What are the things I should know?

[Cruising Wonder]

Next week I am going to book our wedding cruise. I just have to wait for our travel agent to get back from holidays. I was just wondering what things should I know before I book? I am kind of lost as this is our first cruise and would like any help you all can give. Much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Shari

 

:p I think I would be lost without this board! Everyone's info is so amazing and great to share. Thanks to all.

[Barb_and_Sean]

Well, hmmm... okay, when we booked our cruise we needed to let her know what cruiseline, what ship, what dates. We also had to pick the category of stateroom, and I think we picked dinner times at that time as well. If you are booking the wedding with the cruiseline I think (it depends on the cruiseline probably) that you have to have the cruise totally paid for before they'll even discuss it with you. I could be wrong on that, we decided to book our wedding with another coordinator. The weddings on the ship took too much control away from us (me) and I just needed to have my hands in the pot a bit more than it seemed RCCL was willing to let us do. :) I'm not sure if this actually answers your question, but I tried.

 

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. When is it going to be? Where are you going? What cruiseline? Many people coming with you?

 

Barbara

10/17/04 -- 10/24/04 Explorer of the Seas

10/21/04 -- marrying my best friend in St. Thomas!

[MandyGirl]

Shari -

I agree with Barbara. When you call or sit down with your TA, make sure you know:

- cruiseline

- ship you want

- sailing date

- category

(or specific stateroom - you can use online searches to get a good idea of what's available like on Travelocity)

- dinner seating - early / late / table size

(and make sure you let them know if you want all cabins seated together... we got lucky and got the Captain's table for the week plus one other smaller table to the side of it)

- legal names of passengers you are booking with correct spellings

(and if you are booking for your guests and they have cruised that line before, make sure you have their 'frequent cruiser' number like a Latitudes number for Norwegian)

- credit card to pay the deposit(s)

(I booked 7 cabins initially, and paid all deposits, then my family/friends paid me back - none had to be threatened!)

If you are booking your wedding through the cruiseline you might want to let your TA know that as well so they can denote it in your record. Regardless, make sure it is in your record that you are marrying that week - it may give you extra perks on board if that info makes it to the right hands onboard.

Like Barbara, we booked our wedding independent of the cruiseline, choosing a local wedding coordinator not affiliated with the cruiselines in any way. Therefore, we had nothing to tell the cruiseline about our wedding. However, after boarded, we were sure to meet the concierge first thing and let him know of our wedding plans (port was St Thomas later in the cruise). He did many things to make our week even more enjoyable, and also made sure our wedding party was first off the ferry in St John so we wouldn't be rushed/stressed. :) He was awesome. It made our beach wedding that much more relaxed.

As final payment draws near, you might be the single contact person for your TA (depending on how you and your TA set that up). I made sure my group was ready to make final payments. I also filled out their Immigration forms online since several don't have computers (or do but don't use them). I typed out a "tidbits" page - flights everyone was taking, cell phone numbers, pre-cruise hotel rsvps, cabin numbers, tidbits about the ship, etc. because most of our group were first-time cruisers and I felt that if I educated them PRIOR to cruising, that would mean less questions for me DURING the cruise. Finally, I made sure I kept copies of everything to have with me after leaving Dallas, including the Immigration forms I filled out online for our guests. The other guests that booked later through a different TA handled all of their things on their own.

And finally, once you step foot on your ship and make any first-day appointments you might make (wedding day salon appt, spa appointments, etc) - then you are totally FREE to enjoy your cruise!! :)

[EPD]

Our wedding will be a larger wedding aboard the Infinity in August. We will be getting married before the ship leaves port in Vancouver with 23 sailing and 36 non-sailing guests to deal with. So these are somethings that I have found challenging about this in port wedding and somethings I found most helpful.

 

1. Non-sailing guests must provided full names, DOB and passport or driver's licence number. I don't know if this is only a Celebrity Cruise policy but I spent more time chasing people for this info then I would have cared to. Leave space for that info on your RSVP card so that you hopefully won't have to chase as meny people.

 

2. I sent out an announcement with cruise info, basic, basic wedding info and all the TA's contact information in Sept 2003 almost a year prior to the wedding in case people wanted to come on the cruise but needed time to save some cash.

 

3. I sent out a formal invitation in May 2004 with an RSVP card, hotel info for Vancouver and more wedding day info including boarding procedure. Give yourself a month prior to when your lists need to be ready on the RSVP so you have time for last minute changes and additions. My RSVP was June 15 because I needed to have everything ready for July 15th.

