Married at Sea

[jennfierus]

Greetings!

 

Me and my boyfriend have decided (after months of discussion), that we would like to get married at sea, by the captain, on Royal Caribbean. We will not be having anyone with us. It will just be him and I. We have done some research, and Ive also made a phone call to Royal Caribbean and Royal Romance to make sure the date we wanted and the cruise we wanted would be available for this. Its not until 2016, but I would love to hear feedback from people that have done this. How was your experience? Have you ever been on a cruise while someone was getting married this way? Any and all comments will be appreciated!

[chengkp75]

Greetings!

 

Me and my boyfriend have decided (after months of discussion), that we would like to get married at sea, by the captain, on Royal Caribbean. We will not be having anyone with us. It will just be him and I. We have done some research, and Ive also made a phone call to Royal Caribbean and Royal Romance to make sure the date we wanted and the cruise we wanted would be available for this. Its not until 2016, but I would love to hear feedback from people that have done this. How was your experience? Have you ever been on a cruise while someone was getting married this way? Any and all comments will be appreciated!

 

You do know that on RCI you cannot get married at sea, by the Captain? All of RCI's wedding packages are done in port, with an officiant of the location where the ceremony takes place, perhaps with the Captain standing by. Hopefully, their Romance department made that clear. Vow renewals, which are not legal proceedings can be done at sea by the Captain.

 

Only ships registered in Bermuda or Malta allow their Captains to conduct weddings at sea. This limits you to Princess, Cunard, Celebrity or Azamara ships. RCI ships are registered in the Bahamas, and to my knowledge, they are not allowed to conduct weddings.

[Clarea]

You do know that on RCI you cannot get married at sea, by the Captain? All of RCI's wedding packages are done in port, with an officiant of the location where the ceremony takes place, perhaps with the Captain standing by. Hopefully, their Romance department made that clear. Vow renewals, which are not legal proceedings can be done at sea by the Captain.

 

Only ships registered in Bermuda or Malta allow their Captains to conduct weddings at sea. This limits you to Princess, Cunard, Celebrity or Azamara ships. RCI ships are registered in the Bahamas, and to my knowledge, they are not allowed to conduct weddings.

This changed recently and Royal can now conduct weddings at sea. Might have been a year or so ago.

[chengkp75]

This changed recently and Royal can now conduct weddings at sea. Might have been a year or so ago.

 

Thanks, Bob. I had heard rumors of the Bahamas changing the law, but wasn't aware that it had happened. I stand corrected.

[Brit-Cruiser]

You do know that on RCI you cannot get married at sea, by the Captain? All of RCI's wedding packages are done in port, with an officiant of the location where the ceremony takes place, perhaps with the Captain standing by. Hopefully, their Romance department made that clear. Vow renewals, which are not legal proceedings can be done at sea by the Captain.

 

Only ships registered in Bermuda or Malta allow their Captains to conduct weddings at sea. This limits you to Princess, Cunard, Celebrity or Azamara ships. RCI ships are registered in the Bahamas, and to my knowledge, they are not allowed to conduct weddings.

 

I have 2 friends on the Allure this week who are to be married by the Captain this Friday.

[krazy4kruisin]

WE met a couple on a Princess cruise, from our same city, became good friends, one year later we cruised on the same ship and they got married. She had her hair done in the salon, had a big wedding dress, there were about 13 of us there. It was held in the chapel, Very nice, then we had a little cake in a

lounge afterwards. Very Nice. Congrats.

[boulders]

OP, you might want to check out cruise critic's honeymoon and wedding forum http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

[OleSalt]

By tradition marriages at sea are only good for the term of the voyage. Think of the money saved.

[jennfierus]

To get married at sea by the captain, it has to be done on one of the sailing days, and not a day you make a stop. Thankfully, the day (which is most important to us) we want is a sailing day the 2nd day of the cruise. And it is fine if its not considered a "traditional" wedding. We are far from your "traditional" couple. Just as long as its legal!

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Forums mobile app

[chengkp75]

To get married at sea by the captain, it has to be done on one of the sailing days, and not a day you make a stop. Thankfully, the day (which is most important to us) we want is a sailing day the 2nd day of the cruise. And it is fine if its not considered a "traditional" wedding. We are far from your "traditional" couple. Just as long as its legal!

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Forums mobile app

 

What OleSalt was talking about (facetiously, I think), is that in the old days of sailing ships, Captains would marry people on long voyages, because they could do whatever they wanted as long as the ship was at sea. But, since most countries do not allow their licensed Captains to conduct legal weddings, the wedding was not recognized ashore (so the participants got the "benefits" of marriage for the duration of the voyage)(and the cost savings he mentions is not having to support a wife longer than the voyage). As I've now learned, the Bahamas have changed their law to allow Captains to conduct weddings, so that brings the list of flag countries to 3. You will receive a marriage license from the Bahamas.

 

Fair winds and following seas to you in your new life.

Edited April 30, 2014 by chengkp75

[mailmama]

Our son and now daughter in law were married using the Royal romance pkg. It was just her family and ours. Wonderful experience! The capt.s were just being licensed so we were told it might happen and might not. As it was, we had a great officiant, Linda May, who performed the wedding in Ft. Lauderdale before the ship left port. We were allowed to board about 9 and they settled everyone into 2 rooms booked by the families. (men in one to get ready, ladies in the other) The coordinator then came and got everyone and took bride and groom to little room for a "talk"! She wanted to get to know them personally so she could get a vibe from them. She made the ceremony very special AND personal which I believe is just a special touch she has. If you can't get the capt. try to see if she could do the wedding. She made it seem as if she had know them for years. It was not just a canned wedding. They married on the Freedom and choose a room with windows. They had a little reception of champagne and strawberries included in the pkg. The photographer who took pictures then took them all over the ship (inside and out) for nearly 1 1/2 hours. Great pictures! All in all, it was stress free which they wanted. Very personal and the families had a great time during the week hanging out too! We booked Chops later that same evening so we all could have a "formal" reception to celebrate. (They had a land reception planned a couple months later ) They were not a demanding couple , very few requests, other than stress free and everyone have a good time. This is exactly what happened. Would they do it like this again? They say yes and tell everyone it is much cheaper and just as special, and No Hassle!!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

The ships are ready....

[PuterMonkey]

This changed recently and Royal can now conduct weddings at sea. Might have been a year or so ago.

 

We saw a couple who had just gotten married on one of our sea days this recent cruise. In the gown and tux and carrying cake slices. So you definitely *can*, although I have no idea whether the captain himself married them.

[TigerLady]

We did our Vow Renewal on the Voyager during the Inaugural season. It was beautiful.. The photo were to die for. A great experience. Good Luck and God Bless

[pmoorefi]

I'm getting married by royal caribbean (Royal Romance) in September 2014 in Bermuda. I posted on the wedding board about everything about, others have too, I think someone posted a link on this thread to it. If your looking for cheap wedding at sea with just their basic options no extra, then it's perfect. They will plan everything and it's all included, note you can't plan anything until 90 days before, but since your not having big wedding you should be fine.