Cruise 10/11/2003

[Viking]

BTW Shari,
I just checked wether Lufthansa flies to Cairo: They do!! I don't know if you're able to book a flight FRA-CAI with DLH from the USA. If not, I can give you the adress of a friend of mine who's a travel agent at the Amex Travel Agency in Downtown Frankfurt.

 

[taswira]

Did you forget that I am also a TA?

 

[dvcChrisVWL]

taswira - I agree with you about the Flintstones. Although DD would look great as Tinkerbell, I would look (or at least feel) ridiculous in green tights and a tu-tu!!!

 

[taswira]

Originally posted by dvcChrisVWL
I would look (or at least feel) ridiculous in green tights and a tu-tu!!!

Ummm . . That's EXACTLY what I was thinking! LOL

 

[dvcChrisVWL]

Ha Ha! Yup! I think I can do a Fred Flintstone orange dress without feeling too out of place. At least I will have a tie to go with my dress.

So, how do you think we will be received? We will be going to a Disney event dressed up as a Looney Tunes family!!! (www.Flintstones.com goes to www.LooneyTunes.com)

 

[Cheese Please]

GREAT News on the DOUBLE up grade. On our very first cruise in 2000 we were upgrade to a cat 3. That was really amazing. I talked to some people who had paid for a cat 3 and it was almost 3 times what we had paid.

See you in 4 weeks.

Dave

 

[taswira]

Better edit this post as it was meant for dvcChrisVWL!

No problem! Everyone can't be Disney characters, after all. Variety is the spice of life! (Oh, gee - I could be more original than that!)

 

[Tulirose]

My congrats also to Windemere on the upgrade. Way to go, girl!

Popped in late to Cruise Chat tonight - about 10 p.m. - and not much was going on. No Cruisears cruisers in there or other former Cruisetoberfesters traveling soon. (oops, except for hostess Carol). Figured you guys would be in there talking up a storm. I know, it's just not the same anymore. *BIG SIGH*

I am patient and I will just wait until all you guys return from your September and October 2002 cruises. Hopefully, you will all be going to cruisechat to discuss the cruises and inform us what we have to look forward to. Make sure I know when you guys will be in there and I will be sure to join ya! Tulirich will join too!

 

[Viking]

No Shari,
I didn't forget, but I thought that some restrictions apply for booking air in other countries. For example, when I once tried to book a leg in The USA via Internet, the system rejected me stating "Sorry, but we're not allowed to take bookings from people living overseas".

 

[taswira]

Hi Eric!

No, I've been able to book legs from overseas via my agency. I don't do it through the automated res system, but it only takes a couple of calls. Thanks.

 

[Viking]

Hi Folks,
you'll get a mail soon from me stating my new private email-adress. My German provider just raised its flatrate by $5 per month, which translates to a 20%-raise. This made me quit the contract and now I'm back to AOL after 3 years. I started surfing with AOL about 7 years ago and they were so nice last night when I inquired about a price for my DSL-flatrate that I immediately returned.
For all the cruise-related stuff please use the yahoo-adress (see my signature).

Have a great weekend; We have a busy one: Anja had to jump in for a colleague and does the nightshift, and I have Las Vegas, Atlanta, Memphis, Ft. Lauderdale and Glasgow (UK) on my desk.

 

[Viking]

That was close: Just one more thread in front of us and we would have been on page 4!!!
Today my travel agent received our docs for our trip to Fuerteventura, they should be in our snailmail tomorrow

 

[cdnmickeylover]

Viking: Have a great time.

Have a question for everyone. I'm looking to purchase a new camera and would like some suggestions as I'm totally lost with all the features. I want a regular camera rather than digital. 35mm with a built in flash and if possible the date imposed on the photo. Point and shoot type of camera would be great. I'm not a great photographer and actually don't take a lot of photos but I do want a camera to take with me this September. Any suggestions -- I'm also not looking to spend a fortune.

