RENEWAL OF WEDDING VOWS

[shiny1]

Has anyone done the renewal of wedding vows on a cruise?

Going on Emerald Princess cruise for our 25th anniversary. Is it worth the charge of about $250.00?

Thanks!!

[StollyBolly]

We did our 25th on Seabourn.  No charge at all.  But if they do as good a job for $250 I’d say worth it.   We had printed invitations for a number of guests we had made friends with in the week.  A special meal with printed menus and a cake.  Only you can decide what you’ll get for the money.   Happy 25th. 

[GeezerCouple]

2 hours ago, shiny1 said:

Has anyone done the renewal of wedding vows on a cruise?

Going on Emerald Princess cruise for our 25th anniversary. Is it worth the charge of about $250.00?

Thanks!!

 

You should find out *exactly* what is included in the ceremony/etc., or if any extras are available with or without extra cost (if there are any you want).

Will there be others with you, for example?

 

More importantly, ONLY *you* can decide if it's "worth the charge" to *you*, especially since you don't know the preferences or price points/income/etc., of others here.

 

$250 sounds pretty inexpensive for a private, special celebration of a meaningful occasion, but again... what does it include?

GC

[CruiseCrabs]

My parents did a renewal many years ago, it was a beautiful “candlelit” ceremony with lovely flowers and additional perks. To be honest, $250 if pretty inexpensive as far as renewals go and Princess can make it a very special moment for the couple and their family/guests. The flowers were beautiful and the photographers also did an amazing job for them. 
 

My husband and I were married on a Princess ship. That was far more complicated and some things went well, other things I built contingencies for wisely. Flowers were a bit off but I had a bouquet custom sculpted so I could take it on and off the ship, We had not planned to get photos or video but, again, the on-board photographers really did a great job and we negotiated the price for the final photos.

[Roberto256]

19 hours ago, shiny1 said:

Has anyone done the renewal of wedding vows on a cruise?

Going on Emerald Princess cruise for our 25th anniversary. Is it worth the charge of about $250.00?

Thanks!!

Do vows expire?   Then, I guess it would be worth $250.

 

For me, I think Mrs. 256 would prefer a $250 jewelery store purchase...

[Roberto256]

16 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

$250 sounds pretty inexpensive for a private, special celebration of a meaningful occasion, but again... what does it include?

I didn't think it was private.

More like a Sun Myung Moon wedding...

 

[Bob and Linda]

I surprised my wife with this 4 years ago on the Regal Princess. It was worth every penny. She received a beautiful bouquet that she still talks about. The ship had a photographer and videographer that documented everything. It was very special and personal and the ceremony was done by the Captain. Also included was a bottle of bubbly, two glasses, choc dipped strawberries, box of chocolates and framed 8 X 10 we got to pick. My only complaint was my wife loved the pics so we ended up buying the package but well worth it. I wanted to surprise her on the ship by after watching a couple of YouTube videos decided to tell her based on how people were dressed. She was very happy as she would not have had the right shoes, dress etc. Go for it you will have nothing but pleasant memories. Also it was just the two of us and ship staff. Very personal. Plus the Captain gave us a tour of the bridge.

[Rick&Jeannie]

While they may very well offer a private ceremony (probably with a charge) I had always heard that this was a group thing.  I think I remember somebody posting a picture here on CC several years ago of a fairly large crowd (probably close to 75 couples) in the Piazza taking part.

 

BUT...let me point out...I have no personal experience to share.  I have never seen the ceremony on any of the cruises we've done.

 

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Rick&Jeannie

[1025cruise]

I did this 13 years ago, so my info might be dated. It was a private ceremony in the chapel. The captain officiated. I thought it was nice and worth the money. Ours was held on the first formal night, so we were dressed up. 

 

I believe on Valentine's Day, they do a group one for free.

[Sail away MK]

There are 2 separate ways to have a vow renewal on board.  One is a cattle call in the piazza on a sea day.  You will see couples dressed in everything from shorts/t shirts to fancy.  Group renewal then private picture under an arch with the officer officiating.  No charge.  The other is a private pre-booked ceremony in the chapel with an officer (oftentimes the captain) officiating.  You and your guests meet in the concierge lounge for pre event champagne then have the ceremony next door in the chapel.  This was on the Discovery and I was standing at the group event coordinator desk while this was being explained. 

[CruiseCrabs]

On 3/25/2023 at 7:57 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

While they may very well offer a private ceremony (probably with a charge) I had always heard that this was a group thing.  I think I remember somebody posting a picture here on CC several years ago of a fairly large crowd (probably close to 75 couples) in the Piazza taking part.

 

BUT...let me point out...I have no personal experience to share.  I have never seen the ceremony on any of the cruises we've done.

 

 

Unless you are participating in some mass special event, renewals and weddings are private. This is part of the reason you pay a fee. A portion of the coordination is done in advance, the rest is finalized with a member of staff onboard. Again, both experiences I have had were special, private, and wonderful experiences.

[mevs904]

Several years ago on a previous Princess cruise we saw a vow renewal ceremony that looked exactly how Rick & Jeannie describe.  15-20 couples participated, including a couple from our dinner table seating.  It was definitely a group event and I don’t remember seeing any type of refreshments. This must have been the no charge version.

