Carnival weddings!!!

[aprilmay85]

Hi EVERYONE!!! We are cruise-aholics & decided to get married this JAN on the carnival freedom!! we have already been on the ship this past JAN but we are looking for anyone who has attended a wedding on carnival or if anyone got married them selves on carinval?!?! any stories, advice or just something to share about your experience would be a great help!! hope to hear from yall soon!!! thanks again!! almost less than 5 months & im freaking hahah:p

[crislen]

I attended a wedding in 2007 on Carnival (embarkation day) and am planning on getting married myself on the Legend in May 2011.

 

As a guest it was a great experience, my first time cruising, and so much more fun than traditional weddings (no long boring speeches, no sitting around waiting to be allowed to go eat or get served, a chance to explore the ship before and after, and all week long to celebrate with the bride and groom!)

 

There are a whole bunch of reviews and questions and answers over on the Weddings and Honeymoons special topic board...!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

[aprilmay85]

Thank you soo much!! im new to cruisecritic...when I log in...how do I get to the honeymonn & wedding forums?

[tkportersat]

It is on the main "boards" page under "special interest cruising".

[augusta78]

I was married on the Carnival Pride in 2003. I was in my last year of college so my mom really planned the wedding. It was relatively easy. There is a wedding planner with Carnival who took care of everything. The day of the wedding as soon as the boat was cleared from customs the bridal party and guests were allowed to board the boat. We went to our room and the bridal party was able to dress and then the wedding planner and the photographer came to the room. We were married in the chapel and all went well. Then after the wedding the photographer took pictures in the lobby area. The reception was in the disco. They had ice sculptures and our names written on all the screens in the disco. Each guest was allowed 2 alcoholic drinks, there were light snacks and the wedding cake. We still had time to dance etc. Then before the ship sails they make all the guests who are not cruising get off the ship.

 

A couple of days later we were able to purchase the wedding pictures from the photographer on the ship. One thing to be aware of though is that you DO have to wait for the boat to get cleared. My wedding was supposed to be at 1pm but as of 12:15 the boat still wasnt cleared by customs. My girls and I did our make up and jewelry in the terminal. By the time we made it to the room I only had enough time to just pull my hair up in a jaw clip. Thankfully I had a veil on so it hid my hair some.

 

Any questions let me know.

[zqvol]

There is a thread within the past couple of months about a wedding disaster. Make sure you take a look at it and have alternative plans.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

My brother was married on the Fantasy in 2002. It was my first Fun Group cruise so since most of our family was going my brother decided to get married on the cruise. It was beautiful!!!!! So were the pictures. Make sure you request the wedding CD. Hold out on buying your pictures right away, act like you really have to think about it the photographer kept dropping the price on the next to last day of the cruise my brother & sister-in-law bought all of the pictures that were taken at a great price.

[gail811]

My son was just married on the Dream. There were a few very minor glitches (they decorated the wrong room for the bride and groom; our younger son and his girlfriend were quite surprised when they opened the door to their cabin ;) ), but nothing that changed the fact that it was a beautiful ceremony and the reception was one of the best ever! The photographers did a great job too. As the previous poster stated, our group was escorted on the ship as soon as it cleared customs. My grandson still brags that he was the very first person to step onto the Dream that day! Everyone waited on the Lido deck or wandered the ship until the wedding started. Those that attended but did not cruise were allowed to stay until about 3:00 or 3:30.

[zav]

Funny i actually just posed about this same subject. Our wedding is 10/03 on the Carnival Conquest. I will let you know how it goes and ect when we return. Good feed back so far you've had, its helped me out a bit. I'm going to search the special forums i saw some one spoke about. I've been on a cruise before but little nervous on not knowing exactly what to expect for the wedding.

 

Con grats to you both!!!!:)

[lillian marie]

Congrats and best wishes for a wonderful weeding experience.

[wes1333]

We got married on the Glory in 6/08 and it was great we didnt have any problems at all everything went smooth. We did the reception in the dance club and had about 40 guest and family with open bar. The good was great they had an ice sculpture i could go on but message me if you have any questions.

[maurick]

My DD is getting married on the Glory next June. I read the

wedding boards here to get good feedback. Wi

[gijoe76]

Our DD got married on the Conquest two years ago. Carnival's wedding planner did an awesome job. The reception had an ice sculpture, hot & cold appetizers as well as sushi!!! It was open bar and we also were able to hire one of the bands to play for dancing. It was stressful because we were not in control of all the details, but Carnival was amazing.

 

Best Wishes!

[serene56]

could go on but message me if you have any questions.

 

cruise critic does not have that option.

--

 

getting married onboard-- you and your quests will be the first ones to board the ship- You can use you cabin to get ready- your family and friends can visit the lido buffet-- go around and look at the ship while waiting for the ceremony.

You will be married on the day of debarkation-- and your reception will be over by the time you sail. Your non sailing guest will be escorted off.

 

 

Carnival ships allow only three weddings per sailing. You do not have a lot of input. Having a wedding onboard is not for the compulsive planner.

You do not have a say where the wedding will be held. Nor do you get a choice of time. (depends on how many weddings- and how many guests. etc.

 

I would not use a cruise for a destination wedding== things happen and you could miss that port--

[Dave0311]

I attended a wedding in 2007 on Carnival (embarkation day) and am planning on getting married myself on the Legend in May 2011.

 

As a guest it was a great experience, my first time cruising, and so much more fun than traditional weddings (no long boring speeches, no sitting around waiting to be allowed to go eat or get served, a chance to explore the ship before and after, and all week long to celebrate with the bride and groom!)

 

There are a whole bunch of reviews and questions and answers over on the Weddings and Honeymoons special topic board...!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

My sister is getting married on the Legend in May 2011 too! Maybe you'll get married on the same cruise. :D

[DGP1111]

. . . we are looking for anyone who has attended a wedding on carnival or if anyone got married them selves on carinval?!?! any stories, advice or just something to share about your experience would be a great help!!

 

I've attended an onboard CCL vow renewal that was done really really well. It was coordinated by onboard crew, and not a third party planner.

 

I've attended a CCL wedding performed on embarkation day that was enjoyable, but had its hiccups. Some cruise lines do these things up right, and for some it seems like a revenue-generating experience only.

 

This link below is very much an exception to the norm. It is not intended to indicate that most CCL ceremonies go wrong. It's just a reference to show what can possible happen when a cruise ship is chosen as the location for a special occasion for visiting family & friends. I was onboard this ship the following week, and there were still crew members talking about it.

 

http://www.clickorlando.com/video/23513255/index.html

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[mittchelandsophie]

I've attended an onboard CCL vow renewal that was done really really well. It was coordinated by onboard crew, and not a third party planner.

 

I've attended a CCL wedding performed on embarkation day that was enjoyable, but had its hiccups. Some cruise lines do these things up right, and for some it seems like a revenue-generating experience only.

 

This link below is very much an exception to the norm. It is not intended to indicate that most CCL ceremonies go wrong. It's just a reference to show what can possible happen when a cruise ship is chosen as the location for a special occasion for visiting family & friends. I was onboard this ship the following week, and there were still crew members talking about it.

!

 

http://www.clickorlando.com/video/23513255/index.html

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Though I have only cruised Carnival (because I want to earn platinum status someday) I do find that they take the "customer is always wrong" approach often. They really seem to lack quality customer service