Compare and Contrast (Weddings on Different Lines)

[cruisegirl06]

I am recently engaged and we are looking at cruise weddings. We would love to do a Europe cruise or transatlantic in about a year (the prices are AMAZING right now!). We aren't dead set on a cruise line, and I am wondering what advice you all can offer regarding weddings on the various lines. Are the ceremonies on some lines: better, more intimate, more affordable, easier to customize, etc. We are looking to keep ceremony costs down as much as possible, but we also want to make sure it is nice and a reflection of us.

 

Finally, it looks like TWE arranges the ceremonies for most lines, can anyone offer advice on working with them? Are they easy to get a hold of, friendly, helpful, and most importantly well-organized? I am looking for a very simple wedding, with minimal extras, so it seems like it should be fairly easy (but, we'll see:)).

 

Thanks so much!

[vannagreen]

Hi and welcome to CC!

 

I would suggest looking at the thread called "Official Cruise photos" to get an idea of what the weddings are like.

 

If you are interested in getting married while "at sea" by the captain there are only a few cruise lines that are legally allowed to do so. However you could still have an un-official ceremony on any line... I think. So if you wanted to do a transatantic, you would have to go with Princess or one of the more exclusie lines....

 

On most of the major lines, the prices and options are about the same...and all are highly customizable!

 

Happy planning!

[flhokie]

We did an at sea wedding on Princess and were pleased. Most of the cruise lines will have many trans-Atlantic and Europe sailings, except Carnival (they pulled their ship that was scheduled to spend the entire season there and now they will do a very limited amount in Europe with their new ship before she sails across the Atlantic). As another poster said, if you want to do your wedding at sea you are limited on cruiselines--Princess (and I believe Celebrity is now doing them).

 

I would find a cruise that you really want to do. Check with TWE on availability for weddings on that cruise and any requirements for marriage in that location (it's easier to get a marriage license in some places than others). You have to book your cruise before you can book the wedding, but you want to make sure that it is possible to get married where you want to first.

 

Good Luck!

[11/23/08wedding]

I am recently engaged and we are looking at cruise weddings. We would love to do a Europe cruise or transatlantic in about a year (the prices are AMAZING right now!). We aren't dead set on a cruise line, and I am wondering what advice you all can offer regarding weddings on the various lines. Are the ceremonies on some lines: better, more intimate, more affordable, easier to customize, etc. We are looking to keep ceremony costs down as much as possible, but we also want to make sure it is nice and a reflection of us.

 

Finally, it looks like TWE arranges the ceremonies for most lines, can anyone offer advice on working with them? Are they easy to get a hold of, friendly, helpful, and most importantly well-organized? I am looking for a very simple wedding, with minimal extras, so it seems like it should be fairly easy (but, we'll see:)).

 

Thanks so much!

 

First you really need to decide where you want to get married and go from there. Then find out how many people will be sailing or not. We got married on the Conquest out of Galveston. We had the wedding in port because a lot of our guests couldn't afford a 7 day cruise, but that was ok with us. Carnival and TWE were VERY easy to work with. You are limited in some ways when you have a wedding cruise but they are very willing to do what they can to make your day special. My son is 8 and we really wanted him to feel like he was a special part in the wedding and TWE was awesome! Also we had special readings that we wanted and they were more than willing to do it for us! However if there are somethings you can't live without then a cruise wedding may not be for you.

 

We found that Carnival was the best price for what we wanted. We had a really great time!

 

Congrats and good luck!

 

By the way I hear the Carnival Dream is the amazing new ship, if I could have gotten married on there I would have!

[groom2B]

Hey There!

 

When we began planning our wedding, we booked our cruise onboard Princess Cruise Lines because they were the best costed ones to do the wedding at sea. We were super excited...

 

Then they cancelled our wedding on us. I guess they're repositioning their ship after April and even though there was about 9 of us booked, they didn't bother to contact us nor our cruise agent and tell us that they had cancelled our cruise. Could you imagine it? If our groomsman didn't attempt to book when he did, we'd have never known that our cruise was cancelled. Phooey!

 

We were both big fans of Royal Caribbean, and the only reason that we didn't book RC in the first place was that they didn't do the wedding at sea. In the end, we went back to them anyway! We're happy with our choice and are looking forward to our wedding even more!

 

We decided that Carnival was too... party-ish for us. If you're looking for a constant party the whole week, Carnival is the place to go. Holland America seems to be the "older" person selection... Celebrity is a little bit more expensive. Royal Caribbean is a happy medium between party and relaxation! That's just our perception!

 

Good luck with everything! :)

[PrettyHazardous]

I think a big part of it as groom stated is what your focus is outside of the wedding. We are younger (25 and 30) and although we aren't the biggest partiers you'll ever meet we love the fun party atmosphere of Carnival. Also based on the price we decided that Carnival was best for us (as well as our group). However we are not getting married on the ship at all. I read ab TWE horror stories and decided that I wasn't interested in that hassle. So we decided to work with Janelle Scott of Island Bliss. We've only we working with her for a little over a week but she's been great thus far.

[horsingaround]

I was just married on the Carnival Glory in November and Loved it. The wedding was great and the reception / food was wonderful. When I first started planning, all I knew was I wanted a "cruise wedding" and I attempted to get information from 4 cruise lines - Carnival, Princess, Norwegien and RCI. Only 2 responded Carnival and RCI. For the money, Carnival's packages seemed to include a lot more for a lot less cost than RCI. We went on a 'test' cruise on RCI which left me with a bad impression about their service, and my fiancee stated he'd never sail with them again so - they were out.

 

For my wedding, I ended up working directly with the Carnival coordinator. I never talked to anyone at TWE through the whole thing, but my Carnival coordinator was great. We were married in Port because a lot of guests were non-sailing.

 

I know others have had great weddings with other cruise lines. I know I would recommend Carnival - especially on the Glory! You do give up a lot when it comes to photography, reception styles/locations, etc - but I loved the simplicity of it.

 

Congratulations on you're upcomming wedding. Good luck in you're planning!

[jdybnsn]

Just wanted to throw another idea in.......

 

We were going to be married through the Disney Cruise Line, however after much research we found it was far cheaper and gave us more flexibility/variety, to organise our own wedding through an independent wedding planner on one of the islands we were due to visit. By doing this we found we could have the wedding as simple, or as elaborate as we wanted, with our own requirements, personalised details etc. thrown in (or left out as the case may be).

 

So we had the exact wedding we wanted, had a longer wedding day experience (most cruise weddings are only a couple of hours of cruise time) and for a fraction of the cost....whilst still getting married during our cruise!

 

This type of independent cruise wedding may not suit everyone, but its worth looking at, especially if "ticking boxes from the list options available" (which is what most cruise ship weddings by necessity comprise of) is not your kind of thing. :)