10/15/2011 - Taking the West by Magic!

[Onkel Hans]

I am curious if any will bring a laptop? I am wondering how I will empty the photos from my camera without one, but don't feel like lugging it with either.

Opinions?

First off..hey look at all those great pict of your family

Not bringing a lap top, bringing an extra SDcard for more pictures.

Sonia

We are planning on taking lots and lots of pics and video, so we are bringing extra SD cards and the laptop. We have a nice backpack that carries the camera, lenses, and a laptop, so it isn't that much of an inconvenience to bring along.

In the futire, I think we will get a "photo bank" if they come down in price, or a small, cheap netbook. It does seem like the laptop will not be so useful, as we don't plan to use it to surf the Internet or check e-mail, or share on facebook, etc.

 

[atheneze]

We are planning on taking lots and lots of pics and video, so we are bringing extra SD cards and the laptop. We have a nice backpack that carries the camera, lenses, and a laptop, so it isn't that much of an inconvenience to bring along.

In the futire, I think we will get a "photo bank" if they come down in price, or a small, cheap netbook. It does seem like the laptop will not be so useful, as we don't plan to use it to surf the Internet or check e-mail, or share on facebook, etc.

We are also planning on taking the laptop with us since we are big on photos. And we will also be at WDW for a week beofre the cruise.

I am soooo excited!!!

 

[Cayley]

Yes, I was just so darn excited to finally understand how it worked!

Pics are great! I loaded some pics into photobucket but I still can't add. Any suggestions?

 

[Onkel Hans]

Pics are great! I loaded some pics into photobucket but I still can't add. Any suggestions?

Does Photobucket have a section that includes "IMG code"? If so, just copy what's in the form to your post where ever you want the picture to show, just a pure copy and paste.

 

[Cindy8944]

Ahhh.... so both the Alexis's will have pom poms!!!!!!

Yes! The first thing she asked me was if Alexis got some too.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

I am curious if any will bring a laptop? I am wondering how I will empty the photos from my camera without one, but don't feel like lugging it with either.

Opinions?

I'll have mine, but I probably won't even break it out since the cruise part of the vacation is going to be totally unplugged. I'll be there a week before the cruise too, so that's where I'll get to check work e-mail, see if I need to do anything, etc. Once I'm on board, it goes away and I don't open it again until we're back!

 

[amazingact21]

I am curious if any will bring a laptop? I am wondering how I will empty the photos from my camera without one, but don't feel like lugging it with either.

Opinions?

Alex and I are bringing one, just because we are going to be at WDW for a few days after the cruise, and we'll want to empty our pictures from the cruise onto the computer before taking more. However, we're also bringing extra SD cards, that way when we're on the ship, we won't need to use the laptop that much.

 

[diznpat]

Two more questions:

Has anyone used Shutters for photos before? How many photos did you get, was it worth it? Did anyone ever buy the whole photo disc? Was that worth it. Have you just taken your own photos? I am interested in folks take on this as shutters and the disc seems so expensive but I am not a stellar photographer and I just don't think of taking photos that often.

I saw a couple folks ask about activities in Grand Cayman. We are bamboozled about what we should do or not do. Any recommendations or warnings from the experienced cruisers or just from those who have done more research.

Thanks again for everyone's help and the DIS board.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Two more questions:

Has anyone used Shutters for photos before? How many photos did you get, was it worth it? Did anyone ever buy the whole photo disc? Was that worth it. Have you just taken your own photos? I am interested in folks take on this as shutters and the disc seems so expensive but I am not a stellar photographer and I just don't think of taking photos that often.

I saw a couple folks ask about activities in Grand Cayman. We are bamboozled about what we should do or not do. Any recommendations or warnings from the experienced cruisers or just from those who have done more research.

Thanks again for everyone's help and the DIS board.

We usually end up getting a photo credits package on board. We'll do a couple of character meets, then some lifestyle poses with the family. We don't get the CD, just because we don't take enough pictures to make it worthwhile, even on a 7 day cruise, and we like the borders. We also don't worry about purchasing a package before we sail, the prices are the same.

As for Cayman, we're probably going to Sting Ray City. Jillian hasn't ever been and it's very cool!

 

[tinkerbelx]

Two more questions:

Has anyone used Shutters for photos before? How many photos did you get, was it worth it? Did anyone ever buy the whole photo disc? Was that worth it. Have you just taken your own photos? I am interested in folks take on this as shutters and the disc seems so expensive but I am not a stellar photographer and I just don't think of taking photos that often.

I saw a couple folks ask about activities in Grand Cayman. We are bamboozled about what we should do or not do. Any recommendations or warnings from the experienced cruisers or just from those who have done more research.

Thanks again for everyone's help and the DIS board.

I agree with everything Colorado said! For the photos I would only get the CD if you take TONS of pictures i think it costs $399.99 on the 7 day, so think about it are you going to take 400 bucks worth of photos- if you are then its worth it.

And the best thing in the caymans is stingray city...basically a sand bar with 100's of stingrays. amazing! Other then that the island is very ritzy. The shopping is higher end- last time i was there i did not buy a lot. And you can't buy booze there b/c they have this policy that they will only deliver to the ship and disney doesn't allow that.

