CT Sean

The last outer  mole post covers is pretty well i think - feel free to ask anything not covered here.  short answer is no - you cannot walk off the ship, you have to take a shuttle into town

about .8 miles according to google maps.  https://www.google.com/search?q=mallory+square+to+blue+heaven

If I were in the market for a point n shoot camera, and had no interest in carrying around a DSLR with multiple lenses, I'd get this:

https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/powershot-sx740-hs-black

I've always been a fan of Canon mid-range "pocket-size" P&S cameras (still use one underwater) and this one has a nice big zoom range which one just can't get with a camera phone - no matter how good the sensor is.

You and your party crew are going to go to one of America's great party towns and not have a drink?  seems a missed opportunity.

anyway as stated there's lots of stuff to do in KW

Eat at one of many good restaurants

Trolley/Conch Train tour

Several museums and 3 old forts

wander around

rent bikes or scooters and wander farther

shop

snorkel tour

parasailing

waverunner tour

kayaking

tour the cemetery (it's a cool cemetery)

beaches - yeah they are far from world class, but I never go to KW without at least part of a day at Zachary Taylor park. 

Probably other stuff that's slipping my mind.  We go on a pretty regular basis and have done all of the above (usually several of them per trip)

Personally I find Kermit's key lime pie a bit ordinary and no better than I can make at home.  Blue heaven has excellent key lime pie (and food and a bar)

I have a Kata backpack (looks like they merged with Manfrotto) that I carry my gear in for travel (fits as my personal item for air travel) and a LowePro holster for day to day stuff

See responses 11 and 12

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56955534&postcount=11

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56955632&postcount=12

The only way to or from a ship docked at Outer Mole is via trolley

So it looks like our cruise will be stopping in Key West during Fantasy Fest; there from 1:00 to 7:00pm. Has anyone been to Key West during Fantasy Fest and if so is there much going on during those hours? Thanks for the information.:confused:

Here's the schedule http://www.fantasyfest.com/schedule/ what activities will of course depend on what day you are there.

I personally think the views, the drive, and breathing the thin air even going only as far as far as the visitors center is totally worth it but I'm sure someone else would see it as a waste of time. It's worth nothing that there's not much to do there besides looking and hiking around.

Checking the map, it's much shorter drive from Hilo than from Kailua-Kona - like 35ish miles vs 50ish or 60ish miles (the shorter Kona route is also the "backroads" route and may or may not be faster). From the Kona side, it also takes longer to get to the Saddle Road. It sounds like the construction on the east side of the saddle road is long finished so I'm assuming you wouldn't have to deal with the traffic and bypass that I drove through last year. the trip to get through Hilo to the Saddle road should be comparatively short - Would be helpful if someone with more current knowledge could confirm though.

I am a scuba diver as well and would like to get the rest of my family certified eventually.

 

This alone is a reason to go with a traditional mask and snorkel. If they do go on to get certified , it should be easier already being familiar and comfortable breathing through their mouth and dealing with a traditional mask. I would imagine it would be a bit challenging having to learn to snorkel all over again if they were used to a full face mask, then had to learn regular mask drills, breathing from a regulator and possible a snorkel as well - depending on whether snorkeling is covered in their certification

Just FYI your hyperlink isn't hyperlinking

Otherwise good news - I hope the Jaggar museum is able to reopen at some point.

According to google maps, about 600 meters or a bit over 1/4 mile. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bonaire+Cruise+Port/Bonaire+Cruisers,+Kaya+Irlanda+1a+,+Kralendijk,+Caribisch+Nederland,+Kaya+Irlanda,+Kralendijk,+Caribbean+Netherlands/@12.1476831,-68.276417,18.5z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x8e831bae5332f88f:0xc427d35786452a94!2m2!1d-68.2772989!2d12.1469639!1m5!1m1!1s0x8e831baffa05d1af:0xcf0f428c1fb01a6f!2m2!1d-68.2746816!2d12.1484112!3e2

Even if you dock at the north pier, it's about the same distance

Advantage of the cruise line excursion is if something happens the cruise line will do everything it can to get you back to the ship before it leaves. In Key West, I've personally never worried about an independent snorkel or parasail or other short excusion not making it back to the dock in time.

Advantage of booking directly is that, as you already said it's cheaper, and also depending on what you are looking for, there may be more time options available. I booked parasailing directly once upon a time and the cruiseline only gave me a couple time choices where direct with Fury, I could pick nearly any hour of the day

This'll probably cover most of your beach questions - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2598499. I'm partial to the beach at Ft. Zachary Taylor state park.

