dcarter4

Hey All!

Keep it covered!

Well…now the ring is on the finger, our thoughts turn to damage and theft! I’m talking about insurance (although I may be reduced to thievery, in order to pay for all this)!

I find the subject about as exciting as watching some dumb “reality” TV show…but it is a necessity.

In Kel’s line of work, she must remove her ring daily, or it may be damaged. This makes me very nervous, as she mentions a lot of theft at her job.

Since leaving the ring at home is not an option….insurance is the only way to allow me some sleep.

Our jeweler provided us with an appraisal with 48 hours of picking up the ring.

A quick email to our long-time ‘Fear Broker” (i.e. insurance salesmen), and my mailbox was filled with quotes, just an hour later.

I scanned then emailed him a copy of appraisal (along with a picture of the ring) and we were set.

He will come by to actually view the ring tomorrow…then grab a check…and we are covered!

Gents…if you are reading this….DON’T FORGET TO BUY INSURANCE!!

Don’t assume your HO insurance will cover it! If you want “Full Replacement Value” coverage….spend the $ 100!!

Stateroom Upgrades:

Spent the better part of Sunday… researching and fantasizing about upgrading our Celebrity Aqua Class room to a Suite (yes…there was a football game on…no…I didn’t care…).

To your obvious query….no….we did not fall into a fist full of cash! We are still where we left off on Friday….Only deposits on the rooms…and about $ 7k needed before Jan12…or the whole deals off (or delayed until fall). No change….no sales…no deals…nada….

..Which is why I’m looking at Suites!

Folks, I’m the type of guy who needs motivation. I need something (a goal) to look forward to! Sure…just by paying all this off before the deadlines would be enough of a motivating factor…but for me…the looming deadlines…are becoming a bit of a bummer.

Depression is setting in.:(

To beat the funk…I need to add some WOW!!!

Which lead me to a Sunday discovery……Cruiseline websites SUCK!!

I used to think that Celebrity had a nice site..and on the surface, it does….but the Devil’s in the details.

I wanted a picture or (video) of the recently updated (“Solsticized”) suites on the M-class ships. What I soon discovered is that Celebrity’s website if filled with old info and pictures??!!!

You would think, that a website, dedicated to selling you on the luxury that they can offer you (for a price)..would take an hour or two, and update their pictures and text?!!

Long story short….I spent a few good hours pounding the internet, looking for the best pictures of the Celebrity Constellations suites.

So where did I find them? Right here!!! (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1887789)

I have no idea why I looked anywhere else?!!!

If you think a picture doesn’t matter….

Here’s what Celebrity’s website shows you as a representation of their $ 3,500 Celebrity Suite:

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and

Celebrity...why did you make that so hard?!

Seriously, Celebrity….if you need some Website help..in exchange for some a Suite upgrade….give me a call?!!

Now…where do I come up with a spare, extra $ 2k to pay for it????!!!

Later…

D & K

Hey All,

Not sure if we can even afford it...but on our upcoming wedding cruise aboard the Constellation....we are looking at upgrading to a Suite (if we can come up with the cash).

Currently, our entire wedding party is booked on the A2 Aqua Class Staterooms. This is fine with us, as we like the AQ rooms.

This will be our first cruise aboard an M-class ship (our other cruises have all been on the S-class)...so we don't have any experience with the staterooms.

The Sky Suite is affordable...but quite frankly...I'm not too impressed (though I've never seen it "live").

I REALLY like the Celebrity Suite....but I don't think it has a balcony (veranda)?!!! Is this true?!!:mad:

If true....VERY disappointing. We just love being on a balcony...

Looking forward to your thoughts and pics (if you have any??!!)

TIA

Dwayne

Hey All,

Newbie question, here....

What's the difference between the "1" and "2" level rooms? I see about a $ 100 difference...but that's all?

For instance....on our upcoming cruise aboard "Connie", we are all booked on the A2 level....but for $ 100 more...we can be on the A1 level...one floor higher?

Is that the only difference?

TIA

Dwayne

Hey All!

Took a moment away from the wedding stress...and brought back the meaning of all this craziness...getting married.

Got a call yesterday from the jeweler. Kel's ring was finished! I checked the account...and ran over during lunchtime. I was just about ready to purchase one of (two) bands for her...(see below)...

...when i got the call.....guess fate stepped in. Engagement ring is ready!

I was going to make her wait til Christmas..or at least Thanksgiving...but she's waited long enough.

Admit it ladies....Part of the fun (for women) of being engaged...is shoving your wedding ring in other women's faces!!!

