Has anyone ever been to a wedding on St. Thomas?

[Toni D]

I am planning to get married in St. Thomas in October 2005. We are sailing on Mariner. I seem to be getting a lot of conflicting information from Royal Romance so I am looking into other companies that also do beach weddings. Since I have never done this before I could use any advice you may have. The most named location I keep hearing about is Bluebeards Beach Club, does anyone know if this is a good place. I'm getting more confused :confused: each day and sure could use some help sorting it all out. Thanks!

[aqusis]

Just remember that October is hurricane season and if bad weather threatens, your port of St. Thomas may be skipped, delayed, shortened,etc. I know folks schedule weddings in ports all the time but I'd be a nervous wreck for fear of the port being cancelled, especially that time of year. Just something to think about.

[hardingk]

We sailed in the Radiance back in April 2003. Very good friends of ours got married in St. Thomas in a small ceramony overlooking Meghan's Bay. Everything was arranged through Royal Romance. We took a 30 min limo ride in a "older limo" up to the top of a hill where we were let through onto private property of someone's home. The ceramony took place in their yard which was a beautiful and was a gazebo over looking Meghan's Bay. The ceramony was short and the view was breath taking. However, the downside was that the people from Royal Romance were not very helpful in the months leading up to the cruise and they always got a run around when trying to get answers to their questions. And the even coordinator on the ship and the wedding coordinator that they outsourced the wedding to on the island were very rude as well.

 

Another friend also had a friend get married in St. Thomas through RCL while sailing on the Navigator. They thought they were having the ceramony at the same place as our friends, but when they arrived, they ended up getting married at Blackbeards castle. And all it was, was the top of the building with a view of the city. It was very cold looking bc everything was cement, nothing tropical at all about it.

 

I hope this helps answer your question.

[Toni D]

Thanks for the heads up. I was assured by the wedding people that if weather became a problem they could reschedule for on board the ship. I hope they are being honest about that. There are so many things that seem almost impossible to get a guarantee on. Have fun on Mariner!

[Toni D]

Thanks HardingK,

 

I looked at Bluebeards Castle and It does look pretty barren. The wedding company I am thinking about is called A Wedding For You, The Royal Romance people were already being so much less than helpful which is why I started looking into other companies. My travel agent recommended this one. It is just so hard to decide on a location since I have never been to the island before. Thanks again, enjoy your upcoming sailings

[Barb_and_Sean]

Toni,

I am getting married at Bluebeard's Beach Club on October 21, 2004. I was disappointed in Royal Romance's customer service and decided to use Cheryl from Wedding, Set, Go instead. I don't know a lot about Bluebeards because I haven't been there yet, but what I do know is that they have a garden and beach setting, it is a resort but is very quiet. I can let you know more about it once I get back from my trip. :) Good luck.

 

Barbara

10/21/04 -- wedding in St. Thomas!!!!

[Toni D]

Hi Barbara,

Wow that is great news. Best wishes to you. I would love to hear about it when you get back. Are you bringing a lot of people with you? We have 36 so far, a lot more than I expected. Are you doing a reception after the ceremony or are you going back to the ship? Have a super time!!

[debandbill]

In October, 1999, my stepson and his wife invited their respective families to cruise with them on the Enchantment to celebrate their wedding in St. Thomas. The wedding was not planned thru RCI but instead thru, I believe, the Marriott in St. Thomas.

We arrived in Miami the day after a hurricane hit, very glad that we were even able to fly that day. The hotels we booked were soggy from water intrusion but we camped out for a night and boarded the Enchantment, very relieved that everyone had made their flights and we were all together. Fast foward two days and the announcement that we were veering from the eastern caribbean to the western due to another hurricane. After contacting everyone on the ship with any authority, we became very aware that Royal Caribbean was not taking any responsibility for our problems (how could they???---we, as inlaws, could look at the problem objectively but the bride's family was upset!!) We did finally get a phone number from the purser's desk for minister in Grand Caymen. We ship to shored ($$$$$ :rolleyes:) and arranged to meet him at the pier in GC.

