Any Princess Brides marrying at sea out there?

Hi Ladies! I am getting married At Sea on the Crown Princess in March 2010. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this type of wedding, and has any tips for me! I am dealing with TWE trying to make the plans for the day.

Hi halifaxgirl,

I'm getting married on the Crown Princess at sea as well but in April 2010. So in the planning process as well. I've been working with Charlotte at TWE and she respond to my emails within a few days on average and has been quite helpful so far.

I have seen some reviews of past brides who have been married at sea as well on this site and have been helpful in giving some ideas for the day...

Good luck with all of your planning!

Glad I'm not the only one Kerbear, guess it's what us Canadian girls do, lol! I will be sure to give you the full details when I return, although it won't be until early April, as we are spending a full week at Disney for our honeymoon when the cruise is over!! :)

I have been dealing with Alexandra at TWE, but I am feeling quite overwhelmed right now with it all. I've read so much on all these message boards, but I can't keep track, so I'll have to go back through and actually write down all my questions, concerns, etc. I just want to keep it as simple as possible, but of course still make sure I don't forget anything. We're having about 20 guests travelling with us and having a reception and then dinner at Sabatini's after the ceremony. What are you planning to do Kerbear? We seem to be having trouble booking a private reception after the ceremony for an hour in any of the lounges, but I am still waiting to hear back. Ugghh!!

Ok wow I'm just amazed at how familiar your plans sound to what we are planning on doing as well...

So for the Honeymoon we will be going to Disney for a week after the cruise, figured may as well since we will only be a few hours from Orlando :)

Right now we currently have about 25 people joining us on the cruise. Working out having dinner at Sabatini's after the ceremony and reception, we are hoping to have the reception in Skywalkers, waiting back on this request at the moment, hopefully will hear back in the next few weeks as the request is going to the ship to get the info. I do know that to book something like Skywalkers you do have to have hors d'oeuvres and open bar which I guess isn't too bad considering saving a lot of money anyway by getting married on the ship.

Hope all of your requests go through :)

Kerbear

Hi all, we're on the 3/21/10 sailing of the Emerald getting married the first sea day. I am working with Alexandra as well -- starting to get a little frustrated with the lack of communication they provide.

Also not happy about the mark up on everything! We're doing dinner at Sabatini's for around 35, but the reception I am not booking through TWE. Working with my Princess travel agent on that. Less expensive and MUCH more helpful/responsive.

Would love to hear your other plans and experiences so far as you prepare!

Jami

Hey Jami, I have been fairly patient with Alexandra, and asked very few questions at this point, but I hope I can get the answers I need as we move along! I am also hoping to book my reception through my travel agent, however, the only time she could get was for 4pm-5pm at Skywalkers, and I want my reception from 5pm to 6pm. I am going to try and go back, as it sounds like a much better deal! They sent me a word document with a list of pricing for the reception.

Do either of you have any idea how the set-up at Sabatini's will be? Will we have privacy? I am probably going to ahve approx 25 guests, and I think that's what Kerbear said as well :)

For Sabatini's from what I remember seeing on the sip when we were on it last June there isn't much "privacy", it's mainly a restaurant full of tables for 2-8 people. I have been advised that the group will be sat at numerous tables in the same area of the restaurant. Hopefully that helps

For the reception I'm glad you both have been able to go through your own travel agent, for me I tried that but what she ended up doing was going the TWE instead, I was pretty sure I made it clear to her that I wanted this booked separately considering I was sitting right in front of her in person but guess that went in one ear and out the other...sorry had to vent there. This has been quite the experience so far trying to get what we are hoping for.

Were you both advised that to book a reception that you had to have hors d'oeuvres and open bar for at least an hour as well for $21/per/hr? Kinda curious to see if there really is a difference between TWE and what you are able to work out with you TA or Princess directly.

Kerberr,

My TA hasn't said that I need open bar and appetizers to have a reception...I hope that is not true! She did tell me that whatever she books for me through Group Services we can not use the word "wedding"...I assume that TWE has a contract to provide all wedding related events/services for Princess. She seems to be very accomodating and understanding about me wanting to book with her directly though.

We were going to just have a bill escort for the reception - charging actual drinks to our account. We figured there are some big drinkers but not enough that everyone in the party is going to drink 2 per hour. But my request is still with my TA, she hasn't let me know yet if it is approved. I am working with an agent of Princess directly. I've asked for a champagne toast and fountain, chocolate covered strawberries and a DJ for two hours.

