Please help me pick out a ship!

[VoodooDali]

We are planning to get married on a cruise this coming November.

I decided to cruise out of Florida, since we have family down there, and our family and friends elsewhere would be more likely to travel there than to NYC where we live.

 

The ships that interest me and are leaving around the right dates are:

Carnival Miracle

Carnival Valor

Carnival Liberty

Holland America Westerdam

Princess Caribbean Princess

 

Which one would you do a wedding on?

 

One other thing -

the wedding is going to be pretty small. My significant other and I have been together over 11 years and we are older, have been married before, so we don't want anything big. We plan to have probably under 10 non-sailing guests and we are bringing along my son-in-law to be and his two girls to cruise with us.

 

How does having the wedding on the day of embarkation work? How early do they let you on the ship? How long can the non-sailing guests stay on the ship? Are there usually any lunch or hor d'oeuvres packages for under 10 guests?

 

Thanks!

[Amanda&Jake]

We sailed on the Valor out of Miami and were married at port. I have a review posted on this board.

 

"How does having the wedding on the day of embarkation work?"

You get priority boarding. See my review for more details

 

"How early do they let you on the ship?"

They tell you to be there no later then 10:30. It depends on how long the ship takes to clear customs. Normal boarding time for a wedding is around 11:30. We didn't board until 12:15 (customs delay) and were married at 1pm.

 

"How long can the non-sailing guests stay on the ship?"

Our ship sailed at 4pm or so and guests had to be off by 3pm

 

"Are there usually any lunch or hor d'oeuvres packages for under 10 guests?"

I think so........you would have to check with Carnival's wedding department. I am sure they would be able to put something together. We had about 20 guests.

 

Here are our photos:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AcM2TlozbudA

 

I have no complaints, and was very happy with how our wedding turned out! I wouldn't change a thing!

 

Let me know if you have anymore questions!

 

Goodluck! :)

[jnj0292]

I am getting married on the Liberty this November as "so far so good" with all of the planning. LibertyBride has her review posted and it sounds like she was happy with the ship. However, you may just want to compare itineraries and ammenities of the different ships to make your decision. Another way to decide is to compare wedding packages/upgrades between the different cruise lines. That is what I ended up doing. I believe that most of them can be downloaded from their respective websites. Let us know what you decide!:)

[Liberty Bride]

I am getting married on the Liberty this November as "so far so good" with all of the planning. LibertyBride has her review posted and it sounds like she was happy with the ship. However, you may just want to compare itineraries and ammenities of the different ships to make your decision. Another way to decide is to compare wedding packages/upgrades between the different cruise lines. That is what I ended up doing. I believe that most of them can be downloaded from their respective websites. Let us know what you decide!:)

 

Hi there!

Yes, I was very happy with the Liberty for my wedding in Nov 2005. The ship was new (July 2005) and beautiful. However, it did not have a chapel; some ships do and some ships don't. This was not important to us, and we were very happy with the "Tapestry Room" for the ceremony. We were very happy with the ship we chose as it was new and clean ... so you might want to look at the newer ships out there. If a chapel is important to you, you might want to double check the ship you choose.

Good luck, and YES please let us know what you do end up choosing. I think a lot of us get useful information from these boards, and some of us old brides still can't stay away from them just for the fun of it!

Enjoy! :)

[Andy99]

I would go Royal Caribbean or Celebrity

[MilliesMom]

http://www.suzycruisy.com/default.asp?pid=438

This tells about a wedding on Princess. Thought it might be helpful to you.

[Commodore Suzy]

Unless you're REALLY "older" I'd not suggest HAL for your wedding unless you've sailed them before and been happy. They're TRYING to market to baby-boomers (50s, younger) but reality is that the clientele is much older.

 

I agree with Liberty Bride. Check out the itineraries and the ships and pick one that most appeals to you. You'll be on it for a week or whatever your cruise is, and the wedding is just a brief part of the beginning. (Even though it's a VERY important part, be sure your cruise is what you want.)

 

If you've sailed with Carnival before and have been happy, they'd be good for you.

 

I can also say super things about the Caribbean Princess. Princess is a bit of a "step up" to a Premium line from Carnival, but it's not stuffy. Especially the Caribbean Princess. You might enjoy having more flexibility in your nightly dining, like Princess' Personal Choice offers. Still great food, great service, but at the time YOU pick every day. You can search around for reviews that explain it. And I booked a couple that got married on the Caribbean last summer and they were very very pleased.

 

I had an "at sea" Princess wedding, but you're welcome to check out my photos. The link is in my sig below.

 

Congrats!