Photos refund

[damiross]

My wife was on the Sapphire in November 2022.  I had purchased the photo package for her.  She got the flash drive with 5 photos on it.  She did not get the 5 printed photos like she was supposed to.

 

I have contacted Photo Guest Services regarding getting a refund, the picture themselves, or a photo credit for our upcoming cruise.  On 11 Dec 22, the following was received from Photo Guest Service Holland America Group | Serving Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, and P&O Australia:

 

Our sincerest apologies for the subpar service that you received. We have contacted the ship and asked that they locate the photos. If they are unable to we will be providing you with a refund. 

 

I did a follow up email a couple of days ago.  Still no word back.  I also called Princess corporate to see if there was a phone number I called.  There wasn't.

 

Has anybody on this board ever got a refund after getting off a ship for non-receipt of photos?

 

By the way, the flash drive my wife got is another example of Princess giving less for more.  The drives we got on other cruises were in the shape of Princess ships.  This one is just a plain, dull flash drive.  

[cr8tiv1]

Wouldn't it be easier for you to get a pre-authorization to print the 5 photos from the flash drive?  I doubt if the ship still has the files.  

 

On board purchases should be dealt with while you are still on the ship.  Good Luck.

[justafem]

2 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Wouldn't it be easier for you to get a pre-authorization to print the 5 photos from the flash drive?  I doubt if the ship still has the files.  

 

On board purchases should be dealt with while you are still on the ship.  Good Luck.

You can print the photos from the flash.  That's why you have the flash, so you can view, print, enhance or do whatever you want with those photos.  Always have been.  Once it's purchased, it's yours. 

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

6 minutes ago, justafem said:

You can print the photos from the flash.  That's why you have the flash, so you can view, print, enhance or do whatever you want with those photos.  Always have been.  Once it's purchased, it's yours. 

 

I agree with you.  OP says he has the flash drive but not the printed photos.  Walgreens charges less than $3.00 for an 8 x 10.  I wouldn't print them without getting confirmation that Princess would reimburse me for the prints.  OP is trying to get the prints from Princess.  Don't think that is going to happen.

[damiross]

17 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I agree with you.  OP says he has the flash drive but not the printed photos.  Walgreens charges less than $3.00 for an 8 x 10.  I wouldn't print them without getting confirmation that Princess would reimburse me for the prints.  OP is trying to get the prints from Princess.  Don't think that is going to happen.

It's not so much the cost for printing the pictures.  It's that I paid $89 for 5 pictures and a flash drive.  I figure the flash drive costs no more than $5; that leaves $84 for 5 pictures.  Why should I pay $15 for printing out the 5 pictures?

 

Additionally, one thing I forgot to mention was that my wife said the photo people would get the pictures to her on the last day.  They screwed up and didn't get the pictures to her. 

 

The only reason I got the picture package for my wife is that she enjoys it.  I think the pictures are stupidly overpriced.  Although, there was one time when Princess used to offer a package for about $200 that allowed passengers to get a copy of all of the pictures.  That was a good deal but I guess that deal will never come back. 

[jwattle]

At the risk of sounding naive, did she stop by the photo desk for the pics prior to the end of the cruise?

[LibertyBella]

I take photos all the time on cruises, and I basically hang out at the photo studio selecting my pictures. With paper photos, they are stuck all over the wall and you have to find them. Usually all photos that are not purchased are destroyed at the end of the cruise.

 

Nowadays many of the photos are loaded up virtually and you have to select from the photo office screen.  I would imagine they delete all photos each cruise.  

 

Most of the time the photo studios are closed on disembarkation day.  I always stop at the photo studio the last night of my cruise to pick up any of my photos that I still have not finalized. I have NEVER had photos delivered to me, and I have been cruising for decades.  

 

Sometimes the printed copies on cruises are excellent and extremely high quality paper (Cunard)--other times they are cheaper paper that any local studio can replicate for you. Yes, they do charge about $20.00 per photo for posed shots, so you did miss out on that component of the purchase, but at least you have the actual photos on the flash drive!  Just pick out your favorite, print it and frame it.  

