Carnival Group Booking vs. Wedding Department Booking

[traylynn]

Hello All- I am in the first stage of planning. I read somewhere that it is better to book as a large group verses going through the wedding department. When going through Group Booking do you tell them you are planning a wedding or not.

 

Do you still get your credits if you go through the wedding department.

 

If you have and information please share.

 

 

Thanks

[yibba712]

Simultaneously, I booked a group through our travel agent and contacted the wedding department to secure my wedding date. If you call the wedding department, they will put a hold on the date to allow you make your arrangements and obtain your booking number. You must book the wedding within 48 hours and make full payment. My travel agent was aware we were planning a wedding. To be honest, I am not sure which way is better and I don't really know what benefits are to doing one way or the other. I do know that I will get a refund (based on the average price in our group) after 8 cabins are booked. The same is true if you hit 16 cabins, etc. Besides that I don't know what on-board credits will be given at this point. It sounded like it was up to the cruise line. I am not aware of what my guests will be receiving although I hope there is some benefit for them.

 

If anyone has any addition insight or guidance, please share. Thanks!

[traylynn]

Hi Yibba712- Thanks for the quick response. I learned the same for every 8 cabins you get a ship credit. You can use the credit for whatever. I am planning on using for a wedding reception or if guest really want to come and need help I think you can use towards a cabin.

 

When you say book wedding in 48 hours and make full payment do you mind giving me a bit more detail. I have not contacted the wedding department yet. Just because I not sure which course of action to take. I am planning on a destination wedding in St.Thomas.

[chechebean]

Hi and Congrats on the wedding! My previous experience was checking for my daughter and mostly via RCL. What I found was as soon as you say "wedding" get ready for the nickel and dime game. I was shocked that while you are on a gigantic ship with food everywhere that they would all of the sudden say, "Oh wait, that is going to cost $$ extra". RCL has a 25 page print out and it basically charges you for everything. We were going to try to get a small party of about 8-10 cabins and set a schedule that allows for everyone to spend time together and then have fun on their own. But take for example, a simple lunch would create an extra 45.00 per person, because it was in a private room. Doesn't make any sense to me. Same food, in fact, limited food and a buffet at that. So its not as though you are getting white glove sit down service. We were turned off to the whole experience and said "never-mind". I wish you much luck. The wedding planner also is a ridiculous fee. I was also told that they basically charge by the hour in reference to the pre-planning. So it really isn't the savings that were were expecting. Good Luck!!

[yibba712]

I booked my wedding through Carnival although I researched all of the cruise lines wedding packages. Carnival's pricing was geared more towards a group affair while some of the other cruise lines packages were more centered around just the bride and groom... hence the last post about being nickeled and dimed. Some of the CL charge upwards of $75 pp to have a mini reception after the ceremony. The package we chose from Carnival included a reception for 20 people. If you hit more than 20 guests, you pay a pp fee but it is much more reasonable than other CL. Plus during the reception, you have open bar.

 

When I said you must pay for the wedding within 48 hours of having a hold placed on your wedding date, I meant exactly that. You must pay for the entire cost of the wedding package you choose upfront. Any extras or add-ons can be paid later. With Carnival, you do not pay for a wedding coordinator unless you hit 50 guests.

 

We are doing a ship-board wedding on the day of embarkation. If you plan to be married in St. Thomas and don't like any of the packages the cruise lines offer, you may want to look into a private company to plan and coordingate your wedding. I have seen other brides on these boards do that but I imagine there are pros and cons to both plans.

 

Hope this helps!

[traylynn]

Gotcha- Thanks for the info. I am going to through a wedding planner on the island, so I was not sure if I still needed to contact the wedding department on the ship. I should just go through group booking it sound like.

 

Thanks Again

[audi02]

I'm not exactly sure what your question is. But I booked the wedding through the wedding department. Then I set up a group booking through carnival. To be honest, they have been a nightmare. First, they gave me a higher rate than what showed up on the website a few weeks later. My guest think it is cheaper to go directly through the cruise website. I do get credits for them booking through the group rate, but I would rather them save money. Plus, they keep telling my guest that there are no changes allowed to be made to the reservations once they book it. I have a lot of people that aren't sure who they are rooming with and if their significant others can come yet. So they are waiting to book, but the group thing expires after 30 days of setting it up. So there will be no gurantee of cabins for them. I'm hoping the ship doesn't fill up. It is becoming a real mess. I heard travel agents are easier to deal with.

[traylynn]

thanks...sorry you are having problems