Don't deny it?!!:D

So...I bought a nice bottle of champagne...and gave it to her as a dessert....right after dinner!

She's at work right now...shoving it into her co-workers faces.....

Later...

Cruisetrail,

This is absolutely the BEST thread I've ever seen!!

Such passion and details!!

I wish you were doing the M-Class ships! We are sailing on our first M-Class on a Destination Wedding Cruise in March, 2014 (on Connie).

We always book AQ...but have been fantasizing about the suites! I don't much car for Spa Suite...but the Celebrity Suite will never happen!

Anyway...EXCELLENT work!

Celebrity should PAY you to do a "Best of Class" post (i.e. you list the best staterooms in each class...for each Celebrity ship).

That would be awesome!!

D

Hey Warm winds...

Kel's the the wife-to-be....

Yes...we were going to pay for Kel's mom...still a no. She is just that type of person who is set in her ways. She is 73...and has only traveled once in her life (to SC). She says she just doesn't "do" this sort of thing.

We knew that going in...but wanted the chance for her to experience a bit more out of her life (she is retiring in Dec).

I find it a bit sad.....:(

D

Hey All!

Just a few quick updates…...

Wedding Planner Offer:

As you may know, we have selected WITB (Weddings in the Bahamas) as our local wedding planners. They have been nothing but professional and courteous (see earlier posts).

At this point, we are about 95% locked in on price and features. All that really remains is the final color of the flowers and tiny details like that. Our wedding time is set for 1pm..but we are considering moving the time back to 2:15pm.

Why?

Shore Excursions.

With the wedding at 1pm, it is doubtful that anyone will be able to do any of the cruise line shore excursions. I have to discuss this with Kel (in detail) and look over the posted shore excursions….but we’d like for people to enjoy the Bahamas as much as possible.

Sure…our invitations say 1pm…but everyone going on the cruise (20 at this posting) are easily reachable…and will know the correct time of the wedding.

Stay tuned.

As you know…I am (unfortunately) consumed with the budget. Coming up with about 85% of the total budget by Jan 12, 2014…is becoming a bit of a downer.

To that end….WITB requires a $ 750.00 NON-refundable deposit. That is NON-refundable…as in…throw the check in the garbage..and light it on fire (should anything happen)!!! My first thought is…HELL NO!!

My second thought is…HELL, HELL NO!!!:mad:

I work WAY too hard for my money for this kind of offer!!

Kel is worried about losing the beach. I am too…just not $ 750 worried!

With the average ceremony lasting 30min…and setup running, say…and hour…they could do 6 weddings on that beach while we are in port.

Nope…the deposit will have to wait until AFTER Jan 12, 2014. Once we know we are a “Go”, then I will gladly send the deposit.

Let me be fair, by saying that ALL the Destination Wedding Planners require some sort of large, non-refundable deposit…not just WITB.

So that $ 750 deposit I reported on a few days ago….was never dropped in the mail.

Instead…..I will put that $ 750 towards the balance of our stateroom.

There….at least THAT’s paid for!!:D

D & K

Hey All (OP here)

This is certainly turning into an interesting read!! I'd love to get this kind of banter on my Bahama Diary post (see Honeymoon Cruises)!!

Yes...I am truly a wonderful person (for paying for some of my relatives and family)! :rolleyes:

I don't want to move everyone down a stateroom class (good idea, though).

I want my friends and family to experience the wonderful Celebrity cruise that we have been talking to them about...and this is the only way to do it.

For some of our older guests...this may be their last, big adventure..:(

I'm sure some of you can understand what we are trying to do...

Amerie, yes...Kelly and I have dined at Blu...we love it!!

This will shock some of you..but we are more concerned with "The Childs" safety than with her dining habits (at least I am). I am very old school...along the lines of.."You'll eat what's put in front of you"..her mother...well....:cool:

Not so much....

"The Child" will be fine. She will find something to eat (at Blu) or find something (later) at the buffet. As I tell her all the time..."You'll survive"....

I'm more concerned with where to put her?

Kel's mom called last night...asking 1,000 questions (we call her the Riddler) about the cruise. In the end...she commented that she could not afford it...and lamented about all the guilt she's feeling.....

Aaahhhh.....the joys of a wedding?!

Amerie,

Please tell me more about the Loyalty reduction? When the price dropped last week, we received a price reduction. Everyone got 10%...but we got 15%.

is this what you are talking about...or should we have received 15% off the cost of our stateroom...no matter what?

Thanks!

Dwayne

Hey Amerie,

Yes...with 8 cabins you get the TCC. It will really help us, as it will reduce the cost of our Cabin by $ 467!!

