Celebrity Reflection January 14 to 21 2017

[DancerOT]

Yes, please. It will be found in this review for future reference.

Thanks for the heads-up!

Norris

 

 

 

Here is a link: http://jamaicaculinarytours.com/tours/view/falmouth_food_tour_868291713#.WLBrdvkrKuU

 

They had found the food tour through a well known travel review site.

[CruiseVivaLady]

We returned to the dock after half an hour or so at the sand bar and boarded the bus for our return to the pier in Georgetown. There Carol caught a tender back to the ship while I went in search of duty free smokes once again. Once again my search was fruitless.

 

 

 

I took some random pictures near the port

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onward to the tender!

 

Very artistic shot...I love it! Pulled me right out of the shadows:eek:.

[CruiseVivaLady]

 

 

 

Back at the ship it took some time to unload us all. I was sitting downstairs and waited until the crowd had cleared.

 

Here's a picture of feet on the stairway-can you recognize yours?

 

 

We sailed soon after the tender left and Grand Cayman, being so flat, was soon lost to view.

 

 

Another great shot...your cameras served you well in the Caymans:).

[Jasperdo]

. On Princess as you know it is easy to get up to the bow on Grand Class ships.

That's exactly what the Helipad on RCCL reminded me of. I love being out there when it's open.

[Marvy Mare]

Love your reviews and the photos are amazing. My sister & brother in law were on that cruise. Their first and we will be heading out on our first cruise on the Silhouette on March 5 - Western Caribbean. I have an entry level Nikon DSLR & am hoping to get some good photos. Yours are inspiring.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Bimmer09]

Norris, I love :hearteyes: your show pictures! We are also huge Cirque du Soleil fans. We have seen a number of their Vegas shows as well as their touring shows, and are heading back to Vegas again at the end of April with more Cirque on the agenda. Between your description and photos from the Lawn Club Grill and the pictures from this show, I think Celebrity will owe you a commission. I have been looking at Celebrity for a while now and you have me convinced to book us on a Celebrity cruise in the near future! :ship:

 

So many cruises on my bucket list and it just keeps getting longer! :eek:

 

Nancy, I think X provides a product that a Princess cruiser can enjoy. Neither have ships with fun fairs or waterparks and are adult-leaning rather than family enticing. Obviously we are happy to sail both. My comparison review gave credit where it's due to each line.

We have a few Cirque du Soleil shows on dvd that we haven't seen live e.g. Dralion (they may be retired) and look forward to our next Vegas trip whenever it will be.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Here is a link: http://jamaicaculinarytours.com/tours/view/falmouth_food_tour_868291713#.WLBrdvkrKuU

 

They had found the food tour through a well known travel review site.

 

Thanks for the link which I have bookmarked for future reference!

Norris

[MisterMet]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carol and I practiced this next move in the cabin that night

[



 

;)

[Bimmer09]

Love your reviews and the photos are amazing. My sister & brother in law were on that cruise. Their first and we will be heading out on our first cruise on the Silhouette on March 5 - Western Caribbean. I have an entry level Nikon DSLR & am hoping to get some good photos. Yours are inspiring.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thanks for the kind comments on the photos!

You'll get some great shots with an entry level Nikon DSLR for sure. My reviews from 2013 on were shot on an entry level Canon-this one , the T3i

 

 

I used it for all the long range zoom shots (shows and ships) in the review and had the same 55 to 250mm APSC lens on it (crop sensor) That lens can't be used on a Full Frame camera like the 6D and I didn't want to rent an L Lens zoom as there was no compelling reason. In Alaska I did have a very good reason. I left 2 crop sensor lenses at home.

90% of the time I was using the 6D Full Frame which I rented but will buy before our next cruise in October.

That's this one...

All of the night shots and food shots were taken with the 6D as it sees well in the dark due to a higher ISO capability over the T3i. The lens is another rental-a 16 to 35mm Canon L wide angle lens. All the interiors were shot with this. The lens is one I will buy but at $999 I will wait until I have paid for the camera first.

A lens I did recently buy is this one-a 24 to 70 mm lens to bridge the gap between the wide angle L and the 70 to 200mm Canon L zoom lens that I will buy in the near future for our Norway trip on the Silhouette in 2018.

