caribbean cruise wedding -just us !

[ceciliarobo]

Hi everyone, my Fiance and I want to get married either on the beach or on board a cruise ship whilst in Caribbean and have been reading lots of posts -but all the posts talk of big wedding parties- we will be alone. Has anyone done this ? what options do we have? we are both divorcees-and active over 50s! This wedding is just as important to us -we just want a quieter romantic affair.

I am thinking of Celebrity -but am VERY open to suggestions and help.

Thanks in anticipation- not cruised before either!

[Herbaltees]

Hi everyone, my Fiance and I want to get married either on the beach or on board a cruise ship whilst in Caribbean and have been reading lots of posts -but all the posts talk of big wedding parties- we will be alone. Has anyone done this ? what options do we have? we are both divorcees-and active over 50s! This wedding is just as important to us -we just want a quieter romantic affair.

I am thinking of Celebrity -but am VERY open to suggestions and help.

Thanks in anticipation- not cruised before either!

 

I ,too, am planning a ceremony on a cruise ship, Carnival Cruise to be exact. Most cruise lines offer a smaller package with a very intimate number of guests. For example, on Carnival, the package is called "Bride and Groom" and it allows for an additional 8 guests. (Maybe your children, or parents?)

 

You can tailor the ceremony to be however your envision yourselves. Just because the packages say 20 people, doesn't mean you have to have 20 people. (Although they won't give you a refund for fewer than that number.)

[6rugrats]

Hi everyone, my Fiance and I want to get married either on the beach or on board a cruise ship whilst in Caribbean and have been reading lots of posts -but all the posts talk of big wedding parties- we will be alone. Has anyone done this ? what options do we have? we are both divorcees-and active over 50s! This wedding is just as important to us -we just want a quieter romantic affair.

I am thinking of Celebrity -but am VERY open to suggestions and help.

Thanks in anticipation- not cruised before either!

 

You have the same options as couples who are planning a big wedding party. For most ships, if you want an onboard wedding, it can only be done while in port, before the ship leaves. The only ships that have onboard weddings while at sea are Princess, Celebrity and Azamara.

 

If you have an onboard wedding, and I see you are looking at Celebrity, so this is possible, you are going to have to go through the ship's wedding department, and book a package through them. Looks like a Captain performed wedding at sea is $2500 USD. Info here:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/tabLanding.do?pagename=onboard_special_occasions&tab=onboard_weddings_tab%2Fonboard%2FtextPanel.do%3Fpagename%3Donboard_wedding_packages

 

You can also book a wedding on the beach, at one of your port stops with an outside vendor, especially if it's just the two of you. Just be aware that if your ship misses the port, you won't have your wedding. You are more apt to miss a port where you must tender to shore, so plan carefully, and make sure you will not lose too much money if you miss the port and have to cancel plans.

 

Good luck with your plans; it sounds very romantic!

[zoncom]

I have read that only Celebrity Captains can do weddings.I find it hard to believe you would be forced to buy a package. Call their wedding dept. telling them you are older and alone. I have seen several weddings on South Beach without guests. Just blocks from port. The new Caribbean season will have some really nice itins and the newest X ship out of Miami.

[6rugrats]

I have read that only Celebrity Captains can do weddings.

 

Not true, correct information is already listed.

 

I find it hard to believe you would be forced to buy a package. Call their wedding dept. telling them you are older and alone.

Believe it or not; if you go through the cruiseline and want the Captain to perform the wedding, your age or number of guests doesn't matter. You're going to have to book a package through the ship.

[MalibuBarbie]

I say go for it!

My fiance and I(we are in our late 40's) are planning on getting married on Princess so we can have the captain do the ceremony while we are at sea. We originally planned on having a wedding on Carnival with about 20 people but we cancelled it because of the economy and everyone worried about their jobs, etc. We put it off for almost 2 years and now we have decided that it is OUR day so we are going alone and we are spending the money we would have spent on the wedding for a much longer cruise. Right now we are looking at the 20 day carribean but we are still looking for the perfect cruise!

