Just Off the Freedom - 2/13/2010

[bamaphotopro]

Hi, gang! DW and I are just off the Freedom after the Key West, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios 6-day loop.

 

If you have any questions, fire away and I will see if I can answer them honestly for you.

 

I have posted a few pics on my blog site, and here is the link:

 

http://208.75.148.37/~momentsn/2010/02/cruise-2010/

 

I hope you enjoy these!

[MzOhioLady]

You have some of the Best Photos and Best Quality Pictures I've seen in a LONG Time! I can't wait for you to load more photos!

[jimbo5544]

Nice pictures

[goscudder]

Amazing pictures!! Thanks for sharing...I'd love to see more! We leave in 47 days!!

[bamaphotopro]

Thanks, everyone!! My pics should be good ... after all, I am a pro. ;)

 

But I elected not to take my 'heavy equipment', even though I am insured. Instead, I bought a compact Canon SX120 IS and took along for the trip. I could operate it with one hand which gave me a lot of flexibility. The shot of the Jamaican Fisherman was taking from the moving van of our tour guide. I just set the shutter speed at 1/1000 of a second to stop the motion and off we went. Also, here's a tip ... read your camera manual and find out how to set your camera's 'exposure compensation' (EC) to -1/3 for daylight photos ... that helps to prevent overexposure which is normally the death knell for many a good photo. Just be sure to set it back to '0' after dark.

 

Thanks again!! :)

[bamaphotopro]

Amazing pictures!! Thanks for sharing...I'd love to see more! We leave in 47 days!!

 

Are you on the Freedom?

[alreadypacked]

Beautiful photos!! We'll be on the Freedom this Sunday.

 

Just curious, who was the singer in the piano bar & was he/she any good?

 

Also, what did you do in Grand Cayman?

 

And, what did you do in Ocho Rios?

 

Thanks. :)

[LBumb]

great photos. post more please

[imagine8]

Love the pictures, you are very talented!

Will you be posting any more that were taken on the ship itself?

[oojackieoo]

Thanks, everyone!! My pics should be good ... after all, I am a pro. ;)

 

But I elected not to take my 'heavy equipment', even though I am insured. Instead, I bought a compact Canon SX120 IS and took along for the trip. I could operate it with one hand which gave me a lot of flexibility. The shot of the Jamaican Fisherman was taking from the moving van of our tour guide. I just set the shutter speed at 1/1000 of a second to stop the motion and off we went. Also, here's a tip ... read your camera manual and find out how to set your camera's 'exposure compensation' (EC) to -1/3 for daylight photos ... that helps to prevent overexposure which is normally the death knell for many a good photo. Just be sure to set it back to '0' after dark.

 

Thanks again!! :)

 

Thanks for the tips! I've been reading up on the manual settings for my Nikon and this will be very useful information for my upcoming trip. You take amazing pictures by the way. Thanks for sharing :D

[bamaphotopro]

Beautiful photos!! We'll be on the Freedom this Sunday.

 

Just curious, who was the singer in the piano bar & was he/she any good?

 

Also, what did you do in Grand Cayman?

 

And, what did you do in Ocho Rios?

 

Thanks. :)

 

Sorry to say that I never made it into the piano bar, although I did hear a female singer in the atrium that wasn't bad. And while on the subject of music ... the one thing that you cannot miss on this cruise is the 'Tribute to New Orleans' ... just blew me away. The lighting, the sets, the singing (especially the female lead), the dancing, the costumes ... all top-shelf!!! I cannot stress that enough ... do not miss that show!!

 

Okay, we basically shopped all day in Grand Cayman, but my wife picked up a beauty of a tanzanite / diamond ring there. I wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens, but just wasn't enough time. We're not water people ... well, she's not.

 

Ocho Rios was MY day! I had booked a private tour through Mark Morris tours. Our guide was Anthony Edwards, and I could not have been happier with the entire experience. If you tell them what you want to do, they will accommodate you. I wanted a nature / sightseeing tour primarily and then finish off with some shopping for the wifey. Anthony took us first to Dunn's River Falls for a short (dry) tour ... then off up Ferngully Road to Spice Mountain (made a couple of stops along the way) and then to Soni's Plaza and we found some great deals on souvenirs. If you want something off the beaten path, I recommend this tour. Never did I feel 'exposed' or unsafe. Very good value for the $$$.

 

Hope this helps!

[bamaphotopro]

great photos. post more please

 

Hey, thanks!! Okay, I'll post more as the days go by ... keep checking the link. :D

[bamaphotopro]

Love the pictures, you are very talented!

Will you be posting any more that were taken on the ship itself?

 

Sure thing, although I may use an alternate location! As soon as I get some posted on my backup site, I'll post another link.

 

Thanks!! ;)

[bamaphotopro]

Thanks for the tips! I've been reading up on the manual settings for my Nikon and this will be very useful information for my upcoming trip. You take amazing pictures by the way. Thanks for sharing :D

 

Thank you ... you're very kind. I really wanted to take my Canon 5D & 40D, but with wedding season right around the corner, I just didn't want to risk it. But I am pretty pleased with how the little Canon performed. :)

 

One of my personal faves was the fisherman ... just a great subject!

[hartskys]

Great photos. We will be going on the Freedom in May. We are taking my MIL who is 79 so we won't be doing the water either. What did you do in the Keys and in Grand Cayman did you use the bus or taxi or book an excursion? Any tips would be great. Thanks!

[bamaphotopro]

Great photos. We will be going on the Freedom in May. We are taking my MIL who is 79 so we won't be doing the water either. What did you do in the Keys and in Grand Cayman did you use the bus or taxi or book an excursion? Any tips would be great. Thanks!

