Miss Kellybean

I am getting married on embarkation day, too and pretty much follow your same schedule - on the Carnival Victory. I am planning on staying in my dress as long as possible. I spent countless hours looking for the right dress, quite a bit of money on it and I plan on wearing my dress as long as possible.

My FH said that he will be out of the suit the minute our photos are done and that is cool, too!

7 months to go and I wish I had something to do!

I suppose this is what I wanted but I feel like there should be something that needs to be done. Luckily, in two weeks, we will be sailing on our wedding ship for a fun long weekend. I am more than excited to scope out the venues and the layout.

The invitations went out last month and we are actually surprised that we have nearly 40 guests booked so far. I am resisting the urge to tell everyone to hurry up and make a deposit since the prices are rising. i have mentioned it before so I won't repeat myself and sound pushy.

Other than that, I am counting down the days. 212 to go!

Do not cancel your cruise - you will soon know that there is so much more to a cruise than eating. You will be just fine. By 90 days out, you will be feeling great and figuring everything out. You will have all the tools you need to be successful and it doesn't matter if you are at home or on vacation. You may make a mistake here and there but your relationship with food will be different. You will not want to overdo it, you will be eating soft foods and the staff are more than accommodating. You do not have to overexplain yourself either. Tell your server that you do not eat much due to a recent stomach operation. They are understanding and will take care of you.

It will be just fine.

We will be right behind you on March 31 on Sensation in Half Moon Cay.

We were originally booked on the Sensation but since she is swapping locations and heading down to Miami, we are now going to be on the Victory. I have been on the Sensation a few times and just love that ship. I am sailing for the first time on the Victory next month so I will get to take a sneak peek. :)

Hello to all fellow 2016 brides! Very excited to be getting married aboard the Carnival Valor on 10/13/16 in Port Canaveral, Time to Celebrate Big! Thanks to you all for the information...this thread has been very helpful to me so far. At this point we are only at save the dates but will be sending official invitations around October or November.

I am out of Port Canaveral, too! On the Victory, though. It is such an easy port!

Quick food question. I am looking at the vegan menus and am not sure which items fall under hot or under cold. Has anyone chosen the Potato Pancake or the Grilled zucchini and tomato roll?

Also, I have seen a few different answers on fruit cups. Were the fruit cups considered a cold item or were they just there as a bonus?

We took a lot of things into account. My future step-son's school schedule, pricing, weather as well as giving everyone plenty of time to make arrangements if they chose to go with us. After some thinking we chose our date about 14 months out. It was during many Easter/spring breaks (the Thursday prior to Easter) and it just made sense.

We have always shared that we completely understand if some can't make it for whatever reason. We haven't had any push back on our date at all. To be honest, if the date doesn't work for our invited guests, we will see them when we return. Essentially we are having an announced elopement. :)

There are no discounts for a 1-day ticket and yes, you can get the tickets in the lobby. Anyone in the know will recommend a 2 day or more ticket. There is so much to do that it will be worth it.

If you are considering Express passes, compare the Express pass prices to upgrading to one of the other hotels on the Universal property. At the other hotels you get unlimited express as a benefit to staying there - of course the room rates are higher- but it can sometimes save you in time and money if you want the Express. Depending on when you are there, you may really want Express!

Buying the tickets at the ticket desk in the lobby is the same as buying them online except you will be able to go straight to the gate with them - without having to go to a redemption kiosk. You could always print your tickets at home but then you would have it on flimsy paper and that is just more trouble with weather and water rides. Buying tickets at the front gate is always the most expensive way to go so try and avoid that.

The busses run regularly from Cabana Bay to the transportation hub and then you walk through Citywalk to go to both parks. Make sure you get the 2-park tickets or you and especially your daughter will miss out on the full Harry Potter Experience (and my favorite ride) - the Hogwarts Express. Make sure you ride it in both directions, too.

There is a Hertz rental car desk in the lobby, too. Since you are staying in one place for 2 days - consider turning the car in when you arrive and re-renting when you leave. Could save you some cash.

Check out the dining deal, too!

Can you tell I am a big Universal fan? :)

We have decided not to pay for the buffet for two reasons. First, we intentionally chose the Hampton Inn as our pre-cruise stay so that those that stayed there could have a good and filling complimentary breakfast. Secondly, 1:30 is a normal time to eat lunch and I would hate our reception food to go untouched.

On top of that, there is the coordinator telling them if they are hungry to just remove their badges.

