topkatz

If you have a larger camera or the clamp jaws are too small, you can try a modified (drill a hole through the end for a mini ball head - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0792V6T4P) ratcheting bar clamp. This one was from Harbor Freight. The mini ball head is attached with a 1/4-20 bolt that can be swapped side-to-side if it turns out to be on the wrong orientation. I used it to mount a larger camera on the balcony railing to get a different perspective while using the GoPro pointed toward the bow during one Canal transit. Remember to have a safety cable in case of a clamp failure. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RP8YY9R One other note: Be aware that setting out a camera for a long duration time lapse in the equatorial sun may cause the camera to overheat and shutdown. The GoPro seems pretty resilient. I rigged a simple cardboard shield for the GoPro one one transit and nothing for the latest transit. No thermal shutdown in either case. My Sony A6000 shutdown after 90 min due to temp, still had plenty of external battery power. Didn't realize this issue until I returned to the cabin. Could have used a "sun hat" for the Sony. Mind that you don't gate the "sun hat" in the photo. The GoPro is pretty wide angle and can easily pick up the edge of the "sun hat". Sorry for the long-ish post(s). I hope it will help others make satisfying time lapses.

Yes, customer service. Depends on the ship and their policies. I've seen people just clamp to a rail and hope it doesn't get removed. I had one nighttime shoot ruined because, even though I had permission, the night security person thought the camera was knocked over and set it upright. I got a great series of the railing light rather than the hoped for Aurora.

I use Time Lapse even though the camera is moving. My settings: Lens Wide Format Photo Interval 5s Shutter Auto Output Raw (I process in Lightroom to adjust the photos and remove lens distortion, then export as jpg) Scheduled Capture off Duration No Limit Time 5s Protune: EV Comp 0 White Balance 5500k ISO Min 100 ISO Max 800 Sharpness Low Color Flat I use an ND16 filter as well. Recommend that you do several test runs at home so you can dial in the settings. The 2024 Timelapse was 9:30 hours. The one from 2023 was 9:40. I cut some of the middle bits from the 2024 video. Your playback frame rate will determine the total video length. I've use 24 and 30 fps. Both result in acceptable videos. GL

I've done this several times. First step is to get permission from the ship. Typically the Staff Captain is responsible for the Deck department and Security teams. He/She will let staff know that the camera is there so they won't mess with it. Equipment wise... SmallRig has a very compact & effective rail clamp https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5LC7W6F. Combine that with a ball mount for the GoPro and a safety cable and you should be good to go. You'll need a large memory card. I used a 256g card and could capture 9000+ photos for a Panama Canal transit of ~12 hours (5 sec interval) with room to spare. Set the camera for tripod operation, turn off the front screen, set screen display to turn off after 30 sec or so to maximize battery life. In my case I use a large (20,000 mAh) external battery with high current output to run the GoPro https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LG2X98F. The GoPro battery is removed so it won't overheat. The external battery is in a zip lock bag in case of rain. I place a piece of gaff tape (doesn't leave residue) over the camera battery door and over where the cable enters to make sure I don't get water inside. Advice is to test out the entire setup BEFORE you board the ship. Make sure the battery, mount, cables, etc. all work as expected and be sure you have the proper cables for recharging the external battery. Latest Canal transit video here: HTH

In the Surf package, VPN is blocked even when you are trying to use non-standard ports. With the Streaming package, VPNs work fine. I've tested both Wireguard and OpenVPN based tools while on Quest. If you try something like using the DNS port to tunnel, that doesn't work either. I agree with @Aexboeingdriver that Wireguard is a better performer. A couple of notes, if you need to access the onboard servers for the Seabourn Source, you'll need to disable the VPN. You will have some machinations when you first get on. You need to use the Source to enable your Internet access, then you can enable VPN. Not a huge issue but if you are on a multi-segment/back-to-back cruise you may need to drop the VPN and re-authorize Internet access. Same goes for using an in-cabin travel router with built-in VPN support. HTH

It's not particularly intuitive... Once you get to the page with the world map, click on the four parallel lines (hamburger) on the upper left of the page. Select the ship, date and voyage from there. Don't try to click on the ship name on the map. HTH

Not that it matters given the current news... Applied on Dec 7 and received visas on Jan 6.

