Norwegian Breakaway - Vow Renewal / Wedding - Group Event - June 2, 2013 Review

Introduction

This review will cover our experience planning a group event/vow renewal ceremony with NCL and the staff onboard the Norwegian Breakaway. Our sailing was on June 2nd, 2013. We started planning back in April, 2012 and it has certainly been an interesting 14 months.

Background

The idea was to have a wedding ceremony on a ship at sea, not in a port of call. Since one cannot get legally married out there on the ocean, we decided to do a workaround: Get a marriage license from a court of law and then renew our vows on the ship with guests. Vow renewals are not official ceremonies so you can do them wherever! Today NCL offers a “symbolic wedding” package which is essentially what I would have wanted because it is a unofficial wedding as opposed to a vow renewal which is more suited for couples who have been married a while. At the time, a vow renewal package was the only way to go.

The evolution of NCL's wedding services

Back in 2012, NCL used The Wedding Experience Company to do their wedding events. All I can say about that company is: THEY WERE HORRIBLE! The horror started as soon as you dialed their number and had to sit through a scratchy version of Wagner's Wedding March. Then it continued with the unmotivated employees on the other line. None of them were eager to sell me anything! I had to pull teeth to find out what they offer, I mean dang I was ready to toss all sorts of money at them and they were so uninspired. I told them that we are gay so they did send us the gay version of their wedding package brochure. That is about the only good point I can mention about these people. They had a gay wedding brochure!

We selected the deluxe vow renewal package that ran for about $550. It included an "ideal location onboard", the option for guests to attend, cake for two, sparkling wine in cabin, a dinner for two, I think breakfast in bed, and a little bit flowers. There was the option to purchase other packages such as photography, cake, flowers, DJ, anything to make it as “wedding like” as you want. The thing is, the customer service was really non-existent and the brochure looked dated and graphically messy. It lacked the NCL look and feel. I would say The Wedding Experience gets an “F”

During the long year of waiting, it happens so, that NCL is no longer working with The Wedding Experience and is now teamed up with Royal Ocean Events to do wedding services. I didn't deal much with this new company because closer to the time of the sailing I received notice that NCL is now doing vow renewals in-house while ROE handles only the weddings. They did seem very friendly and helpful over the phone so from the little bit of time spent talking with them, was definitely better than The Wedding Experience.

The new brochure is much more inspired and there are more packages available. Now you can choose if you want to do a wedding on embarkation day, a port of call or at sea (symbolic). The vow renewal packages have also changed. They are now group vow renewals and not private events with guests. Sounds silly to me but at least I got to keep my package “as is” because I booked and paid for it way ahead of time.

NCL Group Events

After a couple of phone calls to NCL, I found out that Group Events is the department dealing with the vow renewals. The first person I spoke with, was able to track down my vow renewal package from the depths of darkness. I asked to confirm the ceremony date and to start planning. She had to check with the ship and then would call me back. Since the ship was still being built and had no staff, it was kind of difficult. After a month I called back then called back and a different person answered. She however, could not find my vow renewal package. At this point my stress levels started rising a little bit. The new ship thing started to get to me and I was frustrated with all the unknowns.

Finally I got a name and number of a representative that a cruise critic recommended. Yay for Jennifer Housley! She was on it, she found my vow renewal package, gave me several options for stuff I can do for the reception, dinner and so on. I asked her if I could bring stuff like an aisle runner, table decorations and a cake topper. I could request a color and flavor for the wedding cake and sent the chef pictures of my cake topper so he could create the cake accordingly. I also learned that 2 wedding pillars, flowers for each pillar, and a boom box would be in the ceremony room. I could bring my own for bridal entrance music and a music mix for the reception. I booked and paid for all the items directly with Jennifer. I would say, working with her was for the most part pleasant. Some phone calls was not returned and a couple email questions did not get answered so I was kind of unhappy about that, but she was at least very friendly and helpful. Her schedule was probably a mess around the launch of the ship so I am not going to give her a hard time. Jennifer gets a "B+"

What we booked

- Vow Renewal Ceremony with 25 guests

- Event location: Atlantic & Pacific Meeting Rooms

- 1 hour of cocktails with hot and cold hors d'oeuvres

- Dinner in La Cucina

- A wedding cake for 25+

- A bottle of Prosecco sparkling wine for each table

- A photographer

- 2 dozen red rose in our cabin (to make our own bouquets)

What we brought onboard

- AIsle runner

- Silk petals for aisle runner

- Cake topper

- Ribbon to make bouquets

- Welcome gift boxes for each cabin (Bermuda book, travel size beauty and hair products, sun blocks, chocolates, mini bottle shots, and little gifts.