Cdnmickeylover

 

[jmalk]

Since we are back talking cameras, I too have a question. I was thinking of getting a new digital, since mine is kind of big and I'm not to impressed with the quality. It is a Kodak 4800.

So you camera folks, am I just not using the correct settings? The pictures are usually slightly fuzzy. Also the delay between pushing the button and taking the picture drives me crazy. I was looking at the Minolta Diamage because it's so small, but it has fewer megapixels.

I do plan on taking the camera to our Halloween Wonder cruise so hopefully Shari will take pity on me and give me a lesson. Would I be wasting valuable Disney dollars by buying a new camera?

 

[Viking]

Fiona,

I'd take a nice compact APS-Camera with a zoom. They're easy to handle, have drop-in film, you can chosse three different picture formats and can easily have your pics not only developed, but also saved on a CD. But DO NOT take a camera without a zoom!!! At least a 3x zoom, it gives you so many extra possibilities by allowing you to choose the view you like without runing forward or backward all the time. If you wanna spend the bucks, take a Canon Ixus APS, or perhaps our pro Shari, can give you a better tip.

jmalk,
I also think about a Minolta, the Dimage 7i with the 7x zoom and the 5.2 megapixel-CCD.

 

[taswira]

The Dimage 7i is excellent. I think its only real drawback is a quicker-than-most battery drain, although it has improved from previous models. Some previous models also had a relatively long delay between shots. I'm not sure about the 7i. I'm still hooked on my Nikon 995 because of it's familiarity, good lens, and the ability to twist the camera and photograph myself (I <I>have</I> to. I <I>run</I> when OTHER people aim a camera at me!).

For APS, any Nikon or Canon APS model is good. For good old point-and-shoot, I really like Minolta and Pentax. For high-end SLR, Nikon and Canon. I'm not listing models because there are <I>many</I> fine ones in those lines. All of these brands use high quality lenses. Don't buy one with features that you will never take the time to learn how to use. That is often the only reason one is priced higher than another - <I>more features</I>. Keep in mind that only TWO things make the photograph - the quality of the lens and the quality ("eye") of the photographer. But above all, take Viking's advice - DO NOT GET ANY CAMERA WITHOUT A GOOD ZOOM LENS!!!!

 

[papa]

jmalk a good place to start the research on a digital camera is digital camera site enjoy and have many happy pictures. Mike

 

[taswira]

papa - I too posted that site link in an earlier discussion about digital cameras somewhere on this board I HIGHLY recommend that site, and the only reason I didn't refer her to it was that when I went to check it today to make sure it was still there before referring her, it came up "File Not Found" repeatedly. However, I noticed it IS working now, so THANKS for posting it. There is so much on that site that it can boggle the mind, but the guy knows what he is talking about. Have fun, jmalk!

 

[jmalk]

I guess I have some research to do, I don't want to spend a lot of money, but I'd rather buy quality than have it go unused. I'm glad you guys are out there for the inexperienced among us! One more reason to keep checking the thread.

 

[taswira]

I wish we could be more help, but the truth is that you can give the same camera to two people, amateur or pro, and one might love it while the other hates it. One would shoot great pics and the other would always chop off the tops of people's heads. A camera has to <I>feel right</I> to you, and it has to be easy for you to manipulate (controls, features). After you peruse dpreview, go to a local camera store and ask to hold (get your hands on) the ones you might like. Then ask if you can take a quick look through the manuals. If the manual reads like gibberish to you and the controls on the camera are not easy to figure out without referring to the manual, forget that one! Keep in mind that anything with at least 3 megapixels will produce good pics for general purposes (NOT giant posters or magazine publication!). If you get a 5 megapixel and above camera and actually shoot at that, it's going to produce very large files and you're going to need a lot of storage (CF or other). There are so many great cameras out there. None of us would want to point you to a specific model, then have you end up buying and <I>hating</I> it. There is also no <I>perfect</I> camera. They all have their pros and cons. Good luck!