resstation

As I always tell my 14 yr old son, "If you choose the behavior, you choose the consequences". Post and you shall be flamed until all feel they have gotten something off their chest or they "won". I love reading the boards for this reason. It makes me so happy and thankful for my own family!

My two cents - my husband's family always has king crab legs and steak for Thanksgiving. I like the traditional turkey dinner, but I'll eat crab legs and steak all day long if someone were serving them to me!

I bought the unlimited package and am planning to take lots of photos. We have 8 (2 kids and 6 adults) people in our group which consist of grandparents, cousin and aunt and uncle. I have 3 people in my cabin (me, DH and DS) so as long as one of us is in the photo, it is part of our package. And we are planning to take photos in all sorts of combination and lots of it (hopefully every night)

2 kids, family group photo, grandparents and kid, DH and DS, DS and I, DH and I, my parents and I, and a whole lot of other combinations. You get the idea :)

 

My question is will the other passengers who want their photo taken as well get annoyed having to wait while we are hogging the photographer and wanting all these different combination of photos? Will the photographer say 'sorry, you can't take so many photos because there's a queue and other people need their photos taken as well'?

Haha! Don't worry about the other passengers, worry about who in your group feels the same way you do. Trust me, it gets old. Fast. I found the candid pictures I took myself (or had someone stop and take) were the best from our cruise. Although two or three of the hundred (plus) pictures did turn out great, they mostly all look contrived and unnatural. IMO

Pretty sure they have the same website techs as the government's healthcare site.

I refuse to buy any photos from the ship. I think they are way over priced. I can not believe how much they charge. Its like paying 9.00 for a small popcorn at the movies.

I know this is a once in a lifetime trip for some people and they are willing to buy for that reason. I think they would sell a lot more photos if they were a reasonable price. Not to mention how must the photographers pester you to take your picture.

I have heard the same problems from many people, not worth the hassle to me.

Norma

Try paying for a session with a "real" photographer on dry land. You'll find the prices on board to be MUCH CHEAPER. Especially because you can keep trying for that "just right" family picture over a number of days and you are not obligated to purchase pictures you don't like.

I'm definitely not one who needs a family portrait every single time I cruise, they get a little cheesy. But if you need one, a cruise is a great place to get one (or more)!

Thank you for posting these lovely pictures. We were on the Jewel of the Seas last year and there were several times where I was unable to finish my meal because it was, in a word, tasteless. I thought cruise food had gone downhill for sure! I had always remembered having the best food on cruises and I'm definitely a member of the "Clean Plate Club" but strangely could not bring myself to finish my JOS meals. SO happy to see these pictures and looking forward to sailing on the Silhouette in March!

I think I would have been OK with the package had I seen ANY photographers somewhere other than their "formal" set ups before dinner. Typically, they do roam the ship taking candid pictures. In our case, we never saw one walking around other than one night at Tides. The icing on the cake was when they left early the day we finally were in a port. Our excursion didn't meet until 11:45, so we got off the ship at 11:15 with no photographer in sight.

Just back from our cruise on the Jewel. As I mentioned, the photo package was $179. The photos were mostly $20 each if purchased separately. To be honest, I don't think I would purchase it again because although you do get every photo, not every photo is one that you would buy. I mean there are some pretty goofy poses. The one photo I really would have loved was the one they take when you get off the ship at a port but our ship's photographer LEFT EARLY and wasn't there when we were getting off the ship for our excursion! I probably would have actually purchased 6 or 7 of the photos. The ones I really liked. Oh well. Live and learn.

resstation, im following you on the jewel. I also plan to get the unlimited package, would much prefer to get a CD than actual prints to get all wrinkled on the way home. Please come back and post if they did have the CD. Thanks!!

I will post for you, but from what I understand at this point, they do not have the technology set up to provide the CD on the Jewel yet. I think it is going to be put in place after the refurbishment. If this is not correct, I'll let you know when we get back.

SO EXCITED!! Thanks to everyone for their very helpful information!

Thanks, that must be what I typed in on the second search because it did work and I'll remember to look into this option before my next cruise. I did look back through all the compass's and various papers from my recent 5 night on the Jewel and didn't find any thing about this photo package deal. Maybe it isn't available on shorter cruises. Anyway, that cruise is over and no looking back.

 

Cruise Critic is amazing. I learn new information and tips everytime I log on. Some topics are truely beat to death, such as tipping, but new cruisers need to know. I had been on everyday for weeks prior to the Jewel cruise and hadn't seen anything about Mycruisephotos - then yesterday there was this thread. Thanks to the person who started it.

You're welcome - and we, too, are going on the 5 night Jewel cruise. I just don't think it is widely advertised. It is VERY easy to miss in the cruise planner. Sometimes I can't find my way back to it if I want to look something up. Just a few more days left until we are out at sea. I can't wait!

After reading more about the package I found that although ALL of the Royal Caribbean ships offer an unlimited photo package, only select ships have the DVD option. On Jewel, the ship we are sailing, we will get the hard copies of the photos the last night. I'm not sure if this is the distinction between prices from one ship to the next.

I don't know if they advertise the package on board. I saw it in my "pre-cruise planner" online. I'm glad I did. It appears to be a good value. This way I don't have to pick and choose. With a 13 year old son, getting to a good photographer for family photos isn't the easiest thing in the world. Will be nice to have the photo memories!

Please tell me more about mycruisephoto.com. I went to the site and can't seem to find a link to my cruise last week. I didn't even go look at the photo's that were taken during the cruise and now I wish I had. I was on Jewel of the Seas March 2nd sailing.

I don't think it can be done after the fact. I believe you must purchase the package ahead of time. Also, the Jewel doesn't have the more advanced features - you just pick up your photos on the last day (this is what I've been told this morning. I am not certain.)

:eek: Wow, they cost $25 each? I guess it would be a deal. Thanks for your reply.

I see that an unlimited photo package for our upcoming cruise is $179. How much do photos cost if you buy them separately? Sounds like you would have to take A LOT of photos to get your money's worth - or are photographers around every corner now? We are sailing on Jewel of the Seas in two weeks.

I noticed that the couples Rasul (mud therapy) is $95 for one hour, but when I try to book it in advance via the personalizer, the only option is to book the $195 mud therapy PLUS thermal sanctuary for the week. Is that what others are finding too? I think we would like the thermal sanctuary but I don't know if we'll have time to spend $100 worth of time there.

Also, is there are sign up sheet or something for that? What if several people want to use the stone beds at the same time. Is there a "perfect" time to go like there is with the anytime dining?