Here's the stuff I was toting around the ship and on shore

Left to right

Sony 810 HD camcorder

T3i with zoom

Go Pro Hero 3+ on a Joby Gorilla tripod

Canon 24 to 70 mm L

6D with wide angle lens attached. Photo using an iPhone 5.

The L Lenses are very fat and heavy and the camera weighs over 4 lbs with one attached.

I used RAW instead of Jpegs-files 4 times as big as usual so had a 64 Gigabyte Sandisk card. I rarely used Auto on the camera and instead used Aperture Priority. No flash ever. I discarded about 20 pics from the over 1200 I shot. Next time I'll try for zero as I learn more and hopefully make less errors. The Regal Princess review in October should let me know.

The RAW files had to go through Lightroom CC before going to Flickr where they are housed as Jpegs.

March 5th is right around the corner and you must be very excited. Take lots of pictures!!!

Best wishes,

Norris

[Marvy Mare]

Wow Norris. Thanks for the reply and your photos of your cameras. I was wondering what you were using. I have been curious about the advantage of full frame. Low light of course! I don't like using a flash either. Maybe in the future. I am having fun learning Lightroom. Lots of information on line. I did purchase a wide angle which I hope to use frequently on the trip. Your photos with your Reflection review are fantastic. Cool that you could rent the camera & lens to try out. Worth a try in the future. Listening right now to a wild winter thunderstorm in central Ontario & dreaming of warmer cruising. Thanks again for all the great reading and photo sharing!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[perfect match]

Nancy, I think X provides a product that a Princess cruiser can enjoy. Neither have ships with fun fairs or waterparks and are adult-leaning rather than family enticing. Obviously we are happy to sail both. My comparison review gave credit where it's due to each line.

We have a few Cirque du Soleil shows on dvd that we haven't seen live e.g. Dralion (they may be retired) and look forward to our next Vegas trip whenever it will be.

Norris

 

 

Yes, Norris, I'm quite sure we will love Celebrity once I manage to fit it into our schedule. I am looking forward to giving Celebrity a try.

 

I think you're right about Dralion being retired now. We saw it live when we still lived in CT, must have been at least 15 years ago. I started counting my fridge magnets from the Cirque shows we have seen after I saw your Elysium pictures last night. I found 8, but I know we do not have magnets from all of the shows we have seen.

[Bimmer09]

Wow Norris. Thanks for the reply and your photos of your cameras. I was wondering what you were using. I have been curious about the advantage of full frame. Low light of course! I don't like using a flash either. Maybe in the future. I am having fun learning Lightroom. Lots of information on line. I did purchase a wide angle which I hope to use frequently on the trip. Your photos with your Reflection review are fantastic. Cool that you could rent the camera & lens to try out. Worth a try in the future. Listening right now to a wild winter thunderstorm in central Ontario & dreaming of warmer cruising. Thanks again for all the great reading and photo sharing!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

The two week rental gave me time to learn the camera and including insurance cost me over $250 but it was either that or put the camera and lens on my credit card for a total of $2500 plus tax (10.25% if I bought from Amazon). Then return them if I wasn't impressed.

So a splurge but at least I now know what I will be happy with. I just bought the $900 lens back in September I think.

I have a superb Canon ultra wide angle lens (which I didn't take on this cruise) as (a) it can't be mounted on the 6D and (b) if I use it on the crop sensor camera (T3i) the focal length is multiplied by 1.6 so the 10 mm UWA becomes 16mm and the 22 mm becomes 35. The L lenses fit the T3i but they get 1.6 times longer. On the 6D they are exactly the focal length they say they are. L lenses are the Canon Pro line and have a red line around the barrel. The Nikon equivalent have a yellow line (good trivia question for nerds). They are made with magnesium and a lot of glass and are very heavy indeed.

If you want a good Web teacher who coincidentally uses Nikon go here

https://www.photographycourses.biz

and thank me later (with a Guinness)

So much to learn but so much fun in learning with this guy.

He's a cheery Brit with a great sense of humor and is a teacher-you learn.

My next cruise photos (Regal Princess) will be much better and that's a fact. They have to be.

