The End of the Vacation

The last two days were so sad. An end to any vacation for anyone isn't always the best feeling. Especially vacations like this. Anyway, the last day on the ship actually turned out to be a bore. Since we toured the entire ship the first day, it gets boring after you go around for seven days I know right, a cruise ship, boring??? There are only so many things you can do on a ship, and only so many activities you can do on a ship. After you've done almost everything, there isn't anything left for you. My friends and I ended up playing all sorts of games around the ship, as well as activities the staff provided. When I think about it now, it all felt so fun. It's really something to miss.

This was taken from our room. We got a balcony room on the port side. (left side). The sun in this picture gleams so brightly and the reflection it makes is just real cool. Ocean pictures are always "risky" because the horizon has to be perfect. It would looks disproportional. 

This is a different filter but the same picture. In this picture, the sun really stands out. The sun itself and the reflection. I think the sun really shines because there aren't any clouds near it which could potentially block the sun. Plus, the camera did a good job up picking up all the light the sun is giving. 

This is the port side of the ship. We were going through the Chesapeake Bay area. So I took this on my balcony. 6th floor. The room right next to mine was one of my friends rooms. We got lucky that way. So most nights, when the parents were out about the ship, all of the kids (from all seven families) would be piled into the two of our rooms. It was so much fun because we would talk through the walls, talk through the balcony and through the phone! 

I took this the last night on board. It was getting stormy in the distance, and plenty of lightening everywhere. It wasn't raining but it was real windy. I tried and tried to get a nice shot of the lightening. (The lightening kept going, so I had enough time to try.)And.....I did! Its not that great at all, I admit, but its something for a start. I've never taken one of lightening before, basically because it's just so hard to catch.


This was from the last few hours on the ship. It was a Sunday morning, and we were frantically trying to pack the hand-luggage. I checked out on the balcony to see the view and I saw the Chesapeake Bay Bridge coming up. Perfect timing!!! So I sprinted up to the top deck to see the ship get under the bridge. I was  so surprised because it fit under just by a couple yards. So in this picture, I was standing backwards, so the bridge already passed the tallest part of the ship. (It's like leaving the ship now, not coming towards it anymore.) I also tried to get the sun in it somehow though, since it was just awkwardly there. I know this picture doesn't really show that the ship is going under the bridge, etc.  

Well, honestly, I will always always remember this cruise and alllllllll the experiences we had. Pictures help us remember those moments, so where ever you are, take pictures! You'll remember those moments and you will be glad you took the picture. :)

Freeport, Bahamas Cruise

Continuing our times throughout our cruise, next port was Freeport, Bahamas. This was another beautiful city with awesome, clear-blue beaches. They also have very nice coral reefs, although it isn't as full with life as a lot of other places. 

So this was the harbor we could see from the ship. The buildings are so colorful and vibrant. The weather was also really nice. 

At Freeport, the all of our families went glass bottom boating. It was awesome. So before I get into details, this was where the boating place was located. Right outside the dock was a busy marketplace and there was so much stuff. We got fresh coconut water and it tasted soooooo gooooood. I also love these marketplaces becuase the shop owners are willing to bargain. If you want a bracelet in the USA, u pay the given price. But at these marketplaces, you ask them the price, and then u can ask to get it for a lower price or get a deal by guying two bracelets. Cool place :))

So this was the dock. The boat all the way on the right, all the way in he back (it is the tallest boat on the right) is the glass bottom boat. What it basically has are two glass windows at the bottom of the boat. I was really surprised because the windows were so small and there were only two of them. So everyone on the whole boat was supposed to peek through to the coral in the tiny windows. Well once we actually got to the coral reefs, you could see tons of fish. The water was clear enough that you could see the fish without looking through the glass as well. 

This is another picture of the dock. From where I took this picture, if you looked down at the water, right there, you could see tons of fish as well. At least we knew there were fish in this area.

The lovely photoshopped version. I personally like the original. This picture looks dreamy and very vibrant. The colors stand out a lot, and there's no sharpness. I guess the original looks like it was gray-scaled compared to this picture because this one just has more color. 

