ravinblue

A DSLR is only necessary if you want to do some creative photography which includes taking photos with more than one lens.

I disagree. There are many advantages of a DSLR over a point and shoot besides multiple lenses:

1. With a DSLR, the optical viewfinder shows you exactly what the camera will capture. The electronic viewfinder on a point and shoot is terrible in low light and difficult to see in bright sunlight.

2. Because of the lack of an electronic viewfinder, battery life is much greater in a DSLR.

3. DSLR's with a zoom lens requires the user to twist the barrel to get the frame that he desires - this is much quicker and more exact than the buttons or levers that electronically change the focal length on a point and shoot. Just notice the next time you are "waiting your turn" in front of a famous landmark - the DSLR people can get take their picture and get out of the way a lot faster than the point and shooters.

4, Taking a picture of a scene in bright sunlight will yield results that are indistinguishable on a DSLR, point and shoot, or a phone. But in low light, for portraits where you want a sharp image against a blurry background (narrow depth of field), in low light, etc, the DSLR is superior. You have much more control with a DSLR.

5. Although this has improved in recent years, point and shoots typically have a longer lag time than a DSLR - that is the time after you take a photo to when you can take another.

6. Better image quality - because the camera is bigger, the sensor where the image is recorded is bigger. That is why there is less noise in a photo taken by a DSLR even if the pictures have the same number of pixels.

Despite the clear superiority of the DSLR, I understand that the complexity is too much for some people. Even for those who aren't deterred by this, the size and weight of a DSLR may make the point and shoot preferable. I often leave my DSLR behind when carrying it around just seems like too much trouble and if it is raining, will use my point and shoot underwater camera (DSLR's for underwater use are just too expensive for me).:)

Our outgoing flight out of Schipol airport on disembarkation day on 9/1816 does not leave until 7:40 PM. Any ideas as to how to spend the day? This would be no problem except for our luggage. (also posted on our roll call for HAL Koningsdam).

Thanks for the useful suggestions (except the one about showing up 45 minutes before the MDR opens - I'd rather get a beeper and wait in the bar!).

One would think making dinner reservations would help, but we found that if you called less than 2 days ahead, they were all gone. If we wanted to plan that far ahead, we should choose fixed seating.

Oh well, I still manage to eat (and gain weight), so it's all good (but could be better).

On our last cruise on Zaandam to Alaska, we found the crowds at the Lido at breakfast and lunch to be sometimes a bit much. Likewise, 5:30 at the MDR (anytime dining) sometimes had lines "out the door".

In late August, we are on the Koningsdam for 21 days - Norway and the Baltic. We have anytime dining again. We do like making it to the early show in the theater, though we can be flexible.

So, what are your recommendations for dining times to minimize lines in both the Lido and MDR?

Is there a difference between port days and days and seas?

Is there a difference depending on the mix of cruisers (e.g. age, Europeans vs Americans, etc.)? If so, what should we expect on this particular voyage?

Thanks.

If you read their terms and conditions on the promo, they do exclude Galapagos cruises, Transatlantic, Transpacific, repositioning, and South America repositioning cruises. It's their liberal, inconsistent, and somewhat slimey classification of the repositioning cruises that got me fired up. Even their senior reps were troubled by this B.S. In 90 days with HAL, I've never run into anything like this. I would consider transferring the booking to a TA to get their 9-10% of the fare in OBC or discount. With X you have 60 days from booking, but before final payment to transfer. With HAL, my PCC quotes me with and without Explore 4. We drink a bit, but like you have found that we're better off with a net fare and paying for our fun.

I did get some OBC by booking with a travel agent.

Obviously, Celebrity has noticed that people drink a lot more on sea days, so the perk costs them more for repositioning cruises than those with mostly port days. They must also have fewer empty cabins to fill as these cruises become more popular.

In 2014, we spent 26 days on HAL Eurodam doing a transatlantic followed by a Greece/Turkey cruise. When we booked, they offered their Explore 4 package - we got two perks, the Beverage package and the gratuities. We enjoyed the "free" drinks, but we are "lightweights". For several days, I keep track - our usual was a cappuccino, a beer with lunch, a pre-dinner cocktail, and one glass of wine with dinner. We figured that we spent about half of what the package would have cost.

