AdventurousCruiser07

Nope you read it correctly!!! She was horrible and I think is having some sort of mental break. I'm a nurse and I've seen this before ! She was rude, running around talking to everyone very loudly. "Interviewing" people as she decided she would write a book. Drumming on the table, trying to hug and kiss the staff. It was crazy town.

 

 

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So sorry to hear about your troublesome traveling companion! Was that behavior out of the norm for her? Random thought - but was she wearing a scopolamine patch for motion sickness?

I also have never used a PVP, only booked directly through the website. I'm no where near ready to book anything, but recently I've begun getting phone calls & text messages from a Carnival PVP - usually multiple in a week from the same PVP! It seems excessive.

Loved your wedding! What bar option did you do? I see you guys have like frozen drinks? Thank you!

Hi! I'm going to guess that I'm way too late in replying to be helpful to you (sorry!!) but maybe someone else will find this helpful!

I selected the Open Bar Call for 3 hours option (not Premium). I attached the link to the bar list - as you can see, the premium options are very nice, but the call are more than adequate, and included mixed drinks, frozen drinks, water, soft drinks, etc. Everyone really enjoyed the frozen drinks - it wasn't exactly 'sip on a nice scotch' weather at midday!

http://cozumelweddingplanner.com/sanchosmenus/#1470329601612-53c29e74-383a

You say that like this is something evil that Carnival invented? Plenty of restaurants do this, it's almost like that's the point.

 

 

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No, not evil at all. What an odd thing to say. I was replying to a previous poster (as quoted) who didn't understand the business practice of giving away things for free. I was explaining how it was an excellent business practice for Carnival with examples.

:confused:

As nice as it may be for anybody celebrating an 'anything' as it seems, i don't understand the business practice.

 

anybody can walk on, with say the lowest cat room, spend nothing, (this is a hypothetical) say they're celebrating something, and get a for instance $50 spa + $25 wine + $20 photo = 95 benefit...

 

but if i book a balcony, pay double for single, and then spend $500 onboard.

 

maybe they should start sending gifts to people who book higher category rooms, buy cheers, buy stuff at the shops, play bingo, etc. basically, the passengers that spend money onboard, which is what makes their profit margin.

 

fwiw, i think it's a nice gesture, but at the same point one that doesn't make business sense - to give free stuff for the sense of giving it, although it will grant goodwill. however, this is at a point when they are forcing 'once a day room service', 'ask for robes', 'pay to not wait (fttf), etc. t just doesn't make much sense. congratulations to everybody that has been celebrating something and i'm glad you enjoyed it!

 

ccl ust needs to get their game in line.

As someone else noted, the $50 in the spa doesn't go far. While it is possible to simply use the gift card and only have to add a tip (manicure), it also encourages someone to go to the spa and pay for a treatment when they wouldn't have otherwise. For example, I used my gift card for a hair treatment (<$50), however my friend who got one for her birthday decided to treat herself to a massage ($200). Now carnival is up $150.

Likewise for the photo - someone could go for the free 5x7 port pic, or they could be tempted to upgrade to a $10 discount on the $20 8x10 formal pic. Either way, it gets people into the photo gallery that may normally breeze by. In my previous cruises, I had honestly never given the photo gallery a second thought. This cruise, since I had the gc, I was invested, actually posed for pictures, went through all the photos several times, and bought a photo for the first time ever. (A 8x10 like my example above -- so Carnival is again up $10). If you can't decide between a few photos... $$$

Ditto for the wine, etc. The cheapest wine is $25, yes, but with a $25 discount, people will be tempted to go for a $30, $40, $50 etc. bottle instead. The markup on wine is huge, so I am sure Carnival isn't losing any money here either.

I think the marketing department at Carnival very carefully selected the $ amount for these gifts - they will benefit from both the goodwill gesture + encourage a new audience to spend more money on board. Clever eh?

Just a heads up to anyone receiving the pixels card - it's not for any picture you choose. We rarely buy pictures so I wasn't too knowledgeable and assumed I could just have any picture printed into a 5 x 7. We did have some formals done this time for the first time and I thought I could have one of them made into a 5 x 7 and use my card. That's not how it works - only the disembark (ports) photos and a few others taken around the ship are made into 5 x 7s. Unfortunately for me, it was too late to get any of those taken so I couldn't use my card.