I am not worried about Sabatini's - maybe I should be. I guess I figured that since we were booking a 6:00 dinner that the place would not be that full with other people. It would seem to me that they would want to put us out of the way from other people...but you're right, if everyone is at tables of 2 or 4 that is not good! I hope they will put tables together for us? I'll ask my TA about that. She did say that if it is a group of more than 20 they may have to stagger the dining time.

Sounds like you are having trouble with your agent. I would mention to her the difference that you are going to pay with the different avenues...and be very specific. I've attached the group events price list I got from my TA. I had to put it in a TXT doc to get it small enough to attach. Hopefully it is readable.

Cocktail Party Prices.txt

Thought I wrote yesterday what I'd requested from my TA, but now I don't see it posted....here is the schedule that I am hoping for, but waiting to hear back -

3:30 Ceremony

4:00 Photos

5:15 - 5:45 Captain's reception (found on Princess Patters from last year....hope the schedule is the same!)

6:00 Dinner at Sabatini's

7:30 - 9:30 or 8:00 - 10:00 Reception at Skywalkers.

The only thing I am still indecisive about is flowers...I've got 4 bridesmaids and 4 groomsmen. I am wondering if I can get bouquets onboard for less than $80 per. Or maybe I'll carry them onboard from a Ft. Lauderdale florist. What are you two doing? Are you having a bridal party?

Jami

We got married at sea (1st sea day) on the Grand Princess last year with 50 guests. Our wedding day looked like this:

Hair appointments starting at 8 am

Ceremony @ 11 am

Lunch at Sabitinis @ noon

Reception in Skywalkers from 2 - 5

We booked the lunch and Skywalkers through the group rep via our TA (as some have said you cannot mention "wedding" or it will be sent to TWE).

They took us for pictures between the ceremony and lunch and after the reception.

A few suggestions:

1. Have a list of pictures you want. Give 1 copy to the coordinator, 1 copy to the photographer and 1 copy to someone in your party who will make sure that they are taken.

2. Have a plan for makeup. When my mom sailed a few months before the wedding she was told there would be no problem with having our makeup done in the salon (hers and mine). We should just make an appointment when we boarded and bring the makeup with us. We did this and they said it was fine, but the morning of the wedding--while they were doing my hair--they informed us that they were too busy to do any makeup.

3. Know how you want your hair done and take pictures. I did a trial with a land based stylist and took pictures with me. This really helped. I loved the way they did my hair!

4. Keep a folder or binder of all communication with TA and TWE. Take this with you. It's one thing to say you were told something, but when you have the proof it can help to clear up any confusion.

We did a newsletter for our guests around the time of final payment. This gave them a preview of events we had planned. We then distributed a second edition of the newsletter with our welcome bags. The second edition gave details of when and where everything was happening (when to be at the chapel for the wedding, etc.).

If you want the webcam on in the chapel for the ceremony, make sure to sign the release during your meeting with the onboard coordinator on sailing day. This was popular with family & friends who could not sail with us---many watched online.

Feel free to ask me if you have any questions!

Best of luck with planning and have a great time!!

Thank you for the advice!

Were you happy with the quality of the pictures that were taken? Did you purchase the extra hour of photography? Did they spend any time in your cabin taking 'getting ready' photos?

Another question about the reception...what did you purchase or provide for guests? Did you have a DJ? I am concerned that booking through my TA does not give me the wedding coordinator the TWE provides. Was there someone in your group who announced you, the first dance, the cake cutting? You had a large group so you probably can't just yell "hey, we're going to cut the cake now!" :)

All your tips are greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you for the advice!

 

Were you happy with the quality of the pictures that were taken? We were happy with the quality of the pictures the photographer took. We ended up buying a larger package that gave us more pictures and the cds with rights to the pictures. It was more, but worth it to have the cds so that we could do what we wanted with them later. Did you purchase the extra hour of photography? We purchased 2 extra hours of photography--mainly to cover the reception. Did they spend any time in your cabin taking 'getting ready' photos? They were supposed to do this, but our photographer never showed up to do it. This was probably the biggest dissapointment that I had with the wedding. I've read reviews from many at sea brides on here and none have had any issues with the photographers showing up to do this. Just be very clear and firm with the coordinator in your meeting on sailing day and I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

