Misleading photo

[kruzseeka]

I've just been looking at a Fjords cruise on QM2. The cruise lead picture was beautiful - but I didn't recognise it as any of the destinations.  I was interested to identify it.  Having looked at each destination picture on the itinerary guide the picture advertising the cruise is not there.  Having done a capture and identification of the view it turned out to be the Lofoten Islands.  Not on the itinerary at all. 

Misleading - not that you would choose to go on a cruise without due diligence, checking out the destinations and not make a selection based on one promotional picture but surely you wouldn't expect a cruise line to post a picture of a destination not included on the itinerary.  

Edited April 30, 2023 by kruzseeka

[d9704011]

4 minutes ago, kruzseeka said:

I've just been looking at a Fjords cruise on QM2. The cruise lead picture was beautiful - but I didn't recognise it as any of the destinations.  I was interested to identify it.  Having looked at each destination picture on the itinerary guide the picture advertising the cruise is not there.  Having done a capture and identification of the view it turned out to be the Lofoten Islands.  Not on the itinerary at all. 

Misleading - not that you would choose to go on a cruise without due diligence, checking out the destinations and not make a selection based on one promotional picture but surely you wouldn't expect a cruise line to post a picture of a destination not included on the itinerary.  

How about those photos of young couples in the prime of their lives without a care in the world on an excursion where nobody else is around or has access to the sight and they are free to taste the wine and cheese thoughtfully left out just for them?

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

23 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

How about those photos of young couples in the prime of their lives without a care in the world on an excursion where nobody else is around or has access to the sight and they are free to taste the wine and cheese thoughtfully left out just for them?

Marketing.  All of it…nothing unusual .

[Windsurfboy]

5 minutes ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

Marketing.  All of it…nothing unusual .

 

There is a difference between marketing hype ie all cruise passengers look like movie stars, and wrong information,  ie showing somewhere you are not visiting.

 

However  most likely just a simple error  by a junior with a D in geography. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Windsurfboy

[Pushpit]

I think this is the cruise at issue:

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M325/M325

 

M325 for 25 August 2023.

 

And it uses a photo which is fairly obviously Reine, the main village in Moskenesøya, Lofoten. Whereas the cruise itself goes no further north than Ålesund, a gap of no less than 500 km. So way beyond the scope of an excursion. 

 

[Host Hattie]

I do remember some of the Transatlantic crossings direct to Florida including a photograph of New York but I can't find them now so maybe they have been corrected.

[bluemarble]

Unfortunately there are other examples like this.

 

First of all, here is the full Lofoten Islands photo for voyage M325 to the Norwegian Fjords.

 

 

The URL for that photo contains "Olden.jpg". Now Olden is on the itinerary for M325, but of course this isn't a photo of Olden.

 

Take a look at voyage M315, Norwegian Fjords. It uses this photo.

 

 

The URL for this photo contains "Stavanger.jpg". Stavanger is on the itinerary for voyage M315. However this is actually a photo of Alesund which is not on the itinerary.

 

So Cunard is being sloppy with how they identify some of their photos. Apparently someone thought that photo for M325 was Olden and that photo for M315 was Stavanger.

 

The example I believe @Host Hattie may be remembering was for a transatlantic crossing on Queen Anne from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton in February 2024. That voyage has been canceled, but it had been using this photo of Central Park in New York.

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

A lot of the photos com from stock houses, like Getty Images. If a photo has a mistake in its tags, like Stavanger instead of Alesund, a photo researcher can end up using the wrong photo. 

 

I saw some spectacular versions of this when I worked in publishing. We were doing a Virginia edition of some textbook, and the photo researcher told me she found a "stunning" photo of the Chesapeake Bay bridge/tunnel. I thought, wait a minute. That is not stunning. The bridges are all low and plain. Sure enough, she found a different Chesapeake Bay bridge. Definitely a great picture. Only problem, is it was in Maryland, although the photo was tagged Virginia, as well as Bridge, Chesapeake, etc. NOT a good choice for a Virginia edition. It was just luck that I had been over both the Virginia and Maryland bridges, and I knew the difference. 

[FritzG]

2 hours ago, bluemarble said:

Unfortunately there are other examples like this.

 

First of all, here is the full Lofoten Islands photo for voyage M325 to the Norwegian Fjords.

 

 

The URL for that photo contains "Olden.jpg". Now Olden is on the itinerary for M325, but of course this isn't a photo of Olden.

 

Take a look at voyage M315, Norwegian Fjords. It uses this photo.