2chilover - We had a similar experience! My husband and I received a free 5x7 photo and a $50 spa credit gift card for our anniversary. I had also assumed any photo could be printed as a 5x7 and received the same response. However, they also told me that the discount of a free 5x7 could be applied to any of the prints. For example, the 5x7 was ~$10. So I was able to get a 8x10 formal pic ($20) for $10. So that was nice!!

Also as a FYI - these gift cards expire quickly during the cruise. However, the Pixels still honored my gift card even though it had technically expired. YMMV.

What movies were/are playing?

I would also recommend a cove balcony. We had 2302; no problem with noise and convenient to both fore and aft.

 

Make sure to note both the anniversary and birthday celebrations when you book or do online check-in. Some people have reported receiving free gifts (no guarantees).

Silly question.. but when you note anniversary/birthday dates during booking, do you put the year as when the date originally occurred (say 1/1/2011) or the date on the cruise that the date will fall on (1/1/2017)? I didn't know if there was an algorithm in the system that alerted staff based on the date inputed.

Thanks!

@bridetobe15

Yes, at Mr. Sancho's you have the garden area and immediate beachfront to yourselves for your wedding. If you watch my wedding video posted above, it should give you a pretty good idea of the layout. Off to the right you can see the inflatables in the ocean, but they're a good 1/4+ mile away. Occasionally you may have a watercraft cross in the ocean behind you, but the garden is the end of the resort & there's nothing beyond it, so there's little motivation for many people to come that way.

I thought the open bar was fantastic, and the food was quite good as well. We were also impressed by the wedding cake! We didn't do a buffet, but rather 4 hot & 4 cold appetizers. The appetizers were more like tapas and were quite filling, especially with the 4 course dinner later on the cruise ship.

Good luck with wedding planning!

We used Cozumel Wedding Planners and had an absolutely fantastic experience.

@AdventurousCruiser07 - I have seen a thread SOMEWHERE where the OP talks about some kind of a collapsible "trolley" for carrying around all their stuff (including dresses, bringing canned drinks aboard, etc.) and was wondering if that was you or if you had seen that post? I do want to thank you again for all your input and help!

Sycofaery, I'm really sorry but I haven't seen that post and I'm not sure of the answer! Maybe someone else will be able to help you out, or you could post a new thread?

I'm also looking into Cozumel, but going through Carnival. Any advice would be lovely!

 

Hi AlvinsMom, depending on what you're looking for, I would highly recommend looking into Cozumel Wedding Planners and just using Carnival to cruise to your wedding. We were 100% thrilled with our wedding using CWP - they will make sure every detail is exactly right! I can't speak to personal experience using the cruise line as the wedding planner, but I know there are plenty of reviews to peruse for a different perspective.

Here's a link to my thread with a few more pictures & information. I hope you find it helpful!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1876562

Have you learned any more info on Symbolic Ceremonies through RCC? I am just starting the cruise wedding planning process, and am hoping to do the same thing you mentioned - get legally married in my home state, then have a symbolic ceremony on the ship. I am in the process of looking for more info on this too... Thank you!

FutureMrsRaymond, I would encourage you to look into private island vendors before ruling them out - we had an incredible experience in Cozumel! Going outside the cruise line seems like it allows you to have a much more personalized experience, IMO. Of course, there is the risk of missing your port, but by choosing a non-tendered port, we minimized that risk as much as possible. Just a thought!

Your wedding looked amazing! It has been my fiancé and my dream to have a wedding on the beach in Cozumel... however, we have stubborn immediate family that refuse to travel with us to do a destination wedding. Your wedding is exactly what I would have imagined... so beautiful!

 

Our compromise was a cruise wedding on embarkation day so that they can leave and the rest of us can cruise away.

 

Congrats on your big day!

Aww thank you! Maybe you two could plan a private symbolic ceremony just the two of you when you arrive in Cozumel? That would be so romantic!

I'm sure your wedding day will be wonderful - it sounds like a good compromise!

I am also interested in this information! I'm recently engaged and looking to take a cruise with close family/friends and get married in Cozumel.

 

@AdventurousCruiser07- I see from another thread that you were married at Mr. Sanchos. I loved your photos and would like something similar. I'm looking for something with very little stress. Please share any tips/information!! Right now, I'm in the process of looking up cruises and trying to find a timeline that isn't too expensive for my guests.

 

Thanks!

