Ship photographers really messed up this time

Wedding on Oasis.

http://www.cknw.com/2014/07/30/44002/

OK, that's a shame, but we are talking electronics. Things can go wrong. I think Royal did right by refunding the wedding package (I assume that was the entire wedding cost, not just the pictures).

I don't understand how a loss of pictures can "ruin" a vacation though.

Very sad that the official photos have been lost but I would be very surprised if none of the other relatives took some photos so they must surely have something?

All the same, sad they don't have the official photos. :(

Think of all the issues like this that never make the papers.

My first thought was why they do not have more than one photographer shooting a wedding. They must know that the technology can fail them on occasion.

OK, that's a shame, but we are talking electronics. Things can go wrong. I think Royal did right by refunding the wedding package (I assume that was the entire wedding cost, not just the pictures).

 

I don't understand how a loss of pictures can "ruin" a vacation though.

Really? You can't understand? They came all the way from the UK, probably spent a fortune, and on top of that, have no photos of their wedding. I can understand how they'd be heartbroken.

When we were in Labadee last winter, my cell phone was stolen (along with all the photos on it). I was so upset, primarily because the photos were lost...my kids' first cruise, etc. Luckily my story had a happy ending (bribery of locals and a returned phone :rolleyes:), but to have no wedding photos? I can understand how that could ruin something: not just a vacation, but a vacation/wedding/honeymoon!

Sad for them.

I don't have photos of my daughter being born, and that day wasn't ruined for me. NBD, I say. They still had a nice cruise on an awesome ship. And they're still married.

Take what I say with a grain of salt, though. I am the one who still hasn't looked at the pics from my 2007 wedding. And didn't want to hire a photographer in the first place.

Different strokes, I guess.

That's a real shame :( My own wedding was still recent enough that I know how upset I'd have been if there wasn't a single picture I could look back on.

They definitely did the right thing by refunding the package, but it sounds like the person wants more and I'm not sure what to say to that. Loss of pictures really stinks but it's not material harm. They can't magically make the photos reappear, and she doesn't want to take new ones, so...

My sister had something similar happen on her wedding. The guy that was supposed to shoot the wedding learned his film wasn't advancing in his camera. Fortunately, there were others taking pictures so it wasn't completely lost.

It's a good idea to have two camera bodies and two lenses. Another idea for pictures is to shoot about 1/3 of the card, then switch cards and shoot 1/3 of that card. So if you learn one card is bad, you haven't lost everything. Because your photo shoot will be shared across multiple cards.

What a disappointment for this couple but I really can't understand why they refused to have the photos re-taken. Who would have known but them that they were not the originals.

If it had been me I would have rather had the photos re-staged than go home with nothing.

I do understand their disappointment, we lost our first photos of our middle daughter when she was born, and in the 'old days' we had to send off our film and wait for the photos to come back. By the time they did (and we took delivery of some interesting photos of someone's car and a few people we didnt know) our newborn was no longer newborn. But we just had to live with it.

Of course I am not comparing this loss to the loss of wedding photos, but at least they had the chance to put things right. All the family were with them on the ship so they could all have dressed up again and relived those special moments. Most brides would welcome a re-run as the day usually passes far too quickly and you don't have time to really enjoy it, and at least this way they would have had some photos.

I do feel sorry for them! I would hope someone took some snapshots! We have very poor quality photos from our wedding 30 years ago, but at least we have something to pull out to look at rarely. I hope a disappointment like this just make them stronger as a couple as it won't be the first in their marriage journey! Thankfully they did get a refund for the product they didn't receive.

I agree with most of the posters here. While I understand that losing the photos would be upsetting; I think refunding the package price and offering to retake photos was the right thing for RCI to do and that no more compensation should be needed.

I don't understand why the couple refused to retake photos, nor do I understand how the lost photos supposedly ruined not only the couple's trip but that of their families as well--talk about being overly dramatic :rolleyes:

Really? You can't understand? They came all the way from the UK, probably spent a fortune, and on top of that, have no photos of their wedding. I can understand how they'd be heartbroken.

