Professional Photography Onboard

[njstampinmom]

I was advised that Image Services is the partner company that provides cruise photography for Celebrity. I am extremely upset and dissatisfied with the availability of photos on my recent cruise. By way of background, I was traveling with my husband, daughter and extended family of sister & brother in law, their two children, and my mother and father in law. 9 people in 5 concierge class cabins. This was a once in a lifetime trip in honor of my father and mother-in-law's 50th wedding anniversary. Throughout the cruise, as you might expect, several photographs were taken of our group by your professional photographers. I was THRILLED to see all these photos taken, as my husband and I had grand plans of compiling a photo album for my in laws as a wedding anniversary gift. I was very much looking forward to including the photos taken professionally with our around-the-boat snapshots to make a wonderful keepsake for them.

 

You can imagine my complete dismay when I discovered that all the various packages offered only allowed ONE CABIN worth of guests (together with children under 21) to be included. This meant there was no way for us to obtain any significant number of photos which would encompass our group without buying three complete packages at $249 each. Needless to say we did not consider this a viable option. Finding out the situation at hand left a sour taste in our mouths for the remainder of the cruise and no desire to pose for further photos.

 

Just a word to the wise - make sure to take your own photos of anything you want a special picture of, especially formal night and other group photos.

[Gonzo70]

Sorry you were disappointed, but unless I am missing something I am having a hard time grasping why you were upset - especially to the point of it "souring" the remainder of your cruise. The photo packages are fairly new, so not too long ago you would have had to purchase every single picture a la carte at about $12 to $20 a pop, so if there were lots photos it would really add up! That they wanted to charge each stateroom separately for a package is totally normal, standard and expected!

 

You mentioned your party had five staterooms booked; I assume you were charged for five staterooms and did not just book one stateroom and receive the others free. Same with excursions, drink packages and specialty dining - if one member of your party paid for these, the entire party did not receive the goods and services. Same with photo packages; they are per stateroom - so you cannot pay for one package and expect to receive all photos for five staterooms worth of people.

 

I am not sure why your misunderstanding of a reasonable policy would persuade you to discourage other people from utilizing the photography service on the ship; this was not a case of bad quality or not receiving expected service - but of you not understanding how the packages worked.

 

Hopefully you were able to take some nice shots with your own personal cameras so you will have some good keepsakes and you did not let (what IMHO is a perfectly reasonable policy) sour the 50th anniversary celebration of your in-laws.

[phoenix_dream]

In general I think the prices they charge for photos are outrageous and they would sell way more volume if they lowered them, but that's another story I guess. In this case, I have to agree with Gonzo - packages being per cabin strike me as reasonable and normal for a cruiseline. You were not required to buy the packages if you didn't want to - if you were compiling a photo album you could have bought individual pictures, could you not? I am not sure if you can buy photos from another cabin but worst case they could purchase and you could reimburse. I would have to think that you could compile enough photos from each cabin to make up a very nice album without paying for multiple expensive packages, presumably also adding personalized photos you took yourself? I can see you perhaps wishing it could be another way, but the outrage you express is frankly a little surprising to those of us who cruise regularly. Just my opinion.

[agathasmum]

Could you not have purchased the photos separately? It wouldn't have come near the price of 3 packages.

[wwcruisers]

We don't bother with the "packages". We just take a look at the photos they put up -- and if we like one, we buy it. And yes, they are overpriced, but if they take one that I like, I'll usually get it. :cool:

[SusieV]

I think it's great that they offer the packages at all. We've easily spent $200 on photos a la carte in previous cruises.

 

Also, as long as one person from the cabin with the purchased package is in the photos, they are included, are they not? So you could have purchased one package and then bought additional photos a la carte if you wished.

[Denny01]

Went to our local Professional Photographer and had family photos taken. She offered me various packages, none of the cheap, and I picked a few. She didn't allow me to pay for just one package and then ask for two more of the same packages. Then when I found a few photos that I wanted extra copies of and no package lined up with what I wanted, she charged me for each copy.....I think its called business.

 

I agree, $249 for a package is expensive but no idea what it entailed, and it doesnt matter, and buying 3 would have been even more expensive. But not sure what you were expecting. You could have bought copies of specific ones along with a package. Right? Maybe if you hadn't got so upset, you could have ended up with what you wanted without buying mulitple packages.

 

By the way, the definition of a Professional Photographer is a person whose camera has a long lens on it!

 

Den

[dmwnc1959]

Sorry you were disappointed, but unless I am missing something I am having a hard time grasping why you were upset...

 

EXCELLENT post Gonzo. You pretty much nailed it.

[Gig103]

Presumably, the special anniversary couple would he in all the shots you want, right? So buy the package on their room, and even if 20 of you are in the shot, it would be covered, right?

 

I find buy or pose for the photos. Neither of my sides is good enough to spend $20 on.