Thank you! I would say using Cozumel Wedding Planners will go a long way towards alleviating any stress. They were fantastic to work with and made everything really easy. You can go to their website --> Create your package --> select the location (i.e. Mr. Sancho's) and see a great list of everything they offer, like a menu. I really liked how I could get an idea of the cost of exactly what I had in mind.. without getting bombarded by spam mail. No strings.

Another plus about using a cruise to get to your wedding is that once you're on board the ship, you're cut off from your cell phone and wifi is too expensive to bother with (for me). So instead of stressing about last minute details, there was nothing left to but relax and enjoy the ride! It was such a blessing.

And finally, I'm not sure of what kind of timeline you're thinking of, but we got married in January and had amazing deals on the cruise. Our wedding date was January 11th and we cruised Jan 9-13. The price of an interior room was like $250/pp! It was great timing because it's a slow time in the industry coming off of all the winter vacations and travel in December.

Hello!

This thread has been very helpful! I'm looking to take a cruise from Tampa to Cozumel and get married on the island. The photos look amazing! Does anyone have tips on what time of year to book the cruise/wedding?

Our wedding took place in January, and it was quite warm! Especially coming from the -20*F temperatures of the Midwest. Most cruises stop going to the caribbean during the heat of the summer, so I would say anytime that's not June-August or rainy season.

I was an island bride! We absolutely loved our wedding. We cruised on RCI, but got married in Cozumel using a private vendor. We chose Cozumel because of the wedding planners (Cozumel Wedding Planners) who were absolutely incredible, and the port is a non-tendered port and rarely missed.

Thanks mrstriceasnice! It was lovely. So glad we chose a DW!

Hey guys! I realized I never came back and posted our wedding video - it's awesome for seeing all of the little details of the venue at Mr. Sancho's. We were so relieved when we arrived and saw that it was exactly as (or even better than) expected. No trick-photography by the company!

Lil_One - Originally I was going to have the 12 person limo for the bridal party and then the shuttle for the guests.. But we ended up doing just the limo and taxi cabs. The reason for this was mainly due to how staggered the departure times from the cruise ship were in relation to our total guest count. For example:

0800 - Bride, MOB, MOG, Bridesmaids x3, Photog departed in limo (7 people)

0900 - Groom, FOB, FOG, Groomsmen x3, Photog, Photog's brother, BIL departed (9 people)

Of the 35 people that were coming to our wedding, 10 flew directly to Cozumel.

SO that left us with only 9 people on the cruise ship that needed to get to the wedding over the next 2 hours. 2 of which were going to be in charge of the instant photo guestbook, so they + one of their husbands would be leaving slightly earlier..

I think you're starting to get the picture haha. Plus, I didn't want it to look super preferential when it was time to leave the wedding and the 10 people in Cozumel were getting taxis and everyone else was getting in the shuttle. Plus, we were looking at where we could trim our budget and this was an area we identified.

You have a lot more people coming to your wedding, so it might be more reasonable to have the shuttle, but taxis were also readily available if you decide to go that route. No one had any issues getting to and from the wedding. One of my turn off's was that the port charged like $2/per person as a fee on top of the shuttle rental.

If I had decided to go for the shuttle, I was just going to give everyone the time it would be leaving as a free option for them. For $50 CWP offered to have one of their people there to do a head count, but I honestly think 'you snooze you lose' would apply - if they missed the shuttle, they could taxi it instead! The taxi fare was only $17 per cab that fit 4 people I think.

That sounds wonderful! If you do book through the cruise line, do they offer Mr. Sancho's as an option?

~Lil_One I am SO excited for you! I want to join in on your trip!! It was so amazing - words can't convey.

I know what you mean - I was so relieved after that final call to have everything laid out and so clear. They had great suggestions for the little details! Stephanie actually met us at the port - I appreciated that so much.

We used the musical trio for an hour after the ceremony and while everyone was settling in and eating - I'm so glad you are too! They were really good and set the mood perfectly. Everyone had a lot of good things to say about them - I think they were worth it! And +1 for the Trio vs. the whole mariachi band for cost/value.

Oh! Before I forget - are you having your hair/makeup done in Cozumel at the site or are you doing it on board/yourself? I had the lady from the salon (through CWP) do it and they did a great job and were super nice.. but didn't speak English. Heads up! Just make sure you bring a picture, know spanish, have someone with you who knows spanish, or grab Stephanie or Lluvia to translate any details or changes. My MIL is Peruvian and my SIL is fluent in Spanish... I can understand Spanish pretty easily, but am not a very good communicator.

