Help- I'm LOST!

[lostmarbles]

Hi all! :)

 

I'm totally new to cruising, but after much consideration about the best way for us to get married, my fiancé (also a newbie) and I decided a cruise would be wonderful and solve so many “issues” about where to wed, who to invite, and such. I've spent hours researching packages, itineraries, ships, etc. and even made several charts to compare. There is so much information out there though and I would really appreciate anyone's advice before we lock into our plans. We've finally almost settled on Carnival Glory 8/20/05 East. Carib. sailing out of Pt. Canaveral and plan to be married while in port at St. Thomas. We'll have at least 15 and as many as 30 or more family and friends joining us, including my 11 year old daughter and 2 preschool age children. We want something for everyone, good value since they are paying to join us, and a fun, romantic ceremony. We plan to book the package with the ceremony and 1 hr. reception.

 

Is Glory a good ship for this? We are also strongly considering the Victory. It goes to San Juan instead of Nassau, but otherwise similar itinerary, price, etc. Has anyone been on both? How do they compare?

 

We considered any East. Car. Sailings as we’ve been told that is the best itinerary for newcomers and good for families. We also considered the Valor (Glory’s sister?); Legend; Celebration; and other lines, including Norwegian, Royal Car., and Celebrity.

 

Has anyone been to or had a Carnival wedding? They seem to offer the best value for weddings.

 

We are pretty flexible in where we go so long as it is next summer (mid June to mid August) and getting married is pretty straightforward, but still nice. As I mentione, E. Car. seemed like the best bet for us. We have given up on ships sailing form Norfolk or Baltimore, though those are the closet ports. We do not want to do the Grandeur Bermuda sailings and that is all I've found so far from either port, besides the luxury Radisson cruises. If you know of others, please clue me in.

 

ANY advice is GREATLY appreciated!!!

[lougee1043]

in my opinion you would be better off posting your question on the carnival link rather then this one that covers all cruise lines

[wwinfl91]

Try going to this site:

 

http://www.*****.com

 

Select the "find a bargain" option and put in the months you are looking for. You can also put what port you want to leave from and where you want to cruise (i.e. caribbean, eastern, western, etc.).

 

You will also be able to see the prices but with a wedding party I'm sure any cruise line or cruise travel agent will be able to get you better prices than what you see on this web site.

 

Congratulations on your coming wedding and have a really great next cruise.

[lostmarbles]

Thanks, lougee. :)

 

Although I have mostly narrowed it down to Carnival, I am still open to pretty much anything. I posted some version of my questions on several forums that seemed to fit in hopes of getting lotos of helpful information. I posted it under Carnival too.

 

Best wishes!

[lostmarbles]

Thank you so much, wwinfl91! I'm very excited about finally going on a crusie and finding a great way to get married to boot! I'm checking out the site now. I've searched each cruise line, cruisedirect, cruise411, ci travel, and many others, but never came across this one.

 

Thanks again! :D

[imsulin]

If you have that many people going, you really want to book with Carnival's Group Department, as you can get some extra percs and reduced prices. Their number is 1-800-327-5782. However, to make it easier on yourself, you're better off going through a Travel Agent. If you've never cruised before, you may not be aware of the many different cabin categories and prices, deposit and final payment requirements, cancellation penalties, trip insurance, dining requests (so you can all be together), required documentation, etc. I think you really would be better off visiting a local Travel Agent to have all this explained to you. Also, keep in mind that this time in August IS during hurricane season, and if the weather is bad in the USVI (St. Thomas), the ship won't go there. Also, the Glory leaves out of Port Canaveral, and if members of your group are flying, they have to fly into Orlando. Port Canaveral is about a one-hour drive, and is a tool-road. If driving, you have to pay a daily pier parking fee up front. These are some things that a good TA can help you with. Good luck!

[mconthehighseas]

Imsulin has a very good point about hurricane season. If there is a hurricane in the area where you are headed, the ship will still sail, but it may change the order of the ports, or avoid certain places all together. So while the chance is small, your ship may never get to St. Thomas, or may go on a different day. (If you check a cruise brochure, the ship is NOT bound to follow the itinerary - it's at the captain's discretion. They almost always do follow it, since the port schedules are made many months in advance.)

 

Have you considered getting married on the ship? Several ships have chapels just for this purpose. (I know the Mariner of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship that sails out of Port Canaveral, has one for certain. ) This way you still get to have your wedding party with you, you still get a cruise, and you don't have to stress about weather changing your plans.

[wulicny]

We sailed on the Celebrity Century last August, the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. I think you and your group would very much enjoy that cruise for your wedding. And, you can get an extremely good price, I would think. We were in a Suite, and paid only $1300 per person.