It is a good idea - just make sure you know what you are actually paying and get the insurance. We rented from Rentadora ISIS without any issues (there are good reviews if you google it) and the price listed on their website is the price we paid, and includes insurance. Be aware that most of the cars are manual transmission and if you need an auto, you may have to pay extra (and be sure to reserve beforehand)

Thanks again for the input. I have more things to try. Part of the problem is that the hummingbird doesn't stay there very long and I'm trying to hurry to get it in focus. I have tried focusing on something else then bringing it back to the bird, sometimes it works. I don't intentionally take a blurry photo, sometimes I have the bird in focus and when I go to take the picture the camera focuses on the tree, other times I accidently press the shutter button too hard when trying to focus and it takes the picture.

At least some of the focusing issues are probably related to using AF-A mode. The camera is basically deciding for itself whether you are trying to take a pic of a static scene or a scene with movement in it, and not always getting it right.

You might want to read about the different focus modes here, starting on page 69:

http://download.nikonimglib.com/archive3/mDRtb00yLNm4030fA0354NqSi012/D3400RM_(En)03.pdf

If you want to pre-focus on the feeder and take the pic when the bird comes in - use AF-S.

If you want to attempt to track the movement of the bird itself - use AF-C and use an "AF Area mode" (page 74) of dynamic area or 3D tracking.

Either approach requires locking focus with the half-click and holding it until ready to take the picture. Focusing on the bird in AF-C requires locking focus on the bird with the half click in the first place, then keeping the shutter release half-clicked while keeping the bird within the other focus points in the viewfinder until your ready to take the picture. for AF-C it might be a good idea to practice on other birds (any anything else that moves) that aren't quite as erratic as hummingbirds to get some subject-tracking practice.

I’m sorry to keep bothering everybody but I really don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. I have ISO set to auto, focus mode is AF-A Auto-servo, AF-area mode is single point AF and shutter was set to 1/800

#1 - are you doing the half-click to acquire focus before taking the picture? If so you should be able to tell what you are focused on.

#2 with AF-A and single point AF, you're gonna have to get the bird focused in the focus point (the one highlighted in the viewfinder) and then keep the focus point on the bird (while keeping the button half-clicked), otherwise the camera will focus on something else. I don't know what other modes the D3400 supports but if possible you might want to try one that will allow you to lock focus on the bird (with the half-click), then the camera will track the bird if it "moves" to other focus points.

What might be easier than that is to set the camera to AF-S, prefocus on the feeder itself (with the half click) and then take the picture when the bird takes a little sip.

The key with all of this is the half-click.

Prices aren't all that different. Cheap drinks are generally low quality drinks unless all you want is beer. Look for drink specials which are common when ships are in port.

Both Key Largo and Islamorada are good choices, depending on what you might be interested in on a stop down. Key Largo is definitely more commercial.

Key Largo is the self proclaimed diving capital of the world

Islamorada is the self proclaimed sportfishing capital of the world

In case either of those "titles" appeals to you.

in 72* water, I personally wouldn't last long without a wetsuit. A 2 to 3mm shorty would work just fine (and what I used to use before I started diving and got a full suit).

If you're landing at 6.15 AM, you should have smooth drive down, maybe even arriving early enough to hit Blue Heaven for breakfast. If not stop by Sunday for brunch (if you're into that sort of thing). Make a reservation for Sunday though, they get busy.

MIA/FLL is a nice drive for much of it once you're in the keys - though some parts are nothing special. Driving through the busy sections of Key Largo, Islamorada and Marathon is like driving in any really dense commercial area of Anytown, USA but the bridge crossings and the lower keys are really nice.

One thing to consider is after you leave the mainland, it's one lane for much of the last 100 miles. 3.5 ish hours is on a good day - on a bad day it can take 6 (I drove down on that bad day once). Saturday morning can be a very busy time to travel down the Keys depending on what time ff year, but Feb is a less busy time.

There's lots of inns / B&Bs in KW and it's my preferred way to stay. I like to be a short bike ride away from Old Town.

On the topic of Key Lime martinis, Virgilio's on Duval makes a pretty good one.

Can't help with the conch fritters nor the unique drinks (I'm a simple drink kind of guy) but Blue Heaven has the best key lime pie, and one of the only places that put meringue on it (I don't care what anyone says, whipped cream does not belong on key lime pie). They do make good drinks there too.

I'm guessing these are independent tours and not booked through Celebrity? If so that would be way too close for me.