Allure Wedding May 12 2013

Sorry I have not been on the boards. Life has been good crazy.

I
Skimmed thru trying to catch up and I do not think there is anything I can add.

Now that a few months have passed and I look back. I would do nothing different. I love that I had an RCCL wedding. It was amazing. My family's review has all been positive I only wish I could do it all over again.

I had a family member video tape the ceremony and finally got to see it a month ago. It was great to see it from the outside. You miss sooo much as it is taking place.

Wish I could figure out how to post pictures on this thread. Sorry.

Hey CCSI,


Our benefit was the cost of a free cabin but we were given the same choices are you. Our group would not really care for the free bottle of champagne. We actually knew about the credit when we first decided to have a cruise wedding and planned to use it for a free cabin because my future hubby mom does not work and we would have to pay for her cabin so we gave it to her! I think we have a little bit left over for onboard credit (100.00) we going to use it to help pay for a day in atlantis probably.

We live in Canada so we are flying down our whole group lives in canada except two people coming from newyork. I have a friend who does hair she is coming to the wedding so she willl do my hair same with make-up! Called in all the favours from friends.

My biggest problem right now is that everyone thinks my wedding is free did you encounter this? WHYYYY WHHYY do they think my wedding is free i dont know LOL Edited September 9, 2013 by lightskinedgyal

Haha, I do not know about people thinking it is free... but everyone certainly comments on how cheap and easy it all is going to be! Granted we could do things to modify our costs, do a renewal and get married on land before hand instead of at sea, select a less exciting sailing, not be treating certain people in our family (come on booking 16 cabins :P), but in the end I am sure it will be worth it.

Well, that is strange they think the wedding is free. My wedding reception Luncheon ended up costing $66/person when you add the welcome drink! That is NOT CHEAP! It is cheaper than many venues and for the price of that kind of luncheon quality, it is very inexpensive! I planned my daughter's wedding and spent much more for a beach wedding. Lovely and a bit more expensive, without the quality of food.

We chose this venue because of it is really close to planning free compared to a local wedding, and you just can't beat being able to take off to your honeymoon destination hours after the wedding. For those who are getting married while sailing, I really wanted to do that, but my in-laws would not be there and that just would not work for me. I wanted as many family in attendance as possible.

Maybe your family thinks its a perk of the group.

Vivalaparte,
My sister asked me if I would have changed anything after the wedding was over. I knew what I was getting. I read the boards, asked lots of questions, watched a wedding on youtube, talked with people who went to weddings on cruise ships. We investigated what we wanted. We loved our wedding and would not change anything except have them turn up the volume on the CD player and pay for the extra hour of the photographer.

Just remembered something we really enjoyed. We registered with RC bridal registry. Anything that is purchased will be waiting for you on your shipboard account and when you enter your stateroom your gifts are waiting for you as a wedding gift announcements. It was a nice surprise to see how much money we had to spend that was not coming out of our pockets. A wonderful way to start the cruise. Some people will not like doing that, others will really like that they could be a part of giving you some money to spend on your cruise.

Its a nice alternative gift for couples who have established households as some of you do. We certainly appreciated it and gave us more freedom on our cruise.

Does anyone know the name of the company Royal Carribean works with for the wedding planning? I cannot remember the name of the company they use for the decorations, flowers etc.
Please help!

Thank you!

Im sorry i forget :( we are bringing everything ourselves

I don't remember or don't think I ever knew a specific name of the company. Did you get a call from them already?? You should have someone's name soon and their cell phone number.

OMG im leaving in ten days!!! whoo whoo! LOL

Oh, I am so excited for you!!!! Do you have everything ready?

Yes packed and ready to go I am lucky to have great support so we got everything done early also I had 18 months lol


Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Edited October 17, 2013 by lightskinedgyal

[quote name='lightskinedgyal']Yes packed and ready to go I am lucky to have great support so we got everything done early also I had 18 months lol


Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app[/QUOTE]

Ack! So exciting!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

So glad you had us going before you to help you.

Yes you were all such great help!


Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

I have just finished reviewing this thread - so informative, thank you all! I'm booked next May on the Allure for a vow renewal. We do not know exactly how many guests we will have.

When the Royal Romance rep took my initial payment over the phone she said that I should not worry about the availability of my preferred venue for reception, photography etc. as they "[I]only allow maximum 3 weddings or vow renewals per sailing[/I]". That does not sound like much on a big ship like the Allure and on a 7-day sailing. When we got married on the Emerald Princess they allowed 3 weddings on embarkation day alone and as many as they could during the rest of the cruise!