 

When we were in Labadee last winter, my cell phone was stolen (along with all the photos on it). I was so upset, primarily because the photos were lost...my kids' first cruise, etc. Luckily my story had a happy ending (bribery of locals and a returned phone :rolleyes:), but to have no wedding photos? I can understand how that could ruin something: not just a vacation, but a vacation/wedding/honeymoon!

 

Sad for them.

I can understand, Same exact thing happened to my daughter. She had a beach wedding we spent a lot of money also. Guess what,her wedding and honeymoon and the rest of our vacation was not ruined. In fact it was a great time. Her whole wedding album is from pictures taken from family and friends. S$!t happens! Marriage is about love and spending the rest of your life together not about wedding pictures. Yes it would be wonderful to have the pictures as a memory of your wedding day. I have been married for 38 years and my wife and I have not looked at our wedding album in at least 30 years.

Life is not always fair and sometimes things don't always go as planned.

Really? You can't understand? They came all the way from the UK, probably spent a fortune, and on top of that, have no photos of their wedding. I can understand how they'd be heartbroken.

 

When we were in Labadee last winter, my cell phone was stolen (along with all the photos on it). I was so upset, primarily because the photos were lost...my kids' first cruise, etc. Luckily my story had a happy ending (bribery of locals and a returned phone :rolleyes:), but to have no wedding photos? I can understand how that could ruin something: not just a vacation, but a vacation/wedding/honeymoon!

 

Sad for them.

No, I can't understand. Is it sad? Yes. Unfortunate, yes. Heartbreaking? eh, maybe? Something that "RUINS" the cruise? Absolutely not.

Did they enjoy their time on the ship? Did they enjoy their excursions? Did they enjoy the food? The entertainment? Are they still married?

I don't see how a loss of pictures ruins a wedding much less a full vacation. If you enjoyed everything as it happened, and you still have memories of enjoying those things, how can it be ruined?

I got re- married five years ago. You know how many times I've gone back and looked at them since then? May be once or twice in the first month or two after, but nada since then. Don't even know for sure where they are now.

As for wedding 1.0 13 years earlier we never even got the wedding photo proofs developed. Boy am I glad now! :D

Guess priorities differ from person to person.

Using one photographer and one memory card for an event is completely unprofessional and inexcusable. That's how craigslist hacks do it. It's in just about every top 10 list of what to ask about photographers when choosing one; do they have backup shooters and/or equipment.

I am surprised RCI subcontracts photos to a vendor with such poor policy, or that the photographers were not breaking their own policy shooting in this manner.

That said, the article says they offered to re-do photos. You are in the same place, with the same guests, and the same dress for everyone. I think this couple were a big caught up in the moment in not taking the opportunity to redo the photos. Most people never get a chance like that with a screw up like this. Not sure why the couple was so offended by that; get everyone to dress up again and take 2 hours to get the photos.

Glad RCI refunded the money as they should have.

All around, seems it could have been handled better by all parties. I feel bad for this couple though; now they basically have no photos.

I don't have photos of my daughter being born, and that day wasn't ruined for me. NBD, I say. They still had a nice cruise on an awesome ship. And they're still married.

 

Take what I say with a grain of salt, though. I am the one who still hasn't looked at the pics from my 2007 wedding. And didn't want to hire a photographer in the first place.

 

Different strokes, I guess.

I totally agree with you. DH and I went to the preacher's house to get married with our 2 witnesses and no pictures were taken. In November we'll have been married for 40 years. Weddings cost way too much money IMO and in the end, no matter how much or how little you spend, you're still married. :)

Weddings cost way too much money IMO and in the end, no matter how much or how little you spend, you're still married. :)

But these people did want and did pay for pictures.

OK, that's a shame, but we are talking electronics. Things can go wrong. I think Royal did right by refunding the wedding package (I assume that was the entire wedding cost, not just the pictures).