I wish it applied to all the rooms!

It is reflected in my budget...but since i haven't paid the balance yet...i haven't mentioned it...

Dwayne

Hey All,

We PAID for our relatives AQ...if not...they would not have come on the cruise (wedding). They are needed for the wedding , so.....;)

So that's what I'm dealing with.....

We are thinking things over.....

Hey All!

Out of town this past weekend…

Just a few quick updates…...

Wedding Drama:

We are still attempting to keep any and all wedding drama to a minimum. Emotionally, we are adjusting to the fact that Kel’s mom is still claiming she will not go…but what we didn’t expect…is the problem it’s causing with our 16yr old daughter.

She was supposed to share a room with Kel’s mom (her Grandmother), but since she isn’t going…we are now tasked with what to do. Not only is it probably going to cost us $ 1,300+…but the logistics of the situation is adding a bit of…Mama Drama!

I’ve posted our situation on this forum, under the Celebrity page. So far we have two pages of advice (and growing)!! We are getting comments ranging from helpful and practical, to judgmental and useless (“Well I would NEVER allow my child to be alone in a room, but that’s just the type of parent I am!”)…

People are funny….

We are still hoping one of Kelly’s female friends will come, solo….that would solve the problem right there. Stay tuned!!

Budget:

No big payments towards the “Bill”. I was able put down $ 750 deposit with the wedding planers, so the beach is being held. We are toying with the idea of pushing the time of the wedding back. This would allow people to do some morning excursions….more on that, later.

We did finally get the updated invoices from Celebrity, reflecting the $ 100+ off on the rooms.

Every little bit helps!!

I’d really like to take some bigger chunks out of this bill…but can’t get any movement on the “hustle” side..

Oh well….maybe tomorrow….:(

D & K

Hey All....OP here!

GREAT responses here!! Thanks so much!!

I was out of town...so sorry for the delay!

Blu on our Wedding night is the choice over a Specialty spot for one reason.....some cheap relatives!!

Yes...believe it or not...some of my relations would balk at the $ 35 fee for the TG or other spot...on our wedding night!!

We are going to look into putting her next to us. We are also holding our hope that one of Kel's friends might join us (as a single). If she can go, she would love to bunk with our child!!

Otherwise....this gets interesting.....

Dwayne

OH yes...

We thought about her bringing along a friend...but being responsible for TWO teens...in and out of another country is WAAAAYYY too much stress on a Wedding Cruise.

We'd be worried sick....

D

Hey All,

While I've been busy posting my diary (Bahama Wedding Diary) on the Honeymoon area...I thought I better post this to the X crew.

We are doing a Destination wedding on the Constellation to the Bahamas. My MIL has decided not to go..which leaves us in a bind. She was supposed to bunk with our 16 year old daughter....now our daughter will be alone.

The issue is...our 16 yr old would be hard pressed to find ANY of the great food at Blu..to be to her liking?

Paying for a $ 1,500 Aqua Class room for a 16yr old..who will not enjoy ANY of the Spa or Blu amenitites..seems lke such a waste.

We want her to dine with us (in Blu) in the Wedding night...but that's all she could stand.

Any thoughts? An inside stateroom would be fine with her...but then we couldn't get her into Blu, correct?

TIA

Dwayne

Hey All,

TQ- Yes...we would have "The Child" close to us...but not too close!!

We are also concerned about predators. Being a 16 yr old, she is convinced that she is invincible...which is why she has parents!!

We are hoping a friend of kel's ( a guidance counsuler no less) will dedcide to come. She is looking into it.

Having them room together would be great on so many levels. We have even offered to cover your "part" of the cost...considering we would have to pay full price for the room, anyway.

Keep your fingers crossed!!

In other news...

More of my friends (including my best man) have booked their rooms...so we are over the magic 8 now!! We are offically a GROUP!!

Still waiting for my Group Rep to email me the updated pricing (showing the new discounted price). he can't seem to get that to me?! :rolleyes:

More soon!!

D

Oh...I forgot!

The wedding rings and things are NOT included in our budget, as I wanted

this to be about the ups and downs about Destination Weddings....

But....needless to say...her "rock" can really throw a budget out of wack!

Before you ladies freak out...you must know, that Dwayne is not a cheapskate!!

While I won't mention what I spent...I saved a whole YEAR before asking her. So budget-wise...the rings are (or will be) paid for,shortly!

I find having the money taken from each check, really helps to save!

I let her pick her own ring out (yes...she had an unknown budget). I only asked that she visit 3 places. In the end, she picked a custom ring:

and

The ring is being made right now. Should be ready by Thanksgiving...I think i will hold off giving it to her....until Christmas?!!