 

Hi, guys! In the Keys, you have to be carted across some government property. They carry you downtown and drop you at the train station. At that point, we just hoofed it down Duval Street (making note of shops we wanted to stop at on the way back) to the Southernmost Point, stopped and toured the Butterfly Conservatory (overpriced @ 11.00, but worth it to me as I am a nature freak ... the wife waited in the shopping area), then off to the Lighthouse and Hemingway's Place (didn't go inside). Bought some souvenirs and wifey bought some jewelry. Then over to Two Friends Bar for a couple of drinks, then off to Kino's Sandals (didn't buy ... they were too busy), then back to the ship.

 

We are both over 55, and we had no trouble walking the place, even though I am a quad bypass survivor and carried a 15 lb backpack (heavy laptop) for the duration of our excursion.

 

If you wanted to do more, take the trolley ... you can get on and off at your various stops. And it will probably work better with your MIL.

 

Grand Cayman? Well, just shopping there, but the wife picked up a great buy on a dazzling ring at Tanzanite International. Other than that, we just strolled around and had the best salsa & chips ever at Senor Frogs. The margaritas weren't bad, either.

 

Hope that helps.

[hartskys]

Super - thanks. We can't wait to go and this will be her first cruise and her first trip on an airplane too. Can't wait to see her face. :)

[hartskys]

Oh and we too are booked with Mark Morris for Jamaica. He told us to just let him know where we wanted to go for the 4 1/2 hr trip.

[bamaphotopro]

Oh and we too are booked with Mark Morris for Jamaica. He told us to just let him know where we wanted to go for the 4 1/2 hr trip.

 

I hope you get Anthony Edwards as your guide. He was wonderful!

[cawagner]

Wow your pictures are just AMAZING! :D I noticed your a professional photographer and it shows :)

[alreadypacked]

Sorry to say that I never made it into the piano bar, although I did hear a female singer in the atrium that wasn't bad. And while on the subject of music ... the one thing that you cannot miss on this cruise is the 'Tribute to New Orleans' ... just blew me away. The lighting, the sets, the singing (especially the female lead), the dancing, the costumes ... all top-shelf!!! I cannot stress that enough ... do not miss that show!!

 

Okay, we basically shopped all day in Grand Cayman, but my wife picked up a beauty of a tanzanite / diamond ring there. I wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens, but just wasn't enough time. We're not water people ... well, she's not.

 

Ocho Rios was MY day! I had booked a private tour through Mark Morris tours. Our guide was Anthony Edwards, and I could not have been happier with the entire experience. If you tell them what you want to do, they will accommodate you. I wanted a nature / sightseeing tour primarily and then finish off with some shopping for the wifey. Anthony took us first to Dunn's River Falls for a short (dry) tour ... then off up Ferngully Road to Spice Mountain (made a couple of stops along the way) and then to Soni's Plaza and we found some great deals on souvenirs. If you want something off the beaten path, I recommend this tour. Never did I feel 'exposed' or unsafe. Very good value for the $$$.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks so much, bamaphotopro! That show sounds great--we'll be sure not to miss it. I've been to both Ocho Rios/Dunn's River and Grand Cayman twice but they will be a first for my husband. We've decided to do the Falls the "dry" way also. I've never felt unsafe in Jamaica either. We're still trying to narrow down our choices in GC. Thanks again for the info.

[bumbles]

Thanks, everyone!! My pics should be good ... after all, I am a pro. ;)

 

But I elected not to take my 'heavy equipment', even though I am insured. Instead, I bought a compact Canon SX120 IS and took along for the trip. I could operate it with one hand which gave me a lot of flexibility. The shot of the Jamaican Fisherman was taking from the moving van of our tour guide. I just set the shutter speed at 1/1000 of a second to stop the motion and off we went. Also, here's a tip ... read your camera manual and find out how to set your camera's 'exposure compensation' (EC) to -1/3 for daylight photos ... that helps to prevent overexposure which is normally the death knell for many a good photo. Just be sure to set it back to '0' after dark.

 

Thanks again!! :)

 

Your pics are beautiful!! I considered purchasing that Canon model after seeing the quality of a friend's pictures...your pictures just sealed the deal for me - thanks for the tips!!

[bamaphotopro]

Your pics are beautiful!! I considered purchasing that Canon model after seeing the quality of a friend's pictures...your pictures just sealed the deal for me - thanks for the tips!!

 

Bumbles, I have only one caveat on the little Canon ... the flash is weaker than I would like. If course, I am used to my 580ExII lighting up an entire back yard, but that flash unit alone cost more than the Canon SX120. ;)

 

Just be aware of the weak flash ... adequate, but only barely. But as a daytime compact cam, it's unbeatable.

 

Here's some more pics from our journey:

 

http://www.pbase.com/rommaker/cruise_2010

 

Y'all enjoy!

[bamaphotopro]

Almost forgot to tell you guys ... we had decided that given the quantity of our luggage along with our ages, that we should do the 'relaxed debarkation' (and we are so glad that we did). Of course, that gave us some extra time for breakfast before we left the ship, so we went up to the Freedom Restaurant. While there, I noticed an extremely large ship docked to our port side. I kept looking and then I saw it ... 'The Oasis of the Seas'. Holy Cow!! Now the Freedom is a large ship, but this ship is enormous!! Quite frankly, I think it would take me two weeks to find my way around it! It was so large that I couldn't get it all in the frame ... but I took a shot anyway.

 

[debieanne]

hi we are leaving sunday for this cruise.. did they have a night were they pass out beads for the holiday this week the children are hoping they do how was the water temp. we are the beach people and just cant wait specialy after having another snowstorm today.. your pictures are so nice thank you for sharing with everyone. i know i could come up with a million questions so when you get off in key west we just cant start walking. we never have been there ok everyone have a nice afternoon love debbie and family