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Panama Canal Time Lapse (for sale onboard) - warning

OzCanuck

By OzCanuck,
in Holland America Line

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OzCanuck

OzCanuck

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Just a warning to any canal cruisers who decide to purchase this video from the photo shop.

 

After picking mine up, I watched it back in my stateroom. Rather surprised to find it wasn't a video of OUR transit - it was just a stock video. I chccked and re-checked (even noting that we passed through different locks than those on the video - some eastbound lanes, some westbound).

 

Went back and asked at the photo shop - I mentioned that there were even some ships that were in my own photos that were not on the video. Her reply - oh sometimes we edit out other ships to make the video better. What? Really? Continued to chastise me for not believing her.

 

Now - I don't know if they do this for every sailing (maybe they make one per season, maybe they were too lazy to set up the camera), but when I purchased it I did ask if it was our sailing or not and the answer was in the affirmative.

 

So - buyer beware. I did get my money back.

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3rdGenCunarder "Live from...." Rare

3rdGenCunarder

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I think all the cruise lines use stock footage, especially when they include tours. They can't send a photographer out on every tour every time. And they probably don't want to spend the money to pay someone on board to edit a new DVD for every cruise. BUT they should make this clear in their marketing, especially when you specifically asked. I'm glad you got your money back.

 

We sailed QE2 often in her later years. We would watch the DVD preview in our cabin, and we got to know the stock shots around the ship pretty well because they were always the same. They did plop in bits of the specific voyage--our friends bought the DVD of one cruise because there was a brief shot of them dancing at the black and white ball. The most annoying thing about the DVDs on QE2 was that one of the stock clips of public spaces included the atrium on QM2 (QE2 had nothing like it). I pointed that out to someone at the photography shop and got a shrug in response.

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OzCanuck

OzCanuck

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Sorry Krazy Kruizers and 3rdGenCunarder you're both missing the point. I'm a veteran cruiser so I know how these things work (stock video, cruise memories, etc. etc.)

 

The time lapse was advertised HEAVILY as a video of OUR transit through the Panama Canal. I asked and confirmed the same with the photo staff. We even talked about the mechanics of the battery pack on the GoPro, of which I own one myself and do frequent time lapse videos on cruises. They talked about how they would need a couple days to edit the video and prepare it, post-transit.

 

If it was advertised as a stock time lapse video, that's fine, no problems. But it wasn't.

 

The main issue was the reaction when I asked them about it at the photo desk. The comment about editing out ships on the video - what are they PIXAR or Industrial Light and Magic? I laughed!! And she said several times - Fine! If you don't want to believe me! It's not that I didn't want to believe her, it's that she was simply lying to me.

 

And no, I didn't swagger in with a bunch of attitude - I was polite and asked nicely for more details. Finally she fetched a manager who confirmed it wasn't our transit. The video actually has our cruise dates superimposed at the beginning as well - so they really were trying to pass it off as our sailing.

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dag144

dag144

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The thread author is absolutely correct. A video filmed on the cruise with familiar faces wold have had meaning for the buyer. Anyone can watch a YouTube video of a ship going through the canal. Hope you were able to return it and get your money back.

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crunchii "Live from...." Rare

crunchii

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The one we purchased was indeed from our cruise. We did our own time-lapse video from our aft Neptune, so we have the time-lapse videos of both front-view and rear-view :)

 

But yeah, I would've been disappointed too if it weren't from our cruise, and it's awful they tried to lie to you that it was! :(

 

What ship were you on? Ours was Westerdam.

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bobpell

bobpell

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While in the locks I bought the green soft cover book about the history of the Panama Canal from the shop on deck 3

Brought it out to our balcony to peruse the pictures and started to read.

Within 10 minutes the pages started to fall out!!

Brought the book right back with my receipt.

Was issued a new book and told by the clerk to read it back in Canada as the heat and moisture in the canal was too much for the glue and bindings

Bob

PS...Windstar was in front of us. No deck spaces, port holes only. Tiny compared to the Nieu Amsterdam

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Old As Dirt Mom

Old As Dirt Mom

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Perhaps things are changing, and if my observations below are dated, I would be happy to know that. I don't know who the current photography contract vendor is on HAL ships. From previous experiences, we have come to loathe the entire photography department on the HAL ships.

 

I know they are only a contractor vendor, and the people who work in the photography department are not HAL employees. We have come to call them the Barracudas, and avoid them and their products like the plague. We do not buy any photos or DVDs from them anymore, ever. Occasionally they hire sweet, naive, idealistic young photographers who are working on the ships to "travel the world", and when those poor young things realize what a hard-core selling spiel they are required to undertake, they are quite disillusioned about their jobs. The eastern Europeans are the absolute worst. The tactic I hate the most is when they position themselves just before you board for the first time, and make it seem as if you have to get your picture taken as part of the boarding protocol. If looks could kill, we'd be dead many times over from all the times we have bypassed them upon boarding.

 

As I said above, I would be happy to learn that things are different now.

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TAD2005

TAD2005

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Considering that almost everyone has a phone with a camera in their pocket, and they do take very acceptable pictures, I can't see spending upwards of $100 for a few pictures shot by "so called pros". Shoot your own pics, and take the camera or chip card to Walgreens and they will print whatever you want for 10% of what HAL charges. Back when they shot on Kodachrome film, had to stay up all night processing the negatives and then shooting the enlargements cost a lot of money in time, chemicals, and color paper. That is when the fees were worth it. Now, it's all electronic, the camera chips plugged into a high speed laser printer, and out pops your pictures. Their costs to produce one 8 X 10 has gone down by 75%, but the prices they charge has gone way up.

I agree, just a polite "No" and keep walking usually makes them go away.

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AmazedByCruising

AmazedByCruising

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Considering that almost everyone has a phone with a camera in their pocket, and they do take very acceptable pictures, I can't see spending upwards of $100 for a few pictures shot by "so called pros".

 

From what I've seen, the pros are really good at making pictures. Not just the pictures they show as an advertisment but also the pictures of other passengers. Yes, it's very expensive, but if they're worth a frame and a prominent place on the wall so you decide to spend $100, I think it's better than those 7 cocktails you can't remember.

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OzCanuck

OzCanuck

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I'm glad I didn't consider getting the highlights DVD(I was also on the Westerdam from the 9th to the 24th and may post about it eventually)

 

And to follow this up - I just checked youtube and the same transit video has been posted by a couple of people.

 

 

Looks like it was from the Dec 18th transit. But who knows.

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