Price of Photo Packages...Really?!?!?!

[Truluv]

On my last two family cruises, it was nearly impossible to get just a picture or two. Families who had bought the full package seemed to go from photo station to photo station to make sure they got as many as possible. I get why they would want to get full dollar value for their purchase, but I also don't want to wait in line 45 minutes for one or two souvenir photos.

 

I agree with ReneeFLL. We also simply asked other cruisers to take pictures of us (there are plenty of locations that are great, without needing to be in front of a dropcloth). I've been surprised at how great the amateur photos have been, and the price is good.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Truluv

[Panda3]

I think that price is 100% worth it for the photos. Those are professional backdrops and the professional photographers use their expertise to place you at the most flattering angle. It's not like you just stand there and "click" they take it. They have you do certain poses, and use the light in different ways. Also, they always touch up the photos and airbrush them. They always take away any blemishes I might have and smooth out your skin.

 

If you do better with your cell phone than so be it but I'm glad they offer it. That's why I love cruises - so many choices..

 

I've never spend any money on a drink because so many drinks are included already in my cruise price. I know some people buy drink packages. I think that's a waste personally but some people love the drink packages. That's cool for them.

[Panda3]

The more I read these types of threads on CruiseCritic, the more I think the cruise fare the cheapest part of the deal. If you start adding photos, drink packages, specialty dining, internet, etc you can ring up another cruise fare. Caching.

 

 

Yes, they could let us cruise for free and still make $$ !!!

[oldguysandgalls]

:D:D:D:D

 

The ship's photographers refuse to take our picture........... they say it's bad for their business.

We agree; even our own families ask us to please not to pose for and/or send /show them pictures. :D

Edited May 21, 2016 by oldguysandgalls

[gottogocruisin]

Just got off a TA recently and I bought on board a package - next to last day of cruise for $104 and they told me that meant any photo that was taken was in that package. So many were no good, but I did tell them that I wanted several 5X7 instead of 8X10 and they accommodated me with everything. I got the greatest deal for sure. As a diamond we also had gotten our two free prior to this. Have a heck of a lot taken, decide if you want to spend the $100 and go for it the night prior to the last day. The local print shop will not make copies unless you have the permission of the photographer. Hope this helps.

[Melozone]

I think that price is 100% worth it for the photos. Those are professional backdrops and the professional photographers use their expertise to place you at the most flattering angle. It's not like you just stand there and "click" they take it. They have you do certain poses, and use the light in different ways. Also, they always touch up the photos and airbrush them. They always take away any blemishes I might have and smooth out your skin.

 

If you do better with your cell phone than so be it but I'm glad they offer it. That's why I love cruises - so many choices..

 

I've never spend any money on a drink because so many drinks are included already in my cruise price. I know some people buy drink packages. I think that's a waste personally but some people love the drink packages. That's cool for them.

 

I totally agree with you! We always buy the package. My granddaughters love dressing for dinner and then getting their pictures taken. They have rarely asked for souvenirs on our trips but they love doing pictures. We get about 300 every time. Are we going to use them all, no but that's ok because it's memories.

 

If you have ever done professional pictures at home you know they take very few. If you want to purchase any they cost a fortune. You end up spending $300 for a small package. We get all we want and then some, prints and digital.

[SRQfireman]

No thanks. My cell phone camera works just fine. We do however get one free picture because of our status but rarely do we every buy any others. Give me $100 and I'll take all the pictures you want!!!!!:D:D

There's a great idea.....see which ones you like on the boards and snap a pix of them......I love it ;);):D Good way to save money :eek:

Edited May 22, 2016 by SRQfireman

[LittleTraveler]

Are the pictures they take in each port included in the package?

[Ourusualbeach]

11 minutes ago, LittleTraveler said:

Are the pictures they take in each port included in the package?

