Fantasy Review...

[maddam_5maria]

To be frank…just about everything went wrong. We were super rushed and I found it all very disorganized. Because of the size of my wedding, I had two coordinators. Basically, I got one and my fiancé got one. My fiancé thinks the WC by his side was named Judy (or Julie) but my WC was Suzette. Both ladies were very nice and Suzette seemed to try real hard to make things go smoother within the terminal…it just didn’t happen that way. She seemed super stressed running around like crazy, even kept loosing her breath from running back and forth, (literally running !!). I felt really bad for her! I was told that I was the first wedding since the ship came back to New Orleans, so everyone was out of practice.

So let’s start from the beginning. We got to the terminal about 10:15ish by my Navigator super stretch limo which was my wedding surprise from my fiancé. Anywhoo, you would think that would be a heads up that “a bride” just pulled up but I guess it wasn’t. There really wasn’t a load of people there to block the view either. So…dressed in my “bride” gear with huge turquoise sunglasses used to hide my make up I walked up to the doors and was greeted with a smiling face from the WC Judy (or Julie). Even the other cruisers were really nice congratulating me as I walked by them. Once we got into the doors, it was like pulling teeth to get an answer of what I was supposed to do. I had guest already inside the door that was standing around clueless as well. Then I finally got a firm “walk up those stairs and meet Suzette at the top” from the other WC Judy (or Julie). She seemed busy going through tons of papers with the terminal personnel…maybe verifying guest’s names to allow them VIP boarding I guess. Either way, I think just letting me stand there along with 10 or so of my guest for about 5mins wasn’t acceptable. I also want to add that two days before my wedding, I emailed Lucy with TWE and stated I didn’t want to be seen. I know there was a room at the terminal I could have been stashed to prevent people from seeing me. I never received a response from her acknowledging my request. I was sure to tell Suzette once I got up the escalator that I didn’t want to see my groom. She said “we can put the groom in the hiding room to prevent that”. I agreed with “him” going in the room because by this time it seemed pointless to hide me instead. So while I was waiting in line to go through security Suzette informed me that most of my guests were already there and waiting…which took a load off my shoulders. So, she lets me get passed the ropes to drop all my stuff (dress, boxes, etc.) in the waiting area were my guest were which really helped. Trying to juggle all that was a mess! I appreciated the limo from the finance, but it left me with no help since everyone else had to park in the lot. Since everyone was scattered all over the place (including my daughter because a car seat can’t fit in a limo) I had to stand against the wall at security waiting for her. I was told that in order for me to check in I needed all guest booked in my room to check in with me. My daughter was booked in my room with me. After about 15 mins of holding the wall up I got a call from my sis-in-law. She was able to check in her son that was booked with my groom without the groom being there...so that was all a waste. Suzette didn’t know the procedure on the check-in process but I felt she should have. Maybe this will help for future brides though. Suzette also didn’t know whether or not sailing & non-sailing guest had to wait in the same line. This had a few of my guest standing there clueless along with myself while I was holding that wall up! Again, I think this should have been known.

So after check-in…I walked over to my section where all my guest were. There were two other weddings that day so they had us sectioned off from one another which worked well. Suzette specifically asked my other WC Judy (or Julie) if she had briefed my guest on what was going to take place and had given them a map of the ship. The other WC said she did and everyone knew what they needed to know so Suzette them started to give me the run down and go over the final details. (She also informed me that there wasn’t going to be a rehearsal which I was NOT happy about! I specially requested this because my wedding party was children and they assured me there would be one for the wedding party) Anyhow, while that was going on, two sets of my guest came up to us asking questions that pertained the “the plan” or “the map”. Both sets told us there never received a map. Maybe the 2nd WC got my section mixed up with another section she had briefed??? No clue! Suzette only had about 3 or 4 maps on her, so even if she wanted to pass them out then and there…she couldn’t have. There was also no time left for her to brief my guest personally because we were about to board the ship. So since my wedding was the biggest my group was to line up first to get ready to board…with me being first in line. The plan was for my fiancé to take his picture and board the ship from another section so we didn’t see each other. The other WC let my fiancé out the room and he turned towards me and looked dead at me! All I could do was shake my head and tell Suzette the Cory just looked dead at me. She couldn’t think fast enough on what to do, so she just made me turn around. There really was nothing she could have done and she felt really bad about it. #1 – There was no reason why he should have been brought out the room at that moment…they just had him standing there outside the door clueless. We both felt the other WC should have not brought him out the room until he was ready to board and she should have guided his view away from where we were standing. Suzette even yelled to them to get my finance back in the room and to close the door since they were just standing around anyway.

