Photographers on Gangway causing long delays!

[vols_159]

I dont like it.. Sometimes they force you to take your picture even tho you say no thanks.. Im not a buying the picture type.. and no matter how many times they take my picture im still not gonna buy it..

[vols_159]

Hey gang,

 

I just read a recent thread talking about photographers in the dining room and it led me to recall my experience on the Dream a few weeks ago. In several ports, there was a huge back-up of folks trying to get off the ship and when we finally got to the gangway, the reason for the delay was obvious...the photographers were stopping people on both sides of the gangway to take pictures. Therefore, those of us who didn't want photos still had to wait behind everyone else. This may sound silly, but sometimes, it took an extra 15 minutes or more to get off the ship.

 

This really is a ridiculous practice in my opinion and is the type of thing that Carnival needs to address. Just curious what others think about this.

 

Thanks!

 

 

tell them to bugger off!

[092306]

Though we've gotten some good pictures on the gangway, I prefer when they set up on the pier and allow people to pass easily. They could easily skip the gangway and do a few different set-ups along the pier.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Grayce]

I haven't ever bought a gangway photo. They are so rushed they never turn out nice. I try and say "no thanks" and pass them by. The only photos I have ever bought are posed formal night pictures. In these the photographer takes the time to pose you properly.

 

I can't imagine the cost and the waste of all the pictures they print and throw out.

[nomadron]

There is usually two lines on the gangway, why can't one be "no photo"?

The other, slower line would be for photos?

This is not hard, and should be a no-brainer. Come on Carnival, give us access to faster excursions. Thank you.

 

I so agree with this post!

[riffatsea]

We don't do posed photos like that ever!!

We have always been able to just walk around the folks who are taking the pix.

They have not actually completely blocked our path.

I think that would be a hazard for safety reasons.

[zumbaguy]

You are on vacation, slow down, realx...enjoy the photo ops and the lines.

[Shipcats6]

I have to put in my 2 cents for those of us who like to have their picture taken getting off the ship. We will be on our 10th cruise next January and are taking our DD and her family on their first cruise. I'm sure we will have our pictures taken at every opportunity. We always figure that the more pics taken - we might find one that makes us look half way presentable. A good idea would be for one gangway for pics & one no pics. It's not pleasant for those of us who want pics to be rudely pushed aside. You may think you're being polite but you're just acting like buffet line jumpers. Manners people.

[golfadj]

I also find this annoying and a big waste of time.

 

Suspect 90% of the pictures they take ultimately go in the trash anyway.

[suspaul]

Personally I hate all of the picture taking on cruises. I understand some people enjoy them but the photographers do not need to be right in the middle of things. Set up along side so people aren't inconvenienced. If you choose to have your photo taken, great, if not...let me pass. So done mentioned that they're on vacation and not in a hurry, too am on vacation and while not in a hurry find this very annoying. Same with dining room and everywhere on the ship. It's a waste as far as we're concerned, have not and will not buy their cheesy random snaps. I'll bet lots of the photos end up in the trash also.

Edited June 29, 2014 by suspaul

[loubetti]

Just set up adjacent to the gangway on the pier. The reason they do it as they do it is to maximize photos / profits. In essence, they have you trapped as you come off. As to two gangs ways, one photo and one non-photo, I do not see such happening, it's a logistic nightmare.

[Wheels87]

I have to put in my 2 cents for those of us who like to have their picture taken getting off the ship. We will be on our 10th cruise next January and are taking our DD and her family on their first cruise. I'm sure we will have our pictures taken at every opportunity. We always figure that the more pics taken - we might find one that makes us look half way presentable. A good idea would be for one gangway for pics & one no pics. It's not pleasant for those of us who want pics to be rudely pushed aside. You may think you're being polite but you're just acting like buffet line jumpers. Manners people.

 

 

It's interesting...there are several responses to my post telling me to simply say "No thanks" and walk past, etc., etc. and that some folks enjoy getting their picture taken and how I should just relax since I am on vacation. My whole point was that they are blocking the gangway and people are backing up into the stairwells waiting to get off. When I am given the opportunity to walk on past, I do. The problem is that they are on the gangway and no one can get by. On the Dream, it was impossible to squeeze past, so hundreds, if not thousands of people had to wait so people like you can get your picture taken. Just imagine if everyone had to wait in line to get into the theater while people ahead of them bought drinks. There would be massive complaints like "I don't even drink, and I don't understand why I have to wait in line for people who do to buy a drink." Then people would demand that Carnival change their policy. All I am asking for is that Carnival change their policy so they do not block the gangway, that's all.

