Would YOU pay for the photopackage for three day cruise?

[MunFam]

Based on our first and only cruise with DCL no, I would not buy a package for a 3 night. We tried to utilize every photo-op, go to every character meet and greet, we were basically Shutters chasers (and even caused a few fights with my partner and I because I was demanding we "get our monies worth" and he felt we were "not able to enjoy our cruise because we were always in a photo line...skipping meals, shows, activities for photos etc.") and on a 15 day cruise (yes, it was the WBPC) we came home with just shy of 400 pictures. That is roughly 26 pictures a day. Of those...3 are in frames in our home. Maybe 25% actually turned out "okay" and the rest are just pictures...someone has their eyes closed, not looking, etc. etc.

You can always pre-purchase for the discount but you have to cancel like 24 hours in advance of the last night, which is like...almost immediately on a 3 day. I think a 10 or 20 picture package may be more ideal...

Also, all the pictures (prints and digitals) have borders and frames around them.

 

[anricat]

I pre-paid the photo package on our most recent 5-night and read the fine print. You have to cancel on or before the last night. Not 24 hours prior to the last night.

For us, it's worth it. If we want a family photo every year, it's actually cheaper for us to get all gussied up and take our family photos on the ship than to hire a professional photographer to take our photos. In fact, right at this moment I'm printing a bunch of 4x6 prints of our family in our nice clothes in front of the steps in the atrium on the Magic.

My one gripe is that they put borders and things on the pictures and it makes it really hard to resize them for 4x6 or 5x7 printing. Otherwise, I've been happy with the portraits we got. We went to every single backdrop. Some worked better than others.

I would pre-pay for the discount (get digital only - I can't figure out why people want 8x10s of all their prints), get on board and see how many photos you have on the last day and if it doesn't seem worth the price, cancel.

 

[Ofinn]

Would YOU pay for the photopackage for three day cruise?

Me, personally, no. But we've cruised so often that we don't even get pictures taken much anymore.

Same here. Even the amount of pictures we take ourselves decreases each cruise. Sad, but true.

 

[xQuizx]

It's entirely up to you and your budget.

We were on a 4 night cruise and got the CD Package and Prints.

We were able to get 240 photos taken.

My wife and I like to bring our 2 kids to JC Penney for portraits, so we figured why not utilize Shutters.

I didn't think taking the professional photos cut into our time on the cruise too much. We had first dining, so we took pictures before we had dinner and right after each night. We were able to take photos as a family, individually and paired off with the kids. There wasn't a line for either booth so the photogs snapped away. Only time there was a line was on formal night.

Plus you get professional shots with the characters and the entire family can be in the picture.

I would pay for a 3 night cruise.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

We didn't prebuy the package because we didn't think we would get enough pictures, and I wish we had. I ended up paying $150 for a ten photo package, when I could have had all of them (about 25) for $50 more if I pre-ordered. (Plus we would have posed for even more Shutters pics if I had preordered.)

Do they have photographers around Castaway Cay?
-Yes, we missed them because they were there in the morning, and we went in the afternoon. But I saw lots of people's CC pics at Shutters and asked the cast members about it.

Are there plenty of photo opportunities on the ship outside of characters?
-There is a decent amount--most nights at dinner, backdrops in the lobby, etc. But characters provide the most opportunity.