 

While onboard, we booked for a March 2004 cruise on the Celebrity Galaxy, San Juan to Baltimore (one way). We were able to get a Suite for only $700 per person. You should look at a repositioning cruise if you can be a bit flexible on your dates.

 

Congratulations and good luck!

 

Bill

[lostmarbles]

Hi everyone!

 

Great point about hurrican season, Imsulin and mc. The season is June- November though and I can only travel in the summer, so no way around it. I do plan on getting married on the ship. I wrote while in port, but meant on the ship while it is in port (see why I need so much help?) :) The packages to wed off the ship just get too expensive for me to transport all the guests to and from the ceremony location and all.

 

I talked with Carnival's group dept. last week and locked in a courtesy hold for the rates while we make our final decision. I did not know the airport is an hour's drive though- the made it sound like it was just down the street! They offered to get us from airport to terminal for 50pp- is that too much?

What about ships that leave Tampa or Miami- do you fly in closer to the port?

 

I'm looking into all the other things Imsulin mentioned and tried to work with a few different agents all of whom seemed far less than interested in making the arragements. Also looking into the other ships mc and wulicny mentioned.

 

Everyone has been so great! Thanks so much and I can't wait to add one of those countdown clocks once I figure this all out and actually book something! :D

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

Don't forget Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport is where you can get cheap flights from some of the budget airlines like JetBlue and Southwest. And the port is not to far from the airport. Also, while planning my wedding we went to several bridal shows and Royal Caribbean had wonderful wedding packages. Here is the link:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/weddings/home.do;jsessionid=0000g09OTZ1kKE9IX0w-Iu3y88P:v2mocajr?cS=NAVBAR

 

I called to plan somthing initally and they were very helpful. We decided to go another way with our wedding because not everyone wanted to go on a cruise. Congrats and Good Luck!

[lostmarbles]

Thanks BtrHalf!

I did forget about Ft. Laud. and am goign to search for cruises from there. I wonder if those cheap flights leave from here (Norfolk or Newport News). I'm going to go check it out now! Take Care!

[kyriecat]

They want $50 pp to get you from Orlando to Port Canaveral? That sounds pricey to me. Assuming you have 15 people, that is $750. I think you could probably charter your own bus (and get them to throw in some drinks or snacks) for that price. Some of the limo places have bus charters as well. I don't really know about the Orlando area so they might not offer this type of service. A travel agent could probably arrange something for you.

 

I've checked out prices on ***** - they tend to be higher than the other online cruise discounters so I've never booked with them. Occasionally they offer a good last minute deal but I don't think that is what you want. Even though it is usually a little more expensive, you might consider a local travel agent. I haven't tried organizing a large group sailing but I think I would feel more comfortable booking with someone I can talk to face-to-face. If something doesn't seem right, you can stop by and get the story rather than get put on hold while they check.

 

The airport at Fort Lauderdale and Miami are much closer to the piers than Orlando is to Port Canaveral. The port stops are usually the same or similar for ships leaving from Miami and Port Canaveral.

[imsulin]

I only paid $38.00 r/t from the Orlando airport to the pier at Pt. Canaveral. You might do better contacting a private shuttle company, like Mears. http://www.mears.com. The Carnival ship out of Tampa is an old one, while the Glory is a new one. Here's another thing to keep in mind, marbles: During the summer, many ships that usually sail the Caribbean during the fall, winter, and spring months are re-positioned to do Europe and Alaska cruises. So - some of the ships you may have been researching might not be available during the summer. They usually leave around late April, and return to the Caribbean sometime in October. You'll find a good selection of ships leaving from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. If you fly into one city, and leave from the other, it is about a one-hour drive (traffic). The pier in Ft. Lauderdale is only about a 5-10 minute drive. The pier in Miami is about a 20-30 minute drive (traffic). Royal Caribbean has some beautiful new ships. Princess, Holland America, and Celebrity have ships that leave from Ft. Lauderdale. Hope this helps!!

[mrsfuzzmo]

Lostmarbles: I attended a wedding on the Carnival Victory. It was nice. The ceremony was great, short and sweet, but nicely done. The 1 hour reception was excellent! We all (20 or so) went into the piano bar and they served hors deurves and champagne for an hour. It was perfect......except for one thing! The wedding itself was in one of the lounges without windows. I assumed, even up to the day of the wedding, that it would be up on deck overlooking Charlotte Amalie and the port. But they said they don't do that, that there would be too many distractions, onlookers and others that weren't invited. If you are planning on an outdoor "tropical" ceremony, make sure that they do it that way. Maybe they will if you plead with them, but they wouldn't for the couple we went to see get married. Any other question, just ask.