I'm so glad you enjoy the review. It's been the most trouble-prone one I have written with iMovie/Youtube woes (now fixed) and then CC going loopy before our very eyes. So a struggle and I am yet to hit my stride and write freely but there is a wealth of stuff coming up-dinner in Murano , a stunning sunrise and the Reflection in photos as I finally get to take interior shots.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me!

Norris, who has driven around Lake Huron in Ontario many times, visiting Georgian Bay

[Bimmer09]

Very artistic shot...I love it! Pulled me right out of the shadows:eek:.

 

Lurk no more! Welcome and thanks for letting me know you are reading!

Norris

 

[Bimmer09]

Elysium was a different kind of show for us. We love our bands (Tenors of Rock in photos and video on our last night) and our comedians but the live singing and dancing shows are special too.

 

 

 

 

On the way to Murano we saw the balloon drop set up and waiting for later

 



 

 



 

 



 

You can see that some of the passengers are posing for formal pictures. It's Elegant Chic night.

[poffles]

 

 

 

 

 

What is this app? Assume it's an app.

[Bimmer09]

What is this app? Assume it's an app.

 

It's the Ship Mate app.

Welcome!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I'm walking from the theater located forward deck 5 on my way aft to the smoking section closest to the Speciality Restaurants. I pass by a really eye-catching store where I look at the store fixtures and decor and ignore the watches pretty much as fancy watches aren't my thing so no Rolex aspirations for me. I own 3 watches; a Movado, a Kenneth Cole and a Fossil (a company that sells watches that are 50,000 years old I think) and they keep good enough time when the batteries don't die after a year and anyway my motto is "Always be early" so it doesn't matter if the watch is fast or slow as I am always prepared to wait in situ.

 

They only sell to Handsome Fighter Pilots apparently which must limit the company growth somewhat. Oh-here's the World Class Bar and I guess I'll have to take their word for it as I don't often order a cocktail.

 

 

As always on an S Class the design-the furniture and lighting is very appealing

 

The yummy-looking cakes at Cafe al Bacio which I have never tried. Note to self on next X cruise-stop and eat more often. Seriously-on Princess I have two breakfasts, a lunch then afternoon tea and a big dinner. I seem to skip a lot of the good snacks things that are there for the taking on X.

 

 

I also don't partake in the 50% off sales that pop up frequently as I am trying to unclutter my life (except when it comes to cameras) and really only buy the essentials in life (lobster, lenses, Guinness, cool ties, nice hotel rooms)

Next up- Murano dinner in photos and video. FOOD PORN

[pd7277]

I'm walking from the theater located forward deck 5 on my way aft to the smoking section closest to the Speciality Restaurants. I pass by a really eye-catching store where I look at the store fixtures and decor and ignore the watches pretty much as fancy watches aren't my thing so no Rolex aspirations for me. I own 3 watches; a Movado, a Kenneth Cole and a Fossil (a company that sells watches that are 50,000 years old I think) and they keep good enough time when the batteries don't die after a year and anyway my motto is "Always be early" so it doesn't matter if the watch is fast or slow as I am always prepared to wait in situ.

 

They only sell to Handsome Fighter Pilots apparently which must limit the company growth somewhat. Oh-here's the World Class Bar and I guess I'll have to take their word for it as I don't often order a cocktail.

 

 

As always on an S Class the design-the furniture and lighting is very appealing

 

The yummy-looking cakes at Cafe al Bacio which I have never tried. Note to self on next X cruise-stop and eat more often. Seriously-on Princess I have two breakfasts, a lunch then afternoon tea and a big dinner. I seem to skip a lot of the good snacks things that are there for the taking on X.

 

 

I also don't partake in the 50% off sales that pop up frequently as I am trying to unclutter my life (except when it comes to cameras) and really only buy the essentials in life (lobster, lenses, Guinness, cool ties, nice hotel rooms)

Next up- Murano dinner in photos and video. FOOD PORN

 

Norris-How do you post such big beautiful pictures? I have always used the "Insert Image" button (looks like a mountain), but it has not been working recently, neither does the "Insert Link." My photos are in the cloud on Amazon. Thanks for your assistance...

 

and another wonderful Thread!

[gophercruiser159]

Thanks for all of your reviews! We are leaving on Silhoutte tomorrow. Tonight, based on your reviews we walked from the Renaissance to the Marriott Beach Club to eat at Sea Side. The crab salsa was excellent. Thanks so much for the tips and your dedicated reviews!

