Artemis908

I'll have to look for your review of NoS! We are on her in two weeks in an Owner's Suite and can't wait!

I wish they would just allow champagne and wine. There is this champagne I love that I would love to be able to sit with on my balcony as my husband and I celebrate our anniversary. It's so much more money on the cruise vs. here, I feel like I am being robbed by purchasing it on the ship. I am fine with buying mixed drinks and all, but for a cheap bottle of champagne they shouldn't be doubling the cost. I was able to bring champagne onboard Princess, so it was nice. Champagne isn't exactly something I can put into a rum runner :(

Did any of the suite folks hear from the conceirge ahead of the cruise?

Last time I was on the Explorer we got there really early, a crew member saw us and said he'd let us in to put our stuff down as long as we did it quickly. So we went in, no one was around, put our bag in an out of the way place, and left. I wouldn't have done it without his permission.

My husband and I got married on a Princess cruise ship in June. Their loyalty program is better. I would say most things like food was comparable though I hated their quick service food (like Windjammers, I can't remember the name). I am usually alright with Royal Caribbean's Windjammers.

The ship was very nice but I missed having the ice skating rink and mini golf. There is also no "wow" factor. I love the Promenade on Royal Caribbean ships and it felt so nice and big. Princess doesn't have that, their shops are closed in and I wasn't impressed by them.

The age group was definitely older on Princess, we rarely sat with people our age for meals. Most people were old enough to be our grandparents.

For us, Royal Caribbean is just our preference. I know plenty of other people who prefer Princess, it's just what's important to you. The only other cruise line I am interested in checking out is Disney. I am a Disney World fanatic and I am impressed with the technology I have heard about on their newer ships, like the inside rooms having digital port holes and you can see Nemo swimming by now and then etc.

Here's the link to the Concordia compensation plan info on the main site: Click Here

 

From what I can see though that is for future cruises, not for people who were on the ship since the ship accident occurred on the evening of the 13th.

That's how I understand it as well.

I have heard the same thing and haven't been able to find anything that says what those poor people are getting. I have heard about possible law suits and the cruise line saying they'd like to personally deal with those filing law suits before going into court.

I would say several thousand dollars is a start for them, I mean besides the emotional and physical injuries, just think of everything you take in your luggage on a cruise.

Anyway, what an interesting story! I haven't been to Coco Cay for a very long (2002 or 2003) so very curious to see how the island has changed.

Royal Caribbean uses an independent company to book cruise weddings, was this not the case back then? The Wedding Experience (at least now) handles all of the wedding stuff and to be honest, they suck. Not sure though how long they have been doing this.

I am sure though if you send a nice, detailed, letter to Royal Caribbean explaining how you were given a credit and how bad your experience was (also pointing out that back then they weren't using TWE if that was the case) they might do something for you, maybe.

 

My next house

 

 

You can see right into their bedroom, they should buy some curtains! :P

If you're looking for something to do when you first board, try mini-golfing. It was the first thing we did when we boarded and there was no one there! I think people were too busy exploring the ship or unpacking.

They look great. Wow, can you believe it's almost the big day? The hardest part is just getting through the week and then it's over in a blink!

It seems like we received our flowers from Angel's Accents so so long ago and I am finally getting around to sharing the pictures. Right now we are in the midst of funeral preparations for my fiance's uncle which is this evening. As I print out the programs I figured let me do some CC catching up to lighten my spirits. Enjoy!

 

P.S. They look so much better in person, they feel real and they smell so good!

 

In order:

 

1. all (except boutonniere which we forgot to put on the table)

2. cake topper

3. corsage (one for each of our moms)

4. my bouquet (bridesmaid size)

5. my bouquet

6. my bouquet

7. daughter's bouquet (we did a junior brides maid size even though she is our maid of honor)

8. daughter's bouquet

9. daughter's bouquet

10. my fiance's bouquet (bridesmaid size)

11. my fiance's bouquet

12. my fiance's bouquet

 

 

 

I also wouldn't believe everything TWE tells you. For example, I was told I couldn't have bubbles but I brought them anyway since I had already purchased them and the coordinators actually handed them out beforehand so people could blow bubbles as we walked up the aisle.