Another question about the reception...what did you purchase or provide for guests? We did the open bar and, because we had just had lunch at Sabitinis, we had snacks (trays of veggies, cheese and bowls of fruit). I will tell you that most of that food was not even touched--still full from lunch. Much of the cake (we upgraded to a cake to feed 50--it could have fed 150) went back to my parent's cabin after the reception. Did you have a DJ? We did have the dj. I created cds of the music we wanted played (along with a list) just in case he didn't have all the songs. He was good about playing those songs. I also had our first dance, father/daughter, mother/son, cake cutting, bouquet and garter toss songs on a separate cd. I am concerned that booking through my TA does not give me the wedding coordinator the TWE provides. Since the wedding has to be booked through TWE, we had the coordinator for the wedding ceremony and directly after. This ended up working out fine. We (through the newsletter, telling everyone at dinner night 1, etc.) made sure everyone knew where to go for lunch and then reception. Was there someone in your group who announced you, the first dance, the cake cutting? We asked my uncle (who loves public speaking) to announce the dances, cake cutting and bouquet/garter tosses. The dj gave him a microphone to do this and it worked out well. You had a large group so you probably can't just yell "hey, we're going to cut the cake now!" :)

 

All your tips are greatly appreciated!!!

A few more things that worked for us...

The afternoon of embarkation we invited our guests to my parent's cabin to pickup their welcome bags. We had tote bags (printed with wedding information) for each cabin (each person if the people sharing a cabin weren't a couple). Some of the things we put in the bags were: wedding pens, tropical bookmarks, shoe polish sponges, tissues, mini battery fans, rain ponchos, personalized bottled water, t-shirts (personalized for the wedding) and the second edition of our newsletter. We also put personalized notes to our guests thanking them for joining us and wishing them a great trip.

We arranged for an area on sail away day to have a get together with our guests for sail away. We all got together on a back deck and everyone in the group could order drinks for an hour. It was a bit pricy (not as bad as we thought it would be though) and was just charged to my parents account. Even if you don't do the "open bar" idea for this, I would suggest setting some location for your group to meet on sail away day. This and dinner the first night really allowed people in our group to meet each other.

We arranged, through our TA, for our group to be seated together in the dining room for dinner. This worked well.

My husband and one of the groomsmen rented tuxes through the ship. We looked into renting on shore, but would have had to rent for a full week. In the end it was just easier renting onboard (they used ties in our colors instead of the bowties that come with the tux, for the wedding). The tuxes were in their closets waiting for them when they boarded.

flhokie, thanks for all your feedback, its a big help!

When you said you were able to get your entire group seated together for dinner, do you mean for the wedding, or for the entire week on the cruise?

For flowers, I am only having my maid of honour, so we are just getting my bouquet, her bouquet and boutinierres for my groom and his best man.

I haven't done anything in the last week or 2, I need to do some more planning this weekend!

We were thinking of a sail away gathering at Tradewind's bar - deck 16 midship. Anyone who's sailed on this class been there? Are there good views? Is the aft pool/bar better?

Also...verified with my TA on Friday that they will put tables together in sabatinis so that our group is at a few big tables in one area of the restaraunt.

Hi girls, what plans do you have or did you have for speeches? I am trying to figure out when the best time would be to do this! I am having trouble getting something booked for my reception, which I want to have between my wedding and dinner. Ugghh!

I figured I'd do speeches at dinner...hopefully we won't disturb other people dining.

We were thinking of a sail away gathering at Tradewind's bar - deck 16 midship. Anyone who's sailed on this class been there? Are there good views? Is the aft pool/bar better?

From what I remember on the Princess ships I've been on the Tradewinds bar is by a pool. I know on the Crown Princess there is a little more "cover" by this one but could be wrong with that. All "bars" from what I remember on the Deck 16 on the ship are normally by a pool, even the one by the screen for Movies under the Stars. This was the same for the Grand Princess. Of course I could be wrong, it has been a few months since I've been on the ship and the outlay is starting to get blurry. The Crown & Emerald are basically the same outlay as a ship goes.

For flowers I'll be getting an extra 2 small bouquets for the bridesmaids and extra boutonnières for the guys. Plus will probably end up getting corsages for the moms and boutonnière for the dads as well.

Just a note for flowers. When I was on the ship the florist mentioned that not only roses are available and if you request a specific type of flower it's not guaranteed that they can get it but at least if you request it they may be able to get that type flower for you, again not guaranteed but it is a possibility.

As flhokie mentioned as well - I was also advised by one of the coordinators on the ship to make sure you bring a copy of all communications between you and TWE, all requests should be sent to the ship before the wedding however things can get missed so your communications etc should be brought with you. Especially if you had a special request make sure you had it in writing from TWE that they were going to get it provided for you, sometimes the ship isn't aware of all requests. Sounds scary but it's true.

