Jan115

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Hi Dawn - Welcome! I keep telling myself that someday we will cruise out of Baltimore. The non-stop short flights are pretty cheap for us - it would be so easy. I'll be cruising just after you out of Boston on October 6. Have a great cruise. Please come back and tell us all about it!

Welcome Ken! We have not been on the NCL Spirit yet, nor have we been to Spain. Next summer will be our first Mediterranean cruise, but doesn't include Spain. Sounds like a great itinerary for you!

Happy cruising, Jackie and Tony. Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!

Thanks for joining us here at CruiseCrazies. We hope you'll visit often, ask questions, share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Thanks for joining us here at CruiseCrazies. We hope you'll visit often, ask questions, share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Thanks for joining us here at CruiseCrazies. We hope you'll visit often, ask questions, share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Thanks for joining us here at CruiseCrazies. We hope you'll visit often, ask questions, share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Thanks for joining us here at CruiseCrazies. We hope you'll visit often, ask questions, share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Now wouldn't that be something. Here that, Rick Steves? Come on over - we'll fill you in on all you've been missing. You can even feature us on your next video!

That's just it. I never got the impression that he likes cruises. Even in his port guide books, though he talks about all the great things you can see, he never really advocates cruising. So when I saw this, I was just thrilled. I love his books and his TV show and have great respect for the guy. Even though he most likely still prefers a land tour, he went on the Emerald Princess with an open mind and had a good time.

Thanks, Gina - glad I could help. I just added a few photos to the article, too, to use as examples. The only photo I couldn't find was a "head sprout".

I am a shutterbug. While my husband is a skilled amateur photographer, at ease with his powerful digital SLR, fancy lenses and tripod, I am more at home with my little Canon Power Shot A590. Of course, there are some limitations on what you can shoot with a small, digital point-and-shoot camera, but I think most people would be surprised at what a compact camera like this can achieve. If your goal is like mine, simply to get the best photos you can which will provide the best visual story of your cruise vacation - images you’d be proud to show your family and friends back home, then here are a few tips I’ve picked up over the years while on a variety of cruise and land vacations. Know Your Camera. I mention this because I never bothered to read the manual or play with the camera when I received it as a gift a few years ago. Primarily accustomed to just photographing my family, my cat and some scenery, I didn’t pay much attention to the other settings until just a few weeks ago, while on a photo safari excursion at Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska. We were hiking along a nature trail, and our photo instructor approached me and pointed out a couple of settings on my camera. For instance, you might think that by having had active kids and pets at home over the years, I would have known about the “kids and pets” setting – a perfect use for moving targets. Likewise, with the “macro” setting, I was able to learn how to photograph a pretty wildflower from just inches away. Frame Your Shot. Use the Rule of Thirds. Without getting too technical, imagine a tic-tac-toe board when setting up the shot. Your object should not be placed directly in the center square, but should fall at any one of the points where the lines crisscross, thereby placing it a third or two-thirds from the edge. The same goes with horizon shots. Place the ocean in the bottom two thirds and the sky in the top third, or vice-versa, and not directly in the middle. Try to avoid the horizon appearing across the center of your photo. By placing objects off-center in your frame, and you’ll have a much more interesting photo. Moving Objects Should Move Into the Picture – Not Away. When setting up a seascape shot, remember the rule of thirds as it pertains to sky and ocean, and make sure any moving thing – a boat, for instance – is sailing into the scene you’re trying to capture, rather than away from it. This will draw the viewer’s eye from the moving object into the picture. Add Some Perspective. You’re standing at the railing of a cruise ship in front of a huge glacier and you say to yourself – wouldn’t this make an awesome photo. However, after taking the shot, you look at the digital image and all of a sudden it doesn’t really look that grand. Now take it again, but this time put a portion of the ship into the frame, or a group of people. The smallness of the person or object against a massive chunk of ice will show the viewer just how large that glacier really is. Avoid “Head Sprouts”. What is this, you ask? It’s the tree, tower, statue, sign or other object that seems to have “sprouted” from a person’s head in a photo. When photographing your brother in front of a landmark or landscape, take a moment to be sure that he doesn’t have a lighthouse or church steeple growing out of his head. Placing the people to the left or right of the target landmark will avoid this photography faux pas. For the Best Shots, Shoot Early Morning or Late in the Day. There are two times of day when the light is ideal for capturing outdoor landscapes – the hour around sunrise and again at sunset. The sun’s position early in the morning or later in the day allows for the sunlight to flow over the landscape in a way that intensifies the colors of nature and also creates spectacular shadows. Likewise, morning mist over a lake while the sun is still low in the sky will add mood and interest to a photo. Avoid Using Flash. Nothing kills a photo like automatic flash. It goes off at the most inopportune times. Case in point: While on the photo safari I mentioned earlier in this article, our group came across a black bear feasting on salmon in a grove of trees nearby. While being as quiet as possible so as to not draw the bear’s attention, we all tried to get a shot of him through the trees. Well, wouldn’t you know – my flash went off. I was momentarily afraid for my life when I thought he was going to charge out of the woods and have me for dessert! Fortunately, he didn’t budge. Turn off your automatic flash - even for interior shots. When taking a photo of your cruise cabin or other indoor area on a cruise ship, rely on the room’s natural lighting. Place your camera on a stable surface or, if that’s not possible, hold the camera as steady as possible, using your elbows as leverage if need be, hold your breath and click. The results will be a softer image using the natural surrounding light, rather than a dark photo with little color and harsh light. Avoid Shooting Photos from a Moving Car or Bus. Guilty, as charged! Even though one out of a hundred photos I take from a tour vehicle will result in a decent photo, I still find myself doing this. Unless the window is open, and the bus you’re on is not moving, don’t bother. Trust me. You’ll only waste time later deleting a lot of fuzzy, useless images from your camera. Have Fun. There’s really no right or wrong way to take photographs while on a cruise, but the above suggestions may help you achieve good results. Don’t forget – mistakes can be tweaked with editing software. By cropping, straightening, adding contrast, color and definition, you can fine-tune your photos and make them look great. Most importantly, have fun, experiment and take lots of photos! By Janice Neves, CruiseCrazies Contributor For more cruise news & articles go to http://www.cruisecra....com/index.html Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more http://www.cruisecrazies.com View full article

