warning about "free" photo session on dream

I dont know if its ok to put this on here or not however, i am soooooo angry. we had a photo taken at one of the ordinary photo backdrops after dinner on the ship. the photographer then tells us they can do a photo session with us (myself, dh and our 4kids) for free. that we can make an appointment and they will go around the ship with us or on shore with us and take pics. sounds great right. well im thinking ok how much is this ....she says its free and you just pick out the ones you like if there arent any no harm done. well we did our shoot on the elegant night. we got a reminder in our room the morning of our shoot saying if we cancel it will cost us $90.00. this is not what she had told us but i had no intrest in canceling so thought went further. we did our shoot had a great time. looking so forward to seeing the pics we made our appoinment to see them. we are taken into a quiet empty bar and he returns with a book and the photos. the book is a great little book of the pics they put together and then also about 40 pages of pics. great loved them all!!! they were fantastic! then he hands us a little flyer with the pricing I about died. $499. for 10 pages. $1000. for the book and the next package was $1049. dont remember what that covered. We had no idea it come to that I figured it would be high but not that high. oh and also you had to buy a package to get any of the photos. one of our kids didnt go on the cruise so we didnt even have us all in them. I had a very hard time not buying them but im not spending over $1000 for photos. just a warning for anyone else out there that may get caught up im a moment had I been told a price before hand we would not have taken the pics at all.

Wow! I hate paying $20+ for an 8x10 so no way would I put out $499 or more! Sorry you had to go through that, thanks for the heads up.

that is outrages. i have never heard of such a thing, but i never do the ship photo's. they are too expensive for me too begin with. yes, they will follow you around and click away for free, but those prices are normal for the cost of each photo bought seperately. im sorry you had such a bad experience.

that is outrages. i have never heard of such a thing. but the cost of ship photos add fast . of course i am a firm beleiver that nothing is free--especialy at the end of the free bargain. im sorry you had such a bad experience.

thanks! i knew it couldnt really be free...but i figured the price wouldnt be that extreme.

just wanted to warn anyone else! it just killed me to not get them.

Yeah, that's kind of how our wedding pictures worked out on the Freedom. We had NO IDEA what to expect and the pictures were AWESOME - every one! Since it was our wedding, they got us... hook, line, and sinker! <sigh>

At least since it was our wedding cruise they seemed to be giving us a bottle of champagne at every turn somehow... LOL

HEY! Maybe that's why we ended up buy the wedding package we did! LOL <kidding>

Have you priced pictures at home? Have you bought pictures for a recent HS grad? The prices are in line with what you pay on shore, so you should not be shocked.

But the "shoot" was free. Right?

Have you priced pictures at home? Have you bought pictures for a recent HS grad? The prices are in line with what you pay on shore, so you should not be shocked.

I'm not sure that I would agree that $500-$1000 for a photo shoot and prints is in line with what you would pay on shore unless you are talking about wedding photography and in that situation you are getting the photographer for the entire day and you get far more than 40 pages of pictures.

WOW!! I would not have bought them. The pictuers are way overpriced anyway!! They should do a package like buy a whole background set for like $40 or $50. All they do is throw them in the garbage if you don't want any. I think they could sell more at a discounted price if they didn't print every picture someone has taken. They need to put a digital kiosk on everyship and you can print the photos you want to buy. It may be more work on their part but it would save them tons of money!!

I dont know if its ok to put this on here or not however, i am soooooo angry. we had a photo taken at one of the ordinary photo backdrops after dinner on the ship. the photographer then tells us they can do a photo session with us (myself, dh and our 4kids) for free. that we can make an appointment and they will go around the ship with us or on shore with us and take pics. sounds great right. well im thinking ok how much is this ....she says its free and you just pick out the ones you like if there arent any no harm done. well we did our shoot on the elegant night. we got a reminder in our room the morning of our shoot saying if we cancel it will cost us $90.00. this is not what she had told us but i had no intrest in canceling so thought went further. we did our shoot had a great time. looking so forward to seeing the pics we made our appoinment to see them. we are taken into a quiet empty bar and he returns with a book and the photos. the book is a great little book of the pics they put together and then also about 40 pages of pics. great loved them all!!! they were fantastic! then he hands us a little flyer with the pricing I about died. $499. for 10 pages. $1000. for the book and the next package was $1049. dont remember what that covered. We had no idea it come to that I figured it would be high but not that high. oh and also you had to buy a package to get any of the photos. one of our kids didnt go on the cruise so we didnt even have us all in them. I had a very hard time not buying them but im not spending over $1000 for photos. just a warning for anyone else out there that may get caught up im a moment had I been told a price before hand we would not have taken the pics at all.

