Wedding while cruising

We just got engaged and already have a 12/04 cruise planned. We would elope anyway, but is the $2000 RCCL charges for wedding services worth it or should we plan it on our own????

Wow 2000 what does that include?

It includes transportation to the beach or garden the ceremony will be held at, the ceremony itself with an officiant, a bouquet, a cake for two, a bottle of champagne, a photographer and one 8x10 framed photo.

 

I know your paying for the convience of not having to do anything yourself, but it still seems a little high.

 

Does anyone have any experience working with RCCL or planning something on you own?

wow.. that seems a bit steep.. yes it is a huge convenience... and i presume they will also assist with getting your marriage license etc. You may want to consider talking to a wedding consultant on an island of your choosing.. etc...

Tom

Boy the prices have gone up. We paid around 1500 and got quite a few pictures with it.

You will also be paying for the guarantee of having a wedding should the itinerary change due to unforseen circumstances.

 

The cruiseline will take no responsibility if you schedule a wedding at one the your port stops thru another company and the ship doesn't go there....we have experienced just that and it really puts a damper on your cruise and wedding bliss!

 

One alternative is to get married aboard ship just prior to the sailing...family and friends can either sail with you or at least attend the wedding and then debark.

It includes transportation to the beach or garden the ceremony will be held at, the ceremony itself with an officiant, a bouquet, a cake for two, a bottle of champagne, a photographer and one 8x10 framed photo.

 

I know your paying for the convience of not having to do anything yourself, but it still seems a little high.

 

Does anyone have any experience working with RCCL or planning something on you own?

As a pastor, I can tell you that the fees my church charges for non-member weddings total about $700. That's building usage, musician, and pastoral services. It does NOT include flowers, cake (even a small one for two), champagne, or photographer. In our area (which is small and admittedly less costly than big cities), a photographer generally charges a MINIMUM of $500 and that price doesn't include any pictures (other than the proofs). Flowers are, of course, also costly, and cakes are (IMHO) way, way to expensive given the actual cost of the ingredients! Very few people pull off a wedding for $2000.

 

Frankly, I think the price is pretty reasonable given how much work goes into planning a wedding and the cost of such services on land. I've never even wanted such a wedding, but if I were planning one, I'd let the cruise line do all the work!

 

My only concern would be ensuring that all of it is done legally--that is, that the officiant is legally permitted to perform weddings (no matter where you're married, clergy officiants are generally legal others vary by country and--in the US, by state). {In Florida, for example, any one who is a notary public could do a wedding (at least they could in the past--don't know if that's still true) but in Pennsylvania, you have to be an ordained clergyperson or a justice of the peace.}

 

If I were you, I'd just double check with the cruise line and/or the country/state in which you're getting married so that it is all done aboveboard and legally.

Hi Ryanne,

My hubby and I got married on RCI Enchantment in 99.

It was a bit cheaper and we got some more photo's with that. At the time

I recall that there were a few different packages to choose from. Some were

cheaper and some got really expensive.

We chose to get married on the ship as apposed to the beach resort and it

was while we were in port on the 5th day in ST. Thomas.

With some islands you have to be there for so many hours/days before you

can get legally married.

Also, we chose to get married on the ship because of a few reasons, first one being the climate. We knew we'd be on a nice air conditioned ship instead of the blazing heat or rain. I know a lot of couples that get married and end up in their shorts 10 mins after the ceremony because they're too hot. Also, check the times because if we got married at the resort it would have been in the morning and we would have had to be up at the crack of dawn, whereas if we chose the ship, it was in the afternoon, so it gave us time to get our docs and have hair done etc... (this also fell on a formal night, so we stayed in our formal attire all night)

The cruiseline assisted us with all our documents. The process started months before the big day. To be honest i don't know where i would have begun if i had to do it on my own.

There were only a few small details I would have changed if I were to do it again. Mainly, there were 14 of us in our group and we should have done a dry run with the onboard wedding co-ordinator because we weren't sure where to stand and what to do etc.. also, our photogropher took a liking to my cousin, so we ended up with more photo's of her than anything else AND,

they weren't developed the right way, so it was like a game of beat the clock to have them re-printed in time before disembarkation.

 

 

Anyway, I'd be happy do dig my docs out and tell u exactly what I paid and what came with the package and give u a few more details if you're interested. All in all though, my hubby and I were very happy with our choice and wouldn't have done it any other way.

 

One more thing... I know you used to be able to have friends and family board the ship just for the ceremony but as i understand now, they don't allow that anymore for security reasons.

 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you'd like more info... and u can email me at

leafsgirl73@yahoo.com

If you get married in your port of embarcation, RCI still allow non-sailing guests to board for your wedding. You also get priority boarding, wedding parties get onboard first!

DD just got married exactly one month ago (Aug. 7), and I am still reeling from the money charged for every-little-thing (!!!!!). Paid for the Honeymoon, too (but that's another story). I would LOVE it if any of my other kids chose to get married on a cruise ship, and don't think that Royal Romance's prices are all that excessive. Besides...I could go along on the cruise and make myself fairly invisible! (Actually, I'm encouraging them to just go to Vegas. Much cheaper!)

HI. I got married on the Majesty in Jan 02. my package was the deluxe one and it included the ceremony ( on the boat) a small reception w/cake, about 20 pics ,champagne, my beautiful rose bouquet and my DH boutinner, and limo to and from the ship. I had a wedding coordinator assigned to me and she met us at the boat, allowing us to board early, and also set up hair appts, etc. My package was about $1200 and it was worth every penny to have someone else do the work, including helping w/ the marriage license. ( that was $85 for the state of FLA).....Best wishes!!!!

Congratulations!!!

 

Take a look at the Wedding and Honeymoon board under the category speciality cruises. There is a lot of information about using RCCL vs a local coordinator.

 

I am getting married in Nov in St. Thomas, while sailing on the Serenade of the Seas. I chose to use a company that coordinates weddings on many islands, A Wedding For You. They work with many cruise lines. I found the price much better than RCCL.

 

Check out the other board. See you there!

Thanks so much to everyone for the information. I know $2000 isn't a lot of money for a wedding, but we close on a house in two weeks, so right now everything seems expensive

 

Sunnysideup, I have been in contact with with A Wedding for you regarding a cermony in St. Thomas, and think we might work with them as well. We would be getting married on 12/8 so I'd love to hear how your November Cermony goes.

We just got engaged and already have a 12/04 cruise planned.

 

 

Congratulations

on the engagement :)