 

We are very happy with our decision to go by ourselves and we will have the ceremony videotaped so everyone can see it when we have a small party after we return

 

You will have to book a wedding package through the cruiseline but it doesn't matter to them whether you have 2 or 20. They do weddings all the time where it is just the bride and groom. Their paperwork even asks if you need witnesses. You can also do a wedding through a private planner on one of the islands and it will probably be much cheaper. We want to be married at sea so we have to book the package (2250.00 on Princess) but we don't care----we are planning our dream vacation and wedding!

 

MalibuBarbie

[muggo11]

We are 58 and 63--second wedding for both of us. . . Our parents are all dead and each of us has one child who are both on their own Our first choice was to marry on-board (we're going Carnival as I have VIP status and we're cheap!) but the MINIMUM package to get married on-board was $1100! So we looked at the U.S. ports of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. Found Island Bliss weddings and everything is set. The two of us alone on a fee-free beach in St Thomas--a limo will pick us up and take us back to the ship (stopping by the courthouse to get the wedding license).

We are 46 days away. . . And are looking forward to a stress-free, people-free, romantic wedding. . . With a HUGE Bon Retournee party upon our return.

AND we set up a gift registry with Carnival (you don't need to have a package with them to do this) and have already collected a significant amount to help us with get fat (dinner donations), drunk (drinks and wine), relaxed (spa donations) and happier (cabin upgrades) and adventurous ($ towards excursions). . .

A just the two of us wedding is great--enjoy the anticipation! and the event.

[cruisinthemed]

We are getting married in St. Thomas...just the two of us for about $550.00 for WC & ceremony through Island Bliss. Good luck with whatever you decide. Shelly

[Gina130284]

Aww sounds amazing. We're getting married onboard RCCL Enchantment on April 6th, 2013. We have 7 guests so far with 5 more likely to book on.

We're getting married onboard whilst docked in St Thomas as it was the most straight forward and also just found out you do not need witnesses here, so it might be worth looking into this! xx

[crooooooze]

We are both 63, previously married, and don't want a lot of fuss or presents, but we do want to celebrate this important moment. We thought a wedding at sea performed by the captain would be perfect. We are planning to send a link to the wedding cam to our friends and family but no one else will be with us. We have spa appointments and excursions planned and have selected what we will be wearing. (Kind of a Gatsby theme with me in a lace tea dress and he in a double-breasted seersucker suit.)

So far, the Tie the Knot (Princess Wedding Planning) people have been great. We are happy with the package, and delighted to have found a simple and affordable solution with a view of the sea and sky from our balcony.

[JulieRose]

We will be married at sea aboard the crown princess as well. While we have invited about 130 people, we expect less than 30 to attend. So far I have found TWE a chore to work with but after a 5 year engagement what is really important to us is that we're married so I'm dealing with it the best I can. There will probably be far fewer concerns for you without being concerned about guests so Princess may be a really good option for you especially if you want to be married by the captain at sea. (Btw, if you get married in the onboard chapel, it will be broadcast live via webcam so your family and friends can attend from afar.)

[shipsahoy46]

Hi everyone, my Fiance and I want to get married either on the beach or on board a cruise ship whilst in Caribbean and have been reading lots of posts -but all the posts talk of big wedding parties- we will be alone. Has anyone done this ? what options do we have? we are both divorcees-and active over 50s! This wedding is just as important to us -we just want a quieter romantic affair.

I am thinking of Celebrity -but am VERY open to suggestions and help.

Thanks in anticipation- not cruised before either!

[shipsahoy46]

sorry Ceciliarobo... I have never posted on here but i have done alot of reading. An i wanted to reply to your posted...but i messed up...lol. Anyways, I'm like you, my fiance and i are both divorced (in our 40's). An we want to get married on a cruise before it sails so that our families can be there. I'm guessing alot of people on here have family/friends sailing with them. I'm really don't want anyone sailing with us because it's our honeymoon (selfish i know), but we want to enjoy each other not share our time in big groups of people.