If you looked left to the dock, you could see these beautiful hotels. Or at least I think they are hotels. (It could be apartments) This picture actually is enhanced a bit too. Just more vibrancy and there's a little of that dreamy look. Imagine staying in that building!

This was taken on the glass boat. Obviously the back of the boat. The reefs weren't that far of the coast. (You can still see the land on the far right.)

Can you tell the difference between the one right above and this picture? It's obviously edited, but not by much. I added the option of having less clarity, which smooths out the picture. There is more contrast and vibrance too. 

Guess what?!? We actually did see sharks! The captain said we would see sharks before we got on the boat. Everyone thought they were just saying that to get us on and pay the money. Well of course we actually did see them! Tons actually. They were Caribbean Reef sharks, the most common ones in the Caribbean. They look similar to Tiger Sharks. So all these sharks were in one area while we were heading back from the reefs. We started seeing them through the glass at the bottom of the boat. Then you could see them by just looking through the water. The people who worked on the boat had this hook with a fish on it and fed the sharks. It was real cool. I believe in all, there were about 7-8 sharks. We also fish everywhere. There were about four types of fish throughout the reefs. So we saw fish, coral, starfish, birds catching fish, and sharks  (along with some other minor specimens). Pretty neat huh?

This is an "artsy" picture I took of the water. I really like this one in particular because of the detail. The water that is splashing off came in such detail.  

So after the whole glass bottom boating experience, we waited for the buses to come. While waiting, this group of people were playing songs in costumes. They played really well. There were about four people, and they even played some american pop songs. I chose a black and white filter for this picture.  It seems to fit the picture nicely.

Port Nassau, Bahamas Cruise

Continuing our journey through Port Nassau. (The Capitol of Bahamas). So  you know how it's important to vary your pictures...? Change the effects, close ups, different angles... Here I have one that is in a frame. I didn't add this frame later on, this was taken through binoculars. I basically stuck decide into the eye hole of the binocular, and it showed up much better than expected. Especially since the building show in the picture is ATLANTIS!!! Yea so from the ship, we could see Atlantis in the distance.

Try to imagine this- you are aboard a carnival cruise ship and you are the tippy top deck. The sun is blazing hot so you wear your sunglasses and hat, plus layers and layers of sunscreen. The wind is blowing in random gust, so you have your mind on your hat to make sure it doesn't blow away. You are also carrying your tiny "purse" to hold your iPod and phone along with binoculars. On top of the peace you are trying to get from the views of the ocean, you hear the parents pestering you to put more sunscreen and to stay in the shade. But who could possibly be anywhere except the top deck because you can now see the Atlantis water park in the distance.

That was exactly what was going on at the moment. Our eight families were quite loud because they were in the frenzy to make sure everyone got sunscreen. And I was at least trying to get my view of the clear blue waters. It was my firs time ever seeing the real Caribbean Seas, so I needed a good first impression. (Haiti didn't have the same blue waters.) Well, that's Atlantis. We didn't go I think because it wasn't part of the ship excursion or touring Atlantis would need more than a day to visit.

This was one of my favorite pictures. The tiny lighthouse. So as I explained above, I was trying to enjoy this view as the parents had the sunscreen drama. The parents kept going around asking all the kids twice and thrice. Literally, I was taking taking this picture, and one parent would come up to me and ask if I put sunscreen or not. Once I took that picture, a little past the lighthouse (the ship was still moving), I would take another picture. A different parent would come tell me to go to some shade. I eventually did go inside, once the ship stopped, and it felt so good becuase it was just extremely hot outside. Too hot that it got tiring.

Nassau, Bahamas!!! Looks very similar to the US. Their national language is English, so no language problem there. And I feel like just the cruise excursion areas are very nice and touristy, but once you pass that point, you see all the rough places. (I know that the cruise area in Haiti is super nice, but once you go past that point, everything looks so different.) But I can't be sure because we drove like 20-30 minutes into the country and it remained about the same. So I'm thinking either you have to go really deep to see the real places, or the Bahamas is a well rounded place.

