Binoculars in CC cabins...or what brand to buy

[flagger]

I know that there are supposed to be binoculars provided in CC Cabins. Can any recent cruiser talk about their quality? If they are not any good, what brand would you recommend for an Alaska cruise?

 

[excitedofharpenden]

flagger

 

They are not particularly good. If you have your own, I would recommend taking them. I am not sure of the best, but Carl Zeiss are a good make for sure. There are lots to choose from. I would take a trip to your local store for recommendations.

 

Phil

 

Mercury Western Caribbean November 2002

Galaxy Eastern Caribbean November 2003

 

<BR

 

Until Galaxy Panama Canal Out Of Galveston

13th November 2004

 

 

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

</center>

[flagger]

I am wondering if we should get a pair for both of us and let our daughter look through the CC ones.

 

[raudacruise]

Whatever you do, remember the first rule:

 

Make sure that you have the safety strap (or whatever its called) around your neck. You don't want to dump them in the ocean (or on the floor) if a bump occurs.

 

Seen cameras, binoculars, and camcorders greet the sea because owners were not sensible enough to harness the things.

 

George & MaryBeth

[cruising with marti]

Mr. flagger, is that your dog? if you are a pooch lover you can't be all bad and is he winking at me or maybe I should not have had that second glass of wine

 

 

phil

 

galaxy trans Atlantic

 

mercury

[flagger]

Yes that is my dog. She was our first weimaraner and still alive to this day. She is in fact winking at ya.

 

Besides Zeiss, can anyone else recommend some good binocs that won't break the budget.

[markanderinsmom]

we bought these bushnell last year at $54 and now they are $45 and they worked great for Alaska...they have great ratings as well...the best bang for the buck

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B00000J6WY/collegepressnetw

[Traveling Fools]

The Zeiss are nice, but my wife and I elected togo with Nikon 7x50 for our SA cruise. They were just what we needed. The folks that had out cabin before us took the cabin pair of bino's with them. Our steward was aware of it but never brought us a replacement pair.

[Guest]

Although they are more expensive than the average binocular, I would seriously consider buying a pair that have optical stabilizers built into them. Canon is the leader in this area although some other companies like Nikon are coming out with them, too.

 

The stabilizer system uses gyroscopes to manipulate the position of an optical prism which eliminates image jitter from hand holding and to a lesser extent, ship movement. The stability of the image through these type of binoculars is impressive.

 

Jubilee 1991 Solar Eclipse

Century FO 1996 E Carib

Mercury FO 1998 W Carib

Galaxy SS 2000 Alaska IP

Infinity FV 2002 S Carib

Horizon HS 3/05 W Carib

 

[LouisV]

I just posted a question about what brand of binoculars are the best to take along on our cruise. I should have looked a little further on the board first before posting my question!

[Bruin Steve]

Okay, here's my favorite:

 

http://www.bushnell.com/products/binoculars/permafocus.html

 

I've owned a pair of the 10x50s for years...they were actually made by a company called "Jason" which sold out to Bushnell in the early 90s...

 

With the company, Bushnell got the patent...and now produces the line under the Bushnell name...

 

I just bought a new pair of the "Compact" 8x25s for my upcoming Alaska cruise...

 

The line is called "PermaFocus" and there is nothing else out there quite like them...

 

Somehow or another, they remain perfectly in focus without any need for any knob or adjustment...and through some miracle of optics, I can use them WITHOUT my corrective eyeglasses!!

 

I hold them up to my eyes and everything comes magically into focus...

 

I'm one of those sorts who hates continually messing with all those adjustments...

 

People I've shown these to are usually utterly amazed...

 

Summit, July 3, 2004: Alaska: 13 night cruisetour

Constellation, July 16, 2005: Northern Europe: 14 nights

[Cruise Cat]

I got a pair of Baushe and Lombe (sp?) binoculars last year and they are great. They are completely rubberized on the out side, so you dont worry about scratching them up. Also, the lens caps are attached so you won't loose them.

 

Remember if you are enticed by the new binoculars that also are a digital camera that the zoom of the digital pictures is less than the zoom of the binoculars, so what you see is not what you get on the final picture. Read the specs carefully!

 

Cruise Cat

 

 

Vision of the Seas - 20003

Rhapsody of the Seas - 2002

Inspiration - 2001

Jubilee - 1999

 

<MARQUEE>..........................THANK GOD FOR THE MAN WHO PUT THE WHITE LINES ON THE HIGHWAY!!!!...................<MARQUEE>

[newtocc]

The binoculars in the cabin are junk, bring your own, or borrow someones, just tip them for the use!

 

This ship 10/91

That ship 11/95

Whatever ship 12/98

here a ship 13/99

there a ship 14/00

everywhere

a

ship ship 15/05

 

<font size="3" color=red>Over 1 year</font> into my LMBO cruise

[bba]

I got Minolta binoculars from REI outlet (I think it is www.REI-Outlet.com) for our Alaska cruise. Except for the fact that we always pick them up backwards (the narrow part isn't where you look), they are great. I think they were under $100. They have a zoom factor. I'm not very binoc-savvy, so I can't tell you the details, but they did work to see the grizzly in Denali.

Beth

 

BBA

[steveweese]

If you tip your cabin steward he will provide you with some Zeiss Bino's

[Spender Nui]

The cabin binoculars are not very good ... but better than nothing. Unless you expect to use them a lot (not likely on sea days) I wouldn't invest in them for a cruise. All that said, I have Nikon which I like a lot.

[CelebrityMan]

I have both 10x50s field glasses and 10x25 compacts we take along on trips.

 

If you're interested in higher end binoculars (i.e., Zeiss) check out www.sierratradingpost.com for excellent values.