Carnival Fantasy Bride! 11-2-11

[Delta Diva]

Hello,

 

This will be my first cruise and it will also be my wedding date. I would love to see pics and read comments from past fantasy brides. I have a few questions...how will I get everything on board??? Will the photography take away from my reception time??? I would also like to see pics of the grand suite for this ship. We plan on going the day before....any suggestions about good hotels in the area is also greatly appreciated!

 

Any details and pics of the ship will also be helpful. THANKS!!

[Cruisin Christi]

Congrats on the engagement and I hope you have fun. I wish I could answer your questions. I hope someone else does.

[bluecruisin]

Congratulations and best wishes! Our DD got married onboard the Fantasy on 7/7/10 out of Charleston. She had the 1 hour reception buffett and drinks in the Disco. The ceramony was in the main thearte and it was a beautiful location. You descend down the center stairs and aisle up onto the stage. The wedding was at 1:00. Shehyad to meet with the photog at 12:30. They took pics of her and maid of honor and went to the theatre to take pics of groom and best man. At this point the ceramony and procedures were explained also. They did a great job of keeping her and the groom seperate(per her request). The wedding tokk about 15 mins and afterwards they took lots of pics of everyone. Tis took about 3o mins. Then onto reception for recption for a full hour where many pics (non staged other than cake cutting) were taken. After an hour the non sailing guests left and the bride and groom were taken around the ship by the photog(both inside and outside for more pics). Please ask any questions you have about any of the processes and I'll be glad to help!

[MagSeven1413]

I thought the thread title was catchy in itself. Sorry that I'm not offering anything of value.

[Delta Diva]

Thanks bluecrusin! Im having the hour and a half reception and I just booked the DJ so I will have the disco as well:) Was it anything that she didnt like??? Did she use carnival flowers or did she bring her own? Would you mind sharing some pics??? Carnival sent me two photos of the disco but I would love to see more!!!

 

Thanks for your help!!

[soon2bmrsspd]

I was married onboard the Fantasy in Nassau last July as well. It was picture perfect, and I would not change a single thing. I was married in the Forum Lounge, and had the 1.5 hour reception in the Disco with the DJ. I never posted a complete review, but I have hung around and helped where I could with future bride questions. I have hundreds of pictures, as I purchased them all. Let me know if there are any specifics that you would like to see. I will also post a few random ones at the bottom of this post.

I am sure most of the crew will be different when you go, but I still wanted to mention the people that made my wedding AWESOME, just in case you have the benefit of working with them. They are all Carnival employee's. The Wedding Experience coordinator left a lot to be desired, so I will not even mention that portion. My onboard coordinator was Marianna, she was also the main dining room hostess. She was amazing!!!! She saw my complete vision all the way through to the end, she shouldered all of the stress, and made it perfect. She also kept the very bossy, and clueless TWE coordinator in check. The photographer was Edwin. He is extraordinary!! My one piece of advice is, to take your photography budget, then add another 1000.00 to it. The pictures are amazing!!! And it will be hard to choose pictures of all of the perfect moments, then narrow those down into 30 or so pictures. There are more than 30 special moments in a wedding, and you will want to remember them all. Also, with the Fantasy, I will tell you that EACH AND EVERY SINGLE amateur picture that anyone took, had an orange glow to them due to the decor/lights in the room, so you will not be able to rely on family and friends pictures. Edwin obviously knew to make up for it.

I did not get married on embarkation day, so I will not be much help there, but as for carrying on everything, you will be able to carry on anything that you can physically carry, and that will fit through the scanner (same size as an airport scanner). I carried all of my wedding related items onboard since I had multiple people with me. I packaged everything in small carryon suitcases, or boxes, and carried my garment bag with the attire.

I did not use Carnival's flowers, as they were boring, and to expensive to have them make everything that I needed. I am very crafty though, so it was nothing for me to make my own, and the many other items that I made and brought for the wedding and reception. I spent less that 150.00 on silk flowers, and had 4 bouquets, 4 bouts, 4 sister corsages, 4 parent corsages, cake top, etc... Carnival will still give you the flowers that are part of the package. My room steward just displayed them in my room.

We stayed 3 days in Charleston prior to the cruise. We stayed at the Howard Pinkney Inn. It was super nice, walking distance to everything, and only a few blocks from the port. I would recommend them for sure. I don't remember how they compared pricewise to everything else downtown though. We got a group rate as we had 27 people. The airport hotels will be cheaper, but they are out of the way of everything for sure.

