January 20th 2014-Carnival Freedom Wedding Review

My Carnival Freedom Wedding Review-The good and the not so bad.

My wedding was aboard the Carnival Freedom January 20th in Key West Florida. I had started planning our cruise wedding in January 2013. In fact we booked almost exactly and year away from our wedding. I spoke with Alanna our personal coordinator to help with blocking rooms and to make reservations for our guests. We were also assigned a Wedding coordinator for booking everything wedding related. Then if we wanted any group activities or group events we were given a group coordinator. Still with me? However, we ended up not using the group coordinator as we didn’t book any group events. I will say that he was very helpful in giving us ideas for things to do.

So the itinerary was for us to leave Fort Lauderdale on the cruise ship Sunday and get Married on Monday in Key West. We had 17 sailing guests and 10 non-sailing who would meet us in Key West. I booked the 2 hour reception in the disco lounge so that I could have the DJ. I did not book the ceremony with Carnival; instead I booked with Weddings to go Key West. I felt that the ceremony Carnival offered was too expensive and that WTGKW was able to offer me more extras and flexibility with a more affordable price. I later found out that they are one of Carnivals biggest competitors for weddings in Key West and was approached by Carnival to handle the weddings. However they declined because of pricing issues, basically the owner said Carnival wanted to charge too much and their cut would have been severely reduced. Anyways they ended up doing a fantastic job and I could not have been happier. You can see pictures at http://weddingstogo.phanfare.com under Roy and Nina 1/20.

Back to Carnival, so the first day my mission was to make a hair and make-up appointment, from reading all the reviews appointments book quick and I didn’t have any second options. So we arrived on the ship at about 11:30 our room was already ready so I was able to drop off my wedding dress and purse and then off I went to find the Spa. Also note we traveled from Long Island New York and I carried the wedding dress the entire time. It never left my sight and somehow it was a miracle it made it to the ship unwrinkled and ready to go. Never had to have it steamed or pressed before wedding after traveling with it. Okay back to topic. So I find the Spa and our ceremony is scheduled for 11 am. We are in port from 8am to 4 pm, with reception at 1pm to 3pm. We had to be off the boat by 10:15 so I figured an hour for hair and an hour for make up, I needed at the very earliest an appointment for 8am. Now I had read on some forums that the spa will open early for brides, in this case they did not, I even offered to pay extra. When I got to the spa I found out that the 8am appointment had already been booked, which I was shocked at because I was on the boat so early and they don’t pre-book. Come to find out this other person/bride was on a back to back cruise and that is how she was able to pre-book. The only time they could take me was at 9am and they would do both my hair and make up at the same time. I was a little panicked needless to say but I kept my cool and did not put my frustration out on the spa staff. So I booked my appointment and left. Later I tell my news to my soon to be Sister in Law who also wanted to get a hair appointment. When I told her they were booked she hurried to the spa to see what they could do for her. Afterwards I find out she was able to book a hair appointment at 8am! Which I was completely shocked at, so I went back to the spa and asked to speak with a manager and found out this. What happens on a cruise ship is that the days in port the staff is cut by half pretty much. So normally there would be two hairdressers but in port one has off and the other works on the ship. Well, when my sister in law went to the spa the second hair dresser who would normally be off happened to be there and did her a special favor by staying to do her hair at 8am. So that was how she was able to book her appointment. At this point I was freaking out, so what they were able to do was they called the previous appointment who was also a bride and asked if she could come in 15 min early, moving my appointment to 8:45, and asked that I come in at 8:30 in case she finished earlier and to start on my make up. I also want you to know that my sister in law never offered to switch appointments with me and also this was my only headache during the wedding process. As for the make up I am a big fan of MAC and so before the cruise I went to my local MAC store and got a make up trial done for the wedding, $200 later I had my wedding make up supply. The cruise ship does not supply the make-up so you have to bring your own. Also the make up I got I’m able to use everyday so it was not in the least a waste. It was stuff that I would have bought through out the year instead I bought all at once. The girl who did my make up was also a MAC fan from South Africa and she knew exactly what to do. She also loved doing wedding make up, so this was a huge plus for me.