 

I used to do that package of bringing home ALL my photos for one price, and once I brought home over 300 prints!  They weighed a ton and a lot of them were not that great, so they just sit in the plastic bag.  Now I am a bit more picky as my collection is too large.  I usually buy those little photo books and put the top 15 photos from the cruise in there. It is great to see my haircuts over time, and the photos make nice memories!

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, damiross said:

It's not so much the cost for printing the pictures.  It's that I paid $89 for 5 pictures and a flash drive.  I figure the flash drive costs no more than $5; that leaves $84 for 5 pictures.  Why should I pay $15 for printing out the 5 pictures?

 

Additionally, one thing I forgot to mention was that my wife said the photo people would get the pictures to her on the last day.  They screwed up and didn't get the pictures to her. 

 

The only reason I got the picture package for my wife is that she enjoys it.  I think the pictures are stupidly overpriced.  Although, there was one time when Princess used to offer a package for about $200 that allowed passengers to get a copy of all of the pictures.  That was a good deal but I guess that deal will never come back. 

 

This is why I suggested you get a Pre-authorization from Princess BEFORE ordering your prints.  No cost to you.  And you will get your prints faster than waiting for the ship to reply. Princess charges $20 for each 8 x 10.  They owe you the photos.  Getting them is the issue.  I was just giving you a suggestion.  Take it or leave it.  

[candycaramel]

Take the flash drive on your next cruise and ask them to print you a copy of the 5 pictures you want. Bring the email, explain the situation and be super nice to whoever helps. Buy a frame and leave a tip.

Edited January 21, 2023 by candycaramel

[caribill]

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I agree with you.  OP says he has the flash drive but not the printed photos.  Walgreens charges less than $3.00 for an 8 x 10.

 

What is the resolution of the photos on the flash drive?

 

I remember pre-pandemic they were low resolution photos not suitable for 8x10 prints.

[Rick&Jeannie]

11 hours ago, damiross said:

 Why should I pay $15 for printing out the 5 pictures?

I fully understand why you would want to pursue this...the "principle" of the situation...but, how much is your time worth?  It's very likely that the *only* way you're going to get hard prints now is by doing it yourself.

[damiross]

10 hours ago, jwattle said:

At the risk of sounding naive, did she stop by the photo desk for the pics prior to the end of the cruise?

yes

[Coral]

7 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I fully understand why you would want to pursue this...the "principle" of the situation...but, how much is your time worth?  It's very likely that the *only* way you're going to get hard prints now is by doing it yourself.

I completely agree. It would not be worth my time to pursue this.

[damiross]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

What is the resolution of the photos on the flash drive?

 

1.4 mb, 1.4 mb, 1.5 mb, 3.4 mb, and 3.3 mb

[damiross]

11 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I fully understand why you would want to pursue this...the "principle" of the situation...but, how much is your time worth?  It's very likely that the *only* way you're going to get hard prints now is by doing it yourself.

I'm retired. It takes only a couple of minutes at a time to do this.  My plan is to send an email as often as possible until I get the results I want.

I will also do research to find the phone number

 

I love challenges!

[julie3fan]

11 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

I used to do that package of bringing home ALL my photos for one price, and once I brought home over 300 prints! 

 

I did that too, on 2 different cruises!  A waste of paper, I realize now.  I didn't do it, but I considered buying a nice frame, framing one of the prints, and including 11 others with it as my gag white elephant gift this Christmas, with a note they can change the picture out every month.

[caribill]

49 minutes ago, damiross said:

1.4 mb, 1.4 mb, 1.5 mb, 3.4 mb, and 3.3 mb

 

Do you know how many pixels that is?

 

For example, a photo from my camera is 5.0 mb with the number of pixels being 5184 x 3888.

 

For an 8" x 10" print, the image resolution should be 1536 x 1024 pixels minimum.

 

So, does the photo that is 1.4 mb have at least 1536 x 1024 pixels?  If not, a good 8x10 print would not be possible.

[LibertyBella]

1 hour ago, damiross said:

I'm retired. It takes only a couple of minutes at a time to do this.  My plan is to send an email as often as possible until I get the results I want.

I will also do research to find the phone number

 

I love challenges!

 

 

There is a difference between a challenge and an obsession.  You have the photos on the flash drive--just print out the photo you want. 

 

I cannot hold the cruise line or the photo studio responsible if the passenger did not make it a priority to go to the studio and pick up the prints.

