Celebrity same-sex wedding nightmare...

[Jkco2020]

Has anyone else had issues planning a wedding with Celebrity?

We are currently booked to have our wedding onboard, have numerous friends and family booked, but Celebrity has been a NIGHTMARE to deal with. We've experienced unreturned calls, our questions take WEEKS to get partially answered, stories change every time we talk to someone. Essentially it feels like they aren't interested in having a same-sex wedding on the ship and they are blocking every attempt we make to actually plan the wedding that they had NO TROUBLE taking a $2500 deposit on.

We are beyond frustrated & wondering if anyone else has had the same problem or has any suggestions....

[Kamloops50]

Has anyone else had issues planning a wedding with Celebrity?

We are currently booked to have our wedding onboard, have numerous friends and family booked, but Celebrity has been a NIGHTMARE to deal with. We've experienced unreturned calls, our questions take WEEKS to get partially answered, stories change every time we talk to someone. Essentially it feels like they aren't interested in having a same-sex wedding on the ship and they are blocking every attempt we make to actually plan the wedding that they had NO TROUBLE taking a $2500 deposit on.

We are beyond frustrated & wondering if anyone else has had the same problem or has any suggestions....

 

Part of the issue is where are planning of having the wedding ? Some countries don't allow same sex marriages under their country Flag.Most Celebrity ships are registered in Malta . Check the rules for that country.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Kamloops50

[Jkco2020]

Yes, we worked that out with them before booking at all. Wedding is to be held onboard and they have assured us it will be legal. We're having issues with getting answers on the ceremony and buying out the specialty restaurant for the reception.

[beachmonkey]

Go to the Honeymoon/Wedding forum here on Cruise Critic. There are a number of people who have worked with Celebrity and they may have some first hand advice. We never encountered anyone on the forum who had an issue with us being a gay couple so no need to be shy.

 

We got married on the Norwegian Breakaway and there is a lot to plan and arrange on your own. We found NCL and their Royal Ocean Events (their wedding vendor) to be very helpful. The forum here on CC had some great ideas too.

 

Let me know if there is any way we can help too.

[Bo1953]

Also, another factor may be timing, when is your cruise/wedding to take place? If it is more than six months out, it could be the issue etc...

 

Were you assigned one point of contact for planning or are you just communicating with random people in that department?

[Phxazzcruisers]

So sorry you are having issues. As suggested above, it would help a LOT to have just one point of contact to discuss issues and answer questions. Dealing with Customer Service people, out of the loop, only complicates matters. Also, it is VERY difficult to "Buy out" a Specialty restaurant for an entire evening. The receptions we have been to were never in a Specialty Restaurant.

[wripro]

Did you use a travel agent to book all these cabins? If so, have him/her be your intermediary to insists they take care of everything.

[geoherb]

Sorry that you've had problems. I wonder if they have the same problems for other weddings.

[Adventure_Seeker_Sean]

Congratulations, good luck with the wedding! Hopefully they pull the stick out and help you.

 

I've been thing about venues like cruises for weddings. I'd be afraid to have a cruise ship wedding just because it's around 2-4k strangers who are all trying to vacation. If I were on a cruise and I couldn't go to certain restaurants due to a weddings taking up the venue, I'd be put off a little bit. On the other hand, it would be the ultimate wedding with on shore stuff after and a week long experience for everyone.

[Bo1953]

Yes, we worked that out with them before booking at all. Wedding is to be held onboard and they have assured us it will be legal. We're having issues with getting answers on the ceremony and buying out the specialty restaurant for the reception.

 

 

jk - just wondering how things worked out with your wedding plans? Anything you can report, so far?

 

Congrats again..

 

bon voyage

[CRUISEBOY305]

Has anyone else had issues planning a wedding with Celebrity?