Yes

[Iamcruzin]

I have far too many cruise port photos in a box someplace that I can’t even tell you where they are. I like the idea of the digital photos because I can just load them on my screen saver and view them all of the time. However not at the price they charge. I will use my smart phone for that. I also have DVD’s of the sailings and I no longer own a DVD player as I stream movies from Netflix and Amazon.  Cruise lines will only be wasting time taking pictures of me since I won’t even go and view them.

[moopetguy]

I know I'm in the minority here, but we've been buying the all-digital package in advance for our last several cruises. For Liberty in 2016 it was $149.99 CAD (probably around $125 USD at the time) which I thought was a really good deal, for Navigator in 2017 it was $249.99 CAD (probably $200 USD), and for Allure in 2018 it was $314.99 CAD ($250 USD). For our Allure B2B we purchased the photo package for both cruises -- you get 50% off the package for the second cruise, so it was only $125 USD.

 

If it were just DW and me, I probably wouldn't consider it worthwhile, but with DD as well, it's a great chance to get a lot of family photos. We had over 250 photos taken during our first week. During our second cruise, we had relatives join us and their DD was in our cabin, so between the two families, we got almost 400 photos on the second package. It was really nice to get photos of our two families together.

 

The photos aren't all great -- some photographers on board are better than others -- but you get to know which ones are good and visit them more often 🙂

[jdg623]

We can do an extra cruise every year with the money we save by not purchasing the photo packages 😉  We just use our Diamond privileges for our two free prints  which helps us to remember each cruise - I have photo albums at home of all our cruise portraits;  we rotate display of our favorites.  I also created a folder of the photos on my phone to minimize duplication of backgrounds/outfits when we're having new photos taken.  If you cruise infrequently, and/or are on a special getaway (eg honeymoon, family reunion, etc), then I'd guess the package would be worth it. But for us, we're very happy with our two free prints. 

As a Disney passholder, I get all my photopass pics for free - one of the perks of living in Central FL !

[lovescats5]

I would like to know some of the ages of all the people who think the picture package is a waste.  We have always purchased a picture or two and on Anthem in Sept. 2018 we bought the package for $250.  It was very nice not having to figure which one or two pictures we wanted and since my granddaughter is with us every year she grows and changes and those changes are shown in all the pictures.  We will get the photo package again in April when we are back on the Anthem.  Of course, we have pictures taken every chance we get, both on board and at each stop.  For us, part of the fun is getting home and looking at all the photos and choosing which ones will go on our digital photo picture frame so we can enjoy all the fun times again and again. 

[Iamcruzin]

16 minutes ago, lovescats5 said:

I would like to know some of the ages of all the people who think the picture package is a waste.  We have always purchased a picture or two and on Anthem in Sept. 2018 we bought the package for $250.  It was very nice not having to figure which one or two pictures we wanted and since my granddaughter is with us every year she grows and changes and those changes are shown in all the pictures.  We will get the photo package again in April when we are back on the Anthem.  Of course, we have pictures taken every chance we get, both on board and at each stop.  For us, part of the fun is getting home and looking at all the photos and choosing which ones will go on our digital photo picture frame so we can enjoy all the fun times again and again. 

I'm 58. Having spent hundreds on cruise ship photos  over the years that I don't even look at, or know where they are at the moment is the reason if I had to do it over again I wouldn't. I can't imagine what I would do with hundreds of pictures from one sailing. Technology has changed  and I would only consider buying hundreds of photos if they were stored on a flash drive or sent to the cloud. I understand young families wanting to capture memories. I did it but my memories are all on paper stored away in a box some place. My wife and I recently cleaned out the basement and tossed all of the old Disney VHS tapes and CD's. They aren't worth anything and I couldn't even give them away since technology has progressed so much. We stream movies and don't even have a DVD player anymore.  At this point in my life I don't even own a camera and we all use our phone. As far as professional pictures are concerned I prefer natural backdrops over the cheesy faux ship background and natural candid poses. Those are real memories.