All I need for romance is my love and the stars. Don't overthink it. I like the idea of sitting on the balcony or an aft deck with a blanket wrapped around us and spending time together. No gifts are necessary, just dedicated time together.

We are going pretty informal by design and skipped the Save-the-date printing costs by sharing our date and wedding Website online via Facebook to the majority of our invited guests and by word of mouth to the few others. We sent our formal invitation two weeks ago to our guests with a December 24th deadline (3 months before the wedding and 1 month before final payment).

So far we have nearly 30 guests sailing with us (most booked right at the start) and about 20 more saying they will. We anticipate 50 non-sailing guests, too!

We liked the idea of a message in a bottle but decided to do that for a thank you note instead of invitation.

Thanks for this great review. We were supposed to get married on the Sensation next March but she is moving to Miami in February so we are now on the Victory. Still loved to see all the details and pictures. Thanks a bunch!!

Is anyone purchasing wedding or travel insurance to cover their ceremony?

I am with Carnival and declined the travel insurance for us since we live near the port. We took the travel insurance for my MIL since she has to make her way from New England. I actually asked the Wedding Department if there was such a thing as wedding/ceremony insurance and I was told there wasn't. Definitely would have considered this.

We are getting married in March and booked last February so, it was 13 months for us. The wedding department told us that was plenty of time and we are still the only wedding booked that day. We are getting married just a few days before Easter and it is spring break in our area.

I would go ahead and just call the wedding department. They will tell you if there is room or not without any commitment. :) Also, you will make a few calls the day you are booked. First, you call the wedding department to hold your wedding date and make sure it is available. Then you have to call your PVP to book your cabin. Then you call the wedding department back and book the wedding with the cabin details.

If you need a PVP, let me know. Mine is amazing and is really great at follow-up and communication.

Let us know when your engagement become official!! :)

Did you just call or email them to book the videographer?

I emailed them. I wanted to have the confirmation in writing.

Although I am not a fan of emailing the carnival wedding department. That auto reply and having to wait a day or so for a response and not being able to communicate directly with my wedding planner isn't exactly my favorite part of the whole experience.

Kellybean, you might want to book the videographer. They only have one per cruise (at least on my ship), so once its reserved, its gone. You only pay after you have seen the video and decide you want it.

I did! When we booked our wedding, a videographer wasn't an option. So glad for these boards!!!

Hi Ladies! My husband and I (married for 6 years with two boys)are finally having our wedding aboard Carnival Victory 2/6/16 on our 7th wedding anniversary!!!

Super excited and time is flying by fast!

We have 18 confirmed guest

Dress picked out and ordered and will be ready in August!

Hotel is booked for our guest

My sister has her brides maid dress --- yes I have fired the other three bridesmaids already!!! Anyone else with this problem?

so the bridal party will be slightly uneven with three groomsmen :eek:

Our wedding colors are red an black and now my task is finalizing song request for ceremony and reception, decorations for cake, oot bags and contents, ordering door hangers for guest cabin, wedding programs, groomsmen attire, and wedding favors! iv been putting of finalizing things bc I don't want to run out of things to do! lol

I am a Victory bride, too! March 24, 2016!!

MissJJVT,

 

I'm doing the same approach with friends and family for invitations! I also booked the DJ, which limits our guest list to the capacity of the nightclub. Since I know I can't invite all of my close family or friends, I've approached this with a mix of honoring older relatives and friends who I know will be happy there and have a great time.

 

The guest list has been the hardest part. I cried a lot at the idea of offending people before realizing that I don't need a ton of people there to enjoy my special day. I'm actually taking a break from the guest list, because I need to get some sleep at night. I still have time to invite people, so I want to rest at a reasonable number for now that is not capacity. How is this part going for you?

 

P.S. Make sure you reserve the videographer if you want the option. They can only be reserved for one wedding per cruise, and you don't pay until after you see the video (if you decide you want it).

I finally ordered my invitations - just did some nice ones on Vistaprint. I would have loved to do something more extravagant but, I am thinking I will save that for the Thank you notes, instead. I had two different options for guests. Some have the choice of attending and not sailing and some don't. With only 50 non-sailing guests permitted, it can be a little difficult since we live less than an hour from Port Canaveral.

