shadow8800

I was hoping for some help or advice. Sometimes when I am taking photos outside they have a hazy look to them I was wondering if this was due to my position in relation to the sun ot a setting on the camera itself. I have not had much practice with my a6000 even though I have had it for a while now.

My hubby and his brothers lined up as they had when they were younger for a picture done the same way but here is what I got. It looks very hazy to me a not clear at all.... any ideas would be appreciated I am trying to learn but it seemed ok until I uploaded it from the camera.

Yes, calm down!!! Once you go on your balcony, ALL will be well...Hawaii will not be 40 or 50 degrees like Alaska..wait till you sit out there in flip flops & shorts, it'll be so comfortable..and to see the mountains & cliffs of Kauai & Maui,Oahu- wow!!! Bring binoculars for sure...I plan to go in 2018 or 2019...Glad you liked my post....also read my other balcony post called "5 reasons to book a balcony", also on this same thread ( maybe further down the list now..)

 

Big Al

Ok calming down now ;) It is gonna be so beautiful.

We have a balcony on our upcoming Summit cruise. It is pretty port intensive I hope we will have some time to enjoy our balcony.:)

We are doing a round trip Long Beach to Hawaii and chose a balcony. I hope it will be a good choice for a trip like this in the month of December. I have been stressing we might have made a mistake by spending extra for it :eek: But after reading this post it reminded me how great a balcony is, Hopefully I will calm down a bit :rolleyes:

I was grateful for our balcony as we cruised Tracy Arm during our Alaska cruise simply gorgeous.

I found some good info on puerto rico day trips dot com.... it also has a self guided walking tour if that interests you. :)

We cruised in May and did not see much in the way of insects. I heard the insects are worse later in the season. Is this true or is it still tolerable , because I also heard some people spot more wildlife later as well which is always fun. I hate to miss out on anything good if later is a better time to go. We had beautiful weather for our Alaska visit and want to go back soon!

I start gathering a couple weeks prior, building my ziplock baggies of otc meds and other toiletries. Then will lay out clothes the week before to make sure I have everything and do some laundry if needed then I get packing, we do carry on only so it is pretty easy:D

So far we have been able to do carry on and small backpack. The backpack has all my Rx, toiletries, travel docs and everything I would carry in my purse. I also use bundle style packing it works really well. Our upcoming cruise in Dec. 2017 is 15 days so we shall see if I can get it done for that one as well.

Happy planning everyone

We did Celebrity for our Alaska cruise. So beautiful... It was our first cruise too and we loved cruising through Tracy Arm but ours did not go to Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier I will probably pick one of those itineraries if (when) we go again!:D

I am the planner, all the research is lots of fun for me. I keep separate envelopes for any excursions with the meeting instructions and balance due, makes it easier to just grab the right envelope each day:)

Love love love planning;)

Thanks! I may have to try one of these out on my December cruise. It would be nice to be able to snorkel without having to surface every couple of minutes to take the mouthpiece out and re-group. :)

I did finally decide to get the Tribord mask. I took it to the local swimming pool

to give it a try and it worked just as advertised. No fogging your mouth and nose are separate from the viewing area of the mask. It was not hard to use at all and very comfortable to wear. No problem with the seal as long as you get the correct size(had to send DH's back for smaller size). No trouble breathing while actively swimming like some have stated. All in all I am super happy I got the mask and can't wait to use it in December!

Book as soon as you find your itinerary and price you are willing to pay...you can always watch to see if prices fall later on...better to book early as others have said

Did Nachi Cocum in Cozumel it was a nice relaxing day, and island tour with Rony's tours in Roatan...both very nice

steph001- What wonderful words!!! I am very pleased that my post has encouraged you to take your first cruise...many have had the same concerns & feelings that you have...I recently put 2 people on their first cruise..one, my 1st cousin last New Year's Eve on the NCL Getaway with his GF..I wasn't sure he would like cruising..got him an aft balcony and when I asked him how it went, he said, "It was fantastic! I couldn't believe the quality of entertainment & dining options there was..loved my cabin & balcony...loved it, and I feel soooo stupid now I didn't listen to you all those years & go ( I had been telling him how great cruises were the last 20 years..)..I'm ready to book again"...WOW!! The other guy is a friend who cruised for the first time this past May with his wife & mother, both whom had cruised a little before..Scott called me as soon as ge got off the ship & said he LOVED the cruise..ready to go again...picking the right cruise line & ship is important, so if you tell me a little about what you like when vacationing, I can help you..

 

For example, if you like beaches, shopping ( great deals on alcohol, jewelry, leather, clothing, etc..), go to the Eastern Caribbean ( St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Nassau are common ports here..)..if you like scuba, diving, more culturally diverse stuff like Mayan ruins, forests, etc. then try the Western Caribb, which often include Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and more ..do you want a lot of options for dining, entertainment & activities? How old are you? over 55, & no kids, try Celebrity, Princess or HAL..maybe RCI..Have kids? Disney, RCI, Carnival, & NCL would be good..just some ideas...any questions on which first cruise to take, give a shout!!!

 

Big Al

All great points to consider when finding the right cruise for you! Just fyi...for other new cruisers . I have an anxiety disorder and I do very well on cruises. I don't feel crowded in or anything I even do well in the small staterooms surprisingly, they are designed as efficiently as they can be in such a small space. I don't usually suffer from motion sickness so that has not been a problem for me so far *knocks on wood*

I don't know if that will help encourage anyone else but I thought I would just toss it out there. ;) Cruising is such a great way to see different places and with the ability to make payments beginning a year or more out it makes it easier for some of us to budget.