So we then board the ship. Suzette carried my dress which was a HUGE help! After we got on the ship we attempted to walk to my room but it was blocked off. Suzette went to find someone for us to open the wall up and my guest were throwing their hands up to me wondering what to do. One guest asked “Tasha, what are we supposed to do”. I yelled back “Explore the ship and meet in the Forum Lounge for 12:45ish”. Thankfully a large amount of my guest was standing there while I said that...so they all just passed the word to each other. So we got to my room and I started getting ready. About 10mins till 1pm, Suzette came a’knocking! J

We walk down to the Forum Lounge and I was stopped a few feet away to do a short pre-interview. About a week before the wedding, we decided to hire the Videographer which was great, except for the fact that I seem just how bad the ceremony went after the fact! I passed two sheets out, one to my sis at the front of wedding party line and one to Suzette showing how and when I wanted everyone to walk. Long story short, none of that went right! We only had 5 sets of people to walk..so I don’t understand why it wasn’t done right. It wasn’t complicated at all! My groom never got to walk his mother nor was she escorted by anyone else so she lost that honor! My flower girl went before my daughter and her two ushers so that went wrong. And…since we didn’t have a rehearsal my ring bearer and flower girl didn’t know what they needed to do. The ring bearer panicked and started balling in tears, so he walked with my maid of honor (his mother) so he could be seated. One of my daughter’s ushers then had to carry the ring seashell pillow down the isle with him while escorting my daughter while the other usher on her other side carried both roses for the rose ceremony. My flower girl didn’t know the throw her petals until right when she got to the groom and a guest screamed it out to her. If we would have had a rehearsal…things would have gone smoother. Let me also add that the entire time we were lined up at the entrance all guest were snapping photos of me because I was in plain view of them all! I think I should have been held back if the doors were to be left wide open the whole time. But when it was my turn to walk with my father..they decided to close the doors and until the “here comes the bride” starts, then opened them for our entrance. This seemed sort of pointless at the time, because the entire guest already seem us! So we walk in, the first thing I see if my groom holding my crying 11mth old. Again, since there was no rehearsal my twin nephews (my daughter’s ushers) thought they were supposed to bring Karisa to her dad. So instead of being excited to see my groom, I was tearing up over my baby crying!

My father and I get to my groom, he passes me off, yada yada. Then Bob (our officiant) does his thing which went well…it just seemed sort of drawn out. He did some sort of reading prior to our vows that I didn’t know he was going to do. Since we added the rose ceremony which made it even longer, I’m sure a few guest fell asleep! Haha. I did request for two things to be switch up that wasn’t. I wanted “You may now kiss your bride” after Bob announced “the new Mr. and Mrs. BlahBlah”….but someone didn’t do what they were supposed to. I made sure that Suzette knew that when we were discussing everything at the terminal and it was written all over the paperwork I turned in. I just don’t know if someone forgot to tell Bob, or Bob just forgot to do it because he was used to a certain way….no clue on this one!

So we then pose for a few pictures at the alter because our photographer apparently was sleeping during the first kiss moment…then walked out the room. I wasn’t even our recessional song was being played until I watched the video of our ceremony. It was that low! BTW, from what I could tell by the video, all my music was either to low, or was never played the way it was supposed to.

We were then asked to stand in the hallway in a corner, while all our guest exited the room and walked to the disco. So we waived at them as they passed by. I don’t think it was supposed to happen like that…but at this point..everything just became funny. Once everyone got to the disco, it was time for our grand entrance. Again, they close the doors (again, we are laughing at this) then the DJ started to play our song. He did speak alil to fast with his announcement which left us standing there for an extra 30 secs so it sort of ruined the whole entrance thing. By the time we walked in on our cue…the crowd had stopped clapping and whistling….very awkward!!!! So, we walked to the middle of the dance floor and just stood there for a second looking lost. We had no clue what to do. The ship’s WC came up to us and said it was time to cut the cake. So we walked by the cake, and again just stood there. I said to her… “We need some guidance...we’ve never done this before”. She laughed then guided us through it. After that, Suzette brought me to the corner to pick my trail up. I had a special bustle done but Suzette was sure she could figure it out. I called to my sis who was the only one that knew how, but Suzette assured her it was right even though my sis second guessed it. We didn’t have a choice but to leave it at this point, because our first dance had started without me! But…long story short, the whole back of my dress it ruined because it wasn’t picked up correctly and people stepped all over it…but I appreciated Suzette trying. Hopefully I can get the rips fixed and grease foot prints out of it!

