Did you buy photo book on board... how'd it look?

[happytrails42]

Hi all :D

My husband and I will be doing a SB cruise -- Whittier to Vancouver this summer and the photobook is a great idea!! Markstudy -- you have some fantastic pictures and I'd say a good time was had by all.

 

I know very little about scrapbooking so purchasing a package on board might be the way to go -- the price seems to be equally appealing. I do have a question for those of you who have made your own book -- either on the ship or on your own -- what types of cameras :confused: are you using on your trips?

[camelotsqwest]

Great pic's Mark what kind of camera's were you using?

[markstudy]

Great pic's Mark what kind of camera's were you using?

 

Since we were going to be on the beach or in the rainforest most of the time, I started thinking about a digital camera that could get wet ( to save me all the money I'd spend developing film from those waterproof disposable cameras)... I looked on the web and Canon had just come out with the Powershot D10. :D Great fun camera, idiot proof.

 

[CruisingJs]

Since we were going to be on the beach or in the rainforest most of the time, I started thinking about a digital camera that could get wet ( to save me all the money I'd spend developing film from those waterproof disposable cameras)... I looked on the web and Canon had just come out with the Powershot D10. :D Great fun camera, idiot proof.

 

Great to know! I just got this camera for Christmas. I specifically asked Santa for it for our next cruise. I was thinking of taking two cameras...one for dry land and the D10 for water shots. You actually used the Powershot for all your pictures? Very nice quality.

[Colo Cruiser]

Since we were going to be on the beach or in the rainforest most of the time, I started thinking about a digital camera that could get wet ( to save me all the money I'd spend developing film from those waterproof disposable cameras)... I looked on the web and Canon had just come out with the Powershot D10. :D Great fun camera, idiot proof.

 

 

Finally picked one up for the DW last month. ;)

[Drews_Cruise]

Great photobook. Im going to try this on our cruise next month. Thanks for all the information.

[markstudy]

I was thinking of taking two cameras...one for dry land and the D10 for water shots. You actually used the Powershot for all your pictures? Very nice quality.

 

I used it for all my pictures, but I did take my old camera because its 10% smaller and slipped into my pocket better. (I never ended up taking any photos with the old camera but it was easy to carry to dinner, on the nights I didn't anticipate many photo opportunities.)

 

Best tip for the D10 (if you really want to get fancy) is to get the neck strap. Its hard to swim like a fish, with a camera attached to your wrist. ;)

[DrivesLikeMario]

I was wondering what camera you used too. The underwater shots are terrific and the land shots look good too. It would be nice to have a 35mm camera that went underwater. Lucky Colo's wife to get a D10!

 

My problem is that once I get a great camera, something new comes out and I want to upgrade to that one! I often experience camera envy on cruises. :o

[nzggator]

Now when you buy the pictures on the ship

and when you get home you want to get a reprint

don't you need permisson from the cruse-line before getting the print?

 

(I know at least on other lines this was how it was done)

 

Do you need permission if you want to add your professional cruise photo(s)

to your photo book? Like at home from Shutterfly.com or others

 

 

I have only made one vacation photo book and have not added any professional cruise photos yet but am concidering it for the next one.

 

Any feedback on this question would be helpful

 

Thank you

[sirwired]

Now when you buy the pictures on the ship

and when you get home you want to get a reprint

don't you need permisson from the cruse-line before getting the print?

 

(I know at least on other lines this was how it was done)

 

Do you need permission if you want to add your professional cruise photo(s)

to your photo book? Like at home from Shutterfly.com or others

 

Thank you

 

If you buy your photo book on board the ship, permission to insert the professional ship's pictures that you purchase is part of the package. The way it works is that as you purchase photos during the week, you tell the photo staff you have a photo book. They then copy the filename printed on the back of the photo into a binder. The last day of the cruise, you go back to the photo desk and review to make sure all your pictures made it into the files they will upload to PanRaven on your behalf. (You never get the files yourself.) There is no way to get the pictures back out of PanRaven except in your book or viewing them online.

 

We ended up with quite a few because we did the Ultimate Balcony Dining, and the Ultimate Ships Tour, both of which include photos. We also purchased several photos.

 

SirWired

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks for the information! :)

[happytrails42]

Hi folks -- me again :D

I was talking w/my hubby and showing him some of the pics from Markstudy's photobook and he asked a few questions that I will address here.

 

(1) is the photobook similar in style to a regular photo album that has photos that you can remove from the book?

 

(2) is the photobook more book-style that is bound?

 

Since Markstudy used the wording "coffee table book" it leads me to believe that it is more of a book with photos imprinted on the page and not able to be removed.

 

My apologies if I've confused anyone ...