- Table favors, one for each guest

- Table decorations (glass stones and shells)

- Branded cocktail napkins

- A CD with entrance music and an hour's worth of music for the cocktail reception.

- Signature board

Embarkation Day - June 2, 2013

My parents took care of half of our cargo by taking the welcome boxes on board. The boxes were delivered to all the cabins before most people boarded. Most of the cabins were on deck 14, and with the help of deck 14's supervisor, my mother (Momzilla) was able to distribute them easily and hassle free. The guests loved it! Each cabin also received a bottle of wine, chocolate covered strawberries and a free 8x10 photograph. Those extras were perks for being a cruise group. Another perk for the cruise group was a second cocktails event on the last night of the cruise. So our guests got some love from NCL and us.

Going through security with our hoards of stuff wasn't hard at all. I packed everything in bright fun bags so it didn't look suspicious and was easy for them to go through if they wanted to.

The Rehearsal of Doom!

Shortly after departure a handful of us went to the meeting rooms get a feel of the space and do a little rehearsing. There we also met the event planner for the first time. The rehearsal is a great way to scope things out and meet with the event planer to go over the program and understand the process.

I have to be honest, when I walked into that room the first time, it was quite the buzz kill. There was no color, no windows, nothing inspiring about it all… While everyone was trying to convince me and the other angry bride, that it wasn’t that bad, I just reduced to tears. It wasn't the small size that bothered me as much as the look and feel. How was it going to be a wedding at sea, if there is no clue about a ship or the ocean? The conference room gets an "F" Well now, it will be very nice for meetings and business events so I'll give it a "C"

Ettiene Saladin, the very friendly event planner tried to get us a different room, but the reality was, we were at sea, the ship is full of needy passengers, 4000 of them. There just aren’t many options when you have a ship full of people looking for entertainment. This is one of the drawbacks of getting married at sea. I suspect when the ship is in a port of call, many passengers leave the ship and allows for more spaces to become available.

So with that said, we were pretty much stuck with the meeting rooms. We wiped off the little tears and rehearsed. To add a little color to the room, my parents worked with Saladin to arrange for a backdrop or display of some sort. The photography department agreed to let us have the display used on embarkation day, the one with the Breakaway in the water with NY in the background. It was a great solution. Saladin gets an “A+” for his effort, attentiveness and friendly attitude.

Laundry Service and Wedding Dresses

Before we boarded, I called NCL to find out the Breakaway's laundry capabilities. The dude on the other line was clueless so that call didn't last long at all. I asked a couple of cruise critics about it and they suggested that I should rather get married in a wrinkled dress than risk them screwing it up. Well dang, I'd rather show up naked than get married in a wrinkled dress. I purchased a travel steamer to do it myself.

On board we met deck 14’s supervisor in the hallway and I asked him for a pole or something to hang the dresses on so that i can steam them. He suggested that we use Laundry Services to press it. For $12 we were able to get 2 wedding dresses pressed!

The dresses came back beautifully wrinkle free! Yay, laundry room gets an "A+" for doing such a great job and delivering our dresses to our cabin in a timely fashion.

The Big Day, June 3, 2013

The Spa

Mom and the brides needed some beautification for this special day so we meandered into the spa for hair and makeup. The prices for the makeup were rather high and it wasn't necessarily more labor than the hair, which was half that amount. The spa was very clean and the staff very friendly and they did a great job. I give the spa a “B” only because the prices for makeup were just too high.

The Ceremony

Once the conference room was filled up with my beautiful guests, all wearing blue, and the pretty display with a handsome senior staff member in front of it, it looked really nice! The little table with some roses between the two wedding pillars worked out fine. The table was a last minute addition and the 2 roses was a nice little touch. It was evident that the staff cared to make it nice for us, and they treated us very well.

