Renewal of Vows aboard HAL ships

Have any of you done this? Can you please describe it? I'm thinking DH and I might renew our vows onboard as we'll be celebrating 10 years together, and 7 years married.

Have any of you done this? Can you please describe it? I'm thinking DH and I might renew our vows onboard as we'll be celebrating 10 years together, and 7 years married.

We did this on the Oosterdam a couple of years ago, for our thirtieth. It was very nice.

It was held in the Oak Room one evening, "at the captain's convenience". There were three other couples when we did it. There was a string quartet playing while all the guests gathered and waited. Hor d'ouevres were served, along with Champagne.

The captain arrived and, after a few general remarks, called each couple to the front, seperately, and recited a prepared set of vows (I suppose you could substitute your own). The ship's photographers were there, of course. We received several photos (not just the one promised in the website) and a photo album that was different (and nicer) than the one being sold in the photo gallery.

Of course, the dinner in the Pinnacle Grill was great.

All in all, we found it simple but tasteful and we were glad we did it. I got a few points with my wife for suggesting it, in the first place (chicks dig stuff like that).

Paul

Thanks for the info, it sounds lovely. :)

My only concern is not knowing which night it will be held. We are planning on getting new wedding rings in St. Thomas and would like those to be a part of the ceremony...

Thanks for the info, it sounds lovely. :)

 

My only concern is not knowing which night it will be held. We are planning on getting new wedding rings in St. Thomas and would like those to be a part of the ceremony...

I believe that ours was on Thursday of a Saturday-Saturday Mexican Riviera trip. Surprisingly, it was on a port day (Mazatlan) and not a formal night.

I don't think that even calling HAL in Seattle would help, because the schedule is deliberately left to the captain's discretion and convenience.

IIRC, when we boarded, there was an invitation to the ceremony, specifying the day. Certainly, you could ask at the purser's desk, but if the captain decides to have it the day BEFORE you visit St. Thomas, you may be out of luck. The captain might be willing to change, but I wouldn't count on it.

BTW, take all your paperwork along. We were cruising with my brother, sister and their spouses. I had paid for four guests at the ceremony prior to sailing. When we boarded, they had a record of OUR reservation for the ceremony, but not for the guests. They had to contact Seattle to straighten it out, on Easter Sunday, but it would have been easier if I had the written proof that I had booked and paid for four guests.

Good luck, and Happy Anniversary!

Paul Noble

Our renewal was as described by noblepa: one of 3 couples, but ceremony

very lovely (flowers, strings, champagne, etc.). We did ours on the Zuiderdam. Last summer were with friends on the Maasdam and their renewal was on one of several days but it was more than a 7 day cruise. Again the flowers, music, captain's nice greetings and an individualized renewal. It was

well worth it just for the ceremony alone, never mind the pix and album and add ons. margretha

We celebrated our 25th anniversary last year on the Maasdam(First cruise also) and renewed our vows. Only one other couple was present and it was their 50th. Held in the Piano Bar with backgroud piano and Capt. Draper arrived with his wife, performed the ceremony separately for both of us and then stayed and we all very much enjoyed the time spent with the Capt. and his wife. The area was decorated and a ships officer was on had prior to let us know the procedure and took care of us while waiting. Overall it was the highlight of our cruise and something we will always remember. The invite was in our room on arrival day and I am am sure it was held on a sea day. You will not be disappointed.

Rex & Paula

Thanks for all the input! It sounds wonderful. I think we will wait to see which night it will be offered and sign up onboard if we can, if it will be after our day at St. Thomas. :)

I have surprised Ruth with a Renewal of Vows several times and we have always enjoyed it.

Consider following it up with dinner in the Pinnacle Grill

Ruth & Jim

Thanks for the info. DH and I are renewing our vows (31 years) on the Noordam that sails this Thursday (Thanksgiving Day). It's nice to hear everyone's positive remarks. BTW, it was DH's suggestion, too:cool:

May you have many more happy years together

We'll be on the Maasdam next week and I'm going to renew my vow never to go into the casino again!

Consider following it up with dinner in the Pinnacle Grill

 

Ruth & Jim

I realize this is a very old thread, but we're planning on doing this for our Sep 2017 cruise on Oosterdam. These days the package includes dinner for two at the Pinnacle Grill, which makes it even more enticing. ;)

To add to this, our room steward had two kissing swan animals on the bed, & the bed was strewn with rose petals. There was just two of us, so we had our wedding cake delivered to the room to enjoy as we pleased.

It was well worth the cost and made a lovely event!