[DrivesLikeMario]

Hi folks -- me again :D

I was talking w/my hubby and showing him some of the pics from Markstudy's photobook and he asked a few questions that I will address here.

 

(1) is the photobook similar in style to a regular photo album that has photos that you can remove from the book? No. It's like a pre-printed book you'd buy at Barnes & Noble.

 

(2) is the photobook more book-style that is bound? Yes, it has the appearance of a coffee-table book you'd buy at a book store. For the ones I've made through Shutterfly and Kodak Gallery, it's hard-bound and usually has a cut-out on the front cover which is hard and you chose the cover material and color.

 

Since Markstudy used the wording "coffee table book" it leads me to believe that it is more of a book with photos imprinted on the page and not able to be removed.

 

My apologies if I've confused anyone ...

 

They are very different from a regular photo album. Once it's done, it's done. There is no changing it after it's printed. Because the writing is small when you're making it and sometimes it's hard to tell what pictures you've used, I've made a few typos and also re-used the same pictures a few times. The more you make them, the better you get at it. There are usually a ton of choices for photo layout, backgrounds behind the pictures, fonts, headlines, no writing, etc.

[CruisingJs]

Best tip for the D10 (if you really want to get fancy) is to get the neck strap. Its hard to swim like a fish, with a camera attached to your wrist. ;)

 

What is the neck strap like? Does it just hang loose around your neck or is it like a chest harness that you hook the camera to? Did you order it from Canon? I purchased a flotation strap that goes around my wrist, but I can picture me trying to snorkel and having the camera flying all around as I'm swimming.

[markstudy]

What is the neck strap like?

Here's a photo, you can see the cheap case I originally bought for the

camera that I really liked for days we weren't swimming. It had room for

extra odds and ends in the case. Then next to it is a neoprene case (like a

wet suit) that came in the Canon accessory pack with the neck strap. The

problem with the accessory pack is it came with a few other straps and

color plates that I didn't need but had to pay for :(. The neoprene case

came in handy for the days we went tubing, rafting, and hiking in the

rainforest.

 

 

The neck strap goes over your neck and while swimming I put my arm

through it so it was around my neck and under my arm, and the camera

stayed against my stomach, very safe and out of the way. If i was taking

photos I just left it hanging around my neck. I added the yellow wrist strap

float to the top of the strap in case I dropped it in the water...but latter

realized this was over-kill and took it off. You do need to be careful

the camera is not very heavy in the water so if you just have the strap

around your neck it could float off and you might not notice, so that's why

I'd put my arm through it also if I wasn't actually taking a photo. :)

 

Jump in the pool and try your camera out before you go in the ocean.

It took one try before you get the hang of shooting photos underwater

(nothing to brace against and the water is moving, your subject is moving,

and you are moving...it gives you a new respect for astronauts trying to work

in space, when your realize that nothing you do will help you steady yourself) ;)

[DRMizzou]

My wife and I were on the Sapphire Valentine's cruise a couple of weeks ago and purchased the photobook. She is in the process of working on it online; so we will see how ours turns out. She did something like this on Blurb (I think that was the name) to create a photo album of our son's wedding.

[RickEk]

This is very cool and very reasonably priced compared to outfits like Shutterfly. I also like the fact that you can add photos taken by the ship's photographers. It's a nice addition to what they offer onboard.

 

Oh, and btw, the proofreader in me just has to mention that the ship that is on page 19 is one of the Sun-class ships... not the Ruby. Or, it just occurred to me... maybe it's the Sea Princess and you took the shot? :p

 

Anyway... nicely done!

[markstudy]

Oh, and btw, the proofreader in me just has to mention that the ship that is on page 19 is one of the Sun-class ships... not the Ruby. Or, it just occurred to me... maybe it's the Sea Princess and you took the shot? :p Anyway... nicely done!

 

Thanks, good eye.

 

I joked about that with my wife. The only way I could have taken a photo of the Ruby sailing away is if I missed the ship :eek: So you get into that kind of a bind between wanting to show your ship (so as to be true to the story you are writing) but not being able to stand in port and snap that photo of your ship leaving :p

 

When you get the photo album 99% full, you realize that you are missing a few key shots and you scramble to find them.... or sneak something in as a substitute ;)

[Coracii]

I've been using Blurb.com for my photo books for quite some time now and their quality has been great as well. You can get between 80-120 pages for about $42, 121-160 pages for about $50, or 161-200 pages in 10" x 8" landscape for about $53. Or if you prefer larger sized books they're slightly more expensive (about $75 for 11" x 13", 81-120 pages). It would be necessary to scan your photos from the ships' photographers to put them in (which technically is a copyright issue, but I won't tell anyone).

[RickEk]

Thanks, good eye.

