Carnival Glory Wedding Review 1/7/17

[Ddbraxt]

Hello all!

 

You may not know me, I don't post on here a lot, but I've been reading all your posts for over a year now, and I can finally share my review! My husband and I were married aboard the Carnival Glory on embarkation day on January 7, 2017 with 50 guests attending, 30 of which were sailing along with us. Although the cruise itself was a COMPLETE DISASTER (I won't get into that in this post but if have questions feel free to let me know), the wedding was everything I could've ever dreamed!

 

I will provide my point of view first, and my husband will add in a few things he has to say at the end.

 

MY POINT OF VIEW:

 

The night before the wedding, my wedding party and guest arrived in Miami and headed to the Cambria Suites near Miami airport. There was a bit of chaos because a lot of our guests, myself and my husband all flew into Fort Lauderdale Airport and were caught in the middle of the tragic shooting that took place that day. Luckily all of our family and friends were unharmed, but a few people unfortunately had their flights re routed and did not make it to the wedding. We held a family and friends meet and greet at our hotel where we went over the final details for the big day. We held it in the lobby and provided chic-fil-a, nothing too fancy lol. That night my husband and i went to separate hotels so we wouldn't see each other before the ceremony.

 

The morning of the wedding I arrived at the port with my bridesmaids at 9:45 am. My husband and I worked out the timing beforehand so we wouldn't run into each other in the terminal. After entering the terminal i was immediately greeted by Diana, one of my wedding coordinators. She stayed by my side throughout the whole checking in process constantly checking to see if i needed anything or if there was anything she could do. Diana was phenomenal, although i could tell it was probably her first wedding, she was always there when i needed her. After making it through security i was greeted by our officiant, Vivian. The wedding coordinators did a great job keeping me and the groom apart, that was one of our biggest concerns. After making it into the waiting area, I met our other coordinator, Mauricio and they all went over the ceremony with me and then with my husband. At that time i provided them with our ceremony CD, wedding favors and cake topper. I had a few last minute changes, which the coordinators handled all perfectly. The ship cleared and we were able to board around 1145am, i went straight up to my stateroom and ate some food with my bridesmaids and relaxed until 1:00pm when i started to get into my dress. The wedding was supposed to start at 1:30pm but the previous wedding ran a little long so Diana picked me up from my stateroom at about 1:25pm. The wedding took place in the Ebony Cabaret Lounge (highly recommended). I met my father right outside the entrance, we were met by out photographer Irina, we took a few pictures and began the ceremony. The ceremony was perfect! I was very concerned about them messing up the music but they did a great job. After the ceremony we took a few pictures and then went straight into the reception. Since the previous wedding ran long, we had to skip the bouquet and garter toss, which we were not upset about at all. Irina went around and took pictures and video during the reception, we cut the cake and everyone had a great time. We only had the "Time To Celebrate" package with the 1 hour reception, but at no time did any of my non sailing guest feel rushed.

 

The only negative things i have to say are:

 

1. Our photographer was not the most organized. Although the pictures we got are breathtaking, she didn't come take pictures of me getting ready, and she didn't get any pictures of me with my mother (which she is still heartbroken about)

 

2. I didn't get to see the room we were married in beforehand so my father and i walked the wrong way when coming down the aisle lol.

 

HUSBANDS POINT OF VIEW:

 

In short, everything went exactly as planned. I am really not going to go into the details as my wife has already done, but the process went very smoothly overall. All changes and adjustments were handled easily by the wedding department staff.

 

I HIGHLY recommend Cambria Suites Blue Lagoon Miami Airport for wedding reservations. They went above and beyond checking reservations, and accommodating us during our stay. All of our rooms were on the same floor which was an added plus. Not a glamorous hotel, but very clean, very safe area, and very close to shops, the airport, and anything else you may need.

 

The photographer I feel was great from a personality standpoint, however from a photography standpoint I am very disappointed. The pictures she took turned out very good however she did not have any pictures with my wife (the bride) and my mother in law (her mother), myself with my mother, myself with my father, and several other key pictures. I myself am an amateur photographer. Their are certain key pictures that you must have. Bride and her mother is one that can never be missed.

 

Additionally, the photos are so expensive. I have the price list from the photographer and it just is not worth it in my opinion. $30 for a picture is way overpriced, and the packages included are in no way affordable or offer a discount. My suggestion is put aside $300 for key pictures that you must have and have others attending your wedding take pictures with an intent to gather all of those pictures afterwards. Saves you from spending $1400 for 40 pictures and a photo album since one picture is $30.

 

Other than that, I can honestly say that everything that happened with this wedding planning, ceremony, and reception is exactly how I dreamt. I could not have asked for a better experience.

[easyboy]

Congratulations! Very impressed with how things went according to your plan.

 

 

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[WeeFee]

So glad to hear your wedding went well. I am hoping to book this week for a 2018 wedding on the Glory's sister ship Conquest.

 

 

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[mindymariexxo]

Do you still have a copy of the photography package prices? I'd love to see something that was actually offered on the ship.

 

Also, did you take photographs around the ship after the reception or when were pictures taken?

 

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