NCL Epic Wedding HELP!?

[Squidggy913]

Hey All, I have just joined cruise critic (I know it says in 2011 but i never used it! ) in hopes to get some help for my wedding! We out planning to have our day on NCL Epic December 31, 2013! Thats Right! New Years eve! We will be docked in St. Marteen...So far I know the date and that I woulld like to get married on the ship. But i have so many questions! :confused:I am wondering :

 

-Can i have a reception on the ship with music, dancing, dinner, ect? ( I would like a reception that is simm to one I would have at home)

-Can I have a photographer?

-Does the cruise line decorate for you ?( for the ceremony/reception)

-What is everyone doing about flowers?

- Will the make me a cake?

-How did you fly your wedding dress to the cruise? ( I live in PA going to Miami)

 

My main concern was when I spoke with the lady on the phone she said ceremony and a cocktail hour were included in my price, she said the wedding would last 2 hours... I really dont want my day to be rushed at all and was hoping it would last longer then 2 hrs! I was hoping i could have dancing in the club because we will be docked in St. Marteen and there will most likely be very few people on the boat.

 

ALSO if you have any fun ideas for New Years eve wedding dress or brides maid dresses PLEASE share! I feel like I can be a little more daring with this New Years Theme!! :D

Edited September 19, 2012 by Squidggy913

[lightskinedgyal]

Hey All, I have just joined cruise critic (I know it says in 2011 but i never used it! ) in hopes to get some help for my wedding! We out planning to have our day on NCL Epic December 31, 2013! Thats Right! New Years eve! We will be docked in St. Marteen...So far I know the date and that I woulld like to get married on the ship. But i have so many questions! :confused:I am wondering :

 

-Can i have a reception on the ship with music, dancing, dinner, ect? ( I would like a reception that is simm to one I would have at home)

-Can I have a photographer?

-Does the cruise line decorate for you ?( for the ceremony/reception)

-What is everyone doing about flowers?

- Will the make me a cake?

-How did you fly your wedding dress to the cruise? ( I live in PA going to Miami)

 

My main concern was when I spoke with the lady on the phone she said ceremony and a cocktail hour were included in my price, she said the wedding would last 2 hours... I really dont want my day to be rushed at all and was hoping it would last longer then 2 hrs! I was hoping i could have dancing in the club because we will be docked in St. Marteen and there will most likely be very few people on the boat.

 

ALSO if you have any fun ideas for New Years eve wedding dress or brides maid dresses PLEASE share! I feel like I can be a little more daring with this New Years Theme!! :D

 

 

I will send you a reply from what i know.

 

Your reception includes dancing, drinks, and appetizers but will not be a sit down dinner, you can opt to have a sit down dinner but then no dancing its one or the other.......you can improvise you can have the 2 hours reception then have all your guests then meet for dinner and go dancing in the club as well!

 

You could also look at having you wedding on the island in which your wedding would be longer and you could have the dinner and dancing.

 

Cruise provides you with a photographer

 

The cruise line provides basic decorations you will want to bring personal touches

 

You can purchase flowers from the cruise or mostly i hear brides buy there own silk flowers and bring them on!

 

The cruise line provides you with a beautiful cake and i hear very delicious cake

 

The brides i have read brought there dresses with them on the plane as a carry on....some airlines put the dress in a closet on the flight

 

I have read many reviews so help this helps!

Edited September 19, 2012 by lightskinedgyal

[dcdiva]

I wasn't married on NCL, but did get married onboard while the ship was in port. So I can answer a few questions.

 

- Can i have a reception on the ship with music, dancing, dinner, ect?

 

As Squiddgy points out, there is no option for both sit down meal and dancing. We wanted dancing, so opted for a buffet meal. They may even have called it appetizers, but there was a ton of food. It was held in one of the lounges, which was closed to other passengers and very private. Since we were in port, there were not many people on board and it felt like we had the ship to ourselves. Technically, the reception was for 2 hours, but it felt like longer. The ceremony and reception were in the same room and the 20 minutes between when one "ended" and the other "began" effectively extended things. They also didn't kick us out of the lounge when food/drink service ended. The DJ closed up, but one of our guests took over the piano and we all stayed around for an extra 30 minutes or so. Finally, later that evening, we had dinner in the dining room as a group, which extened the celebration. Most everyone wore their wedding clothes since it was also formal night in the MDR.

 

- Can I have a photographer?

 

Yes. your pacakge provides a photographer. You aren't supposed to bring your own. For extra money, you can extend the time the photographer spends with you, or even book time on a non-wedding day for more photos.

 

-Does the cruise line decorate for you ?( for the ceremony/reception)

 

Decorations were minimal. We didn't provide much additional decoration and it was still lovely.

 

-What is everyone doing about flowers?

 

We made silk bouquets for all wedding party. It was much cheaper than ordering through the cruise line. And everyone had a keepsake.

 

- Will the make me a cake?

Cake was part of our package. We paid extra based on the number of guests. Our cake was very simple, but also very yummy. You might want to bring a special cake topper or ribbon to personalize it.

 

-How did you fly your wedding dress to the cruise?

 

I have a whole long post about this question. Check it out here....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=35334766#post35334766

[Jessidoo]

I am also getting married on the NCL Epic November 2013....but not on the ship. We are getting married in St. Thomas while we are docked. When I called NCL to book my package, they said they are no longer doing weddings as of October 2012. They are now outsourcing it to another company. This scared me and I didn't want to worry about anything going wrong, so I found an amazing wedding planner in St. Thomas. Her packages are much cheaper and include a lot more than the original package through NCL - not to mention she has amazing reviews on all the wedding sites out there.

 

Our package through her includes ceremony, decorations, 2 hours of photography, all transportation for up to 30 guests, trips to the court house for marriage license, a sit down lunch, 4 hour open bar, cake, DJ and private venue. It has all you could think of for a super cheap price.

 

Good luck with your wedding planning!

[amyrorypond]

Turns out the NCL Wedding planning folks are not interested in simple. :confused:

 

My fiance and I are going on the 12-day Mediterranean cruise leaving on 9/3 from Venice on the Norwegian Spirit. We just want to do our vows, have an officiant, flowers and a photographer in a room with a water view while at sea on the 5th. We'll get our marriage license somewhere when we get back. We have no guests and don't want a cake. Crazy, right? Royal Ocean Events, the wedding planner for NCL, insists we have to do their minimum package, which would be nice if we had guests or liked cake; but seems silly if not. Though the bouquet is appealing.

 

Heck at this point, we'll just ask around for a rabbi/minister/priest/imam, with a torah/bible/koran and see if they can come to our room for 1/2 hour.

 

Any and all suggestions on how we might pull off a simple ceremony like this are welcome.

[mrstriceasnice]

Why not get married before you go and then ask for a vow renewal? Sometimes this seems to be the easier way to go with ceremonies done outside of your home country.