The reception went some what smooth after that. I had fun, but felt really rushed I even devoted all my time to my non-sailing guest to help the time crunch but 1.5hrs still wasn’t enough time. The DJ was great! He really tried to get the guest involved. He even spiced things up a bit for the garter removal. My photographer wanted to take us from the reception about 10 mins before it ended but I had to put my foot down on this one...to him and my WC’s. I refused to leave my non-sailing guest without telling each and everyone of them good bye and thank you. So this caused me to have no family photos...mothers, father, maid of honor, etc. because everyone was scattered at this time and again we were pressed for time. (I didn’t even get to tell the WC’s good bye, they had to rush off the ship) I mean…we literally had to walk fast / run around the ship to take our photos. Not easy when ya carrying a wedding dress in your hands because you are tripping all over it. He kept saying “only a few mins left, only a few mins left”. We were HOT, all my make up was gone, my hair was frizzed…it was crazy! A lot of the pictures we were asked to pose for..finace and I kept saying how much of a wacko our photographer was. Some of the stuff he had us doing just seemed crazy to us. So we really thought we were only going to buy a picture or two because they were going to be bad. There was even this one picture were he made us hold up a spoon and folk “because there were a pair”…again… WACKO right?

Well…that WACKO knew exactly what he was doing! We bought every damn picture! Even the spoon and folk picture was gorgeous! His name was P.C. and I hope that every other bride on the Fantasy gets him for their wedding photographer. The first thing he showed us during our meeting 4 days later was the slide show. He had both my husband and I crying it was so beautiful. Although, my husband said his “allergies” were acting up….men! Even though P.C. showed up the different packages, we didn’t buy a package. He showed us the one for $3000 to let us know what all that package included, but since he was so picture happy with us we had more shots that what the package was for. So he had to work up special pricing which came out to $2982.00. So we got more pictures, for a few less bucks.

The videographer did a great job as well. There is nothing that stands out with the video, but nothing went wrong with it either. He got the whole ceremony, all the important parts of the reception, walked with us for alil while for formal night and that next morning around the ship for “honeymoon” shots. Really nice guy…his name was Adi.

The cruise itself was great. I don’t regret one minute having our family and close friends with us. It was wonderful! My daughter became more of a celebrity that I was…and she knew it. By the 2nd day everyone knew who Karisa was. We even had to turn down a few strangers that offered to babysit for us…it was very sweet of them.

So..the big guestion! If I had the chance to do it all over again knowing what I know now...would I still have a cruise ship wedding? Probably not. I honestly think I got a bad break. I read all these other reviews and see how wonderful things went for all the other brides. I even hesitated posting this review because I didn’t want to discourage anyone…but I felt I needed to. There was a lot more than went wrong, but frankly my fingers are getting sore..haha.

Also, to be honest, husband and I think we were doomed from the start. Starting a week before the wedding. Anything and everything that could have went wrong did! I think it helped us cope with the actual wedding though. By that time the wedding happened we were already in that “what’s next” mode and just couldn’t help but the laugh at everything! We didn’t have the energy to be mad or upset anymore. Once we got back to the room, he looked at me with a smerk, held his arms out and gave me the biggest hug ever! Then we both busted out laughing when he said “Well, we got out of the muster drill…that was ONE thing you hoped for and got!” He loves being a smart a$$.

[Fantasy_Bride]

Congratulations!! I am so sorry to hear that your experience was less than perfect. If you don't mind, I have a few questions that I would like for you to answer.

 

How many cabins were ready for you guys?

What time did you actually get on the ship?

My wedding will also be in the forum, what was the overall look of this room?

How were the decorations?

Was the food and drinks good?

How many guests did you have?

How did the ship as a whole look?

Could you please post some photos?

 

Again congratulations:)

[sas80]

To be frank…just about everything went wrong. We were super rushed and I found it all very disorganized. Because of the size of my wedding, I had two coordinators. Basically, I got one and my fiancé got one. My fiancé thinks the WC by his side was named Judy (or Julie) but my WC was Suzette. Both ladies were very nice and Suzette seemed to try real hard to make things go smoother within the terminal…it just didn’t happen that way. She seemed super stressed running around like crazy, even kept loosing her breath from running back and forth, (literally running !!). I felt really bad for her! I was told that I was the first wedding since the ship came back to New Orleans, so everyone was out of practice.

 

"Out of practice"???!!!:cool:

If TWE wasnt professionally ready to host weddings then they should have made the smart professional decision to NOT host a wedding! <sigh> figures....the almightly dollar rules again! How horrible for you!

