Hi Beth! I ordered this one:
http://www.clikelite.com/products/pro-express/
It still hasn't arrived yet. It apparently is on the slowest driving truck EVER out of NY. It should be here tomorrow and I plan on taking pics of it with stuff crammed in it!
I was one of the people that rented a lens. I use BorrowLenses. They have an insurance option, and I've never had an issue with any of my orders! They have all sorts of camera gear.....totally worth checking out!
What lens is your husband "wishing" for? And what was your impression of the 2-day?
I hear you! I can't yet book my post stay, but I will by the end of next week! I'd have the private tours done, but I've been at work and crazy busy the last several days, and I needed Mindy to not flip out about it. I think I'm safe now....
!
It'll be interesting to hear how your cruise goes! I figure with all the repeat ports, everything should be smooth sailing...(yes, pun intended!).
Hi Kim,
I peeked on Steve's
amazon wish list and the lens is a Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM telephoto lens for a Canon SLR. Whatever that means -- it all sounds greek to me! I took a big gulp when I saw the price tag, even with it being on sale.
Steve also has a huge Leica scope that he lugs along when we go birding, though he hasn't done as much of it since the twins were born. He does use it with them to moon watch on clear nights so that is fun. He has a big backpack case for the leica and the tripod and binoculars when we are out birding. But I'm thinking he will be needing something else for his camera stuff for the Med and what you ordered does look good. I'm going to share it with him when he gets back from London to see what he thinks.
The 2-day NYC was fun fun fun! It did go by fast, but we all knew it would. Because we left the twins with Gram at our house, we spent most of our time in the adult areas that we normally don't venture in. We actually spent some time in the Quiet Cove pool with friends whom we've gotten to know cruising, we did late seating for dinner (never do that with the kids) we also went to a few of the adult shows, and Steve did a drink tasting with some of the guys (no way was I going to do that with the ship rocking). So all and all a completely different cruise than the ones with the kids.
Other impressions: the crowds seemed minimal compared to the Dream, probably because it seemed like lots of people were like us and left the kids at home. Our dining service team was very slow which was a bit annoying since we were among the first tables seated during the second seating. We barely scooted out of the dining room before the fireworks started going off. The couples we went with all dressed up for dinner, but I saw lots of people wearing super casual clothes both nights.
My one big splurge at the shops was to buy one of the really big beach blankets (it was $50 which gave me pause, I know I'm cheap!). I had seen one like it on
Castaway Cay on our first cruise and then never saw it offered again. I hemmed and hawed about buying it when I saw it offered this time, and Steve said to go for it since I had been wanting it for so long. We brought the girls back some of the NY 2 day inaugural pins for their collection. Skye's favorite gift was a $2.99 woven bracelet that had the Disney Magic braided on it in her favorite colors of hot pink, lime and purple.
Steve did buy the big glass
DCL beer mug and the bartender said that he could definitely bring it back on future cruises to get the beer special (I think it is $4.99 for refills). Even though he isn't a huge beer drinker, he thought that was really cool. It is heavy though, so we definitely WON'T be lugging that in our suitcases to the Med!
Overall, I'm glad we went and can't wait to get on another DCL ship. It will be the Wonder to Alaska in August. Yay!
Beth
. Very irritating. I'd like to register her for language camp before all the spaces are full. Sigh. So out of my control....
You know me...just book everything for me and then just tell me where I need to be and when...that way I won't get overwhelmed....I think now that I know that I can actually get the time off from work, the pressure around this has lightened. I just have to have DH have a conversation with me to let me know when he wants to go. I can't imagine we'd leave before Thurs night because the kids will already be out of school 5 days and if it's like this year, they're still taking tests the Monday of the last week. 
