Welcome to my October 2025 Brutally Honest Earnings Report, where I write to you in the middle of the Atlantic…on my way to the Caribbean and then onto Miami.
Why so many cruises?
But first, let’s discuss the cruise and why I’m apparently so obsessed with them and it’s my third one in as many years. Steve Heap has also caught the cruise bug! But why?!
Sailing into the sunset, literally (despite no ROI)
The title is technically true since I’m going west from Europe to Florida/Caribbean, leading to some spectacular sunsets!
Why no ROI?
Seems like some lessons are hard to learn. My last two cruises have so far yielded breadcrumbs. Nevertheless, I’m on yet another transatlantic.
Reposition cruises are great value for money
No, I didn’t win a major poker tournament (not yet at least), it’s just that the types of cruises I’m selecting offer a huge value.
All three cruises I’ve been on have been what are known as “repositions”. How it works is that since cruise ships generally sail in warm weather, at the end of a season, they move from their home port to one in a warmer region (with naturally longer daylight). To amortise costs, the cruise ship lines take passengers on one-way sailings since they’re going anyway but offer steep discounts.
These trips aren’t hugely popular with the general cruising public, hence the steep discounts, since:
- You’ll have to find your way back to your original destination at extra cost (unless you live near the final destination and we were return anyway)
- Generally older crowd since they have more free time to take 2+ weeks off
- Long days at sea, in the case of this trip, five days without going into land
- Some days the waters can be super choppy as literally in the middle of the ocean and the currents at this time of the year
Honestly, I don’t mind any of the above. Plus the ship feels empty (unlike the last two) which is perfect for me since I’m in an anti-social mood lately just minding my own business and doing a lot of work and catching some awesome sunsets.
How much did this 15-day cruise cost?
This being a brutally honest blog and all I can boast that I paid an all-inclusive USD$1,400 net.
Now, whether I’ll be able to pay back that quite affordable investment is…probably not, perhaps 20% after a few years. But I am having a good and productive time…as long as the internet connection is strong and stable. Also if the food options are decent.
Should I go around-the-world, Magellan-style?
Call me crazy but I’m actually considering giving up my apartment and fully going YOLO in 2027 and splashing on a round-the-world cruise. How much does it cost? About $17,000 for four months (132 days), all-inclusive. The trip includes 46 diverse destinations, in 33 countries.
Is that expensive? I don’t think so, but it’s certainly not cheap!
Although this one seems much more reasonable at 54 nights, as I would prefer to skip those hugely-long sailing stretches over the Pacific Ocean. As well as much lower costs. I’ll have to look into it in more detail.
Lots to ponder about.
Now onto my monthly highlights followed by earnings.
Monthly Highlights
Busy month as usual with some notable highlights:
Monthly Earnings Breakdown
Image Earnings (USD)
| Agency | Number of Images in port (new images Oct) | Net Revenue Oct | Avg Return Per Download |
| Alamy | 16,996 (62) | 115 + 137 DACS | 8.84 |
| Arcangel (RM-exclusive) | 5,703 (111) | TBD | TBD |
| Adobe Stock | 4,876 (10) | 62 | 0.68 |
| DepositPhotos | 8,778 (10) | 7 | 0.58 |
| Dreamstime | 9,777 (11) | 3 | 0.45 |
| Freekpik | 1,211 (0) | 3 | 0.06 |
| iStock (Sept 2025) | 9,368 (11) | 132 | 0.97 |
| MotionArray | 472 (3) | 7 | 0.16 |
| Robert Harding (Q2 2025 monthly average) – RM/RF exclusive | 672 (5) | 10 | 0.80 |
| Shutterstock | 12,759 (9) | 107 + 38 AI Payments | 0.58 |
| Wirestock | 3,066 (0) | 5 | N/A |
| Total | 626 |
Clip Earnings (USD)
| Agency | Number of clips in port (new clips Oct) | Net Revenue for Oct | Avg Return per Download |
| Adobe Stock | 1,561 (25) | 49 | 6.12 |
| Pond5 | 3,351 (160) | Useless agency | Useless agency |
| iStock (Sept 2025) | 1,212 (15) | 10 | 1 |
| Shutterstock | 2,683 (64) | 6 | 3 |
| Total | 65 |
Grand Total: $691
Thoughts on the month
Wow, look at Alamy go! I keep repeating myself but Alamy is one of those agencies that you never know what to expect. One month can be dead and suddenly the next it comes back to life. Also helps to have the once-a-year DACS payment.
iStock surprise: Pulled in a decent month at $142, after a few turbulent months.
Pond5 Troubles: On the clips side, a poor showing. I’m super concerned about Pond5 as sales on there have been dead for the past four months.
Arcangel book covers
Nice to get a small feature on their monthly showcase.
They’ll be reporting early next week on October sales…fingers crossed especially since I’ve had 13 downloads in the month, where potential buyers are testing cover designs. I’ve calculated, on average, the downloads from the past and it’s one sale for every 8/9 downloads.
If I could report at least one sale every month that would be great.
Best-Sellers this month
On the clips side, OK month, although prices were quite low on average.
Plans for November
November is a full-on month of pure travel.
Will spend a few days in Miami and then up to Orlando to check out Universal Studios. I’m also shopping for a new Z-series Nikon to finally upgrade from my D810, perhaps the Z8. Let’s see if prices in the US are indeed better than in Europe.
Then on the 10th back to Lisbon for just one day and onto Madrid on the next day where I’ll spend a few weeks catching up with some old friends, play some poker and travel around locally. One place I would like to visit is Avila.
Then back to Portugal at the end of the month to probably relax…after a few hectic months of non-stop travel, taking me until the end of the year where I’ll publish my year-end report.
Thanks for reading, and see you next month! I’ll be exploring St. John’s, Barbuda tomorrow! Will try to keep safe as something is brewing in and around Venezuela! Maybe I can capture some warships on my 300mm lens.
About Alex
I’m Alex, eccentric, based in Lisbon, and on a mission to explore every corner of the globe while capturing stock images and footage along the way.
For the past 12 years, I’ve been grinding as a travel photographer/videographer and freelance writer. Along the way I’ve also written The Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography, a book packed with war stories and practical tips for anyone crazy enough to enter this business and more recently, The Brutally Honest Guide to Drone Laws in Europe.
Alexandre Rotenberg's Brutally Honest Guide to Stock Photography & Footage 