Sovereign of the Seas Review 8/25/2006

[Justagirl]

Well, I have finally recuperated from our wild wedding weekend and wanted to give my feedback on the whole thing. All in all, it was AMAZING!!

 

First off, I wanted to comment that after all the awful things I have read about RR/TWE, I was really worried. I worked with Giselle up until 2 weeks before and then I had Robert. They were both great. I never had to wait more than 24 hours for a response to any of my questions. I even had some last minute changes that they were happy to accomodate.

 

We went over to Cocoa on Thursday night with most of the wedding party and stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites. We did the park and cruise plan. They have a really fun bar and had karaoke...we had a blast! The morning of the wedding was a little frustrating b/c the shuttle was late...hotel kept saying he was on his way, and when he arrived at 10:40, he said they had just called him. Not a huge deal, tho. We were able to squeeze everyone in on one trip and got to the pier by 11:00. We were immediatley greeted by one of the wedding coordinators who came up to us and said, "My bride and Groom!! How are you Mark? (my groom's name is Eddie) :) So that was kind of funny. Then the right WC came over an introduced herself. We actually had 3, but Judy was the main one. Now here is where I have one complaint....I had an unfortunate turn of events and my MOH was not able to attend...So I had a new MOH and a new bride'smaid. I immediately told Judy about the changes b/c I wanted to make sure the names were correct for the intro's at the reception. She said, "No problem...we'll get that from you later!" (more on that to come)

 

We were on the ship by 11:30. all sailing and non-sailing guests and it was a breeze. We were escorted to our JS and given istructions on times etc. Then Judy made a big deal about something that was supposed to be in our cabin, but wasn't. She said they'd be back and we'd be able to tell. I still have no idea what she was talking about b/c nothing ever showed up. Oh well.

 

We went up to the pool bar for a cocktail or two and then it was time for me to get dressed. That had to be the LONGEST 20 minutes of my life!! Finally Judy came to get my MOH and I and escorted us to Bolero's. I started to cry as soon as I saw my Dad standing there and had to take a minute to get it together. (My mom passed away many years ago, so it was emotional for us both) The photog. was there and introduced himself...he was really great...more on that later.

 

The walk down the isle was a blur....I started crying again but managed to not have a tear actually fall...my groom was teary eyed, too. The ceremony was beautiful...the officiant was very well spoken. She even added a bit about our new family, as my husband has a son that we have full costody of. We did the vows and the rings and the I presenetd my new step-son with a ring and said a few words...according to all our guests, there was not a dry eye in the house! Then we did the sand ceremony and a prayer and then....Mr and Mrs Smith!! (no, I am not kidding!) :)

 

Here's where I got a little bit pissy....after the recessional, we were lining up to go in for the introduction and the DJ and Judy are going over the names and order and what do you know? No one has corrected the changes for the maids....so there I am off to the side of everyone trying to tell him who was who. It was a bit flustering But here's the best part...The DJ introduced my father Don Jarvis, as the groom's father! Mind you my husband is a IIIrd, so there were Smith last names everywhere and he messed that up. Not a huge deal, but after paying close to 500.00 for him...I was disappointed. The reception was really a lot of fun and everything went smoothly, except I had burned a CD of all the songs we wanted in order and he did not follow that. again, not a huge deal. We paid for a DJ so someone would liven up the crowd and keep it interesting....he did not do that at all.

 

The cake cutting was fun- we both smashed it in each others faces...I always swore I'd never do that, but it was fun. A little make-up touch up and then the toasts. Then it was a few more songs and some pics and the last song. The food was AWESOME!! and no one went without a drink. I had also asked for some specialty drinks and buckets of beer at the start of the reception. Both requests we met.

 

My only other complaint was that one of my maid's flowers fell apart when she got to the alter...the WC actually said she would report that to help me out. And our leftover cake never made it to the dining room. But we forgot about it, so that was cool.

 

After the reception, we still had another 15 minutes of pics...and he actually did about 20. I did not realize that the extra hour of pics we bought woudl end up only being 15 minutes just b/c of how they space the ceremony and reception. It was fine with us, but keep that in mind if you buy the extra hour.

 

We met with the photog. on Sunday nioght and the pics were great but VERY expensive. We asked if they could hold them for us for a few wekks and they said no problem.

 

We had about 25 sailing guests, a lot of them first time cruisers and everyone had a blast. It was honestly the MOST fun I think I have ever had and all our friends were in agreement. The few minor glitches were annoying, just b/c you do pay so much $$ for everything. But, I was not going to let anything ruin our day. If I could do it all again, I would.

 

If anyone has any questions, you can email me @ juliejnfla@aol.com

 

I will try and post some pics as soon as I can.

 

Congratualtions and best wishes to all future cruise brides!

[MOLUVSCO]

Best wishes on a long future together. Thanks for the report. Things go wrong no matter where you are, but it sounds like you made the best of it. We get married on Enchantment in 2 months, cant wait!

[Justagirl]

Thanks for the well-wishes! Best of luck to you on your big day! Just remember to relax and take it all in. I hope you guys love it as much as we did!

[mlleach]

Het Mrs. Smith

Nice meeting you and all the Gators after the ceremony. When will you be cruising again?

ML

[Justagirl]

Hey there ML! Nice meeting you guys, too! Our whole group is looking to do something in the late fall. We had quite a few out-of-towners, so we are trying to coordinate schedules right now. But, hopefully sooner than later! :)

[mlleach]

Hey there ML! Nice meeting you guys, too! Our whole group is looking to do something in the late fall. We had quite a few out-of-towners, so we are trying to coordinate schedules right now. But, hopefully sooner than later! :)

 

Jules

We are going again on 10/28/06. We are doing a Jr. Suite. Hope the upgrade fairy strikes again.

Email me at mll92003@yahoo.com

ML

[sas80]

It's really your family and friends that make the wedding and the cruise, isnt it?

 

I had the same complaint about our DJ - it just ended up feeling like a waste of money.

 

I'm concerned though because that "extra hour" of photographs you paid for should have had the photographer taking pics during your reception....:confused: I hope that is what you got!

 

Congrats! It sounds like you didnt sweat he small stuff and had a great, overall, experience!

[Justagirl]

Thanks, Sas! It was all of our family and friends that made everything so great. And yes, the photog did take pics during the reception. But the wedding started late and I just wasn't thinking about exact times at that moment. When he explained it to me, I was fine. I will post all the pics as soon as we get the CD. (We held off on buying it just b/c it was soooo expensive, so they are holding everything for us and sending it in a few weeks)

[mlleach]

Jules

Have you decided when you guys are doing the Sovereign again?

ML