KookyGuava

How much does it add to the cost to do a one-way rental into Canada?

My experience with Alamo is that the one-way rental is built into the daily rental charge. So what normally would have been $30/day for a fullsize car if I picked up and returned at SeaTac, I ended up paying about $55/day for the one way into Canada.

Nslatin, thank you for your post! I found it so it so helpful when I had a one-way car rental from SeaTac to Canada Place. We've been to SeaTac a few times already so I sorta knew what to expect there, but learned that you can't use the quick kiosks at Alamo if you'll be doing a one-way rental into Canada (which irked me at the time cuz it meant I'd have to wait in the long customer service line).

At Canada Place, although the OP suggested it wasn't necessary to drop luggage off first, that's what we did anyway. During my experience, I found that it was not true that you have to circle around the block to re-enter the garage. You can access the Alamo drop-off spots within the terminal. As we pulled away from the luggage drop off area and started to head out of the terminal, there were signs that led us down to the lower level parking area and car rental drop-off spots.

My husband and I got married aboard the Grand Princess on a cruise to Alaska in September 2014. It was a wedding at sea in the ship's chapel with the captain presiding, 12 of our friends/family witnessed. We had our cocktail reception in the One5 lounge and wedding night dinner at Crown Grill.

Since our wedding was at sea, I can't speak to what an embarkation wedding would be like, but I can review my embarkation and pre-wedding experience. The Grand Princess sailed out of Seattle. We got to the port around 11:30am and there were a lot of people there already. Long line to check in and many people already sitting around waiting to board. We finally were able to board around 12:30, but that was after all the elite/first priorities boarded first. If you had an embarkation day wedding, I assume you too will be one of the first to board. Muster drill and sailaway were on schedule.

Being that our wedding cruise was on Princess, our wedding coordinator was from Royal Ocean Events. They were great to work with. They responded to any emails or questions I had fairly quickly. Any requests or preferences that I had, they were able to accomodate. (Eg: preferred locations of the ceremony & reception, color of the ribbon on my bouquet, extra tables for wedding favors, guest books). Once onboard, I met with the Guest Services manager for Princess, and we went over everything I had requested through Royal Ocean Events. At this time, I also met with the photographer to go over the schedule and any additional things I wanted. I have to say that the Princess staff was amazing. They were able to provide everything I needed and went above and beyond to make the day amazing.

Let me know if I can help with any questions you have. I'll try to respond as soon as I can. Admittedly, I don't peruse these boards as often as I did when I was wedding planning. :o

I know that I want to sail a particular week this coming September. I’m still deciding on which cruise, but I have narrowed it down to a few possible itineraries. I would like to take advantage of sales/promotions and lock down a preferred stateroom location by booking the three or four cruises I’m interested in. Is there a disadvantage to booking more than one cruise for the same week? I realize I’ll have to put a deposit down for each cruise (I’m hoping to minimize this with reduced/no deposit promotions). But once I decide on a cruise, and cancel all the others before final payment is due, in theory I should be fine, right?

 

P.S. I don't know how much you have set aside for pictures but I would be prepared to spend more. I absolutely fell in LOVE with the photographer Attreo. His work was amazing. I spent a good bit of money I didn't plan on spending when I saw my pictures....

Was your photographer from Carnival? Or was he a local vendor?

When I sailed on the Allure, there was a DJ set up in Rita's for the Rita's Fiesta event. The DJ didn't take up much space. It was essentially the DJ, his computer, and a couple speakers. So I wonder if you could ask your group/wedding coordinator for this similar setup at your reception in Chops.

I haven't eaten at Chops, so I can't speak of the restaurant's layout. But since the entrance to Chops is in Central Park, I don't think you will be getting any ocean views.

My husband and I got married last week (9/15/14) on the Grand Princess in the chapel onboard and the venue is beautiful. However, those chapel webcam shots are deceiving. I strongly suspect that the webcam shot of the Grand Princess chapel is actually of the chapel BEFORE the ship underwent its 2013 dry dock refurbishment (since the chapel now is much brighter and has updated furniture/appearance than what is shown in the webcam picture).

Additionally, there is an actual clause in my contract with Royal Ocean Events saying that because the webcams are not reliable, are only still images and not live feed, then we should not tell our friends and family about the webcams. :eek: :confused: It's such a tease of Princess to show us they have the ability stream shots of the wedding chapel (even if only still images), only to have them say don't rely on them and don't tell anyone about them.

