Ncl brides

[Bostoncruiser35]

In reading another post it became clear there are some NCL brides on here who have some questions and some previous NCL Brides aka NCL Wives who may have the answers. Ok Ladies... If you are an NCL Future Bride please ask away, If you are a NCL Wife, feel free to answer or put up a What I loved or what I would do different.

 

Me: I am a FUTURE NCL BRIDE ( but doing a renewal so I am a wife too): I would love to hear from those brides who had thier reception on board and used the NCL DJ. We were thinking the 1 hour recep. Doing the dances but no garter toss or bouquet toss. How was the DJ and do you think an hour will be long enough. We are doing a sunset wedding mid trip so we are planning to do our 1 hour and then party all over the ship.It gives the older crowd a chance to bail out when they need to but not miss anything. I hope. Any input would be great

[mcdo0063]

If any did a shoreside wedding I have questions for you too :) Still debating which ship to go with. How much did chairs at wedding cost and how much did transportation to site cost you?

[gymbomb]

I'm doing an embarkation day wedding next June in Boston aboard the Dawn before she leaves for Bermuda. Have about 15 guests sailing and a few others not sailing. Not doing a reception, just cake and sparkling wine. Will have a dinner with our sailing guests at some point during the cruise.

[Bostoncruiser35]

I'm doing an embarkation day wedding next June in Boston aboard the Dawn before she leaves for Bermuda. Have about 15 guests sailing and a few others not sailing. Not doing a reception, just cake and sparkling wine. Will have a dinner with our sailing guests at some point during the cruise.

 

I am doing the Dawn as well for my ceremony. I would love to hear anout your experiences working with NCL on any kind of details.

[gymbomb]

I booked through a travel agent (an old friend who's booked a few cruises for me before) so she's been the one dealing with NCL, but so far she's gotten prompt answers to almost all of my questions. However, I haven't asked about a lot of details. I'm sure there are a lot of things I should be asking that haven't occurred to me yet!

[Lipz]

Two brides here.....We got married on the Norwegian Jewel this past July. It was a wonderful experience and I am glad we decided to have the wedding 'we' wanted and not anyone else. It was an embarkment day wedding out of NYC (see my review below) and we had about 40 guest with 12 sailing. I'm here if anyone has any questions.

[Chinital]

I'm getting married on the Norwegian Gem on May 5th = 99 days from now.

 

I'm so nervous about the reception only being two hours and I'm wondering about the decor and whether or not I will have to buy a lot of decorations. I'm so not happy that only 20 ppl fit in the chapel and I'll have a total of around 70 ppl there.

 

Has anyone gotten married on the Gem? I'd love details and pictures.

[Lipz]

I'm getting married on the Norwegian Gem on May 5th = 99 days from now.

 

I'm so nervous about the reception only being two hours and I'm wondering about the decor and whether or not I will have to buy a lot of decorations. I'm so not happy that only 20 ppl fit in the chapel and I'll have a total of around 70 ppl there.

 

Has anyone gotten married on the Gem? I'd love details and pictures.

 

Sorry I can't be a direct help, but we got married on her sister ship the Jewel and it turned out great!

We couldn't use the chapel either with our 50 guest but we requested the Spinnaker Lounge and since we were the only wedding we got it. Large windows and beautiful views of NYC was perfect for us.

If you have any general questions about an NCL wedding I'll try my best to answer.

[garbasaurus]

Ohhh I've got tons of questions...

 

How is the length of the event (ceremony and reception)? Did you feel rushed or like you were missing traditional embarkation activities?

Did you ever get reviews from nonsailing guests about how easy/difficult it was to board and leave as just a visitor?

Do they have any group incentives like discounted rooms after a certain amount are booked under your wedding?

I've read about Carnival's welcome bag process, has anyone investigated how NCL does it? Handing them out, placing them in rooms, condition they were in when they arrived, etc.

How was your wedding reviewed by your guests? Did they love it? Was it a hassle having it on a cruise ship?

[gymbomb]

NCL gives 1 free berth (so 1/2 of a room minus taxes/fees) for every 8 rooms you have booked. There are also some ammenity points available to get perks for your guests, but we haven't gotten to that point yet so I can't give details.