We were on the Dream last July (2010) and did the photo session. The pictures turned out great. Can't remember what the packages cost but we were able to buy three 8x10 for $150. There was no sitting fee. Seems like this would be great for wedding/honeymoon or other special occasion. Family members and friends fell in love with the pictures. On the Legend this year and they have the special photo sessions on it also.

My father retired a few years back and started his own photography business , to which he has become quite wellknown for. I said to him he should advertise for the low price of paying for his cruise , he should become someones personal photographer.He would take unobtrusive pics at dinner around the ship and even on excursions...provided they were paid for by the customer. At the end of the cruise he would put together an album as well as give the customer all digital copies of pics he had taken. Now for the person who grabs a few 8x10s this isn't a great idea but for the group or family that is traveling together this could offer up some savings....he thinks I'm nuts,I say I'm thinking outside the box.

But the "shoot" was free. Right?

You got it right....The shoot is free...Don't have to buy a thing....;)

Wow is that pricey. But those photos are. I would have been floored as well. They should have let you buy less. But compared to the cost of my wedding photography it was a budget. I think they lure you in with free. You fall in love with the photos then they think they have you and that you will pay it.

Sorry, the photos always have been a rip-off, but people buy them, even though I have no idea why. Take your own camera and there will ALWAYS be other guests onboard who will be happy to take your picture-we do it all the time for others especially when we see one family member taking a picture of the rest, we immediately ask to help so that everyone is in the picture.

Learned a long time ago, always ask about pricing before gettng involved in something like this.

Surprises like this are no fun at all.

You got it right....The shoot is free...Don't have to buy a thing....;)

I certainly hope that part is right, but why the $90 cancellation fee?

Sorry, the photos always have been a rip-off, but people buy them, even though I have no idea why. Take your own camera and there will ALWAYS be other guests onboard who will be happy to take your picture-we do it all the time for others especially when we see one family member taking a picture of the rest, we immediately ask to help so that everyone is in the picture.

On our first family cruise we bought almost all of the pictures they took, boarding picture, family with the fake ship's wheel picture, family with the guy dressed like a pirate, etc. The second family cruise we only bought the boarding picture and one we had taken with all of us dressed up because it was our last cruise as an entire family for who knows how long. Yes, it is nice to have someone else take a picture of the family but it never quite looks the same.

My goal is to cover one of my walls at home with boarding pictures:).

I dont know if its ok to put this on here or not however, i am soooooo angry. we had a photo taken at one of the ordinary photo backdrops after dinner on the ship. the photographer then tells us they can do a photo session with us (myself, dh and our 4kids) for free. that we can make an appointment and they will go around the ship with us or on shore with us and take pics. sounds great right. well im thinking ok how much is this ....she says its free and you just pick out the ones you like if there arent any no harm done. well we did our shoot on the elegant night. we got a reminder in our room the morning of our shoot saying if we cancel it will cost us $90.00. this is not what she had told us but i had no intrest in canceling so thought went further. we did our shoot had a great time. looking so forward to seeing the pics we made our appoinment to see them. we are taken into a quiet empty bar and he returns with a book and the photos. the book is a great little book of the pics they put together and then also about 40 pages of pics. great loved them all!!! they were fantastic! then he hands us a little flyer with the pricing I about died. $499. for 10 pages. $1000. for the book and the next package was $1049. dont remember what that covered. We had no idea it come to that I figured it would be high but not that high. oh and also you had to buy a package to get any of the photos. one of our kids didnt go on the cruise so we didnt even have us all in them. I had a very hard time not buying them but im not spending over $1000 for photos. just a warning for anyone else out there that may get caught up im a moment had I been told a price before hand we would not have taken the pics at all.

Thanks for the heads up we are going on our honeymoon kinda reverse in october and I kinda let her buy whatever photos she wants but now i know:)

thanks

I dont know if its ok to put this on here or not however, i am soooooo angry. we had a photo taken at one of the ordinary photo backdrops after dinner on the ship. the photographer then tells us they can do a photo session with us (myself, dh and our 4kids) for free. that we can make an appointment and they will go around the ship with us or on shore with us and take pics. sounds great right. well im thinking ok how much is this ....she says its free and you just pick out the ones you like if there arent any no harm done. well we did our shoot on the elegant night. we got a reminder in our room the morning of our shoot saying if we cancel it will cost us $90.00. this is not what she had told us but i had no intrest in canceling so thought went further. we did our shoot had a great time. looking so forward to seeing the pics we made our appoinment to see them. we are taken into a quiet empty bar and he returns with a book and the photos. the book is a great little book of the pics they put together and then also about 40 pages of pics. great loved them all!!! they were fantastic! then he hands us a little flyer with the pricing I about died. $499. for 10 pages. $1000. for the book and the next package was $1049. dont remember what that covered. We had no idea it come to that I figured it would be high but not that high. oh and also you had to buy a package to get any of the photos. one of our kids didnt go on the cruise so we didnt even have us all in them. I had a very hard time not buying them but im not spending over $1000 for photos. just a warning for anyone else out there that may get caught up im a moment had I been told a price before hand we would not have taken the pics at all.