 

So let’s start from the beginning. We got to the terminal about 10:15ish by my Navigator super stretch limo which was my wedding surprise from my fiancé. Anywhoo, you would think that would be a heads up that “a bride” just pulled up but I guess it wasn’t. There really wasn’t a load of people there to block the view either. So…dressed in my “bride” gear with huge turquoise sunglasses used to hide my make up I walked up to the doors and was greeted with a smiling face from the WC Judy (or Julie). Even the other cruisers were really nice congratulating me as I walked by them. Once we got into the doors, it was like pulling teeth to get an answer of what I was supposed to do. I had guest already inside the door that was standing around clueless as well. Then I finally got a firm “walk up those stairs and meet Suzette at the top” from the other WC Judy (or Julie). She seemed busy going through tons of papers with the terminal personnel…maybe verifying guest’s names to allow them VIP boarding I guess.

Sounds like your wedding coordinators were late getting to their job that day! They should have had all of this paper shuffling completed by the time they instructed you to arrive! There are such things as telephones, right? A little prior communication and coorindation, maybe a well thought out plan for your embarkation day, would have solved this whole situation!

 

Either way, I think just letting me stand there along with 10 or so of my guest for about 5mins wasn’t acceptable. I also want to add that two days before my wedding, I emailed Lucy with TWE and stated I didn’t want to be seen. I know there was a room at the terminal I could have been stashed to prevent people from seeing me. I never received a response from her acknowledging my request.

 

No response/no acknowledgement means that TWE "doesnt have to deal with it". Granted, It was a very late request, but a response email alerting you that it simply could not have been done would have been reasonable, and would have left you less dissapointed.....:(

 

I was sure to tell Suzette once I got up the escalator that I didn’t want to see my groom. She said “we can put the groom in the hiding room to prevent that”. I agreed with “him” going in the room because by this time it seemed pointless to hide me instead. So while I was waiting in line to go through security Suzette informed me that most of my guests were already there and waiting…which took a load off my shoulders. So, she lets me get passed the ropes to drop all my stuff (dress, boxes, etc.) in the waiting area were my guest were which really helped. Trying to juggle all that was a mess! I appreciated the limo from the finance, but it left me with no help since everyone else had to park in the lot. Since everyone was scattered all over the place (including my daughter because a car seat can’t fit in a limo) I had to stand against the wall at security waiting for her. I was told that in order for me to check in I needed all guest booked in my room to check in with me. My daughter was booked in my room with me. After about 15 mins of holding the wall up I got a call from my sis-in-law. She was able to check in her son that was booked with my groom without the groom being there...so that was all a waste.

 

Augh!

 

 

Suzette didn’t know the procedure on the check-in process but I felt she should have.

She VERY WELL should have!!!

 

 

Maybe this will help for future brides though. Suzette also didn’t know whether or not sailing & non-sailing guest had to wait in the same line. This had a few of my guest standing there clueless along with myself while I was holding that wall up! Again, I think this should have been known.

 

Absolutely! is Suzette new or something? Does TWE not train people?

 

 

So after check-in…I walked over to my section where all my guest were. There were two other weddings that day so they had us sectioned off from one another which worked well. Suzette specifically asked my other WC Judy (or Julie) if she had briefed my guest on what was going to take place and had given them a map of the ship. The other WC said she did and everyone knew what they needed to know so Suzette them started to give me the run down and go over the final details.

 

(She also informed me that there wasn’t going to be a rehearsal which I was NOT happy about! I specially requested this because my wedding party was children and they assured me there would be one for the wedding party)

 

This sucks!

 

Anyhow, while that was going on, two sets of my guest came up to us asking questions that pertained the “the plan” or “the map”. Both sets told us there never received a map. Maybe the 2nd WC got my section mixed up with another section she had briefed???

 

No clue! Suzette only had about 3 or 4 maps on her, so even if she wanted to pass them out then and there…she couldn’t have. There was also no time left for her to brief my guest personally because we were about to board the ship. So since my wedding was the biggest my group was to line up first to get ready to board…with me being first in line. The plan was for my fiancé to take his picture and board the ship from another section so we didn’t see each other.

 

The other WC let my fiancé out the room and he turned towards me and looked dead at me! All I could do was shake my head and tell Suzette the Cory just looked dead at me. She couldn’t think fast enough on what to do, so she just made me turn around. There really was nothing she could have done and she felt really bad about it. #1 – There was no reason why he should have been brought out the room at that moment…they just had him standing there outside the door clueless. We both felt the other WC should have not brought him out the room until he was ready to board and she should have guided his view away from where we were standing. Suzette even yelled to them to get my finance back in the room and to close the door since they were just standing around anyway.

