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Carnival Dream Wedding Review 4-30-11

HeatherC430
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HeatherC430

HeatherC430

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New2Cruisen...my experience with the photographer was very similar to yours...sorting all the pictures into piles in order to whittle down to what we could afford to buy, me tearing up because we couldnt't afford to spend as much on photos as I would have liked, etc. I must say...I am jealous that yours gave you a "wedding gift" of 10 8x10s!!! Ours wasn't budging or swinging us any sort of deal. Even after I was in tears, my husband even laid out the whole scenario of the mishaps we had in hopes of getting some sort of deal...but he wouldn't move on the price or packages. We also scheduled a second meeting on our last sea day (after we had time to talk over our photo purchasing strategy) All we got was a lousy photo album thrown in into our bag!

 

Oh well...onto planning our next cruise!

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New2cruisen

New2cruisen

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New2Cruisen...my experience with the photographer was very similar to yours...sorting all the pictures into piles in order to whittle down to what we could afford to buy, me tearing up because we couldnt't afford to spend as much on photos as I would have liked, etc. I must say...I am jealous that yours gave you a "wedding gift" of 10 8x10s!!! Ours wasn't budging or swinging us any sort of deal. Even after I was in tears, my husband even laid out the whole scenario of the mishaps we had in hopes of getting some sort of deal...but he wouldn't move on the price or packages. We also scheduled a second meeting on our last sea day (after we had time to talk over our photo purchasing strategy) All we got was a lousy photo album thrown in into our bag!

 

Oh well...onto planning our next cruise!

 

Yeah, shocked me that he gave us a "wedding gift". At least you got the photo album thrown in free. I guess it all depends on which photographer your assigned and what they are willing to do for you. I did notice that some are more friendlier than others on board and from reading other brides experiences. We had to wait for our canvas to dry overnight and had to pick it up the morning we disembarked. We did give him a $20 tip after we picked up all our final photos. We felt it was the least we could do since he gave us a gift.

 

I can't wait to book our next cruise!

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crislen

crislen

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Welcome back Heather!! It sounds like it was a bit of a whirlwind at the beginning - I can't believe the coordinators were so ... ugh!! But you're now married and have a great story to tell - but I know it definitely doesn't feel that way at that time!! Thank you for sharing all your information - I wish I could have read it before my wedding - it is great to share!

 

On the photographer and prices... my gawd, I think we all had the same experience!!

The pricing system on the ships are so different than what we were given. When they gave us only 2 package prices that were more than double the prices given to us by Carnival when we first booked, I nearly died. I started crying since I had only budgetted $2000 for our photos to get the top package. Well... the 2 choices they gave us STARTED at triple that.

 

I think it is completely misleading - we weren't even given a package option that didn't include the photo storybooks they made. I hate to admit it, but the photographers made a pretty penny out of us. But... they made me look skinny in the photos! They did throw in all the of the formal night portraits and casual night shots for most of our cruising group for us as a wedding present (so 30 extra photos in total) It all depends on the ship and the photographer!

 

 

So don't feel bad... they screw with all the brides on pictures :(

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Mrs. B to Be

Mrs. B to Be

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Thanks for your review! I've been searching all over trying to find wedding reviews from brides on the Dream! I am getting married on the dream on October 22, 2011. It seems so far away! I can't wait! I am a bit nervous because I'm such a planner and I feel like I'm not in control with a lot of the planning with the cruise ship wedding. We had started planning a traditional wedding and then decided to scrap the whole thing and do the Delux Romance package on the ship instead and then take back to back 7 night cruises since we both love cruising so much! At first I was worried that I would regret making that decision and that I'd feel cheated out of a real wedding, but now I'm feeling a little more hopeful and excited about it! Besides, 14 nights on a cruise ship sounds GREAT to me!!! :D

I do have a few questions though, I am thinking about using Tiffany for my hair and make-up, I'm just undecided on if I should do both or just have her do my hair and do my own make-up to try and save money. I do wear make-up everyday and would like to think I'm halfway decent at applying it, I just don't want to look like I do every other day on my wedding day so I was thinking maybe I'd bite the bullet and have her do it. Do you think it's worth it? How good was she? I tried to look at your pictures, but I couldn't get the link to work. Did you tip her as well, if so, do you mind if I ask how much?

I was also wondering what kind of great lengths I'd have to go to in order to avoid having my hubby to be & my guests see me before the wedding? Ideally, that's how I'd like it to be, but I don't know if it would be more trouble than it's worth. We'll all be staying at the Raddison the night prior to sailing.

What is the decor like at the reception? Do they decorate at all or just white table cloths and such? Am I allowed to bring decor of my own and set it up? I'm also wondering what the cake looks like as well as the boquet (sp?), I think they put greenery in it and I hate greenery! I don't want to pay their crazy flower upgrade fees so I'm wondering if I could request it with out the greenery and have the stems wraped? I've also started checking around to see about just getting a silk arrangement and bringing it with me, but I REALLY hate silk flowers, sigh, not much choice though I guess. Can I ask for any extra designs on the cake?

