Carnival: What do I have to do to get...

[Tropicalis_Rex]

... some information from the weddings department?

 

Not trying to rant, just find info and fill you all in on what I've done to this point.

 

I have contacted my PVP, who badgered me to death, calling daily, then wouldn't call me back when I was ready to book (I left a message, waited for hours...). Then I booked the cruise on my own... I called him back to add F2F and get info about vow renewal --- never called me back. I also emailed him and nothing.

 

I can see the rates and downloaded the PDF from Carnival. I'm in between whether to do an excursion in Cozumel or try to find somewhere to do a vow renewal but I just sort of think schlepping my wedding dress on and off the ship/worrying about the wind blowing my hair crazy (which I will probably have to do myself since apparently the salon books up quick?) will be a pain, although photos on the beach would be so nice... so will photos on the ship.

 

However, if I can't get anyone at Carnival to get me any info, then I guess on the beach it will be, or we'll just wait another year and do it for our 10th. We hit a rough patch this year and weren't sure if we'd make it, but here we are, better than ever. That's why we are thinking of not waiting for the "milestone" year.... it's pretty meaningful to us this year.

 

I'm also concerned as to what days are formal days... I'm on the Breeze 6 day, sailing Sept. 7th. If the Fun Times from John Heald's blog still are accurate regarding cruise elegant, it will be day 2 day at sea and the Cozumel day. (day...5 I think)? Trying to decide whether to wear my wedding gown or not for formal, if it coincides with the vow renewal day.

 

I'm doing my dress for vow renewal because we didn't have a photographer at our wedding. I'd like to buy photos but I know the ship's photos will be $$$$$$$, which is the only other reason I'm considering going ashore, cheaper photog. Considered bringing a photog along but that is going to get into too much cost, be cheaper just to buy the ship's.

 

If anyone has suggestions, I'm open to them. Or a contact at Carnival. I realize I just booked yesterday but I've been trying to "run down" the wedding department for nearly two weeks. And I also know that Carnival does a limited number of vow renewals since they happen on sea days, so I don't want to be told, sorry, all booked up.

[Carnival_Brides]

I saw where you called your PVP for info, but have you actually called the Weddings Department (1-800-933-4968). Each ship has a designated coordinator that deals with the details before you get on the ship and then you'll have a CCL employed coordinator once you board the ship. I'm sure one of the Breeze brides would be glad to share the name/extension of the Breeze coordinator.

 

Your vow renewal WILL NOT conflict with formal night(s) because you cannot have a VR on those days. It will most likely be on a sea day or a port day depending on the captain's availability. I don't think CCL organizes VR's off-ship, so if that was a dealbreaker than you'll have to book through a third-party vendor.

 

The photography is a bit pricy, but the product is beautiful. The VR and wedding photo price lists are identical.

 

 

If you pop me an email, I'll send over what my coordinator sent so you can take a look. kitty[dot]cruiser[at]yahoo[dot]com.

 

The salon will do your hair and I've never heard of their appointments filling up. If it's something that's important to you, I'd go right to the salon after boarding to make the appointment.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Carnival_Brides

[Tropicalis_Rex]

I saw where you called your PVP for info, but have you actually called the Weddings Department (1-800-933-4968). Each ship has a designated coordinator that deals with the details before you get on the ship and then you'll have a CCL employed coordinator once you board the ship. I'm sure one of the Breeze brides would be glad to share the name/extension of the Breeze coordinator.

 

Your vow renewal WILL NOT conflict with formal night(s) because you cannot have a VR on those days. It will most likely be on a sea day or a port day depending on the captain's availability. I don't think CCL organizes VR's off-ship, so if that was a dealbreaker than you'll have to book through a third-party vendor.

 

The photography is a bit pricy, but the product is beautiful. The VR and wedding photo price lists are identical.

 

 

If you pop me an email, I'll send over what my coordinator sent so you can take a look. kitty[dot]cruiser[at]yahoo[dot]com.

 

The salon will do your hair and I've never heard of their appointments filling up. If it's something that's important to you, I'd go right to the salon after boarding to make the appointment.

 

I didn't call them, because I needed their number. For some reason I couldn't find it. Thank you so much for sending it to me! This is the second time I've TRIED to use a PVP to book and it just didn't work out. I was hoping he could help me book/give me the info for the contacts I needed to make with the wedding department, etc. You should definitely be a paid employee for them lol! A wedding "concierge" or something. :)

 

 

 

Good to know about the formal night conflict. I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Looks like the only day left then is the return trip or in port. I had sort of hoped for day 2 but I won't complain. Hopefully available dates won't be on the Ocho Rios day or the Grand Cayman day... we have sort of made (tentative) plans for both of those days.

