Photo Packages

[Been There, Planning That]

We're treating our family of 16, comprised of 8 adults and 8 children from five to fifteen to a partial Panama cruise next year.

 

We have seldom if ever used HAL photographers so I have some general and specific questions of the generous experts who read this thread.

 

• Are there pre paid packages?
  
• While we have booked 7 cabins, could we be considered as a family and purchase one package?
  
• Is a CD provided in addition to hard copies? If so, does it contain the actual pictures which we could reproduce in smaller sizes? Or just a link to a cyber space store?
  
• Right now we're planning HAL excursions in spite of the fact we usually do independent ones when we travel alone.
  
• I could not find anything on line, but I'm sure it's hidden somewhere on the HAL site.
  

Thank you in advance,

 

Ruth

[3rdGenCunarder]

I don't know any specifics, but I'm sure HAL will offer packages. All the cruise lines do. My recent cruises have been with Cunard, and they had a number of packages. Sometimes they're multiple photos, some are photos in an album, some are photos and a frame.

 

I strongly suggest you buy the CD. Strange as it may sound, the copyright for any photographs you buy on board belong to the photo company, not to you. But if you buy them on CD, that usually gives you the right to reprint them. It may not happen often, but I have seen people refused reprints in a store because the photo was copyrighted to the photo company and not the person in the picture.

 

Photo prices on board are very high, and with so many of you, having control of the photos and the ability to reprint in any way you choose is worth the price of the CD.

 

One thing I saw on Cunard was a photo book. Lots of stock shots, a few port-specific shots, and places to drop in the photos you buy. I looked at it, and I was shocked at how expensive it was. If anyone in your family is good with photos on a computer, you could make your own books, truly customized, at home using Ophoto or CVS, or Walgreens (which is the one I've used a lot) for a lot less.

 

Since there are so many of you in your group, you might talk to the photographers early in your cruise to find out when they'll be doing portraits and which backgrounds will be available so you can plan when you want to pose. I've seen family groups all dressed up on formal nights getting their photos taken, and it's a great memento of a family trip.

 

I hope you have a fabulous cruise!

[bcd2010]

On our PC cruise last year, we bought the photo package which included all photos the ship's photographers took of us (any photo one of us was in, ie, if you have a portrait taken of your whole group, you will get one because you are in it). We made sure to have lots of pix taken - LOTS of formal portraits, lots on MDR/port/activity photos.

 

It was $299 per cabin - I think you should ask for a deal for the 7 cabins because I'm sure they'd like to know they are selling so many pix (otherwise they just throw them away). I think getting them on the CD was extra, maybe $100, and pretty sure you can't buy the CD only because if that was an option I would have taken it.

 

We were on a B2B and the second leg was half price ($150) - we came home with well over 100 photos (I'm thinking it was 130). A note about group photos (more than those in your party) E.g., they had a swim-in-the-pc activity where you swim in the pool while you're the ship is in the canal - at the end, everyone jumped in and the photogs took 4 photos. On the first half of the B2B we got a copy of all 4 photos; on the second half they'd only let is have a copy of 1 of the 4. So on the group portrait I mentioned above, make sure you know what they will be giving you.

[Been There, Planning That]

Thank you Barbara and Kathy for such detailed replies. Our next cruise is a Celebrity one so I've been reading their threads where this possibility has been discussed. Someone mentioned it was less expensive to prepay.

 

At $300 a cabin, the cost would be beyond our budget -- everyone is booked in inside steerage cabins, so that tells you our budge restraints. But we did a HAL Alaskan cruise for our 45th anniversary a few years ago and it was the best ever family celebration -- just a windowless one!

 

I suspect we'll have to rely on our family photographers and on are own on line electronic photobooks.

 

Thank you for your generous replies,

 

Ruth

[bcd2010]

There may be other packages - I told you just about the one we bought, can't remember the others. And you can buy individual photos, $20-40 each.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I can understand your concerns about the prices of photos taken on board. We always bought one or two in our early cruising days, but we don't buy as many now. Partly it's because we have so many, partly because of the price, and partly because the photographers make us look so much older than we look in the pictures we've already got! :eek: ;)

 

But do consider splurging on one family portrait. As the ones paying for this trip, treat yourselves to a special memento. And you could always try scanning it and having extra copies printed from your scan when you get home.

 

If a member of your family travels with a tablet or a laptop, you might designate him/her the keeper of the pictures and aks him/her to download some pictures from each person's camera to compile a family collection--do it on the last day, while everyone is together rather than wait for everyone to email or upload pictures to someone's photo site.