 

(Taking the flash drive with you on the next cruise was an excellent suggestion!)

 

 

 

 

 

[damiross]

6 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

 

 

There is a difference between a challenge and an obsession.  You have the photos on the flash drive--just print out the photo you want. 

 

I cannot hold the cruise line or the photo studio responsible if the passenger did not make it a priority to go to the studio and pick up the prints.

 

(Taking the flash drive with you on the next cruise was an excellent suggestion!)

 

 

 

 

 

I disagree. 

My wife was told they would deliver the pictures.  They didn't.   

 

My next step will actually to be to contact the CEO.  This works wonderfully.  Uber screwed up twice.  Customer non-service didn't do anything.  I contacted the CEO.  I got compensated.  Apple's customer non-service screwed up when my iTunes account was hacked.  The idiots wanted my password.  Guess what, Customer Non-Service - the account was hacked.  I don't have the password.  My next step was to contact Apple's CEO.  Everything was taken care of in a very short manner

 

Companies depend on people not making a fuss when they are screwed by said companies. I'm not one of those sheeple..

[damiross]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Do you know how many pixels that is?

 

For example, a photo from my camera is 5.0 mb with the number of pixels being 5184 x 3888.

 

For an 8" x 10" print, the image resolution should be 1536 x 1024 pixels minimum.

 

So, does the photo that is 1.4 mb have at least 1536 x 1024 pixels?  If not, a good 8x10 print would not be possible.

Minimum dimensions for the 5 pictures are 1800 x 2400.

 

Yes, I can go get them printed at the store or even at home.  However, as I said, I spent $89 for the PRINTED pictures.  I expect to get my money's worth.  As I mention in another post in this topic, my next step is to go directly to the top and bypass customer non-service.

[damiross]

7 hours ago, julie3fan said:

 

I did that too, on 2 different cruises!  A waste of paper, I realize now.  

My wife would beg to differ.  She loves printed pictures of us.

[julie3fan]

2 hours ago, damiross said:

My wife would beg to differ.  She loves printed pictures of us.

 

I certainly don't disagree!  I was referring to the 4" stack of photos I have stashed in my closet!  I bet only 10% of them are "keep" worthy, but keep them I do!

[iamaqt2]

On 1/20/2023 at 10:43 PM, candycaramel said:

Take the flash drive on your next cruise and ask them to print you a copy of the 5 pictures you want. Bring the email, explain the situation and be super nice to whoever helps. Buy a frame and leave a tip.

This is an excellent suggestion.

15 hours ago, damiross said:

My wife would beg to differ.  She loves printed pictures of us.

I'd love to know why you've chosen to ignore this suggestion as if it were never made.  

[damiross]

28 minutes ago, iamaqt2 said:

This is an excellent suggestion.

I'd love to know why you've chosen to ignore this suggestion as if it were never made.  

You don't know that I ignored it.  I just didn't write about it.

 

In any case, I still want a refund of the money I spent for my wife's photo package.  There's no guarantee that showing them the email and explaining what happened will get me pictures, especially considering my wife was on the Sapphire and our next cruise is on the Royal.

 

I have written Photo Guest Service 3 times; the 4th time I included Mr. Padgett, CEO, to help speed up things.

 

The money was spent in good faith; I expect Princess to do the right thing and refund me my money or give me a package picture on our next cruise.

 

[iamaqt2]

17 minutes ago, damiross said:

You don't know that I ignored it.  I just didn't write about it.

 

In any case, I still want a refund of the money I spent for my wife's photo package.  There's no guarantee that showing them the email and explaining what happened will get me pictures, especially considering my wife was on the Sapphire and our next cruise is on the Royal.

 

I have written Photo Guest Service 3 times; the 4th time I included Mr. Padgett, CEO, to help speed up things.

 

The money was spent in good faith; I expect Princess to do the right thing and refund me my money or give me a package picture on our next cruise.

 

Mmmhmmmm... 

I'm pretty sure they would print your pictures.  And I'm pretty sure you know they would as well.  Printing 5 photos isn't going to break them.  

But go ahead and rattle your keyboard if it makes you feel better.  If you hadn't noticed, the sympathy ship has sailed off into the sunset here.