[lovescats5]

I would be a little older than you but we get the photo package for one reason right now.  My granddaughter's mother died 3 yrs ago and granddaughter has become a real family first person right now.  If I can purchase photo's of the fun times we are having then I would pay double for the photo's as she picks which ones she wants displayed before the rest of us.  I have thrown out hundreds of old pictures that were my or my husband's family that no one knew or wanted to hear about.  I think of this as how life has changed in the last how ever many years.  But as long as my granddaughter (11 now) wants to get pictures of our vacations I will grant her wish, knowing that down the road they may all be thrown out also.  But at least, right now, she will sit with me and we look at the pictures scrolling through and it brings back many happy memories.

[ReneeFLL]

I would never ever pay those prices for photos. Other passengers are usually happy to take a picture or 2 of you with your phone or camera.

[mugtech]

I like to take pictures of places I've been, people I have seen.  I have plenty pictures of myself, sure don't need any with fake pirates or dolphins.

[payitforward]

The price for group photos is even crazier. They charge $325 for the photographer to come and take it. THEN, if you want a digital copy, it's $8.00 for every person in the photo. We had 40 people, so that's another $320. It ended up being $645, and it was blurry with terrible lighting.

[CruisingNole]

My wife and I purchased the all digital package for $250 on Oasis last month. My only gripe was that each photo has a barcode at the bottom that I had to crop out. I was annoyed by it but maybe others don’t care so much.

 

For anyone that thinks the cost “isn’t worth it,” I’m guessing you’ve never had professional photos taken before (outside of a Target or JC Penny). A few years ago we had a local photographer do a 1 hour session with us at a local park. I had multiple photographers bid on the job and received quotes of $200 - $700 with the average being about $500. We took a gamble and went with the lowest bidder (recent college grad just starting her business) and were happy with her work. We got about 50-60 photos, and maybe 15-20 of which we liked and deemed high enough quality to print and share with family and friends, hang in the house, etc.

 

Going back to Oasis, for $250 we got 190 images, with maybe 30-40 of them high enough quality that I’d actually use them for something. I didn’t have to dedicate hours to hire a photographer, Drive 30 minutes to meet her, go to the session, etc etc etc. We also were able to have photos of us in multiple outfits, taken as we please as opposed to spending a solid hour being instructed by a photographer.

 

So long story short, if you think about what you are getting and the convenience relative to what you’d pay and time dedicated to hire your own photographer and do the photo shoot on a random Saturday back at home, it’s a bargain.

 

But if you don’t care about having quality photos and are satisfied with mediocre cell phone photos, then for sure, $250 is not worth it for you.

 

We all value things differently.

[LittleTraveler]

Good to know! Did you end up getting your embarkation and port pics as well?

[whyrlygig]

Have never purchase a cruise photo. Is it not possible to get just one photo?

[payitforward]

1 minute ago, whyrlygig said:

Have never purchase a cruise photo. Is it not possible to get just one photo?

It is possible - usually about $20

[cruznwithmom]

No way. I have my phone camera with me all the time.

On cruise lines that don't sell photos the crew are happy to take photos of you with your phone, they come up and offer. First royal caribean cruise coming up in March - will the crew take photos of us with our phones?

[Clarea]

10 minutes ago, cruznwithmom said:

No way. I have my phone camera with me all the time.

On cruise lines that don't sell photos the crew are happy to take photos of you with your phone, they come up and offer. First royal caribean cruise coming up in March - will the crew take photos of us with our phones?

 

Your dining staff will be happy to take photos of your group..

[chiguypaul]

I would pass on the cruise DVD personally. As far as the package, we did it once years ago. If you get the package, the best mindset is to completely take advantage of EVERY ship photographer you can find - and they are everywhere. The year we purchased, we had about 20 photos from Labadee, multiple photos at various ports, flowrider, great formal and informal photos, etc.  We really felt like we got our money worth because we made a serious investment in having our pictures taken. Now, we just focus on two great photos out of the week and use our Diamond benefit for those two photos.