 

 

The URL for this photo contains "Stavanger.jpg". Stavanger is on the itinerary for voyage M315. However this is actually a photo of Alesund which is not on the itinerary.

 

So Cunard is being sloppy with how they identify some of their photos. Apparently someone thought that photo for M325 was Olden and that photo for M315 was Stavanger.

 

The example I believe @Host Hattie may be remembering was for a transatlantic crossing on Queen Anne from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton in February 2024. That voyage has been canceled, but it had been using this photo of Central Park in New York.

 

Alesund is on this itinerary.

[kruzseeka]

14 minutes ago, FritzG said:

Alesund is on this itinerary.

Yes Alesund is indeed on the itinerary for this cruise (M325) and the photo in the itinerary description is of Alesund.  However the picture in dispute is of the Lofoten Islands and as has already been pointed out, not only is this not on the itinerary but not anywhere near any ports being visited. 

[bluemarble]

2 hours ago, bluemarble said:

The example I believe @Host Hattie may be remembering was for a transatlantic crossing on Queen Anne from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton in February 2024. That voyage has been canceled, but it had been using this photo of Central Park in New York.

 

 

Oh yes, there was this one as well, originally posted by @Dranuc2016. This was for what was to be Queen Anne's inaugural westbound crossing in January 2024 to Fort Lauderdale via the Azores and Port Canaveral. This photo is even more obviously New York rather than any of the calls on that itinerary.

 

[exlondoner]

Mind you, this is a company that I remember once advertised a crossing as going from New York to London. They did do such voyages a long time ago, but not with QM2. I think they have also been known to mix up the two Cartagenas. 😀

[majortom10]

Artistic license. Princess advertise all there cruises going to London instead of Southampton. Same with Dublin it doesn't go there on British Isles.

[3rdGenCunarder]

46 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Mind you, this is a company that I remember once advertised a crossing as going from New York to London. They did do such voyages a long time ago, but not with QM2. I think they have also been known to mix up the two Cartagenas. 😀

 

I've seen the two Sydneys mixed up, too.  

[exlondoner]

4 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I've seen the two Sydneys mixed up, too.  

Bless. I should expect no less.

[bluemarble]

41 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Mind you, this is a company that I remember once advertised a crossing as going from New York to London. They did do such voyages a long time ago, but not with QM2. I think they have also been known to mix up the two Cartagenas. 😀

 

Oh yes indeed, they still advertise transatlantic crossings to/from London for the US market. I suppose they figure London resonates better than Southampton for potential customers over here. This is from a recent email.

 

[NE John]

Southampton to Brooklyn sounds poetic to me!

[exlondoner]

57 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Artistic license. Princess advertise all there cruises going to London instead of Southampton. Same with Dublin it doesn't go there on British Isles.

Saying you are going to London, when you are, in fact, going to Tilbury, as some lines do, is one thing. Saying you are going to London, when you are going to Southampton, which is over 70 miles away, quite a big proportion of a small country, is just inaccurate.

Edited April 30, 2023 by exlondoner

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

Oh yes indeed, they still advertise transatlantic crossings to/from London for the US market. I suppose they figure London resonates better than Southampton for potential customers over here. This is from a recent email.

 

I’m sure you are right. It is irritating, though.

[exlondoner]

Just now, exlondoner said:

I’m sure you are right. It is irritating, though.

Btw, do those fares advertised to London, include transfers?

[bluemarble]

Just now, exlondoner said:

Btw, do those fares advertised to London, include transfers?

 

No, they do not. Coach transfers to/from Heathrow, Gatwick, St Pancras or Victoria Coach Station are available add-ons for an additional charge of $90 per person.

[exlondoner]

Just now, bluemarble said:

 

No, they do not. Coach transfers to/from Heathrow, Gatwick, St Pancras or Victoria Coach Station are available add-ons for an additional charge of $90 per person.

Worse and worse.

[majortom10]

We have done Mediterranean cruises in the past with P&O where we should have been going to Cartagena in Spain and the itinerary has said Cartagena in Columbia.

[exlondoner]

38 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

We have done Mediterranean cruises in the past with P&O where we should have been going to Cartagena in Spain and the itinerary has said Cartagena in Columbia.

That is vaguely worrying. 😁

[NE John]

Then there’s Grills marketing showing outdoor patio dining and covered sun areas that don’t apply to QM2. 
There’s then marketing for QA skews heavy towards young people, fitness, and wellness. Let’s see how that reality turns out.