Edited March 27, 2023 by mevs904

[Neonsport]

My wife and I just renewed our vows on the Diamond in November.  It was a private ceremony in the Wheelhouse bar.  Once we got on the ship we had a message to call (dont remember who) and schedule the date and time.  We only had a couple of options though.  They asked what color flowers my wife liked and that was about it.  We showed up at the wheelhouse not quite knowing what to expect.  They had flowers everywhere, an aisle set up for us to walk down to meet the captain whom was officiating.  

 

For $250 we weren't expecting much, however, we were extremely happy with the way it turned out and would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

Here are a few pics to get an idea:

 f

Edited March 27, 2023 by Neonsport

[Kellyansapansa]

7 hours ago, Neonsport said:

My wife and I just renewed our vows on the Diamond in November.  It was a private ceremony in the Wheelhouse bar.  Once we got on the ship we had a message to call (dont remember who) and schedule the date and time.  We only had a couple of options though.  They asked what color flowers my wife liked and that was about it.  We showed up at the wheelhouse not quite knowing what to expect.  They had flowers everywhere, an aisle set up for us to walk down to meet the captain whom was officiating.  

 

For $250 we weren't expecting much, however, we were extremely happy with the way it turned out and would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

Here are a few pics to get an idea:

 f

That's lovely, thanks for sharing your experience! I've been nagging hubby about renewing our vows for several years now. I think I'm just going to book the deluxe package and tell him on the day. 😂

[555]

On 3/25/2023 at 8:05 AM, Roberto256 said:

Do vows expire?   Then, I guess it would be worth $250.

 

For me, I think Mrs. 256 would prefer a $250 jewelery store purchase...

Our worked out pretty good.

I'm sure the wife would prefer to spend the $250 on better things than a renewal. She's a practical woman who never overspends. 

There few and far between these days.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I did a bit of research into the "group vow renewal" bit...here's what I came up with in case there are any doubters out there that believe *all* renewals are "private":

Princess Cruises Sets GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title for Largest Multi-Location Vow Renewal

 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-sets-guinness-world-records-title-for-largest-multi-location-vow-renewal-301005030.html

[Rick&Jeannie]

[Roberto256]

25 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Princess Cruises Sets GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title for Largest Multi-Location Vow Renewal

 

I wonder if the loving couples paid retail?

[Anubi]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:47 PM, shiny1 said:

Has anyone done the renewal of wedding vows on a cruise?

Going on Emerald Princess cruise for our 25th anniversary. Is it worth the charge of about $250.00?

Thanks!!

We did it on the Grand in 2019 and it was well worth the cost.  We got flowers, I got a lovely bouquet, my husband and boutonniere, there was champagne and treats in our cabin some time that day and a few other things, I just can't recall at the moment.  The only thing we didn't like was the pressure to purchase a video and many additional pictures for one heck of a cost.  FYI - if you do want the pictures, get them before you leave the ship.  We attempted to get the video after we disembarked and were told it wasn't available; this after asking the photographer if we could and he said yes.  😞 

[Neonsport]

19 minutes ago, Anubi said:

We did it on the Grand in 2019 and it was well worth the cost.  We got flowers, I got a lovely bouquet, my husband and boutonniere, there was champagne and treats in our cabin some time that day and a few other things, I just can't recall at the moment.  The only thing we didn't like was the pressure to purchase a video and many additional pictures for one heck of a cost.  FYI - if you do want the pictures, get them before you leave the ship.  We attempted to get the video after we disembarked and were told it wasn't available; this after asking the photographer if we could and he said yes.  😞 

I agree that the picture sales pitch was hard. They sat me down and showed me HUNDREDS of 4x6 prints. The stack was a good 4-5" tall. 

 

 However, I didn't want to deal with it so I just asked how much for everything. lol 

 

Ended up getting all of the 4x6 prints, a framed 8x10, a bunch of additional 8x10 prints unframed,

a print on aluminum (bigger than 8x10 but not sure the size). Two USB drives will all the photos, and a photo montage they guy created.  Don't remember exact price but somewhere between $450-500.

 

My wife has been upset for 15 years that we didn't have enough photographs of our wedding.  Well I wasn't going to make that mistake this time.

[glittergal1]

My Husband and I renewed our Vows on our last P&O cruise they wanted to charge £499 so over $600 !! we thought no way are we paying that so we just renewed them between each other on our Balcony and it was lovely  , my husband had his tri pod and camera and we even had pictures , we then spent the money we would have used on making more memories  doing activities while on the cruise instead 

[RNRcruisers]

We were on the Caribbean Princess on Valentine's Day this year. There was a group vow renewal in the Piazza. We didn't watch it but saw it in the Patter and afterwards saw some couples walking around with veils and flowers. I thought it was a fun idea. I'm sure this was the free version.

[CruiseCrabs]

11 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I did a bit of research into the "group vow renewal" bit...here's what I came up with in case there are any doubters out there that believe *all* renewals are "private":

Princess Cruises Sets GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title for Largest Multi-Location Vow Renewal

 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-sets-guinness-world-records-title-for-largest-multi-location-vow-renewal-301005030.html

This was a special event (PR escapade, really) and not your typical vow renewal.

[Rick&Jeannie]

10 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

This was a special event (PR escapade, really) and not your typical vow renewal.

Strictly a response to "all renewal ceremonies are private".