I realize this is a very old thread, but we're planning on doing this for our Sep 2017 cruise on Oosterdam. These days the package includes dinner for two at the Pinnacle Grill, which makes it even more enticing. ;)

Hope you have a wonderful time..We did our ROV on the Noordam in 2010 on a B2B & had 4 of our Friends in Attendance..One of the couples was on the second leg of our trip, so I went to the Front Desk & told them that our Friends were joing the ship later & they arranged for us to have our ROV on the second leg.. If they ask you to go down to the Photographers a few days earlier, be sure to do

it.. We did not & the only pic we have is of me in tears..Of course they were happy ones but I would have preferred a smiling pic of me..LOL

Our ceremony was lovely & if we ever have a chance to do it again, we would..

Enjoy your ROV..:D

... Our ceremony was lovely & if we ever have a chance to do it again, we would ...

Isn't the ROV offered on all HAL cruises? If so, you can certainly do it again on your next cruise.

Smooth sailing ...

We did an unplanned vow renewal while on the Westerdam French Polynesia cruise in the spring and it was done on our 49th anniversary day. If you are ever lucky enough to be on a cruise with the port guide Kainoa and want a different kind of vow renewal, he is the one. He is an ordained minister. The ceremony was in Polynesian and English and was very moving, it involved singing, leis and pareos. We had invited 16 of our CC friends to join us and afterwards several of us went to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. Kainoa gifted us with the pareos and also a very nice framable certificate.

We are planning on renewing our vows to celebrate our 25th anniversary on our upcoming 14 day Alaskan Cruise this coming May. We are very excited to hear that the ceremony has been well received by others here! Good tip to bring your paperwork as we have preordered tickets for our kids and my parents, better safe than sorry. I have a few questions which I am hoping someone can answer. How long does the ceremony last? What time does it usually start? Looking forward to it, counting down the days!

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The ceremony lasted about 1.5 hours. Time and day is up to the Captain

We did a renewal of vows for our 15th anniversary after a very challenging year. The cost is minimal for what we received. Our anniversary is December 31 so it was done on the second formal night of our cruise. It starts with flowers in your cabin and printed invitations. We had our two children and another couple. It was held in the crows nest in a curtained off area. We were all fussed over by bartenders, catering and photographers. There was a wedding cake,exotic flowers, champagne and nonalcoholic deverages for our children. We each had a corsage. We were in full formal highland dress so created a bit of a stir. The captain spent at least 30 minutes with us prior to the ceremony. After we had dinner at the Pinnacle Grill.

It was beautiful

Thank you

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Isn't the ROV offered on all HAL cruises? If so, you can certainly do it again on your next cruise.

Smooth sailing ...

 

 

If we do another cruise, & we have another ROV, I would want to have our Friends with us again.. To get them all together is my next project..:D

We renewed our vows on a 15 day to Hawaii a few years ago. We were told that it was up to the Captain as to whether he performed them as a group or privately. Ours were all private but there was a group reception held afterwards. It was lovely and I would do it again. Every one of the couples (I believe there were 4 or 5 along with us) said that it was truly special. Ours happened to fall on a formal night but given that it was a longer cruise, we had 6 formal nights, so the odds were good.

We renewed our vows last year and were lucky enough to be the only ones. The captain spent 30 minutes or so chatting with us. My only suggestion is to not eat before. The nibbles were delicious but we were full.

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Thanks for all the great feedback everyone. Now I'm looking forward to our Sep cruise even more, if that's even possible! :)

I'm going to make this a surprise to DW as long as I can, but it sounds as though as soon as we board and open our cabin door, she'll immediately figure it out. :cool: That's okay though, it'll be a surprise up to that point! :D

Thanks for all the great feedback everyone. Now I'm looking forward to our Sep cruise even more, if that's even possible! :)

 

I'm going to make this a surprise to DW as long as I can, but it sounds as though as soon as we board and open our cabin door, she'll immediately figure it out. :cool: That's okay though, it'll be a surprise up to that point! :D

Only problem with a surprise is packing the clothes you are going to wear for your ROV..I took

a dress which I wore to our Son's wedding & DH was in his TUX.. Since HAL no longer has formal nights & Gala nights are less dressy would your bride be comfortable in the clothes she packs for the cruise..

If I could have I would have tried to surprise DH but how to get his TUX packed was a concern, so I ended up asking him..He jumped at the chance & packed his TUX..

We had another couple from Manilla, who also did the ROV & had their entire family & more with them..There was about a dozen guests & every one of them including the children & the couple were dressed in white..What a beautiful group it was & a lovely picture..

Now if she has a special dress that she enjoys wearing you could try to sneak them in a suitcase, but don't forget her shoes & Jewelry..

Good luck & know you will have a lovely time..:D