Has anyone had/been to a wedding on the Mariner while docked?

[Jacqueline-A]

:) My son is getting married on the Mariner in March. Has anyone done this. Can we expect everything to run smoothly? They will be the only ones sailing & we will be getting off by 3:30. Any suggestions for parking?

[cfurby]

My wife and I were married aboard the Explorer (same class of ship) and had sailing and non sailing guests. Overall, things went smoothly. It's just important to remember that it's a "cruise" wedding and there are some items out of your control--like the time the ship clears customs so the wedding party can board, etc. In our case, they also booked a wedding before ours and the mother of the bride for that wedding party was no where to be found--strange. So, it delayed our wedding by about an hour. This made it a little tight for the non-sailing guests to fully enjoy the reception since the wedding time was running late, but in the end everything worked out great and it was a fantastic day.

 

We arranged a shuttle service for transportation from the hotel to the ship, so I can't help on the parking question.

[ksjserv]

I don't know about the Mariner, but our youngest son (last one of 3 to get married) got married on the Rhapsody this past summer. They contacted Royal Caribbean and a wedding coordinator contacted them and took care of all the arrangements. This was a cruise that we took all our kids and grandkids on and youngest son and his fiance surprised us and said they planned to marry before the ship sailed. Everything went off fine. They had a small reception with finger foods, drinks and then we coordinated with the entertainer in the Schooner Bar to play for an additional reception following the one upstairs. We had to be at the ship ready to board by 10am and our cabins were ready. They all dressed in their rooms. The attendants & guests that weren't sailing had to be off at 3:30pm. I think they took their ID's and returned them when they departed the ship.

 

It will be wonderful, so just enjoy.

[WendyVF]

We attended a wedding on the Mariner last year. It was absolutely beautiful and everything ran smoothly. The wedding couple had to supply all the names and cabins of those attending the cermony about 2 weeks ahead of time. We were told to be at the port around 10. We were greeted by the wedding coordinator and told what was going to happen. I think their service was at 1:30 or so. Our rooms were supposed to be ready for us to change but they weren't quite. (I think the Bride's room was ready) We were able to drop our luggage off and grab a bite to eat. We were allowed into the cabins are soon as they were ready so we could change for the ceremony.

 

The chapel is small but beautiful. There is some sort of skylight in the ceiling (can't see through but provides sunlight) and it made for a very warm ceremony.

 

I met the groom on these boards when he was looking for someone to take pictures as he didn't want to do the big package from RCCL. The "professional" photographers didn't mind us using our cameras. We let them get their shots and then stepped in. They actually liked our pictures better than the professional

ones!

 

We were taken to a small room close to the chapel for the ceremony. They served the cake and champagne.

 

The only potential problem was in that the wedding coordinator did not sail on the ship so there were a few communication glitches but nothing to ruin the event. I believe the groom tipped the coordinator and had to pay for the Justice of the Peace. I don't believe the Captains can do the cermonies.

 

Best wishes!

[Jacqueline-A]

Thank you for the info - very helpful

[dmndlil]

We are sailing on Mariner Feb 24 and friends of our are getting married on board prior to sailing. I will post the details when I return.

[carol-lamb]

My son just got married on the Enchantment of the Seas on Valentines Day and everything went smoothly. It was a perfect wedding. The ceremony was nice and they had a beautiful buffet lunch for all of their guests. The food was excellent - probably the best I ate during the entire cruise. Boarding the ship was a breeze and the RCI wedding consultants couldn't have been nicer. We were able to get in our staterooms to dress - we had about 45 minutes to get ready before we had to be in the Spotlight Lounge about 15 minutes before the ceremony. I was so stressed out about this wedding - not the wedding itself, but how I would get everyone packed and how we would get dressed, etc. It was a little stressful, but not as bad as I thought it would be, and I was glad that it went so perfectly and after it was over, we all were able to spend time together on a wonderful cruise.