[biker1972]

Once you have a photo you can go to someplace like Walmart and get it copied if you don't have a photo printer with your computer. :)

[Lsimon]

As others have said, all photos can be purchased individually. If you need additional copies of any photo they are very happy to make as many as you'd like at the standard individual price.

 

Likewise, if more than one person in your group wanted to buy a package but there was just one photo on the wall they will easily have additional copies of the photo produced so it could be included in each package purchased.

 

Also, if you want additional copies of many photos but only want to purchase one package then in the past one of the package options (naturally the most expensive) has included a computer disk with digital copies of all photos so you could make additional prints on your return to home. Naturally the disk would include only the photos of the cabin occupants buying the package, but would include any group photos that these people were in.

 

So there are quite a few options available for those willing to pay the price.

[Mr. Click]

As a professional photographer for over 40 years it has always frustrated me that people want to devalue my work and my effort. I think that if you plan on having lots of pictures taken by the ship's staff photographers then $249 is a fair price for a DVD, especially if you can get all the prints you want made from that DVD. That said, I do get annoyed when I have to pay 20 bucks for that welcome aboard picture that my DW loves so much but I do understand why a print that costs about a buck to make sells for so much. It is more than just the cost of the print. If it is true that you should be able to get all of the pictures you are in, regardless of the size of the group, then $249 is a bargain for the whole package from an important vacation. If you had 3 cabins and had to pay $249x3, well it is expensive but it is not as outrageous as you think, especially if they include all of those portrait sessions offered on board.

[DivasDare]

As a professional photographer for over 40 years it has always frustrated me that people want to devalue my work and my effort. I think that if you plan on having lots of pictures taken by the ship's staff photographers then $249 is a fair price for a DVD, especially if you can get all the prints you want made from that DVD. That said, I do get annoyed when I have to pay 20 bucks for that welcome aboard picture that my DW loves so much but I do understand why a print that costs about a buck to make sells for so much. It is more than just the cost of the print. If it is true that you should be able to get all of the pictures you are in, regardless of the size of the group, then $249 is a bargain for the whole package from an important vacation. If you had 3 cabins and had to pay $249x3, well it is expensive but it is not as outrageous as you think, especially if they include all of those portrait sessions offered on board.

 

I totally agree with this and others who have posted and am sorry that your vacation was a disappointment because of it.

[cruisestitch]

Copying the photos taken on board is a violation of copyright, I believe, and many photo services such as those found at Walmart will not copy them. Even the do-it-yourself machines include warnings about copyright infringement.

[Ando]

On at least 1 cruise per year we will buy several photos, usually 5 or 6 so around $100 worth. I think it is exceptionally good value when compared to the cost of going to a professional studio and having portraits taken. And it's so convenient...we are all there together dressed up to the nines. We will visit several photo locations onboard as we have found each photographer can make a big difference to the way they capture us and the final results.

 

Each year we add 1 of the photos to a wall in our house - its a great way to record DD growing up, and remind of us how many cruises we have been fortunate to do :D And when you're spending $5-$10k for a holiday it is a minor cost IMHO.

 

Oh, they make great Xmas gifts for the grandparents too ;)

[Cruise a holic]

I was advised that Image Services is the partner company that provides cruise photography for Celebrity. I am extremely upset and dissatisfied with the availability of photos on my recent cruise. By way of background, I was traveling with my husband, daughter and extended family of sister & brother in law, their two children, and my mother and father in law. 9 people in 5 concierge class cabins. This was a once in a lifetime trip in honor of my father and mother-in-law's 50th wedding anniversary. Throughout the cruise, as you might expect, several photographs were taken of our group by your professional photographers. I was THRILLED to see all these photos taken, as my husband and I had grand plans of compiling a photo album for my in laws as a wedding anniversary gift. I was very much looking forward to including the photos taken professionally with our around-the-boat snapshots to make a wonderful keepsake for them.

 

 

You can imagine my complete dismay when I discovered that all the various packages offered only allowed ONE CABIN worth of guests (together with children under 21) to be included. This meant there was no way for us to obtain any significant number of photos which would encompass our group without buying three complete packages at $249 each. Needless to say we did not consider this a viable option. Finding out the situation at hand left a sour taste in our mouths for the remainder of the cruise and no desire to pose for further photos.

 

Just a word to the wise - make sure to take your own photos of anything you want a special picture of, especially formal night and other group photos.

 

I had recently sailed on the Allure of the Seas and we took the package directly from mycruisephotos.com, before the cruise. They are the vendor for both RC and Celebrity. I was able to link the cabins without any problem. I was told by the image group- mycruisephotos.com to go to the photo studio the first day and they would link the cabins- they did that without any hassel. I also booked (for the third time) all inclusive photos-hard copies, and the photos on CD for a flat rate. I would suggest that you go directly to mycruisephotos.com and send them an e-mail. Perhaps they still have your photos and can help. They have been excellent and responsive to all of my inquires.