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2015: Year in Review

New York Skyline

2015 really was a big year for me. About this time last year I decided to make photography a big focus for 2015 and I did. I started this blog, which has been a big motivator for me to work on my photography. To look at the stats and see that my photos are being viewed all around the world has been very enjoyable for me. I dedicated my summer break to improving my photography and I managed a photo a day project. This year, I realized that portrait photography is actually fun and something I’m not too bad at. I had my first three portrait shoots this year. I’m trying to keep this blog on the topic of nature and travel photography, but if you are interested in my portrait photography please visit MowersPhotography.com.

This year, I also had an amazing cruise vacation! I fell in love with Norwegian Cruise Line and ever since I got home I’ve been dreaming about getting back to sea! Sailing out of New York was truly an amazing sight and it may have been my favorite part of the whole cruise! I have been telling everyone that will listen to me that if you haven’t been on a cruise before, you have to try it! In my opinion, it is the absolute best way to travel!

Thank you for stopping by and being a part of my blog journey this year! It has been a lot of fun for me and I can’t wait to see what 2016 will bring! Maybe I’ll start sharing my portraits here, we’ll just have to wait and see! As always, if you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!

Wanderlust

Ryndam in Key West

Its that time of year that the weather is getting cold and all the leaves have fallen off the trees here in Michigan. Its that time of year where the urge to Go, See, and Do really starts to get me again! I’m not planning anything major in the near future (we’re saving for a Mediterranean cruise in 2017), just a little weekend trip somewhere not far from home. I was thinking, I need an app that will let me input my location and how far I’m willing to drive and it will tell me all the places I could go. And guess what? I Googled it and it exists! Check it out: How Far Can I Travel

This shot was taken at the cruise pier on Key West. I think I’ve mentioned here that my first visit to Key West was on a cruise ship. That day, we were the only ship in port. I was shocked when I made it back to the keys and there were three cruise ships docked in Key West! I think it is safe to say that when the ships left that day, the island had half the people it had midday!

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!

Why I Cruise

Ship at Sunset
A photographer I follow on Facebook recently posted about an Alaskan cruise he took. He said it was a fun family vacation but it wasn’t great for photography. This got me thinking about why I love cruising:

  • Value – For one price you get luxury accommodations, transportation, great food, and world-class entertainment
  • Multiple Destinations – Go island hopping or visit several European cities and only unpack once
  • Relaxation – Days at sea with no set plans? Count me in

Cruising does not allow you to get as deep into a location or give the flexibility to catch sunrises or sunsets in port. I have to say, there is something about a catching one from the ship! And I love how cruising gives you a taste of a location without having to commit; if you don’t like a port, you can get back onto the ship. If you fall in love with a location, you know where to plan your next trip!

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! If I’ve convinced you, there are many sites to browse cruises, but I recommend Priceline Cruises.

Wordless Wednesday: Skyline Sailaway

Skyline Sailaway 14/100

Norwegian Gem – A Final Review

Bridge in Fog 22/100

Sailing under the Verazzano Bridge on the way back into New York Harbor.

So far I have reviewed the ports from my cruise: Port Canaveral, Great Stirrup Cay, and Nassau and I’ve reviewed the dining. All I’ve got left is the ship itself. The Gem debuted in 2007 and can hold over 2300 passengers. It is considered a mid-sized ship, but there is so much going on that it feels like a much larger ship. Whether you’d like to lounge by the pool, practice your golf swing, or go on a scavenger hunt with the family, there is something for everyone to do on sea days.

We had an obstructed ocean-view cabin on deck 8. It was on the smaller side but it wasn’t uncomfortable for the two of us. If there were any more people, it would have been crowded. There was a lot of storage built into the cabin so things weren’t lying around and getting in the way. I think next time we would pay a little more for a full ocean-view or a balcony.

There are a lot of entertainment options on the Gem. There are big nightly Vegas-style shows, Second City Comedy shows, and numerous musicians around the ship. We’re not into Vegas-style shows so I can’t speak to the those, but the Second City shows were hilarious! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time! We also really enjoyed the piano and guitar players on the ship. On the last night they had a huge jam session where all the ship’s musicians came together and even let musically-inclined passengers join them on stage.