Whatdaya think about THAT, ladies!!?? (Hehehhehe....):D:D

Cheers!

Oh yes good ol' guests....Of course this is all true except for parents. Now for them just roll over and play dead because it's there way or the highway

hahaha...you guys are great!!

TropicQueen..I don't remember writing a SAD story? Does anyone?:confused:

Anywho...

So far...only the M.I.A. is going to be MIA. She has decided that she "just can't go" and "It's too far out of her comfort zone"...so...

She's off my budget list!!! Minus $ 1,500.00!!!:):rolleyes::mad:

The only problem is....she was supposed to share a room with our 16yr old daughter?!!

So....Now what the #@$$# do we do with her? Give her, her own $ 1,500 Aqua Class room??

Nope....she hasn't been THAT good!!

If we give her a cheaper inside room...then she won't be able to eat at Blu...which she probably won't like anyway!!:mad::mad:

I guess that $ 1,500 goes right back on the budget list!! (Enter swear words, here)!

Celebrity had a little sale that knocked off about $ 100 per room. I will keep checking back...

Hint: The price you book for your room...is probably going to go down, between the time you book...and when you sail!!

On our last cruise, we had about $ 300 of onboard credit, by the time we sailed!

Update: Staterooms

My Mother in Law and my brother aren't coming. Since we were paying for both of them, we are saving between $ 1,500 and $ 2,200.

Of course...we would rather have them with us...but oh well....

At this point..it's a potential game changer....

Update: Ceremony

We have finalized our wedding plans. The final cost of the beach wedding will be around $ 5k.

Of that, $ about $ 600 are for flowers...$ 1,275 for decorations and chairs. The basic package will give you none of these. While spending $ 675 for the 30min rental of an Archway would normally make me pass out.....

...Kelly likes it...so it's in! Gotta keep her happy.

Besides...i will remind her of it, the next time I buy some boy toys!

More later!

D

Well Tropic Queen....

As much as you believe in the superior planning powers of the female species….:rolleyes:

Yes…planning this a year ago would have been nice….but..if you have been following from the beginning….

You would have read, that we only became engaged a few months ago….and because this is our second wedding…Kelly didn’t want to wait a year to marry me (yes..I’m that wonderful).

Also,…we picked a shorter cruise, because her family would not have gone on a 7+ day cruise….AND…

Celebrity cruiseline only offers shorter cruises to the Bahamas….WHICH…requires a 24hr “in territory” requirement before you can get a license.

So you see….sometimes..you need to roll with what you’ve got….

…which is the point of the whole “Diary”.

As a matter of fact, I have stated several times..that I do not recommend doing this in less than 6 months…

So…doing it in 5 months is the challenge!

So..kick back and see how a MAN does it!!!

Hey All!

Had some personal drama to deal with this week (unrelated to our wedding).

One of our four rescue cats, Spike got out on Wednesday. Our security cameras showed him slipping right through my legs, as I left for work. Because both Kel and I leave at about the same time…Spike was outside all day. Long story short….I raced home from work…got a $ 400 ticket..and was prepared to look for him all night.

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Invitations and Communication:

Our paper invitations arrived yesterday!!! We’ll be filling those out this weekend. They’ll be going out to our moms and select friends. We only bought 10 of them…but that should do.

We are waiting on RSVP’s from about 50 people…but we don’t expect more than 20 people to attend. We’ll see….

The Wedding Planner:

Just waiting on the final proposal. The overall ceremony price keeps creeping up. Mostly the flower prices are to blame. We are at about $ 800 for the flowers alone. What can you do…..

We are duplicating this look (for the most part). Mostly white…with a little light pink.

More info, soon!!

D & K

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Hey All,

Quick update....

RSVP's are beginning to come in (along with a few regrets). Kel has a few friends coming..that she didn't think would come..so that's GREAT!!!

Couldn't make many calls today....I did manage to talk to the Celebrity Wedding Planners.

Overall, the Celebrity Wedding Planners have been great to talk to..but they are in the profit business baby!!

After quoting us over $ 2,000 for a 1hr reception (the Celebration Package), we had to pass. We thought we could count on them for a cake...but they said...NOPE!!

If you are not buying one of their packages...then they can't help you with a cake?!! I'm not mad....I understand. This is a for-profit business. I also found out...that they are a sub-contractor of Celebrity...so don't be too hard on Celebrity.

Tomorrow, I will call my rep, and see what he can do about a cake...and some music.

Once I hear back from WITB about the flower cost...we will have a working budget!!