The vows were very beautifully presented and it lasted the right amount of time. The senior staff member who did the ceremony was very nervous but smiled a lot and had a pleasant vibe. The vows were like wedding vows, with the rings portion and everything. We were smiling the whole time! The ceremony gets an “A+++”

Photography

Wow, I love me some Carley the photographer! She did an amazing job with the photos and you can tell she was passionate about her work. While we were getting ready, she took the time to take pictures of our rings and ring box in various compositions. Before the ceremony she took a couple of shots of us on the atrium steps. She took her time, staging us, making sure the dresses flowed nicely over the stairs and so on. On our way to the ceremony, she took some shots of us walking through the art gallery. She took many beautiful pictures of the ceremony and then of the group on the atrium steps again. After the ceremony she stayed a little bit at the cocktail reception to take more fun photos of everybody having a good time. Carley gets an “A++++++” for being truly fun to work with and her beautiful work.

Cocktail Party

While we were busy taking pictures of the group in the atrium, the staff transformed the conference room into a cocktail club. It was complete with tall cocktail tables, chairs around the wall, a dim light setting and our music CD playing in the background. Servers walked around with trays full of yummy cocktails and wines. Others walked around with trays full of delicious hors d'oeuvres and dips. I supplied them with my own cocktail napkins to bring my wedding colors and style into the scene. The vibe was fun and everybody was happy. The party gets an “A” for overall fun energy and friendly staff. Guests were not able to order their own drinks because the room didn’t have a bar, but they seemed to have enjoyed what was served and they got tipsy, so who cares?

The Dinner at La Cucina

The maitre d' and staff of La Cucina were really into it. Initially we were going to eat on the boardwalk but the weather decided otherwise so the staff reserved our tables inside and made sure no other guest on the ship sits in that prime location. Momzilla went ahead of time to set up the table favors and decorate the tables a little bit with my shells and glass stones. We didn’t mess with the design of their tables too much because it was pretty enough. The maitre d’ got really creative by rolling the menus up and inserting them in the loops of the table favor bag strings. She also went to Le Bistro to grab a menu board to attach my signature board to so that it will be easy to pass around and write on.

I didn’t eat anything but according to my guests, the food was really good. Unfortunately, I did not book the photographer for dinner and I also forgot to give my camera to a guest to take a couple of shots, so I don’t really have photos of the dinner portion of the event.

After dinner, the wedding cake was brought out and the restaurant staff sang to us. I will admit that a little bit of tears rolled down my cheeks. I give the La Cucina and the staff an “A++” for their creativity and making us feel very special.

The Cakes

Like I mentioned earlier, I could specify a color and flavor for the wedding cake. I requested turquoise or a deep ocean blue. Well I will be honest, the cake was a bust. Firstly, NCL charges per person when they price out their cakes. Weird. Anyway I assume any wedding cake costs a lot of money so the price doesn’t really bother me, but I think the cake I got wasn’t worth that much money. Secondly, the color of the cake was light blue, a very uninspired baby blue. Lastly, it tasted kind of regular, like it wasn’t a yummy cake, just an OK cake.

Not many guests had enough room for cake, so we had a half eaten baby blue wedding cake in our cabin for the rest of the week lol! But that is not all, we also had a personal cake for 2. This cake was a white and smaller version of the big blue cake. So we had 2 cakes sitting in our cabin all week.

Not done yet, at Le Bistro for our complementary dinner for 2, we got surprised with a third cake! So yes, we had a total of 3 cakes. The third cake was very yummy and pretty though. The wedding cakes get a “B” Okayness and Le Bistro’s cake gets an “A” for being that extra little pleasant surprise presented to us by a very friendly waitress.

Second Cocktails Party

On the last night of our cruise, the group gathered again for one more party. This time the event took place in the Bliss Lounge so that was a very fun room to be in. We could order at the bar and servers walked around with trays of yummy hors d'oeuvres. The Bliss cocktail party gets an “A+” for atmosphere, friendly servers and a really fun time.

Conclusion

Overall, we had a wonderful time on the Breakaway. The Breakaway onboard staff provided excellent service and lots of smiles. We got a shout out from the DJ at Spice H2O’s Norwegians Night Out party, which was on the same night as the ceremony. The waitress at Le Bistro did a sweet gesture by drawing hearts on our crème brûlée. Our cabin steward put up with a lot of messy cake while being quite a pleasant room attendant. We needed to dry clean and sew one wedding dress after the other bride exploded out of her dress at dinner! Yay for the onboard tailor and laundry services for getting our dresses ready for a photoshoot in Bermuda!

I would say, despite the limitations, we had a wonderful time renewing our vows in front of our guests while the ship was slowly rocking as she sailed the ocean. It was magic and I would recommend it to other couples. I give the overall experience an “A” for Awesomeness and a dream come true.

