dltvermont

My wife and I went on a 12 day repo and we took $500 and came home with a small bit. This was only for taxis, tips etc. I had separate known cash for my excursions.

IMG_0891 by darron.tabor, on Flickr

Well Im a little late to this party but great review sir. We went on our first cruise this past April/May and loved it. Curacao was actually our LEAST favorite port but we only did our self guided walking tour. I see through your review and pictures we should have done a paid tour and seen more of the island.

We are actually on the Breeze this coming April. This one will include our kids (last was our anniversary cruise) so loved seeing your pictures of what to expect on this ship.

Yeah Ms411, your description is better than mine. I think I was more hesitatant upon arrival than I was of the actual beach itself. When we pulled up I was thinking to myself "what did my friend get me into" but once we were on the beach it was nice. I think that was more what I was getting at. Dont let what you see when you pull up question your decision to go there.

Mitsugirly's description is very accurate in all respects.

Speaking of "rasta", there was one guy there that had dreads that almost dragged on the ground. At one point he was tucking them into his pantleg!!

Freestylenovice,

First, check out mitsugirly's review of coki (I think its in her signature) She has tons of pics of the snorkeling among others. She is also experienced with snorkeling so a pretty good judge.

Second, my only thing about Coki is to not let first impressions of the beach itself deter you. It is very small and not really geared toward tourists like others, so not real fancy with lots of amenities. But, the water is crystal clear and the snorkeling is great!

I will second Mitsugirly's suggestion of Coki Beach. Never snorkeled before and a friend told us to taxi to Coki. We did that and it was amazing and all for just a taxi fare.

Looks like there is a pretty good consensus on this. Thanks for all the replies.

Beamqueen, we generally fly JetBlue. I have heard the same info you gave but in checking have never had that happen. I have always booked as soon as the flights are posted for the time I need them.

Sounds good, thank you for the replies. Neither airline I want to use have opened their flights up that far out yet but want to be ready when they do.

We are sailing the Breeze out of Miami in April. What is the earliest "safe" time to book our return flight to make sure we are able to get off the ship and to Ft Lauderdale airport on time?

I was trying to convince my kids on a different itinerary, the Valor out of PR as it includes more ports and a friend from work has done that one 2x and raves about it, but after seeing my pics of swimming with the rays in Grand Cayman this year, they HAD to do that so I had to find one that included that port. This one fit the bill.

After taking our first ever cruise this past spring, I believe we have been hooked! We decided to take the kids (teens) on the next one and decided on the Breeze in April. After reading Gambee's extensive review, I was hoping to try her out at some point and then checked my paperwork and realized one of the itineraries we were thinking of was on the Breeze so I made the call.

First time with Carnival and from the looks its going to be a long 10 month wait!!

Great review and pictures. After reading it all the way thru, I thought I was done but just this morning realized that the cruise we are thinking of taking the family on next year is aboard this ship! I re-subscribed so I can show them all of your fantastic pictures!

Does anyone know how Carnival charges for toddlers? We are thinking of taking a cruise next spring with my daughter and grandson who will be about 18 months old at the time. Do they charge full price, reduced or at all for that age?

Websailor I can see the pics just fine. Might be a setting on their end.

rc51 I have the pics at home and Im at work. I thought of posing the question here. I can post them up tomorrow or later tonite from home.

Out of Plumb, You may be right. I believe I am set to SPOT but now that you mention it, I was in a rush as I expected the thing to take off on me and thinking back the spot may have not been directly on the squirrel.

Thanks all for the responses. If it shows up again I will try these ideas and see what I can come up with. Will try some indoor low light stuff as well. If it wasnt below 0 at night lately Id go out and shoot other shots but the ambition in those temps isnt quite there at the moment!

While on the subject of metering. When we ARE on the cruise, if I want a night shot of the port or of the ship all lit up, should I put it on a different setting?

OK, I also tried 1600 with same result but if there wasnt enough light from the porch light, wouldnt my pictures be UNDERexposed? Maybe Im confused. The target was so bright I couldnt see what it was, thats overexposed correct?

I will read your article right now! Thanks!

Trying to practice for our upcoming cruise. Hoping to get low light and night pics.

The other night I had a flying squirrel on the porch feeder. It was illuminated with the porch lights about 10-15 feet away with the black night background. The previous night my iphone 5 took a nice pic but grainy as I zoomed in. This time I wanted to use my T3i to try to get a nice picture. Every picture was overexposed. I had the camera set for Av. ISO was at 800. I started with an open aperture and moved it down. Every time the camera chose a LONG shutter time. I had the camera resting on something so that wasnt an issue. Eventually the squirrel gave up on me and left so I didnt have time to try any other things.

My question is, what else should I be trying to get a nice picture under these conditions? If he returns Id like to give it another shot. I need to practice and get it down before my cruise at the end of April!

Its funny because years ago I had a 35mm SLR camera given to me. I had NO idea what all those numbers and dials were. I had a friend take a look, just told me set this for your film number (ISO), Turn this knob and then this dial until that little line is centered and snap the picture. I didnt really know WHAT each of those things were doing but I did what I was told and my pics came out pretty darn good.

Then came P&S digitals, I didnt have to know much of anything. Now for some reason, the DSLR with all its buttons and settings again and striking fear in my heart to go to the M setting! When in reality Ive done it in the past!!! But as you say, I can shoot all I want and it basically costs me nothing!

Well, Ive already purchased the Petersen book and read it thru. Plan on reading again. I have worked with P mode a small bit and will try that as well. I plan on doing some practice this winter with the snow around before we leave in April!

Thanks again all, I appreciate all the responses and help. Im hoping to have some nice pics to post when I return!

LOVE the pic. That is exactly what I want to capture!!!

Thank you to everyone who is posting replies. I am taking it all in and will be practicing with suggestions prior to April!

Any others can keep posting, Im "listening"!

THank you again!

Going on our first cruise at the end of April. Purchased an entry level Canon DSLR for the trip. I was hoping some of the pro's here could share tips on how to get the best pics in difficult situations.

Example my understanding is that a bright sunny day at the beach is a nightmare to get the settings right. I really want to get some of those pics that I see of the white sand, blue sky and blue water.

Another is sunsets. How to get the best picture where the colors all show and the sun itself doesnt wash the picture out etc. Ive tried pictures of sunset with a P&S camera where the baby blue sky and bright orange of the edges of the clouds are fantastic but the picture looks so blahhh and not even close to what the true sight was....

These are the couple that come to mind, but any others you can think of would be appreciated!

I NEED to get some shots like those when we are there!!!! I am assuming you use a high shutter speed to stop the motion?

Pauluk,

you asked a question Ive been considering posting for some time, but, just like Pierces said, I dont think there is a set answer for every situation that you will come upon while on the cruise. My wife and I are going on our first at the end of April and I am hoping to get some amazing pictures to remember it by and capture the true beauty of what we see in person.

One thing Ive been doing, is when I see a picture I love, I look at the exif info for it (unless the person has it blocked), that way I can see what settings they used to get the picture.

I am no photographer by any means. Im practicing and keeping my fingers crossed I can get the shots when they present themselves on the cruise!

D

We have been assigned balcony cabin 9562 aboard the Dawn for our cruise in April.

I have looked online and only find pictures that are "representations" of that room.

Has anyone stayed in that room before and have actual pictures or comments about it?

Its our first cruise and 6 months away...just trying to absorb everything I can about it!!

Thanks