Back from Vacation on Carnival

Had a very enjoyable time on vacation and just got back. We went to Minnesota to pick up family and friends and 13 of us went to New Orleans for the Jan 8th sailing on Carnival Conquest. It was an awesome trip and my first to the New Orleans area. We had an opportunity to drive through the french quarter but it was absolutely nuts because of the people downtown partying before the Saints game. We drove across the bridge on lake Pontchartrain... that was an awesome experience. The drive was 25 miles across.

Had an opportunity to smoke just about every day too. Had brought 11 sticks with me in a travel humi. I brought with me.

3 Flor De Olivia
A F Anejo
Torano Exodous 1959
Padron 1964 anniversary serie
Cuban Parejo
CAO Brazillia
Siglo Limited Reserve
Monte Cristo Media Noche
San Cristobal

I bought a small box of Davidoff silver mini cigarillos, they were real good.
I got two isoms a montecristo number 2 and a bolivar robusto. They were both excellent.

Over all it was a great experience. I got my first opportunity to dive in a while in Cozumel Mexico. It was fun once I got acclimated to the gear, and it was my first sea dive experience. I unfortunately did not have the photographic prowess that Buzz showed us in his underwater photography. I think I need a better camera and a steadier hand LOL. All my pics were very blury and I missed shots of stuff. So it gives me another excuse to try again in a year or so. Perhaps in a bit I can post up some of my pics.

I am just happy our ship remained upright unlike the Costa Concordia. The captain on our ship made the announcement when it happened and we had a 2 min. of silence in honor of those who died aboard. When we were in Cozumel, there was another Carnival Ship that was berthed next to us. They took off for their next port of call and then came two people who missed their ship. Needless to say they were very upset at that happening. Only other thing we saw was a guy being carried by two others back on the ship. He was so loaded from alcohol that he had major troubles with his body. They took him and his wife by ambulance from the port just before we left for our day at sea.

It was a great trip over all and very restful. I just thought I would share that will you all. Roger.

Glad you had a good time. Nice list of smokes too.

Will

Very cool Roger! Cozumel is on my list of places to go diving... I bet that was awesome. I know badwhale really enjoyed his trip there. Taking pictures underwater is a pain, but if you have a decent camera with a strobe and get very close to your subject you'll get some good shots. I am no expert - it takes me 100 shots to get 3 good ones. I have just about the same ratio on land too.

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Originally Posted by buzz

Very cool Roger! Cozumel is on my list of places to go diving... I bet that was awesome. I know badwhale really enjoyed his trip there. Taking pictures underwater is a pain, but if you have a decent camera with a strobe and get very close to your subject you'll get some good shots. I am no expert - it takes me 100 shots to get 3 good ones. I have just about the same ratio on land too.

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Thanks for the encouragement. I have a compact underwater camera, but I want a better one. I should have used my flash but it was just enough for me to control my buoyancy and get a snap shot or two. Since this was my first dive in YEARS... I thought that I had done ok for my abilities and experience. What kind of camera do you have? By the way I saw sting rays, spotted moray eels, lobsters, pilot fish, blue parrot fish, yellow french chubs. The chubs were all clustered in a reef ball, so that was entertaining. My dive was about 40 minuets at a depth of 25- 35 feet. So it was not a real deep dive but it was very enjoyable.

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Originally Posted by Roger

Thanks for the encouragement. I have a compact underwater camera, but I want a better one. I should have used my flash but it was just enough for me to control my buoyancy and get a snap shot or two. Since this was my first dive in YEARS... I thought that I had done ok for my abilities and experience. What kind of camera do you have? By the way I saw sting rays, spotted moray eels, lobsters, pilot fish, blue parrot fish, yellow french chubs. The chubs were all clustered in a reef ball, so that was entertaining. My dive was about 40 minuets at a depth of 25- 35 feet. So it was not a real deep dive but it was very enjoyable.

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Working on your buoyancy will probably help your photography as much as getting a nicer camera would. I always do a dive without the camera to make sure I am properly weighted/trimmed (and just look around) - then when I go down with the camera I don't have to worry about buoyancy. Being correctly weighted is crucial. At the end of your first dive (so your air tank is at 500psi) hang around with your buddy at the surface for a couple minutes... Take a normal sized breath and empty the air from your BCD completely. You are supposed to float at eye level holding a normal breath. If you sink, you are over-weighted (hand some weight to your buddy to hold and try it again). Figure out exactly how much weight you need to float at eye level and that is what you'll want to use for your next dive. You may also want to check your trim... go underwater and swim a couple fin kicks... then don't move and see what happens. You might start to barrel roll left or right, or your feet may head up or down... move your weights around (front or rear pockets on the BCD, ankle weights, etc.). Practicing buoyancy "drills" can also be very helpful - like hanging upside down (very helpful when taking pictures of critters), or the "fin pivot" skill they teach in the cert. classes.

Sheesh, that was a long paragraph...

Anyway, I use a Canon G10 in the Fisheye Fix housing with a Sea&Sea strobe and Bossk focus light. I highly recommend the Canon G10. No, I HIGHLY recommend it. The G11 and G12 are newer models, but the G10 is the better of the three in my opinion. You can pick them up used in great condition for around $300. Absolutely fantastic point & shoot. The Fix housing I have is not worth the price you'd pay for it - the Ikelite or standard Canon housing would suffice ($200 used Ebay). The Sea&Sea strobe ($150 used Ebay) is a must, but you could probably get along without the focus light unless you were shooting movies. So you'd be looking at around $700-$800 for a very decent "amateur" setup. Underwater photography is a lot of fun, but like every hobby it can be expensive. Especially when you flood the housing (not if... when).

My setup:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-m...s720/g10-1.jpg

Very cool, Roger. I'm glad that you had a great time. Nothing beats escaping the cooler temps for a warmer locale. My wife and I have not been on a cruise yet, but we think it'd be a lot of fun with a group of friends.