We did casual cocktail/hors d'oeuvres as well - and it was great! Plenty of food. Especially with the big meal in the MDR later. We also did the late seating and it was nice not having to rush to get back in time for dinner. We were sweaty and tired so we actually showered and took a nap before dinner the night of our wedding haha! Everyone wanted me to wear my dress to dinner that night, so I told them if someone wanted to put me back in it I would... so I did! The other cruisers LOVED this. There were so many sweet, kind people that were so happy for us. It was really nice!

The Group Dining Request worked well for us - you probably won't have this issue with 50 guests (we had about 25 that cruised with us), but while we were all in the same section, there was one table for 2 which was kind of awkward since everyone wanted to socialize together. You've probably already thought of this, but try to head to the MDR and check with the maitre d' to ensure that your group dining is all set when you first get on board.

Oh! Also! I made a contact sheet with everyone's names on the cruise and their room numbers and printed out enough copies for each room so that people could get a hold of each other and leave voice messages. It's difficult without cell phones! Included on this sheet was also the Day Of timeline for each person - for example, a more detailed one for the wedding party, more basic arrival/departure info for the guests.

Sorry if you've already thought of all of this/you were the one to give me the ideas in the first place! ;)

Also re: the weather. For our wedding on 1/11 even though it was pretty warm, it really wasn't that bad except during the ceremony itself when we were standing in the direct sun, and when we were dancing haha. It was quite pleasant in the shade and the bartenders were AMAZING. There were seriously an unlimited number of options of frozen drinks that were SO delicious and worked great to keep us cool.

I don't know where you're from, but I've never been to a wedding in Kansas City where the bartenders came around to the guests' tables to make sure everyone had plenty to drink, and would bring new things to try. You could go up to the bar as well of course! Basically a frosty beverage was never very far away!

This was our experience at Mr. Sancho's wedding venue at least. :)

I didn't mean to make you change your mind! I just wanted to share a few things I learned a long the way for your consideration!

Don't miss checking out what I wrote back on the other thread too - it had a lot of details!

We didn't do any of our wedding through the cruise line - we only booked our Group Cruise Rate through them - but it's the same as any other group cruise (Reunion, business, etc.) and used a private vendor on the island (Cozumel Wedding Planners) for everything wedding related! They were incredible, so reasonably priced, with way more flexibility and options than the cruise line itself would have. Plus, you could plan as far in advance as you want!

Yes, there is some concern with a ship changing itineraries to consider, but the contract with CWP doesn't have to be finalized until 1 month out, so pre-planned itinerary changes usually come out before then. Cozumel is a pretty stable port that is rarely missed, so I also took that into consideration when I picked it. I'd definitely be cautious about picking a tender port.

Do cruises go to Cozumel in July? I thought a lot of them went to Europe at that time. But I honestly have no idea what the weather is like then - you could look it up to give you a better idea? Or if you want to email Stephanie or Lluva from Cozumel Wedding Planners they'd be happy to assist you as well.

We actually did not get legally married in Mexico.. they require blood tests yadda yadda... a good family friend of ours is ordained, we filled out the paper work with him prior and then had technically a 'symbolic' ceremony in Mexico with the same person... but for all intents and purposes it was our wedding day. I totally recommend this route because our ceremony was so personal. CWP offers all the options including providing the minister, but I loved having someone who actually knows us marry us as well as make the ceremony about us as a couple. Totally up to you and what you're envisioning though!

Other things: our wedding vision was to have a fun, stress free destination wedding with our closest family and friends while still including a lot of the 'traditions' of a classic wedding. I think you can see that from the Salt & Light photography blog on my other thread. Hence, we didn't do an elopement style wedding. A lot of my experience comes from that perspective, just to give you an idea! We brought our own minister and photographer, but CWP could have also arranged both if we had preferred.

What are the temperatures like in Cozumel in July?

It was especially humid on our wedding day January 11th because it had rained the 5 days prior.. 1/2 of our guests (including us!) ended up wading in the ocean to cool down near the end of the reception haha. It might be a good idea to consider cooling options, or time of day, etc. depending on what you're planning!

It might have been especially warm to us since we were coming from an average of 0*F winter weather and going to 80-90*F + humidity. You might be more acclimated in July!