I must stop chatting for now, but I will be very happy to answer any and all of your Fantasy Wedding questions. I am certainly a cheerleader for Carnival weddings, and obviously partial to the Fantasy! Congrats...

Also, quick note, there is a board for cruise weddings, you should also post this there......

Robin

[bluecruisin]

Delta, I don't have the wedding Cd but I'll see if my daughter can post some pics this weekend. We upgraded her bouquet thru Carnival's flowers to one with pink stargazer lilies and white roses. Her MOH carried a single stargazer lily and buttoniers were white roses.We thought the flowers were beautiful and loved having real vs artificial. We did however bring onboard an artifiac toss away bouquet. We didn't have too much extra to carry on, intial monagram wedding topper, special napkins and cruise ship luggage tags for gift hand outs. We had a total of 8 who cruised and about 20 who debarked after the ceramony. We all took a private shuttle to the port and had those without luggage carrying the extras and her gown and thier carryons. She had her hair done before we left for the port and dressed and did makeup in her cabin. We alsp had our cabin avaiable early so the others who were sailing left thier carryon's there. All the guests went and had lunch at the lido buffet. And then met up with each other at the ceramony. We had to wait awhiule outside for the ship to clear customs, but then all of us were allowed to be the first to board. It was very hot where we waited and minimal shade I suggest bringing ice cold water bottles and possibly fans for yourselves and maybe for guests also.

 

During the reception they passed around champagne and premade house drinks, but I love sour apple martinis and drank them -you can order whatever you want from the bar, including beer and wine. The food was very good and very plentiful also.

 

The Dj played the Cd we brought for the first dance and father/DD dance. They also asked them if they had any request. Of course they ended things with "Jesse's Girl"" as that is her DH's name. The only thing to complain about was at that time we could only pick from 1 hour in disco or the sit down lunch and we all wanted a chance to dance and have some drinks and fun. That extra half hour would have made a big difference. Let me know if you have any nore???.

[Delta Diva]

I was married onboard the Fantasy in Nassau last July as well. It was picture perfect, and I would not change a single thing. I was married in the Forum Lounge, and had the 1.5 hour reception in the Disco with the DJ. I never posted a complete review, but I have hung around and helped where I could with future bride questions. I have hundreds of pictures, as I purchased them all. Let me know if there are any specifics that you would like to see. I will also post a few random ones at the bottom of this post.

 

I am sure most of the crew will be different when you go, but I still wanted to mention the people that made my wedding AWESOME, just in case you have the benefit of working with them. They are all Carnival employee's. The Wedding Experience coordinator left a lot to be desired, so I will not even mention that portion. My onboard coordinator was Marianna, she was also the main dining room hostess. She was amazing!!!! She saw my complete vision all the way through to the end, she shouldered all of the stress, and made it perfect. She also kept the very bossy, and clueless TWE coordinator in check. The photographer was Edwin. He is extraordinary!! My one piece of advice is, to take your photography budget, then add another 1000.00 to it. The pictures are amazing!!! And it will be hard to choose pictures of all of the perfect moments, then narrow those down into 30 or so pictures. There are more than 30 special moments in a wedding, and you will want to remember them all. Also, with the Fantasy, I will tell you that EACH AND EVERY SINGLE amateur picture that anyone took, had an orange glow to them due to the decor/lights in the room, so you will not be able to rely on family and friends pictures. Edwin obviously knew to make up for it.

 

I did not get married on embarkation day, so I will not be much help there, but as for carrying on everything, you will be able to carry on anything that you can physically carry, and that will fit through the scanner (same size as an airport scanner). I carried all of my wedding related items onboard since I had multiple people with me. I packaged everything in small carryon suitcases, or boxes, and carried my garment bag with the attire.

 

I did not use Carnival's flowers, as they were boring, and to expensive to have them make everything that I needed. I am very crafty though, so it was nothing for me to make my own, and the many other items that I made and brought for the wedding and reception. I spent less that 150.00 on silk flowers, and had 4 bouquets, 4 bouts, 4 sister corsages, 4 parent corsages, cake top, etc... Carnival will still give you the flowers that are part of the package. My room steward just displayed them in my room.

 

We stayed 3 days in Charleston prior to the cruise. We stayed at the Howard Pinkney Inn. It was super nice, walking distance to everything, and only a few blocks from the port. I would recommend them for sure. I don't remember how they compared pricewise to everything else downtown though. We got a group rate as we had 27 people. The airport hotels will be cheaper, but they are out of the way of everything for sure.

