help with photo package

[Oursweetworld]

This is our first disney cruise. I am traveling with my family of 5 (DH & kids ages: 14, 10, & 7)on a 7 night western caribbean cruise. I have been researching the photo package and wondering if it is worth it. Thoughts for those that have bought it? I love taking pictures & creating photo books and probably will purchase a few of the pictures. Just don't know if I will have enough pictures taken that justifies the $300 (that would be 15 photos to break even). Also for those that purchased the package- any tips for getting the most value from the package?

 

[anricat]

My thoughts on the photo package are to just buy it in advance to get the discount. You can always cancel on board if you feel like you won't be getting your money's worth. However, if you don't buy it in advance and then you want it, you're paying more than if you'd pre-purchased.

We use it for all character interactions, photos at dinner, etc. Anytime we see a photographer, we take a picture. However, where I really think it's worth the money is for professional, posed family portraits. I'm going to pay a photographer at home $200 just for the session (forget the cost of getting prints or digital copies) and we're going to get dressed up and tromp through the mud in some wooded area (yes, lovely, but it's always a chore). On the ship, we're already dressed up (if you're getting dressed up) either on formal or semi-formal night and there are a variety of backdrops to choose from. You go to each one, take several photos at each and BAM! Christmas cards are practically writing themselves.

 

[Monual]

How much do those packages set you back if you pre-purchase? My cruise isn't until December so it won't pull up pricing info for me on the web site yet.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How much do those packages set you back if you pre-purchase? My cruise isn't until December so it won't pull up pricing info for me on the web site yet.

You can look up a similar in length cruise on your ship currently. The prices don't change.

This is the info I've pulled for prices:
PHOTOS
Individual prices are:
8X10 - $20.95
6X8 - $14.95

The packages are 6 ($99.95), 10 ($149.95), 15 ($199.95), and 20 ($249.95) photos. Different length cruises have different options. You can also purchase an all prints package (all your photos printed) for the same cost as the length of cruise CD.

The length of cruise CD cost varies with length of cruise. The prices I've seen are (for pre-cruise purchase/onboard cost):
7 night $295.95/$100.00 to add prints/$349.95, $100.00 to add prints;
5 night $249.95/$50.00 to add prints;
4 night $194.95/$75.00 to add prints/$229.95, $75.00 to add prints;
2 night $199.95/$50.00 to add prints

Special CD prices –
14 night $339.95/$100.00 to add prints;
12 night $399.95 or $339.95/$100.00 to add prints

The 6, 10, 15, & 20 photo packages can be either prints or the CD with 6, 10, 15, or 20 photos unlocked for your access once home.

Recent reports have the prices for onboard purchases of the above packages at $50.00 more than the pre-purchase price.

Pre-purchasing the Full CD (with or without prints) has a 15% discount.

 

[BW813]

It depends on the length of your cruise. Our 4 night cruise was $195 for the all digital photo package.

We got 33 photos to take home with us but about half of them were duplicate shots so we could choose the best pose we liked. I wanted the photo package because it was our first cruise but looking back, we will be spending our money on other things next time. We can buy a few of the shots we really like but not enough to justify the cost, IMO.

 

[Monual]

Thanks for the info, all. Will have to mull that over.

 

[mcd2745]

My wife is a picture nut. Therefore, we always pre-order the full package of all our photos on the CD (I have heard they may be going to flash drives instead - which makes a lot sense and would be a welcome change, I would think), plus all the prints. We just did a 4-night on the Magic. We came home with 130 prints plus the CD. I believe our last Fantasy cruise it was over 160 prints.

 

[Oursweetworld]

My wife is a picture nut. Therefore, we always pre-order the full package of all our photos on the CD (I have heard they may be going to flash drives instead - which makes a lot sense and would be a welcome change, I would think), plus all the prints. We just did a 4-night on the Magic. We came home with 130 prints plus the CD. I believe our last Fantasy cruise it was over 160 prints.

How do you get that many pictures in 4 nights? Do you set up a special photo shoot? Are you able to take multiple poses?

 

[mcd2745]

How do you get that many pictures in 4 nights? Do you set up a special photo shoot? Are you able to take multiple poses?

No special shoot. DW never passes up a photo opportunity (especially since we've pre-purchased the package). We take the photos in the terminal before boarding the ship, we hit a lot of the character meets onboard and at Castaway. DW can spot a photographer walking along the beach at Castaway like you wouldn't believe. She'll grab him/her and have them take a bunch of pics. There is the night they come around at dinner, and they always have a photographer up at Palo. Also, we usually hit all the different photo spots in the lobby before heading into dinner every night. So, if you hit each of the 3-4 spots in the lobby nightly and have several pictures taken at each spot...it starts adding up.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do you set up a special photo shoot?

