A mother-of-two from Queensland has been left heartbroken after a dream Christmas cruise, meant to culminate in a perfect proposal, ended with what she describes as 'horrendously' edited photographs that rendered her own family almost unrecognisable.
A Proposal Marred by Poor Edits
Jessica Latta's partner, Jayden Bailey, organised a professional photoshoot to capture the moment he proposed during their first major family holiday, a Carnival cruise to the South Pacific. The touching moment occurred on Christmas Eve during a stop at Lifou Island in New Caledonia.
While Ms Latta praised the photographer on the day for being 'wonderful, patient, and kind', the problems began when the final images were delivered. After selecting a package costing $1,800 for 36 unedited shots and 15 advanced edits on December 26, the couple faced delays and were ultimately horrified by the results.
'I can honestly say the edits were horrendous,' Ms Latta stated. 'My kids' faces were distorted. Their hairlines were blurred to the point they didn't even look real. And in the photo of our engagement where my partner is holding the ring, his finger looked like something out of Shrek.'
Failed Delivery and Silence from Carnival
The promised deadline for the photos passed without delivery. After finally receiving a USB with unedited images in the early hours of the final day, a link to the edited photos only arrived days later following intervention from another passenger via a Carnival social media page.
Upon seeing the images, Ms Latta immediately raised her concerns but has heard nothing further. She also says her complaint to Carnival itself has gone unanswered beyond an automated response suggesting a 45-day wait for a reply. To compound the issue, she claims the unedited photos are also unusable, being either 'completely blown out' or 'too dark'.
A Warning to Other Families
'This is our engagement. I waited 10 years for this,' Ms Latta expressed. 'Something that was meant to be captured and remembered and something we paid a lot of money for has just not been delivered.'
She is now speaking out to warn other families, emphasising the disappointment of being unable to share the special moment with loved ones after saving diligently for the holiday. 'We both work full time and pay our mortgage and saved so much to be able to take our kids on this holiday... But no one should pay that kind of money and be left with nothing.'
The Daily Mail has contacted Carnival for comment regarding the incident and the broader consumer rights issues it raises for holidaymakers.
