MonaCK

I'd be interested in hearing more about the courtyard in elizabeth - right now we have an arrangement worked out with the best western north for $175 plus tax that includes parking for the week, or $155 without parking, and also includes transfers to and from the pier.

We are not sure yet what we are doing the night before the wedding. We are trying to get an idea of just how many folks are going to spend the night the night before, and then see about doing something. We're even considering something as informal as a pizza party, but likely will end up doing something at a localish restaurant.

I am getting married May 8th on the Celebrity Summit. I have a lot of non sailing guests along with sailing guest. I booked in March of last year, and the majority of those who are coming along put down deposits then. I sent out invites the end of last month and have already gotten a pretty good response rate on them.

I feel when you are dealing with a special situation like a cruise wedding, more time is better. I have to have my final counts in 45 days prior, and in order to book the restaurant for the reception, I need to book that as soon as possible. So I wanted to have a real idea of my numbers as soon as I could.

My stateroom on my cruise is nowhere near the rest of the group. Honestly - you spend so little time in the stateroom... and I feel like when i am IN my stateroom, especially on what is going to be my honeymoon, I want as much privacy as possible.

Our guests are all over the ship - decks 8, 9 and 2 (we're on the celebrity summit), but there are only a handful where I am on deck 6.

Hello there,

 

We are getting married on the Celebrity Summit on August 28th of this year in port. I was wondering, since our non-sailing & sailing guests have to be there an hour before boarding, what do you all plan on doing to pass the time? We have quite a few guests who are not sailing with us and I was wondering if anyone planned on doing anything? I was thinking of making "breakfast" bags with granola bars and sealed goodies. Activity wise, are there any options?

 

Thanks!

~J

I DO like the idea of breakfast bags, though! We also have a lot of non sailing guests...

I honestly don't think there will be enough time to do more than have the guests gather before the ceremony starts. If it's anything like the wedding I attended on the Oasis in December of 2013, there really won't be much time...

Jumping back in this thread as a potential Summit bride (thanks again Falls for the heads up that dates for July 2017 have been released). Congrats Mona!

 

Quick question for you ladies, are you both doing the 7 day cruise to Bermuda and if so do you think 3 days in Bermuda will be boring? Especially for first-time cruisers of which we expect to have a few as well as veteran cruisers.

 

Also, Falls you mentioned they showed you the top deck as a potential ceremony location. Where exactly on the top deck would the ceremony be held? Just trying to visualize it. Thanks:D

I really don't think that it would be boring at all - and I think for first time cruisers it's actually a great introduction to cruising - kind of the best of both worlds. You've got the ship, and then you have a 3 day land vacation with the ship as your hotel.

Our wedding is looking to be so big that we are likely going to have the ceremony in Reflections. I think it might be too cool to deal with being outdoors. Realistically, I am at 54 people sailing (30 cabins), and likely at least another 50 coming on board for the ceremony... so...

We sent out our invites today - well, we did 60 paper invites, and the rest via paperless post. Those went out to those already sailing, and the more tech savvy of the guests. The RSVPs are actually already coming in, so that's great. I'm trying to get a head start on this, as I would like to get everything firmed up by the beginning of February if at all possible, for my own piece of mind.

It's only 4 months away! Holy hannah - this is the year I'm getting married in!

Hi folks - it's been a while, but my wedding planning has gone into full swing. ;)

Invitations have been ordered from Vistaprint, along with RSVP cards. I am also working on a letter of some sort that will be inserted into the invites for folks to understand the entire process, including the fact that we will need additional information from non-sailing guests.

And I ordered my wedding dress last Sunday! I wasn't sure what I was looking for - or even if I wanted an "official" wedding dress, but once I put this dress on, it fit like a glove.

I believe we are now at 52 sailing with us - we had a few drop off. I am not sure about non-sailing, but we are hoping to keep the total amount of people to around 100. We'll see if that happens, though. Celebrity allows up to 150 non sailing guests...

We're almost at the 5 month mark. Holy hannah...

I ordered my invites today. I still have a letter that I want to draft that I am going to include separately that is basically a letter of instruction on what to do the day of the ceremony, as well as why we need the info we need, and other misc. information that will direct folks to our wedding website for the most up to date info.

I also bought my dress on Sunday. Things are getting real now. :)

That was through the floral department on the ship.

I've decided to just bring my own on board. From googling around, it's pretty simple to make, and I figure this will allow me to extend honors during the wedding to 4 more people. :)

Hello wedding twin!

 

I just got in touch with Denise from TWE, so I guess she is still there? We were originally told that our ceremony would be in Qsine, they would flip the room, and then have the reception. We have 75 guests. For the price of the ceremony, I was annoyed by this. Revelations is a short walk to Qsine, so I requested that location for the ceremony.

Oh, good! Maybe I just got traded to a different rep, which is just fine.

