No, you are not the only ones. No matter what cruise line we are on, we generally follow the same pattern. When boarding, we skip the "fake background boarding photo area and "just keep swimming." (Had to put in a Disney reference here). Boarding day is often hot, humid and sticky, and by the time we are done handling luggage and waiting in lines, we are in no shape for a good photo. On formal nights when the photographers roam from table to table, we bunch together for a single photo of the family with no intention of buying it. But the photographers are trying to do their job and we don't want to harass or embarrass them, or cause a scene. So we politely pose for 10 seconds. It doesn't kill us, even though we know that there is a 1% chance that we will buy the photo. If there are pirates or other characters outside of the dining room for a photo shoot, we will pose for one of these as well. (And since we have had wine and drinks with dinner, it becomes easier to joke around with these guys). We never pose for photos at port stops as we get off the ship. We are usually moving with a purpose. So, in all, we will pose for 2 or 3 photos per cruise with no intention of buying them. On the off chance that a photo comes out looking good, we will consider it. But generally, (and this is especially true in the tropics), we all have "cruise ship hair" that is humidified and wind-blown, and we look far to scary for photos.