 

Mrsfuzzmo

[lostmarbles]

Thanks mrsfuzzmo!

 

 

 

I did know the ceremonies are not on deck, but was hoping for something a bit more romantic than a lounge. At least the overall was good, reception sounds just like what we want. How'd you like the Victory otherwise? Did you sail with them? Was the decor as green as they say? What other ships have you sailed on? How'd the Victory compare?

 

 

 

Thank you for helping me with these important decisions!

[mrsfuzzmo]

The Victory is very nice. It is a big ship, though not as big as some RCCL. I sailed her when she was fairly new and really loved it. Our lower level cabin was one of the largest "regular, non-suite" cabins I've ever been in. (I have been on 12 cruises - NCL, CCL, RCCL, APCL, Dolphin & DCL - some multiples)

It compares easily with any of the above, and is above Dolphin - now defunct, and DCL. The food was excellent and the entertainment great. We really had a great time. The best part about it was the age of the cruisers. Most were in the 25-50 yr age which made for a lot of aquaintences and alot of fun. I never thought I would have cruised Carnival (before this) because the older ships were in poor condition and had a very bad reputation. I would now cruise them in a minute. You'll have a wonderful time. What do you mean "Is it as Green as they say"?

 

Mrsfuzzmo

[lostmarbles]

Thanks kyriecat and imsulin for the transport. info. I'm going to research that more now that I know there are so many options. I’ve done lots of checking this summer and feel like I know the Carnival ships schedules better than their own agents! I’m fairly familiar with other lines, but several claim to still be finalizing things for next year. I’ve only researched ones that are scheduled from the East Coast next summer.

 

 

 

These are the ships I researched and considered:

 

 

 

Carnival Glory from Pt. Can. 7 night Nassau & E. Car.

 

 

 

Carnival Victory from Miami quite simialr ,but San Juan instead of Nassau

 

 

 

Carnival Miracle doing W. Car. from Tampa, but we want E.

 

 

 

Carnival Valor form Miami, sister to Glory, sim. itinerary, but couple hundred dollars more expensive

 

 

 

Carnival Legend, but do not want to sail from NY and their FLL sailing is S. Car.

 

 

 

Carnival Imagination, Fascination, and Celebration- all older and all W. Car., but we want E.

 

 

 

Norweg. Crown and Dawn, both oit of NY, so no good

 

 

 

HAL Zuiderdam and Maasdam, but a lot of people told me it was an older, more traditional crowd and we want laid back- is this info. correct about who sail on HAL? Another poster said they heard they had a great kid's program.

 

 

 

RCI Grandeur from Baltimore 5 night Bermuda, only hits 1 port, family not in favor or 9 night E. Car.- too long

 

 

 

Celebrity Horizon is doing Norfolk sailings now, but none in summer. They are supposedly verbally committed for next year, but also not in summer and no other info. yet.

 

 

 

Car. Princess sounded like the winner to me originally, but their wedding ppl gave me the run around and kept sending me to an outside company that kept sending me back to Princess. Apparently they are redoing their weddings and now is not a good time for them to schedule. Also , their 7 night similar itinerary is $300 more than the one on the Glory, so it seemed silly to keep waiting for them to settle this wedding stuff just to pay them so much more.

 

 

 

No Disney because no casino among other things.

 

 

 

Now that I know how far the airport is from the Glory and how much it will cost to get to the ship, I’m going to look over all this again and do some new searches. I am worried the Glory will be too big, too crowded, and too glitzy for my older family members and too many folks drinking for the youngest. I keep leaning towards the Victory because it sounds big and fun, but not quite as intense as the Glory. It cost about $75 more to fly to Miami than Orlando from home right now, then add in the transport. fees for each. Narrowing it down to carnival was a big feat for me after comparing the wedding packages and such, but I do not want to overlook something else if it suits us better. So many choices-agh!!! I wanted to do this so it would be easier than a traditional wedding. I guess I just need to gather a bit more info and commit to something so I can quit worrying. Thanks again. Does my research sound right so far? :)

[lostmarbles]

 

The Carnival agent and another cruiser said everything was lots of green- walls, decorations, and that sort of thing I guess. I personally like green, but they made it sound unbearable and way overdone. It must not be so bad then after all.