Nevertheless, we would love to get a beverage package again if it is offered as a perk (or the gratuities or free unlimited internet). A few months ago, Celebrity was offering its Go Big....promotion where you could get one perk on most sailings (and internet travel agents were offering two or three of the perks). We were booking a 14 day cruise on the Constellation from Abu Dhabi to Singapore and found that the promotion was not available as the cruise was considered a repositioning. Today I looked into booking a Transatlantic for next year and again could not find it being offered for these sailings, though it was there for the typical Med/Caribbean/Alaska cruises.

Has it always been this way on Celebrity or is this something new?

We will be in Stavanger on the Koningsdam on August 31. I am reluctant to book the ship's hike at $149 pp if the weather turns out to be bad. Did the tour sell out? I am wondering if we could book the day before if the weather is looking good.

If I have to check luggage, I don't find much advantage to printing my boarding pass ahead of time - the agent at the check-in desk can do it for you.

Another option that I have used at hotels (though haven't tried on a cruise ship) is to bring up your boarding pass on your laptop, then save it as a .pdf file on a thumb drive, then ask someone at the front desk if they can print it for you. I have never been charged for this.

Hello, did you end up booking on the Koningsdam? If so what sale date. My husband and I are on the September 4th sailing for two weeks, we live in San Mateo. Would enjoy chatting with you directly.

Not sure if your comment was directed at me (original poster), but yes, we have booked the 21 day 21-DAY BALTIC JEWELS & NORWEGIAN FJORDS leaving August 28, 2016. So, it looks like we will be on the same cruise. Feel free to contact me at fbutera51 at gmail dot com. We live in Roseville.

Frank

We are in the process of booking an Alaska cruise on Zaandam. I find the nomenclature of the decks confusing - shouldn't the Promenade deck be the one where people "promenade", i.e. walk. The deck plan though makes it pretty clear that the walking deck would be the lower promenade, deck 3. For the outside cabins on deck 3, how bad is the privacy issue? I mean, if I have to keep the curtains closed all the time, I might consider paying extra to not be on deck 3 or paying less and just getting an inside cabin.

Thanks,

Frank

A certain online agency is offering a special on the 10 day Galapagos package if you book with them. It turns out that the price they are asking is exactly the same as the 10 day package if booked directly with Celebrity. As per our past experiences, the "deal" is in the form of extra OBC, in this case $1000 per cabin, However, from what I have heard about Xpedition, there is little to spend the money on as there are no specialty restaurants and drinks are included, as are excursions.

For those who have done the Celebrity Galapagos cruise, did you spend much extra money on board?

We are considering booking a 2016 Baltic cruise on the Koningsdam. HAL's website describes the verandah cabins as being "Approximately 228–420 sq. ft. including verandah". That is quite a range. I see that there are various categories of Verandah cabins that vary in price. I was under the impression that categories had more to do with location and view, but I am guessing that the larger cabins would be a higher category (and more expensive) as well. But I can't figure out any way to tell from the website, deck plan, etc., the actual size of a particular cabin. When you click on a cabin, they all have the same description, including "Approximately 228–420 sq. ft. including verandah". What am I missing here?

We did our first transatlantic cruise on Celebrity last year and really enjoyed attending talks by various speakers on the many sea days. I believe that there were about 6 speakers on board and there were often 3 or 4 interesting talks per day. We are booked on the Eurodam TA leaving this March 30. Can we expect a similar program on HAL?

Almeria is an interesting city with a long Moorish history and plenty to keep you occupied for the day including the Alcazaba (Fortress) http://andalucia.com/cities/almeria/alcazaba.htm , Cathedral http://andalucia.com/cities/almeria/cathedral.htm and several Museums http://andalucia.com/cities/almeria/museums.htm . Some excellent authentic Tapas Bars too.

 

Cabo de Gata is one of our favourite places - we regularly stay at San Jose on the Cabo. Nijar is charming and has some lovely little shops - especially craft shops

 

Mojacar Pueblo is a Disneyesque idea of an Andalucían village - very twee and very touristy. Mojaca Playa is an uninteresting strip of sand lined by bars - many owned by Brits.

 

My personal choice would be either to wander round Almeria city sampling the local Vino and Tapas or the Cabo de Gata and Nijar excursion (would be cheaper to go on one of the tours sold quayside rather than one from your cruise ship).

Thanks! Great advice.

We are booked on the HAL Eurodam transatlantic crossing that docks in Almeria on April 10 from 8 AM - 6 PM. The big attraction there seems to be a trip to Granada and the Alhambra. We spent several days there a few years ago so are not interested in the $200 pp 9 hour trip.

