Paparazzi

[LukeyC]

Hey---I'm not new to cruising, but I my first cruise with Royal Caribbean is around the corner.  I have a question.  One of my pet peeves on cruises is when there are photographers everywhere wanting to take pics.  It makes me feel like they're paparazzi or something.  Also, well, I'm sort of a private person, and I don't enjoy pictures of me being displayed for everyone to see-especially if they don't look flattering.  Does RC do the paparazzi thing?  How and where did you notice the photographers?  How/where/when were their photos displayed?  Were you able to decline having them taken, or were the employees pushy about it?  (I've had before where I politely declined and they were rude and pushy! I know they just want to make money, but they don't realize that I won't buy a picture I dislike.)  I just sort of wanted to know what to expect.  Thanks! 🙂

[nhraformula00]

just tell them no pictures, you will be fine.

[wwcruisers]

Don't know if this is fleet-wide, but when we were on Indy, earlier this year, the racks of photos were gone! In their place, are multiple photo viewing kiosks, where you can view your photos (and only yours), using your SeaPass card. And, of course, if you are just objecting to having your activities interrupted by the ship photographers, a simple 'No thank you' works every time!

[GTO-Girl]

There will be backdrops where people can get photos done if they wish.  There are occasions where they will come around in the dining room, but a simple smile and no thank you is all I have ever needed for them to pass me by.  

 

I was was never pressured once I made my wishes known..

 

 

[steveru621]

Just say firmly, no thank you.

 

That being said, the photographers are particularly aggressive on port stops on the pier.

[fdthird]

No wall of photos anymore.  Only you can see them on a computer monitor. 

[steveru621]

28 minutes ago, fdthird said:

No wall of photos anymore.  Only you can see them on a computer monitor. 

 

Depends on the ship.  New ships are electronic.  Radiance class most are still paper.

[John&LaLa]

Oasis has them in binders. I prefer that.

 

BTW, it's not just dinner and ports that they randomly take pictures. Pool deck, private island beaches, bars, etc..

[twangster]

It's been a while since a Royal photographer got a picture of me.  It's not hard to avoid it.  

[ONECRUISER]

2 hours ago, nhraformula00 said:

just tell them no pictures, you will be fine.

Agree, haven't had picture taken in 6yrs

[Bloodgem]

6 hours ago, nhraformula00 said:

just tell them no pictures, you will be fine.

We have found that once you say no, a couple of times, the photographers tend to leave us alone the rest of the cruise

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, twangster said:

It's been a while since a Royal photographer got a picture of me.  It's not hard to avoid it.  

Kinda hard to avoid the photographer who shows up at the Flowrider. 

[suesnake2002]

Mostly when uou disembark, and nightly set up with backdrops. 

The ones taking pics at the port are the pushiest. Dressed up characters kinda run up to you while photographer will snap away. They won't take a pic if you put up middle finger. Found that out when we wanted to pose for a pic that way. 

Take a pic of their name tag if too pushy for your taste. Tell them your gonna report them. It will stop. 99.9% of the time a no thank you, and keep walking works. 

[Casino Comp Chick]

I just say no thanks and walk around them. No biggie.

[Lionesss]

I have always said no pictures when eating dinner.....................really.  I want a memory of me with a plate of food in front of me.

 

Lately they have been flocking to the pools, well, at least lately I have noticed them, I just say no.

 

Besides, we just visit the photo shop area on the Allure, (folders in use) one time, we get the freebie with Diamond.

 

Later

[cruiseguy1016]

We have always just told them no and have never had a problem with them being pushy. Since becoming Diamond, and having the perk of a free picture, we will allow them to take our picture once in a while to see if there is one worth keeping.

[cruisegirl1]

 The photographers will never snap a  photo without your permission.    A simple polite “no thank you“ is all that is needed. In our experience, the photographers are always  courteous. 

 

M

 

 

[marci22]

11 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

 The photographers will never snap a  photo without your permission.    A simple polite “no thank you“ is all that is needed. In our experience, the photographers are always  courteous. 