From Facebook: Rick Steves discovered what the rest of us have known all along - that cruising can be fun! "Cruising makes a lot of travelers happy. That’s clear every night when we enjoy our evenings on board the Emerald Princess. Some friends of this blog have commented that they can’t believe I’m advocating cruising. I’m not pro or con cruising. It simply works for lots of people. I’m learning about it and hoping to help those who like cruising to get the most out of their precious shore time. That’s why we’ve written our cruise guidebooks to both Northern European and Mediterranean ports, that’s why I’m on this ship, and I’m having a great time while I’m at it. Go back to posts from September 2011 to read my reports on our Mediterranean cruise." Rick Steves, September 2013

Thanks for joining us here at CruiseCrazies. We hope you'll visit often, ask questions, share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Thanks for joining us here at CruiseCrazies. We hope you'll visit often, ask questions, share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Thanks for joining us here at CruiseCrazies. We hope you'll visit often, ask questions, share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Thanks for joining us here at CruiseCrazies. We hope you'll visit often, ask questions, share your experiences and join in the conversation.

Gina, I love that story. That's what it's all about - the memories. Just remember, your son will get married in a few years, have his own kids, and you can start a whole new cruise tradition with the grand kids (okay - not TOO soon- LOL), and you can relive those days all over again!

Thank you, Gina. Couldn't have said it better myself. :) At the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy ... No, absolutely not - no shorts in the dining room at dinner. Some people interpret shorts in different ways. Over the knee, at the knee, halfway above the knee, all the way up to "barely-there" shorts. Make it simple. No shorts. Period. Let's keep the dining room dressy-casual and allow those of us who like to dress it up a little, the four-course dining experience we expect and enjoy. Let the muscle-shirt-and-shorts crowd eat somewhere else. There are plenty of alternative onboard eating options to make everyone happy.

Read today's travel tip!

As an avid amateur photographer and blogger, I love to return home with photos of the ship including public areas. Readers like to know everything about a ship before its their turn to cruise, and what better way than through pictures. They want to see it all, including the cabins, pools, restaurants, the atrium and every other onboard detail. Whether its good, bad or ugly people need to know. The absolute best time to shoot pictures is immediately upon boarding, and in order to get the best shots, plan on being one of the first on board. By arriving early, youll have an opportunity for unobstructed shots of public areas before the crowds arrive. If youre like me, you like to make your cabin the first stop on your shipboard photo safari. I like to know that my cabin is the way I want it and that there are no immediate issues to contend with. First, take a photo of the door and the cabin number, then before dropping your stuff, take photos of the room. An uncluttered room is much more inviting to the viewer than one scattered with belongings. When snapping pictures, dont neglect the bathroom, closets, balcony and electrical outlets the most asked-about cabin features. Then drop everything and explore the rest of the ship, starting with the most popular places first, the places where passengers tend to congregate. These would be the atrium, of course, along with the buffet area, the lido deck and anywhere else hoards of folks might congregate. Then move on to the quieter areas of the ship the library, for instance. If all else fails and you arrive to the ship late in the day when the crowds are already in place, you can always use editing software later in the editing process to remove the un-pretty from your photos.

Falina - I totally agree - Alaska is amazing. I am glad to hear you loved your cruise and look forward to your review!

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