 

<sigh> so so sorry :(

 

 

So we then board the ship. Suzette carried my dress which was a HUGE help! After we got on the ship we attempted to walk to my room but it was blocked off. Suzette went to find someone for us to open the wall up and my guest were throwing their hands up to me wondering what to do. One guest asked “Tasha, what are we supposed to do”. I yelled back “Explore the ship and meet in the Forum Lounge for 12:45ish”. Thankfully a large amount of my guest was standing there while I said that...so they all just passed the word to each other. So we got to my room and I started getting ready. About 10mins till 1pm, Suzette came a’knocking! J

 

We walk down to the Forum Lounge and I was stopped a few feet away to do a short pre-interview. About a week before the wedding, we decided to hire the Videographer which was great, except for the fact that I seem just how bad the ceremony went after the fact! I passed two sheets out, one to my sis at the front of wedding party line and one to Suzette showing how and when I wanted everyone to walk. Long story short, none of that went right! We only had 5 sets of people to walk..so I don’t understand why it wasn’t done right. It wasn’t complicated at all! My groom never got to walk his mother nor was she escorted by anyone else so she lost that honor! My flower girl went before my daughter and her two ushers so that went wrong. And…since we didn’t have a rehearsal my ring bearer and flower girl didn’t know what they needed to do. The ring bearer panicked and started balling in tears, so he walked with my maid of honor (his mother) so he could be seated. One of my daughter’s ushers then had to carry the ring seashell pillow down the isle with him while escorting my daughter while the other usher on her other side carried both roses for the rose ceremony. My flower girl didn’t know the throw her petals until right when she got to the groom and a guest screamed it out to her. If we would have had a rehearsal…things would have gone smoother. Let me also add that the entire time we were lined up at the entrance all guest were snapping photos of me because I was in plain view of them all! I think I should have been held back if the doors were to be left wide open the whole time. But when it was my turn to walk with my father..they decided to close the doors and until the “here comes the bride” starts, then opened them for our entrance. This seemed sort of pointless at the time, because the entire guest already seem us! So we walk in, the first thing I see if my groom holding my crying 11mth old. Again, since there was no rehearsal my twin nephews (my daughter’s ushers) thought they were supposed to bring Karisa to her dad. So instead of being excited to see my groom, I was tearing up over my baby crying!

 

so, so sorry! :(

 

My father and I get to my groom, he passes me off, yada yada. Then Bob (our officiant) does his thing which went well…it just seemed sort of drawn out. He did some sort of reading prior to our vows that I didn’t know he was going to do. Since we added the rose ceremony which made it even longer, I’m sure a few guest fell asleep! Haha. I did request for two things to be switch up that wasn’t. I wanted “You may now kiss your bride” after Bob announced “the new Mr. and Mrs. BlahBlah”….but someone didn’t do what they were supposed to. I made sure that Suzette knew that when we were discussing everything at the terminal and it was written all over the paperwork I turned in. I just don’t know if someone forgot to tell Bob, or Bob just forgot to do it because he was used to a certain way….no clue on this one!

 

So we then pose for a few pictures at the alter because our photographer apparently was sleeping during the first kiss moment…then walked out the room. I wasn’t even our recessional song was being played until I watched the video of our ceremony. It was that low! BTW, from what I could tell by the video, all my music was either to low, or was never played the way it was supposed to.

 

We were then asked to stand in the hallway in a corner, while all our guest exited the room and walked to the disco. So we waived at them as they passed by. I don’t think it was supposed to happen like that…but at this point..everything just became funny. Once everyone got to the disco, it was time for our grand entrance. Again, they close the doors (again, we are laughing at this) then the DJ started to play our song. He did speak alil to fast with his announcement which left us standing there for an extra 30 secs so it sort of ruined the whole entrance thing. By the time we walked in on our cue…the crowd had stopped clapping and whistling….very awkward!!!! So, we walked to the middle of the dance floor and just stood there for a second looking lost. We had no clue what to do. The ship’s WC came up to us and said it was time to cut the cake. So we walked by the cake, and again just stood there. I said to her… “We need some guidance...we’ve never done this before”. She laughed then guided us through it. After that, Suzette brought me to the corner to pick my trail up. I had a special bustle done but Suzette was sure she could figure it out. I called to my sis who was the only one that knew how, but Suzette assured her it was right even though my sis second guessed it. We didn’t have a choice but to leave it at this point, because our first dance had started without me! But…long story short, the whole back of my dress it ruined because it wasn’t picked up correctly and people stepped all over it…but I appreciated Suzette trying. Hopefully I can get the rips fixed and grease foot prints out of it!