We are also buying our favors on our own and bringing them the day of. Silk sounds like a good approach. I am an English teacher and saw flowers made of book pages...I might use that approach. I am trying to find the crafty bone in my body.

 

We did save the dates prior to the year countdown to the wedding. How many months before should I send my invites? Did they discuss open bar with you? Denise booked the buy out and I was quoted as the open bar being included for the buy out price. The ship seemed confused. So, I got confused and nervous.

They haven't said anything about open bar yet, but everything I've read in the paperwork indicates that open bar (classic bev package) is included.

That is an INSANE price for the chuppah. I hope you find something beautiful and more reasonable that can get through security. What design approach are you taking for your invites?

 

Thanks (as always!)

 

~Jess

I think I'll be able to make something relatively inexpensively. It doesn't have to be anything more elaborate than 4 poles and a cloth - and we figure we can extend honors to folks who will hold the poles.

I've attached the invite here. I haven't done the RSVP cards yet (that's on my agenda for this week), but the options will be:

* We're cruising with you!

* Ceremony only

* Regrets

(wordsmithing still to come ;) )

We are just under 6 months out. I'm getting nervous waiting any longer because this ship can get very pricey, and as it is, the price has already gone up by a few hundred per cabin since we first booked.

Hello there!

 

Thank you for the information. I am going to touch base with TWE to see if Denise is still on board. She called me about a month ago to see if I needed anything, but at the time I mostly had everything booked. I had no clue that I could bring my own music and go that route. I did already book the DJ, but may consider cutting costs and checking into this path.

 

Quick question, does bringing your own clergy drastically reduce the cost of the ceremony? I thought the reception prices were fair (I believe QSine is $45 a person for the buyout), but the ceremony seems quite pricey. Just curious. Are you having your ceremony in the same location as your reception?

 

Thanks in advance, fellow Summit Bride :)

 

~J

There is no change in price for bringing my own clergy. I just really wanted to be married by my Rabbi, which they said was fine, but they would have their own there anyway "as backup". Ok then.

I don't know yet where my ceremony will be. They seemed to think it would be in Revelations lounge up on deck 11, as that's where it's been historically for weddings based on my numbers, but there are no guarantees and they won't really know for sure until after the refurbishment is done. They said I likely wouldn't know until around 2 weeks prior.

I've been scouting around, and I am thinking that i will likely bring on my own flowers - you can't bring real flowers, but you can do silk. So I might get arts and craftsy and make my own bouquet. I used to be a florist in my past life. I think I can do this. ;) I think I'll likely bring some of my own decorations, cake topper, etc as a way to cut down on costs. I also am bringing my own chuppah (marriage canapy). they quoted me $3000 for one on the ship. No thank you. They said I could bring my own as long as it can get through security, so I've been hunting around for information on how to make one of those as well.

I'm also going to be sending out invites very very soon - as in - as soon as I finish getting then created. I am a graphic designer so I am able to create my own - saving me some money there. I am going to get them printed via Vistaprint. I was toying with doing save the dates, etc, but there has been a lot of word of mouth for this trip so I am going to just get the invites out there and see what comes back. this will enable us to further flesh out the list and folks let us know if they can come to the ceremony only or not (if they aren't sailing with us).

Hi there!

We are getting married on the summit in May of next year. I would be more than happy to share information with you as I gather it as well. My plans so far:

* We got engaged in March of this year. At that time, Celebrity was running a heck of a sale on this sailing, including all 3 perks and like $100 off per person, and I was able to get many folks to commit to sailing with us right away. We are up to (including us) 56 or so people sailing with us.

* We are getting married in Bayonne, as we do have a lot of family not sailing with us. Our plan right now is to invite around 130 people (including our sailing guests) and hope that it settles out at around 100 or so.

* We are doing the restaurant buyout of Tuscan Grille. The ship will be refurbed by then, so we will have to do this restaurant. It's costing us $65/head.

* We likely will not do a DJ - I asked and we can do the sound system and hook up our own music to it, so I think we are going to go this route instead.

* I don't know if you have talked to them lately, but I think Denise is gone. I've now been working with Liz and Cindy. They have both been -very- responsive to all of my questions. That being said - make sure to confirm. I was told that receptions that are held the day of sailing are only 2 hours because of customs regulations. It is only until 3, and the non sailing guests will have to leave the ship as soon as the reception is over.

* I am bringing my own photographer. I might buy what the photographer takes, but I wanted other options. A friend of mine is semi pro and will not only be shadowing the photographer, but taking pictures throughout the week as well.

* I am also bringing my own clergy.

* I am lucky enough to have been on this ship in October of last year. I fell in love with it which made it a natural choice when it was time to do this.

Fun! Honestly the wedding itself actually went well, its the communication between the Wedding Experience and the ship that really stinks. I've heard so many better things about having your wedding at a port instead of onboard. Make sure to save your emails! If you're renting out one of the restaurants onboard especially. I was really scared about hair and makeup because you're not able to do a trial or anything but they really were awesome! I also brought a lot of stuff on board with me that I had bought myself because The Wedding Experience's pricing was so ridiculous. They make it sound like getting stuff onboard is going to be really hard but its not.

