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Non-sailing guests and Parking


SweetBride13
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Hi all! I was wondering if some of you past brides (or brides to be!) can give me some info. How did/will your non-sailing guests get to the port? Are you all providing shuttle for the non-sailing guests? Are they driving themselves? If the guests are driving themselves, do you know if they have to pay for parking? Is there a seperate section where non-sailing guests can park? Or would it depend on the port? FYI, I am having an embarkation day wedding, sailing out of the Baltimore port. Thanks!

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Hi all! I was wondering if some of you past brides (or brides to be!) can give me some info. How did/will your non-sailing guests get to the port? Are you all providing shuttle for the non-sailing guests? Are they driving themselves? If the guests are driving themselves, do you know if they have to pay for parking? Is there a seperate section where non-sailing guests can park? Or would it depend on the port? FYI, I am having an embarkation day wedding, sailing out of the Baltimore port. Thanks!

 

My guests are driving themselves. At the Baltimore port when I took my tour, the parking attendant made us park in an area and gave us event parking. we did not have to pay.

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Oh that's good to know! I was debating on whether I should make transportation arrangements for the guests, especially if they had to pay for parking! So did you just have to let the parking attendant know you were just touring (not sailing)? In my case, I'd just let my non-sailing guests know to tell the attendant they are wedding guests but not sailing right? Also was the parking far from the port itself?

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EVERYONE that is coming to our wedding (in Miami) is from out of town. We found a hotel that allows for free parking for a week, so those who drive can park there for the duration of the cruise, also they offer a free shuttle to and from the cruise port. The guests who can only make it to the ceremony will park at the port (its free parking for them). Good luck! :)

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EVERYONE that is coming to our wedding (in Miami) is from out of town. We found a hotel that allows for free parking for a week, so those who drive can park there for the duration of the cruise, also they offer a free shuttle to and from the cruise port. The guests who can only make it to the ceremony will park at the port (its free parking for them). Good luck! :)

 

The hotel that I've booked the room block with also has a "stay and cruise" deal with free parking for the duration of the cruise and a free shuttle. I was trying to arrange a shuttle for the non-sailing but they couldn't accommodate since we will have a lot of non-sailing guests. I felt bad since those of us cruising will have transportation there, and the non-sailing guests won't. But I think my biggest concern was the parking. I would feel horrible if they had to pay for parking! But it looks like they won't have to! :-)

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Oh that's good to know! I was debating on whether I should make transportation arrangements for the guests, especially if they had to pay for parking! So did you just have to let the parking attendant know you were just touring (not sailing)? In my case, I'd just let my non-sailing guests know to tell the attendant they are wedding guests but not sailing right? Also was the parking far from the port itself?

 

Yes, just have your non sailing guests tell the attendant they are wedding guests and he will give them event parking passes and they will not have to pay. The event parking/tour parking was a little far from the terminal, but there was a shuttle at the Baltimore port. It wasn't a bad walk, if ppl wanted to walk to the terminal. Maybe the equivalent of 3 city blocks??

 

Your sailing guests would still have to pay for parking, however.

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I arranged for my sailing and non sailing guests to meet us at the hotel I was staying at (not all stayed there due to hotel points). Those who decided to drive followed our shuttle provided by the hotel. There was a small parking fee, I am sure that depends on the port, it is easy to find out about. The non sailing guests got rides back to the hotel from those that followed.

 

***Things you need to check and double check with hotels that offer the park and ride/shuttle service. Most hotels near the ports will offer a shuttle service, they normally have set times of 12:00, 1:00 and 2:00. you NEED to be at the dock at 10:30. you will need to ask them if they can provide you with a private shuttle for you and or your guests for the appropriate time. I had talked to the district manager 3 times to make the arrangements, discuss extra fee for a private shuttle (which they didn't charge me for but it was discussed) and a confirmation. Sure enough, when I checked in 2 days early they had no idea what I was talking about and had to pull it together for me at the last minute. All worked out but do your leg work and make SURE they will accommodate the time you need to be there!!! ***

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When the hotel offers guest shuttle services, how do you get back to the hotel when you get back from the cruise?

 

Do you call a cab? Or do you arrange for the hotel shuttle to come back to pick you up?

 

I'm not sure exactly, but I was planning on asking them for a pick up as well. I don't see it being a problem, but if they can't then I think cabs are the way to go, our hotel isn't that far so I don't think it would cost too much.

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UPDATE: I just checked with my wedding coordinator yesterday, and she did confirm that the Baltimore port has a "special events" parking, the non- sailing guests can park in this section at no charge!

 

As for the sailing guests, we are booking the "Stay and Cruise" package with one of the hotels. With this package, the hotel allows us to leave our vehicles on their property for the entirety of the cruise and they provide a free shuttle to and from the port!

Edited by SweetBride13
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Hi Sweetbride, We were just married on the Pride and they have a special events parking lot where your guests can park at no charge. It is about a 150feet walk to the ship. Not bad at all. For those guests sailing with you, they have a special parking area also. They charged our guests $15.00 a day to leave their cars. Our wedding cermony and reception went absolutely perfect aboard the Pride. 16 cruises and I have never come across a more accomodating crew. Our ceremony was in the chapel and our reception was in Beauties, because we had the DJ. We had the 1 1/2 hour cocktail reception with open bar. The food was out of this world and never ending, everytime a tray emptied someone was right there to refill it. We had 4 bar servers for 30 guests and no one ever waited for a drink, they were right there. Just a quick note, we had Effran for our photographer and Darko for our videographer and both of them were willing to step away from the norm and give us what we wanted in packages and videos. They will give you a standard sheet with prices and info, but they will work with you to make you happy. The photos and the video were absolutely beautiful. Not sure if you took the video package or not but if you did, they will do honeymoon footage of you and your guests throughout the cruise. So not only did do you have wedding footage but you also have memories of the week on board. :D

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