So after everything was booked, the only thing left to do was get in contact with our on ship coordinator. She had left a nice letter in our room that she would find us to go over the details and left her number. We had 8:15 dining time, so by about 6 I had tried reaching her a few times but had not gotten a response. Finally at about 7 she called the room and apologized for not answering. She said she would meet us at dinner and afterwards we would go over the details. We met Jurga at dinner and she was very organized and reviewed all our details, it was at this time we also met our photographer. I requested to have the photographer come to the rooms before the ceremony to take some getting ready shots of myself and of the groom. Everything was arranged. I forgot to mention that the other part I was worried about was I had welcome bags for the cruise guests along with wedding programs with directions that I wanted to the guests to have before they got off the ship. Jurga took care of having them delivered to the rooms and as for the gift bags we decided to have them out at the reception to give to people then. She also arranged to take everyone off the ship to the meeting location for the transportation to the ceremony site as well as to meet us back at the ship to take everyone on board. Something I was completely not expecting. After our meeting I was very confident that everything would go well. Another note was I told Jurga about the hair appointment issues. Turns out I was the only Bride she had scheduled to get married in Key West. The other brides 4 in total I found out got married in Key West but did not schedule anything through the cruise. So just be aware there may be other brides on the boat that carnival is unaware of. Another reason to book things early.

For the wedding day I had breakfast delivered to the room. The breakfast they offer doesn’t include a lot but in the morning I was so excited I couldn’t eat much anyways so it was perfect. I woke up at 7:45 had breakfast delivered at 8am and then made my way to the spa at 8:30. They immediately started working on me and I was done by 9:30ish, with plenty of time to spare. In fact I ended up waiting in the room with my father for about 20 minutes till it was time to leave the ship. So the hair appointment timing issue ended up not being so bad after all. They also did a fantastic job. Jurga then called to say all the guests had made it off the ship and she would be up to escort me off as well. She took me off the ship and we walked to the meeting location for my transportation, there she waited with us to make sure we were met with and on our way. After the ceremony we arrived back at the cruise ship at about 12:15ish. We met up with our guests and had no issues getting back on the ship. Jurga met us and took the guests to the Disco lounge while Roy and I went to our room to freshen up and then meet up with our guests at the Disco lounge. Once back the DJ announced our entrance and we went into our first song. Followed by the Father/Daughter and Mother/Son Dance. We then cut the cake listened to our BM and MOH toasts and then the party began. We wanted to get everything done and out of the way so we could hang out and enjoy the party. Something I would def recommend you do as well. We were well taken care of by the wait staff and the food was delicious. I wish I had eaten more of it, but with all the excitement I was barely hungry. The two hours flew by, but in the end we had a great time with all our guests. We did a final group shot and then after we said our goodbyes we went with the photographer to take pictures around the ship. We took our initial shots inside and then went outside for shots on the deck. Somehow he was able to find a spot with no people and the pictures turned out amazing. We then requested to take some pictures during the sun set so we arranged a time and went out again this time with perfect lighting.

Now I know everyone complains about the prices for the photographs. But lets be real here. We paid for a two-hour reception, with an open bar, 5 hot and 5 cold apps, with a DJ and cake for 20 people for a $1000. Where else can you get something like that. If you had a traditional wedding, just a photographer can cost upward of $3000. Our Sister in Law paid over five thousand for their photography package and it was worth every penny. Do not skimp out on the photography and do not judge it by the pricing. Because it is still cheaper then what you would normally pay. That being said I knew from reading other reviews that some photographers can be a hit or miss on what they can and will offer you. Ours was amazing. We met two days later to view our pictures he started with the DVD slide show, which I thought would be corny but instead made us both cry. And remember the pictures he took did not include the ceremony because we used another company for that with their own photographer. Next he showed us the wedding album book he put together. Initially reading the reviews I didn’t think I would want that and from looking at the photograph packages we had already decided on the Premier Package. But after seeing the photos and the book we were stunned by how everything turned out. Our photographer also put together two special custom packages to choose from that included the book. The most we could pay included the Infinity package and the book came out to be $3400. We ended up with the other package he offered which included the book and the he Elite package at a discount, which came out to 2,043. From there we asked if we could take off the two canvas prints and instead get an extra copy of the DVD and if he could knock off any more on the price. So in total we paid $2,003. And in the CD he included all the pictures he took not just the ones we ordered prints of. So although it says it’s only supposed to include purchased images we received a CD with all the shots. All in all I felt that for the price and quality it was well worth it. On the last day of our cruise we had our pictures and book complete and were able to show all our cruise guests. You would never get something like that this quickly with a traditional photographer. I attached some copies of the images so you can get an idea for the reception and quality of work.