There are so many things I wish I had known or thought of before the wedding happened. The wedding was great but I am so organized that a few things never occurred to me to be prepared for. Any other brides have similar moments? Here were mine...

- I wish I had shared the bridal party entrance with my bridal party... I had a print out for the coordinator, but when it came to the moment. No one knew where they should go, particularly our parents who we had to grab from inside the club.

- I wish I had figured out who was taking the luggage and who was going in who's car. I figured it'd be so easy to figure out when we were ready but it got confusing for everyone.

- I wish I had made someone in charge of handing out corsages. But no one was familiar with everyone getting one so I had to run around trying to find mothers, grandmothers, and stepmothers.

- I wish I had made someone in charge of gifts/cards earlier. I kind of just started to hand my dad everything.

- I wish I had designated someone to take everything back with them like left over favors, "guest book", etc. I thought I had lost these things, but apparently my dad saw it and picked it up for me!

Sounds like you had quite an adventure! I know for my photography package it says "all images on a CD", I have a feeling though it's probably the same and he picks out the images he wants. The description says "approximately 36 exposures will be taken". I don't quite know how to interrupt that.

I think I would have been begging someone to switch shoes with my fiancee if he didn't have any shoes! But it seemed like the wedding attire was pretty informal, so it would probably have been difficult. I have been warned a few times that if your luggage doesn't fit through the x-ray scanner, you can't carry it on and that any luggage checked in won't be ready before the wedding. The coordinator that went over the final details made that pretty clear to me, so I have been thinking about it. I am probably going to have to ask multiple people to carry bags onboard.

But sounds like you had a great time! It's so exciting to hear from other brides and the good experiences they had! :)

Yay! It's great to hear from another Princess Bride! Was the Wheelhouse Bar very open? Did you have non-wedding guests around you or peeking in? If you end up putting all of your photos in an online album please let me know, I'd love to see more pictures.

My coordinator told me that I couldn't have my wedding and reception in different locations, did you have your locations decided before you got on the ship?

Thanks! My theme was butterflies. I didn't want to use a traditional cake topper so I contacted a sugar artist off of Etsy and told them what I was looking for. I sent her photos of the butterflies from my invitations and others I found online and they made them and shipped them to me. They are completely edible.

 

I should mention too that we had lots of left over cake. The second night in the dinning room our head waiter asked us if we would like to have it for desert one day that week. I wanted to have the melting cake that night so we ate it on the third night. We had more than our group could handle so I told the waiter to also share it with anyone else in the dinning who wanted it.

I know that will happen to us too and I don't want the same dessert twice on the cruise :P I want to sample!

Thanks for the review, it's always great hearing from other embarkation day brides and the details really helped me envision everything :D Your cake is awesome btw, I love the butterflies. And what a great MOH! Sounds like she was really helpful.

After living and working in NYC for several years, I think I've become immune to this kind of stuff. The only time I get tempted is when the person is with a child. On the subway once this woman had a baby and said she had lost her job and was homeless. She had a bunch of jewelry she was selling, that was when I felt bad and gave her something. Otherwise I say, "no thanks!" and walk away, avoiding eye contact. I actually had a guy follow me several blocks asking me for money, I had to duck into a store before he'd stop following me!

I just wanted to share a unique idea for your gift bags that I got from Martha Stewart: giving your guests postcards they can send to you about how much fun they've had. You just put a stamp on the postcard, along with your address, and ask guests to write about their vacation and send it in the mail. An excellent addition to any scrapbook/photo album, in my opinion! :)

I am also getting married on Princess next year, thus far my experience with TWE has been fairly good! She generally responds to my e-mails within a few days and has been fairly helpful. The only problem I have had is concerning flowers, I am considering getting silk flowers and would like any opinions on that. I want blue hydrangeas but TWE says that is a special request and may become a problem. Any recommendations?

Also, I'd like to say that I do like to be in control, but I also know when to let go. I am a really organized planner and tend to write down and print every important thing I need. My mother is luckily the same way and I have appointed her to take care of things for me that day. I am not getting a cake or anything, so when it comes down to it, I don't think I am too concerned about most details. It's such a good idea to sit down with the coordinator when getting ready to board, I am getting married on embarkation day, so I hope it's not going to be too hard to speak to her.