PastorW Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 Anyone ever done a private photo session? My in laws are paying to take the whole family on a cruise in November and we like to do something for them, like a private photo session of the whole family. But one thing I see is that it’s limited to the people in your cabin. We have 14 people so more than one cabin obviously. Anyone know how they handle that? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 We did one once when it was billed a free private photo session for suite guests. What an utter waste. It took forever and there were only 2-3 half decent photos, then the woman told us how much 2-3 photos was going to be. Hard. Pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNS123 Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 We did this last year as a family of four, it was such a waste of money. You only get 5 photos and none of them where worth the price tag, and if you want to have more than the five pictures it will cost you another fortune. Booking an excursion is such a better way to spend your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie M Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 We did a photo session years ago - the pictures were amazing but the packages were just WAAAY too expensive for us so we passed on them all. It wasn't worth it. The photo shoot wasn't that fun anyways. We were in 2 different cabins but they let us do it as one family though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 We did one in 2022 at Coco Cay. We didn’t purchase ahead of time, but the night before our day at Coco Cay they called our room asking if we would be interested in a private photo session while at our cabana, no pressure to buy anything. (Guess they were desperate for family sessions in hopes someone would buy pictures afterwards) The pictures actually turned out really nice when we went to view them at the photo gallery. They were rediculously overpriced and as much as we liked them, we left the photo gallery without purchasing. Later that evening my husband returned and chatted with the photographer/salesman (same person in our case) and offered a much lower price for a 13x17 metal print (shipped to us) and several other digital prints with the permission to print wherever we wished. They accepted and we got the photos we loved for a price no more than what we pay at home. Don’t be affraid to bargin. My advice would be to talk to someone on the ship personally instead of purchasing ahead online. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoomSlayer Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 I have never done the private photo shoot, but we have done the standard photo packages a few times and got some great family photos using their standard backdrops on board and also in the port by the ship. We do this about once every other year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 We did the private photos shoot when it was offered free to suite guests one time as well. As others have mentioned, they were great pics but they wouldn’t budge on pricing or style of prints. Not worth it. Right after that we talked to one of the regular ship photographers and set a time for her to take pictures of us against an interesting wall near the Schooner Bar. Turned out great, we got our 2 free Diamond photos and also bought 5 for a little discount. So maybe just go to the Photo Desk and see what they recommend for group shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 I guess that I am in the minority based on comments so far, but we did the private photo session in January 2023 and we loved it. I detailed all prices and the experience in my blog for that sailing (page 6 and 7 if you don’t want to read the whole thing). https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/37498-shining-shimmering-splendid-nye-sy-123122-–-010723/ We also did the 100 print photo package in March 2023 when we sailed as a group of 10. That one is not in a studio. It’s just a collection of 100 photos that you selected from pictures taken by ship photographers. Comparing the two, obviously the price is way higher for the studio session, but the quality of photos from the studio session is far superior to those taken by the regular ship photographers. KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fa-li Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 We did the free session for suites on Harmony and had so much fun with it. The photographer took us all over the ship for some really great shots, and he was really skilled at getting us relaxed and laughing, so we looked very natural and happy in the photos. The price was insane and we told him we were sorry for wasting his time but we just couldn't justify purchasing. At which point he offered us the photo package we could have prepurchased, with I think 5 digital downloads for a price I can't remember now but we felt was worth it. We also tipped the photographer, so that added a little to the price. I still love the photos and am so glad we did it. As Firefly said, definitely worth haggling over the price. Having said that, for a large group, you may be better off buying one of the photo packages and then just making a point to getting the group together as often as possible to take advantage of the photographers all over the ship. When we sailed with a group of 18, we did this and they really did a great job and took plenty of time to arrange and pose us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Of The Seas Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 We did a studio session on our first cruise. Stupid expensive, but worth every penny, Ordered a nice canvas of Mrs. Geezer and myself all cleaned up and pretty that hangs over the fireplace. And there wasn't an Olan Mills in the immediate area, so...................... fireclan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrznTxn Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 16 hours ago, Geezer Of The Seas said: We did a studio session on our first cruise. Stupid expensive, but worth every penny, Ordered a nice canvas of Mrs. Geezer and myself all cleaned up and pretty that hangs over the fireplace. And there wasn't an Olan Mills in the immediate area, so...................... Wow, that really dates us with the Olan Mills reference. Hope your photos were great and enjoyable for years to come. fireclan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.