[G&T Cruisers]

Hi Norris & Carol

Love this review and all the other one's that you have posted we have been following you for some time now and have become subscribers to your Utube channel .We have just finished watching your Alaska trip as we are booked on the Island Princess in July for Alaska got some great pointers from you.We just completed a B2B cruise on Caribbean Princess with a stop in Cozumel and your pictures bring back great memories.We have also been on the Regal and I think that you both will enjoy the ship she is a beauty.

Also signed up to Ship Mate because of your recommendation.:D

Thank You love your hard work.

[Bimmer09]

Norris-How do you post such big beautiful pictures? I have always used the "Insert Image" button (looks like a mountain), but it has not been working recently, neither does the "Insert Link." My photos are in the cloud on Amazon. Thanks for your assistance...

and another wonderful Thread!

 

 

Hi and thanks for the question.

I can only answer as a Flickr user which may be different from Amazon- on Flickr when I choose a pic from an album I get a few sharing options (e mail, embed) and the one I use solely is BBCode (Bulletin Board). That shows me size options and I use Large (683 X 1024). The choices go up to 5 times that size but if I use anything bigger it is too big to fit on a page without scrolling left to right just to see the whole massive image. I have seen reviews where I had to do that and it's very annoying.

Then I copy that url that is shown when I choose BBC by clicking Command C on my Mac.

I open the CC reply window where I type my text and paste the resulting 5 lines of Flickr jargon- I never have to click on that Mountain Icon-and remove all the lines except the one that begins and ends like this and the picture appears below the text. Then I center it if it is a portrait shaped photo as I don't like it on the margin.

That's it.

You can practice in the CC Test Forum which is listed on the opening page of the boards.

Hope this helps!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for all of your reviews! We are leaving on Silhoutte tomorrow. Tonight, based on your reviews we walked from the Renaissance to the Marriott Beach Club to eat at Sea Side. The crab salsa was excellent. Thanks so much for the tips and your dedicated reviews!

 

Hi! I am glad you made the walk down to the Marriott and enjoyed the food at SeaLevel. Did you like the menu that lights up in the dark? Yes the crab salsa is addictive.

I'm very happy that you liked the Silhouette review. You will be knocked out by that fantastic ship. Enjoy to the max!

Have a great cruise and come back and tell us about it! I should be at the end of this by the time you return.

Cheers,

Norris

 

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris & Carol

Love this review and all the other one's that you have posted we have been following you for some time now and have become subscribers to your Utube channel .We have just finished watching your Alaska trip as we are booked on the Island Princess in July for Alaska got some great pointers from you.We just completed a B2B cruise on Caribbean Princess with a stop in Cozumel and your pictures bring back great memories.We have also been on the Regal and I think that you both will enjoy the ship she is a beauty.

Also signed up to Ship Mate because of your recommendation.:D

Thank You love your hard work.

 

Thanks but it ceases to be work when I read responses like this.

I'm glad you have been following along and even happier that you have read my Alaska reviews and got some useful information from them.

I hope to see you in my Regal review in October. We don't know yet which ship we will cruise next January.

Thanks so much!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

MURANO

It's our second and last Elegant Chic night on the Reflection and following another fine show it was time to head to dinner in Murano. I thought it a good idea to show you the restaurant before we start with the food.

 

 

It's found next to Michael's Club on deck 5 aft and they are both accessed through glass doors in the Ensemble Lounge which has bands playing each night.

The Host Stand

 

 

First impression



 

 

We sat in a smaller room around a corner to the left



 

 

Art hangs on the walls which is the best place for it



 

 

A mix of banquette and chairs in the center



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

 

There are rolling gas stoves for table side cooking



 

 

A room with wine cabinets for large parties



 

 

The stylish centerpiece



 

So the scene (and the table) has been set in these very elegant surroundings. The photos were taken when the restaurant was closed-very early in the morning. I used to take pics during the service but some of the diners complained when I took close-ups of their food using a macro lens and even had the nerve to object when I'd move one of their chairs with their wife still sitting on it to get a better angle. I will admit to taking some food off their plates to taste it but that wasn't premeditated and more of an natural impulse.