Does Carnival waste photo paper?

[salty dingo]

In the near future, the photos will be available on digital displays and on your TV set.

 

They are working on using facial recognition technology to link your S&S card photo to you ship photos, so you can find yours instantly! No more hunting them down on a wall with thousands of other photos.

 

Just pick the ones you want, and they print them out and deliver them! Won't that be a lot better? With all the paper, ink, and labor savings it should lower the price (one would hope!)

 

As it is now, I won't buy ship photos at the prices they charge. I have enough of them already!

[BallFour4]

I think most people are more apt to buy a picture that is already printed as opposed to seeing it in digital format. That added to the fact that most people don't want to stand in line waiting for a printer to print off pictures.

 

I think the above is the best bet answer to your question...

 

Prior to funding college costs we cruised more and were invited to a 2 night sailing on the RCCL Freedom of the Seas. The plan was to scan your ID card and then take your pictures. A kiosk would allow you to view them and then order the ones you want.

 

The marketing people that explained this to us shared that picture sales are best before/after dinner and shows. When a crowd is present the actual numbers of pictures people buy per transaction also goes up.

 

I am not an expert in human behavior, but I'd wager this is true.

 

Imagine how much they throw away and still make money. If a better system existed then bank that mass market cruise lines would adopt it.

 

JMHO...

 

 

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[CCbaby817]

We were on the Fascination last week (review will come later; just got home from FL today) and my aunt asked one of the photo guys about this and she was told that they recylcle the paper. Some how they get the pic off the paper and then reuse the it. We don't know how this is possible, but if it is, I think it's a pretty cool idea.

[TMWTim]

If they go to the digital format, what will the people that take a picture of their picture to avoid paying for it going to do? I always laugh when I see people doing that. That is when you know your SS bill is way over the limit.

[DiamondBill102]

I would love to know what percentage of the photos make it to the trash bin. My guess would be 75 -80%.

 

 

The problem IS....the 20 to 25% that DO purchase photos pays for 150% of the cost

[itgeek]

As Disney has shown, there are systems that can scan an ID item and store that information in the EXIF info inside the picture on the camera.

 

Ideally, the system wouldn't need a band or something else. They would just swipe your room card and link that to the photos. I like the idea of buying them when I get home. In-room interactive TVs would be just one more thing that could break.

 

Facial recognition is a good idea but it's not perfect. I'd say the error rate would be ~10% based on all the boarding photos I've had taken. Most boarding photos are taken w/ webcams at low-ish resolutions to save database storage space.

 

- IT Geek

[Dperkins125]

:mad: I was so disappointed and upset at the way Carnival Victory had everyone's photos in different bins on a table for you to sift through and touch other's photos just to "try" and find your own. I was thinking to myself also....they surely can find a better way to do this. I too think it would be a great idea to link the photos to your cabin television or have computers set up for you to come and view and purchase online at your leisure. Come on Carnival, get it together with the pics.

 

Maybe if enough of us stop taking the photos, they won't have a choice but to do something different if they want to sell them....:rolleyes:

[Cruiser@Heart]

They have their new "digital photo" kiosks on the DREAM that you are suppose to be able to use you sail and sign card to view your photos and then find them. WHAT A JOKE!

 

The system brings up photos, but they might not be people that you know. If the people who viewed prior to you didn't exit, then their pics kept popping up when you tried to search for yours. One of the photo people would have to come over and shut down the kiosk and restart it. OR what happened more often was only the photo's of one person in the cabin would come up. The person who was the first name in the cabin. They still printed all the pictures and put them in the viewing cases. You still had to go FIND your photos by looking through the row after row of photos because while you can see your photos on the kiosk, it doesn't tell you where they are located.

[ThisFemmeKat]

I think most people are more apt to buy a picture that is already printed as opposed to seeing it in digital format. That added to the fact that most people don't want to stand in line waiting for a printer to print off pictures.

 

 

I agree but Carnival could opt to just have people order on the screens and then they can be delivered to their room.. no waiting.. no carrying.. no having to go back to the room to put them away.. and it is a huge money saver on their part in supplies and prevents the thieves from stealing pics..

[ThisFemmeKat]

If they go to the digital format, what will the people that take a picture of their picture to avoid paying for it going to do? I always laugh when I see people doing that. That is when you know your SS bill is way over the limit.

 

 

those systems now have a special display so that is you take a still pic of the screen the pic is not complete.. it is a series of lines.. that would prevent this problem/..

[lovebelle]

I was thinking it would be great if Carnival did some sort of photo pass thing that is linked to your Sign and Sail account. Disney has something like that where you have a card and after your photo is taken they scan the card. Later you can go to photo station to view all photos or view and purchase from your computer at home. If Carnival did something similar only scanning the S&S cards that we be so much more efficient! I also wonder how much of the cruising cost is going towards photo supplies.

 

On another note, I sort of understand why they do it the way they do. Some people are more apt to buy if they see it right there in front of them. If they revert to an electronic system like I was suggesting, its easy to just forget about it. (Out of sight out of mind) Either way Id like to save some trees :)

[itsmebuggy]

So many pictures, so much paper! Granted, it may be fun to look for your photos on your first or second cruise, but would it be better if Carnival just set up enough monitors so you could just view your pics on screen? I saw this setup at a Dreams resort and thought hey, all that paper and ink is being saved, as well as floor space? More room for shops/other venues. The money Carnival saves could be used to lower the price of your photos (yeah right).

 

we were told that they can recycle the paper hummmmmm

[luv2cruz66]

Reduce the $$ . Just get back to making more 5X7 prints , not all 8X10's as now is the case.