Palm trees! Actually, just a palm tree. Always reminds me of warm places. Well that's what it should remind you of because they grow in warm climates. Do you think it's photoshopped? It is and you can tell because only the leaves of the tree are sharp/clear contradicting the rest of the picture which is entirely blurry. 

Atlantis again!!! We didn't even end up going to visit the place but at least,our ship was docked very close to it. It was quite a sight because the waters were clear blue, the wind was blowing slightly, the sun was shining, and you could see Atlantis close by! Now that is a busy picture.

This was when we were getting back onto the ship. I honestly tried to get the "carnival pride" name, the palm trees, and the welcome to Bahamas sign all in the picture, but this was the best I could do. There is an effect places on the next couple of pictures. Its the Transfer effect on Apple devices. It improves the picture a whole lot. 

Got the ship name! This was a really cool picture because the ship name is there and there is some play with the sun. the sun brightens up the entire left side of the ship.

Although the picture right above is awesome, I personally think this is so much better. The sun is peeking out of the back of the ship. (The back of the ship is where the dinner hall is and its called, Normandie. I wonder if it's named after Normandie in France.) Anyhow, the sun brightens up the left side of the ship. However, it doesn't go all the way so the sunlight gradient is seen. Plus, you can see the outlines of people on the left and the awesome palm tree in the sun!

This was also one of my favorites. Just look at the ship! So actually, this is a huge cargo ship from,I believe, China. It's called the Aegean Highway. So this was docked right next to the cruise ship. (Our ship is on the right and the cargo is on the left.) I tell you, it's the biggest thing I've ever seen on water. It's humongous compared to the cruise ship. It's absolutely so much taller than the cruise ship. I can't even imagine how much stuff can fit in it!!!

This is the picture without the effects. It looks as cool too.  I could see the crew men on the top of the ship and they were so so so tiny compared to everything else. It was just mesmorising. I wish I could've referenced the size of the ship to something. Perhaps our cruise ship? 

Bahamas Cruise

Heyy! So the week of August 3-10, my family along with seven other families, went on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was awesome! If you've never ever been on one, I recommend you do soon.

So our ship, Carnival Pride, docked in Baltimore, Maryland. We left on Sunday the 3rd at around 4:30. This is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The cruise ship fit just right under the bridge. 

This was right in between the two bridges. On the right side is the toll road. You can also see the reflection of the bridge on the waters. And...I actually never noticed this until now. Both of the bridges are quite different. It just looks identical at first glance, and I am noticing this difference after a month. Another thing you can notice is how off the picture is from the center. In order to make picture a little bit better, I would've cropped off a little on the right. Then the bridges would be even and the disappearing point would be in the center. Then I would straighten the picture because it is tilted to the left. 

So this was the first morning at sea. Monday the 4th. And...this was the sunrise. The sunrise was at 6:13 and we saw the sun only for a couple minutes. From the time it rose from the horizon to the time it disappeared into the clouds, it was honestly not that stunning. Of course, on the first day, it had to be super foggy. The rest of the day, it rained and was really cloudy. We just hoped the weather wasn't bad at the islands. 

This was the sunset on Monday. At least it looks better than the sunrise. So this picture looks unique only because I took it inside the ship. You can see the lights reflecting off the glass as well as the dust on the glass. It makes the picture look like there is mist in the air. 

This was the sunset the same day, minutes later. And I took this outside. It's really important to pay attention to the horizon when you are taking pictures like this. Mostly landscape pictures. Make sure it isn't slanted and that the horizon line isn't unbalanced. 

This was around the same time. And I give all the photo credits to my close friends. They took a picture with the heart as a silhouette before and I loved the picture. So when I saw them doing it again on the ship, I made them pose while I took this picture. The only thing I don't like is that the horizon is awkwardly placed. I does look fine though. 

So this was taken just a couple minutes after the previous one. You can tell that the sun just went past the horizon. I really like how clearly you can see the details of the water. In this picture too, you can tell the horizon line is tilted to the right. We were also so delighted to see the sun set so quickly. So I ended up seeing the first and last glimpse of the sun at sea! Pretty cool huh. :)