Getting married - Options?

[unqimg]

I am taking my fiance on the Oasis 1-8 Oct and wanted to get married on the ship. Sadly, when I called RCCL to see about a ceremony, they told me they could not accommodate. So now I am looking for options. Since RCCL cant do it on the ship (BUMMER), we would consider getting married in Labadee, Cozumel or Jamaica where we are stopping. Any suggestions? It will just be the 2 of us and we do want photography.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thx,

Mark

[frankdp]

I do or I don't.

[cruiselvr04]

Labadee is owned by royal so I don't think you can arrange it there.

Falmouth maybe....

I think your best bet is Cozumel. Google and you will find some options. I looked into it there for a vow renewal.

Just be aware if the ship for some reason can not port you might not get married. I'd get insurance to cover this possibility if you can find it.

You could do a JP wedding just prior to the cruise and then do one on the beach somewhere. Also need to look into local laws.

[pete1681]

This place is very nice

http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/eng/weddings

[Ashland]

Then perhaps things have changed...You used to be able to arrange it with RCI in Labadee. Not on the ship but in an area of Labadee. However it can be expensive...especially if it's going to be just the two of you.

 

Check out the sub-forum Special Interest's honeymoon's & weddings for some suggestions on CC.

 

Our DD got married many years ago on board Vision...prior to leaving for the 4 night Baja cruise.

[Ourusualbeach]

Mexico is not that easy if you are on a cruise. You need a blood test and possibly a chest X-ray amongst other requirements.

 

https://www.mexperience.com/lifestyle/mexico-essentials/getting-married-in-mexico/

 

 

In Jamaica there is a 24 hour waiting period for visitors.

 

http://www.jhcuk.org/visitors/getting-married-in-jamaica

[matj2000]

You can't just get married spontaneously on the ship or islands.

It will take a lot of planning before you go...

[brklyn78]

You could do a JP wedding just prior to the cruise and then do one on the beach somewhere. Also need to look into local laws.

 

This times 1000! As someone who got married on a ship I can tell you that there is a surprising amount of logistics involved. When the ship can plan it for you, they do make it easier, but it's not something you can do without advance planning. Also, its pretty expensive -- and may feel excessive without wedding guests. In addition to getting married at the local court house before the ship, you can bring a wedding dress and tux on board (or rent the tux through the ship) and get photos taken pretty much anywhere. You can pay for professional photos to be taken around the ship - one of their photographers will literally follow you around the ship if you pay them to do so. You can probably arrange for photos taken at Labadee through the ship. You can probably even "recreate" the ceremony and pay someone to wear a suit and stand as though they are officiating.

 

If you really want a ceremony, some lines (Royal may be one) will do a vow renewal at sea. It's not a legal ceremony, so you still need to get married ahead of time on land, but you can still have the experience without all the drama. And there is nothing stopping you from considering the vow renewal your "real wedding" that you will celebrate as your anniversary for years to come. Lots of people have private legal weddings before their public weddings for all kinds of reasons.

 

Good luck! I hope you are able to find a solution that makes you both very happy!

 

P.S.: My husband wanted me to add that I did the muster drill in my wedding dress. I was quite the spectacle! It makes us laugh to this day. At least I didnt have to wear the life vest over it! The whole week people were coming up to us saying "Oh, you guys are the ones that got married."

Edited September 2, 2017 by brklyn78
DH wanted to add the bit about the muster drill

[joeyancho]

Google getting married in Jamaica. There are companies that will arrange everything. They will also tell you what you need in the way of paperwork. But hurry up. You are running out of time.

[sanger727]

The easiest option would be to get married at your embarkation port. It's always dangerous to plan a wedding on a port stop - especially in hurricane season. You could pay lots of money for the legal arrangements to be made in Cozumel or Jamaica just to get thrown off course at the last minute and never make the stop. Consider getting married at home before you leave or the embarkation port and calling the cruise your honeymoon.

 

 

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[spookwife]

Just now starting to look into this? Only if the cruise leaves in 2018. Planning a regular, typical no frills wedding on land takes a year. Changing the game with destinations, cruise ships and other factors and you needed to have started planning this a year ago

 

 

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[cb at sea]

I would get married BEFORE the trip, and use the cruise as the honeymoon. You are never guaranteed to stop in any port...or they can rearrange your itinerary with little or no notice....and that could totally mess with your plans.

[cruisinfanatic]

Just now starting to look into this? Only if the cruise leaves in 2018. Planning a regular, typical no frills wedding on land takes a year. Changing the game with destinations, cruise ships and other factors and you needed to have started planning this a year ago

 

 

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They are 2 people not planning on anything much besides some pictures. Why do you think that will take a yr?