It sounds to me that the photographer following you around looking for that Kodak moment was free. No charge for his/her time. A thousand dollars for pics, WOW.:eek:

Have you priced pictures at home? Have you bought pictures for a recent HS grad? The prices are in line with what you pay on shore, so you should not be shocked.

I agree. Those prices seem to be pretty much in line with what a professional photographer would charge for similar work on land. In fact, compared with what we were charged for our wedding pictures and for a photo shoot of our first son, this sounds like a bargain.

The photographer didn't lie. The photo shoot was free. I don't see anything outrageous or anything to be "warned about" here...

I agree. Those prices seem to be pretty much in line with what a professional photographer would charge for similar work on land. In fact, compared with what we were charged for our wedding pictures and for a photo shoot of our first son, this sounds like a bargain.

 

The photographer didn't lie. The photo shoot was free. I don't see anything outrageous or anything to be "warned about" here...

I never said he lied. I knew the pics wouldnt be free, however, I had no idea it would be as high priced as it is. I also was not told I would have to buy a Package deal I was told I could buy what I liked and then after the shoot I was told it had to be after a package was purchased that I could buy extra of what I liked. And yes it is a warning to people who will think as I did that the sheets would cost around the same line as all the other photos taken on the ship.

I never said he lied. I knew the pics wouldnt be free, however, I had no idea it would be as high priced as it is. I also was not told I would have to buy a Package deal I was told I could buy what I liked and then after the shoot I was told it had to be after a package was purchased that I could buy extra of what I liked. And yes it is a warning to people who will think as I did that the sheets would cost around the same line as all the other photos taken on the ship.

I appreciate you recounting your experience. My husband & I saw the offering for this shoot on our last cruise & inquired about it. The sample pictures taken on the beach shoot looked great. We were also under the impression that the pictures would be sold individually. We didn't go with it because we did not have all our family on the cruise.

The warning you gave was warranted...it would have been very disappointing to see terrific pictures of your family & then be put in the position of either shelling out $499. or handing them back & walking away with nothing. Someone else mentioned they were able to get 3 for $150. That seems like a more reasonable approach.

I'm sorry the op had an unpleasant experience. We bought the canvas enlargement photos on a cruise in March and one came with a flaw in the background. I called CCL and they reprinted it and sent it to me. They were great and I really appreciated the excellent, quick customer service. The quality of the photos I've bought has been great and prices are similar to a private photograper in my area of the country. We had a photo shoot done of our kids at the grand floridian at disney last yr and their prices were similar to CCL. It is expensive and is one's choice to buy or not buy.

Thanks for the warning. I only purchase the embarkation photo the getting off the ship in port and a Elegant Night photo. Thats why before the cruise I purchase the photo coupons that way I stick to my budget.:) I wish they would attach pics to sail n sign card then you can view and purchase later. But I love there photography. Had Christmas Cards done on one of my cruises. Didnt have all my children with me but had two of them. Photos are priceless, their memories.:):)

from an environmental impact stand point it really bugs me they print all of those prints (most of which get thrown away). They should scan the S&S cards and only print on request.

My father retired a few years back and started his own photography business , to which he has become quite wellknown for. I said to him he should advertise for the low price of paying for his cruise , he should become someones personal photographer.He would take unobtrusive pics at dinner around the ship and even on excursions...provided they were paid for by the customer. At the end of the cruise he would put together an album as well as give the customer all digital copies of pics he had taken. Now for the person who grabs a few 8x10s this isn't a great idea but for the group or family that is traveling together this could offer up some savings....he thinks I'm nuts,I say I'm thinking outside the box.

I just want to say, even though your father thinks you are nuts for suggesting it, people DO pay for it! My husband works in the party business, and my DS is very interested in photography, so I am always talking to the professionals he gets to work with (I am trying to get in good with them, so we can convince them to let our DS be an "apprentice" for them when school isn't in 3 years when he turns 16 :))

There are people who DO pay for things like this. My husband frequently works with a very large Wedding Planner who people even pay for her and her staff to come do international weddings. Because of her recommendations almost all of her international weddings include her favorite photographer.

Then again... this is all with a wedding planner who alone charges 5 digits just to plan a party... I don't even want to know how much she charged for Ben Rothisburger's wedding since I know the cost of his rentals for his wedding!