We are currently booked to have our wedding onboard, have numerous friends and family booked, but Celebrity has been a NIGHTMARE to deal with. We've experienced unreturned calls, our questions take WEEKS to get partially answered, stories change every time we talk to someone. Essentially it feels like they aren't interested in having a same-sex wedding on the ship and they are blocking every attempt we make to actually plan the wedding that they had NO TROUBLE taking a $2500 deposit on.

We are beyond frustrated & wondering if anyone else has had the same problem or has any suggestions....

 

First of all congratulations on your happy day. I agree with beachmonkey. this forum would probably answer a lot of your questions.

 

I've been cruising with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity (sister brands) for a while. They are horrible at relaying information. It has nothing to do with your wedding, same-sex or otherwise. They're just that way in general. Nevertheless, they are a great product and you will enjoy your cruise and have a great wedding. :D

 

Go to the Honeymoon/Wedding forum here on Cruise Critic. There are a number of people who have worked with Celebrity and they may have some first hand advice. We never encountered anyone on the forum who had an issue with us being a gay couple so no need to be shy.

 

We got married on the Norwegian Breakaway and there is a lot to plan and arrange on your own. We found NCL and their Royal Ocean Events (their wedding vendor) to be very helpful. The forum here on CC had some great ideas too.

 

Let me know if there is any way we can help too.

[CRUISEBOY305]

I just realized the OP posted this months ago. :eek::eek::eek:

 

My apologies, but would love to know how everything turned out. :D

Edited December 12, 2015 by CRUISEBOY305

[Bo1953]

I just realized the OP posted this months ago. :eek::eek::eek:

 

My apologies, but would love to know how everything turned out. :D

 

No worries, the OP has very few posts so I think they may have just come here to vent and not really monitor the board etc..

 

But I hope they see there was some activity and let us know the results...

 

bon voyage

[Jkco2020]

Hi...just back from our wedding cruise two days ago. Intentionally hadn't come back after posting this because of all of the issues we continued to have with The Wedding Experience.

Once we got onboard and Celebrity actually took over, it was a 180* difference and everything turned out better than we could have imagined.

Celebrity, as always, is a class act. We were dumbfounded, however, by the continuous problems at every turn during the planning process with The Wedding Experience.

All of the nonsense we had to deal with to get to the actual event was absolutely worth it...we hosted beautiful events onboard, had the honor of being married by Captain Tasos, and shared the most memorable week of our lives with our family and friends!

If anyone has specific questions, I'm happy to share our experience.

Edited February 1, 2016 by Jkco2020

[Jkco2020]

I should add...my original post indicated this was a "Celebrity" issue. Turns out the issue was 100% with The Wedding Experience, the company you are required to work with prior to getting onboard.

[kennetro]

Hi...just back from our wedding cruise two days ago. Intentionally hadn't come back after posting this because of all of the issues we continued to have with The Wedding Experience.

Once we got onboard and Celebrity actually took over, it was a 180* difference and everything turned out better than we could have imagined.

Celebrity, as always, is a class act. We were dumbfounded, however, by the continuous problems at every turn during the planning process with The Wedding Experience.

All of the nonsense we had to deal with to get to the actual event was absolutely worth it...we hosted beautiful events onboard, had the honor of being married by Captain Tasos, and shared the most memorable week of our lives with our family and friends!

If anyone has specific questions, I'm happy to share our experience.

 

So glad all turned out well, and congratulations!! Now you'll share some wonderful memories for the rest of your lives! Enjoy.

[tompeter]

Thanks for the follow up, and Congrats!

[BenjiRodney]

Congratulations glad it all worked out for you.

[disfan13]

So happy it all worked out! Couldn't imagine the stress!

[CRUISEBOY305]

Glad everything worked out. Congratulations

[CruisinMaterial]

Glad it all worked out! If I did a wedding, it would be at sea or in Ogunquit, Maine by the sea. Thank you for following up as so often people post and do not follow up. Really appreciated and may your years together be merry! :)

[Surfguyxxx]

Thanks and congratulations. We're thinking of doing our wedding on a cruise and these are great things to know about and hopefully avoid. Best of luck boys!