[Tiggertastic]

There is a thread on cruise critic just for weddings. We got married onshore during a cruise and I got all the information from there including local planners in the resorts who organised everything. The paperwork for the licence took months to do

 

 

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[PR1NCESSD1ANE]

I am taking my fiance on the Oasis 1-8 Oct and wanted to get married on the ship. Sadly, when I called RCCL to see about a ceremony, they told me they could not accommodate. So now I am looking for options. Since RCCL cant do it on the ship (BUMMER), we would consider getting married in Labadee, Cozumel or Jamaica where we are stopping. Any suggestions? It will just be the 2 of us and we do want photography.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thx,

Mark

 

I've been helping my son plan his wedding in January during a stop on our Oasis January 2018. My research pointed me to http://www.cozumelweddingplanner.com and so far, they have made the process very easy and stress free. Their reviews are very good and I feel confident that everything will be great. They will only be doing a symbolic ceremony with about 15 other guests. They will be legally married at the local courthouse just prior in order to avoid the red tape.

 

Be thankful that Royal Caribbean turned you away because I've read that their wedding planning department is a nightmare!

Edited September 2, 2017 by PR1NCESSD1ANE

[Gloworm2]

You can certainly get married on the ship. I think the issue is October. They are likely booked with as many weddings as they can handle just a month away. Or did you mean in 2018?

 

 

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[chengkp75]

You can certainly get married on the ship. I think the issue is October. They are likely booked with as many weddings as they can handle just a month away. Or did you mean in 2018?

 

 

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The issue is that Bahamian law requires the Captain to apply for permission to perform marriages, and not all RCI Captains have done so. It is not a blanket authorization, and some Captains may prefer not to do ceremonies based on religious beliefs or just because they don't want to take the time away from their main job.

[Artemis908]

Getting married on the ship will essentially be impossible this late in the game. I got married on a cruise ship and it took so much planning ahead. The biggest issue is going to be marriage license. We ended up getting married while the ship was in port in NYC and going to NY a month in advance to get a license.

 

I agree with a previous poster about just getting married locally and then hire one of the photographers to do photos of you guys dressed up. You might be able to maybe see if they will do something for you that's ceremonial, just won't be legal so to speak.

[sanger727]

Not to get too into your business but when you posted this here you also posted in your roll call that you are proposing tomorrow. This seems like a decision your fiancé to be may want some input into. Since the getting married on the ship part isn't going to happen - and realistically it can't happen in port either if none of the legwork has been started yet. Maybe just not even mention this idea and start by deciding what kind of wedding you guys want together.

 

 

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[thrifty99]

If you switch to the Allure Oct 1-8 cruise you can use our balcony as a venue. Reasonable rates and I can officiate (well, not legally)

[unqimg]

Thanks everyone. I did not expect so many replies and I will look at all of them. Yes, I did post in the roll call that I am proposing...I did and she said yes. We had already talked about getting married on the cruise so I was already sure she would be ok with this. I just didn't realize it would be so difficult to get a simple ceremony and photos planned. I think we will probably get married here locally at the court house and then have photos on the cruise or one of the islands. Again, thanks for everyone's reply.

[hansolosmom]

My sister has an internet license that makes her a minister so she does some ceremonies at a Renaissance festival. You might be able to find some like that on your roll call, or even someone who would just agree to do a symbolic ceremony on one of the beaches, then you could get photos. Since you'd be outside of the US though, I would do the jp before you leave then do the other ceremony in the location of your choice

 

Also, best of luck

[lazydayz]

Could you make this work without involving Royal? Find or bring a notary on the ship with you and get married while the ship is still in Port Canaveral. You would need a valid Florida marriage license. Check with the local County government (I think it is Brevard).

 

Anyone know if Royal prohibits private weddings onboard?

 

Whatever you decide, best wishes to you and your bride to be.

[sanger727]

Could you make this work without involving Royal? Find or bring a notary on the ship with you and get married while the ship is still in Port Canaveral. You would need a valid Florida marriage license. Check with the local County government (I think it is Brevard).

 

 

 

Anyone know if Royal prohibits private weddings onboard?

 

 

 

Whatever you decide, best wishes to you and your bride to be.

 

 

 

They don't need a notary. They need someone authorized to perform a wedding. Typically that would be the captain which is part of why royal is involved. Other than that, royal is involved if they want to have a public area closed off for the wedding, and to provide a photographer and food/cake. If OP gets a Florida marriage certificate, and finds someone on their sailing who can marry them, and doesn't care that people will be walking all around them; I suppose that could work. But a courthouse wedding and then symbolic ceremony/pictures would probably turn out better.

 

 

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[Tina G]

The idea that the captain can marry you while at sea is a myth. Any officiant must be licensed to marry people in the country in which the ship is registered. Princess does this and has officiants that are registered in Bermuda where they are flagged. Ministers can only perform legal marriages in the state or country which they are licensed.

 

You can arrange to be married in your embarkation port, just before the ship sails. Any licensed officiant will do as long as they are registered in the state in which the ship embarks. If you will married at embarkation, you will need a marriage license from that state. Then you can celebrate on the ship. Florida has a three day waiting period from the time you obtain your license until you can be married.

 

The idea of getting married in one of the port stops is risky. There can be reasons that the ship is delayed or that it misses the port entirely. Get married in the USA.

Edited September 3, 2017 by Tina G