Sorry, I have a million questions :D

Edited by Mrs. B to Be
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New2cruisen

New2cruisen

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Thanks for your review! I've been searching all over trying to find wedding reviews from brides on the Dream! I am getting married on the dream on October 22, 2011. It seems so far away! I can't wait! I am a bit nervous because I'm such a planner and I feel like I'm not in control with a lot of the planning with the cruise ship wedding. We had started planning a traditional wedding and then decided to scrap the whole thing and do the Delux Romance package on the ship instead and then take back to back 7 night cruises since we both love cruising so much! At first I was worried that I would regret making that decision and that I'd feel cheated out of a real wedding, but now I'm feeling a little more hopeful and excited about it! Besides, 14 nights on a cruise ship sounds GREAT to me!!! :D

I do have a few questions though, I am thinking about using Tiffany for my hair and make-up, I'm just undecided on if I should do both or just have her do my hair and do my own make-up to try and save money. I do wear make-up everyday and would like to think I'm halfway decent at applying it, I just don't want to look like I do every other day on my wedding day so I was thinking maybe I'd bite the bullet and have her do it. Do you think it's worth it? How good was she? I tried to look at your pictures, but I couldn't get the link to work. Did you tip her as well, if so, do you mind if I ask how much?

I was also wondering what kind of great lengths I'd have to go to in order to avoid having my hubby to be & my guests see me before the wedding? Ideally, that's how I'd like it to be, but I don't know if it would be more trouble than it's worth. We'll all be staying at the Raddison the night prior to sailing.

What is the decor like at the reception? Do they decorate at all or just white table cloths and such? Am I allowed to bring decor of my own and set it up? I'm also wondering what the cake looks like as well as the boquet (sp?), I think they put greenery in it and I hate greenery! I don't want to pay their crazy flower upgrade fees so I'm wondering if I could request it with out the greenery and have the stems wraped? I've also started checking around to see about just getting a silk arrangement and bringing it with me, but I REALLY hate silk flowers, sigh, not much choice though I guess. Can I ask for any extra designs on the cake?

Sorry, I have a million questions :D

 

Hi Mrs.B to Be,

Back to Back cruises! So exciting!

I was married on the Dream too in March 2011. We had a wonderful time and our wedding was just as I dreamed. I did a review that may answer a lot of your questions. There are other posts on that thread that will answer your questions as well. Here is the link to that review thread. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1397495

If you would like you can email me (post your email) and I will be glad to share what I know. I have lots of pictures on my website too. The link is in my review.

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Mrs. B to Be

Mrs. B to Be

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Thanks! Your review was great! So were your pictures! I'm scouting the net trying to find any and all information I can about carnival Dream brides and their experiences. Sadly, I'm not finding too many, only about 3 or 4 tops. Any other suggestions or tips on anything??? My e-mail is brittany.d.baker@gmail.com

Thank you so much for your reply! Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!!!

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New2cruisen

New2cruisen

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Thanks! Your review was great! So were your pictures! I'm scouting the net trying to find any and all information I can about carnival Dream brides and their experiences. Sadly, I'm not finding too many, only about 3 or 4 tops. Any other suggestions or tips on anything??? My e-mail is brittany.d.baker@gmail.com

Thank you so much for your reply! Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!!!

 

 

You've Got Mail! :D

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Shatima

Shatima

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I thought I left a comment on ur Thread.. I love everything you wrote, and the Flip Flops sound good to me too.,, its VERY laid back and relaxing sounding.. I thank you for taking time out and sharing with us your Beautiful Day & Pix..

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HeatherC430

HeatherC430

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Thanks Shatima! Let me know if you have any questions on anything I didn't cover in my review! I'm happy to help Carnival Brides!

 

My husband still raves about our decision to do the cruiseship wedding! And we still have guests who talk about what a great time they had!

 

We love cruising!

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Shatima

Shatima

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Thanks Shatima! Let me know if you have any questions on anything I didn't cover in my review! I'm happy to help Carnival Brides!

 

My husband still raves about our decision to do the cruiseship wedding! And we still have guests who talk about what a great time they had!

 

We love cruising!

 

Yes I love everything you said.. I FEEL the SAME way.. Being a helpful person is Wonderful,and ikt makes you happy t ohelp others (well thats the feeling I get, lol)

 

Your review coverd it all :)

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amiris1

amiris1

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Heather:

 

Thank you for the review. I am getting married on the Dream in January and am super nervous, especially about the pictures. However my cousin is a photographer and plans to bring a camera or two. I'm expecting double the guests as you had, but only about 30 will be sailing with us.

 

I will definitely be sure to make a list of photos that I want taken. I am praying that everything works out in the best way possible....

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Beba1777

Beba1777

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Thanks for sharing all your insight :) getting married November 15th next year on the Sunshine ship.. Before reading all your details I was extremely nervous! Thank you once again for sharing your wedding story with us :)

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HeatherC430

HeatherC430

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Thanks for sharing all your insight :) getting married November 15th next year on the Sunshine ship.. Before reading all your details I was extremely nervous! Thank you once again for sharing your wedding story with us :)

 

I love when I see this thread bump to the top! :)

Even now, we fondly recall our wedding on the Dream! We don't regret our decision to do an embarkation day wedding at all! Relax & enjoy the upcoming year until the big day! That's one of the best parts of having a cruise ship wedding is that most of the details are all taken care of for you!

 

Congratulations! I was on the Breeze this year and loved the feel & 2.0 upgrads on the ship - after the renovation, the Sunshine should have all the same upgrades - and for that reason, it's at the top of my list for my Carnival cruise! I'm sure you'll love the ship! All the pictures I've seen look incredible!

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