 

We are taking our sailing guests to a specialty restaurant instead of having a reception. It wasn't about the price, I just didn't want most of the things that normally happen at receptions (dancing, etc.) and I didn't like the reception menu options. So we're just doing cake/sparkling wine instead of a whole reception. The point of this story is that NCL did let us make our dinner reservation before the cruise. We chose Teppanyaki and will fill most of the restaurant. They did not allow us to "buy out" the rest of it as they say they don't host private events, but we're glad to have that takem care of ahead of time and not try to figure it out in between boarding and our embarkation day wedding.

[Lipz]

Ohhh I've got tons of questions...

Noooooooooo problem! lol

 

How is the length of the event (ceremony and reception)?

The ceremony should be 30 minutes or less. The reception begins after the ceremony and you can purchase the 1 hour our 2 hours. We did the 2 hours which was perfect for us. We weren't having the long toast, garter tossing or bouquet tossing. However, we could have even with 2 hours.

 

Did you feel rushed or like you were missing traditional embarkation activities?

We didn't only because our embarkment activities, which is usually lunch and walking around were still accessible to us after the wedding. Since non sailing guest leave the ship after the wedding and before setting sail we didn't miss a thing. We walked the ship, went to the boat drill and waved farewell as the ship pulled out all in our wedding gowns. Heck we even danced on the lido deck in them. lol

Did you ever get reviews from nonsailing guests about how easy/difficult it was to board and leave as just a visitor?

We all boarded together since the wedding party and guest get earlier boarding. We all met at the terminal, laughed, took pre-wedding pics and before we knew it was time to board. I think we boarded abourt 11:30.

 

Do they have any group incentives like discounted rooms after a certain amount are booked under your wedding?

We used a travel agent for the booking. We didn't have enough cabins to get a free birth, but if we had we could have had an additional cruiser and they would have only had to pay the tax & port charges. We only had 5 cabins and you need 8. However, we had enough amenities points that we gave each cabin a $50 OBC (on board credit) and a cookie plate. Our travel agent was also able to book dinner reservations for the group before the actual sailing date. We did this on embarkment night to continued the wedding festivities.

 

I've read about Carnival's welcome bag process, has anyone investigated how NCL does it? Handing them out, placing them in rooms, condition they were in when they arrived, etc.

NCL will deliver the bags to the cabin for $1.00 a piece. However, our wedding coordinator at The Wedding Experience said she wouldn't charge us, and she kept her word. When we got to the terminal they took everything we wanted delivered on board. As they delivered the suity cases they delivered the welcome bags. They were in perfect condition upon delivery. We had ordered tote bags from Vistaprint.

 

How was your wedding reviewed by your guests? Did they love it? Was it a hassle having it on a cruise ship?

No one complained, and we didn't hear any rumors. Also, guest could leave whenever they wanted to. Once they did, they were given their IDs back. We had 3 guest who needed to leave before the end time and they had no problem.

 

 

 

Which ship are you leaning towards?

You can read my whole review below. I will tell you it wasn't perfect, due to the photographer being late & the photo manager being a butt hole when we went to buy our pics (he could care less unless you were spending thousands and we weren't...but, we were compensated very nicely and received an apology email from TWE.

[Lipz]

There are also some ammenity points available to get perks for your guests, but we haven't gotten to that point yet so I can't give details.

 

How many sailing guest do you have?

I have the points chart if you want it. It's from 2011, but it will give you an idea. Just email me ... d e t 1 9 6 9 at aol.

 

I just didn't want most of the things that normally happen at receptions (dancing, etc.)

 

We felt that way about long speeches and bouquet tossing.

 

 

The point of this story is that NCL did let us make our dinner reservation before the cruise. We chose Teppanyaki and will fill most of the restaurant.

 

They sure do! and if the Teppanyaki is anything like one on the Jewel you will love it. Sharine and I used some alone time and had dinner there one night.

 

 

They did not allow us to "buy out" the rest of it as they say they don't host private events, but we're glad to have that takem care of ahead of time and not try to figure it out in between boarding and our embarkation day wedding.

