Wedding @ Half Moon Cay v. Nassau, and debarkation?

[twee1]

My fiance and I are planning to get married between Aug. 22-26, 2011 on a Carnival Destiny cruise, and are trying to decide whether we should do the wedding in Half Moon Cay or Nassau Bahamas. :confused:

 

We would like to do a beach wedding rather than on board (unless outside isn't possible due to weather), and have heard that Half Moon Cay is spectacular, but we are concerned about a couple of things--(a) Half Moon Cay uses tender boats, i.e., will that ruin wedding clothes, hair, etc.?; and (b) HMC might also be a riskier port, i.e. Carnival told us the ship passes it sometimes, whereas Nassau is a docked port and more reliable.

 

Also, if we do Nassau we are a bit concerned about having the wedding on the day before debarkation, i.e., will having to pack that night and be off the ship the next morning take away from the wedding experience? (either for us or for guests). Also, we can't afford Atlantis, and not sure what the beach in Nassau is like if we did the Carnival beach package?

 

Has anyone had a wedding in either Half Moon Cay or Nassau, and which would you recommend? Is the debarkation anything to worry about?

 

Any tips/help are appreciated, thanks. :)

[pinkdiamonddolly]

My opinion, HMC is stunning and the little chapel is darling. The tenders are faily clean, but they may provide somewhere for you to change, you could always wear your carnival bathrobe over your dress LOL. Nassau is gross, seriously hate that port. I don't know how or where they do weddings, but as a whole Nassau is a dump. These are just my opinions and I have never seen a Nassau wedding.:)

[6rugrats]

HMC is beautiful, but it's true; sometimes this stop gets missed because the tenders can't run. Just have a backup plan if that happens.

[Host Caroline]

Because you are going during hurricane season and even a storm that isn't close by can make seas rough for tendering at Half Moon although I agree that's preferable... just "iffy" that time of year. Nassau is probably a safer bet. There are hotels that are very nice .. just not sure what options are available.

Any port that's a tender port really isn't IMHO a good option for an onshore wedding since many things can affect a decision not to tender in

[twee1]

Thanks everyone, those are very helpful suggestions. It's a difficult decision to make, as there are pros and cons to both ports, so we have some thinking to do. :)

[CarnivalDreamWedding]

Hi There,

 

I just got back from having a wedding ashore at Nassau.... u can read my review it is on this post.

 

I dont know anything about the HMC port so i cant comment, but the Nassau site is WONDERFUL. The beach, orange hill beach, is 20 min drive from the port, (they bus you there) and it is a BEAUTIFUL private beach... you wont see a single other person there. its like your own private bahamas beach! Getting there is seamless and the ceremony is like a dream...litereally. It is sooooo beautiful.

 

I dont think it will be a problem being the last day before disembarkation bc your wedding will be at like 11am (or that is when mine was, with a reception back on the boat from 2-4... and your bags dont have to be outside of your room until 11pm that night. We didnt even put our bags outside our room bc there is an option to carry your own bags off the ship if you choose to do that. I dont think it would be a problem at all.

 

If it were my choice i would choose Nassau.... its gorgeous ...trust me!....and from reading the others reports it sounds like HMC can sometimes be passed over due to weather (and i have been on a cruise where a port has been skipped).... It is very rare for that to happen to Nassau.

 

Hope that helps.... i'm going to to post pics to my review also so u can see pics of the beach. Stay tuned!

[twee1]

Thanks for your advice, it was very helpful! Your review and pics were wonderful, thanks for posting them! :) Nassau looks beautiful, and your post actually helped with a lot of my concerns, such as having a private beach, etc. The problem with Nassau now (I actually created another post for this) is that even if the debarkation could be worked out, since it's the last day of the cruise, how would that work in terms of the photos, i.e., would they be ready in time, and when would we have a chance to look them over and pick out which ones we want? Hopefully we'll figure something out.

[edmondk1]

Hi There,

 

I just got back from having a wedding ashore at Nassau.... u can read my review it is on this post.

 

I dont know anything about the HMC port so i cant comment, but the Nassau site is WONDERFUL. The beach, orange hill beach, is 20 min drive from the port, (they bus you there) and it is a BEAUTIFUL private beach... you wont see a single other person there. its like your own private bahamas beach! Getting there is seamless and the ceremony is like a dream...litereally. It is sooooo beautiful.

 

I dont think it will be a problem being the last day before disembarkation bc your wedding will be at like 11am (or that is when mine was, with a reception back on the boat from 2-4... and your bags dont have to be outside of your room until 11pm that night. We didnt even put our bags outside our room bc there is an option to carry your own bags off the ship if you choose to do that. I dont think it would be a problem at all.

