lcimba

On 2/28/2019 at 8:16 PM, plettza said:

I come from a DSLR background with a Canon 7D and a 5D Mark III.  I've got plenty of lenses both for EF and EF-S mount.  I don't plan on getting rid of these.*

 

However, I've noticed on cruises, I seem to leave the cameras in my cabin because I don't want to lug around a large camera and lens especially when my back pack is already full with a towel and so on.  I do leave my camera in the backpack at the beach say on Ilse of Pines or Maré whilst I've gone for a swim.  I've never had anything ripped off but I wanted something a little more compact and I've been doing a bit of research.  I was hoping to get some suggestions from the crew here.  There's a lot of post but they date back some time and a lot of the cameras have been superseded. 

 

Here's what it needs to have:

• Ability to shoot raw
• Have a good, long zoom range
• Relatively compact
• Flash
• Good low light performance
• Excellent image quality (sharpness, colour, noise)
• Good shutter speed (anticipating being in the sun)
• Viewfinder
• IBIS/optical stabiliser

 

Here's what I would like to have as well:

• Built-in GPS (if I'm travelling, it's handy to know the location of the photos)
• Really excellent battery life AND/OR USB charging
• Good, sharp flippy screen for taking selfies
• APS-C

 

 

Here's what is not a determinant:

• 4K
• Microphone inputs
• Video-heavy features (I won't be doing much if any video vlogging and so on)
• high FPS continuous drive

 

Budget: Around $1000AUD but will go higher for a compelling camera

 

I'm open to built-in lens cameras such as the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VI or smaller interchangeable lens systems like the A6400.  I want to stay away from micro 4/3s.

I'm open to almost any brand.

 

 

I've read a couple of the buying guides but a lot of the cameras listed do not have GPS.

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

 

 

* These cameras are perfectly fine for the style of photography I normally do such as portraiture, landscape,  events, etc. and will continue to be my preferred system for this.

I'd suggest buying a used mirrorless camera. I keep an old Sony NEX-6 as a back-up  for when I don't want to carry my Nikon.

Mariner Status on Holland America

Cruisers on HAL should be aware of HAL’s callous attitude towards guests who reach the next highest Mariner star level while on a cruise. They will not be able to enjoy the higher level Mariner status until sailing on the next cruise. For example, if a guest is a 2 star Mariner on a 20 day cruise and reaches 3 star level 4 days into the cruise, that guest will not be allowed to enjoy the higher level perks for the remaining 16 days of the cruise and must wait until sailing on another cruise after the current one to enjoy the higher Mariner star level.

I was very interested in booking HAL’s 89 day cruise on the Rotterdam to the Far East starting on Jan 8, 2016, from London-Singapore-London. I am currently a 2 star Mariner with 59 days credit. 3 star Mariner level starts at 75 days. With onboard spending credits, I would probably reach 3 star level at day 13, and here is where an issue began. I called HAL and was told that I would not be able to use the 3 star perks until the next cruise after this one, which means that I would reach 3 star Mariner level at about day 13 and will not be able to use 3 star perks for the remaining 76 days of the cruise. I told the Hal person on the phone that this policy is cheap and insulting, so she referred me to the President’s Office of Guest Services, which said there is nothing they can do and transferred me to the Mariners office. A lower level person at the Mariners Office relayed comments to me from higher level people who did not do me the courtesy of speaking to me themselves. He said this is a Grand Cruise with segments, the first of which ends in Dubai on day 23. I could start using the 3 star perks then, but it would be incumbent on me to go the customer service desk and request that they give me the 3 star status (there was some question as to whether the ship has to grant it.). This means that I would be denied 3 star status for 10 days after achieving it until the next segment starts. They said that granting guests the next level Mariner status at the time they achieve it would be a record keeping problem (a lame excuse in the computer age), it wouldn’t be fair to other guests who have been denied the next Mariner level (why keep perpetuating an injustice just because they have done it in the past?), and some blathering about brand loyalty. I told them their policy is cheap, niggling and petty. It is insulting and does nothing to promote brand loyalty. Rather, it promotes brand hatred! The Mariner office then relented slightly and said if I book the cruise, they would “consider” giving me the 3 star status on the day that I achieve it, but they might not do so. I’m not going to spend $20,000 to $25,000 on a cruise where HAL may consider giving me the 3 star status on the day that I achieve it, but they may not grant it. The issue here is only 10 days and a couple of discounts at a specialty restaurant, but it is a matter of principle. One should not go through such a demeaning experience when attempting to spend so much money. Apparently HAL would rather lose customers and create ill will rather than change a stone age policy. There are other cruise lines!

I want to sign up for the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle, but the Azamara web site is still broken and can't find my reservation. ('My Azamara' can find it, but I'm locked out)

 

Does anyone know how one can sign up for a Meet & Mingle without using the link from Cruise Critic and the Azamara web site?

 

Anyone have a guess as to when their IT people will fix the web site?

Kellie, I too can not check-in online for the January 15 cruise from Costa Rica to L.A., book excursions, or register for the meet and mingle or the immersion night. I have been trying for 10 days.

Az. will not let me book the airport to ship transfer either because I am flying in to San Jose a few days early. They only allow you to book their transfer to the ship if you fly in on the same day as the cruise or book a pre-cruise hotel through them for $325/night. I won't pay that much for a hotel in Costa Rica. They told me the seats on the bus are "limited and reserved for guests." Apparently, I am not considered a "guest", so this customer will hitch-hike to the dock. Az does not have directions from the airport to the dock posted in its web page and the girls on the phone do not have directions either. This cruise is not important enough to bother posting directions even though the ship is docked 70 miles from the airport. No matter, taxi and shuttle van drivers probably know where the ship is docked.

Larry