Also more "Buy X get X free" would save photo's from the recycle bin. ;)

 

I totally agree! If they would print them in 5x7 or 4x6 I would buy almost all of them! Who has enough table/wall space for all those 8x10's especially at $20 dollars a pop? ! I would also be more than willing to buy a CD of all my pics at the end of the cruise and then I could print them off in the sizes I want when I get home. Regardless of the cost, Carnival should go digital in an effort to be more "green" IMO.

[swans]

transactions correctly on the TV in your room. Was on the Triumph in April and the display of my account would leave off transactions when paging forward and backward.

[Tree Hugger]

When we were on the Ecstasy last year they had a Captain Hook-like pirate take pictures with EVERY SINGLE PERSON at EVERY SINGLE TABLE in the dining room on "elegant" night.

 

We didn't even consider buying any of those, it makes me wonder how many people actually buy these types of photos. We took lots of photos at the different places to stand and pose, some good, some bad, and bought the ones we liked, but the "character" photos you are forced into never seemed worthwhile to us.

[Jabee]

I tell the photogs NO and do not have pictures made.

Sheesh..I bought stock in this company so I cant stand to see the waste.

But, I also feel that $10 for a photo is nuts...I always felt if they cut the price to $5 they would sell three times as many pics..

I just get tired of tripping over the photogs, who sometimes get rude when I say no thanks...I got real mad a couple of cruises back, when I told they guy no, so he snapped my picture to prove he could.

Please...get off the stairway...I need to walk down...
Please...get out of the middle of the Promenade deck....I need to get to Karaoke
Please...get out of my face....at Dinner...I am trying to enjoy an elegant meal
Please....get out of my face as I leave Dinner....the dancing girl in the "Big Bird" outfit is not even that pretty..
and finally...Please...do not even come near me with that spooky looking fake pirate....
Please....Just set up and take your pics so you can fleece the passengers.....just don't interfere with my cruise.

[DocF]

Actually, Carnival does not waste photo paper. Deep down near the bilge of each ship there is a compartment filled with Lithuanian orphans, each armed with an artgum eraser. They spend 18 hours per day scrubbing the images off rejected photos so the paper can be reused.:p

And if you believe that, I have a nice ocean front lot outside Denver, Colorado reserved just for you.

Doc:D

[minerva78]

When I found out how photos worked on the cruise, my first thought also was that it seemed like such a waste! Clearly it would be a lot easier and cheaper to have a digital system in place, and I'm glad it looks like this is in the works. But I could definitely see how their current system could be cheaper.

I'm not a photographer, but I have really started to believe that photos must be dirt cheap to print. A while ago at our kids' daycare they stopped giving proofs for their school pictures and now instead print out about 20 sheets or so of pictures (per child) for you to look through and choose what you want to buy. I couldn't understand how this was more cost effective, considering how much goes to waste, but it obviously must be because the prices for packages are actually cheaper than when we got proofs. It's not the same as a cruise, but I have definitely fallen into the trap of buying more pics than I normally would because they were just sitting there right in front of me - instant reinforcement! :D

On the flip side, we just had professional pics done for our kids in which we did pick out the photos we wanted based on the digital pics from the company's computer. I don't know if the photo company just had a crappy computer or what, but the pics turned out much better than I would have ever imagined when they came back. And again, seeing those pics in my hands made me realize how easy it would have been to have been trapped into buying way more pics than we needed just because we had the finished product already in front of us.

Don't get me wrong - I am dreading the idea of having to look through a million pics to find one to buy. I personally don't like taking pics, so it will be a lot easier for me to just buy one or two of just us without dealing with the cuteness of child pics. :) I can just see how their current photo system is such a big moneymaker already, even with the waste, especially if the photos get recycled. In the long run, I personally think there is the potential to make more money with a digital system IF they gave you a few more pricing options. Even if the cost of a million prints vs. digital ends up breaking even, they could still lure more cruisers to the ships with this "new" and convenient feature, then feel justified in increasing cruise prices, LOL. Just my opinion.

[blindrid]

[quote name='LucyR.']On formal night I do 7 or 8 poses for a photographer and then only choose one photo to buy. I bring it home and I duplicate it and give to my family members.

I am also in the habit of looking at all of my photos and then throwing them into their photo waste basket. I don't want other people to see my photos that look bad.[/quote]

You gotta be kidding right?

[lady_cruiser]

Just imagine how many trees that can be saved too if we didn't have the dailies in our cabins. They could have all the information available on one of their tv channels. Not all of us saves the dailies to bring home and if we do happen to bring one or two home after a month or two we throw them away.

The maps of the ports-of-calls are nice though so I wouldn't mind just having that printed out and left in our cabins.

[usafchick1980]

They do recycle all of the photo that are not purchased..so I guess until they get the digital stuff set up for us to look at that is the best option that they do have. I love pictures..so most of the time I let them take my picture..and most of the time I buy them..this is a practice that will end soon as my S&S goes way up just from pics..LOL..but anyway..when I decide that I don't want them I will tell them not to even take them.

[cruisebie]

The Dream is supposed to be trying the new photo system. They scan your S&S card and then you are supposed to be able to view your photos on a kiosk in the photo area. For us, a couple of weeks ago, the only time they did this was our embarkation photo. The rest of the week, if we wanted to see them, we had to hunt through all the photos on the racks.

I agree it's a waste for them to print so many photos that just get tossed. After the first couple of days, we just gave up looking for ours. The photo area was just too crowded and I had better things to do than look through a sea (ha ha) of other peoples photos. I would be much more likely to buy them if they made better use of the kiosk or let us view them on our cabin tv.