Photo packages

[KB Cruisin]

First timer here. Do you find photo packages to be worth it?  It will be my husband and me. The cruise has 20 for $199 and unlimited (on usb) for $249. Individuals are $20 so cost threshold is 12 photos. What do you think? Keep in mind that it is our first cruise so maybe we would want more pictures than less. ???? Or we could just ask people to take our pictures. Not sure which way to go. Thanks!

[cb at sea]

I would wait to see the quality of the photos.  I've been on ships where the photog takes a picture when I look either drunk, or dead........and I'm NEITHER!  I don't find then worth the money especially with everyone taking pics. on their phones all the time!

 

Certainly ask others to snap a photo now and again.  I've come to the conclusion that if you can't remember something without a picture to "jog" your memory, it's probably not worth remembering.

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

12 minutes ago, KB Cruisin said:

First timer here. Do you find photo packages to be worth it?  It will be my husband and me. The cruise has 20 for $199 and unlimited (on usb) for $249. Individuals are $20 so cost threshold is 12 photos. What do you think? Keep in mind that it is our first cruise so maybe we would want more pictures than less. ???? Or we could just ask people to take our pictures. Not sure which way to go. Thanks!

I vote for Plan B: ask folks to take your picture.

And, pretty much every premium and luxury cruise line agrees (since you would be hard pressed to find wandering photographers on their ships).

[leaveitallbehind]

For our purposes, no, I don't think it is a good value.  I think the pricing is rather high. Keep in mind the photographers are not ship employees, but are 3rd party contractors whose job it is to take as many pictures of you as you will let them take. The cruise line then gets a % of those sold, which adds to the cost.

 

We have always preferred to just take our own pictures.  It costs nothing and, with the exception of the few on board portraits that you may want, you can capture anything you want for which you feel you want a memory.  The ships photographers are everywhere and you will have dozens of opportunities to have your picture taken, then sort through any of the ones you may really want to keep.  Unless you are planning to keep a large amount of those taken by them, IMO it usually is more cost effective to buy the few you really like separately.

Edited March 30, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[KB Cruisin]

13 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

For our purposes, no, I don't think it is a good value.  I think the pricing is rather high. Keep in mind the photographers are not ship employees, but are 3rd party contractors whose job it is to take as many pictures of you as you will let them take. The cruise line then gets a % of those sold, which adds to the cost.

 

We have always preferred to just take our own pictures.  It costs nothing and, with the exception of the few on board portraits that you may want, you can capture anything you want for which you feel you want a memory.  The ships photographers are everywhere and you will have dozens of opportunities to have your picture taken, then sort through any of the ones you may really want to keep.  Unless you are planning to keep a large amount of those taken by them, IMO it usually is more cost effective to buy the few you really like separately.

Very good and helpful information! Thank you!

[KhaturtleQueen]

First time cruiser here.  I heard through a friend that you can just find another couple in line and share the package with them and then share in the cost.  Anyone done that or know anything about that?

[leaveitallbehind]

16 hours ago, KhaturtleQueen said:

First time cruiser here.  I heard through a friend that you can just find another couple in line and share the package with them and then share in the cost.  Anyone done that or know anything about that?

Never heard of that, although I suppose anything is possible.  But it would seem a bit odd to find a random couple who would be willing to do that.  Everything is billed to your individual stateroom account so don't know how sharing a package would work.  Not sure how you would coordinate the pictures taken and then have to determine how they are split - certainly not something I would want to be bothered with on my cruise with people we didn't know.  I don't think this is very practical or likely to happen.

 

I could see it if you were traveling with another couple, then one of you could get the package and since you would likely be together a lot, share in the pictures and split them - and the cost - later.  But not with random strangers.