 

I must stop chatting for now, but I will be very happy to answer any and all of your Fantasy Wedding questions. I am certainly a cheerleader for Carnival weddings, and obviously partial to the Fantasy! Congrats...

 

Also, quick note, there is a board for cruise weddings, you should also post this there......

 

Robin

 

Thanks!!! Your pictures are beautiful!!! I would love to see how the reception looked as well. I want a good picture of the disco room because everything Carnival sent me was blury. We will probably get a group rate for hotel as well. We live about 5 hours away from port so we will have to leave the day before.

 

I am sooooo excited! I will post on the website as well. I just booked the dj...Will they ask what type of music we want played? Im also trying to decide whether I will have bridemaids or not. I just think its a lot to ask for someone to buy a dress to only wear it for an hour and thirty minutes...and 15 min. for the wedding. But Im still weighing my options.

 

You have been so helpful! THanks:)

[Delta Diva]

Delta, I don't have the wedding Cd but I'll see if my daughter can post some pics this weekend. We upgraded her bouquet thru Carnival's flowers to one with pink stargazer lilies and white roses. Her MOH carried a single stargazer lily and buttoniers were white roses.We thought the flowers were beautiful and loved having real vs artificial. We did however bring onboard an artifiac toss away bouquet. We didn't have too much extra to carry on, intial monagram wedding topper, special napkins and cruise ship luggage tags for gift hand outs. We had a total of 8 who cruised and about 20 who debarked after the ceramony. We all took a private shuttle to the port and had those without luggage carrying the extras and her gown and thier carryons. She had her hair done before we left for the port and dressed and did makeup in her cabin. We alsp had our cabin avaiable early so the others who were sailing left thier carryon's there. All the guests went and had lunch at the lido buffet. And then met up with each other at the ceramony. We had to wait awhiule outside for the ship to clear customs, but then all of us were allowed to be the first to board. It was very hot where we waited and minimal shade I suggest bringing ice cold water bottles and possibly fans for yourselves and maybe for guests also.

 

During the reception they passed around champagne and premade house drinks, but I love sour apple martinis and drank them -you can order whatever you want from the bar, including beer and wine. The food was very good and very plentiful also.

 

The Dj played the Cd we brought for the first dance and father/DD dance. They also asked them if they had any request. Of course they ended things with "Jesse's Girl"" as that is her DH's name. The only thing to complain about was at that time we could only pick from 1 hour in disco or the sit down lunch and we all wanted a chance to dance and have some drinks and fun. That extra half hour would have made a big difference. Let me know if you have any nore???.

 

Thanks so much for your help!!! I was a little skeptical about the menu when they sent it to me. I wonder how many changes I can make.......but im sure it will be good.

 

The open bar is a plus!

 

We will surely have to pack well....I think that is going to be a down side of getting married on the day we leave. How do you get a private shuttle?

 

Look forward to seeing pics:)

[soon2bmrsspd]

Thanks!!! Your pictures are beautiful!!! I would love to see how the reception looked as well. I want a good picture of the disco room because everything Carnival sent me was blury. We will probably get a group rate for hotel as well. We live about 5 hours away from port so we will have to leave the day before.

 

I am sooooo excited! I will post on the website as well. I just booked the dj...Will they ask what type of music we want played? Im also trying to decide whether I will have bridemaids or not. I just think its a lot to ask for someone to buy a dress to only wear it for an hour and thirty minutes...and 15 min. for the wedding. But Im still weighing my options.

 

You have been so helpful! THanks:)

 

 

Ok, I went through my pictures and found the disco pictures that show as much of the disco as possible. Most of my pictures are close up so not much "disco" is showing.... The disco is dark, so even in the pictures there is not much to see. It has black marble flooring, and everything is accented in silver. It is good sized, and has a sit down bar area as well. The dance floor is large, you should be able to see that in the pictures. I also have included 2 pictures of the food set-up, and the amazing ice sculpture. The sculpture is not a head on pic, but it was two swans with the heart in the middle. It was huge, and such a beautiful unexpected touch. I am fairly confident that they included everything that was on the menu, not just 4 of each. There was so much food, even things that were not on the menu like sushi and chicken nuggets for the kids.

