Any RCCL brides out there?

[Rhib7686]

We're booked on Liberty for their June 27, 2009 sailing. Does anyone have pictures of the chapel on this ship?

[Reese78]

Apparently in Bayonne, NY and San Pedro they can only accomodate 2 weddings and either one 2 hour reception or two 1 hour receptions. The reason for this is the boarding and security procedures take a lot longer than they do in other ports and the couple usually can't board until noon or 12:30. Because of this, there is not enough time to handle anything longer than a 2 hour reception because non-sailing guests need to disembark by 3:30 at the latest. Get married in Miami...it's alot easier! ;) Good luck and let me know if I can help you with anything else!

 

Hollidaygal: I have booked for April 26 2009 on Freedom while at port in Miami and was told that there is only 2 weddings and 1 2-hour reception. Due to fear of not getting my 2-hours I booked and paid immediately for the minimum 25 guest required. I almost think its a ploy to get you to book/pay due to the fear of not getting it later. I do feel nickeled and dimed however I still think I am coming out ahead without having the huge traditional ceremony and reception. I thought it would keep my guest count down but so far I dont think so.

 

As for the TWE so far so good. I try to communicate via email that way I have a written record of all things said. I am also going to try and book the preview they offer to get a better feel of where/how things will be on the ship. Though I have cruised before I have not had the luxury of cruising on one of these new ships.

 

I do have another question though. Is the person who signs you up considered your coordinator or are you assigned one later?:confused:

[luvjftffc]

I have booked 12/6/09 RCCL Freedom cruise. We are to be married at the Emerald Beach Resort in St. Thomas and I am using Debra with fantasiaweddings.com as my local coordinator. We are also not getting flowers through the coordinator because my mom found out that they use a place called Blooming Things on the island are we are going directly through them. They are located right by the pier for eacy pick up. Much cheaper since they jack up the flower cost and getting leis ordered from Hawaii for the guys. My mom and MIL is going to pick up flowers and head to resort when me and him go to the courthouse. A year and a half seems so long but im hoping it goes quick. Congrats at all the brides out there also....

[Croozergirl]

I have booked 12/6/09 RCCL Freedom cruise. We are to be married at the Emerald Beach Resort in St. Thomas and I am using Debra with fantasiaweddings.com as my local coordinator. We are also not getting flowers through the coordinator because my mom found out that they use a place called Blooming Things on the island are we are going directly through them. They are located right by the pier for eacy pick up. Much cheaper since they jack up the flower cost and getting leis ordered from Hawaii for the guys. My mom and MIL is going to pick up flowers and head to resort when me and him go to the courthouse. A year and a half seems so long but im hoping it goes quick. Congrats at all the brides out there also....

 

 

Hi,

 

Let me add my best wishes to all the brides, too.

 

I was not able to access Blooming Things' website using the link provided, so here's a good one. http://www.bloomingthings.net/

I agree that working with the paid coordinators, you're limited to their selection. Fo a lot of reasons (allergies, different tastes, whatever), those selections may not work for the bride. It's always good to know there are alternatives. Thanks for passing this on.

[hollidaygal]

Hollidaygal: I have booked for April 26 2009 on Freedom while at port in Miami and was told that there is only 2 weddings and 1 2-hour reception. Due to fear of not getting my 2-hours I booked and paid immediately for the minimum 25 guest required. I almost think its a ploy to get you to book/pay due to the fear of not getting it later. I do feel nickeled and dimed however I still think I am coming out ahead without having the huge traditional ceremony and reception. I thought it would keep my guest count down but so far I dont think so.

 

As for the TWE so far so good. I try to communicate via email that way I have a written record of all things said. I am also going to try and book the preview they offer to get a better feel of where/how things will be on the ship. Though I have cruised before I have not had the luxury of cruising on one of these new ships.

 

I do have another question though. Is the person who signs you up considered your coordinator or are you assigned one later?:confused:

 

It's kind of a hard question to answer. The call center environment at TWE is team based. You can talk to any wedding consultant and they should be able to answer all your questions. They all have access to your file and everything that has been purchased or ordered. They can also talk to any consultant that has been speaking with you if they need to. Typically, customers don't have just one consultant they speak to unless this is their request. If you have a good relationship with someone, than of course you can ask to speak with that person, but any of the consultants that answer the phone can assist you. FYI - The consultants you speak to are not the coordinators that will be at your wedding. Good luck and let me know if you have anymore questions!

[seahag07]

It seems that the majority is going Carnival. I am just wondering if there are an RCCL brides out there?

Yes, I will be getting married Sept 20 onboard the Liberty of the Seas!

Any advice for getting my dress transported via Continental Airlines? Can't seem to get an answer from them:mad: Thanks for any info!

[DALSAL]

My son hopes to get married on the beach in Cabo during our Feb cruise on the Mariner. We have the cruise booked, but have ALL of the rest to try to book this week..its such short notice, I hope we dont run into any problems. The only reason we want to use the ships planners is because of the blood work that has to be done. According to RCL, they will have someone come onboard the morning of the wedding to draw blood..If we cant do this, we will have to get married maybe on Catlina Island before the cruise..But they really want Cabo.

 

Anyone have any experience with a wedding in Cabo on the beach?? Thanks, Dot

[Pug3636]

We are getting married on RCCL Freedom of the Seas cruise in February 2009. I hope the months go by fast because I can't wait!

[bermuda09]

The girl I know is using a private WC in Bermuda. She is using

www.kreativekoncepts.biz. Let me know if you want any specific info from her, and I will see if it is ok with her to give you her personal email address. Good Luck!

 

 

So apparently I have not been on this board for quite some time. If your friend is willing to speak to me, that would be fantastic. Just let me know!:)

[Reese78]

We are getting married on RCCL Freedom of the Seas cruise in February 2009. I hope the months go by fast because I can't wait!