Congrats !!!! Your pictures are beautiful !!!! Everyone looks so happy.... :) So happy your dream came true....Best of luck,health and happiness...

Your review is wonderful...:)

Awesome!

Lovely photos hope you don't mind me asking but how much were you for your hair and make up we are on the POA in a few weeks and renewing our wedding vows on shore but I would like my hair and make up done and this is the first post I have found relating to this.

Thanks Judith

Lovely photos hope you don't mind me asking but how much were you for your hair and make up we are on the POA in a few weeks and renewing our wedding vows on shore but I would like my hair and make up done and this is the first post I have found relating to this.

 

Thanks Judith

Hy Judy

Makeup $75

Hair $35

I would say the spa prices are high but getting pampered for something that special is very nice :)

Wishing the very best to both of you!

Thanks for such a well-written report.

Glad I was able to help with some suggestions before the cruise.

We took some photos of you on the stairs.

Love the beach pictures!

Carley is a very special, talented, & delightful person.

Delighted it all turned out so well.

Sheila

Congratulations!!! I love the picture of the two of you in the water. You both sound like delightful people and I wish you many years of happiness.

Momzilla here: She said it all. It was a wonderful experience and we feel blessed to have shared it with them and the rest of the family and friends. NCL came through big time.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Congratulations!!!

Me and DH want to renew our vows for our 10 yr (not for another 3 yrs though) so thank you for all of the info.

All of the pictures are beautiful but the ones at the beach/in the water are amazing!! Wishing you both many happy healthy years together :)

That was beautiful! I have tears in my eyes! I hope you both have a wonderful life together!

Gorgeous pictures! I'm sorry everything wasn't perfect for you, but thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. Wishing you a lifetime of love & happiness!

Sent from my iPhone using the Cruise Critic App

Hy Judy

 

Makeup $75

Hair $35

 

I would say the spa prices are high but getting pampered for something that special is very nice :)

Hi

Thanks for your reply just need to find out if POA does makeup as I've been quoted $390 for myself and daughter from someone onshore although we both want our hair up and she will supply fresh flowers for our hair as well.

I'm so glad you were able to get your dresses pressed on board. The photo in the water is great.

Judith

Wishing the very best to both of you!

 

Thanks for such a well-written report.

 

Glad I was able to help with some suggestions before the cruise.

 

We took some photos of you on the stairs.

 

Love the beach pictures!

 

Carley is a very special, talented, & delightful person.

 

Delighted it all turned out so well.

 

Sheila

Thanks to Sheila, we were able to work with Jennifer. It shows you what cruise critic members can do for each other. Support and suggestions, advice, understanding frustrations, that is priceless. Thanks again Sheila.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Congratulations! :D

Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Congratulations!! Enjoyed reading your review. Loved the picture of you both in the water. Much happiness!!!

Congratulations to you both. What a great review.

Congratulations! Thank you for your detailed review and sharing your photos! Looks like it as a wonderful, special time!

Very nice! I have to ask, what did you do with two very soaked bridal gowns after the Bermuda picture shoot? :eek: I am guessing straight back to the laundry facility ASAP. :)

Well done review and great photos. Thanks for sharing!

Very nice! I have to ask, what did you do with two very soaked bridal gowns after the Bermuda picture shoot? :eek: I am guessing straight back to the laundry facility ASAP. :)

Those gowns were very delicate so they are pretty much ruined. :).i washed all the sand and salt off, hung them over the balcony chairs to dry. Now they are hanging in my basement, not sure what I want to do with them. Can't use them but also can't throw them away :(.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Those gowns were very delicate so they are pretty much ruined. :).i washed all the sand and salt off, hung them over the balcony chairs to dry. Now they are hanging in my basement, not sure what I want to do with them. Can't use them but also can't throw them away :(.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Well, they are very pretty gowns and your Bermuda photos are amazing. :) I certainly can understand you not being able to toss them. Thank you for sharing your adventure. Best Wishes!

Congratulations on your wedding... the pictures are beautiful and I love that you wore your wedding dresses in the ocean!

Best wishes for many anniversary celebrations (perhaps at sea?) in your future!

Thank you for your great review. It was very informative and again you both looked fantastic!! Where did you get the welcome aboard sheets and wedding program I love the ideas and am interested in them. Congrats again! I'm sooo getting excited for November since these reviews are coming out!