 

 

The DJ did not ask me about the music. I provided some music that I knew I wanted played, and he just went with that. If there is anything you don't like, I would mention it, as I did provide one country song that was meant to make a guest smile. Because of that song he kept playing country and my DH can't stand it, so we had to tell him to stop. He mostly plays top 40 and good dance music. He did very well on his own, as I gave him no guidance at all. I have seen posts on here where people have suppled a whole song list though, so you can do as little or as much as you want.

 

I hear you on the bridemaid dresses. I too was hesitant asking them to purchase something after asking them to buy a cruise. What I did was went to David's Bridal and picked a clearance dress. If your local store does not have their size they can locate it and have it shipped in, or there is ebay too. My dresses were only 40 bucks. The men didnt spend much more on their attire either, as it was linen pants and a hawaiian shirt.

 

Let me know if I can help you further, I have many more pictures to show ;)

[Ashleynicole]

Your pictures and hint are so helpful. My fiancee and I just decided to get married on the Fantasy and researching this topic is hard. You put me more at ease!

[bonnys]

Your pictures and hint are so helpful. My fiancee and I just decided to get married on the Fantasy and researching this topic is hard. You put me more at ease!

 

Hi Neighbor! I am in Charlotte too. DH and I were married on the Glory. While I can't help with the ship, I can with the wedding stuff. I agree 100% that you def. need to but the pictures. We didn't pay anywhere close t what they were asking though. We met with the photographer several times and said we would think about it. On the last sea day he called us and offer an amazing deal...1/3 of the original asking price. We took it! There is plenty of bargaining room so don't agree to the first price you hear.

[Delta Diva]

Ok, I went through my pictures and found the disco pictures that show as much of the disco as possible. Most of my pictures are close up so not much "disco" is showing.... The disco is dark, so even in the pictures there is not much to see. It has black marble flooring, and everything is accented in silver. It is good sized, and has a sit down bar area as well. The dance floor is large, you should be able to see that in the pictures. I also have included 2 pictures of the food set-up, and the amazing ice sculpture. The sculpture is not a head on pic, but it was two swans with the heart in the middle. It was huge, and such a beautiful unexpected touch. I am fairly confident that they included everything that was on the menu, not just 4 of each. There was so much food, even things that were not on the menu like sushi and chicken nuggets for the kids.

 

 

The DJ did not ask me about the music. I provided some music that I knew I wanted played, and he just went with that. If there is anything you don't like, I would mention it, as I did provide one country song that was meant to make a guest smile. Because of that song he kept playing country and my DH can't stand it, so we had to tell him to stop. He mostly plays top 40 and good dance music. He did very well on his own, as I gave him no guidance at all. I have seen posts on here where people have suppled a whole song list though, so you can do as little or as much as you want.

 

I hear you on the bridemaid dresses. I too was hesitant asking them to purchase something after asking them to buy a cruise. What I did was went to David's Bridal and picked a clearance dress. If your local store does not have their size they can locate it and have it shipped in, or there is ebay too. My dresses were only 40 bucks. The men didnt spend much more on their attire either, as it was linen pants and a hawaiian shirt.

 

Let me know if I can help you further, I have many more pictures to show ;)

 

 

Thanks so much!!!!!!! Your photos and information is really helpful!!! I think I will be able to find a good deal on the bridesmaid dresses. Now Im trying to decide what to do for wedding favors????

 

Also the pics they sent me of the disco room looked golden in color but your pics and description was black....did the room change???

[Delta Diva]

Ladies Im a NC girl myself!!

[bonnys]

Ladies Im a NC girl myself!!

 

Where in NC?

[Delta Diva]

Where in NC?

 

Eastern Carolina, around Rocky Mount.

[MACAMAW]

Please add more if you will. I am contemplating getting married onboard the Fantasy in October. I was worried that it would be sorta cheap looking but these pics are beautiful. Also, from what I read on Carnivals website, there is a maximum of 50 people. I need more than that and was shying away from this idea because of that but it appears that there have been people with much more guest. Any info on this? Also if you don't mind, how much did you end up spending overall? I want to make sure everything is right and need to save save save!!!

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

My brother was married on the Fantasy in 2002. It was so beautiful!!! He and his wife selected the 1 1/2 hr. reception. They let Carnival take care of everything. The only thing they brought on board were the favors (little bottles of bubbles with their name and wedding date) and the bride's dress, my brother rented his tux from Carnival and was allowed to keep it all week so he could wear for the formal dinner. There were 31 of his relatives and friends who attended the wedding and went on the cruise. Wedding parties and their guest get to board the ship before everyone else. All but the bride and groom had to be dressed for the wedding when we boarded the ship. The bride and groom were able to dress after they boarded the ship. Their wedding looked just like the pictures provided in this thread.