Just for the record, special photo shoots are not included in the full CD package. They are a separate cost.

 

[tinay]

just a quick question if anyone knows... if you pre-order the package, do you still get a discount if you pay for a second room...like you do on board? i have never pre-ordered the photo packages before...never knew you could do that

We always buy the package for the CD and the hardcopy of the pictures. We typically dress up everyday with homemade outfits and we take many pictures with the characters and on formal nights. We typically average about 300-500 for a 7 day cruise. You do have to be active about waiting to take pictures with characters and for formal nights. My brother is the official photographer in our family and he loves the fact that he does not need to carry his large camera around to take pictures. You can take your own pictures with the characters, but not on the other backdrops... The backdrops for formal nights are perfect for a family portrait. The quality of the picture is pretty good too... we have a large printed canvas hanging on our wall that we got taken during a formal night and loved the picture. Having a digital copy of the pictures is huge because we love to make scrapbooks and photobooks of our vacations to give to the parents and grandparents. It really depends on what you want to do with the pictures.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

just a quick question if anyone knows... if you pre-order the package, do you still get a discount if you pay for a second room...like you do on board? i have never pre-ordered the photo packages before...never knew you could do that

We always buy the package for the CD and the hardcopy of the pictures. We typically dress up everyday with homemade outfits and we take many pictures with the characters and on formal nights. We typically average about 300-500 for a 7 day cruise. You do have to be active about waiting to take pictures with characters and for formal nights. My brother is the official photographer in our family and he loves the fact that he does not need to carry his large camera around to take pictures. You can take your own pictures with the characters, but not on the other backdrops... The backdrops for formal nights are perfect for a family portrait. The quality of the picture is pretty good too... we have a large printed canvas hanging on our wall that we got taken during a formal night and loved the picture. Having a digital copy of the pictures is huge because we love to make scrapbooks and photobooks of our vacations to give to the parents and grandparents. It really depends on what you want to do with the pictures.

Unless it's changed, as long as one room has purchased a full price (the pre-purchase price is considered full price) CD, a second room can get the full CD for 50% off, once onboard. You can't pre-buy the second room discount package.

 

[ncurley]

We sailed the Dream on February 15th and I think we got about 40 photos from all of the character lines we waited in, the formal night dinner, and Castaway Cay pictures. If you plan on waiting in lines for characters then it's probably worth it. If not maybe just buy a la carte.

They give you a USB at the end of the cruise with all the photos on it. I think I paid $170 or so (prepurchase discounted) for a 4 day cruise. They often used facial recognition to assign the pictures taken to our family (versus tapping our Key to the World room card) and they were surprisingly accurate, although I've read on Disboards that sometimes they do not get it right, so be sure to go to Shutters on the last night of your cruise and check out your photos to be sure you have everything. They even got some great pictures of me and my 4 yo DS snorkeling at Castaway Cay. We saw 1 - count them - a single fish, but they were great photos and we definitely would not have caught that aspect of our trip ourselves since we do not have a waterproof camera.

I like the photo package since it forces my DH to be in some of the pictures at least (he is usually the photographer).

 

[Drusilla99]

I don't get the photos anymore, just to disc, it was too many pictures! I'm like doing the package because I never know what my kids are up to in the clubs and they always get loads of really cute pictures alone, with each other, or with new friends out and about on the ship & on cc. They know it's all included so they always go for the picture spots.

 

[TNkidspt]

How do you keep up with your picturesquely teens? Is each member of your party given an ID card?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How do you keep up with your picturesquely teens? Is each member of your party given an ID card?

When you have a photo taken, they swipe your KTTW card. Also, facial recognition is used.

 

[tnshsms]

To the OP, with 3 kids I would say its worth it. If 15 pictures are the break even point as you mentioned, that's only 5 pictures each kiddo. That's not including the times when you see Mickey and you have a picture with each kid, all 3 of them and then all 5 of you. You might end up wanting 2 different pictures from just that one session. I agree that's its best to buy in advance. And by buying in advance your break even point is even less. I know it seems like a lot of money but if your kids are anything like mine, she smiles so much better for the DCL photographer because they take that picture first. I would say get it the prepaid all digital picture CD but I've also drank the DCL koolaid 3 times and so I might be biased.

 

[shelie]

If we are traveling in 2 rooms, with our DD assigned to the other room with my parents, can we include her photos in our package or will they make us buy a package for the second room as well?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If we are traveling in 2 rooms, with our DD assigned to the other room with my parents, can we include her photos in our package or will they make us buy a package for the second room as well?

If you daughter (in a separate room) is a minor, yes, you can have her included in your CD package. Just let the Shutters people know and they will add her KTTW card to your package.