Gettng married on a cruise ship

[caribbeanboy]

Need some advice of getting married on a cruise ship. Which lines you can do it on board of the vessel and which lines you have to do onshore ? what does it cost ?

[RoofingPrincess]

If you haven't done so already, you might want to check the wedding/honeymoon boards:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

[ShedQueen77]

The only cruiseline that can marry you while the ship is actually sailing is Princess. All of the other lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, etc..but Princess can too) you can either get married on the ship while it is in a port or off shore, but not while the ship is actually moving.

 

From my experience if you are going to get married on shore, it is much cheaper and less stressful to hire a coordinator located in the port of your choice. The customer service is much better. You get more and pay less vs. using the ship's services. If you are going to get married on the ship though, you don't have a choice but to use the ship's services.

[Kruizer]

FYI, be careful with planning a wedding in a port. We had a couple, on our last cruise, who were renewing their vows on St. Kitts and the ship was unable to dock due to weather. We missed the port completely. The ship is not responsible as it states in your agreement that all ports are "weather permitting".

[ShedQueen77]

FYI, be careful with planning a wedding in a port. We had a couple, on our last cruise, who were renewing their vows on St. Kitts and the ship was unable to dock due to weather. We missed the port completely. The ship is not responsible as it states in your agreement that all ports are "weather permitting".

 

Whether you arrange a wedding in port through the cruiseline or a private coordinator, or if you plan to marry on the ship while that ship is in that particular port, if you don't make the port, you don't get married. You can have a symbolic ceremony, but the port in which you either supposed to be onshore or on the ship getting married in is the issuer of the legal license. You have to be married within that jurisdiction, which includes the ship being in that port.

 

It's a gamble you have to take when planning a cruise wedding. It does happen, but not as often as you would think. Cayman is one place where people really have to take the risk because of the tendering issues.

 

ETA - That is one advantage to using a coordinator on the island. Most (but not all) will either offer a full refund if you miss the port or will "hold" your money and help to plan another date for you. Of course, the transportation back to the island is on your dime.

[cruisemamma99]

I am thinking of my brother who did that, except he brought his kids on the cruise and her son which was a diaster. Second marriage, his/her kids none of which could stand each other. If they would have left them home it would have been a great honeymoon, so I would say go for it; but plan accordingly.

[DGP1111]

I think there are a few things that could use some 'clearing up':

 

If the cruise originates in a US port, the couple will be legally married prior to the ropes even being pulled from the ship. A civil ceremony (usually in a private room within the port building), or a full/civil ceremony onboard the ship takes place, allowing the wedding license from that particular State to be legal for the marriage taking place. This arrangement solves both the legal issue of the matrimony, including those of taxes and legal documents (i.e. wills). . . but it also calms the fears of nosey Aunt Edna who can't imagine the idea of bride/groom sleeping in the same cabin bed while unmarried.

The "for show" ceremony may take place in a port stop, a line's private island, or even a sea day. Yes the lines can do that, but getting a ship's officer to commit to a specific time is a real crap shoot, so it's only common when a port was missed due to weather.

Vow renewals, on the other hand, can be done at any time. Couples usually prefer arranging these to occur on the ship during the sailing, as it's less expensive than doing so during a port stop.

If you are a bride considering a cruise wedding, there are lots of great resources online for doing research. Hopefully you'll have a fantastic experience with great weather, and your photo opportunities can be superb. You might want to look into silk flowers for your bouquet, as refrigeration onboard a ship can be iffy, and some port locations frown on cut flowers going on/off the ship.

Have a glorious "special day" no matter what decisions you make for it. :)

[ShedQueen77]

I think there are a few things that could use some 'clearing up':

 

If the cruise originates in a US port, the couple will be legally married prior to the ropes even being pulled from the ship. A civil ceremony (usually in a private room within the port building), or a full/civil ceremony onboard the ship takes place, allowing the wedding license from that particular State to be legal for the marriage taking place.

This is true if you get married in let's say, Tampa, before the ship leaves. However, if you want to get married onboard the ship while docked in, let's say Barbados, it's a whole different ball game. You do not get a marriage license from the US even though the ship leaves from there. You don't get married before the ship leaves port. You will be issued a Barbados marriage license and married on that day.

This arrangement solves both the legal issue of the matrimony, including those of taxes and legal documents (i.e. wills). . . but it also calms the fears of nosey Aunt Edna who can't imagine the idea of bride/groom sleeping in the same cabin bed while unmarried.

Snort...LMAO!!! :D

The "for show" ceremony may take place in a port stop, a line's private island, or even a sea day. Yes the lines can do that, but getting a ship's officer to commit to a specific time is a real crap shoot, so it's only common when a port was missed due to weather.