 

If it were my choice i would choose Nassau.... its gorgeous ...trust me!....and from reading the others reports it sounds like HMC can sometimes be passed over due to weather (and i have been on a cruise where a port has been skipped).... It is very rare for that to happen to Nassau.

 

Hope that helps.... i'm going to to post pics to my review also so u can see pics of the beach. Stay tuned!

I am so appreciative for your review. I have been looking into a wedding in Nassau at Orange Hill Beach but haven't found any reviews. I was concerned about the distance from the dock to the beach and just the whole beach experience. Thanks for letting me feel at ease about this possibility. Questions: was it really hot on the beach? I was thinking of parasols or fans for guest.

[CarnivalDreamWedding]

Twee- have you called the weddings department to ask your question about the photos? I'll bet they would have them ready for you by the next morning. Those cruise people dont sleep! I bet they would just assign an extra photographer to the editing of your photos and have you meet with them eary the next morning to review and choose your photos. They would probably have you in the latest disembarkation group. I would just call the weddings department, I'm sure this is a common question they get, and they are very helpful.

 

edmondk- for our ceremony it was not hot on the beach, but it was mid december, so keep that in mind. It was 75, sunny and windy. So it was a bit warm, and windy....def no need for fans. If it was mid summer there might be a need for these. I would say it depends on the time of year. But my experience is that it is always a bit breezy on the beach, so you could probably pass on these if you're looking for one less thing to do!

[twee1]

Hi CarnivalDreamWedding,

 

Good news, I called Carnival Wedding Dept. today and asked about the photos, and they said that they do weddings on the last day all the time, so photos wouldn't be a problem at all! I am relieved that no matter which day we choose for the wedding, they can make it work. :)

[soon2bmrsspd]

I was married in Nassau in July, and I just wanted to ask you a question before you made your decision. Are you legalizing your wedding in the Bahamas? Because if so, you have to be a "resident" of the Bahamas for 24 hours before they will issue a license. I wanted to get married in HMC, but that was the first stop, therefore I HAD to get married in Nassau due to the residency requirements. The first port had me in Bahemian waters for the 24 hour requirement. The ships Captain even had to write a letter vouching for the time we entered the country. Sorry, just one more thing to consider, I know that some people have the non legal ceremony then just get married at the courthouse the day before or the day after the cruise, but I was strongly against that option, and having a foreign license was half of the experience. :)

[CarnivalDreamWedding]

Great point about the residency requirement. Again, the weddings department will answer that question for you. Our cruise did NOT meet the residency requirement so we got married in port canaveral on the ship before it set sail!

 

Anyone can become an ordained minister online and then be legit to marry you.... so we actually had a friend marry us and preform our ceremony. He married us the day before in port canaveral- on our ship, on our balcony! (so we were legal) then preformed our ceremony in nassau.

 

This is cool option bc then you can do the thing where you dont see each other the day of the wedding, and you dont have to run to the courthouse the day of... just a thought.

 

Now having said that, i still would have went with the bahamas wedding license if we had met the requirement for 24 hour residency, but we didnt and were happy with how eveyrthing turned out anyway!

[twee1]

That's a good point re the residency requirement. We've decided that we're going to do the legal part a couple of weeks before we sail, so that way we won't have any issues with residency requirements, etc.

 

There have actually been some new developments over the last few days. We're now also looking into doing the wedding on the Carnival Freedom instead of Carnival Destiny, still shoreside, but location would be Ocho Rios or Grand Cayman instead. The Freedom has some things that the Destiny doesn't, such as steakhouse, easier itinerary for us, etc., so once we get that info, we'll make a decision!

 

Thanks for everyone's help, will keep you posted on what we end up doing. :)

[Half Moon Cay wedding]

Half Moon Cay weddings: A+

 

I took my girlfriend on her first cruise in June 2009. Little did she know, I had a diamond hidden in my camera case. I wanted to propose to her on the island, but didn't know what to expect, since I (we) had never been there before. Well, this primitive island is even more beautiful than the pictures can describe! The Carnival Liberty was "booked to capacity" that week, so trying to find a secluded spot among all of those passengers however, was something of a chore. I was able to find a quiet spot just outside the entrance to the chapel, and popped the question (she said yes..... I think, because I remember being excited). We had a fantastic week, and she called it "the best vacation ever"!

It wasn't until we got home, that we thought "how cool would it be" to have the wedding in the same tropical spot where we were engaged? Picking a ship and itinerary was a bit intense. We wanted to stop at HMC early in the cruise, so we wouldn't have the wedding at the end of the honeymoon. Other issues were family availability and weather. With our parents, family and friends, there were 19 of us. Group booking earns points for onboard credit, so were able to provide some additional gifts for our guests.