So has anyone else heard this? Could be a new policy as I booked just a few days ago? Hmmm...

Hi Princess, RCCL took over their Royal Wedding in house in 2012 so it may be as a result of that change. There have even been changes since then. Flodogmassage and I signed contracts during the change over and our contracts were still under the old contracts, but RCCL management. The new girls on the board here are under the new contracts, so there could be new rules about how many weddings per sailing.

I don't agree with the Wedding Planner. There can be a problem with your choice of venue because there may be other ceremonies taking place and the largest group gets the chapel! Now, of course, there can be two ceremonies on embarkation day in the chapel I think and still have a reception as long as one is a two hour reception and the other a one hour reception. The timing works backward. If you are only having an hour reception, the guests leaving the ship need to start getting off at 3:00 (its actually 2:45) so you need to start the renewal at 1:30 no later. That means that another wedding can happen before you. If you want a two hour reception, than you must start at 12:30. That is what we did. There is definitely some scrambling to get there on time, but we did it.

However, there does not seem to be too many brides getting married on RCCL, they usually go to Carnival because its cheaper.

I love RCCL, had many more positive reviews about RCCL anyway. The Allure is amazing!!! They really have a beautiful lunch buffet reception! It was decorated lovely and the food was better than the main dining room. The flowers they provide are very nice and last the entire cruise as decor in your stateroom. So, you may not have any problems getting the venue you desire. Hope this helps.

Its getting close and you may not get on this thread again. I just wanted to wish you a wonderful wedding and happy cruise!!! Enjoy every step! Post pics and let us know how much fun you had on the cruise. Congrats Lightskinedgyal!

Thanks! I will!


Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

I am looking to book my wedding this week on either the Allure or the Oasis. I live in Fort Myers and am within driving distance to 4 ports so I have a lot of options on dates and itineraries as well as the ship. Any suggestions as to which ship I should pick? Also, I really need to see pictures of the venues to help make my decision. I searched the internet for hours yesterday and didn't come up with much. I am SO nervous about not knowing the venue until 30 days out. We will have 4 kids and 12 adults total, all sailing with us. ... We will be legally married 11/12/13 (coming up) but are waiting to have the real wedding on board....I read a few comments that the bride and groom have to see each other before the ceremony? 😔 What's the reasoning for that? ... Also, if we skip a reception will be there any time for cake and champagne and a first dance after the ceremony? ... Sorry I have so many questions, total newbie here!! I appreciate any help!!!

Email pics please: [email]kristinwilke1@aol.com[/email]

ccsci- Could you pretty, pretty send me an invite to see your pics!!! I want to book my wedding but am nervous based in the lack of pics I have seen! Thanks SO much!

[email]Kristinwilke1@aol.com[/email]

[quote name='FLcruisebride']I am looking to book my wedding this week on either the Allure or the Oasis. I live in Fort Myers and am within driving distance to 4 ports so I have a lot of options on dates and itineraries as well as the ship. Any suggestions as to which ship I should pick? Also, I really need to see pictures of the venues to help make my decision. I searched the internet for hours yesterday and didn't come up with much. I am SO nervous about not knowing the venue until 30 days out. We will have 4 kids and 12 adults total, all sailing with us. ... We will be legally married 11/12/13 (coming up) but are waiting to have the real wedding on board....I read a few comments that the bride and groom have to see each other before the ceremony? 😔 What's the reasoning for that? ... Also, if we skip a reception will be there any time for cake and champagne and a first dance after the ceremony? ... Sorry I have so many questions, total newbie here!! I appreciate any help!!!

Email pics please: [EMAIL="kristinwilke1@aol.com"]kristinwilke1@aol.com[/EMAIL][/quote]

Hi Hun,

Welcome to the initial nerves we all started here with, it is daunting to not have more control, more information :confused:. It is time to let some of the A type personality go and embrace taking care of the details that you can ;). I can not get answers because my ship has not even been built yet... so you can imagine the unknowns that come with that.

Remember that which ever sailing and Romance package you choose you will have to pay for the ceremony in full at the time your date/ship are accepted by the Romance Dept. Being that you will be legally married already you will be able to select a less expensive symbolic ceremony, but be careful some of them come with a required time of legal marriage.
You will need to decide if you want to be married while at sea, in port at departure or at an itinerary port. The prices have a large range and so to the possibilities of what you want out of your ceremony/reception.

