first time cruiser and a wedding!

[Vickster9]

Hi everyone!

I am hoping to get some help here!! I will be a first time cruiser (along with the majority of our friends and family) and I am planning a destination wedding. I have sooo many questions!

 

We are thinking of taking a cruise to Bermuda and getting married on the beach at one of the resorts. I'm been doing some research on cruise critic and i keep coming across Coca Reef Resort and Elbow Beach Resort. Does anyone have any comments or recommendations in regards to these hotels and/or wedding planners at the resorts?

 

SInce I haven't been on a cruise I don't know which cruiseline to take!! I am thinking Carnival or Royal Caribbean but I am not sure which one to pick. Quality food is high on my priority list and also because we are asking our friends and family to come away with us we also would like it to be somewhat affordable. Again, I've been reading on cruise critic and I hear that carnival has better food and royal has better ships and not so good food and not a good selection of the food. is the food really that bad?

 

I'm been in touch with a travel agent about 4 weeks ago and i've called twice and she says she will be sending me information but still nothing. Would i be better off just calling the cruiselines myself or sticking with the travel agent? my concern at this time is getting my save the dates out but first I have to pick a date!!!!!!!! we are hoping for late june or sometime in july--just because we are, and the majority of our family and friends are teachers!

 

sorry this is so long i just have no idea how to even start this! should i pick a date and then wait a few months before the departure date for our guests to book their cruise? do they make the reservations themselves? there will be about 40 people coming with us, between the ages of 20 and 60. just looking for a ship that goes to bermuda, nice, affordable, lot's of onboard entertainment, and quality food and service!! hope that's not asking too much!!our families haven't been on vacation in years so we are hoping this will be a nice time for everyone!!

 

thanks for any and all help, advice, recommendations, tips!!

THanks everyone!:)

~Vicky

[janabm81]

Vicky,

 

I would first compare the cruises you are interested in and find out the differences in the ports, what dates are open and what not. Then decide on The One ship you want to cruise on. Yes, you want your friends and family to have a good time but it's more important that YOU have a good time. No matter what line you choose or how much you plan you're going to find that you can't make it perfect for every one but as long as you are happy you'll find that nothing else matters.

 

Some facts to help:

Carnival has bigger staterooms & better food but depending on what the age of the ship you sail on you may find the decor either Las Vegas like or older/run down. The newer the ships are a lot bigger than the older ones and have a lot of updated high tech stuff that comes with it (movie screen at the pool).Also, carnival is often times more laid back as far as the dress code goes. Finally, Carnival is less expensive than Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean has smaller rooms but I personally like their bathrooms better(layout seems better) also they have a more toned down "elegant" decor. The food is NOT bad it's just not 5star quality. Once again pick your ship wisely, if you know that you want a more intimate experience where by the end of the week the staff knows your name go on a ship below the freedom class, but if you want a ship where you know you'll NEVER run out of new things to do choose a Freedom class or higher.

 

Hope all of this help!!!

[6rugrats]

There is a Wedding forum here and you may want to post your questions there.

 

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

[cb at sea]

DO let your guests book their own arrangements....you have too much to do to worry about them! And, should something go wrong (and it will, trust me on that!!), they can't blame you, since they are making their own plans.

Definitely go with a TA--they can handle all the minute details...just tell them when, and what ship, and they should handle it all for you.

[eggypann]

If you were in touch with a TA FOUR weeks ago and you still have nothing to show for it, I'd find a new TA. You should be able to find a company that specializes in cruises. A month with no action on the TA's part means she doesn't want your business very badly and I'm sure you can find someone who does.

 

Good luck!!

[Donder1]

Just consider that weather, wind, port issues can cause a ship not to dock. We missed St. Kitts (too windy) and Mallorca ?never knew why (we were diverted to Malta). I say this because if you want a ceremony on a beach, you might do better going to a resort for a week rather than taking a cruise. OR get married in the chapel on board. Princess has a lovely chapel and the captain does the ceremony. Best wishes. We hope to be married soon, too.

[Fredr]

hello,

 

Get married on the ship and look at Princess. I say this because of transportation, that is, you and everyone else in the wedding, guests and so on will have to be transported to and from the ship.

 

And Captains are really good at this.

 

Princess is an excellent all around cruise line with ships that have something for everyone. Further, you will have a wedding coordinator on board to help with everything

[kitty9]

One thing to realize is, when you take a cruise and want to get married off the ship, you could run into any number of problems. Weather will be your major concern. If there are any weather problems that force the ship to change it's itinerary at the last minute, you could be in for a missed wedding. Ports are skipped more than many people realize. If anything goes wrong on the ship, including weather, sick or injured passenger or other unforeseen problems, you could find yourself missing the port and ruining your wedding. These are just a couple of things you need to understand before planning an off ship wedding. My advice is to get married ON the ship and then take your family and friends for a great lunch on the island. That way, if your chosen island is skipped, you can still be married.

[trish1c]

The wedding forum will be your best bet. Each cruise line has different proceedures but if you are getting married on board you have to supply your own officiant. The captain won't / can't do it anymore. You do get a coordinator to help you but you probably won't be the only bride.

Remember also that the cruise line can change your itinerary at it's discretion. I was just talking to somebody about a bride who had everything planned for Bermuda but due to a hurricane, the ship went to Canada instead & the couple missed their own wedding. She was all over the news a few years ago ranting & raving.

Finally one of my former secretaries did this & she said it was awful. After the ceremony, all of her wedding guests including both sets of parents were now on their HM. She & her new husband never got a moment alone.

[Travelcat2]

If you were in touch with a TA FOUR weeks ago and you still have nothing to show for it, I'd find a new TA. You should be able to find a company that specializes in cruises. A month with no action on the TA's part means she doesn't want your business very badly and I'm sure you can find someone who does.

 

Good luck!!

 

I agree with you 100%. There are some wonderful TA's out there. Make sure you look for one who specializes in cruising (online TA's are just fine -- just checkthem out). They should be able to answer EVERY question (if they don't know the answer immediately, they will know how to get the answer and should get back to you within 24 hours).

 

I also agree that you can't make everyone happy. Do your best and make sure that you and your future husband have your dream wedding.

[sunseeker09]

Good points mentioned above. Not to knock a beach wedding on a fabulous port island, but I think a wedding on a beach when in port for just a day would be a lot harder to arrange than a DW while staying at a resort for a week. You'd have to organize everything yourself. Plus there's no risk of missing your port. If you do, what about all those plans... and deposits. Yikes. I certainly wouldn't plan on one in hurricane season. If you want a beach wedding I think it would suck to be stuck in some ship's chapel. You may as well be at home in that case. I mean really, what the difference?

We had our beach DW at an AI resort in Jamaica. It was amazing. We had a DW TA who gave us a package rate (charter - air and resort package) and then everyone we invited who decided to come booked themselves through her. The wedding package was free except for a few extras we wanted. The resort WC took care of everything for no extra charge. Seriosuly, she was awesome. We got married in the morning and had time for photos on the beach, cake and champagne in the garden, an afternoon cat cruise (included in resort cost), dinner and right into the evening with no worries of anyone "missing the boat". There are DW forums for more info in case you want to consider a land based beach DW instead.