 

I joked about that with my wife. The only way I could have taken a photo of the Ruby sailing away is if I missed the ship :eek: So you get into that kind of a bind between wanting to show your ship (so as to be true to the story you are writing) but not being able to stand in port and snap that photo of your ship leaving :p

 

When you get the photo album 99% full, you realize that you are missing a few key shots and you scramble to find them.... or sneak something in as a substitute ;)

 

S'allright... probably nobody else noticed... ;) I, apparently, can be annoying for my attention to irrelevant minutiae :p

 

 

I've been using Blurb.com for my photo books for quite some time now and their quality has been great as well. You can get between 80-120 pages for about $42, 121-160 pages for about $50, or 161-200 pages in 10" x 8" landscape for about $53. Or if you prefer larger sized books they're slightly more expensive (about $75 for 11" x 13", 81-120 pages). It would be necessary to scan your photos from the ships' photographers to put them in (which technically is a copyright issue, but I won't tell anyone).

 

No copyright issues from Princess. Just give them a call and they'll send you a copyright release. And a reputable photofinishing business would insist on having the release...

[markstudy]

I've been using Blurb.com for my photo books for quite some time now and their quality has been great as well.

I forgot to mention the best part about the books you buy on board ;)

from PanRaven (strange name?)

 

They come pre-loaded with 10 custom pages about your cruise :eek:

Talk about a big help in getting you off-and-running, all you need

to do is drop in your photos and add your text. They did all the research

and data gathering for you. (I know, it seems like cheating, but its so easy)

 

We went to six islands, and they had a cover page for each island with 3

paragraphs of text about the island and 7 stock photos each, in case you didn't get

enough shots of the background scenery, you can fill in a few things ( I used one

of palm trees, beach chairs, and umbrellas on Princess Cay because I had too

many underwater shots and no green or beach on my page) :o

 

They also have your ship and deck plans (I didn't use this graphic

but it seems like a cool thing to have)....plus 10 shots of the ship, shot by a pro.

 

And the best part... I loved the full page map that comes with your book :D

I thought this was the best part of the entire package. None of my family knew

where Dominica or Bonaire was, so I just show them the map!

 

I thought the product was well thought-out all the way around.

(usually I come on cruise critic to complain about stuff, so its nice to be singing the praise for a product, for a change)

 

[Coracii]

I forgot to mention the best part about the books you buy on board ;)

from PanRaven (strange name?)

 

They come pre-loaded with 10 custom pages about your cruise :eek:

Talk about a big help in getting you off-and-running, all you need

to do is drop in your photos and add your text. They did all the research

and data gathering for you. (I know, it seems like cheating, but its so easy)

 

We went to six islands, and they had a cover page for each island with 3

paragraphs of text about the island and 7 stock photos each, in case you didn't get

enough shots of the background scenery, you can fill in a few things ( I used one

of palm trees, beach chairs, and umbrellas on Princess Cay because I had too

many underwater shots and no green or beach on my page) :o

 

They also have your ship and deck plans (I didn't use this graphic

but it seems like a cool thing to have)....plus 10 shots of the ship, shot by a pro.

 

And the best part... I loved the full page map that comes with your book :D

I thought this was the best part of the entire package. None of my family knew

where Dominica or Bonaire was, so I just show them the map!

 

I thought the product was well thought-out all the way around.

 

 

It does look like a nice product, and the pre-loaded information sounds like a nice bonus. I usually have the same type of info in my books but I have to do all the leg work... As for the map, I always put one in my travel books (for cruises I can usually grab one off the cruiseline website), but again I have to do the work instead of them doing it. I haven't looked at the books onboard, I'll have to take a peek on the next cruise. The price is really right in line with most other printing companies.

[Coracii]

No copyright issues from Princess. Just give them a call and they'll send you a copyright release. And a reputable photofinishing business would insist on having the release...

 

Most of the single edition printing companies (Kodak, Shutterfly, Blurb, etc) are completely automated printing processes, they don't inspect the content of the books at all. You upload the file, it runs through their computers to the printers, the book gets bound and it is shipped back to you. They don't inspect for potential copyright issues and throw all the liability for possible infringement on the customer in their contract.

[sirwired]

While the pre-included pictures were nice, we were hoping for more.

 

Ideal, for us, would be a pre-set bunch of pictures for the most popular shore excursions, which we could then supplement or replace with our own.

 

SirWired

[chamima]

Mark

The book is beautiful and will make a wonderful memory. I made one of a Tahiti cruise 6 years ago when this technology was new and it took me many, many hours but we love having it.

I have a question. Do you have to purchase the photos the ship's photographers take of you in addition to buying the book if you want to include them in it? That could push the price WAY up as each photo was $20 -$25.