The crew was great! The food was great! We loved that you weren’t seated with strangers at dinner. There was a lot to do on the ship. Overall, we loved the Gem and can’t wait to sail with NCL again in the future!

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To book your Norwegian Cruise Vacation visit NCL.com.

Norwegian Gem – A Dining Review

Gem in Nassau 19/100

Norwegian Cruise Line specializes in “Freestyle Cruising” which means no assigned dining times or dining rooms and a more relaxed dress code. The Gem has 11 dining venues. 6 of these are complimentary: Magenta, Grand Pacific, O’Sheehans, Orchid Garden, The Garden Cafe, and The Great Outdoors. The Gem also has several specialty, for-fee restaurants: Cagney’s Steakhouse, Le Bistro, Moderno Churrascaria, La Cucina, and Teppanyaki. I would definitely recommend getting reservations for the specialty restaurants ahead of time unless you don’t mind dining late. You can make reservations for the specialty restaurants online before the cruise, but you have to pay at time of booking. If you don’t want to pay for your food months before your cruise, I recommend booking right when you get on the ship to get the most ideal times. And personally, I would book times on the later side since you’ll probably have a bigger lunch than you’re used to. Unless you have a big group, there is no need to book the complimentary restaurants ahead of time.

Magenta and Grand Pacific are the main dining rooms with rotating menus. Grand Pacific is the more formal dining room but even though they shared menus, we found the service to be better in Magenta. In Magenta they refilled our bread and brought coffee with dessert without having to ask for it. Speaking of dessert, you have to try the Warm Chocolate Volcano!

O’Sheehans is the Irish Pub that is open 24 hours a day. It has a limited menu, but is good if you want to avoid the crowds (especially on embarkation day) or eat at an off time. O’Sheehans definitely had the most restaurant-like feel to it and there was never a wait. The fish and chips were great!

Orchid Garden is the Asian Fusion restaurant that recently got rid of its cover charge and because of that, was the busiest of all the restaurants. This was the only restaurant we ever had to wait for and personally, it wasn’t worth it. The dishes were unusual but they were OK. Service, on the other hand was not so great. I would most likely skip the Asian restaurant on next Norwegian cruise.

The Garden Cafe and Great Outdoors are the buffets on the ship. The Garden Cafe is the main buffet and The Great Outdoors is the al fresco dining option. On sea days, The Garden Cafe was always packed! You could always find a table, but it was crowded walking through. The Garden Cafe typically had shorter hours and a more limited menu. We ate most of our meals in the main dining room because we didn’t want to deal with the hassle of the buffets.

Cagney’s Steakhouse is Norwegian’s Signature Steakhouse and it was PHENOMENAL! It has the highest cover charge of the signature restaurants and it was worth ever penny. Everything I had was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The servers were attentive but didn’t hover. My only complaint is we dined at Cagney’s on my birthday and they brought out an anniversary cake and sang an awkward anniversary song to us (we also celebrated our anniversary on this trip but I brought the card that said we were celebrating my birthday on this day). Our server caught the mistake and asked to sing Happy Birthday to me by herself but I declined. I’d had enough singing for one meal.

Moderno Currascaria is an all-you-can-eat Brazilian Steakhouse where gauchos bring the various dishes around on skewers. This was a meat feast (vegetarians may want to skip this one) serving everything from lamb chops to garlic marinated beef and chorizo sausage. There is also a salad bar with soups and all kinds of different salads. I made the mistake of going up for two trips to the salad bar and I couldn’t even try everything they brought around. I was so disappointed! I think on my next cruise, I will skip lunch on Moderno day.

Le Bistro is Norwegian’s French Restaurant and of all the specialty restaurants, it was my least favorite. I had the filet which came with a pepper sauce that I didn’t care for. We had the chocolate fondue for dessert and I was disappointed that it was cold, and honesty they didn’t give us much fruit. I have heard a lot of good things about Le Bistro, but I just didn’t care for it. It was not worth the cover charge to me.

