On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:44:16 GMT, "RG" wrote:


"John H." wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:06:59 GMT, "RG" wrote:


Nope, couldn't do that many! I'm seriously thinking of a cruise to
Alaska,
similar to the one Chuck is taking. Hope he tells us about it when he
returns.

I've done it twice, and highly recommend it. Scenery larger than life.
Outstanding photo opportunities.


Which company? I think Chuck is on Norwegian.

I cruised on the Norwegian Star, summer of 2005. No complaints, would do it
again and no doubt will.


Thanks.

Tim wrote:
I've never been on a cruise.

INot saying I wouldn't like it, but I really cant forcast being on a
big boat for a week or so, as being a bunch of fun, even though theres
gobs to do while on it.

Oh, I'd probably like it, once I got on it, for the moment I'll enjoy
my cuddie.



Well, it is a matter of taste, I suppose. Going on a cruise for the sake
of going on a cruise is not something I would do.

Test it out for me. I need to get my wife a small one. She wants something
she can put in a purse. My daughter's bugging me for a small one also.

The current buzz from early reviews is excellent ergonomics and superior
images, but it's getting knocked by a focusing system that's a bit slow.
Great for landscapes and stationary subjects, not so great for action and
fast-moving subjects. Highlights are Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture
Priority, full Manual, and Multiple Scene shooting modes, fully compatible
with Nikon's Creative Lighting System, 10 mp resolution, 2.5" hi-res LCD
screen, and built-in VR. Also has an optical viewfinder, which I find
essential and is getting near impossible to find on point & shoots anymore.
And it fits easily in a jacket pocket. Street price in the low-mid $300's.
Here's a link to the brochu

http://www.nikonusa.com/fileuploads/...0_brochure.pdf

"RG" wrote in message
. ..

"John H." wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:06:59 GMT, "RG" wrote:

Which company? I think Chuck is on Norwegian.

I cruised on the Norwegian Star, summer of 2005. No complaints, would do
it again and no doubt will.


I've often thought about taking a cruise. We've never done that ... well, I
did on a couple of Navy destroyers. Accommodations weren't all that great,
but we never went hungry.

My concern is the stories of unsanitary conditions and the spread of various
virus type illnesses. The occasional failure of ship's systems or fire
doesn't bother me much but the seeming regular stories of ships returning to
port with a few hundred ill passengers bothers me.

Am I overly concerned?

Eisboch

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:36:44 GMT, "RG" wrote:


"John H." wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:06:59 GMT, "RG" wrote:


Nope, couldn't do that many! I'm seriously thinking of a cruise to
Alaska,
similar to the one Chuck is taking. Hope he tells us about it when he
returns.

I've done it twice, and highly recommend it. Scenery larger than life.
Outstanding photo opportunities.


Speaking of photography...I finally gave Penn camera the money for that
new
18 - 200 VR lens. Hopefully I'll have it before October and can take it to
Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel on the cruise.

You'll love it. I took it on an 8-day road trip I took in March. It never
left the body of the D200. I shot about 2500 photos on that trip with it.
I've heard that availability of that lens has loosened up somewhat. Keep
your eyes open. The Nikkor lens forum at Nikonians.com usually will post
when it becomes available at places like B&H. I'm currently researching
Nikon's new Coolpix P5000. It's a 10mp advanced compact point and shoot
that I think would be nice to have around when I don't want to schlep the
D200.


Test it out for me. I need to get my wife a small one. She wants something
she can put in a purse. My daughter's bugging me for a small one also.

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:06:36 -0700, Tim wrote:

I've never been on a cruise.

INot saying I wouldn't like it, but I really cant forcast being on a
big boat for a week or so, as being a bunch of fun, even though theres
gobs to do while on it.

Oh, I'd probably like it, once I got on it, for the moment I'll enjoy
my cuddie.

I've only been on one, but most of the actual cruising was done at night.
The trip we're taking in October ( http://tinyurl.com/2dmh4g ) is a seven
day cruise, but only two of the days are spent cruising. There are loads of
things to do on the ship, but I really enjoy just reading in the pool.

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:24:23 -0400, HK wrote:

Tim wrote:
I've never been on a cruise.

INot saying I wouldn't like it, but I really cant forcast being on a
big boat for a week or so, as being a bunch of fun, even though theres
gobs to do while on it.

Oh, I'd probably like it, once I got on it, for the moment I'll enjoy
my cuddie.



Well, it is a matter of taste, I suppose. Going on a cruise for the sake
of going on a cruise is not something I would do.

If I had to go by myself, I'd probably not go either.

My concern is the stories of unsanitary conditions and the spread of
various virus type illnesses. The occasional failure of ship's systems or
fire doesn't bother me much but the seeming regular stories of ships
returning to port with a few hundred ill passengers bothers me.

Am I overly concerned?


I don't think it's possible to be overly concerned when it comes to the
possibility of puking for a week straight. The Norwalk virus is clearly a
problem for the cruise industry. I don't have an explanation for it, but it
seems as though all the Norwalk stories you read pertain to Caribbean
cruises that sail from southern Florida. I've never read about a Norwalk
incident that was on an Alaskan cruise that sailed from Seattle or
Vancouver, or a New England cruise for that matter.. That may not be 100%
factual, but it's my observation.

At any rate, the key is to religiously wash you hands with disinfectant.
Cruise ships now have waterless disinfectant hand washing stations all over
the ship. In fact everyone is required to use one at boarding. But
obviously, when there's a serious outbreak, it's difficult to contain. And
as I understand it, the source of the virus isn't from unsanitary practices
of the ship and crew per se, but rather the virus is always brought aboard
by fellow passengers. Not that it really matter where you got it from once
you've got it. It's a risk in all forms of public travel I guess. Sort of
like sitting on a plane next to a guy with a deadly form of TB. Yowsers.

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:25:12 -0400, "RCE" wrote:

Am I overly concerned?

No.

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:25:12 -0400, "RCE" wrote:


"RG" wrote in message
...

"John H." wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:06:59 GMT, "RG" wrote:

Which company? I think Chuck is on Norwegian.

I cruised on the Norwegian Star, summer of 2005. No complaints, would do
it again and no doubt will.


I've often thought about taking a cruise. We've never done that ... well, I
did on a couple of Navy destroyers. Accommodations weren't all that great,
but we never went hungry.

My concern is the stories of unsanitary conditions and the spread of various
virus type illnesses. The occasional failure of ship's systems or fire
doesn't bother me much but the seeming regular stories of ships returning to
port with a few hundred ill passengers bothers me.

Am I overly concerned?

Eisboch



I don't know the stats, but I'm fairly sure it's a small percentage of the
ships that have the health problems. It's not something I worry about, and
that's on a Disney ship full of kids. There are anti-bacterial wipes almost
everywhere one goes on the ship.