twangster

I don't always live blog my cruises,

 
But when I do I live blog on RoyalCarribeanBlog.com.  Live from my balcony.
Note to @Matt - need a full screen logo ?
 

After the show I went to the pub for a few beer and overheard someone mention 'RED'.  If you've been on Harmony you may have experienced RED before.  It's a full club experience, music blaring, chest pounding club night with dancers popping up or down or swinging in the air from ropes.  It's not a 'show' but an interactive club experience.  


They started to lower the blinds and I had been curious how they turn it windows into projection screens during full daylight so I took a picture of the shades coming down.

There is a double blind system over each window.  A light blocking shade in the middle of the frame and then a projection screen surface more flush with the inner surface.  The result is a projection surface that let's them do things like this:

I don't always live blog my cruises,

 
But when I do I live blog on RoyalCarribeanBlog.com.  Live from my balcony.
Note to @Matt - need a full screen logo ?
 

I happened to be near the Northstar (ok I was at the Northstar bar) and saw they were light on passengers for a ride so I jumped on Northstar standby this afternoon.  I wanted to see what photography is like at sea from Northstar and learned a couple things.  I only had my fisheye lens with NO CPL.
Note the position of the sun.  More on that later.







Sun from aft causes even greater reflections in the glass that will appear in the photo.  I need to be aware of sun position next booking.
The curved nature of the gondola makes CPL filters less effective.  Especially with ultra wide angle lens.  However I think it would helped at least a little because reflections from inside Northstar onto the glass were pretty bad today.  A CPL filter and picking a time when the sun would be in front of the ship, or on a cloudy day might yield better results.
No problem with the A/C in Northstar, not hot at all.

I still enjoyed the ride though.  It's a very unique experience.  Alaska 2019 on Ovation ...anyone in?

The only thing I noted was some swear words like bit** and a**hole.  Not often, only a couple times.  Some adult oriented innuendo but nothing overt.  There were kids under 12 in the audience last night, quite a few actually.  I didn't note any warnings or suggestions that it is adult only. 

Anthem of the Seas Entertainment Guide attached.
 
Anthem Entertainment.pdf

I was wondering if anyone would notice.  Not finding @Big Dawg Ron in the pub would be like not finding beer in the pub!
Just finished iFly.  Wow what a rush.  I am definitely going again on the next cruise.
 

Tonight's show was "We Will Rock You" in the main theater.  Given how quick the MDR was tonight I had time to run to Vintages for a glass of wine before the show.  
The show started off a bit slow for me and I was wondering what I got myself into.  As it progressed I began to warm up to it more and more.  Roughly halfway through I was really enjoying it and by the end I was on my feet applauding with the rest of the theater.  Don't miss it, especially if you like Rock and the music of Queen.
I plan to go again next cruise but from the upper level so I can see the band who sit in four boxes stage left and right on the second level and were hard to see from front and center.

We had some pier runners tonight who delayed our departure just long enough so that NCL ship was the first out of port.  

She had a straight shot towards the mouth of the harbor so even before she was clear of the turning basin we began backing out and into the turning basin for our turn.  With the NCL ship gone I was able to capture Majesty of the Seas still tied up at the pier.



Once clear of the harbor and our pilot off we quickly caught up with that NCL ship.  An inbound cruise ship, Princess I think and the NCL ship got very close to each other while we stayed a good bit East of both.  This was a good 15 miles off shore and I'm surprised their Captains would sail so close to each other at night.  Must have been quite a sight for the passengers of both.

Yesterday was an action packed evening.  First my ride in Northstar.  

We boarded just as the sun was setting.

Despite 15 people being in Northstar it was quite roomy.

We slowly started rising.  It runs a pre-selected computer program, the operator didn't "drive" it, at least not on my ride.










Our ride over, we just waited for Northstar to dock.

After exiting there is a small viewing platform which is the highest you can visit on the ship (other than inside Northstar) so a few more pictures were in order.



It was a 10 minute ride and it started to rain just towards the end while we were almost back down to the ground but it only lasted a few seconds.
It goes by really fast and Northstar is very smooth.  With a camera up to my face for much of it I didn't even realize we had started our descent until we were almost fully back down.
With Northstar complete it was time for sail away. 

Tonight's show was "We Will Rock You" in the main theater.  Given how quick the MDR was tonight I had time to run to Vintages for a glass of wine before the show.  
The show started off a bit slow for me and I was wondering what I got myself into.  As it progressed I began to warm up to it more and more.  Roughly halfway through I was really enjoying it and by the end I was on my feet applauding with the rest of the theater.  Don't miss it, especially if you like Rock and the music of Queen.
I plan to go again next cruise but from the upper level so I can see the band who sit in four boxes stage left and right on the second level and were hard to see from front and center.