If you have not looked at already....
[URL]http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/New_Royal_Romance_brochure.pdf[/URL]

I was were you are a few months ago in selecting which cruise. You listed your confirmed guest count which included 4 children. My suggestion is start by having a very honest conversation with those families and your guests that may be the most price sensitive. If you would be offended/hurt or upset if any one did not come due to financial concerns that should be top factor for you. When starting to look I had this conversation with my BF/nearly sister and she was saying " Pick whatever you want, we will figure it out" But now that it is decided and booked she comes up with a million excuses about how she will likely not come. Most of her and her husband's complaint comes with the additional cost of wanting to bring their small son with them on the trip. When a family goes from the cost of 2 to 3 or 4, you may need to watch how quickly that cost rises. We know all to well, not only are we paying for ourselves but two important family members that would not be able to make it other wise.

You mention that you were interested in one of the Oasis class ships, that is a good place to start in narrowing the field.

If you are looking to start from scratch I would recommend first with the port of departure. If most of your guests can avoid flying and drive to the pier you will lower the over all cost and lose the objection over flying. We live in TX but knew we would leave out of either NJ or MD since the bulk of our guest list is from the east coast.

I would also look at shorter over longer cruises if most of your guest list has not cruised before. It may or may not be something they enjoy, or have problems with motion sickness, and being miserable for a week or more is not fun, even on a cruise ship. This will you keep the cost down, also you and your guests will need to use less vacation time. This is why I highly considered a 5 day out to Bermuda and back that left out of MD.

In the end for us which ship and the date became the most important factors, and we decided on the Quantum (which will leave out of NJ) and Pi day 3.14.15. We were engaged in May and asked to select a date at least a year out so that people could save and have vacation time to take. Our selected cruise worked out well since we wanted to be married while at sea and our ceremony it is the first full sea day in our itinerary. Dates and ships can be a very personal choice. I would recommend selecting a date at least 6 months out to leave time for planning and saving of funds for yourself and guests. We are still more than 16 months out and it seems torturous but on the plus side we have 17 guests booked and ready to go already.

If you have more questions or just need to vent all the girls and boys on this thread are here to help. :)

[quote name='fldogmassage']Hello everyone. I decided to start my review now. There is not a lot of information out there for cruise weddings and especially for RCCL weddings. I thought by posting my experiences it could help people in the process and maybe others can chime in and help. It is long so I will post a little at a time.

Cruise review
My wedding on board the Allure May 12, 2013
This review is from the stand point of a bride AKA me. Once I get thru the planning phase and the actual wedding, it will be a general Allure review. But for anyone looking to have a celebration on Allure I hope this will help. I found it very hard to find the answers I was looking for as a bride.
I have sailed RCCL a few times and my fiance has never cruised before. But he loves the water and was all for a cruise. YEA, my dream come true. My favorite person in the world and my favorite way to travel.
My journey begins on July 24, 2012 when my boyfriend proposed to me. We already had a cruise planned in Sept for vacation. We decided this would make the perfect location for our wedding. In order to allow family members to cruise with us, we moved our cruise to the summer so kids would not have to miss school.
The first thing I did was call Royal to schedule our wedding. I was told someone would have to call me back and it could take a few weeks. A few days passed and I was very nervous. What if I did not get my date? How many people are booking that they are this busy they can not call back? I REALLY want this ship and this day….And I like to book my cruise a year in advance so I get the room I want. I am very particular about my room!!! I called them back. I was very nice and said that I really needed to book our wedding because we had people who wanted to book their cruises. They actually put me thru to someone. The problem was I could barley understand their accent. But I got thru the conversation and they emailed me everything so I could reread. Except now I had more questions….Well, that night I received a call. This person did not known I had already spoken to someone. So my guess is, if I had not called, I would have had a call that night any ways. I got my questions answered. We signed and faxed the contract and the next day received an email confirmation.[/QUOTE]

Hey! Thanks for the review its awesome! Im getting married on allure on august 2014, do you think if I send u my email you could send me some of the pictures of the ceremony and the reception.

My email is [email]gladys_2125@yahoo.com[/email]

Thank you!!!

I'm getting married on the Oasis of the Seas on 12/7/2013 (embarkation day) so I'll be sure to come back and let you know how it was.

I'm the only wedding that day, having my ceremony in the chapel and my reception in Dazzles. Looks like it will be beautiful.

13 days...I'm freakin' out!

Have a blessed wedding!