I'm going to try to attach our Budget as it stands, today.

More, later!!

D

W List ver 7web.xls

Everything looks and sounds great. I like the first pic better, but that may just be because I can envision family and friends sitting there. Question, are you having and Island planner for your ceremony and then using the ship wedding coordinator for your reception? If so what do you plan to do after the ceremony on the island?

 

Crystal

Hey JAC1213!!

We are using the island planner WITB (Weddings in the Bahamas) for the ceremony. Our reception will be a Cocktail hour back on board the ship. I am coordinating this through the Group Rep from Celebrity.

Originally, we talked to Celebrity's Wedding department. They wanted $ 800 for the "room" (some area on the ship), $ 200 for the cake, $ 700 for Canapes and $ 150 for a Wedding Coordinator?!!!

That's one pricey Cocktail hour??

Because we have a group of 10+ rooms...our Group Rep got us the one hour Cocktail reception (well drinks) and the hot and cold Canapes...for FREE!!

As you can read in my next posting....the Wedding group was unwilling to do anything for us (not even a cake)...unless we bought something from them.

After the Ceremony? Our Wedding is at 1pm. The service will last until 2pm. We may hang around the beach and have a few drinks....but the Coctail hour starts at 4pm.

Hey All!

Well….Kelly’s watching the football game…so I have time for a quick update (what’s wrong with this picture….)

We went over the budget and everything in 30mins!! It helps that I am so organized…and that a second wedding is SOOO much easier than the first.

Add the Destination Wedding factor…and this is a breeze!

Budget:

Nothing we can do about it. We are Go/No Go on by January 12, 2014. That is the last day we can get 100% of our money back.

We have trimmed all we dare. It’s up to fate now. We make what we make. I will hustle all I can…be we need about $ 10k by Jan. 12, 2014…or the wedding will be delayed until the fall (um…Santa….if you’re out there…?!!!)

Staterooms:

At this point, Kel and I have put down the first $ 200 to save our choice of room, and the reception date and location (location subject to change). Once we hear back from Celebrity Wedding Dept. about the cake and upgrading the beverage service during our Reception….we are all set. Guests are instructed to call Celebrity Group department and mention our Group number.

Invitations and Communication:

I just LOVE this “Electronic Wedding” development. I have a very informative wedding website, Save the Date and now…formal invitations……all for (virtually) free!

I highly recommend The Knot for your wedding website. You get a website, RSVP’s the works…for FREE!!

http://www.theknot.com

Our page:

http://www.theknot.com/wedding/Dwayne-and-Kelly

For your Invitations….look no further than Paperlesspost!

http://www.paperlesspost.com/

I sent out 61 “Save the Dates” for…..FREE

I used the same template to design the invitations. I added a few nice items…which allowed me to send out 61 invitations (complete “moving” envelopes, and RSVP cards and tracking)…for a whole $ 16.00!!

Our moms aren’t internet savvy so we had the exact same template…and will have ten (10) complete invitations for……$ 51.00!!! Our moms, key wedding guest and rich friends will get the paper versions!!

Total price of my wedding correspondence: $ 67.00??!!!! I spent about $ 350 the last time!!

I created an Update page on the website…so whenever anything changes…I simply update my page…and send out an update notice email!!

We have no need to stare at the mailbox waiting for RSVP’s…..

Our Paperless Post informs us of who opened our invitation, RSVP’s, Regrets, and questions. (2 Regrets and 1 RSVP so far). I sent out the Invitations 3 hours ago!!

I receive all the above…in my email and on my iPhone (yep…there’s an app)!

What about our Registry?

http://www.pleasanthoneymoonregistry.com/

BOOM!!! DONE!!

Kel and I have so much stuff...we don't need any thing else. What we'd like...is to do a CruiseTour of Itay and Greece. That's gonna take some money. Instead of an envelope...guest just go to the website and "gift" whatever they'd like...towards our Honeymoon!

How did we ever do this, any other way?!!

And finally….

The Wedding Planner:

Just waiting on some final chair and decoration prices…but we are all set with Weddings in the Bahamas.

http://www.weddingsinthebahamas.com/

The modifications to the Hibiscus Package ($ 1,595.00) has us at around $ 3,600.00 right now (for 25 people). That’s doable.

(If I would find a way to attach a document….I’d post all of this).

Color theme will be simple…stunning white. We’ve narrowed it down to two views….

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So….what do ya’ think?!

D & K

Thanks JAC1213!!!

Kel and I are going over everything, today! Stay tuned!!!

Nessa55...I'll continue just for you!!!

More to come...we are going over everything on Sunday!!

Dwayne