Things I would have done differently. I should have used the photographer more. All my friends and family were taking pictures of each other with their cell phones and cameras. There are more group shots on face book by them then from our photographer. Which I am not blaming him, he can only do so much and be at one place, but I should have directed him more when I saw things happening. Be specific with your photographer on the images you want. He is there to take pictures for you, don’t assume he can read your mind. I also should have eaten more. I read this all the time and it is so hard to follow but the food was so good and I barely ate any of it. Also I am so happy I asked the photographer to take the getting ready shots of the groom. They turned out so great I would really recommend doing this. Other then that everything turned out perfectly. Let me know if you have any questions and I will answer as best as I can.

Congratulations! Everything looked so beautiful!

Thank you for your review and pictures. It was nice to read about how cost effective a cruise wedding can be. I forget that sometimes as we keep paying for things until the big day.

I am planning basically the same thing. Except I'm being one of those sneaky brides and not using Carnival. I'm glad to hear the information about the salon though because I couldn't really find any. If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay for hair and makeup?

thank you for your post it helps me alot,

im planning on getting married on the Fantasy next year.

im not a normal make-up wearer, usually nothing sometimes basic eyeliner. i know you have to bring your own make-up but do you need brushes and anything else? like eyelashes cleanser and EVERYTHING? i was thinking of going to some makeup store to have them help me when it gets closer, but im really worried about the make-up part.

also did they do you have them do your nails?

Thank You for the post. I am getting married on the Freedom 12/19/14.

I was wondering about hair appointment.

Congrats and thank you for the detailed review! Your day sounds exactly like I envision ours. I have just started researching having our wedding while cruising on Carnival, so I have a few questions I hope you don't mind answering. It sounds like your reception was the "Time to Celebrate...Big!" package, am I correct? How did you plan your wedding for being off the ship, and the reception back on the ship? Does Carnival do this with this package? Is it something you need to specifically request? Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer my questions. Congrats again!

Congrats and thank you for the detailed review! Your day sounds exactly like I envision ours. I have just started researching having our wedding while cruising on Carnival, so I have a few questions I hope you don't mind answering. It sounds like your reception was the "Time to Celebrate...Big!" package, am I correct? How did you plan your wedding for being off the ship, and the reception back on the ship? Does Carnival do this with this package? Is it something you need to specifically request? Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer my questions. Congrats again!

I am getting married 12/19/14 and can answer a few of your questions.

Yes, she did have the "Time to Celebrate.... BIG".

Carnival does offers a package to get married on an island and have a reception back on board.

I am doing this! Book Early.... so since it's first come first serve and you have plenty of time to change your mind (believe it happens)

I have revised my plans a couple of times already (cake favors, reception entertainment). The more I read on the forums the more I change!

Thank you so much for your post!!! I'm going to definitely use Weddings TO GO! i KW. I never even thought to use an outside vendor. As far as the reception is concerned do you have a contact at Carnival that helped you that you can recommend? Also any info at Weddings TO GO! would be great too. Thank you! Beautiful pics!!!

Hi everyone this is my first time writing on here not even sure if i am writing in the right place but hopefully i can get some help. I will be getting married in Sept 2015 in Nassau, Bahamas on the beach. we will be having a reception back on the Freedom ship. Is there anything i should bring decoration wise? Also, does any one have pics of the reception hall on the freedom ship? What favors should i hand out? Not even sure were to start planning? I am a total control freak and realize i will not have much control over this but would like to have as much input as possible that is why i would like to add decorations...etc! also how does the wedding license work in the bahamas? they said you have to go sign info the day of your wedding that sounds awful? is there a place at the resort they let you get dressed? as you can tell im so nervous and lost:confused:

Hi everyone this is my first time writing on here not even sure if i am writing in the right place but hopefully i can get some help. I will be getting married in Sept 2015 in Nassau, Bahamas on the beach. we will be having a reception back on the Freedom ship. Is there anything i should bring decoration wise? Also, does any one have pics of the reception hall on the freedom ship? What favors should i hand out? Not even sure were to start planning? I am a total control freak and realize i will not have much control over this but would like to have as much input as possible that is why i would like to add decorations...etc! also how does the wedding license work in the bahamas? they said you have to go sign info the day of your wedding that sounds awful? is there a place at the resort they let you get dressed? as you can tell im so nervous and lost:confused:

