What Do You Take For Caribbean Cruise?

[Skyarrow01]

So my experience has been that trying to get great photos in the Caribbean is harder mainly because of the time of day the ships are in port. What is your experience taking images during a Caribbean cruise and what do you take with you for camera gear? I know I always overpack, so I would love to hear what others are taking. Also, please post some of your favorite images, great way to get ideas.

[pierces]

I typically take the usual kit for the Caribbean. I take an A6600 with a Rokinon fisheye and 12mm f/2 for creative ship pictures. (I have now replaced the 12mm with a 10-20mm f/4 zoom.) The main camera is a full-frame A7 series with a 24-105 f/4 mounted on it. I probably take 80%+ of pictures in the Caribbean with that combo. It used to be 95%, but the advent of fantastic phone cameras (Pixel 6 Pro in my case) has reduced the need to carry the "real" camera everywhere. I also pack a 70-300mm zoom "just in case". It usually gets hauled out for sunsets, ship to shore, or if we're going on a tour with the possibility of wildlife. Some would say I too overpack, but photography is my main reason to cruise and I'd rather take something along and not need it than need something and not have it. 

 

Here's a link to my web site with our family Caribbean cruise from last June:

https://pptphoto.com/galleries/Travel/Cruising/2022 Allure/index.html

 

Dave

[Skyarrow01]

Hello Dave,

Thanks so much for the images and what you take with you for gear. We are booked on the Oasis with close to the same itinerary. Great images by the way, nice to see a lot of the detail of what we can expect. Really looking forward to this since it has been years since we have cruised and first time on an Oasis class ship.

[pierces]

11 minutes ago, Skyarrow01 said:

Hello Dave,

Thanks so much for the images and what you take with you for gear. We are booked on the Oasis with close to the same itinerary. Great images by the way, nice to see a lot of the detail of what we can expect. Really looking forward to this since it has been years since we have cruised and first time on an Oasis class ship.

The Oasis class is one of our favorites. We started sailing on them when the grandkids would be sailing with us for all the activities but found we liked them for the layout, food options and great itineraries.

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

 

Dave

 

 

[ROUS]

My photography mostly takes place underwater, so for this winter's cruises, I'll be packing my Lumix/Nauticam/BigBlue rig. All eleven pounds of it. 😬

Edited July 28, 2023 by ROUS

[KYBOB]

For our last trip to the Caribbean I took about the same gear I am taking to Alaska this time less one zoom lens. Two Sony bodies, 24-70 /f2.8, 100-400 f/5.6 and the 16-24 f/2.8 which all fits nicely in the ThinkTank Airport Essentials backpack. I found I used the 24-70 and 70-200 the most. I also had a GoPro for underwater and video. 

 

  

[Skyarrow01]

Hello KYBOB, 

The 24-70 and 70-200 are part of my normal gear that I take everywhere. I also try to take a few primes for lower light or to get that really shallow DOF shots. The hard part of the long zooms, they take up a lot more room and weight especially when boarding ship since I would not want to send my camera bag with the rest of my luggage unless I had a Pelican case. I notice no one has mentioned flash? I normally take one flash I can use both on and off camera if needed. Like I said, I always tend to over pack.😁

Edited July 29, 2023 by Skyarrow01

[joshgates]

It constantly changes depending on where I'm going and what my mood is when I leave.  A significant part of my photography life is spent in a studio working on various projects, so I tend to travel much lighter than than how I work at home.  Partly because I'm a fan of constraints breeding creativity and partly because if I have a lot of equipment with me I'm just not going to want to carry it around and would leave it in my cabin more than I'd take it out.

 

I've done cruises where all I've taken is a Q2M, so a fixed lens 28mm, black and white only camera, along with my phone.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joshgates/albums/72177720295648109

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joshgates/albums/72157719575136290

 

I've done ones where I've only taken a 23mm (35mm equivalent) including one where I had a brain freeze and left it in JPG only for the week

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joshgates/albums/72177720298744134

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joshgates/albums/72177720305321819

 

I've done trips where almost everything was done on my phone because I took too much equipment and I just didn't want to think about it.

 

A couple weeks ago I took a 23mm and a 70-300mm, mostly to test the 70-300mm before taking it to Antarctica.  I did enjoy the extra options that lens got me, but unless it's a more photography focused trip I doubt I'd take it again.

 

I think my favorite travel kit to the Caribbean, so far, is the Fuji X-Pro3 and the Voigtlander 23mm.  It's small, my favorite focal length (35mm equiv), great image quality with some character, suitable for indoor or out, and I love that it's manual focus.  I know what will be in the frame before I even take it up to my eye because I've been shooting that focal length so long, and I know how it handles different scenarios. 

Have a missed shots I could have gotten with a full kit? Absolutely. Have I gotten shots that I'd have missed because I was changing lenses, not seeing in a specific view, or because I just didn't want to carry a lot of equipment with me?  Heck yeah.  For me, the lightweight and single prime lens kit is the right choice, but everyone's got different priorities 🙂 

[Skyarrow01]

I have also taken only my phone before and honestly really enjoyed myself because I was not as focused (no pun intended) on trying to get those perfect images that for me are rarely gotten on a Caribbean cruise, again at least for me. I did take the Fuji 100f to St Petersburg, Russia because I was traveling for business. I did miss having a little longer focal length. Just a beautiful city.