anyone married on the Dream out of NOLA?

advice..tips..suggestions?

I was married on the Dream in June 2014. I have a review thread on here that you search for. The people involved on the Dream are awesome! Our wedding coordinator, Jill, was really great and made everything run so smoothly.

About half of our guests were non-sailing. They were all able to park in the employee parking just before you get to the terminal. The employees directing traffic were great about recognizing the cars and directing us in there. Of course, we were likely the only people arriving that early.

We printed maps of the ship for each person on 11x17 paper, which were very useful. The map they give people when they board is really tiny. I also marked buffet, ceremony location, and reception location on the maps so people didn't need to search for them.

For our sailing guests, I put together a page that had each persons name, photo and cabin number. Some of our guests had never met, so this was a great way to help them familiarize with each other. And the list became super useful when we needed to know peoples cabin numbers to call them or to meet up. We also gave everyone magnetic clips, which were great to keep the list on the wall near the phone.

The photos were amazing. But, definitely negotiate with them. The prices they show you aren't necessarily final prices. The photo books are really, really great, but very expensive. We bought them, thanks to help from our parents, but I kind of wish we hadn't. We love the books, but we wish they could show other parts of the wedding trip, instead of just the ceremony & reception. I'd maybe do just the posed photo book, if any. After we got back, we made a Shutterfly book that shows the whole trip. It shows pictures of the girls getting nails, hair, and makeup done, which is definitely part of the wedding experience. And I included pages for the cruise, each port, and our excursions. Anytime we want to show our wedding photos, we just show that book because it includes everything... so the expensive Carnival books are gorgeous, but just sit on a shelf.

I had my hair & makeup done by Flawless Bride and I was super pleased with it. Makeup was very natural and stayed all day, which was good since they did it at 7am and we didn't finish photos until around 7pm... that's a long time for hair and makeup to look flawless. We had them come to our hotel near the port at 6:30am. http://www.flawless-bride.com/

Relax and enjoy it. Once we got to the port, the coordinator really took over and I didn't have to worry about much. They were all so great and allowed me to really enjoy my day instead of worrying about details. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

I was married on the Dream in June 2014. I have a review thread on here that you search for. The people involved on the Dream are awesome! Our wedding coordinator, Jill, was really great and made everything run so smoothly.

 

About half of our guests were non-sailing. They were all able to park in the employee parking just before you get to the terminal. The employees directing traffic were great about recognizing the cars and directing us in there. Of course, we were likely the only people arriving that early.

 

We printed maps of the ship for each person on 11x17 paper, which were very useful. The map they give people when they board is really tiny. I also marked buffet, ceremony location, and reception location on the maps so people didn't need to search for them.

 

For our sailing guests, I put together a page that had each persons name, photo and cabin number. Some of our guests had never met, so this was a great way to help them familiarize with each other. And the list became super useful when we needed to know peoples cabin numbers to call them or to meet up. We also gave everyone magnetic clips, which were great to keep the list on the wall near the phone.

 

The photos were amazing. But, definitely negotiate with them. The prices they show you aren't necessarily final prices. The photo books are really, really great, but very expensive. We bought them, thanks to help from our parents, but I kind of wish we hadn't. We love the books, but we wish they could show other parts of the wedding trip, instead of just the ceremony & reception. I'd maybe do just the posed photo book, if any. After we got back, we made a Shutterfly book that shows the whole trip. It shows pictures of the girls getting nails, hair, and makeup done, which is definitely part of the wedding experience. And I included pages for the cruise, each port, and our excursions. Anytime we want to show our wedding photos, we just show that book because it includes everything... so the expensive Carnival books are gorgeous, but just sit on a shelf.

 

I had my hair & makeup done by Flawless Bride and I was super pleased with it. Makeup was very natural and stayed all day, which was good since they did it at 7am and we didn't finish photos until around 7pm... that's a long time for hair and makeup to look flawless. We had them come to our hotel near the port at 6:30am. http://www.flawless-bride.com/

 

Relax and enjoy it. Once we got to the port, the coordinator really took over and I didn't have to worry about much. They were all so great and allowed me to really enjoy my day instead of worrying about details. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

fabulous info...thanks!

were yall able to do embarkation photos at the terminal or did you have to get there too early? i'm hoping we are still able to take that pic...we buy one for each cruise because it has the date / ship on it. also...did everyone in your party get to board at the same time (cruisers and non cruisers?) i'm worried not everyone will get there in time to board early

fabulous info...thanks!

 

were yall able to do embarkation photos at the terminal or did you have to get there too early? i'm hoping we are still able to take that pic...we buy one for each cruise because it has the date / ship on it. also...did everyone in your party get to board at the same time (cruisers and non cruisers?) i'm worried not everyone will get there in time to board early

We didn't do the embarkation photo, but I didn't ask about it either. Wedding groups are first to board at around 11am, but other VIP/priority boarding goes right afterward, so it may be available. Ask the wedding coordinator if it's possible.

Everyone boards at the same time. Everyone is supposed to be at port by 10:30am. Half our guests are notoriously late for everything, so we told them to be there at 10am. The last of our group showed up around 10:45, so I'm glad I told them an earlier time. It was kind of nice not being rushed to check in though. Then they boarded us all at 11am. They need to board everyone at once so coordinator can show everyone where they need to go and run through the process with them.

We didn't do the embarkation photo, but I didn't ask about it either. Wedding groups are first to board at around 11am, but other VIP/priority boarding goes right afterward, so it may be available. Ask the wedding coordinator if it's possible.

 

Everyone boards at the same time. Everyone is supposed to be at port by 10:30am. Half our guests are notoriously late for everything, so we told them to be there at 10am. The last of our group showed up around 10:45, so I'm glad I told them an earlier time. It was kind of nice not being rushed to check in though. Then they boarded us all at 11am. They need to board everyone at once so coordinator can show everyone where they need to go and run through the process with them.

thank you....hopefully everyone will get there when they're supposed to. it'll be stressful enough, don't need to start off trying to find people

Another question....non sailing guests are they able to purchase beer / soft drinks between the time the board and the reception at 1:30? It didn't occur to me till now that they won't have a s/s card

How does Carnival distinguish between the two? And are the guests given a card or some way for them to "ding" out so CCL knows if the non sailing guests have left the ship?

I haven't gotten married yet, but I'm planning to in Dec 2015.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2163700