The only cruise line who can perform a legal at-sea wedding is Princess. The others can do a "for show" one if arranged, but this isn't usually the norm when doing a cruise wedding. I'd wager to say 99.9% of couples do the whole legal shebang in one shot. Doing a repeat ceremony after a legal ceremony while on board is rare.

If you are a bride considering a cruise wedding, there are lots of great resources online for doing research. Hopefully you'll have a fantastic experience with great weather, and your photo opportunities can be superb. You might want to look into silk flowers for your bouquet, as refrigeration onboard a ship can be iffy, and some port locations frown on cut flowers going on/off the ship.

Have a glorious "special day" no matter what decisions you make for it. :)

 

The Honeymoon/Wedding board here is a great place to start that research! :) We were lucky and had great weather and great pictures. While in Barbados, I was allowed to take my fresh bouquet on board the ship, but couldn't take it home. We were married on the 4th day of the cruise and it was still blooming nicely when we left it behind.

 

Replies above ;)

[bonnys]

When we got married on the Glory, we did the ceremony onboard in Port Canaveral. We preferred this b/c people who did not want to go on the cruise could still attend the wedding before we sailed. This also prevented the missed port issue. I absolutely loved our wedding and would not change a thing! I am happy to answer any questions, if you have any. Good luck with your planning.

[OZjones12]

you dont have to go through the cruise line... I got married in Grand Cayman in March and it was GREAT!!! Much cheeper than the cruise lines and they picked us up when we got of the ship and had everything taken care of... It was perfect... Let me know if you would like some contact info...

[DGP1111]

Replies above ;)

 

I appreciate the input. I really do.

But I'm going to stick with my comments that I offered above, as this is a big part of what I do in my career every single day.

 

One thing I omitted earlier that might help a few who are 'window shopping' for a cruise wedding. . . . if you are of Catholic faith, please check to see if your home diocese will recognize the ceremony you are considering. In some cases, a couple will go ahead with the plans, and then have the priest bless the ceremony, as pre-arranged, on return.

 

Again, best of planning to all. :) I've now got to back out of this topic completely.

[ShedQueen77]

I appreciate the input. I really do.

But I'm going to stick with my comments that I offered above, as this is a big part of what I do in my career every single day.

 

One thing I omitted earlier that might help a few who are 'window shopping' for a cruise wedding. . . . if you are of Catholic faith, please check to see if your home diocese will recognize the ceremony you are considering. In some cases, a couple will go ahead with the plans, and then have the priest bless the ceremony, as pre-arranged, on return.

 

Again, best of planning to all. :) I've now got to back out of this topic completely.

 

I hope you don't think I was trying to discredit anything you said. I'm sorry if you got that impression. I honestly was just trying to help by adding my knowledge.

 

Are you a wedding planner? :) I'm not trying to be nosy, so if you don't want to answer that's OK. I just loved my wedding coordinator and really admire the work she (and all of them) do. I envy them being able to participate in one of the happiest moments of a couple's life. It sounds like so much fun!

[kujobie]

We got married on the Miracle a couple years ago. Here is my review. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=340848&highlight=miracle We couldn't have been happier with the way it turned out. But we're both pretty laid back. If you're a control freak/bridezilla, a cruise wedding is not for you. The cost then was around $2000 and that included pretty much everything. Ceremony, flowers, 1 1/2 hour reception with food and open bar, ice sculpture, cake, champagne, etc. A friggin' bargain. I would do it again in a minute. You couldn't rent a reception hall on land for $2000.. That was for up to 20 guests. Additional guests were $25 each..

[Marque]

My wife and I took the Regal Princess to Hawaii. During a stop at Hilo we got married. Did all the paperwork beforehand and a judge of the Family Court performed the wedding in his chambers. Worked great.

[crusinpsychRN]

DGP1111, my daughter wants to be a wedding planner and is actually in college taking "Event Planning" courses. Do you need any help or an intern? She's in Gainesville.

[crusinpsychRN]

We got married on the Miracle a couple years ago. Here is my review. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=340848&highlight=miracle We couldn't have been happier with the way it turned out. But we're both pretty laid back. If you're a control freak/bridezilla, a cruise wedding is not for you. The cost then was around $2000 and that included pretty much everything. Ceremony, flowers, 1 1/2 hour reception with food and open bar, ice sculpture, cake, champagne, etc. A friggin' bargain. I would do it again in a minute. You couldn't rent a reception hall on land for $2000.. That was for up to 20 guests. Additional guests were $25 each..

 

That's a great price! I watch weddings on TV all the time and even the least expensive is over $10,000. I can't imagine spending that kind of money for a few hours.