Tonight's show was "We Will Rock You" in the main theater.  Given how quick the MDR was tonight I had time to run to Vintages for a glass of wine before the show.  
The show started off a bit slow for me and I was wondering what I got myself into.  As it progressed I began to warm up to it more and more.  Roughly halfway through I was really enjoying it and by the end I was on my feet applauding with the rest of the theater.  Don't miss it, especially if you like Rock and the music of Queen.
I plan to go again next cruise but from the upper level so I can see the band who sit in four boxes stage left and right on the second level and were hard to see from front and center.

Before heading up to Northstar I set my GoPro on my balcony for a time lapse of the sail away.
 
 

We had some pier runners tonight who delayed our departure just long enough so that NCL ship was the first out of port.  

She had a straight shot towards the mouth of the harbor so even before she was clear of the turning basin we began backing out and into the turning basin for our turn.  With the NCL ship gone I was able to capture Majesty of the Seas still tied up at the pier.



Once clear of the harbor and our pilot off we quickly caught up with that NCL ship.  An inbound cruise ship, Princess I think and the NCL ship got very close to each other while we stayed a good bit East of both.  This was a good 15 miles off shore and I'm surprised their Captains would sail so close to each other at night.  Must have been quite a sight for the passengers of both.

Yesterday was an action packed evening.  First my ride in Northstar.  

We boarded just as the sun was setting.

Despite 15 people being in Northstar it was quite roomy.

We slowly started rising.  It runs a pre-selected computer program, the operator didn't "drive" it, at least not on my ride.










Our ride over, we just waited for Northstar to dock.

After exiting there is a small viewing platform which is the highest you can visit on the ship (other than inside Northstar) so a few more pictures were in order.



It was a 10 minute ride and it started to rain just towards the end while we were almost back down to the ground but it only lasted a few seconds.
It goes by really fast and Northstar is very smooth.  With a camera up to my face for much of it I didn't even realize we had started our descent until we were almost fully back down.
With Northstar complete it was time for sail away. 

Yesterday was an action packed evening.  First my ride in Northstar.  

We boarded just as the sun was setting.

Despite 15 people being in Northstar it was quite roomy.

We slowly started rising.  It runs a pre-selected computer program, the operator didn't "drive" it, at least not on my ride.










Our ride over, we just waited for Northstar to dock.

After exiting there is a small viewing platform which is the highest you can visit on the ship (other than inside Northstar) so a few more pictures were in order.



It was a 10 minute ride and it started to rain just towards the end while we were almost back down to the ground but it only lasted a few seconds.
It goes by really fast and Northstar is very smooth.  With a camera up to my face for much of it I didn't even realize we had started our descent until we were almost fully back down.
With Northstar complete it was time for sail away. 

I ended up having an impromptu lunch yesterday with our Cruise and Entertainment Directors in two70.  They had been pretty busy coming up with activities since we missed our call on Coco Cay.  Dennis Charles has worked on all ships except Ovation over the past 30 years.  You can tell he loves his job and Royal Caribbean.
The Kummel Weck in cafe270 remains a favorite sandwich for lunch.  
two70 is a nice spot to hangout and there were families, singles reading books and couples snoozing.  There is a Library off the 2nd level of two70.   I'm waiting for some better pictures of two70 before going on too much about two70 but it is a great venue and unique to the Quantum class ships.
We arrived into Nassau around noon.  A classic photo many people take is the lighthouse on the barrier island that protects the harbor.  Lighting wasn't perfect today but I knew we would depart after sunset tomorrow so I captured it anyways:

It was very humid and had rained prior to our arrival and I was treated to a rainbow off my balcony. 

Sunset was around 5:20pm tonight.  This guy on the Flowrider was pretty good.  

We had three other ships in port with us and since we are spending the night here we watched all of them sail away one by one like a parade of ships.  First to depart was a Carnival ship.


The Disney Wonder which I sailed a long time ago.

Finally the Disney Dream.

I enjoy spending a night in port, it gives you an opportunity to see things from a different perspective.



Back to the ship for my 8:30pm My Time reservation.  This was my first trip to the MDR, deck 4 American Icon.


 had the Duck Breast, Caesar Salad and Roasted Veal Medallions.  It was a very good meal.  My wait staff Jimy and Nives were very good but you could tell they were also very busy.  

I didn't feel like a rich dessert so opted for some orange sherbet.
On my way back to my cabin I popped into the music hall to see a bit of 'Groovy Town' the 70's dance party:

This is definitely one of my favorite shots, along with your night photos of Anthem all lit up and pretty with nowhere to go. And you're really making me think I should spend the money on Moment's Super Fisheye 170º lens for my phone, along with the tele and wide angle lenses. I'm going to need a really good bonus this year to cover all these unexpected extra expenses... 

After eating breakfast in the Windjammer I returned to my cabin to get ready to go ashore.  That's when the Captain called out "Abandon Ship!".  Just kidding.  They were exercising the lifeboats today part of a routine maintenance schedule to ensure everything is in top shape.  