We are not "stay on the ship" types either.

The options seem to be:

1) Wander around Almeria for the day. I have not found a lot to recommend this on the internet though the Lonely Planet guidebook had a short paragraph with some suggestions.

2) Take a ship's tour ($80) or private tour to Mojacar

3) Take a ship's tour ($65) or private tour to Cabo de Gata & Nijar

I have not found many private tour companies that service Almeria.

Advice?

Well, you still touched the door knob to get into the bathroom (use a paper towel to open it on the way out) and you possibly flushed, not to mention that after touching yourself you will be touching things other people, whom you can infect, will touch. So please wash your hands after using public restrooms.

Not to be argumentative, but..... many bathrooms are designed without doors (e.g. airports where there are two offset entrances so no one can see inside) or have swinging doors that you can push with your hip. Most modern men's urinals are self flushing. The only germs living on a man's genitalia would be the "normal" skin bacteria that are on hands, face, etc., and are not removed by hand washing. There are no diseases transmitted the way you are describe. It may make others feel better if they see someone washing their hands but it will not reduce transmission of norovirus in this specific set of circumstances.

My personal peeve about germ transmission is hand railings. I guess it is better to use them if the alternative is falling and breaking your hip, but I have travelled on many tours all over the world without getting sick by avoiding hand railings when many fellow passengers got the respiratory virus that was brought on by one fellow passenger at the start. No one washes heir hands before getting up from their seat on the tour bus - I wish they would.

 

I couldn't couldn't count how many times I've seen people just walk out of the bathroom and past sinks. Or rinse their hands under cold water for a second and grab a paper towel.

 

Noro would be so easy to stop if everyone just used common sense.

Here is some common sense - you can't get norovirus from touching yourself. For a guy, it is possible in many bathrooms to empty their bladder without touching any surfaces that someone else has touched. When that has been accomplished, you have a larger risk of contracting a disease by touching the faucets, towel dispenser, etc., that you have just walking out.

I certainly agree that if you need to touch anything in the bathroom, then the hot water and long hand washing is the way to go. And, of course, if you are doing anything that requires "sitting", then you need the hand washing to protect others as well as yourself, in case you have, or are incubating, an intestinal germ.

Frank, MD

Is it possible to cruise from California to Hawaii, embark, stay a couple weeks, and return to CA again via cruise? I mean, without paying for two RT cruises.

Doctors use the term "Upper Respiratory Infection" to make it sound like you have not wasted your money coming to see them for a cold, though the terms are synonymous. Most, but not all (e.g., Legionnaire's Disease, Whooping Cough) are caused by viruses, not bacteria, and so antibiotics are not generally helpful and can be harmful. There are over 200 different viruses that can cause URI's and each persons immune system is different, so severity and duration can vary a lot.

It is very common for the virus to not only infect the nose and throat, but to spread to the sinuses ("sinus infection" or sinusitis) and bronchial tubes ("bronchitis" or lower respiratory infection) and even the lungs ("pneumonia"). It can be very difficult to tell if sinusitis, bronchitis, or pneumonia are caused by the initial virus that started it or if a bacteria has "moved in" and worsened the infection. That is where seeing a physician can be helpful. In general, most viral URI's are gone by 2 weeks - if it lasts longer, it has more likely become bacterial.

Viruses are spread when the germ comes into contact with the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, mouth, or throat. Although they can be breathed in via aerosol droplets, it is much more common for transmission to occur when you touch your face after picking up the virus from touching a "contaminated" surface. Unfortunately, as we get older, we are more likely to be touching handrails as we walk along corridors, go up and down stairs, enter elevators - all more common on a cruise ship than at home.

Bottom line - do all that good stuff you are supposed to do for a healthy immune system (good diet, exercise, sleep, etc.), wash your hands a lot, touch objects on the ship as little as possible (though a cold is better than a broken hip!), and have fun.

Frank, MD

Deck - 10

Cabin # - 1403

Class – C2

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – bath

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – very quiet

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – no obstruction, great port view, can see a bit of the aft view, and in the left corner, one can stand out a bit more than everyone else and see more.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - oversized

Was wind a problem? no

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? NA

Any specific problems with this cabin? no

Any other comments? A long walk to the elevators as it was the last cabin before the aft ones - we didn't mind as we were looking for any way to burn off calories, but some wouldn't like it.