mnbruce

Can one of you Maine or Portland natives tell me if Trader JOe's is walkable from cruise terminal?

Thanks,

Patsy

We stopped there with our rental car last year. It would be quite the walk.

If an officer invited you, that's fine. :)

It was not officer, but it must have been fine, otherwise I would not have been invited. While I am a super special kind of guy, :), they would not take the chance of hurting their employment status just to have me up there. I can honestly tell you I asked many times before going up there whether there was any possiblility of any of them getting in trouble for having me up there. It was only after they convined me that there would be not problem did I go up there. No way I would take any chance of hurting these good people just to go up there and pay those high prices for drinks.

If you've earned the perk by being Platinum, Elite or booked a full suite, you shouldn't have to sneak in. If asked, I'm sure you would have showed them your card. Nothing to lie about.

As I stated previously, I was invited up there by the staff, otherwise I would have never gone up there. I'm sure they saw my Gold card though when I ordered drinks.

I've always had to show my card to get in. It's nice to meet up with friends there, but honestly it's just more food. It's not worth sneaking and lying to get in. But, that's just me!

Last month I was never asked for my card when entering, so I did not need to sneak in or lie about it. Had I been asked by anyone I would have surely told the thruth.

On the Coral last fall our staterooms cards were checked the first night to assure we were entitled to be there. It really is a very nice perk and we enjoyed going. The chef was very friendly, made it a point to come around and speak with us every time we came in.

 

 

I too would be a little disappointed to hear that people are showing up and partaking of this lounge when they have not earned that privledge. Sad to think that people always have to feel entitled to something they don't deserve.

 

In 2010 we sailed on the Celebrity Summit and were often up in the lounge where they did their cocktail party. It was a great place to spend an afternoon reading. Not once did we try to take advantage of someting we had not earned, although we were offered drinks and canapes. We simply said no thanks, we are not entitled to this perk.

When I was up there after being invited I did not use any of the perks,because I was not an elite. I just sat up there and ordered full price drinks while chatting with the staff. I did not eat any of the food that they offered.

Well, gee, that sure denigrates the point of the perk.

On our recent cruise we were invited up there and I was a bit hesitant, but they kept insisting so we did it on two afternoons. There were just a handful of people up there. By up there I am talking about the Skywalker.

Any car rentals at the dodk?

No, but Enterprise will pick you up and drop you off.

Is there a way to take a scenic drive back from Kennebunkport to Portland. Possibly along the coast. Thanks for the info. The rental car sounds like a good idea if there is scenery to and from.

We decided to take what we thought might be a scenic route down to Kennebunkport, and while there was some pretty inland scenery it was a lot of stop and go driving in towns along the way. We took the highway back and wish we had done that on the way down. We rented a car just because we like to do things on our own and at our own pace. If you are looking for breathtaking scenery, this drive is not it.

Very nice review and photos!

Last fall we rented a car and drove to Kennebunkport after going to the Portland Head Lighthouse. Then we stopped at Trader Joe's in Portland for some cheap wine.

From our cruise two weeks ago

From last week.

As we were leaving St. Maarten.

Our ship in Aruba

Great photos from the tour with Ronnie! We did it two years ago and really enjoyed it.

Greetings from Barbados! We had another glorious sunny day. Our photography tour was more than wonderful. We got to see the opposite side of the island where most of the ship tourists don’t go. Our guide was an experienced, published photographer who grew up in Barbados. The picture taking opportunities and scenery were unmatched.

I’m praying to the Internet gods that I can post some pictures today. I just logged onto a public network in Barbados from my balcony. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

Did you go with Ronnie the photographer to Bathsheba?

For me it's the Pina Colada, and for my wife it's the Blue Margarita.

Wow! There are some really beautiful photos in this thread!

I agree! Some great photos.

Justin, those Cardinal images are fantastic.

Those are beautiful Justin, as are the ones I've seen so far in your gallery. For some reason our recent cruise stopped in Portland rather than Bar Harbor. The only place on our cruise that had some nice color was the Fundy Trail in New Brunswick, but it was dark and rainy while we were there so it would have been tough to get good images.

Last month our Department of Natural Resources was predicting that this fall would be the best for fall colors in 10 years and they were correct. The problem was that we were on a cruise during part of it and when I returned I was just too busy with work to take the time to get out and capture the beauty.

My favorite light is right after after a storm when the sun is low on the horizon. On my way home from work a storm had just come through and I was thinking conditions were ripe for a rainbow. Five minutes later one appeared and I spent 10 minutes driving around for a scene that did not have buildings,roads and cars in it.

While returning from our cruise late in the afternoon we flew over an area close to our home. The colors over a lake looked pretty, so as soon as we got home from the airport I played with the the dog for a bit then told my wife I'd be back in a while. People were out really enjoying the beautiful afternoon.

Larry, that's a great long exposure shot.

Judy,those are very nice photos!

Debathome, I agree that your photo makes me want to walk that road.

All kinds of great photos lately! Fall colors, Down Under, upside down airplanes, kayaks, flowers and Elk. Great variety of photos.

Now, you are the one who said that the shot was straight out of the camera - so no post-processing. Right? :)

Right, no post processing. Just converting the RAW file to a jpeg so it could be put on my photo hosting site, but the image posted here is exactly what I saw when I threw my card into my card reader. I guess I could have used another term but I was just trying to let you know it was not HDR as you thought it might have been.

I rarely just aim the camera without thought going into the composition, aperture/shutter speed , type of metering , and ISO at a minimum.

Don't you love it when Mother Nature sets up your shot and all you have to do is aim your camera at it.

Mother Nature is something else, but I think most of us here do more than just aim the camera at something.

Love the pictures of Rose Island in Newport and the HDR(?) of the sunset from the ship. Where are the others taken?

Thanks Judy! The sunset is not a HDR. It's straight out of the camera like the one below. The other photos were taken while driving the Fundy Trail in New Brunswick,as was the 2nd photo here.

From a recent cruise.

I like your whole series Zack. This is my favorite.