Shortly after this I saw a wall of liquid sunshine coming our way so I delayed my departure.  Twenty minutes later back to sunshine.

Something I haven't done in a long time in Nassau is a horse drawn buggy ride.  It's $15 per person so I figured why not. Meet Elvis and his trusty steed.

Elvis provides a running dialogue on this tour.  He pointed out lot's of attorney offices.  An attorney is required to hide your money in the Bahamas he tells me so there are a lot of them.  Guns are illegal here.  Seven years if caught with one plus an additional year for each bullet.  This island has a population of 175,000 residents.  He points out various indigenous trees and historical buildings.  



Back to the cruise port and straw market.  A lot of people have complained about the vendors in the straw market and I used to be one of them.  I avoided cruises with a stop in Nassau but that was based on an experience during a cruise here in 2000 and a lot has changed in 17 years.  I returned here on Grandeur this past August and I noticed the difference on that occasion.  In retrospect I shouldn't have avoided Nassau all this time, it's much better compared to 17 years ago and it is quite pleasant here.  The waters have a beautiful turquoise color.  Sure there are taxi drivers offering you are ride but a polite 'no thanks' and they let it go.   

In the corner is a tribute to the Bahamian Woman.



Since Majesty of the Seas is in port with us I thought I get a closer look.

Back to our ship.   This time in the daylight.

I booked Northstar for 5:30pm tonight hoping for a pretty sunset.  Until then I think I need a nap.

Day 5 - Nassau
I woke early while it was still dark out and spotted a couple ships in the distance lining up to arrive into port.
As the sun rose I could make out the familiar shape of an RCI ship in the distance.

As she entered the harbor I realized it's Majesty of the Seas who we met upon our arrival in Port Canaveral a few days ago.

I'm trying to arrange a cruise on her but since she only does shorter cruises and I have to fly to Florida so I am struggling to find the right combination of ships and dates as I plan a 'Tour de Petite Ships'.

An NCL ship also arrived into port this morning.
I have a smile on my face today.  While many on board are waking up to the realization they only have two nights left, I still have two weeks.  

I ended up having an impromptu lunch yesterday with our Cruise and Entertainment Directors in two70.  They had been pretty busy coming up with activities since we missed our call on Coco Cay.  Dennis Charles has worked on all ships except Ovation over the past 30 years.  You can tell he loves his job and Royal Caribbean.
The Kummel Weck in cafe270 remains a favorite sandwich for lunch.  
two70 is a nice spot to hangout and there were families, singles reading books and couples snoozing.  There is a Library off the 2nd level of two70.   I'm waiting for some better pictures of two70 before going on too much about two70 but it is a great venue and unique to the Quantum class ships.
We arrived into Nassau around noon.  A classic photo many people take is the lighthouse on the barrier island that protects the harbor.  Lighting wasn't perfect today but I knew we would depart after sunset tomorrow so I captured it anyways:

It was very humid and had rained prior to our arrival and I was treated to a rainbow off my balcony. 

Sunset was around 5:20pm tonight.  This guy on the Flowrider was pretty good.  

We had three other ships in port with us and since we are spending the night here we watched all of them sail away one by one like a parade of ships.  First to depart was a Carnival ship.


The Disney Wonder which I sailed a long time ago.

Finally the Disney Dream.

I enjoy spending a night in port, it gives you an opportunity to see things from a different perspective.



Back to the ship for my 8:30pm My Time reservation.  This was my first trip to the MDR, deck 4 American Icon.


 had the Duck Breast, Caesar Salad and Roasted Veal Medallions.  It was a very good meal.  My wait staff Jimy and Nives were very good but you could tell they were also very busy.  

I didn't feel like a rich dessert so opted for some orange sherbet.
On my way back to my cabin I popped into the music hall to see a bit of 'Groovy Town' the 70's dance party:

After eating breakfast in the Windjammer I returned to my cabin to get ready to go ashore.  That's when the Captain called out "Abandon Ship!".  Just kidding.  They were exercising the lifeboats today part of a routine maintenance schedule to ensure everything is in top shape.  



Shortly after this I saw a wall of liquid sunshine coming our way so I delayed my departure.  Twenty minutes later back to sunshine.

Something I haven't done in a long time in Nassau is a horse drawn buggy ride.  It's $15 per person so I figured why not. Meet Elvis and his trusty steed.

Elvis provides a running dialogue on this tour.  He pointed out lot's of attorney offices.  An attorney is required to hide your money in the Bahamas he tells me so there are a lot of them.  Guns are illegal here.  Seven years if caught with one plus an additional year for each bullet.  This island has a population of 175,000 residents.  He points out various indigenous trees and historical buildings.  