 

Also, when we were tendering into Grand Cayman, the Carnival photographers were blocking the exit from the drop off point in town to take pictures. This is a similar situation, except that the passengers from the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas were stuck waiting as well. That was truly ridiculous.

 

Look at my signature...I obviously love Carnival, but I am just asking them to be more considerate of the masses and take their pictures 20 feet away from where they currently do it. It would go a long ways towards making their customers happy.

 

Good day!

[cruizinisthebest]

I haven't ever bought a gangway photo. They are so rushed they never turn out nice. I try and say "no thanks" and pass them by. The only photos I have ever bought are posed formal night pictures. In these the photographer takes the time to pose you properly.

 

I can't imagine the cost and the waste of all the pictures they print and throw out.

 

Speak for yourself. One of the nicest and in fact ONLY family pic we brought last year was the one taken on the gangway. I don't really care for the formal pics. We usually say no thanks and keep walking. Very rarely are we in the mass crowd getting off the ship first thing, so maybe that's why I never encountered a huge backup. A little pause, but nothing to even be remotely bothered by. Everyone is different.

[riffatsea]

It sounds like this is a ship by ship problem.

It has not occurred for us on the 2 ships we've used here on the west coast. The Spirit and the Miracle have always had plenty of room to pass the photographers and not hold up the line of passengers.

I don't know if it is Spirit class vs.other class issue, or if it is specific to other ports but I think it is a big enough problem for you folks who talk to John on Facebook to bring it to his attention!

Talking about it here on Cruise Critic will not get much done.

Edited June 29, 2014 by riffatsea

[Raven Days]

You are on vacation, slow down, realx...enjoy the photo ops and the lines.

 

 

Wrong. I do not enjoy lines...I mean who does? I know I am on vacation....the fact that I am not stuck behind a desk is obvious. But why should I be inconvenienced or made late - perhaps I have a excursion that I am now late for because of the lines - because others want to stop to do a photo op? Now days, I just move behind those who are posing and I keep walking. I am polite and wont shove. But I think those who are posing for photos need to keep in mind that there are others behind them who may not want that photo! And I also think that Carnival needs to do a better job of NOT putting the photographers at the end of the gangway! I always buy photos on the ship. I go to the stands set up on the ship and get my photo taken. Or if they are not blocking the gangway, I will stop and let them take my photo, but if they are blocking...I keep walking.

[John Reid]

I wasn't blaming the photographers...just the practice of holding up the entire debarkation process. Many times, you can't squeeze through behind the folks stopping for the photos, therefore, there are people lined up in the stairwell up to higher decks because of the photo op. It is truly ridiculous. Allow those who don't want photos to pass by while they take their pictures off to the side.

 

Thanks!

 

I'm glad you came back to respond. After reading the posts, I wonder how many people really read your post for its actual content before responding.

-It wasn't about getting back on the ship on hot days.

-It wasn't about the time it takes to check people back in reboarding in a port.

-It wasn't about Carnival wanting to take pictures.

-It wasn't about people wanting their picture taken.

-It wasn't about relaxing and not being in a rush.

 

It was about intentionally clogging an exit to so those who didn't want pictures taken still had to wait.

 

And that's not right.

[Wheels87]

I'm glad you came back to respond. After reading the posts, I wonder how many people really read your post for its actual content before responding.

-It wasn't about getting back on the ship on hot days.

-It wasn't about the time it takes to check people back in reboarding in a port.

-It wasn't about Carnival wanting to take pictures.

-It wasn't about people wanting their picture taken.

-It wasn't about relaxing and not being in a rush.

 

It was about intentionally clogging an exit to so those who didn't want pictures taken still had to wait.

 

And that's not right.

 

 

Wow, you just summed up my thoughts exactly! Thanks for the support and for actually reading the original post.

 

Have a great summer!

[CruiseKittyFL]

I too am not a fan of gangway photo ops as on some ships they can slow down the line getting off. I do agree that Carnival should move the photo spot off to the side on the dock so those folks who want one can go over and get one while the rest of us can be on our way. (They do that in some places and it's great.)

 

I have politely let them take plenty of photos - either on my way off the ship in port or in the dining room. Have I every bought one? No. Would I? Maybe if they didn't cost so much. $5 or maybe $10 if it was a formal shot, but on the last cruise they were asking $21! yikes! It's digital, not much cost involved anymore. And yes, I understand these photographers are just doing their job, so if I'm really not in the mood for a photo, I just smile and say "not right now, thank you" and move on.

