Questions about photos you can purchase on Valor

[cruizing with teens]

We are on board the Valor next Sunday!!

 

We would like to buy a few photos (when will we get our teens dressed up like that again..).

I realize that you must buy the 8 by 10's before other sizes (sounds like a money grab for sure!)

now...If you get pictures taken on different days can you wait till the end of the cruise and then choose? I was wondering how they can display or organize so many pictures (300 people!). Is there a rush the last day or so to get pictures printed?

 

I read on one thread that people spend hundreds on pictures!!!Wow!

 

I've also heard mentioned photo "coupons" and prepaid-photos. Anyone know anything about these?

Many thanks

[mustwork2cruise]

You can pre purchase coupons for photos through Carnival.com. I am not sure, however, if you will still be able to since your cruise is next week. Check out the carnival website.

[MamaParrotHead]

a lot of other people do, so it's near impossible to find your pictures among them. If you consider yourself a "picture person", or want to have some nice pics done of your family, budget it into your trip expenses and just get them on the spot, if you like them. The big 8x10 formal night pics are $19.99, but the smaller 5x7 ones (like when you get off in port) are only like $7.99. I bought almost every single picture they took (OK, none with the cheesy pirates or showgirls, and DEFINATELY none taken at the dinner table) and spent just under $100. I have them hung in my home and consider them a WAY better souvenir than cheapy tshirts or refrigerator magnets. :)

[jetskier]

If you are wanting smaller prints from the 8x10's, dont wait until the last day as there wont be time to make the prints. Most 8x10's are $19.95 while 5x7's are $7.95-9.95. Sometimes you can get a special for 3 8x10's and get a free photo album or frame.

 

Dave

[billh65]

I read on one thread that people spend hundreds on pictures!!!Wow!

We were on the Liberty 8 day last Nov/Dec, the good news is, it does not cost a cent to get your photos taken ... and even on the 8 day cruise, it seemed like the pictures were left until the last day. Of course, Liberty is one of the largest ships, but they kept up with the photo demand to the end, I was getting photos the last nite, and someone next to me was ordering photo Christmas cards, and they were told they could get them before debarkation. We stopped at several of the different "sets" and got our pictures taken, just so we had a good selection to choose from -- we were pleased for the $19.95 price for the 8x10s as well as the variety of sets. If nothing else, it passes some free time, and you get to look at the pix even if you don't buy them!

[silentbob007]

You only have to buy an 8x10 first if it comes as an 8x10 originally, such as the formal portraits. I guess this makes sense, as they are recooperating "session" costs by just charging those who want prints. Once you buy the 8x10 of the formal portrait, though, then you can have 5x7s, 4x6s, or any other size made.

[JerseyGirl97]

What types of backgrounds do they have to pick from? Do you decide on a background on formal night and wait in specific lines, or is it done by computer after the picture is taken?

[Cuizer2]

We are on board the Valor next Sunday!!

 

We would like to buy a few photos (when will we get our teens dressed up like that again..).

I realize that you must buy the 8 by 10's before other sizes (sounds like a money grab for sure!)

now...If you get pictures taken on different days can you wait till the end of the cruise and then choose? I was wondering how they can display or organize so many pictures (300 people!) Note: it is 3000 people, not 300. Is there a rush the last day or so to get pictures printed?

 

I read on one thread that people spend hundreds on pictures!!!Wow!

 

I've also heard mentioned photo "coupons" and prepaid-photos. Anyone know anything about these?

Many thanks

First of all, only the formal night photos are 8x10s. The other photos are usually 6x9 (I know, an odd size). You can buy 6x9s without buying 8x10s. However, if you mean you want a different size photo from the formal night, then yes, you have to buy the 8x10 first.

 

The photos are posted on a long wall. As people pick up their photos the photos are moved so they take up less room, and then the new ones are added. Just before dinner is a very popular time to view photos.

 

You can wait until the end of the cruise to pick out your photos. Now here is tip # 1. When you see one of your photos, grab it and put it on the bottom shelf. Keep doing this each day. That way at the end of the week you can go through all the photos (they will be easy to find, because you have been putting them all in one place during the week) and pick out the photos you want.

 

Do not wait until the last day to get pictures printed. Now, here is tip # 2. You can copy the photos at home and reprint them (if you have a scanner and color printer). If not, ask for a photo release. If they do not have them on the ship, write to Carnival and ask for a release (they are free). Then you can have the photos copied at a store (Walgreens for example) for less then you can on the ship.

 

Now, let assume you purchase 2 photos per day. That works out too four 8x10s ($80 at $20 each) and ten 6x9s ($100 at $10 each). That equals 14 photos for $180. So yes, it is easy to spend hundreds on photos.

[PaulMedik]

We spent over $700 on Carnival Pictures on our Victory cruise last June and we didn't buy all of them. I also took over 1500 pictures and recorded I don't know how many hours of video; I left the camera on movie record quite often when walking around the ship and haven't even watched all of the videos yet. It's nice to play a video and listen to the shipboard sounds while surfing Cruise Critic! I'm amazed at some of the sights I recorded that I didn't even see. :p

[cruise.freak]

We also stacked our up together is a certain location and a couple night before the cruise was over picked out the ones we liked the best altough we still spent ab out 200.00 on photos. There are so many cute backgrounds to chose from.

[virginiab]

Different photographers are set up at different canvas backdrops, sometimes with additional props. There are some very plain backdrops, just slight color variations on the canvas, and there are "fancier" ones like the staircase from the Titanic, moonlight on the ocean, a beach scene, etc. It has been my hunch on most ships that the best photographers are at the plainest backdrops. That is also where they will sometmes be doing black and white as well as color prints of the pictures. It can be fun to just get a drink and settle down somewhere along the promenade where you can watch one or more photographers and see what they do to set up a nice shot. When you see someone who seems to do a great job posing people, you can keep an eye out for him or her around at various backdrops during the week.

[NDalfrey]

I read that the embarkation photo is now 8x10...$19.95 Well, on the Conquest at least, I just assume it will be for all ships now.