I'm already planning on doing that. Having it at a home port helps, because we are not limited in the amount of luggage we will have, and we will have helpers who are not sailing with us bring off stuff when they leave so we are not stuck with it all week. One thing we are doing is bringing our own chuppah (marriage canapy). Wedding Experience quoted us $3000 for that. No thank you. ;)

If you don't mind me asking, what stuff did you end up bringing on yourself?

Yeah! The $50,000 sum came from the ticket prices of all of the guests and income brought to the cruise ship by my wedding group. Just pointing out that it's a ton of money to be spending for The Wedding Expperience be such a crap company. You spend that much money on a wedding anywhere else and you're getting pretty awesome service and a team of individuals who appreciate the business.

I'm currently working with Wedding Experience now - so far they have been very responsive. hopefully my experience will be better than yours (I am getting married on the Celebrity Summit while in port in Bayonne on May 8th of next year). So far, I have about 58 people booked to go with us on cruise as well. I will let you know how things go.

... but your $60000 includes the cruise for the week, am I correct...?

Well, I just sent in my paperwork to confirm my wedding date, August 7, 2016 on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. I see most of you all have booked with Carnival. I'm reading away, because I really don't have a clue as to what I should do now. I am formulating a list of questions I should ask based on what I read here.

I booked with Celebrity, and I have a good friend who got married on the Oasis of the Seas in December of 2013.

Hi!

I'm getting married May 8, 2016 on board the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda! It's round trip out of NJ, and we are getting married in port to allow for non sailing guests to come on board. We also plan on having a secondary reception when we get back from the cruise for those friends and family members who cannot make it.

I've put the $ down on the date. Just started talking it up with my friends and family in the last week and a half, and I've already got 28 cabins on deposit! So very exciting, and looking forward to planning along with all of you over the course of the next year. :)

I'm going to work on doing save the dates so that I can get them ordered and sent out. I already know that my hairdresser is going to do my hair and makeup. I've just contracted a friend who is a photographer to do photos above and beyond the ships photography in exchange for me paying for part of her cruise.

This is really happening!

Anybody who has been on at least one RCCL cruise is invited to the WelcomeBack event. Just FYI !:)

I'm well aware of that - this was his first royal caribbean cruise.

I traveled the beginning of the month as a diamond with someone who had never been on Royal Caribbean before. He was able to attend all events with me, even the welcome back event. The only thing he was not able to do was go to the Diamond Lounge, which was fine with me since I had the drinks loaded onto my cards.

NO, unlike RCI, Celebrity gives your on-board cabin roommate(s) Lounge and party access for that one cruise, but no permanent status. RCI does not offer benefits to cabin roommates, but does offer permanent status to significant others who live together. With advanced request Celebrity will give permanent Elite status to RCI Diamonds and above (Plus status and above does NOT transfer between lines), and vice versa. SO, if your boyfriend lives at the same address, he can get permanent Diamond status from RCI C&A based on your Diamond status, and then this can be transferred as permanent Elite status with X.

 

Thom

Sadly, this cruise falls through a loophole then, as this is his first RCCL cruise, and they refuse to give him a number so that he can take on my status. I guess I am at the mercy of the loyalty ambassador then.

Yes, I believe so. :)

I will try calling about this on Monday. That would solve all of my problems. :D

Call Crown & Anchor. If you both reside at the same address and that info is on the reservation, they should grant your partner equal status. My partner has "entry level status" with Celebrity. I am D+ with Royal. My partner was given a C&A number and D+ status for our upcoming cruise. I learned this by accident when I asked what he would be entitled to on RCCL based on his status with Celebrity.

My boyfriend is entry level status with Celebrity. They would not give him a C&A number because he is only "classic" with Celebrity, so nothing transfers over. Which begs another question - does Celebrity have the same deal where I can make him elite because we live at the same address?

You have to have sailed once in order to get a C&A number.

Yes, I know that. But the post i quoted stated that they were able to call in advance and get a C&A number for their significant other, and i was questioning how.

My domestic partner just cruised with me (I'm Diamond) on his first RCL cruise about 6 weeks ago. I called ahead of time and had his status linked w/ mine and therefore he cruised on his first RCL as Diamond. In his case he didn't have to cruise on RCI first in order to "legally" get his Diamond status. As I said, this was very recent.

I know this post is old.. but how did you do this?? I just tried to call to have my boyfriend (who I live with) get a C&A number in advance of his first RCCL cruise so he can have diamond status along with me on our upcoming cruise, and they told me in no uncertain terms that if he hasn't sailed yet, there was nothing he can do.

Was there any kind of "everyday" menu in the dining rooms? I was told that there were going to be... I have some plain jane eater friends that are not going to be happy if they can't adapt what is on the menu to something that they will eat...