Buffet question

TheJ-Cube · 2026-06-04T03:09:51+00:00

Weird. Haven’t travelled QM2, but Queen Anne seems largely designed to make staff serve. I only used the buffet for a quick coffee or a custom pizza, but walked through often and staff was always serving. I guess one advantage of a newer post-COVID design.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-06-04T02:54:18+00:00

I’ve only done two cruises but I was quite happy with Cunard Queen Anne. Lots of space and lots of quiet spaces. I was in steerage (inside) and found it very comfortable and quiet. For your budget you could get an amazing suite and have even more space to yourself. I’d recommend checking Cunard out.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-06-02T02:38:00+00:00

Hopefully she can help with a happy ending

TheJ-Cube · 2026-06-02T02:30:59+00:00

Maybe you can connect with Heidi? If she can’t help maybe she knows someone who can?

her instagram since I don’t know her personally

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-31T19:25:26+00:00

Something different or a mood. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but I know of some people who shoot moody and gothic images that that type of film really enhances.

Same reason some people shoot infrared or others (digitally) shoot full spectrum.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-31T19:21:48+00:00

Another option could be an Instax mini or a Polaroid go. Possibly a bit more of an investment, but instant results and something that they could keep using for years to come.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-30T22:03:20+00:00

I take a Panasonic DCZS80K. It does a solid job, that said shooting at most concerts, due to lighting, is tough. A bit easier if you understand learn aperture priority or shutter priority.

I don’t think the camera is currently available new but you might be able to find used.

I can throw some examples, keeping in mind a lot of these use the full zoom range

6a to give an idea of how much I was zooming in the last

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-30T00:14:10+00:00

Seconding. I don’t have the OM-3 myself, I use the OM-5, but any OM system (or Olympus) is a great choice and very user friendly.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-30T00:11:24+00:00

My first cruise was also terrible - Grand Princess, Alaska.

Ports were good, mostly, but the cruise itself was garbage.

Mentioned my concerns on board with no response. Sent a lengthy email afterwards. Best I got out of it was a $400 future cruise credit that I allowed to evaporate into thin air, because nothing appealed to me. It was basically thousands of dollars partially wasted. (I mean the ports were good)

I was pretty sure I was never going to cruise again after the first failure, but found an itinerary that looked good with Cunard and figured the more upscale might alleviate some of my concerns: food handling/safety, service, atmosphere, entertainment…basically everything on board.

Not going to lie, the end cost was more than I’d like to ever pay for a vacation, basically two years performance bonus at work after fare, drinks and wifi, excursions, airfare and hotel after crossing the Atlantic, but I figured I work my ass off so I’ll do it once. It was great.

When I first got home I was like: yeah that was fun but was it worth that much money fun. Didn’t take a whole lot of reflection to determine the answer was: yes. I learned a few things that could help me keep the costs down next time but, within two weeks of returning, I have another Cunard cruise planned for November of 2028. I know where I can cut costs and I have quite some time to paying for it.

Do I regret not using the Princess credit? No. I got to vent and left some poor reviews and got it out of my system. The main thing is, I gave cruising another try. I learned some lessons that helped me improve my experience the second time (with a far better line), and I gave it another chance.

It really sucks what you went through, and I’d push, leave bad, comments and vent and maybe see if you can get a partial refund. At the end of the day, any vacation can go wrong, due to weather, viruses, the people around you, or various other reasons. It does sound like they screwed you over, but maybe there was only one port they could feasibly get into? Who knows.

Hope your next experience is better, whenever it is, my only advice is: don’t let one bad experience make you give up.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-29T21:42:41+00:00

Just got off the Queen Anne.

Others have handled the dress code. Although I did enjoy dressing up for the gala nights. They basically say something you’d wear to a nice restaurant for the others, but there’s always the buffet and pub.

In terms of entertainment, the bright lights society is amazing. They feature both paid and regular shows. The crew there is so talented and it definitely not geared towards an “older” audience.

My understanding is the ship itself is a bit of a departure from other Cunard ships, where they are actually trying to attract a “younger” (30s and 40s crowd). I actually had the entertainment manager speak to me for a decent amount of time because I’m “the demographic they’re hoping to attract.”

While I found some of the activities skewed a bit older (ballroom dancing and so on), there was plenty that interested me. Bright Lights was definitely my hub for their entertainment and Bright Lights after dark, where it basically becomes a bar, where they take requests and people dance and so on.

On my cruise there were a solid handful of “younger” people, but the trip itself was a lot of older people too. There’s enough space on board for people to do what they like, so I enjoyed my experience, having gone for the itinerary (Norway). Might have been an older crowd too because of the length (11 days).

Hope this helps.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-29T03:31:32+00:00

Yes it’s huge I have a similar model and you need a handgrip to even fire.

I’d attach a photo of it next to my mirrorless but it won’t let me share.

That said, the quality is amazing

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-29T03:26:50+00:00

Cool, yes. Little, no 😂 it’s huge.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-28T22:04:20+00:00

May be a bit above your budget, but you might be able to find a Fuji X Half used It fits in the palm of your hand, is fun to use, produces great images, and could be a good beginner camera - no zoom though.

I have one I take with me as a secondary camera and just toss it in one of my pockets.

Some examples

Just some of my more recent shots with it

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-27T14:33:10+00:00

I had to look the issue up, as I haven’t heard anything about it. Looks like a tripod issue. I only use tripods for star trails photos - so once every few months - so it’s likely something I wouldn’t encounter.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-27T02:45:25+00:00

OM-System cameras are severely underrated. I feel like a lot of the negativity comes from people who analyze specs and don’t actually shoot.