Back to the cruise port and straw market.  A lot of people have complained about the vendors in the straw market and I used to be one of them.  I avoided cruises with a stop in Nassau but that was based on an experience during a cruise here in 2000 and a lot has changed in 17 years.  I returned here on Grandeur this past August and I noticed the difference on that occasion.  In retrospect I shouldn't have avoided Nassau all this time, it's much better compared to 17 years ago and it is quite pleasant here.  The waters have a beautiful turquoise color.  Sure there are taxi drivers offering you are ride but a polite 'no thanks' and they let it go.   

In the corner is a tribute to the Bahamian Woman.



Since Majesty of the Seas is in port with us I thought I get a closer look.

Back to our ship.   This time in the daylight.

I booked Northstar for 5:30pm tonight hoping for a pretty sunset.  Until then I think I need a nap.

After eating breakfast in the Windjammer I returned to my cabin to get ready to go ashore.  That's when the Captain called out "Abandon Ship!".  Just kidding.  They were exercising the lifeboats today part of a routine maintenance schedule to ensure everything is in top shape.  



Shortly after this I saw a wall of liquid sunshine coming our way so I delayed my departure.  Twenty minutes later back to sunshine.

Something I haven't done in a long time in Nassau is a horse drawn buggy ride.  It's $15 per person so I figured why not. Meet Elvis and his trusty steed.

Elvis provides a running dialogue on this tour.  He pointed out lot's of attorney offices.  An attorney is required to hide your money in the Bahamas he tells me so there are a lot of them.  Guns are illegal here.  Seven years if caught with one plus an additional year for each bullet.  This island has a population of 175,000 residents.  He points out various indigenous trees and historical buildings.  



Back to the cruise port and straw market.  A lot of people have complained about the vendors in the straw market and I used to be one of them.  I avoided cruises with a stop in Nassau but that was based on an experience during a cruise here in 2000 and a lot has changed in 17 years.  I returned here on Grandeur this past August and I noticed the difference on that occasion.  In retrospect I shouldn't have avoided Nassau all this time, it's much better compared to 17 years ago and it is quite pleasant here.  The waters have a beautiful turquoise color.  Sure there are taxi drivers offering you are ride but a polite 'no thanks' and they let it go.   

In the corner is a tribute to the Bahamian Woman.



Since Majesty of the Seas is in port with us I thought I get a closer look.

Back to our ship.   This time in the daylight.

I booked Northstar for 5:30pm tonight hoping for a pretty sunset.  Until then I think I need a nap.

I ended up having an impromptu lunch yesterday with our Cruise and Entertainment Directors in two70.  They had been pretty busy coming up with activities since we missed our call on Coco Cay.  Dennis Charles has worked on all ships except Ovation over the past 30 years.  You can tell he loves his job and Royal Caribbean.
The Kummel Weck in cafe270 remains a favorite sandwich for lunch.  
two70 is a nice spot to hangout and there were families, singles reading books and couples snoozing.  There is a Library off the 2nd level of two70.   I'm waiting for some better pictures of two70 before going on too much about two70 but it is a great venue and unique to the Quantum class ships.
We arrived into Nassau around noon.  A classic photo many people take is the lighthouse on the barrier island that protects the harbor.  Lighting wasn't perfect today but I knew we would depart after sunset tomorrow so I captured it anyways:

It was very humid and had rained prior to our arrival and I was treated to a rainbow off my balcony. 

Sunset was around 5:20pm tonight.  This guy on the Flowrider was pretty good.  

We had three other ships in port with us and since we are spending the night here we watched all of them sail away one by one like a parade of ships.  First to depart was a Carnival ship.


The Disney Wonder which I sailed a long time ago.

Finally the Disney Dream.

I enjoy spending a night in port, it gives you an opportunity to see things from a different perspective.



Back to the ship for my 8:30pm My Time reservation.  This was my first trip to the MDR, deck 4 American Icon.


 had the Duck Breast, Caesar Salad and Roasted Veal Medallions.  It was a very good meal.  My wait staff Jimy and Nives were very good but you could tell they were also very busy.  

I didn't feel like a rich dessert so opted for some orange sherbet.
On my way back to my cabin I popped into the music hall to see a bit of 'Groovy Town' the 70's dance party:

Day 5 - Nassau
I woke early while it was still dark out and spotted a couple ships in the distance lining up to arrive into port.
As the sun rose I could make out the familiar shape of an RCI ship in the distance.

As she entered the harbor I realized it's Majesty of the Seas who we met upon our arrival in Port Canaveral a few days ago.

I'm trying to arrange a cruise on her but since she only does shorter cruises and I have to fly to Florida so I am struggling to find the right combination of ships and dates as I plan a 'Tour de Petite Ships'.

An NCL ship also arrived into port this morning.
I have a smile on my face today.  While many on board are waking up to the realization they only have two nights left, I still have two weeks.