 

This is good planning indeed.

 

 

I also found that NCL was very accomodatiing and TWE were not bad at all to work with.

[garbasaurus]

Which ship are you leaning towards?

You can read my whole review below.

 

I think we're leaning toward the Gem. I was on the Jewel in 2010 and it was great. I'm figuring that if we're going to do the same itinerary as then, we should at least try a different ship.

 

I did read your review and it was very helpful. I'm so excited to hear that you can have it in the Spinnaker Lounge as it quickly became on of my favorite places on the ship after a pub crawl we did!

[gymbomb]

Lipz- I emailed you for the chart. Thanks!

 

We're having 17 sailing guests in 8 cabins.

 

Fiancee and I sailed this ship/itinerary last summer and loved the trip. In fact we decided to go on the cruise again before we decided to get married on it! We tried Teppanyaki and La Cucina, and I thought Teppanyaki was way better. Would like to also try either Le Bistro or Cagneys this trip. I find the main dining room food very good, but do like to try 1 or 2 specialty restaurants during the week for variety.

[Lipz]

I think we're leaning toward the Gem. I was on the Jewel in 2010 and it was great. I'm figuring that if we're going to do the same itinerary as then, we should at least try a different ship.

 

I did read your review and it was very helpful. I'm so excited to hear that you can have it in the Spinnaker Lounge as it quickly became on of my favorite places on the ship after a pub crawl we did!

 

I am dying to sail the Gem since I so enjoyed her sister, the Jewel. Leave it up to me I'd never work and spend my life cruising! lol

It's funny that you mentioned the Spinnaker in that way. Most of our nightly fun was spent in that lounge. Not much of a drinker, but a whiz on the dance floor! :D

Glad you found the review helpful. It was a really special kind of wedding and unique.

 

Lipz- I emailed you for the chart. Thanks!

 

We're having 17 sailing guests in 8 cabins.

 

Fiancee and I sailed this ship/itinerary last summer and loved the trip. In fact we decided to go on the cruise again before we decided to get married on it! We tried Teppanyaki and La Cucina, and I thought Teppanyaki was way better. Would like to also try either Le Bistro or Cagneys this trip. I find the main dining room food very good, but do like to try 1 or 2 specialty restaurants during the week for variety.

 

I saw your email yesterday but it was on my cell. I was able to reply a little while ago after running around all day. Now I'm home relaxing and catching up here on cc. My favorite part of the evening.

We tried Teppanaki (just the two of us), and Tangos with all of our sailing guest. We actually treated them there as a 'thank you for sailing' on the last night of the cruise. The food was decent and everyone enjoyed the complimentary margarita that came with it. It was only $10 per person.

My favorite main dining room was actually Azura. We always had early dinner though so we would still check out the buffet lol. Then almost every night we'd hit the Blue Lagoon after midnight. Even though we never ate all the food. We were just having a blast.

I missed Cagneys and totally forgot about it. This is funny since my favorite food is steak. I made up for it a week later though when we sailed the Glory. We hit their steak house the first night!

[Bostoncruiser35]

I am dying to sail the Gem since I so enjoyed her sister, the Jewel. Leave it up to me I'd never work and spend my life cruising! lol

 

It's funny that you mentioned the Spinnaker in that way. Most of our nightly fun was spent in that lounge. Not much of a drinker, but a whiz on the dance floor! :D

 

Glad you found the review helpful. It was a really special kind of wedding and unique.

 

 

 

 

I saw your email yesterday but it was on my cell. I was able to reply a little while ago after running around all day. Now I'm home relaxing and catching up here on cc. My favorite part of the evening.

 

We tried Teppanaki (just the two of us), and Tangos with all of our sailing guest. We actually treated them there as a 'thank you for sailing' on the last night of the cruise. The food was decent and everyone enjoyed the complimentary margarita that came with it. It was only $10 per person.

 

My favorite main dining room was actually Azura. We always had early dinner though so we would still check out the buffet lol. Then almost every night we'd hit the Blue Lagoon after midnight. Even though we never ate all the food. We were just having a blast.