 

The photos are expensive but I'll just try to budget it back. I don't want to do another wedding with no photos! I either need to have my old dress taken in from my wedding or get another one. I'm undecided there, too. This could get expensive quickly but I was loving your photos (THANK YOU for the review) and other shipboard wedding photos I've seen on here. Just so classy and elegant... suits us so well --- and, I think, less of a hassle for me than trying to do it ashore... IF I can get all my ducks in a row for the ship. I LOVE beach photos as well but the more I look at the ship, the more I love it, the more it looks like what suits us. The Spirit class "whale tail" is my favorite in the fleet, the photo of you and your wife there is beautiful. (I may be biased about the tails of the fleet, though, my first cruise was on Legend).

 

Thank you so much for the file with the photo prices. I can tell already I'm going to want the $749 package. I'm not sure how to break that to DH! LOL. I'll have to have some good sales in the next few months.

 

As an aside, we almost decided to sail on Pride but couldn't get the dates we're available to line up with the itinerary we were hoping for. Our daughter is happy about the many water slides on Breeze, though. This wedding is partly for her, too. She's so disappointed she didn't get to make it to our first one (she wasn't thought of yet! LOL) She always asks why she wasn't there.

 

Anyhow, great info. I'll call Carnival Weddings on Monday!!!

[Carnival_Brides]

Glad I was able to help! The coordinator in the CCL office for the Breeze was Sasha as of October (thanks Shatima and FemmeKat!) and she'll be able to help you out. We collected a lot of information over our 18 months of wedding planning, so I learned a lot. The good news is I don't think they've changed up the VR package much.

 

You could break the news by showing him the "Investment" pages for wedding photographers in your area. Their services just to show up on the event day can start at $3,000--that doesn't include any photos. We got that package and it served our needs pretty well--what really mattered to us as millennials was the digital files. We'd rather have paid a fee for all of the digital pictures, but they don't offer that.

 

I understand your PVP problem. Ours was super helpful while we were booking cabins with him, but he became really moody when we called asking for help in upgrading or changing cabins--we no longer use him and get better service just calling the 800 number.

 

The Sprit class whale tails are our favorites too. We love that picture--it's one of our top 3.

[NL2134]

Carnival_Brides seems to have answered most of your wedding questions. But like she said, now that you booked you need to deal with the wedding department, not PVP.

 

Regarding PVP:

First, if you book online, your PVP no longer has your file. Their system assumes that means you were unhappy with him, deletes you from his files, and will give you to a different PVP. Plus, when you book online they don't get the commission, so they lose all interest in helping if there's no paycheck in it. We were having a decent experience with our PVP before booking, but when we needed to book cruise so we could reserve the wedding, our PVP was on vacation, so I just booked online. She was absolutely livid and very rude to me, even though we planned to have 10 other rooms book through her too. And she informed me that the system took our file and she had to go track it down and get it assigned back to her. I decided to give her another chance, despite her rudeness, but she continued to be rude and didn't return calls unless I threatened to have my 20 guests book elsewhere, so I found a different PVP to work with.

 

Some PVPs are super helpful, some not to much. After the unhelpful experience I got, I searched online (cruise critic & carnival forum) for recommended PVPs. There are a few highly recommended ones. I called Aida Hermann, who was highly recommended PVP on both forums. Even though our room was already booked, she was extremely nice and helpful and returned every call with a couple hours if she didn't answer. I had all my guests book through her and they all loved her. So much so that I do plan to book any future cruises through her, even though I'm an avid internet booker. She realizes that her job is about customer service, not just money. And good service will bring in recommendations and future money.

[Carnival_Brides]

Some PVPs are super helpful, some not to much. After the unhelpful experience I got, I searched online (cruise critic & carnival forum) for recommended PVPs. There are a few highly recommended ones. I called ********, who was highly recommended PVP on both forums. Even though our room was already booked, she was extremely nice and helpful and returned every call with a couple hours if she didn't answer. I had all my guests book through her and they all loved her. So much so that I do plan to book any future cruises through her, even though I'm an avid internet booker. She realizes that her job is about customer service, not just money. And good service will bring in recommendations and future money.

 

Just a heads up--we're not supposed to discuss travel agents and PVPs by name, even on these boards, but we are allowed to complain about them:D. There was a rash of it happening a few years ago and they had to create a "sticky" on the front page because of it.

 

Thanks for the info on PVP those. I had no idea that we get reassigned when we book on our own. Glad to know that's what I have to do to get rid of my current one. She calls me at all random hours of the day and tried debating with me about the fact that CCL is pulling out of the northeast (she wasn't up to date on that fact).

[Tropicalis_Rex]

Thank you very much to both of you for all the good info. I wasn't aware that the PVP got "traded out" when you booked online, either. I tried to give mine a fair shake but it was constant calls then *poof* when I needed him to book, which was more of a "favor" to him...