I ordered my dress in March (a year out) and it has already arrived and is hanging in my future stepson's closet. Invites will be delivered this week and I am totally over the fact that I had to switch ships. I believe that my next chore...um..."project" will be to put together some flowers. We chose my 16 year old niece and 8 year old future step-son as our Maid of Honor and Best Man and our 8 year old nieces as flower girls. We figures it will be easier this way. Had I gone the traditional route, I would have had 5 very dear friends and my fiance's sister in the bridal party. I have asked them to be my "I Do Crew" and help me during the ceremony day. They all agreed and I think they are happy not to have the cost and hassle of being an attendant. I have been a bridesmaid 6 times and would have loved the option of not buying those damn dresses. Hahaha.

Our colors are aqua and navy and we chose a blue watercolor design for the invitations. I am running with the water theme and think it will work for us. I am waiting to make decisions on music and cake until later on in the year. We have the DJ but didn't get any videographer info. I will have to make a call on that one. Looking forward to 9 months from today - March 24, 2016 on the Carnival Victory!!

Miss JJVT,

I am doing the same for our RSVP cards. I hate to say it but an A list and B list are necessary for us too. I am curious which package you chose. We didn't notice a music charge. We did book the DJ for $110 or something like that but didn't see a music charge.

:)

It is always a good idea to call a hotel directly if you are booking several rooms. Ask for the Group Sales Manager. The Hampton also gave me a personal link to post to my wedding Web site for my guests to book from. They were great!

We chose the Hampton Inn Cocoa Beach. The location is just a few miles away and they have three options for a shuttle. You can pay $45 for rt from the Orlando airport and rt from hotel to the cruise terminal. Another option is that you can pay $15 per person for a rt shuttle from the hotel to terminal and a third option is to park at the port and get a 40% off coupon. They will arrange early shuttles for wedding parties.

They are on the beach, have a Courtyard as their sister property next door with a bar/restaurant, etc. and allow you to use all of the amenities there. They are letting us use the breakfast room for our welcome dinner free of charge (we are bringing in 4 Rivers Catering from Orlando) and they have complimentary breakfast.

It is pretty much on the beach, has great reviews on Trip Advisor and the sales team was easy to work with. There is not a penalty for not using your entire block and the rates are fair.

I am looking into this, too. Getting married on March 24, 2016. :) I am looking at Hampton Inn for my top choice.

My wedding is on March 24, 2016 and I just booked my hair/make up yesterday. We happen to be out of Port Canaveral, too. I am using "From Lashes to Flashes". She is out of Jacksonville and will travel. She mainly does pageant, formal and wedding hair and make-up. Not sure if she has a Web site but - her prices are super reasonable, she does amazing work (I have seen it first hand) and her info is all on Facebook.

I finally got my "initial" call from my TWE about 2 weeks ago. I missed the call so she left a message introducing herself and letting her know I needed to send back the form that says we want a DJ (even though we already paid for one they needed the form to match). When I tried to call back she wasn't available so another lady told me I just need to fax/email in the form.

 

I haven't heard from anyone since and seeing as we're a year out I don't really think I will until closer to the time.

 

I'm trying to keep myself busy so I don't run out of things to do until we have to make decisions about songs and ceremony wording etc.

 

Lucky for us we just booked a last minute cruise leaving in 16 days! Hopefully that will help my vacation itch and keep me entertained for a while!

I went to check out your Web site and actually found it here...https://www.theknot.com/us/diana-brown-and-adam-fitzgerald-apr-2016 I thought you would like to know. :)

So we were moving right along with planning and picking out things we need and getting ready to print Save the Dates when...we hit our first bump in the road.

The ship we booked, the Carnival Sensation, is being moved to Miami a month before our wedding. The Carnival Victory is being moved to Port Canaveral and will be our ship. The good news is that the Victory happens to be a newer ship. It is also larger and has more amenities. The bad news is that our cabin class is not available on the Victory and we were actually downgraded. Say what?!?!?! Also, the sailing is now more expensive so the 75% of our guests that haven't booked yet will now be paying higher rates.

After several phone calls where I had to remind Carnival who they were speaking with and how much business I am bringing them, they offered me a reduced rate on my cabin. All I was asking for was the rate of the room I was receiving on the day I was booked. $100 difference. That's all but it is the principle of it. Can you believe they actually tried to not give me a lower rate for a lower class of room? Then they tried to offer me a bottle of wine. I don't think so!

Long story short, I finally got a hold of someone with common sense and we are now over that bump. My Aunt actually ended up getting an upgraded cabin and they offered her a bottle of wine, too.

Anyhow, moving right along, we are still looking at Save the Dates. I feel like I am getting behind even though we are getting married in March. However; last week I sold my house and next week I am graduating from college. Phew! This is certainly a year of change!

How is everyone else doing?