Hope that helps

 

[Onkel Hans]

Two more questions:

Has anyone used Shutters for photos before? How many photos did you get, was it worth it? Did anyone ever buy the whole photo disc? Was that worth it. Have you just taken your own photos? I am interested in folks take on this as shutters and the disc seems so expensive but I am not a stellar photographer and I just don't think of taking photos that often.

No words of experience here, but we plan to buy the CD. As folks have pointed out, it can be overpriced for the amount of pictures that you get, but we plan to swan around and get our pictures taken as much as possible. We will wait till Wednesday or Thursday to check what they have taken so far before making the final decision. We are also hoping that they offer the CD at a discounted price as they have from time to time (or so I have read in trip reports).

I saw a couple folks ask about activities in Grand Cayman. We are bamboozled about what we should do or not do. Any recommendations or warnings from the experienced cruisers or just from those who have done more research.

Thanks again for everyone's help and the DIS board.

We are also heading out to see the stingrays. My Fodor's guide to the Caribbean lists Stingray City as one of the top experiences in that part of the world.

I have read a couple of trip reports about families that just swam from the beach near the port, there is a ship wreck nearby that makes for interesting snorkeling.

 

[momtylerashley]

Do they take pictures of the kids when they are in their "clubs"? Also, do they take them on the excursions, booked by Disney, and on Castaway Cay?

Thanks for the help.

Renee

No words of experience here, but we plan to buy the CD. As folks have pointed out, it can be overpriced for the amount of pictures that you get, but we plan to swan around and get our pictures taken as much as possible. We will wait till Wednesday or Thursday to check what they have taken so far before making the final decision. We are also hoping that they offer the CD at a discounted price as they have from time to time (or so I have read in trip reports).


We are also heading out to see the stingrays. My Fodor's guide to the Caribbean lists Stingray City as one of the top experiences in that part of the world.

I have read a couple of trip reports about families that just swam from the beach near the port, there is a ship wreck nearby that makes for interesting snorkeling.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Do they take pictures of the kids when they are in their "clubs"? Also, do they take them on the excursions, booked by Disney, and on Castaway Cay?

Thanks for the help.

Renee

They do, but finding those candid photographers is sometimes hit or miss. I've never seen one on a Disney excursion, but did see one at the Colliseum in Rome (we weren't on an excursion, but got our pictures taken there!) and have seen them on Castaway Cay. They're supposed to use facial recognition to put your pictures into a CD, but that's about all I can add into it since I've never gotten one.

 

[Cayley]

Two more questions:

Has anyone used Shutters for photos before? How many photos did you get, was it worth it? Did anyone ever buy the whole photo disc? Was that worth it. Have you just taken your own photos? I am interested in folks take on this as shutters and the disc seems so expensive but I am not a stellar photographer and I just don't think of taking photos that often.

I saw a couple folks ask about activities in Grand Cayman. We are bamboozled about what we should do or not do. Any recommendations or warnings from the experienced cruisers or just from those who have done more research.

Thanks again for everyone's help and the DIS board.

On our 2008 cruise we bought a lot of pictures from Shutters. Unfortunately, we don't take a lot of pictures as a rule and don't own a nice camera which makes the shutters pictures priceless to us. I agree with the others about the CD. I would love to get it but only if it has a ton of pictures on it. As a side note, our 2008 vacation included WDW and I ended up creating a photopass narrated book of our trip with pics of WDW and the cruise. It is a tasteful Disney hard bound book with shiny pages. It was expensive but since I rarely take photos and I don't scrapbook, it was an awesome do-it-yourself project that I could handle and it turned out awesome. By the way, since I know someone asked, they took a ton of pictures of our family on Castaway Cay.

 

[Cayley]

No words of experience here, but we plan to buy the CD. As folks have pointed out, it can be overpriced for the amount of pictures that you get, but we plan to swan around and get our pictures taken as much as possible. We will wait till Wednesday or Thursday to check what they have taken so far before making the final decision. We are also hoping that they offer the CD at a discounted price as they have from time to time (or so I have read in trip reports).


We are also heading out to see the stingrays. My Fodor's guide to the Caribbean lists Stingray City as one of the top experiences in that part of the world.

I have read a couple of trip reports about families that just swam from the beach near the port, there is a ship wreck nearby that makes for interesting snorkeling.

I found an excursion web site on Grand Cayman for a 2 hour sea doo ride to visit the stingrays for $70 per person on a double. We ride sea doos quite a bit but never in crystal clear water. We haven't decided yet though. I thought this sounded interesting and reasonable.

 

[Cayley]

Help! How do I down size my pictures?

 

[diznpat]

Help! How do I down size my pictures?

Hey, I can actually help. You need to resize your photo in photobucket and select the small size. Good luck!

 

[Cayley]

Hey, I can actually help. You need to resize your photo in photobucket and select the small size. Good luck!

Victory at last! Thank you!!!

 

[The Browns]

I am just sad that it's hard to find excursions that are able for 2 yr olds.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

I am just sad that it's hard to find excursions that are able for 2 yr olds.

We ran into the same problem when we first cruised and Ryan was 3. We ended up doing the ports on our own (glass bottom boat in Key West, Chakanaab in Cozumel and left the kids on the ship in the clubs to go to Stingray City in Cayman). Until this last cruise, we'd never done a DCL excursion, just gotten off and done our own thing, sometimes that works out better, and it's pretty much always less expensive!