Renewing wedding vows on Half Moon Cay?

[Sharon Le]

Has anyone ever renewed their wedding vows on the island of half moon cay? My DH and I just LOVE that island and would be so happy to renew our vows maybe in the chapel or wherever they would be willing to do it on the island.

[lazey1]

I also would be interested in a description from anyone who has done this.

[6rugrats]

Has anyone ever renewed their wedding vows on the island of half moon cay? My DH and I just LOVE that island and would be so happy to renew our vows maybe in the chapel or wherever they would be willing to do it on the island.

 

Google is your friend:

 

http://book.hollandamerica.com/onboard/wedding-cruises

[Typhoon1]

The chapel is a beautiful place to renew your vows.

 

Unfortunately, I never see anyone using it.

[hal lover]

I was so delighted to witness another couple renew their vows on HMC. They did it on the sand by the water. It was lovely!

[Sharon Le]

Google is your friend:

 

http://book.hollandamerica.com/onboard/wedding-cruises

 

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE WEB-SITE!! You never know until you ask. I'm so excited!!

[samikitty]

We surprised our parents with a HMC renewal of vows ceremony for their 50th on the Zuiderdam last spring. I can tell you it is a little disorganized, and one of the lesser known renewal locations. Ship Services on land would not help me reserve, and would not let me schedule [reserve] the ceremony until we were onboard. So, on the first day I went to the pursers office and got it all arranged. The cost was also a little confusing as the onboard prices were different from the online prices. The purser was glad to give it to me for the online price as soon as I showed her the printout from the HAL website.

 

So, that was the hard part... getting it booked. The rest was handled very well! The onboard pastor called my room mid-week and we had a quick chat about my parents, where they were from, and any special requests for the ceremony. He did a terrific job! I spoke with the pursers office again the day before HMC and they arranged a meeting place to go ashore with the pastor. We were a fairly large group (about 20 of us).

 

When we got the HMC, we were escorted to the chapel, which was minimally decorated (fresh flowers on the alter, and a few other decorations). One of the ship photographers was there as well. After a few minutes getting organized, the pastor lead a short and sweet ceremony.

 

There was a very nice assortment of hors d'œuvres and more champagne then you could imagine! After the ceremony, the waiter popped the corks on the champagne, and we had a nice time eating hors d'œuvres, drinking champagne, and listening to the island music on the boombox they provided. They were also very good about "shooing" away other passengers who were just strolling around the chapel letting everyone know it was a private event.

 

All together, we had the chapel for about an hour from setup and ceremony to the time they packed up the Hors d'œuvres and champagne. Again, this was a big group, so there was probably more food and drink then if it was for 2. We had 4 bottles of champagne leftover that were not even uncorked, and the waiter handed them to me to take to dinner later in the week.

 

After we packed up from the chapel, the photographer took a few pictures in front of the chapel with my parents, and then with the whole group. The next night, my parents received a copy of one of the prints in a nice frame in their room.

 

Overall, money well spent, and one of the highlights of the cruise!

[Sharon Le]

Sounds really special. I love Half Moon Cay so much. I think renewing our vows on this island will be an unforgettable memory!!!! :)

[norcal2]

My understanding is that you have a fairly good possibility of not making it onto HMC if the weather is poor so have a backup plan as well. Sounds like a wonderful idea though.

[Sharon Le]

Yes...I have thought about that because on our last cruise we did not get to go to Half Moon Cay and I was VERY disaappointed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!! Thanks!

[TMJplus1]

We surprised our parents with a HMC renewal of vows ceremony for their 50th on the Zuiderdam last spring. I can tell you it is a little disorganized, and one of the lesser known renewal locations. Ship Services on land would not help me reserve, and would not let me schedule [reserve] the ceremony until we were onboard. So, on the first day I went to the pursers office and got it all arranged. The cost was also a little confusing as the onboard prices were different from the online prices. The purser was glad to give it to me for the online price as soon as I showed her the printout from the HAL website.

 

So, that was the hard part... getting it booked. The rest was handled very well! The onboard pastor called my room mid-week and we had a quick chat about my parents, where they were from, and any special requests for the ceremony. He did a terrific job! I spoke with the pursers office again the day before HMC and they arranged a meeting place to go ashore with the pastor. We were a fairly large group (about 20 of us).

 

When we got the HMC, we were escorted to the chapel, which was minimally decorated (fresh flowers on the alter, and a few other decorations). One of the ship photographers was there as well. After a few minutes getting organized, the pastor lead a short and sweet ceremony.

 

There was a very nice assortment of hors d'œuvres and more champagne then you could imagine! After the ceremony, the waiter popped the corks on the champagne, and we had a nice time eating hors d'œuvres, drinking champagne, and listening to the island music on the boombox they provided. They were also very good about "shooing" away other passengers who were just strolling around the chapel letting everyone know it was a private event.

 

All together, we had the chapel for about an hour from setup and ceremony to the time they packed up the Hors d'œuvres and champagne. Again, this was a big group, so there was probably more food and drink then if it was for 2. We had 4 bottles of champagne leftover that were not even uncorked, and the waiter handed them to me to take to dinner later in the week.

 

After we packed up from the chapel, the photographer took a few pictures in front of the chapel with my parents, and then with the whole group. The next night, my parents received a copy of one of the prints in a nice frame in their room.

 

Overall, money well spent, and one of the highlights of the cruise!

 

Thanks so much for your very detailed description! We, too, are planning to renew our vows at HMC and I am now looking more forward to it than ever. :)

[Typhoon1]

My understanding is that you have a fairly good possibility of not making it onto HMC if the weather is poor so have a backup plan as well. Sounds like a wonderful idea though.

 

20% of cruises are unable to make the stop.

 

80% do, so your odds are actually quite good.

[Sharon Le]

Does anyone know if the ship rents out tropical wedding attire? If not do you know of a shop near Ft. Lauderdale that has the white cotton casual attire?