 

Hey Pug3636! We chose the same ship however you are a couple months ahead of me. Are you going through TWE? If so can you keep me posted on how things go. I am thinking of adding enhancements, you? I would love to chat (i.e. via email) outside the message board if you dont mind. Happy Planning!:D

[Pug3636]

Hey Pug3636! We chose the same ship however you are a couple months ahead of me. Are you going through TWE? If so can you keep me posted on how things go. I am thinking of adding enhancements, you? I would love to chat (i.e. via email) outside the message board if you dont mind. Happy Planning!:D

 

Hi! We decided against using TWE and are instead getting married at a hotel in Ocho Rios. We are doing a cocktail/appetizer reception onboard after the ceremony. My email is atrazig at gmail dot com. Email me anytime! :)

[DALSAL]

Hi! We decided against using TWE and are instead getting married at a hotel in Ocho Rios. We are doing a cocktail/appetizer reception onboard after the ceremony. My email is atrazig at gmail dot com. Email me anytime! :)

 

Did you tell them you were getting married in Ocho Rios when you booked your cocktail/appetizer reception? We thought about doing that, but I read on one thread that you should not mention you were getting married because then they made you go thru TWE for the reception.. Dot

[vateacher]

Getting married on Freedom of the Seas in Port Canaveral July 12, 2009. :D :D :D

[Angel_hushpuppies]

Hello everybody!! Just though I add my wedding day to the list. I'm Getting Married on Explorer of the Seas cruise January 11, 2009. Our wedding will be on Maegan's Bay in St Thomas on January 15, 2009. I'm so full of butterflies!! :D

[Pug3636]

Did you tell them you were getting married in Ocho Rios when you booked your cocktail/appetizer reception? We thought about doing that, but I read on one thread that you should not mention you were getting married because then they made you go thru TWE for the reception.. Dot

 

Sorry, I haven't been on in a while! Our travel agent took care of it for us. Actually what happend is I asked my travel agent to look into it and she didn't. I asked again a few more times, got fed up, and called RCCL myself. I was directed to their Royal Romance department and talked to a rude man that told me I couldn't have a reception on board the ship because I wasn't using their service. At that point I was pretty stressed about what to do because we wanted a reception for our guests and he had made it sound like a done deal. I contacted me travel agent once again and she found a way around it. Go directly through the group department with RCCL. I think your travel agent has to do it for you. We filled out a Group Function Request form and are all set! They sent us menu choices with upgrade options, drink choices, etc. We are also paying a little extra for a piano player. I forgot to mention...they do know we are a wedding reception and it wasn't a problem.

[unitys_serenity]

Hey Everyone –

It has been great to read through all of the wedding stories and experiences on this board, only wish I had found it before I made the decisions about my wedding. Right now I am starting to feel uneasy and nervous about our wedding date as we have signed a contract with Royal Romance. Since it was listed as the ONLY one to work with Royal Caribbean, I had thought it was actually part of Royal Caribbean and not some outside vendor that has sketchy business practices.

Anyone have good experiences with the RR people? Anything that seemed to work out well? How did flowers turn out if you upgrades services? Did anyone try to do group tours after the wedding ceremony with guests or just return directly to the ship afterwards?

Right now we are scheduled to get married on the beach in Key West, FL in November while on board the Enchantment of the Seas for a 5 night cruise. Key West is the first stop after boarding in Fort Lauderdale.

So far we only have the wedding ceremony booked, we have not added any upgrades yet so before getting any more involved I am hoping to hear that someone has had a decent experience or preferably AMAZING wedding story from RR!

[MarinerBride]

I haven't read this entire thread, but I do want to add that I DID have a positive experience with RR/TWE for my wedding onboard Mariner in December 2007. Feel free to read through my previous posts for some other details, but here's a quick summary of my experience.

 

We booked our wedding long after we booked the cruise, kind of as a last minute I really don't want to plan a wedding decision. As a result, I wasn't too picky about what happened, so I may be a little bit biased. I think we booked around two months prior to sailing. Anyway, we booked the Harmony package for an onboard wedding on embarkation day, with a 1 hour buffet reception + small wedding cake for 20 guests (6 of whom sailed). I did my own hair/makeup, brought my own unity candle, and brougt my own ceremony music. We flew into Orlando the day before, had a nice dinner at Timpano's, and rented a limo + 2 vans for transportation to the port. Due to bad weather, the ship arrived late, so although we arrived around 10am, we did not board until after noon. The ceremony started at 1 in the chapel, and the reception was in the 7 Hearts Lounge. Everything ended up starting a little bit late, because of course they wanted to make sure I had enough time to finish my hair and get dressed.

 

The only thing I would have done different is either book a longer reception to account for time that we lost taking pictures, or book additional photography for after the non-sailing guests leave. We missed out on a lot of the reception time while taking pictures, and our guests ended up having to leave before we returned. Other than that - my flowers were beautiful, the ceremony was well-done (although I was a little clueless about what was going on without a rehearsal, but I figured it out and we were married at the end regardless :)), the reception was amazing (just short), and my pictures were really great (see link in my profile).

 

Whew! I guess that wasn't so quick, but feel free to ask any questions. :)

[horseypharm]

I was married on Mariner of the Seas on June 22, 2008 and had a great experience with TWE. We kept the details of the wedding pretty simple and everything we asked for was taken care of. We booked an extra hour of photography son we were able to spend the reception visiting with family and friends. I wouldn't change a thing about the day!

[Mary loves to travel]

We, too, had a great experience with RR on our daughter's cruise wedding. See our review on these boards - June 1 wedding onboard Mariner of the Seas.

 

Cheers,

Mary