Special Occasions

[long_shot45]

My DW & I are celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary on our cruise. Is there any way to notify HAL of this? Most cruise lines ask if you are celebrating any special occasion.

[solocanadian]

My DW & I are celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary on our cruise. Is there any way to notify HAL of this? Most cruise lines ask if you are celebrating any special occasion.

Sorry I can't answer your question. However, I wish you both a very HAPPY ANNIVERSARY and wish you both more together. What a magnificasant Milestone. Way to go. Wish my late husband had been around to reach that goal. Gail:D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have your TA notify the ship.

Or when you get on the ship -- see the dining room manager and inform him of your special ocassion.

Happy Anniversary.

[artistann]

:)You will get a nice cake delivered to your dining room table gratis. Have you considered Renewal of Vows Ceremony? Although it does cost, it really makes a lovely way to celebrate. There will be a special event with a few other couples at a private reception for you and guests. There will be flowers, a photo album, a beautiful cake. The Captain will perform the

Ceremony for each couple. We had our 50th on the Zuiderdam a few years ago. Have your TA check it out.:)

[sapper1]

Re renewal of vows-----please do not read anything malicious into this question as I am sincerely curious. What is the rationale behind this kind of ceremony? I mean, you are either married or you are not.

 

I am guessing it must be an American custom as the only place I have ever heard it mentioned is on these boards. I do not know a single person, nor have I ever heard of anyone who has done this.

 

Could someone please explain it ----I have wanted to ask before but sometimes when one expresses curiosity on these boards it is taken as a negative comment. Please take it at face value as I am simply wondering.

[feathersandnananose]

Re: Renewal of vows. It's a sentimental impulse to restate your connection to each other. Given that many marriages dissolve or just kinda limp along (it's just easier to stay together than make a major change), I think it's sweet when a long-married couple decide to "officially" celebrate their ongoing positive relationship. And in some cases, young couples had modest marriage ceremonies, and use a renewal ceremony to have a bigger fancier event. It's just a way to celebrate and recognize an on-going living growing relationship - a glorified anniversary, if you will.

[letterhead]

Sometimes it's motivated by having passed through a difficult time, such as a health or other crisis, or sometimes just a passage into another phase of life, such as retirement. A RoV can be very simple, with or without clergy. A couple in their 60s recently had a short one as part of one of our regular church services (Episcopal, USA). I would guess most of the worldwide Anglican communion has a short recommitment rite, and perhaps other denominations do as well. My husband and I are doing a RoV on the Noordam for our 20th next summer. We always planned to do it, just as a way of saying, "Yes. All of those things I said then, I mean more than ever." And what better place to do it than on the Mediterranean, on our first cruise, with our kids there?

 

I agree that simple curiosity should be flameproof. Hope this helps!

 

Liz

[kazu]

We did it a few years ago and it was quite nice. You are simply re-affirming your vows. Similar to some people who do it on 25th or 50th wedding anniversaries.

[iriemon]

Regarding the special occasion if you booked on line there was a spot asking if you were celebrating a special occasion. If you called they usually ask. I am sure a call to HAL or your travel agent would take care of it.

 

We did the renewal of our vows for our 39th anniversary on the Eurodam. My wife had just gone through another bout of fighting cancer and it was our recommitment to each other and fighting cancer. We wrote our own vows instead of using the ship standard ones. Everyone including the capt. Had a tear in their eyes because it was so personal. We then went to the piano bar and danced our first dance. Besides our wedding it was one of the most beautiful things we have done.

[sail7seas]

Congratulations on your milestone Anniversary.

By all means ask your TA to let HAL know it will be your Anniversary and after boarding mention it to the Dining Room Manager (formerly Maitre d') and tell him which night you would like your cake brought to your table at dinner.

 

[sapper1]

Thank you all for taking the time to share some sentimental stories and for taking the question in the spirit in which it was asked. It all sounds very nice and romantic.

[solocanadian]

Re renewal of vows-----please do not read anything malicious into this question as I am sincerely curious. What is the rationale behind this kind of ceremony? I mean, you are either married or you are not.

 

I am guessing it must be an American custom as the only place I have ever heard it mentioned is on these boards. I do not know a single person, nor have I ever heard of anyone who has done this.

 

Could someone please explain it ----I have wanted to ask before but sometimes when one expresses curiosity on these boards it is taken as a negative comment. Please take it at face value as I am simply wondering.

 

My late husband and me did the Vow Renewal on the Veendam in 1996. It was an Inaugural cruise and was just something we wanted to do to celebrate our 23rd anniversary. By this time he was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease and his health was failing. He was 23 years my senior. When we married we had a small garden wedding at my parent's home - very nice with family and a few close friends. Fred was so moved by this Vow Renewal he was litteraly lost for words and could not repeat the vows. That got me in tears and then I had difficulty speaking. As he aged he seemed to get more sentimental. I'm so glad we did this as we only had one cruise together in 1997 and then he passed away in January 1998. I often pull out the beautiful album we received and reflect on the photos and momentos of that cruise. We were lucky to have Capt. Johnathon Mercer. Once again, I'm so glad we did this. To each his own I guess.

[Hflors]

dh and I are going to renew our vows on our upcoming Hawaii and Tahiti cruise next march. we will be celebrating our 40th year of marriage. Sadly all most all the people at our wedding are no longer with us but my oldest sister was there and is coming along with us for this trip. I always dreamed of getting married on a ship in the middle the the south pacific and visiting Bora Bora. Welll the time has come for me to be able to do both these things. We signed up for the Vow renewal as soon as we were able and are very excited to have the opportunity.