 

My brother and sister-in-law meet with the photographer several times but also waited until the last day of the cruise to purchase all of the pictures. They got a great deal!!!!

[soon2bmrsspd]

Thanks so much!!!!!!! Your photos and information is really helpful!!! I think I will be able to find a good deal on the bridesmaid dresses. Now Im trying to decide what to do for wedding favors????

 

Also the pics they sent me of the disco room looked golden in color but your pics and description was black....did the room change???

 

Unless they changed it in the last 7 months, the disco was certainly black, it was very dark in there, but I do not see where the gold might have come from, even in my pictures everything is black and silver. I do know the Fantasy was in dry dock a year or two ago, so maybe they changed it then, and still have older pictures up where you saw them. The disco was VERY nice, much nicer than the Forum lounge where I was married, but the lounge was nice enough for the 15 minutes we were there. ;)

[soon2bmrsspd]

Please add more if you will. I am contemplating getting married onboard the Fantasy in October. I was worried that it would be sorta cheap looking but these pics are beautiful. Also, from what I read on Carnivals website, there is a maximum of 50 people. I need more than that and was shying away from this idea because of that but it appears that there have been people with much more guest. Any info on this? Also if you don't mind, how much did you end up spending overall? I want to make sure everything is right and need to save save save!!!

 

I was unaware there was a max, as I have heard of people on the blogs that have had guests numbered in the 70's. I believe what you are referring to is the max on NON-sailing guests. That may be a homeland security thing, but if you have a combination of sailing and non sailing, maybe that will help you get to the number you need.

The cost of my wedding, and the cost of yours will probably differ drastically, but I can tell you some points of mine. I only had 27 guests, all sailing with us, because we were married onboard in Nassau. I purchased the deluxe romance package at right about 2 grand. I think that is their largest package, and only included 20 guests, including bride and groom, so each additional guest is 30.00. I am not sure what the package costs now, but you will surely be adding 30.00 extra for a larger number of guests than I did. This extra fee's allows them to make extra food, and a cake large enough to support your guests. The original cake in the package feeds 50 people. The package included the food, the flowers (very limited for free), the officiant, the space, the planners, etc....

The extras that I paid for included.... The marriage license for Nassau was around 300 dollars. I made my own flowers, I am very crafty, and was able to make an insane amount of flowers for very cheap, like 200 bucks maybe. I made small scrapbooks for everyone in attendance, I bought gifts for all of my wedding party and the parents, I made sand vials for all guests, as we included everyone in the sand ceremony, I purchased monogrammed Kleenex for all guests, and just other misc like that. So again it would be hard to compare costs of mine to yours, as you will provide different things, and have a larger out of pocket number for your guests.

I will give you the following advice though. FIRST, plan on doubling your budget for pictures. You will not be happy with any pictures that friends and family take onboard Fantasy, as the lighting or something on the ship puts off a horrible orange glow in pictures. The photographers obviously know how to accommodate for it. Besides, the photographer’s pictures are so awesome it is so hard to try to figure out which memory to cut out. We just bought ALL of them, it was easier that way, we received many extras, and there was just no way to figure out how to capture the whole wedding and reception in 30 5x7's. The 8x10's will all be posed photos. Our photographer took over 400 pictures.

SECOND, DO USE THE CARNIVAL GROUP DEPARTMENT to book ALL of the guest cabins, there are so many perks you get for using this feature. I also recommend NOT using a TA, as with the Carnival groups department you have more flexibility over managing your group, the amenity points, and the cruise credits you get. I have heard many disappointed people on the wedding boards because they used an agent, and have no freedom to do the things that other talk about, or use their points the way they want. In fact the group department will not really even discuss your group with you if you are using an agent. Whereas when you go direct through Carnival, you know exactly who is booked where, you can make changes, you know who is paid in full etc... And did I mention you get to choose where your points get allocated, as well as the berths?!?!?!

That's all for now. Let me know if you have additional questions, I have no regrets, and would do it all again! Here is a few more pictures....

 

 

 

 

[Denise815]

This is an awesome thread!!!:)

[Denise815]

Me too!

 

Your pictures and hint are so helpful. My fiancee and I just decided to get married on the Fantasy and researching this topic is hard. You put me more at ease!