 

4. I tried to get people to book with one TA because anyone sailing with us needed to provided me with their booking numbers so that I could add them to an early boarding list. I had a few people book with other TA's and had to chase for their booking numbers. Plus had to link their reservation to the rest of our group so that we could sit together. Would have been easier with just one TA involved because he/she could have kept track of all this for me.

 

5 A Wedding For You is the planning company that Celebrity uses and I can't say enough good things about them. They answered all my questions quickly and helped me feel great about this decision to get married aboard the ship.

 

6. Best thing about this wedding is that everything is taken care of, no catering concerns (the meal is what it is), no cake concerns, no need to find a photographer (we are using the ships photographer) no need to find a florist near the ship. The only thing I had to find was my hairdresser because the ships salon won't be open soon enough for me to get ready.

 

7. I didn't need to do full cruise payment right away just a deposit to hold our room, cruise payment happened for us just like for everyone else. However with AWFY I was required to put a deposit down of $100 to get everything going and to book our wedding day into their calendar. And everything for the wedding was paid for 30 days prior.

 

I don't know if this helped you at all. If not sorry!!!

[Cruising Wonder]

Thanks girls for replying to my post. You pointed out some very good things that I never even thought of. It is good to know that you girls are here with a helping hand.

 

Barb and Sean, to answer your question we are getting married on July 4th of 2005. We will be sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to Princess Cays, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We decided we wanted to go with Princess Cruiselines, as we like the option of getting married at sea, so we don't get to miss all the ports and features they have to offer. So far we have 18 going with us, but when I send out the save the dates I may have more.

 

Hopefully it will be a fun time and a great turn out!

 

Thanks again to all of you. I am making my list of things to ask, so I can be ready when I meet with my TA. If you think of anything else, please let me know. I may not have thought of it.

 

Shari

 

First Cruise

July 2, 2005 ~ Western Caribbean ~ Princess Cruiselines

[ahracer]

Ask for Alba at the Wedding Expereince. She is the best. She made our wedding stress and worry free.

 

Scott

[nycruiserbruiser]

I think if you are waiting for your travel agent to call you back that is a mistake. You should choose your cruise line and definetly go woth their wedding dep't. That way they know who you are onboard and treat you like family. If you book your wedding with a private company then the cruise ship has you down as a passenger and nothing more. In my opinion, if you are going to doit, then do it right!:p

[MandyGirl]

nycruiserbruiser - We didn't book our port wedding through the cruiseline (Norwegian Cruise Line) but feel we were taken care of extremely well on board. The onboard staff seemed to all learn very quickly we were getting married that week (like by the first day!). I learned 'news' travels fast with the crew! We'd even order a drink at the bar and the bartender would know our name even though we had never met him!!!

 

Here are a few examples of the extra perks we received:

- VIP cocktail reception with the ship's officers in the Captain's cabin (and huge verandah!). This was not the normaly honeymooner's get-together.

- We were on a ship that did NOT use Freestyle dining but had traditional dining, and we had the Captain's table the entire week for our group with a smaller table to the side for the rest of our group (the maitre'd checked on us every single night)

- We both received complimentary spa passes for the entire week (normally a fee to use that ship's spa facilities - this was not the workout room but the actual spa with whirlpool, plunge pool, steam room, sauna room, etc)

- In one of the spa packages I purchased, the ladies in the spa made sure I included my new hubby for one of the services (hydrotherapy bath the day after married - very romantic with candles! It was her suggestion, as normally the hydrotherapy bath is for one... not two...)

- Salon appointment the day of our wedding five hours (!) before the salon was scheduled to open. She had no hesitation coming in early to do my hair and I could hardly get the question out of my mouth when scheduling and she was already volunteering. 5AM was quite early!

- Separate meeting area and priority disembarkation for the port St Thomas / St John for the day we married, with instructions to crew on the ferry to make sure 'the wedding party' is off first (which they did so that we would not be stressed getting to the wedding)

- Priority disembarkation on disembarkation day where just our group met in our own location (a public room on the ship not being used for other groups) and escorted down the 'back way'

None of us had paid more than $700 for this 7-night cruise, so it's not like we were in the Penthouse getting the extra treatment. We only had 19 total in our group. The concierge was exceptional and took incredible care of us - knowing us by name and checking on us throughout the week. Even when we received something from him AFTER the wedding, he was sure to address it as our new names!! :)

I'm not sure if all cruise lines take such good care of you for a wedding even if you don't book through their contracted agency, but Norwegian more than exceeded our expectations. I just wanted to point out that you don't have to book your wedding through a cruiseline to get that extra-special care onboard. :)