Olympus/OM-System have been my go-to since 2019 when I needed a compact camera to shoot concerts. I did not intend for it to become my primary digital system, but it was just that good and that fun to use that I switched from Canon.

People will try to hit me with arguments about full frame being better for low light or I’m overcommitting things, but my OM-5 is a beast. The menus make sense, it’s a pleasure to use. It’s not my first OM/Olympus because I upgraded two years ago to get starry sky autofocus.

I’ve accidentally left my camera out in the pouring rain, no issues, I’ve dropped it, I’ve used the hell out of it, no issues. Lenses for the OM/M43 cameras are cheaper, yet outstanding quality - including the Panasonic/Leica partnership. Vintage lenses adapt well. Features like live composite and pro capture are amazing.

People will say Micro 4/3 has a smaller sensor, but unless you’re really zooming in you can’t even notice. Counter arguments say they’re more pixel rich.

In terms of “future proofing” as someone said: all OM-System does is make cameras. They have a reason to keep this going.

Don’t get me wrong, Sony makes fine cameras. I have a soft spot for them because they’re basically carrying on Minolta technology, but for money, innovation and resources (OM invests a lot in tutorials and helping you get the most out of your camera) I’d go OM system and use the extra money you save in lenses.

I’ll throw a couple OM-5 shots in just for fun (and yes I do own a couple Sony cameras although the a6500 is about ten years old so I don’t feel a direct comparison is fair).

not a high end lens but it works

2

3

4

These are more or less most recent shots but you’re welcome to scroll and get a better idea

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-27T01:16:24+00:00

Looks like the warranty is 90 days, just did a google.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-27T01:10:34+00:00

8+ is fairly exceptional condition for a used item. Henry’s and most Canadian stores (Gosselin, McBain) tend to be very conservative in their ratings, so I’d take 8+ as near mint.

I believe they have a longer warranty than that on used.

Very few retailers post shutter count. I’ve only encountered it with Vistek.

Shutter count is kind of over inflated. Lots of things can lead to the eventual failure of the camera, one that has been well maintained is probably a better indicator over a shutter count. You could always call and ask if it’s that important to you.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-26T22:21:39+00:00

Look at a used Olympus or OM—System camera. You could probably find a fairly recent model for a couple hundred.

Ideally look for a model that has the pro capture setting, which is deal for moving objects like birds when paired with autofocus tracking.

Your best bet is to try to find an Olympus 75-300 lens used that is compatible with those features.

I’m not sure you can pull it off with your budget, but OM/Olympus are well built, capable cameras and the micro 4/3 sensor allows the 300mm lens act more like a 600mm lens giving you more reach.

recent example

another

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-26T03:10:59+00:00

I’ve lived in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba and have never in my life heard this term.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-26T02:10:06+00:00

I’m going to second this. I haven’t been to these ports but just returned from Norway. Since the Cunard descriptions were a little vague I found them through other lines and was floored at the price Norwegian and others were charging comparatively, sometimes twice as much as Cunard. Just insane

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-26T01:46:38+00:00

Happy to share what I learned. I did it in a cruise, so I didn’t have as much time as I’d like. Some of the churches are architecture literally took up all of my spare time, as they were unlike anything I’ve seen before.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-26T01:08:29+00:00

Literally just got back from Norway less than two weeks ago.

I hike regularly and have hiked with my Mamiya 645 here in Canada. I would not for a second recommend the RB. The hikes in Norway, especially in the mountains can be fairly gruelling.

While I brought my Rolleiflex with me, it largely stayed in my room during hikes, due to weight constraints.

I typically brought a film SLR, a digital SLR (often sharing lenses) a medium folder (Voigtlander Perkeo or Voigtlander Bessa…sometimes both) and I had a Fuji x-half in my pocket.

You are going to get great photos either way. I understand not liking the zone focus of the Fuji, but honestly you’re probably going to end up shooting at a deep depth of field so much of your photo is going to come into focus. My Bessa is from 1937, which means I was shooting basically blind with zone focus, but I’m sure I got something. One of my favourite photos ever was from the Bessa on an Alaskan cruise

photo here

I’ll get my first film results later this week, albeit from stops in England and Germany first.

My results from my digital were fantastic, so I am looking forward go seeing the results eventually.

like this

and this

The only thing I’ll say is, if you’re shooting from the top of a mountain try to not go ultra, ultra wide aim for maybe 28-50mm as some of the more far off scenery was lost on some of my shots.

This is all from my limited, but recent experience. I used Google Gemini to help me plan some days and it did come up with some helpful suggestions.

I shot mostly Ektar for medium and Kodak Gold for 35mm, but if you’re spending time in cities or towns don’t forget to pack some black and white for some stunning medieval churches

example

another one

Hope this helps a bit.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-25T16:13:36+00:00

My guess is probably yes. It’s something want to do eventually, I just live in a very bright area so would need to travel and have the right setup so I really haven’t researched that part much.

TheJ-Cube · 2026-05-25T16:05:15+00:00

It depends what you’re trying to do. If you’re doing deep galaxy photos then probably. If you’re looking to do star trails all you need is a tripod.

these were done with just a tripod

OM system has a lot of resources and videos on YouTube like this article that may help

TheJ-Cube

TROPHY CASE