 

M

 

 

On Anthem, everyone was saying 'no' to photographers in port. One lady said no several times, and tried to get away, and the photographer still ran up to her and snapped her picture. Crazy. I said to him, 'I guess you guys are under a lot of pressure to get pictures'. 

 

We let them take our pictures but made funny faces/poses. Suprisingly enough, we liked how they turned out and used our two free picture coupons on them. 

Edited June 6, 2019 by marci22

[Kholland]

Nope, aggressive photographers have not been my experience as of recent. You stand in line for any pictures before/after dinner (usually nightly), so there is no photographer asking if you want your picture taken. They usually take pictures by the pool on sea days, out at the beach on a private island, and sometimes in the main dining room, but you can politely decline and they usually just move on to the next person. 

 

The only time I've felt like they were pushy is when you get off the ship and they have someone dressed as a pirate or something and want to take a photo with you. You can just say no thank you and keep walking. They won't chase you down. 

[Biker19]

41 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

 The photographers will never snap a  photo without your permission.  

Gotta be careful with absolutes - they will take  pics of you on the Flowrider without permission.

[Labmom3]

No thank you in dining room didn't work for me they kept asking so I came up with "I'll only take my picture with puss n boots" a character they have on Anthem of Seas.  This makes everyone around laugh and the pushy photographer go away.

[cruisegirl1]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Gotta be careful with absolutes - they will take  pics of you on the Flowrider without permission.

That will NEVER be a problem for me.    They will NEVER  get a photo of me on the Flowrider. 

M

Edited June 6, 2019 by cruisegirl1

[orville99]

My wife just tells them that if "his wife" ever sees them, he's in big trouble. You should see the look on the photog's faces as they back away.

[wwcruisers]

7 hours ago, suesnake2002 said:

 

The ones taking pics at the port are the pushiest. Dressed up characters kinda run up to you while photographer will snap away. 

And, don't just think that this happens on Royal. OK -- so in my earlier post, I said that a polite 'No thank you' works every time. Well, almost every time. I do have ONE very memorable exception to that rule (and it's the only time anything like this has happened, in 15 years of cruising RC & X):

 

A couple of years ago, on a Celebrity cruise, my DH and I were working our way through the throngs of folks disembarking at a port. Part of the reason for the traffic jam was that the ship's photographers had created a 'choke point' in the traffic, and we not letting people just walk past them. My DH, who was a little ways ahead of me, turned back and yelled: "Just keep moving". Right about that time, I felt a large hand close around my arm,  pulling me off balance. I recognized the person grabbing me, as one of the ship photographers. Trust me, this TALL guy (over 6'6") stood out in a crowd! He was dressed as a pirate, and was doing a good job of playing that role.

 

Just for reference: I'm a small woman in my 60's -- who appeared to be alone (as DH and I were totally separated by the crowd). I must have been a very tempting target. But he picked on the wrong little old lady. I quickly regained by balance, and pulled away from him, screaming (at the top of my lungs) "Let me go! Get your hands off of me!" . My DH heard the commotion and came back for me -- telling the 'pirate' that he would deal with him later. And, he did. As soon as we returned from our excursion, DH went to the person in charge of the photo studio and told him what happened, and that he did not want to even see THAT photographer on the ship, for the rest of our cruise. If he did, the next person to hear that story would be the Hotel Director. Don't know what happened -- but we didn't see that photographer again.

 

Moral of the story: No matter what cruise line you are on, if you feel that someone on the staff /crew has 'crossed the line' -- report them to their supervisors, and take the matter up the chain of command, if necessary!

Edited June 6, 2019 by wwcruisers

[katiel53]

I don't like having my picture taken so I just simply say no thanks and move on.  We don't eat in the MDR, so we no longer have the photographers come around when we are having dinner.  Who in their right minds want their photo taken with half eaten food?

 

I don't ride the flow rider, nor do I do the rock climbing wall, so those "hidden" shots are not going to be of me.    If I want a photo taken, I choose when/where and even though I get a free photo every cruise, rarely do I have one taken.