We decided on a 5-day cruise on the Carnival Fascination (Jacksonville) in early May 2010. I think we had to have a down payment on the cruise before they could book the wedding (which I believe had to be paid in full, in order to book). We thought the prices were VERY reasonable, considering what we would have paid for a traditional wedding at home. I think at that point our account was turned-over to "Royal Ocean Events" or something, and they handle everything from there. There was a bit of paperwork to have notarized, e-mailed, etc (pay attention to their instructions!). All in all, the booking process was pretty simple, another plus! The only thing was that HMC was a "new" wedding location for them, and we seemed to already know alot more about the island and the chapel, than "Royal Ocean" did. That was probably our only frustration.

We sailed on a Saturday, Sunday at sea, Monday at Half Moon Cay. Then Tuesday - Nassau, Wednesday @ sea, Thurs - Jacksonville. On our wedding day, the weather was beautiful! The (little) chapel was equally beautiful. They let us pick an earlier morning time for the wedding, so that our family had time enjoy the island and shore excursions in the afternoon. We even went horseback riding (in the water!) after the wedding.

My bride didn't want me to see her between breakfast and the time of the wedding, so they let her take a different tender. The tenders from the island by the way, are very large (and clean), so your bride's dress and hair should be fine! The staff assigned to our wedding were all wonderful. The photographer was amazing. He was the most helpful of all, and has become a good friend. Even the Maitre d' and dining room staff made our entire group feel like royalty. We even had all of our wedding photos and video in hand before the end of the cruise! I could go on and on.... I highly recommend this destination wedding!!!!! I couldn't possibly explain here, how fantastic this vacation was.

A few things to consider: We too have heard of the dreaded "missed that port because of weather". We are 2 for 2 at that island, but I suspect hurricane season could decrease your odds. Late spring is a great choice. Good weather, nice and warm, but still early enough that the ship and shore tours are not sooo crowded. That imaginary line for me is around the 1st-2nd week of June. Also, we picked a 5-day cruise and it was WAAAY TOO SHORT and a bit hectic. We did shore tours at both islands, so we were looking forward to relaxing on our last day at sea. Well, then my in-laws bought us a "behind the fun" tour of the ship. This was really cool, but lasted a few hours, and no cameras are allowed (security is very strict here!). We spent another several hours sorting through the hundreds of expensive wedding photographs. The photo package goes on your Sail & Sign card, but I can't remember if the video does too. Whatever photo package you pick at home, plan on setting money aside for the package two sizes larger... seriously! We couldn't afford them all, but there are so many that we just couldn't throw away. A few more days would have been great as well! If there is a downside to any of this, maybe just consider these few things.

 

I hope that this helps.

Jack

 

Ps. you have got to buy the wedding video!

[Host Caroline]

Half Moon Cay weddings: A+

 

A few things to consider: We too have heard of the dreaded "missed that port because of weather". We are 2 for 2 at that island, but I suspect hurricane season could decrease your odds. Late spring is a great choice.

 

 

No, hurricane season will increase your odds of missing HMC in August, less likely in May although even very high winds on a clear day can cause tendering to be halted. I am not a high maintenance person at all but would never consider a destination wedding in a tender port... I would worry about that no matter how smoothy all else went.. and you might wake up the day of your wedding and find it won't be where you thought it would be:eek:....

[Half Moon Cay wedding]

No, hurricane season will increase your odds of missing HMC in August, less likely in May although even very high winds on a clear day can cause tendering to be halted. I am not a high maintenance person at all but would never consider a destination wedding in a tender port... I would worry about that no matter how smoothy all else went.. and you might wake up the day of your wedding and find it won't be where you thought it would be:eek:....

 

 

I meant exactly what I said in the original post. I was making the point that "hurricane season would increase your odds (of missing that port)". I'm sorry if that was not clearly stated. I do understand that weather can be a factor at any time. Still, we were there twice, didn't miss the island either time, and had a beautiful wedding on the second visit. My wife and I loved everything about the island, the staff, the ceremony…. so we highly recommend it to anyone who is considering. That is our opinion. I certainly would not try to steer people away from it. I would just make sure that they understand that there is a little bit of a risk for a BIG reward!

 

With that being said, I should mention that we had never heard of Half Moon Cay being passed-up because of weather, until after we had booked our cruise and wedding package. As a matter of fact, we were just a week or two away from our cruise, when I accidentally stumbled across that important little bit of info. We became a little nervous, but didn’t let it consume us. No one at Carnival or Royal Ocean had ever mentioned it, and I think that in this case, their communication could have been a little better. Like I said earlier, we knew more about the island than the "event" company did. On at least one occasion, they told us that our guests would have to pay for taxi service to the chapel. We told them that there were no cars on the island, AND that the chapel was just about the first thing you could see when you step off of the tender. There was a long pause by the agent on the phone, then a "hold please". :-) Again, I wouldn’t change a thing about or plans, the island, the time of year, etc. Perhaps I would have a backup plan… just in case.