[golfadj]

Wrong. I do not enjoy lines...I mean who does? I know I am on vacation....the fact that I am not stuck behind a desk is obvious. But why should I be inconvenienced or made late - perhaps I have a excursion that I am now late for because of the lines - because others want to stop to do a photo op? Now days, I just move behind those who are posing and I keep walking. I am polite and wont shove. But I think those who are posing for photos need to keep in mind that there are others behind them who may not want that photo! And I also think that Carnival needs to do a better job of NOT putting the photographers at the end of the gangway! I always buy photos on the ship. I go to the stands set up on the ship and get my photo taken. Or if they are not blocking the gangway, I will stop and let them take my photo, but if they are blocking...I keep walking.

 

like

[DGP1111]

Just set up adjacent to the gangway on the pier. The reason they do it as they do it is to maximize photos / profits. In essence, they have you trapped as you come off. . .

 

 

And there are times that's literally true, Lou.

 

Some Carnival sailings have allowed/encouraged their photography team to actually set up barricades that force the flow of the debarking passengers to go past those costumed human 'props' for the shot. You can see the expandable yellow barricade in this picture (below), which negated others being able to step aside and walk around the experience.

 

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[ShipFish]

They put in the same kind of effort towards their jobs as the room stewards and the wait staff. Just because we can see & experience direct evidence of some of the staff does not mean that others don't work as hard.

The photographers are there on the same contract as other crew and they have the same kind of working hours and conditions.

Another thing; if Carnival ever decides to lower the price of the prints, we might just buy some. But we are not paying $5 to buy something that costs less than 5¢. If the prints were a $ or $2, we would probably buy at least 4-5 prints, heck maybe even 10 or more.

 

I find it interesting that you make these two points as, in my opinion, they seem to contradict each other.

 

Photography, both professional photographers ashore and the services on ship, is more than just the cost of the print. Yes, the cost of the paper and chemicals for that photograph is less than 5¢ but that doesn't take into account the work and experience that goes into that photograph. It's not just a case of someone pushing a button on a automatic camera and it prints and displays itself - you have to remember that those photographers are out there for hours in all weather manually maintaining image quality, then someone will spend several hours printing all the images individually, and then photos then need to be displayed in the gallery and staffed. Digitization has sped up the process, but it hasn't removed the requirement for experience and expensive equipment. You talk about photographers working hard so you apparently recognize this, so it seems strange to claim there's only the paper cost.

 

I mean, if you're going to say that the paper cost is only 5¢ so I'm only going to pay you a small bit over that, can I say the same to my lawyer about some documents they sorted out for me the other week? :D "Well, you just printed these on your printer and signed them, which is about 5¢ each... so I'll pay you $2 each". I don't think it'd go down too well :D

 

If you talk to the photographers on the ship you'll find most have a lot of pride in what they do, and an honest belief in that their work should be sold a price which represents the work they put into their product.

[Aplmac]

I just walk straight past the photographers like they don't even exist.

 

Maybe when enough beginners start doing this

(after their fifth or sixth cruise?) the problem will lessen? :)

 

 

If there's one reason I ever stop cruising with Carnival

it will be because of their PHOTOGRAPHERS

and the passenger flow problems they create. :cool:

 

.

[RWolver672]

 

Another thing; if Carnival ever decides to lower the price of the prints, we might just buy some. But we are not paying $5 to buy something that costs less than 5¢. If the prints were a $ or $2, we would probably buy at least 4-5 prints, heck maybe even 10 or more.

 

I just look at it as part of the cruising experience (on Carnival); if it helps keep prices low for everyone, I'll stand as long as they want me too.

 

Try going to a land based photographer and see how many prints you can get for a $ or $2. Their prices really aren't that much different than what you'd pay from any photographer. Plus you don't have to pay for a sitting fee.

 

The only reason they take the shots while on the gangway is that if it were off to the side, most people would by-pass it. This way, they take the chance that if you have to wait and have the shot taken, there's a good chance that you'll buy it.

Edited June 30, 2014 by RWolver672

[Aplmac]

For new cruisers the practice of taking photos at each port

is a great way to remember the cruise and for the cruiseline to add to its profits.

 

For someone approaching 20 cruises, the practice is cruel and unusual punishment.

Geez...after just 5 or 6 cruises, I was done with the photo thing! :cool:

 

 

When Pixels took over and prices soared, I got seriously Done with them! :)

 

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[jackparts]

I also hate waiting while others get their pictures taken. Also understand it's a job for the photographers. Only really got to me when an iguana was thrust at me too get in the picture. After glaring at the photographer, I was told he lost his balance. Apology accepted