As far as the reception on ship, you can pack any decorations you want that are within certain guidelines, i.e. No weapons toy or otherwise, no fresh flowers brought on or off the ship, fits in your luggage, no flames.... etc. The reception location will be determined by the size and type of gathering you have. You can ask for certain locations and if that is available you will be given it. However things like choosing to have a DJ etc will limit your choices. As far as the wedding license in the Bahamas... I'm sure others can answer that. Often time couples find it easier to get married before they leave the US and then have a symbolic ceremony in the Bahamas. Feel free to ask any questions you have or to browse the info on here. From a computer you can search threads for keywords and I find that helps me find info.

I just joined the group so I could post questions in here. I don't see any new posts in this thread so I am hoping to get some replies. I booked my cruise through Carnival Freedom and I am getting married through Tropical Weddings Jamaica on Montego Bay beach in May. Our wedding starts at 11 a.m. and we are getting picked up at 10:30. I tried to get it later, but that was the latest I could get. That being said I am super stressed about getting my hair, makeup and dressed in time. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was told that the salon doesn't do make up, but I read on here that you can bring your own and they will. Can I make a hair appt for that morning now? I mean that is not much time at all especially if they open at 8! Any advice or feedback at all is GREATLY appreciated!!! Thank you! :eek:

Planning way ahead here but happy to be on here! We are booked on Carnival Breeze for Aug 13th 2016. Deciding on whether to book through Carnival for our wedding on Grand Turk or through Bohio resort- like their package better :)

Would also love feedback on the on board reception, not seeing that separate from the wedding packages.

Looking forward to chatting with other Carnival brides as I plan....

I will be getting married on Freedom out of galveston, tx October 10th, 2015. I was wondering if you had any suggestions on places to take pictures around the ship. And do you have any suggestions about having the reception in the disco club?

I will be getting married on Freedom out of galveston, tx October 10th, 2015. I was wondering if you had any suggestions on places to take pictures around the ship. And do you have any suggestions about having the reception in the disco club?

Congrats! We are getting married on October 24th on the Freedom.

Have you done a ship tour yet? It's completely free (for the first tour) and they will take you around the ship and show you all the different venues, so you can get a good idea on where you might want some pics.

Congrats! We are getting married on October 24th on the Freedom.

Have you done a ship tour yet? It's completely free (for the first tour) and they will take you around the ship and show you all the different venues, so you can get a good idea on where you might want some pics.

Awesome! Out of Galveston? And thank you, I just sent them an email asking for available dates! Hopefully it is soon!

Awesome! Out of Galveston? And thank you, I just sent them an email asking for available dates! Hopefully it is soon!

Yea, out of Galveston. Also, if you want the disco club, it's only guaranteed if you are the first to book the DJ.

Yea, out of Galveston. Also, if you want the disco club, it's only guaranteed if you are the first to book the DJ.

I hav already booked the DJ and I tried to book a tour but all the dates they have available Im scheduled to work and Im trying to save all my vacation days for the wedding and honeymoon! So I am kind of upset about that. I am going to keep checking in to see if any new dates come up! I wish it was October already! I will be dress shopping the first week of June!!!

I need to email them. I'd love to tour the Freedom as my wedding is November 16th of 2015.

Hello all!!! I'm getting married on the Carnival Freedom 7/23/2016.

My coordinator told me my reception can only be located in the Swingtime Jazz Lounge, Piano Bar, or Dance Club.

I really don't like the decor of the piano bar or dance club, and, although I do love the look of the look of the jazz lounge, I hear it's a smoking area. A friend of mine who just sailed on the Freedom a few weeks ago confirmed that it absolutely reeks of smoke. I'm not trying to get a migraine on my wedding day, and the smokey smell would NOT be okay for many of my guests.

The wedding coordinator said they would go in and sort of fumigate it a few days prior to the wedding in preparation, but in my experience you CANNOT get the smokey smell out of carpets and fabrocs no matter how hard you try.

Has anyone else had this "fumigation" or whatever? Did it work? I'm very apprehensive...