[imsulin]

An FYI. Half Moon Cay (love it!!!!!) is part of Eleuthera, which is part of the Bahamas, so it also falls under that 48-hour residency requirement.

[imsulin]

Forgot to add that HMC is also a tender port, while Nassau is not. Think this has been mentioned before. I was very lucky to have visited HMC four times (tendered). My favorite port, and always on Holland America. No weather problems, but cruised Dec - April.

[Host Caroline]

We missed once, in September... but not two other times in the spring... favorite private island:)

[muggo11]

Great point about the residency requirement. Again, the weddings department will answer that question for you. Our cruise did NOT meet the residency requirement so we got married in port canaveral on the ship before it set sail!

 

Anyone can become an ordained minister online and then be legit to marry you.... so we actually had a friend marry us and preform our ceremony. He married us the day before in port canaveral- on our ship, on our balcony! (so we were legal) then preformed our ceremony in nassau.

 

This is cool option bc then you can do the thing where you dont see each other the day of the wedding, and you dont have to run to the courthouse the day of... just a thought.

 

Now having said that, i still would have went with the bahamas wedding license if we had met the requirement for 24 hour residency, but we didnt and were happy with how eveyrthing turned out anyway!

We just got engaged and were wondering if we could have a friend perform the wedding on-board. . . so someone can come on-board with you? Or do you have to pay Carnival for the privilege of getting married on-board?

[twee1]

Thanks everyone for all your helpful suggestions. Both HMC and Nassau sound like great ports to get married!

 

Wedding@HalfMoonCay, wow, it sounds like you had a beautiful wedding! That's wonderful that you were able to get married at the same place you got engaged at, too - congratulations!

 

I am definitely looking forward to seeing Half Moon Cay, but unfortunately, it will have to be on another cruise, another time, as we changed our plans and have decided to sail on the Carnival Freedom instead, which has a different itinerary. So the wedding will be in Ocho Rios, Jamaica instead. In the end, the main issue ended up being the Carnival Destiny itself--we really wanted a ship that had flexible dining times (we didn't realize it didn't have flexible dining originally), and a steakhouse, and also the itinerary works better for us in a lot of ways we hadn't thought of originally (e.g. day after wedding is a day at sea now, so we'll have lots of time to look at photos, relax, we get a 6th day for not much extra price, etc.).

[obama6493]

I am so appreciative for your review. I have been looking into a wedding in Nassau at Orange Hill Beach but haven't found any reviews. I was concerned about the distance from the dock to the beach and just the whole beach experience. Thanks for letting me feel at ease about this possibility. Questions: was it really hot on the beach? I was thinking of parasols or fans for guest.

Twee- have you called the weddings department to ask your question about the photos? I'll bet they would have them ready for you by the next morning. Those cruise people dont sleep! I bet they would just assign an extra photographer to the editing of your photos and have you meet with them eary the next morning to review and choose your photos. They would probably have you in the latest disembarkation group. I would just call the weddings department, I'm sure this is a common question they get, and they are very helpful.

 

edmondk- for our ceremony it was not hot on the beach, but it was mid december, so keep that in mind. It was 75, sunny and windy. So it was a bit warm, and windy....def no need for fans. If it was mid summer there might be a need for these. I would say it depends on the time of year. But my experience is that it is always a bit breezy on the beach, so you could probably pass on these if you're looking for one less thing to do!

[CarnivalDreamWedding]

Muggo-

 

We just had our friend marry us "officially" on our balcony. I suppose you could do it anywhere on the boat, but Carnival does not secure any private space for you to do this since you dont pay them for this (so, no we didnt pay them anything for this portion). You do have to preform your ceremony while the boat is still docked (at least those were the rules in Florida, it may vary by state). So we just had our friend become a minister, which is very easy, he just had to do something online then fill something out with the county he lives in i think. Then he preformed the ceremony on our balcony while we were still docked (so technically we were still in florida)... bc we had obtained a FL marriage license the day before. Then we signed everything and we were legit. :)

 

Bachelorette party that night, then our beach wedding the next day! Worked out great bc I didnt see hubby till beach wedding time since we went straight to batch party then beach wedding next am :) PERFECT!

[twarenda]

Hi! How did you and all the guests get to the beach location in Nassau? What was the cost for transportation? Thanks!