On-board the ships, there are photographers taking pictures at different times and locations throughout the ship. While we have purchased some of the photos on our past trips, we decided to go with the entire package of digital images this time. At the time of our sailing, to purchase a CD with all of your photos, the cost is $349 on the ship, or $295 if you purchase beforehand. There are other packages available. The smallest package is 10 images on a disc for $149. If you visit www.mycruisephotos.com you can see what is available and place a pre-order if you wish.
We made more of an effort to get our pictures taken this trip. Formal night fell on Mother's Day, and one thing I really wanted was family pictures. We do have some, and while they turned out nicely, they were missing a certain....something. Brady, for one, does not understand why we are getting our picture taken by the train tracks or an old side of a barn. Esthetically, these backgrounds look wonderful, but I do get his point. I was willing to spend the money on the photo CD because I know that the family pictures I would get on the ship mean something to my family. These are pictures of us having a wonderful, memory-filled time, and not just Mom making them dress nicely and smile.
These are some of the pictures we had taken on formal night when we were all dressed up.
Where else but a Disney cruise can you get formal pictures with Minnie dressed up as well? An opportunity we could not pass up.
My Tips:
Especially if you pre-order all of your digital images, make time to get those pictures taken. After all, you have already paid for them. It is easy to get caught up in doing everything on the ship, but you will truly love the photos when you are back home.
Take advantage of short lines when you see them. On a few occasions we saw a photographer set up and just waiting for guests to photograph. Even if the background is not exactly what you want, it will only take a few minutes, and it doesn't cost anything to get the picture taken. You never know, you may really like the results.
Don't worry about everything being perfect. Chances are, it is not going to be, so there is no sense in worrying about it. al
Go to Shutters periodically throughout the cruise to check on your photos and make sure they are all there. Our first Aquaduck pictures did not make there way to our account automatically, so we had to do a little searching to find them. Sometimes the facial recognition system needs a little help.
If you have more than one stateroom for your family, go to Shutters on the first day to ask for those rooms to be combined on the CD. This only applies to immediate family members (i.e. parents and kids), so if you have a giant family reunion on board, you cannot combine all those rooms.
Especially on formal night, get there early if there is a background you want. The people at Shutters can give you more information about times and backgrounds. The line for having your pictures done on the staircase gets very long. We arrived a few minutes before the photographer (by accident) and we were about to get a few different locations, and pictures with Minnie in the time that those who arrived later had to wait in the single line.
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We had many more portraits taken throughout the cruise, actually 97 in all. I would like to share some other topics and tips about cruising over the next month or two, so I will be sure to share more of them.