I like to "be in control" of my booking and see the deck plan and go back and forth splitting hairs over staterooms for 20 minutes before choosing (I know, I know... I'm odd lol).

I guess I just would have preferred if he would have been like "hey sorry I can't help you with that"... or any response would have been good... as it was before I even booked. I am happy that you explained it to me. I should maybe just answer every time a PVP calls and tell them, quite nicely, to focus their efforts elsewhere because I usually book online. That way maybe they don't waste their time. IDK.

 

As for the wedding stuff... we're still going back and forth on it. Very likely have decided to renew vows on the ship, not on land while in a port. It's just a better fit for us. We need to decide if this is a priority for us. It is certainly MEANINGFUL to us this year but I can't help but wonder if it would be better on our milestone 10th... which we almost didn't make it to 8 so I can't think of a better time. Besides, we don't do anything "traditionally". And our kiddo will be along for this one and the next one is just us! (She really wants to be in on it!)

 

Some family drama has happened with his side of the family (people canceling their own wedding a few weeks before our cruise). It's always drama with them and having a vow renewal for ourselves will create more if I mention anything about it on the FaceSpace. The easy answer is don't post anything or block them from it I suppose. Sad that even factors in.

 

The other factor is that my wardrobe no longer fits (seriously none of it). I need to buy some different clothing to even go on this (so there's $$). So I need to find out whether my wedding gown can be altered or I need a different dress (hate to say I'm actually considering a Chinese eBay gown). My computer for university just broke too, so now that adds to the list. Sometimes you go two steps ahead and one back (or one ahead and two back! LOL). I haven't even called Carnival yet because Carnival_Brides sent me so much good stuff and all this stuff happened Monday and Tuesday.

 

*Sigh* lots of decisions to make. Thought it would be LESS stressful the second time around.

 

Thank you to all for your help. I'll try to keep you apprised of our decisions.

[NL2134]

I think, if you guys have gone through some trouble and want to renew your commitment, that doing vow renewal now is a great idea. I don't think there is a reason to wait until a milestone anniversary. And it doesn't have to be anything big with family, because it really is about the two of you re-committing yourselves to each other. And I figure it is more important to do when you guys are in the place that it means most to you, rather than just to celebrate a certain anniversary.

 

You may want to look for used dresses, sample gowns, or clearance gowns. Some of them can be super low prices for awesome dresses. I nearly bought one from David's Bridal that was normally $1200 and marked down to $200. There are definitely some great, cheaper options out there.

 

Another option to consider if you are looking to keep cost down, is to just do your own ceremony rather than booking the vow renewal through the cruise. You don't need an officiant, since its not a legal ceremony. Just get dressed up, write your own renewal vows to each other, go find a spot on the beach or on the ship, look at each other and recommit your marriage to each other. As long as you both take it to heart, it will be meaningful and special. Then maybe splurge and eat a nice dinner at the steak house on board or something. You can also still order a cake through the ship or even put together a private cocktail party if you wanted. I've also seen people just get food service in there room and hosted a small party in their cabin.

 

And I believe you can still hire the ships photographer even if you don't book the wedding packages. Or, find a friend or someone that wants to go along on the cruise that may be able to take photos for you. It would help if they have some photography experience though. We are doing embarkation wedding, but want to do some posed photos on the beach at one of the ports, so we are having my SIL take photos, rather than hiring photographer and paying for more photos. She isn't a professional, but is really good with a camera and I trust her skills enough to have her do it.

[Tropicalis_Rex]

Thanks for your ideas!!! And thanks for backing me up, I was starting to feel like I was being overly ridiculous about needing to do it this year. This cruise is our anniversary present to one another for this year, too. Even though our anniversary was last week lol.

 

DH was like well you're not planning on doing a vow renewal every 8 years are you... hmm don't give me any ideas! LOL Bring on the weddings! :P

 

Now about the details:

I was attached to this idea of buying a Chinese-eBay dress and fell in love with one... but I'm pretty sure it won't come and be the way it looks in the photo (I found out later it's a designer gown they stole the photo for). I was thinking a new custom-made gown would cost the same as having alterations done on the one I already have but it's looking like it comes then you have to pay to have it finished or altered anyhow, if it even looks anything like what you wanted.

 

Why did I want a new dress other than fit? I HATED my flowers at my actual wedding. And for this, I wanted orange tiger lilies with callas (realtouch/silks). My dress has burgundy applique all over it:

(This is one of the BEST photos I have from my wedding... not bad, but that's why I want more. They're all candids, which is fantastic unless you want a framed one lol).

 

So orange and burgundy... I'm thinking not so good together. But that's okay; not worth getting a new dress if I can make this one work. I'm thinking I might even be able to do a corset back on it and fix my main problem, and it might not cost a whole lot to do.