 

Helen

[Oceanwench]

Re renewal of vows-----please do not read anything malicious into this question as I am sincerely curious. What is the rationale behind this kind of ceremony? I mean, you are either married or you are not.

 

I am guessing it must be an American custom as the only place I have ever heard it mentioned is on these boards. I do not know a single person, nor have I ever heard of anyone who has done this.

 

Could someone please explain it ----I have wanted to ask before but sometimes when one expresses curiosity on these boards it is taken as a negative comment. Please take it at face value as I am simply wondering.

 

Celine Dion and her husband did it -- I believe they had a very elaborate ceremony!

[SilvertoGold]

Have your TA notify the ship.

 

Or when you get on the ship -- see the dining room manager and inform him of your special ocassion.

 

Happy Anniversary.

 

As KK and Sail note it really is a good idea to let the Dining Room Manager know when your special occasion is and what you would like in the way of a cake.

It is not a good idea to depend only on having the ship informed. We have done this and it was noted on our booking, no problem Yet, twice nothing was said, no cake, zilch! Really disappointing, as one occasion was a really big anniversary.

So, best to let them know on the ship and there shouldn't be any problem!

 

Congratulation on your anniversary!

[sapper1]

I am so glad I asked. Please keep the stories coming. Colleyberry,you need to take notes for a story.

[MACPC]

I am so glad I asked. Please keep the stories coming. Colleyberry,you need to take notes for a story.

 

Our 40th is in February. I have scheduled a RoV on the Zuiderdam during our Holiday cruise. He doesn't know about it, and I don't plan to tell him until we're on board. We're not traveling with anyone else - this RoV is for us - our special private moment of celebrating our lives together.

 

DH was single dad with two kids, ages 9 and 7, and I was 22 years old. I became their mom and we had one of our own. Started our own business, which is still going strong. He supported me through a return to school after age 50 for a bachelor's and master's degree. Grandkids are 19, 16, 2, and one due in March.

 

We'll be on our DAM ship for 10 nights, and hope to be on again in 2011 for 12 nights. Life is good.

[iriemon]

Our 40th is in February. I have scheduled a RoV on the Zuiderdam during our Holiday cruise. He doesn't know about it, and I don't plan to tell him until we're on board. We're not traveling with anyone else - this RoV is for us - our special private moment of celebrating our lives together.

 

DH was single dad with two kids, ages 9 and 7, and I was 22 years old. I became their mom and we had one of our own. Started our own business, which is still going strong. He supported me through a return to school after age 50 for a bachelor's and master's degree. Grandkids are 19, 16, 2, and one due in March.

 

We'll be on our DAM ship for 10 nights, and hope to be on again in 2011 for 12 nights. Life is good.

 

I am sure he will be surprised. I did that with my wife when we did it in Dec. I had also upgraded to a suite which she was not aware of either. She had no idea about the ROV ceremony until she got to the room, saw the flowers and the invitations. The look on her face was one I will never forget.

[tntfreedom]

What about birthdays onboard? Is there any sort of acknowledgment

[KAKcruiser]

The waiters will bring a birthday cake. Just let them know in advance.

[ccruisequeen]

My DM will be celebrating her b-day on our next cruise- hope to get her a cake!

[kalliekae]

As KK and Sail note it really is a good idea to let the Dining Room Manager know when your special occasion is and what you would like in the way of a cake.

It is not a good idea to depend only on having the ship informed. We have done this and it was noted on our booking, no problem Yet, twice nothing was said, no cake, zilch! Really disappointing, as one occasion was a really big anniversary.

So, best to let them know on the ship and there shouldn't be any problem!

 

Exactly!! We told HAL when we booked that our cruise was a 35th anniversary celebration. Nothing was said or done. I guess you really do have to inform the dining room manager of the special occasion.

 

On a side note, we are sailing RCL in December for a special occasion and they have already contacted us twice regarding what we want done. I will be interested to see if they follow through on our request.

[kalliekae]

Our 40th is in February. I have scheduled a RoV on the Zuiderdam during our Holiday cruise. He doesn't know about it, and I don't plan to tell him until we're on board. We're not traveling with anyone else - this RoV is for us - our special private moment of celebrating our lives together.

 

DH was single dad with two kids, ages 9 and 7, and I was 22 years old. I became their mom and we had one of our own. Started our own business, which is still going strong. He supported me through a return to school after age 50 for a bachelor's and master's degree. Grandkids are 19, 16, 2, and one due in March.

 

We'll be on our DAM ship for 10 nights, and hope to be on again in 2011 for 12 nights. Life is good.

 

Congratulations!! It will be very special and I hope your dh is excited when you tell him.

 

I asked my dh about a ROV ceremony on our 25th when we were aboard the Amsterdam in 2000 and he wasn't interested so it was a good thing I didn't surprise him. LOL

[MAHLO]

As KK and Sail note it really is a good idea to let the Dining Room Manager know when your special occasion is and what you would like in the way of a cake.

It is not a good idea to depend only on having the ship informed. We have done this and it was noted on our booking, no problem Yet, twice nothing was said, no cake, zilch! Really disappointing, as one occasion was a really big anniversary.

So, best to let them know on the ship and there shouldn't be any problem!

 

Congratulation on your anniversary!

Yes.Go that route as we told when we booked as it was our 60th so thought there would be some sort of special cake whar ever and nothing. We did the renewal of vows and would highly recommand it well worth the money. Going again in Feb. and it is before our next Anniversary expect to do it again.

[MACPC]

Congratulations!! It will be very special and I hope your dh is excited when you tell him.

 

I asked my dh about a ROV ceremony on our 25th when we were aboard the Amsterdam in 2000 and he wasn't interested so it was a good thing I didn't surprise him. LOL

 

I'm confident this will be a "good" surprise!