Teppanyaki is a hibachi-style restaurant and it is the most difficult reservation to get. I have heard a lot of good things about Teppanyaki but I didn’t try it. The same goes for La Cucina, the Italian restaurant, which is also very popular.

Overall, the dining on the Norwegian Gem was great! If you’re looking for a cruise that has a dining focus, you can’t go wrong with Norwegian. I loved that the dining was restaurant-style and we didn’t have to sit with strangers. And unlike the other cruise lines that have “your time dining”, you rarely have to wait for a table.

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To book your Norwegian Cruise Vacation visit NCL.com.

Nassau

Nassau from the Ship

When our ship stopped in Nassau, we had no plans, we just wanted to see the city. We walked the streets for a bit and decided to take the ferry over to Paradise Island (previously Hog Island, but the name was changed when celebrities began showing interest In it) to check out Atlantis. By lunch time it was too hot for me so we headed back to the ship to cool off. This port stop really proved to me that my next summer vacation needs to be somewhere cooler. Alaska, perhaps?

Standing on the lido deck of a cruise ship really provides an interesting perspective for photography. It gives a higher vantage point to look towards the city or out at the sea.

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!

Great Stirrup Cay

Sun Sky Sand 18/100

When I booked my recent cruise, the ports were definitely not the biggest selling factor. Florida and the Bahamas were definitely not on my bucket list. I have to say, Great Stirrup Cay (Norwegian’s Private Island) really surprised me. I’m not really a lay-on-the-beach kind of person; I’d much rather Go, See, and Do (thus, the name of this blog) but we rented a clam shell on the beach so I wouldn’t melt. It felt good to relax, read my book, and just enjoy being in paradise.

We also rented Stand Up Paddle-boards and that was a lot of fun. Although, I have to say it is much harder than it looks. It was nice to be out on the water, making the most of our time in the Bahamas. If this is something you would like to try, renting paddle-boards (or any other watersport) at Great Stirrup Cay is a great option. It was much cheaper than any of the excursions in the other ports.

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To book your Norwegian Cruise Vacation visit NCL.com.

Kennedy Space Center

Rocket Booster 17/100

I hadn’t been to the Kennedy Space Center since I was a kid and when we chose a cruise that stopped at Port Canaveral we (grudgingly) decided that it wasn’t worth it to drive to Disney World for 8 hours (especially in the summer heat). My husband is a space nerd so he was very excited to rent a car and drive to the space center. If you’re ever on a cruise that calls at Port Canaveral I highly recommend this option. We rented an economy car for $30, the rental car company picked us up at the port, and when we told them where we were going they even gave us admission coupons that helped make up for the parking fee. Another plus if you rent car is you have the freedom to check out Ron Jon Surf Shop and eat at any of the seafood restaurants on the water instead of having to go back to the ship when you’re done at the Space Center. Unlike a lot of ports of call, there’s not a lot to do right near Port Canaveral.

If you do anything at the Kennedy Space Center, you have to take the bus to the Apollo/Saturn 5 Center. The First thing you do when you get off the bus is go through The Firing Room Theater where you see the actual control room from Apollo 8 and watch a recreation of the launch of that rocket. Then, you step into the Lunar Theater and watch a recreation of the moon landing. And I have to say, the Disney fan in me ate these shows up; They had the same “edutainment” feel you get at a lot of my favorite Disney attractions. After the shows you get to explore the exhibits in the building including a lot of memorabilia from the Apollo missions and an actual moon rock that you can touch. And of course, you can get up close to an actual Saturn V rocket and that is where this picture came from.

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To plan your trip to Kennedy Space Center visit https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/.

Back from Paradise

Sun Sky Sand 18/100

I am back from my cruise to paradise on the beautiful Norwegian Gem. We had perfect weather, assuming you can handle the heat! There were barely any clouds the whole week until we sailed back into New York harbor where the rain and fog rolled in and made for some unique, if not eerie, photos.

If the opportunity comes up to cruise out of New York, take it! The views while the ship is sailing out of New York harbor are stunning and unforgettable. I will definitely be posting more photos from my relaxing voyage in the upcoming weeks.

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!

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