It would've been a nice perk if available. But once aboard and with everything going on, I totally forgot that there was a webcam in the chapel.

When I went to the link - it says it's no longer available. I wonder if she took the site down. Do you know if there is another way to get the template from the person you got it from or possibly I could pay you for yours? You can email me directly at attnyfalls@gmail.com. I am getting married in April and I absolutely love your invitations. It has everything I was thinking about sending in a news letter(s). This would save more time than doing multiple mailings.

 

Cassi

It seems that Vanessa has a dedicated page now for her passport invitation templates (among other things). An earlier post in this thread provided this website. (see below) You could start there and browse the templates. But as crusinthrough advises, be prepared to learn Adobe Illustrator.

I purchased the same template and made my own template. There is now a nautical themed template, which wasn't available previous. To customize be prepared to learn Adobe illustrator.

 

http://www.weddingpassports.com

We are getting married on an Alaskan cruise this September, but it leaves from Seattle not from Alaska. We've chosen to get married on a sea day by the Captain, on the Grand Princess. Because of this, the marriage license is in the country where our ship is registered, which is Bermuda.

We are planning to do crab mallets and packets of Old Bay. Our wedding is on an Alaskan cruise, so we figure the mallets fit with the theme of Alaskan king crabs and other Pacific Northwest seafood/shellfish. The Old Bay is a nod to us being from Baltimore.

That's our plan. But in re-reading this and other threads, I better make sure I can bring these aboard. I'd hate to find out too late that the cruiseline considers a crab mallet a weapon! :eek: lol

I think Royal Caribbean (especially if you’re considering the Allure or Oasis) is the best of your choices if you’re concerned about a family of 5 staying in one stateroom, since they have several staterooms that can accommodate more than 3 or 4 people. Otherwise, there’s always the option of booking two interconnecting staterooms. This is a question best asked of a travel agent, once you decide on which ship to book for your wedding.

I don’t know how much info you’ll get on the Getaway yet since it’s still fairly new. But with the Breakaway being virtually similar, you can get a general idea. This bride posted a review of her symbolic wedding at sea on the Breakaway: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1863371 But she mentioned that the ceremony took place in a conference room, with the ambiance pretty lacking. I don't know if this matters to you, but it's something to consider if you’re on the Getaway.

I’m not sure if you’ve done this yet, but have you contacted the cruiseline onboard group coordinator? I think they’ll best be able to help you with information about reserving a private area. I mean, if they can reserve a lounge/space for Cruise Critic Meet & Greets, they might be able to do the same for you? But it's possible they'll just refer you back to the wedding company since it's for your reception.

Congratulations on your engagement!

My fiancé and I also want to get married at sea by the captain, so we’re having our wedding onboard the Grand Princess this September. We chose Princess because we knew that the captain would perform the ceremony (and also for the itinerary and for the fact that Royal Caribbean’s package was more expensive).

I am assuming that the reason your reception is not private is because you want dinner as part of it, and the cruiseline won’t close off an entire restaurant/dining room for it (unless you pay to rent out an entire specialty restaurant).

Princess offers a cocktail reception package with open bar and hor d’oeuvres, have you considered this? Since they take place in lounges, it is more likely to be closed off from the public. And you can add on to the package a DJ for your dancing/music needs and additional food stations for something heartier than the offered hor d’oeuvres.

Congratulations, Bo59rt! Can't wait to hear about all the happy details when you get back.

And congrats to you, Vasoxfann. We sailed on the Pride last year and had a fabulous time.

Fantastic looking invites! :) Did you DIY your invites? Or did you have a vendor do them for you? If you DIY, how did you or what did you use to print them out?

I'm DIY'ing my passport Save the Dates and looking for suggestions on printing them beyond using my inkjet printer at home or the temperamental laser printer at work.

The gist I get from your post is that you would have a better time aboard the Carnival Breeze. It seems that the quieter and more romatic experience that you will expect on the Reflection you will already get at your adults only Jamaica resort.

Your concern about the overload of kids on the Breeze is warranted, given that it's during a time when school is out. But you could always try to avoid the areas where they will most likely be (ie the main pool, arcade, and kids areas). Also, some of the things you like about Carnival (the Sanctuary and Comedy Club) are areas where you wouldn't find kids. And really they're only an issue on sea days cuz they'll all disembark at the ports of call, right? :)

Whatever your decision, you'll still have a great time cuz you'll be on a cruise!