - wife enjoying the balcony. Lunch at Pinnacle Grill with group, my food was good although two in the group did not have their burgers cooked enough. Service was very slow, took 2 hours

BTW, AC and plumbing have been working very well on this trip.

CURACAO - Jan. 07, 2014

Started with breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill and hurried to get off the ship to meet a private tour with Tours By Martin L. that I found on the net. Martin was there waiting for us and four of us loaded into his car to begin a tour of the island. Martin was a great guide and took us to many beautiful places and I am looking forward to sharing many photos in the future. Really enjoyed Curacao and preferred it over Aruba. Could have enjoyed another 2 hours or so. Dinner in the MDR and we attended the BB King’s Blues Club which was the main show. It was a very good show and everyone in our group really enjoyed it.

ARUBA - Jan. 06, 2014

We docked just after 1:00 and got off the ship to take a HAL shore excursion - the 4x4 Expedition. After getting off the ship things were somewhat disorganized and it was hard to find out where we suppose to go. We were told the bus was late and to wait by the ship. Eventually my wife spotted the HAL lady that had told us to wait, walking off with a small group of people, we caught up with them as it was our group. Waited on the bus for a bit as they were missing two people. Eventually left and went to compound were the excursion was to begin. Had to wait for the other two people to show up. Tour ended up starting very late. The 4x4s where Land Rover in good shape and we enjoyed the excursion, but several of us did decide to skip the beach time and head back to the ship. We had dinner reservations with a group of friends that we didn’t want to miss. We ended up being 30 mins. late but were able to join the group. Had an excellent meal at the Pinnacle Grill although I thought it progressed too slowly, taking approx. 3 hours. After dinner retired early to the room. Have lots of photos but internet service is proving a little too slow for photo posting so I probably won’t post many more until after the cruise.

SEA DAY - Jan. 05, 2014

Started off the day enjoying breakfast at the Pinnacle Grill, it was wonderful. Service was very good as was the coffee and food. Spend the morning giving some one on one photograph instruction to a friend as we wandered around the ship. Wife enjoyed the thermo pool at the spa and we relaxed through out the day. Dinner was formal night and we ate in the MDR. Food was okay but nothing I would rave about. Attended the evening show, then spent a little time at the Piano Bar, the musician was very good, then we went to the BB Kings Blues Club they were really good and were playing to a packed crowd. AC continues to be very cold in our room although I notice the hallway outside our room seemed to be warmer. Also a friend reported that there was a plumbing problem that affected the 7th deck but it was fixed very quickly. So all in all we are enjoying the cruise and pleased with the ship. Photos from the day are posted at: http://jprimages.com/travel/hal/zuiderdam/panama

Beverage card was the $50 one, have not talked with anyone with deck one room. Have not heard anyone complaining about the AC.

Had dinner in MDR, service was better tonight and several at the table really enjoyed the pot roast. Enjoyed the comedy performance by Benji Hill and have added more photos to: http://jprimages.com/travel/hal/zuiderdam/panama

Are you on Explore 4? If so, any problems with the Signature Beverage card?

Used it last night with no problem, cannot use it at Half Moon Cay as they don't have computers on the island. So far things have been going very smoothly on this cruise.