Reception...is it really worth it?

[ambergj]

Hey there,

Question....I do not really wanna do a reception on the ship ,it's just not something that we really wanna do. Is it something that if we get married ON Princess that we HAVE to do????? Or can we opt out of that option????? Just curious.

 

Also, is having a reception really worth it on the criuse? I mean, we do not wanna have a big fancy schmancy wedding reception when we get back either, it is something that the only thing that we wanna do it do the cruise and that's it!! I mean it. So, but I mean,,,,,if it is somehting that is just wonderful etc is it worth it?

 

I have seen some pics and having a reception on the ship just looks to be kind of cheesy and not sure if that is rhe route that we wanna take. Any advice would be greatly appreciated....thanks a bunch!

 

Amber

[MandyGirl]

Amber - You could consider having a "belated" reception at a port of call and really do something surprising/unique. :D We kept our reception a secret - everyone thought we were having wedding cake on the beach immediately following the ceremony on St John. Instead, a catamaran pulled into the bay that we had chartered for the 19 of us, and a dinghy took us out to the catamaran. We had a 90-minute sail along St John's north coast where we had our champagne toast, wedding cake, Caribbean music, warm sun, and beautiful scenery... not to mention unlimited Painkillers (a popular drink in the islands). We had "dressed down" and enjoyed a relaxing, fun reception. So depending on where your ports are, that is something you can consider. Or pick a well-known restaurant in one of the ports. This is something you could do independent of the cruiseline (we did). It puts a different perspective on St John seeing the gorgeous north shore beaches from the water.

It may not be appealling being "belated" and not immediately after the ceremony, but just an idea I thought I would share. Our reception fit our personalities and *everyone* loved it! The only complaint from some was that we only chartered for 90 minutes - they loved it so much they wanted longer - but since we were surprising people with our reception we didn't know if they would want 90- or 180-minutes on the water. Regarding those who wanted longer - we just told them we'll all have to come back. :D

[engagedatsea]

Yes, I think it is worth it. Where can you have a photogher, flower, live music, a wedding cake ect, for a group under 50 people for the package price?

[kadiebug12]

You should do whatever fits yours and the grooms personalities. I felt our reception onboard was worth it and not cheesy at all, but our family all lives on the west coast and we live on the east coast so just having everyone together for a week and for the reception to celebrate was what mattered to us. It just really depends on what your individual wants and priorities are. When you think of your wedding and reception what are the top 3 most important things to you and the groom? There are many options to not do a "full" reception package or a reception at all. You could also do something outside the "package" and just have an hour of open bar or something afterward. If you get married at sea, you could go to the dining room with your whole party for dinner, add a little wine on your tab for everyone then go to one of the public lounges for dancing. Depending on your party size, you could go to Wheelhouse and almost have it to yourself. I'm confident the musicians would play your music of choice and it would be just like a reception. You could also simply do no reception if that's what you wanted. Believe me, do what you want not what you think is right or what you "should" do, that is what will make you happy with your wedding plans, sticking to what you and the groom want.

 

So, basically I guess I'm saying there are tons of options to fit your wants/personality including not doing an onboard reception at all and just getting together and celebrating with your guests in one of the many locations to do so onboard. It's a cruise, everyone is normally in a very casual, relaxed mood and your guests wouldn't even really notice if you don't have a reception, it's a week long party! :)

 

Good Luck!

[luvjftffc]

How many people are sailing with you? are you have it at port before you leave or on the cruise itself. you do get free food on the ship so i dont know why receptions are so expensive. i looked into a RCCL wedding and its cheaper to have a reception back at home. but i will be get married on Grand Caymen and having a cake and drinks. also you can just pay for what you want and not the whole package.

[txrn]

We are getting married in November on The Grand, at sea, and have chosen to do a cocktail hour (or 2) and then go to the formal dining room for dinner. I'm with you on the formal reception being a bit cheezy....I'm not really in to the whole DJ and dancing thing. (Kadiebug had a beautiful reception) We are using the Wheelhouse bar for the cocktail party, and there is a band there for the second hour. We have 60 guests and I also did not want to pay for a meal for everyone when the meals are included, I would rather pay for the cocktails! :D From what I have heard you can basically do what ever you want.

[ambergj]

Thanks TXRN, that sounds more of what we would like to do. I Just can't see like 30 people or so going into a room and ACTUALLY dancing etc. Ya know?? I just thought that it would be better if we did like a cocktail hour w/ hordearves or something like that which sounds more suitable for us!!!

 

Thanks again for your advice and I'm more than willing for any other advice thanks!!

Amber

[dcdiva]

I was on the fence too. We had 56 guests - all sailing with us. So I was ambivalent about paying for a party we were bascially on a 6-day party cruise. It was especially annoying to have to pay for a meal for guests on the cruise.

 

But in the end, we were really glad we did it. Having a private celebration, with a photographer and such, made it really nice. And we all dined together every night so it was like a mini-reception for the next six days. There was nothing cheesy about it. In fact, just the opposite. A country club r banmquest hall wedding is nice -- but we had a truly unique event that our friends and family will always remember as truly special.

 

My advice is the same as it would be to any bride. Decide which things are most important to you -- it might be the dress, the flowers, the cake the exact location -- and make sure those things are they way you want them. For us, music was really important to us, so we made sure we didn't skimp on that. We didn't obsess about the other things and they all ended up just lovely. The most important thing is to enjoy yourself.

[prmssklamert]

All we are doing is cake and champagne and we really are only doing it because it is part of the package. My thought was that there is loads of free food and places to gather all over the ship more informally and so that is probably what we will do at some point.