 

The reception went some what smooth after that. I had fun, but felt really rushed I even devoted all my time to my non-sailing guest to help the time crunch but 1.5hrs still wasn’t enough time. The DJ was great! He really tried to get the guest involved. He even spiced things up a bit for the garter removal. My photographer wanted to take us from the reception about 10 mins before it ended but I had to put my foot down on this one...to him and my WC’s. I refused to leave my non-sailing guest without telling each and everyone of them good bye and thank you. So this caused me to have no family photos...mothers, father, maid of honor, etc. because everyone was scattered at this time and again we were pressed for time. (I didn’t even get to tell the WC’s good bye, they had to rush off the ship) I mean…we literally had to walk fast / run around the ship to take our photos. Not easy when ya carrying a wedding dress in your hands because you are tripping all over it. He kept saying “only a few mins left, only a few mins left”. We were HOT, all my make up was gone, my hair was frizzed…it was crazy! A lot of the pictures we were asked to pose for..finace and I kept saying how much of a wacko our photographer was. Some of the stuff he had us doing just seemed crazy to us. So we really thought we were only going to buy a picture or two because they were going to be bad. There was even this one picture were he made us hold up a spoon and folk “because there were a pair”…again… WACKO right?

 

 

Well…that WACKO knew exactly what he was doing! We bought every damn picture! Even the spoon and folk picture was gorgeous! His name was P.C. and I hope that every other bride on the Fantasy gets him for their wedding photographer. The first thing he showed us during our meeting 4 days later was the slide show. He had both my husband and I crying it was so beautiful. Although, my husband said his “allergies” were acting up….men! Even though P.C. showed up the different packages, we didn’t buy a package. He showed us the one for $3000 to let us know what all that package included, but since he was so picture happy with us we had more shots that what the package was for. So he had to work up special pricing which came out to $2982.00. So we got more pictures, for a few less bucks.

 

Surprising! This is great tho!

 

The videographer did a great job as well. There is nothing that stands out with the video, but nothing went wrong with it either. He got the whole ceremony, all the important parts of the reception, walked with us for alil while for formal night and that next morning around the ship for “honeymoon” shots. Really nice guy…his name was Adi.

 

GREAT!

 

 

The cruise itself was great. I don’t regret one minute having our family and close friends with us. It was wonderful! My daughter became more of a celebrity that I was…and she knew it. By the 2nd day everyone knew who Karisa was. We even had to turn down a few strangers that offered to babysit for us…it was very sweet of them.

 

Wonderful!

 

So..the big guestion! If I had the chance to do it all over again knowing what I know now...would I still have a cruise ship wedding? Probably not. I honestly think I got a bad break. I read all these other reviews and see how wonderful things went for all the other brides. I even hesitated posting this review because I didn’t want to discourage anyone…but I felt I needed to. There was a lot more than went wrong, but frankly my fingers are getting sore..haha.

 

Also, to be honest, husband and I think we were doomed from the start. Starting a week before the wedding. Anything and everything that could have went wrong did! I think it helped us cope with the actual wedding though. By that time the wedding happened we were already in that “what’s next” mode and just couldn’t help but the laugh at everything! We didn’t have the energy to be mad or upset anymore. Once we got back to the room, he looked at me with a smerk, held his arms out and gave me the biggest hug ever! Then we both busted out laughing when he said “Well, we got out of the muster drill…that was ONE thing you hoped for and got!” He loves being a smart a$$.

 

It's great that you guys can have a real sense of humor about all the things that dissapointed you. it's also nice how the real memory of your wedding - fiasco's and all - is tied into a great cruise vacation....it tends to smooth things over.

 

I think it's good for you to post an honest review of what went on. It's real, and people need to know that these type of situations happen.

 

We all know that RR/TWE employees read and post on these boards. let's hope that they dont dismiss experiences like yours!

 

Look at it this way - things can only get better!! :D

Congratulations!

[maddam_5maria]

Congratulations!! I am so sorry to hear that your experience was less than perfect. If you don't mind, I have a few questions that I would like for you to answer.

 

How many cabins were ready for you guys?

What time did you actually get on the ship?

My wedding will also be in the forum, what was the overall look of this room?

How were the decorations?

Was the food and drinks good?

How many guests did you have?

How did the ship as a whole look?

Could you please post some photos?