 

I don't understand how a loss of pictures can "ruin" a vacation though.

I'm a guy and I like weddings as much as I do a prostate exam but even I can see how that would ruin a wedding day, especially the bride. Would it ruin it for me? I'd be peeved for a short time but would get over it. A bride? You don't mess with a bride on a wedding day. I could easily see it ruining the entire vacation.

The same thing happened to me in 1972. That was obviously before the days of digital photography and it took weeks to find out. The company (Olan Mills) volunteered to retake the photos, but the tuxedo rentals would have cost more than the photo package. We were all college students at the time and that would have been cost prohibitive. I understand that the bride would not want to "fake" the wedding events to photograph, but I think they should have accepted the offer and taken some formal, posed photos around the ship. Better than nothing, in my view.

Just a note; for many wedding pictures aren't so important to remember the day; it's for seeing family and friends who in the future may not be with us any more. I can completely understand how not having wedding photos can ruin an event for someone. Do I look at my wedding photos now? No, not really. But they will be great to have for the future when aunts, uncles, parents, etc pass on. That is why I said the photos should have been recreated and that the couple missed out on that opportunity through their own choosing.

I used to be married to a man whose family were photo and video mad. You couldn't have any experience in the moment because you had to have it on video :(

I am probably the exception but when I married my now husband (about 10 years ago) we didn't have an official photographer. Guests took some photos which I looked at and I was given a couple framed at christmas, but other than that nothing.

When we go on holidays we take photos on our phones sometimes, and have them as screensavers, and occasionally have family portraits done for ornaments. I do like looking at other people's photos sometimes.

I personally see why they are upset, but what's gone is gone. Memories are in your head, sometimes its nice to reminisce but its much better to make new memories. They have each other. I suppose the real benefit is or others to see them.

My ex husband has now taken on that mantra of photographer. they have family get togethers purely for the photos!

Just a note; for many wedding pictures aren't so important to remember the day; it's for seeing family and friends who in the future may not be with us any more. I can completely understand how not having wedding photos can ruin an event for someone. Do I look at my wedding photos now? No, not really. But they will be great to have for the future when aunts, uncles, parents, etc pass on. That is why I said the photos should have been recreated and that the couple missed out on that opportunity through their own choosing.

My son's wedding video has a scene with the father of the bride, father of the groom, and stepfather of the groom in the same frame. Several years later, all three died of cancer during a 14-month period. Another ten years later, the wedding video is still a bittersweet memory for me. I hope there were wedding photos taken by this couple's friends and family.

Using one photographer and one memory card for an event is completely unprofessional and inexcusable. That's how craigslist hacks do it. It's in just about every top 10 list of what to ask about photographers when choosing one; do they have backup shooters and/or equipment.

 

I am surprised RCI subcontracts photos to a vendor with such poor policy, or that the photographers were not breaking their own policy shooting in this manner.

Unfortunately, RCI doesn't give you any choices on wedding photographers. You are not allowed to bring your own photographer, and RCI assigns only one photographer for each wedding. There is no option to pay more for a second person. The photography is provided by the same vendor that does all the onboard photos and videos (and serves most cruise lines), so you can't even avoid them by shopping cruise lines. And "at sea" wedding packages start at $4,000, so they certainly were not credited back for the entire cost of their wedding.

Unfortunately, RCI doesn't give you any choices on wedding photographers. You are not allowed to bring your own photographer, and RCI assigns only one photographer for each wedding. There is no option to pay more for a second person. The photography is provided by the same vendor that does all the onboard photos and videos (and serves most cruise lines), so you can't even avoid them by shopping cruise lines. And "at sea" wedding packages start at $4,000, so they certainly were not credited back for the entire cost of their wedding.

Wait, other guests aren't allowed to take pictures at your wedding? How does RCI stop that? I would assume if I want to provide my own photographer, they would be another guest on board.