 

 

I want a big enough ship where my new hubby to be and I can have some privacy from our guests, but small enough to still see them. I can get overwhelmed with crowds or too much glitz and space, so worry that the Glory may be too big for me. It is newer and rates higher than the Victory though. The next size down ships seem much older and I want to avoid those too, plus they go to W. Car. and we want E. -the one decision we’re set on now.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Lost marbles...Did you ever consider NCL??? It may be perfect for you if you have family members that stretch through the years. NCL is a very decent priced cruise line, excellent entertainment and food (though they do not have standard dining, it's called "freestyle", more like choosing which ever restaurant you want that night and go whenever you want). That, too may be of interest to you if you have older and younger folks. I've done 3 NCL and loved everyone of them.

 

By the way, inconsidering sailing out of Miami vs. Pt. Canaveral (Orlando), consider this....Miami airport is only about 20 minutes from the port. You can easily cab, van or shuttle for about $12.oo pp. Orlando is about a 1 hr drive to Pt. Canaveral and you'll spend a small fortune getting everyone from the airport to the port.

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

Southwest Airlines flies into Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, and Orlando from Norfolk. Usually you can find Fun Savers (they really cheap rate) for Ft. Lauderdale.

[kyriecat]

Ta421sBtrHalf is correct about it being cheaper to fly into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) than Miami (MIA). When we went to Miami a couple of years ago we found out it was cheaper to fly into FLL. I just did a quick check and it looks like FLL is still the cheaper route by about $65 pp.

 

I have never sailed Carnival so I don't have any first hand experience with their ships. Carnival and RCI both sail out of Galveston, which I live near. The unusual gripe I have heard from more than one person about the Carnival ships is the crew stresses the "fun" thing too much. I've had friends tell me that they were relaxing next to the pool when a crewmember came over and literally dragged them off to some group event. I don't troll the Carnival boards so I don't know if that is a characteristic of the Texas cruises or Carnival's policy in general. On the flip side of that, I've had people tell me that they like the Carnival ships better than RCI because the crew pushes you so hard to get involved with the groups. I guess it all depends on what you are looking for in your vacation. Maybe you should consider posting a thread about your wedding plans on the Carnival board and get some additional feedback on how the ceremony and group activities are handled.

[lostmarbles]

mrsfuzzmo- NCL sounded great, but I didn't find an itinerary we liked in our time frame from anywhere other than NY. I was not checking FLL then, but will now. Their wedding packages are not as economical as Carnivals though. I like the idea of being more laid back and am worried now about the Carnival fun pushers in kyriecat's post. Back to thinking more I guess.

 

 

Thanks, BtrHalf & kyriecat! When I checked a month ago for this year it was cheaper to fly to Orlando, then FLL, then Miami. I checked again now and FLL beats Orlando by $35 and Orlando beats Miami by $75 or so. When I factor in how far and how much it cost to get from the airports to the ship though, Orlando seems like far less of a deal. Did one of you already tell me how far it is from FLL to the ship? I’ll go look again.

 

 

I've posted some version of my questions on several boards, Carnival included and everyone has just been so great helping me! It makes me even happier with my plans to know cruisers are so hospitable and helpful!

 

 

:confused:

[kyriecat]

I think it is around 45 minutes from FLL to the Miami port - depends on traffic.

 

Carnival might be the right cruiseline for you. I didn't mean to scare you. I know 4 couples and 2 women who travelled together as friends who have been on the Carnival ship out of Galveston. I don't think I know anyone who has been out of Florida. It really might just be a Galveston ship thing. Some people like to join in with group activities and to have the crew personally invite them to the functions. Other people feel that they reviewed the activities list and if they wanted to join in, they would have. They don't want crew members interrupting their conversations or relaxation time to invite them to the activities. People who have been on the Carnival ships from Florida can advise you better.

 

I have nothing against Carnival. The fun pushing comment is not the reason I do not sail with them. My first cruise was with another line and it was such a wonderful experience that I keep going back with them. It's kind of like old shoes, I'll keep wearing them until they pinch. I'm sure I will eventually try other cruise lines when I run out of iteneraries that I like with this one or if I have a really bad cruise.

[lostmarbles]

Thanks, kyriecat! Makes sense to me. I'm the same way---if the shoe fits...

 

I have and continue to be worried that I'll get overwhelmed by the high energy on Carnival. I don't want super slow either. Just fun when I'm ready and leave me alone when I'm not type of thing. I'm continuing to think over comments here and other threads and decided to quit fretting, evaluate it all, and make a commitment by next weekend- or perhaps at least by the end of July. :)

[jerseygirl3]

When we had to transport our wedding guests from FLL to Miami, we contacted Port Promotions (http://www.portpromotions.com). They sent a 45 passenger bus (we had about 40 people on the same flight, so that worked out perfectly) and it was less than $300 with tip.