 

Again congratulations:)

 

#1 - I had requested for two to be ready..one room for me, and another room for the groom. Those two were ready...never did ask around to see if any other rooms were done.

 

#2 - I got on the ship between 11:30-11:45.

 

#3 - The Forum was ok...it is set up just like in the pictures Astevia from Carnival sent me which I think you have that also. TWE told me that the chairs were going to be set up chapel style...but that was incorrect information. I liked the way the chairs were split up in three sections surrounding the isle. We had his family on his side, my family on my side and all the freinds in the front section facing the alter. To me the Forum had that "military meeting room" feel ...but to be honest...I had to re-visit the room another night to actually see what it really looked like. I really didn't notice a thing when I walked in the room that day...

 

#4 - The decorations were kept simple in the Forum. Again..just like in the picture. White arrangements, two colums on each side, etc. I will send you a link to my pics once the ole husband finishes posting them.

 

#5 - Food and Drinks...well I only had one drink and 3 shrimp. The husband had one drink and 1 shrimp. There really was no time for us to eat or drink. I will say everyone was in love with the "blue drinks" althought no one knew the name..and everyone LOVED the food. It was alil dressed up for us middle class folks, but once the quest figured out what the food was...they grubbed!

 

#6 - We had 44 sailing (including us), 45 non-sailing.

 

#7 - The ship was nice. I liked that she had her face lift before we sailed on her. This was my 3rd cruise (2nd time being on the smaller class ship) so I knew pretty much what it was going to be like. All the guest were very pleased with her...only two of my guest have sailed before. So if you are new to cruising along with your guest...you'll will love it!

 

#8 - Will definatly post some photos here soon. I am actually eager to show off the great job our photographer did on our pictures.

[maddam_5maria]

No response/no acknowledgment means that TWE "doesn't have to deal with it". Granted, It was a very late request, but a response email alerting you that it simply could not have been done would have been reasonable, and would have left you less dissapointed.....:(

 

I agree...it was late...but like you said...some sort of response would have been nice. I even checked my email when I got back just to see if I got a late response...notta!

 

 

 

Absolutely! is Suzette new or something? Does TWE not train people?

 

I am not sure if she is new or not...but I've read the reviews on these boards regarding TWE personnel. I never remembering seeing the name "Suzette"..so I am guessing she is.

 

 

 

Surprising! This is great tho!

 

I was defiantly surprised! Even with my make-up sweated off, hair frizzed out, or faces red from being super hot...he made us look great! He even had to come fan us a few times with his hands before he snapped shots because we were hot. He did some serious editing! Two of the photographers on the ship mentioned to us that he spent two whole nights in his cabin fooling with our pictures. But, he is the type that LOVED his job...this makes a huge difference. He took all possible courses in Thailand where is lives and can't go any further there with his studies...so his next hitch off he is studying here in America. He is really devoted!

 

 

 

It's great that you guys can have a real sense of humor about all the things that disappointed you. it's also nice how the real memory of your wedding - fiasco's and all - is tied into a great cruise vacation....it tends to smooth things over.

 

I think it's good for you to post an honest review of what went on. It's real, and people need to know that these type of situations happen.

 

We all know that RR/TWE employees read and post on these boards. let's hope that they don't dismiss experiences like yours!

 

Look at it this way - things can only get better!! :D

Congratulations!

 

Having a wonderful cruise after the fact defiantly made a world of difference. Also, our guest enjoyed themselves which was out top priority. We aren't the type of couple that makes it "all about us". We are happy if all our guest are happy...and they were.

I am hoping my honest review helps others. These sorts of things can truly devastate some brides who can't find the sense of humor in everything. This is a HUGE important day to us all and we aren't all built alike.

[maddam_5maria]

My husband posted "some" of our pics on Myspace if you want to take a look. These were all taken by P.C...wonderful guy!

 

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=85803982&albumId=2489425

 

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=85803982&albumId=2489475

 

 

I will include the folder too althought most were taken by us. The 3 pro pics of my daughter in her black and white heart on the panio were taken by our wedding photographer. Believe it or not, these were very hard pics to take. Karisa was throwing a fit pretty much the whole time not wanting to sit still. She is a full blown walker now! Still he managed to work around her fits and get a few good ones.

