Disney’s Private Island
10th February 2012
Disney seem to have everything from a TV channel to cruise ships to a private island!
Today we’re on Disney’s private island Castaway Cay. The island is a lot bigger than I originally thought it would be and of course it’s pure Disney style.
Today we’re on Disney’s private island Castaway Cay. The island is a lot bigger than I originally thought it would be and of course it’s pure Disney style.
Luckily for me, I’m back to work. I was almost pulling my hair out sitting in a tiny cabin from 11.30 – 08.00. After a night of films, I was ready for work and feeling much better.
Today I was shooting the closet thing Disney Cruise Line have to a gangway: characters next to the beach. My shooting shot was Mount Rustmore. First up was Pluto, then Minnie in her beachwear and finally Mickey Mouse. There was no need to smudge as the kids came stampeding to have their photos taken with the characters. When things got a little quieter I jumped in for a quick photo with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Depending on the internet connection in the next couple of ports, I’ll try and upload the photos. After two hours shooting I had about 450 images surpassing my target of 400!
Today I was shooting the closet thing Disney Cruise Line have to a gangway: characters next to the beach. My shooting shot was Mount Rustmore. First up was Pluto, then Minnie in her beachwear and finally Mickey Mouse. There was no need to smudge as the kids came stampeding to have their photos taken with the characters. When things got a little quieter I jumped in for a quick photo with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Depending on the internet connection in the next couple of ports, I’ll try and upload the photos. After two hours shooting I had about 450 images surpassing my target of 400!
Carrying the equipment back to the ship was hard work, I’m definitely going to have some muscles when I sign off at the end of July!
Back on board, I’d arranged to meet Clarita to head out and explore the island. Clarita wanted to go to the beach which was fine by me. An hour and a half of relaxing on the beach, swimming in the crystal clear waters was a perfect plan in my eyes. Just as I was gathering my stuff together, Clarita cancelled because “she didn’t have time to go to the beach” so she was staying in her cabin to sleep.
Back on board, I’d arranged to meet Clarita to head out and explore the island. Clarita wanted to go to the beach which was fine by me. An hour and a half of relaxing on the beach, swimming in the crystal clear waters was a perfect plan in my eyes. Just as I was gathering my stuff together, Clarita cancelled because “she didn’t have time to go to the beach” so she was staying in her cabin to sleep.
Ship life is always fast paced, even when you are on your break. So if you are off from 13-15.00 you make the most of the time, get off the ship and do whatever you have/want to do. Either way, you’re running from place to place to get everything done on time, whether it’s getting back on board to have a shower, ready for work, or grabbing prints from the lab, legging it up the stairs to get to the gallery on time. That’s just the way ship life is. I don’t think Clarita has fully grasped the idea yet.
Heading up to Deck 5 Forward where the crew swimming pool is located I thought I’d have a little down time typing up my blog entries, catching some sunrays and chilling. I need to recharge my batteries before an evening in Shutters (photo gallery) selling as much as possible.
I know my wages this week aren’t going to be great thanks to training so I need to boost the amount up as much as possible. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s the same promotion we had on Mariner of the Seas: buy four 10x8” photos and get a folio with a photo of the ship - free. It was a great incentive for guests to buy an extra photo, get a free folio and you bag the commission. It's only $1 but the amount soon starting racking up without you even realizing.
I know my wages this week aren’t going to be great thanks to training so I need to boost the amount up as much as possible. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s the same promotion we had on Mariner of the Seas: buy four 10x8” photos and get a folio with a photo of the ship - free. It was a great incentive for guests to buy an extra photo, get a free folio and you bag the commission. It's only $1 but the amount soon starting racking up without you even realizing.
This morning I was talking to a guest who was interested in the photo packages we had to offer. There are only three packages.
The first is $299.95 which is the GTP! (Get the Picture!), same as we had on the Mariner. Only difference is here on Disney Magic you only get the photos on a CD. Printed images are not included, instead they come with a 50% discount.
The guest pointed out that Disney World offer the same package for just $99. I didn’t want to point out that Disney didn’t have to charge as much as Image does simply because every penny spent at Disney World goes straight into their pocket. So by spending $99 on photos is almost like a top up charge.
Think about it, you’ve spent hundreds of dollars on accommodation in the Disney Resort, paid more for multiple day entries, food, drink, souvenirs etc. The photos for $99 to Disney is just another service they can say they provide and another way for them to get a little more cash out of you. Image, on the other hand, are different, especially as they have to pay a large chunk of their money to Disney Cruise Line to be able to photograph the guests and sell them on board. Royal Caribbean took roughly $16 for each photo which we sold at $19.95 each. Do the math.
The guest pointed out that Disney World offer the same package for just $99. I didn’t want to point out that Disney didn’t have to charge as much as Image does simply because every penny spent at Disney World goes straight into their pocket. So by spending $99 on photos is almost like a top up charge.
Think about it, you’ve spent hundreds of dollars on accommodation in the Disney Resort, paid more for multiple day entries, food, drink, souvenirs etc. The photos for $99 to Disney is just another service they can say they provide and another way for them to get a little more cash out of you. Image, on the other hand, are different, especially as they have to pay a large chunk of their money to Disney Cruise Line to be able to photograph the guests and sell them on board. Royal Caribbean took roughly $16 for each photo which we sold at $19.95 each. Do the math.
The second and third packages are Credits. The cheapest of the credits is $149.95 and gives you 20 credits. One 8x10” image is worth two credits while an 6x8” is one credit. The maximum saving is $50. The third is $249.50 and gives you 50 credits. But if you buy the third package, you might as well buy the GTP! Package. I’ve been looking at the packages and thinking how the hell can I push and sell them or even find a way of using one package against the other (it’s one of the many ways of closing and enticing guests to buy a particular package.)
As it’s the last day of the cruise, I’m hoping there’ll be a sudden rush for folios and packages – anything to boost our money.
Tomorrow I have to be at the Walt Disney theatre at 05.45 for immigration. As a non-US citizen I need an I-95 which is a visa allowing us off the ship when in US owned ports (Key West, Port Canaveral, St. Thomas etc.) Tomorrow, is also the day that I start going to the gym again, so I’m expecting to be sore for the next couple of days. As they say… no pain, no gain!
Minnie Mouse
Minnie and Mickey Mouse
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario