Disney Dream at Castaway Cay in the Afternoon

Big Ship

The Disney Dream, one of the ships of the Disney Cruise Line, is docked at Castaway Cay in the late afternoon, as seen during our 2018 Christmas Disney Cruise.

During our most recent cruise, we enjoyed a nice, long day at Castaway Cay. A day that was free from rain. That was quite a change from our past few days at Castaway Cay, which were all washed out by around lunch time.

At the end of the day, we went back to the ship. We did not stay on the island quite as long as we could have, but we were pretty close. We had other plans for the evening, however, so we wanted to make sure that we had enough time to change.

It was nice to be able to leisurely stroll up to the ship instead of being in a hurry because we were getting wet. I could get used to that pretty quickly, actually. But who knows what it will be like if and when we visit Castaway Cay again?

Also, in this photo you can see the Castaway Cay Christmas tree near the front of the ship. The Christmas tree is really tall, but the Disney Dream makes the tree look rather small, doesn’t it. That is just another reminder of just how big these cruise ships really are.

Just About Perfect

The other day, things did not quite go the way I wanted them to. Seriously. If you can believe it, life around here is not always perfect.

Yes, I am sure that you can believe it, because I can believe that your life is not always perfect, either. No one’s life is perfect. If they are telling you that is is, then they are hiding something. And if it looks like someone has a perfect life, they are hiding some things pretty well.

Or actually, they may not be hiding those not perfect things. It could be that they are just dealing with them well.

That is one of the secrets of life. Everyone has problems. Everyone has difficulties. And everyone has bad days. Things don’t go like you had planned. People don’t respond like you wanted them to. Things change unexpectedly. That happens to everyone.

What sets some people apart from others, however, is how they deal with those problems. If you let the problems of the world drag you down, then you will be miserable, thinking that nothing ever goes your way.

But if you decide to make the most of what you have, look for the positives, and do not dwell on the negatives, you will often find that things are not as bad as they seem. If you can step back and try to see the bigger picture instead of what is happening right at this moment, you might realize that those seemingly big problems will not really matter in the overall scheme of things.

Sometimes the secret to what makes successful people who they are is how they react to and handle problems. That can make all the difference in the world.

Even though we had great weather on this past cruise, and even though we had rainy weather on some other cruises, we have still enjoyed all of those cruises. We don’t let the weather or other negatives ruin our entire trip.

It is often a challenge to have that positive outlook in the normal (that is, not on vacation) world. But it can be done. Keep on trying. You will be glad you did.

Bible Verse

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

About the Photo

In the original photo, the sky was bright with the sun being behind the ship. Because of that, the ship itself was slightly dark. I went back to the original Raw file and created a lighter exposure where the ship looked correct. Next, I masked the ship from that exposure into the main exposure in Photoshop. I am happy with the results that you see here. I especially like the deep blue sky, which would have been lost if I had just brightened up the whole photo until the ship was properly exposed.

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens
Date: December 18, 2018
Location: Castaway Cay, Bahamas