 

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=85803982&albumId=2489455

[hollidaygal]

What a nightmare! I am so sorry this happened on your wedding day! You should call and complain or at least write a letter. There is no excuse for not knowing boarding procedures for non-sailing and sailing guests! There is no excuse for not putting YOU in the VIP room so you can relax and go over the details of your wedding without having to worry about all your guests and the embarkation chaois. In my opinion, the Groom shouldn't be tucked away, the Bride should. I can't believe they messed up you two not seeing each other!! That is not a hard thing to accomplish. Done it many times. The rehersal should have been done during the 15 - 20 minutes prior to the wedding when the groom and bridal party are suppose to meet the officiant at the ceremony site. Unfortunetly, the vendors (officiants/wedding companies) that TWE hires for all their ports except Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, are the ones in charge of training the W/C's. Sounds like they need some better training in New Orleans!!

 

Again, I am so sorry to hear about the problems you had!

[MarinerBride]

Congratulations - beautiful pictures! I'm sorry about all of the troubles you had, but you're married now, and that's the important part, so it's great that you were able to have a good attitude about everything.

 

On a side note - I didn't even realize that Fantasy was sailing out of New Orleans again! I grew up on the Northshore, so I'd definitely try out a Carnival cruise to be able to sail out of New Orleans.

[maddam_5maria]

What a nightmare! I am so sorry this happened on your wedding day! You should call and complain or at least write a letter. There is no excuse for not knowing boarding procedures for non-sailing and sailing guests! There is no excuse for not putting YOU in the VIP room so you can relax and go over the details of your wedding without having to worry about all your guests and the embarkation chaois. In my opinion, the Groom shouldn't be tucked away, the Bride should. I can't believe they messed up you two not seeing each other!! That is not a hard thing to accomplish. Done it many times. The rehersal should have been done during the 15 - 20 minutes prior to the wedding when the groom and bridal party are suppose to meet the officiant at the ceremony site. Unfortunetly, the vendors (officiants/wedding companies) that TWE hires for all their ports except Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, are the ones in charge of training the W/C's. Sounds like they need some better training in New Orleans!!

 

Again, I am so sorry to hear about the problems you had!

 

We are certainly on the same page...but honestly..I feel that writing a letter would do no good at this point. But they certainly do need more training...I was just amazed by how disorganized it was. I just assumed everything would go super smooth because of all of the positive reviews I've read.

[maddam_5maria]

Congratulations - beautiful pictures! I'm sorry about all of the troubles you had, but you're married now, and that's the important part, so it's great that you were able to have a good attitude about everything.

 

On a side note - I didn't even realize that Fantasy was sailing out of New Orleans again! I grew up on the Northshore, so I'd definitely try out a Carnival cruise to be able to sail out of New Orleans.

 

Thank you for the comment about our pictures!

 

The Fantasy was a fun ship...esp for our family and friends. Most of us are westbank'ers. Of course living only 10mins from the port was the key to choosing the Fantasy...but it really was a laid back ship! It is what we all needed for our vacation.

[hollidaygal]

We are certainly on the same page...but honestly..I feel that writing a letter would do no good at this point. But they certainly do need more training...I was just amazed by how disorganized it was. I just assumed everything would go super smooth because of all of the positive reviews I've read.

 

It is suppose to be super smooth, especially on TWE's end. New Orleans may be out of practice, but that is NO excuse! Again, it stinks and I still think you should write a letter or call. You might not get any compensation (who knows unless you ask) but at least you can express how stressful the staff's lack of knowledge and their disorganization was. If they don't know how things need to improve, they just might not improve. I hope they do!

[JuniperLynn]

Sorry to hear that things did not go as expected, but I'm glad that you and your husband were able to make light of most of it. Your pictures are beautiful! Love your flowers, do you mind if I ask who did them?

[MalibuBarbie]

Your pictures are beautiful! I am sorry that the day didn't flow as planned but being able to laugh at it in the end will make your marriage work!!!! I would definitely write a letter as hollidaygal suggested----it may not do anything for your wedding but it might help the next New Orleans bride;)

Congratulations!

Barbie

[maddam_5maria]

Sorry to hear that things did not go as expected, but I'm glad that you and your husband were able to make light of most of it. Your pictures are beautiful! Love your flowers, do you mind if I ask who did them?

 

The flowers were ordered from Angel Accents. My only complaint on all the flowers was the hair comb. It was just one huge flower (green of all colors) and was barely hot glued onto the extremely cheap clip. The flower popped off when we sat it down on the table so we didn't even bother glueing it back. If it had been orange or maybe a reddish color, we would have re-glued it. Anyhow..it was TOTALLY not worth the $18 I paid for it. Other than that...I liked all the flowers. I even got stopped by the US Customs agent that cleared us when he seen them at the bottom of my stroller when we walked away. He thought they were real. I explained they were fake, even showed him the wire within the green stems..and he still made me go to his superior to have them inspected. He said they looked and felt to real for his taste.