Edited April 2, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[angie7911922]

Ask others to take your pictures. I bought one pic on our first cruise, haven't looked at it since we got back. Complete waste of money. Haven't bought another one since 🙂

[Mr. Candyman]

In our case we are a family of six and plan to purchase the unlimited package with the intention of seeking out any photographers that we see.  There will be many times we are not all together and I want to have whatever moments captured while the kids are in Adventure Club, Teen Club, or wherever.  The package includes everyone in the stateroom and all linked children in another stateroom under 21 years old.  If I was not going this route than I don't think a photo package is worth it.  It was a novelty to purchase a couple  on our first cruise and have just avoided photographers ever since.  

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Towards the end of a cruise there is usually a discount offer for the pictures. let them take all the pictures they want. There is no cost to you unless you want any of them. You may find one or a few that you just love and want. Do NOT purchase a package prior to your cruise or just after you board. As I mentioned. Most of the time you will get an offer at a very good discount later in the cruise. They also have a video of the cruise you can purchase. They also have a deal on most lines they follow you around and do a video of your cruise. yes a bit expensive.

[Mr. Candyman]

9 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

Towards the end of a cruise there is usually a discount offer for the pictures. let them take all the pictures they want. There is no cost to you unless you want any of them. You may find one or a few that you just love and want. Do NOT purchase a package prior to your cruise or just after you board. As I mentioned. Most of the time you will get an offer at a very good discount later in the cruise. They also have a video of the cruise you can purchase. They also have a deal on most lines they follow you around and do a video of your cruise. yes a bit expensive.

Okay, hypothetically speaking, if there is a better deal towards the end of the cruise and I've already pre-purchased the unlimited package for somewhere between $199-$249, if I cancelled that while on board, would those funds go towards my OBC?

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

That you will need to ask the cruise line. 

[sparks1093]

On 3/29/2019 at 6:58 PM, KB Cruisin said:

First timer here. Do you find photo packages to be worth it?  It will be my husband and me. The cruise has 20 for $199 and unlimited (on usb) for $249. Individuals are $20 so cost threshold is 12 photos. What do you think? Keep in mind that it is our first cruise so maybe we would want more pictures than less. ???? Or we could just ask people to take our pictures. Not sure which way to go. Thanks!

Are you cruising with Royal (the pricing looks like it)? If you are they also have smaller packages available on board so you can pay less. The thing you need to ask is- what are you going to do with 20 photos of yourself? That was our non-selling point for a package, we couldn't figure out what to do with that many pictures. We purchased two photos for $19.99 each (a boarding photo and a formal night photo) and we had two casual photos put on two coffee cups for $11.99 each plus shipping (that turned out pretty good). 

[sparks1093]

16 hours ago, Mr. Candyman said:

Okay, hypothetically speaking, if there is a better deal towards the end of the cruise and I've already pre-purchased the unlimited package for somewhere between $199-$249, if I cancelled that while on board, would those funds go towards my OBC?

If you purchase it before you board it's likely that you wouldn't be able to cancel it on board, but of course that is just a guess.

[Blondilu]

I sail Princess and if purchased before hand the price is $199.  

 

The question "are they worth it?" is pretty subjective.  They are to us.  We love them and think they make great souvenirs.  My sister has an album she puts them all in so she gets the hard copy.  I get the thumb drive and put the photos on a digital photo frame.  

 

 

[Sancho_proudfoot]

I'd go with "don't pre-buy" too.  As has been said, the photographers are everywhere. You aren't committed to buying anything, so why not let the photographers click away? All it has cost is a few seconds of your time. Much later in the cruise, wander down to the gallery and have a browse. You may love what you see, or you may think "meh". You may only like 2 or 3 - if you haven't bought the package you won't have to "make the numbers up" with so-so pictures.

[Mr. Candyman]

14 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

If you purchase it before you board it's likely that you wouldn't be able to cancel it on board, but of course that is just a guess.

The reason I ask is because if you cancel anything else within the time frame criteria, it goes back as OBC.  And if you've used a portion of any pre-purchase, it gets pro-rated.  That's why I was unsure of how it would work with the photography with cancellation.  With random photographers and 6 of us being separate or together at any given time, there could be 75+ pictures to find and examine.