Looking through my notes, another important thing that they told me on the ship was if you want more than yourself to have your hair done before the ceremony to advise TWE how many people will need to be booked as weddings come first with hair appointments before the other guests sailing on the ship.

Ker

I am getting married on Island Princess in January. I am really flexible, but am not thrilled with the doz rose bouquet that comes in the package. I am a florist, but don't want to do my own bouquet on the ship. I did not add on anything additional through TWE because they only wanted color choice and were not interested in providing any other options. For those already married, are you able to get different/more flowers added to the bouquet (for additional cost of course) after meeting with the florist? Thanks for any help you can offer?

Congrats Michele - don't forget us in January after your wedding cruise. We'll be relying on you for a complete review of it all!!

My TA has the question on flowers out and is supposed to get back to me when she has an answer. I've asked what kind of flowers they have available and what are the prices for getting bouquets on board....I am waivering on silks again....

I am getting married on Island Princess in January. I am really flexible, but am not thrilled with the doz rose bouquet that comes in the package. I am a florist, but don't want to do my own bouquet on the ship. I did not add on anything additional through TWE because they only wanted color choice and were not interested in providing any other options. For those already married, are you able to get different/more flowers added to the bouquet (for additional cost of course) after meeting with the florist? Thanks for any help you can offer?

I'm getting married on the Star Princess in December. The TWE consultant checked with Princess on the flowers (I wanted a blue and lavender mixed bouquet) but the only deviation from the white roses was pale lilac colored roses. I am not a rose person, so I bought some silk hydrangeas to mix in with the lilac roses. Bringing live flowers aboard is forbidden. After paying for the cost of the wedding that is supposed to include the bouquet, I'm not paying another $95 for a specialty bouquet.

By the way, our sailing date is 19 days away and I still haven't gotten the final paperwork that TWE promised at 30 days. Patience!

I am getting married on Island Princess in January. I am really flexible, but am not thrilled with the doz rose bouquet that comes in the package. I am a florist, but don't want to do my own bouquet on the ship. I did not add on anything additional through TWE because they only wanted color choice and were not interested in providing any other options. For those already married, are you able to get different/more flowers added to the bouquet (for additional cost of course) after meeting with the florist? Thanks for any help you can offer?

I am getting married on the Star Princess in December. I'm not a rose person and didn't care for the dozen white roses (my dress is more like tea-stained ivory). I asked TWE about getting a blue and lavender mixed bouquet and the only thing they could come up with was pale lilac roses. I'm bringing some small blue and lavender silk hydrangeas to mix in with the roses. By the way, we are only 19 days away from embarkation and I still do not have my final wedding plan from TWE. They promised it by 30 days out, then by the end of last week. Still nothing....patience!

For flowers we added roses to my bouquet which we paid extra for(we either added 6 or 12--sorry, I can't remember the exact number). We also did the 1/2 dozen rose bouquets for the MOH and bridesmaids (at the price TWE quoted), boutonnières for the guys in the wedding party and corsages for the mothers. We requested deep pink, but were told no guarantees as that was not one of their "regular" color choices. In the end they were able to get that color and the flowers turned out very nice. My only complaint was that I requested hand tied and they did my bouquet as a nosegay (wasn't able to see it until I arrived at the chapel so it was too late then--in the big scheme of things it wasn't a huge deal).

As for hair appointments, TWE only allowed us to make a total of 4 hair appointments in advance. That covered me, my MOH and my 2 bridesmaids. We immediately went to the salon after boarding to book appointments for the Mother of the Bride and Mother of the Groom (worked out fine).

Our sail away gathering was at a bar at the back of the ship (can't think of the name right now). It was a great location since it was kind of away from the craziness of the sailaway at the bars by the main pools.

Hi girls! Its been 5 weeks since I requested to book my reception on the cruise in one of the lounges, and I have heard nothing, despite my few inquiries! I am getting worried, and so is my fiance! We want to have a 1 hour reception between our 3:30 reception and dinner at Sabatini's. Have any of you had problems booking your reception details?

Thanks!

Hi girls! Its been 5 weeks since I requested to book my reception on the cruise in one of the lounges, and I have heard nothing, despite my few inquiries! I am getting worried, and so is my fiance! We want to have a 1 hour reception between our 3:30 reception and dinner at Sabatini's. Have any of you had problems booking your reception details?

 

Thanks!

We requested a reception in a lounge through our TA (no mention of "wedding" or it would be referred to TWE for that portion). Nothing was confirmed until about 8 weeks before sailing. Apparently the group coordinators for Princess don't confirm events until after final payments are due (the final payment due date for the sailing).