 

I love your ideas about doing our own thing, too and just hiring the ship's photographer. I have to really prioritize my expenditures and determine what's most important. We don't eat cake, and I think I'm just in love with the romantic notion of the Master of the vessel officiating.

 

I have the money spent about 10 different ways right now! LOL. I wish it wouldn't cost so much to have our photographer go.. but I can't afford to pay for cruise fare and the their fee, and I'm not willing to go the family/friend route again because that's what I did for our wedding and it didn't work out. I kept thinking, how many photos of our wedding will we put on the wall, anyhow? ONE? I wanted to do a scrapbook, so only one on the wall but maybe a lot in a book.

 

As to what happened at my wedding about photos:

For the record, they did it out of the goodness of their heart, I don't fault them, I don't want to sound like bridezilla. Someone else took it upon themselves to also be a "photographer" for the day (fancied herself the best at everything... married to a family member at the time, divorced him a year later). Because I wasn't aware of it beforehand, the one I TOLD to take photos stepped back and thought I wanted someone else to do it. So two people were competing and no one got close or took charge and I couldn't. I just told "MY" photographer to be more assertive, but he didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. So all my photos are from far away with no telephoto lens, and were film so not as easy to manipulate after the fact, although one day I might take to editing them (I only have 5x7 prints, not the negatives, so I have to scan and hope for the best lol).

 

Besides a DJ for dancing, the photography and flowers are my only regret. I definitely want to "fix" the flowers and photography for this. :) Plus DD will be there and she is really excited because she still doesn't understand why she wasn't there for the first wedding lolol.

 

Other random thoughts:

I guess I wasn't thinking how much planning I'd need to do for this --- it is, to us, nearly another wedding (I only had 5 weeks to plan mine. We just didn't want to wait any longer.) No, I have no guests besides DD, but we still have flower and clothing choices, as well as the cruise formal nights (we do it ALL up). Formal nights are some of my favorite (LOBSTER!) lol. The money aspect is the thing I need to plan most for, I guess. Which is why the decisions are probably hardest.

 

I'm great with decisions in the business realm, decisions for the future direction of my life... concrete goals there. Comes to vacation and I lose it lol. Back and forth back and forth. That way I can relax and know everything's taken care of when I get there.

[Carnival_Brides]

I'm glad it is working out so well for you. I'm a huge fan of burgundy and orange and I think if done right, it could be gorgeous. I looked up burgundy and orange on Pinterest and some of the results are so pretty.

 

If you really want a new gown and it's in your budget, you might try David's Bridal. They are coming into summer season and just discontinued a bunch of their gowns online and they occasionally run the $99 sale. Each store also has an As-Is rack that has gowns on it for a multitude of reasons. My wife's $800 gown was reduced to $250 because it was special ordered in a non-stock color and the bride who ordered it decided to go with white instead of champagne.

 

Please keep us up to date on the details--I love coming back and reading reviews.

[Tropicalis_Rex]

I

 

If you really want a new gown and it's in your budget, you might try David's Bridal.

 

Please keep us up to date on the details--I love coming back and reading reviews.

 

Thank you for the pinterest link! That's awesome! I guess I never thought of it but perhaps combining "fall" and tropical is perfect because it's September! Not a fan of pink, but there is a pink, burgundy and orange bouquet on that link that is STUNNING and pulls it all together. Hmmm.

 

I think I'll stop in at David's this week or next. Who knows, perhaps I find something awesome at the right price! I was hoping for mermaid with organza ruffles. Worst thing that can happen is I get to have fun trying on dresses again! My mom was busy on the only day I had off to go pick mine... it might be nice if she could come.

 

I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the help! I contacted Carnival Weddings this morning and am waiting for an email about how to book but um... so far nothing. She said they're in til 7, so I may have to call again. Mayhaps my email address was difficult to understand over the phone.

 

I'll try to keep this as a documentation of my process/planning, and afterwards I intend to write a review. The ones I've read have helped me a lot.. especially the photos are great!

[Tropicalis_Rex]

The Dress:

So I'm between two options...

I found a way to put in a corset back on my own, there's a kit being sold by a company... as long as I can stay relaxed and feed the dress through my machine right, I can put the corset in it.

 

I also found... the flower girl dress in the right size for my daughter... that originally went with my gown!!!!

 

David's

Still haven't gone to try on gowns (waiting til my mom can go since she didn't get to the first time around) but OMGoodness! I found a really pretty one on their website!!! and it's $198.. and a mermaid and takes up way less room on an airplane than my original.

 

Decisions decisions... just trying to keep my progress up to date here. I want to book the actual ceremony soon so the more I keep expenditures down, the quicker that happens. I'm a little neurotic about planning, and the quicker everything is paid for/set, the happier I am.

[mrstriceasnice]

Dress: You can also try google Light In the Box. Excellent prices and made to your measurements.