Quest still has TK Grill in operation until Jan 10. We ate there last night. According to Chef Frank they close for ~7-10 days to referb and will open Solis at that time. No menus available yet that we've seen.

Perfect, thanks. If I may ask, how was your visa delivered? Was it sent as an attachment to an eMail, or directly as in-line email content, or in an email with a link where you download the visa? Is the format a pdf, jpg, or other? TIA

If I may ask, how was your visa delivered? Was it sent as an attachment to an eMail, or directly as in-line email content, or in an email with a link where you download the visa? Is the format a pdf, jpg, or other? TIA

New update from the Brazilian authorities today... https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/embaixada-camberra/English/consular-section/visas/visit-visa "As of January 10, 2024, citizens from Australia, Canada, and the USA will be required to apply for a visitor visa to travel to Brazil for tourism. The link to apply for an e-visa is expected to be available on December 4, 2023"

According to https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/embaixada-camberra/English/consular-section/visas/visit-visa Updated in Nov 14, 2023 11:06 PM, : "The Brazilian Government has postponed the coming into force of the visa requirement for citizens from Australia, Canada, and the United States of America." @deec Do you have a link that says the visa is available to apply for?

If you open the Seabourn App, log-in and look at the "Gourmet Dining", click on "View More". Under Lounges, select "The Club". Click on "Club Menu". Scroll down past the cocktails for the Sushi offerings. HTH

We are looking at the Odyssey class ships (Odyssey, Quest, Sojourn) deck plans for staterooms 802 & 803, They seem to be a bit smaller due to the presence of a crew only staircase in the hallway outside the stateroom. We can't find any information on how the cabin size is reduced to accommodate the stairwell. What space is eliminated? Shower, tub, walk-in closet, outside balcony? Anyone have experience with either of these two staterooms? TIA

I found that you can access your booking by logging in (browser doesn't seem to matter), then when it shows you your booking, DON'T click on the booking "number" but rather scroll down and click on one of the "Next Steps". It'll take you to your booking and you can navigate around there to see the Itinerary, Excursions, etc. HTH

On a recent WC we both broke our sunglasses at different times. Fortunately we each had a backup pair. While not our preferred brand/styles, they were absolutely necessary especially during excursions. We saw lots of locals selling sunglasses around ports as we traveled but we preferred having our own backups.

This is the final video from the 2023 Seabourn Sojourn World Cruise. It's a compilation of the memorable moments and discoveries from the cruise. We probably missed/forgot some. 🙂 Hope this brings back fond memories for those that joined us on this journey. Thanks to Kyla in Guest Services for pulling together the various statistics and numbers for the 'scroll' toward the end of the video. Hope to see y'all on our next Seabourn voyage

Made it back home safely (and our luggage did as well a couple of days later as expected). This is the video for the last leg of this amazing voyage of discoveries. Thanks to @shark b8 and others who made the trip so memorable. Cheers!

Hard to believe the adventure is nearly over. We'll have to treat it like an 8-day cruise now. 😉

Crossing the Equator (zero latitude) at the Prime Meridian (zero longitude) or zero-zero AKA "Null Island". Very rare for most mariners (and cruise ship passengers). Thanks to Seabourn for making it possible.

Eastern Africa discoveries. A portion of our "Extraordinary Discoveries" Sojourn World cruise.

Sorry for interrupting the safari... You can now return to your regular programming. 😉 Hope you enjoy.

An offering from the World Cruise Event in Bali... "The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic which follows Prince Rama's quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an army of monkeys." Credit the British Library Quick Guide to the Ramayana

Loved Australia and her people. Hope this offering does them justice. Will definitely be back for a fourth visit.

And... at 8:30 AM this morning there is a scheduled "Naked Over-70s Trampoline Tournament" in the Retreat on Deck 11. I'll leave it for someone else to post a pic of Luca's Bio from the front of today's Herald. Happy April Fools day