 

I missed Cagneys and totally forgot about it. This is funny since my favorite food is steak. I made up for it a week later though when we sailed the Glory. We hit their steak house the first night!

SOOOO Love the thank you for sailing dinner idea. Lipz what would I do without you. You have put my mind at ease for so many things simply by answering the questions of others along with mine. It is awesome that even though your already married that you stay connected here to help us all out!!!!

[Lipz]

SOOOO Love the thank you for sailing dinner idea. Lipz what would I do without you. You have put my mind at ease for so many things simply by answering the questions of others along with mine. It is awesome that even though your already married that you stay connected here to help us all out!!!!

 

 

It's actually MY pleasure. I remember coming here always hoping for some information from someone who actually used NCL and better yet, got married on the Jewel. For me those post were few and far between and there wasn't much info. I would even put 'ncl' or 'norwegian' in the search box just make sure I didn't miss a new post. Knowing this, I hope I can be that resource for other NCL brides, at least until more and more brides use them and add their info too.

 

By the way, I booked Tango's for our 'thank you' dinner on the first sailing day. In that way I knew they would have space for our group since it was a few days in advance. You can reserve in person or even on your stateroom phone.

[garbasaurus]

Hey Lipz, sort of off topic but you don't think you saw my question in the Welcome Bag Supplies thread...

Where did you find the personalized water bottles and waterproof card holders?

[gymbomb]

We also did water bottles, but instead of having them personalized for each person we had them printed up with our names/wedding date/beachy logo. Ours came from Discount Mugs and we're very happy with them. Reasonably priced, good quality, and we paid for 25 but they shipped 32.

 

Got our tote bags and some tropical themed sticky notes/pens/etc. from Vista Print.

[Lipz]

Hey Lipz, sort of off topic but you don't think you saw my question in the Welcome Bag Supplies thread...

Where did you find the personalized water bottles and waterproof card holders?

 

Sorry I missed that post before.

 

We used www.specialistid.com for the waterproof holders. They were only $1.75 each and we were able to order the 15 that we needed. Sometimes places have a large minimum amount but they didn't. We also made little cards to put inside so guest knew what it was for. Most had never cruised before.

Our personalized water bottles came from www.discountmugs.com. This was another purchase that wasn't to bad money wise. I don't remember how much they were but I'm cheap so I know it wasn't outrages lol.

 

We also did water bottles, but instead of having them personalized for each person we had them printed up with our names/wedding date/beachy logo. Ours came from Discount Mugs and we're very happy with them. Reasonably priced, good quality, and we paid for 25 but they shipped 32.

 

Got our tote bags and some tropical themed sticky notes/pens/etc. from Vista Print.

 

Vistaprint was very helpful in this process. They make some inexpensive items and the quality is decent. We got our tote bags from there, t-shirts for each cruising guest, our bride t-shirts, and t-shirts for our maid of honor and best man (our kids 21 & 14), plus some stickers and a poster for our cabin door.

 

 

Also, whatever site you use be sure to do a goggle 'coupon' search before you purchase. We saved a few dollars this way too! :D

[gymbomb]

Just to add to what Lipz said, after you make a Vistaprint account and get on their mailing list they frequently send out emails for free/cheap products. I made a whole bunch of orders comprised only of "free" stuff for which I only paid ~$4-6 shipping. In addition to the items mentioned above, I got some wedding themed paper and return address labels, stickers for our flower girl's goodie bag, and photo magnets.

[garbasaurus]

Thanks ladies for the great tips! Who knew you could better wedding information on a cruising forum than you do on theknot.com?!

[Lipz]

Thanks ladies for the great tips! Who knew you could better wedding information on a cruising forum than you do on theknot.com?!

 

I did!, as soon as I came here lol.

[Bostoncruiser35]

Ok so I just read on another post that Carnival is switching from DJs to Social Hosts for wedding receptions. 2 questions,What is the difference and does anyone know if NCL is changing too?

[Chinital]

Can anyone please tell me about the cake in the basic wedding package? I think it's a 6".

 

Is it square or round? Can I request it be round?

 

Secondly, based on the gourmet lunch menu, was the food good? I'd be mortified if my guests get bad food.