Plotagraph: Norwegian Sky

This photo was captured with a Sony a6300 and then converted to a Plotagraph.

Imperial Roar

Chinese guardian lions — also known as "Foo Dogs" — adorn entrances to many buildings in China. They are said to have mystic protective powers. Originally, they were installed to protect imperial palaces and memorials but today, they are used just about everywhere... in this case, it is protecting a karaoke bar on the Carnival Ecstasy cruise ship.  

This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.

Harry's Bar

First things first, this isn't from the famous Harry's Bar in Venice known for inventing the Bellini. It is actually from the Neon Piano Bar on Carnival's Ecstasy cruise ship. It acts as a holding room and a great place for a cocktail while waiting for a table in the main dining room. The tiny bar is decorated with neon interpretations from famous bars all over the world.

We stopped by just about every night for a little champagne to start the night off and it was almost always nearly empty. In the real world, that might be a negative but on a cruise ship, a bar with available seats, servers and views is a wonderful thing.

As far as the real Harry's Bar goes, I'll have to dig into my archives and see if I can find any photos from the world famous establishment. I seem to remember it was stuffed with tourists drinking overpriced Bellinis saying something about Hemingway... or was it Fitzgerald? Either way, we had the obligatory Bellini and quickly settled up and headed deeper into Venice in an attempt to lose ourselves literally and figuratively among the winding alleys.

This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7. 

Paper Lanterns

Carnival Cruise Lines' Ecstasy was a really interesting ship. First, it seems to be modeled after a Rat Pack-era Las Vegas. Lots and lots of shiny stuff and crazy patterned carpets. Most of the bars and restaurants are themed and every once in a while, one would take you away from that overt 1960s glitziness and transport you elsewhere. This little karaoke-themed nightclub was called Chinatown and it had a really cool tea house-style vibe to it. 

This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.

Norwegian Sky

When we docked in Nassau, it was really neat seeing and comparing all of the other cruise ships to ours. Each had a unique vibe and the design was drastically different from one to the next. This ship was docked next to us and they were throwing quite the embarkation party! The peacefulness of this photograph belies the craziness that was going on just an hour before.

A dozen Norwegian crew members were dancing and generally throwing a welcome party right on the dock as their passengers were arriving. They even had one of those giant blow-up figures that you see at car dealers — I'm not sure what the deal was with that thing! It was a really great marketing tactic for the people aboard other cruise lines. It may have been my imagination but I swear they were making people do a shot of tequila before they were allowed to return. We might have to check out Norwegian next time!

This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.