Happy Planning :D

Normally, the HIGHER your cabin is on a deck, the more $$ it is..you may pay less to switch your cabin from deck 9 to deck 8..it's worth looking into..if Celebrity / whomever says it costs more $$ to change, then never mind..one of the best sites I use (besides the cruise itself ) is called http://www.cruisedeckplans.com...just click on the cruise line first, then your specific ship, and you can find all the deck plans PLUS details on each category including cabin size, balcony size, and even specific cabins that have bigger balconies.. great site..any questions give a shout!

 

Big Al

Dh said wanted to try aqua class this time so I think we are limited in cabin options but I might call TA to find out anyway. Thank you so much for your advice.:D

Shadow8800- This is a tough one..IF you or spouse is a light sleeper, you may hear noises EARLY in the morning ( 6-7 am) when the crew puts all those lounge chairs down..I am a VERY light sleeper and I avoid the deck under the pools area like the plague..my wife sleeps thru everything..are you light sleepers? If so, you MAY want to book on deck 8..I ALWAYS try & book mid ship, about 3-6 cabins down from the elevators, and very important..cabins above & cabins below- never below or above PUBLIC decks & areas ( pools, theaters, disco, etc..)...hope this helps...

 

Big Al

We have a balcony cabin and can't afford to pay a higher fee as I am now paying on our cruise for December 2017, at least for that trip I made sure the only thing above and below are other staterooms. My dh is telling me it will be fine but he does sleep like a rock lol. The cruise has 5 ports in 7 days so maybe everyone will be tuckered out in the evening :) I definitely learned a lesson check the deck plan before blindly agreeing to just take it. Thank you for your input:D

You are welcome shadow8800...please feel free to comment or ask questions about any facet of cruising..like you, I have been "hooked" on cruising since 1990, and as both a cruise agent and avid cruiser who has cruised RCI, NCL, HAL, Disney, Celebrity, & Princess in ALL four cabin categories ( inside, outside, balcony & suites) , so I have experienced a lot to make comparisons & offer some ideas/ opinions- which are exactly that..thanks for the nice post!!

 

Big Al

Thanks Big Al...One thing I just now learned is when you are booking make sure you check your stateroom location which I did not do at first and got lucky on my first cruise and but for the upcoming I think we are stuck right below the the pool and I am concerned about the noise or if it will even be a problem. We are on Deck 9 on Celebrity Summit any ideas? Thanks

I thought it was a very thoughtfully written post. I don't have many cruises under my belt but since discovering this type of vacation we are hooked. I look forward to reading upcoming questions and answers because I am always up for learning new things. Thanks for the post :)

Hi all, I started a low carb diet in Feb after a year of calorie counting with no weight loss. So far on the low carb diet the doctor gave me i was finally able to start the scale moving in the right direction!Down 27lbs so far trying for 50 more. I am always looking for new ideas.

So far we have carried our own luggage off, but have never been in a huge hurry. We have 1 rolling 21" carry on and a backpack each. It has worked for us but if we were ever lucky enough to do a longer itinerary and needed larger bags I would put them in the hall. I would not want to be the hold up for folks behind me.

Happy cruising

Maybe a lanyard for sign and sail cards, some folks like those. They are rather inexpensive at office supply stores. Magnets with hooks or clips for inside the cabin. The dry erase boards are a great idea since you have a group of people going along.

Happy planning

I am on my third roll call and all of them have been pretty good. I have received helpful info from those who have done the same cruise itinerary before and I always try to make an effort to welcome those who join the roll call after me. So far, so good :)

I've been scuba diving with contact lenses since the 80's, down to 130 feet several times. I use a mask with a purge so I never have to clear the mask; the water runs out the purge below my nose. In all these years, I've only lost a contact one time (I was coughing into my regulator at the time) and it stayed right in the mask so I was able to re-insert it on board after rinsing it well.

That is really good information to know as I have never worn a mask of any kind before. I was wondering if some of the people who were posting were being a little alarmist about how you shouldn't use contacts with a mask.

I am glad you and many others have been using contacts with diving masks successfully for many years, this info helps my confidence in giving it a try with contacts. Thank you so much for letting me know your experience

Apologies if my response implied any "trouble starting". I was just saying if you don't have any issue with swimming with contacts, then wearing them under a scuba mask (or any design) would be no more of an issue. Given that you have had issues with water and contacts, that concept doesn't apply.

 

I still don't think the tribord mask offers anything that a traditional mask and snorkel do not. It also seems like it would be much harder getting and maintain a good mask seal around your whole face - which is what will keep the water out.

I apologize as well as this was my first ever question on the boards I guess I was feeling a bit defensive about it. :o

I just have never been snorkeling in the ocean before and have never worn a mask either. I have trouble breathing through my mouth and I have panic disorder which is unpredictable on any given day. I am however a good swimmer but I was worried about using the snorkel and I thought the tribord would work better since it allows breathing through the nose and mouth. I can't dive very deep because I can't get my ears to equalize. I was just curious if the tribord mask worked as advertised or if it would flood and then contacts would be useless. It seems many people love the tribord mask and since I usually find pretty good info on the CC boards I thought it couldn't hurt to ask.

Thanks to ascruisin for letting me know your experience with the tribord it was most helpful and informative.

Thanks again for the help. as always it is much appreciated

Sorry for so many posts, but I can only upload one picture at a time on my phone. Does anyone else wear pant sets?

These are really pretty!

That's what I was thinking maybe keep it bagged up except for the land portion of the land and sea excursion. Even though I did fine with it on the beach in Cozumel I don't have an extra camera body or anything it's my one and only...maybe better safe than sorry. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me...as always I most appreciative