Minister met us at 8:00 am, took the couple to get a license, parents arranged for flowers, found a place to have a wedding (beautiful gazebo at the end of a pier overlooking the harbor and ship) with bar and drinks available after the ceremony. The bride and groom, attendants, and parents, were beautiful in full wedding dress, tux and gowns and flowers, big beautiful parrots hanging in the gazebo....it was lovely! We did all this, reception included, tendered back to Enchantment and sailed at 2:00!

 

Lesson learned...if you are doing and wedding during a cruise, let the cruiseline do it or take a big chance.

[Bloemerl]

First of all a friendly hello to DEBANDBILL from the previous post. Hope to see you on a cruise again someday.

 

Tony

 

3 years ago my daughter was married on a cruise. They had been engaged on a cruise and wanted to get married on a cruise. We checked out many options as you are doing and finally settled on " A wedding for You" (the website is http://www.aweddingforyou.com ). We also choose Bluebeards Castle and it turned out to be wonderfull.

 

I must say the staff at " A wedding for You" was so very helpfull. From getting the license, to the flower arrangements, to the smallest details, they were great.

 

Robin my daughter wanted to be the first wedding of the day so they could have the afternoon to shop with the girls from the wedding party. It was a great choice as in tuxedos it gets a little warm in the Sun. As a result we were picked up at the pier first thing in the morning in an airconditioned van and taken to Bluebeards. The bride and groom got picked up in a lemo. They go downtown for the liscense and then came to bluebeards.

 

If you go to the websight you can see the castle grounds are very nice and the flowers lovely.

 

Hope this helps and have a wonderful wedding !

[Chisey]

Our daughter got married in St Thomas in the greatest ceremony I was ever at, Last April. It was done by Weddings the Island Way, and the do have a web site. We set it up over the phone and everything was handle by them and it was GREAT!!!! Good Luck!!!!

[MandyGirl]

Toni -

 

Check out the posts on the Wedding/Honeymoon board here on CruiseCritic. There are many independent wedding coordinators on St Thomas (and St John) as well as many posts regarding Royal Romance. Lots of sites as well to marry at (beach, gazebo, villa, onboard a catamaran or sailboat, etc). We were in port at St Thomas, but took the ferry to St John to marry on the beach. Reception was held onboard a chartered catamaran that dropped us off back on St Thomas so we could return to the ship. There's pics and a review in the links of my signature. The USVI are very easy (and affordable) to get married! Good luck!! :)

[kkorman]

I am planning to get married in St. Thomas in October 2005. We are sailing on Mariner. I seem to be getting a lot of conflicting information from Royal Romance so I am looking into other companies that also do beach weddings. Since I have never done this before I could use any advice you may have. The most named location I keep hearing about is Bluebeards Beach Club, does anyone know if this is a good place. I'm getting more confused :confused: each day and sure could use some help sorting it all out. Thanks!

 

I got married on St. Thomas at the Frenchmans Reef... the Marriott you see upon entering CA harbor. THey have a wedding planner onsite and the place is beautiful. If you go to the wessite ther eis plenty of info. The pictures, which we included in the wedding price were phenominal.

 

I thought it risky to do a cruise with a land wedding because of all the unknown factors that can happen and having the possibility of missing a port. SO we did ours on land only and it was perfect. Remember also that you have to do some work for the marriage certificate as well. We were able to mail everything to them, but picked it up 2 days before. I do not know if this is required or a percaution we took. I was not in charge of that part.

[MandyGirl]

Remember also that you have to do some work for the marriage certificate as well. We were able to mail everything to them, but picked it up 2 days before. I do not know if this is required or a percaution we took. I was not in charge of that part.

Fortunately, in the USVI, you can pick up the marriage license the day of. The court will also open on Sundays (and possibly holidays) for an extra fee. Just make sure the application/fees are received by the court at least 8 business days in advance. We also called to verify and were able to receive our license number at that time so we would have it when showing up at the courthouse.

We, too, got sworn in at the courthouse while on a land vacation, so that when we were on the wedding cruise a few months later, our minister was able to just bring the marriage license with him and we did not have to go to the courthouse at all the day the ship was at St Thomas. We also knew the possible risks involved, but did a cruisewedding anyway (exchanged vows on St John). We made sure to book with someone who would honor the fact that things can happen. If our ship had missed port, we could have returned up to 12 months later to marry with no problem (except travel expenses for having to make another trip back!). :)

[BunkerVA]

I was going to let this post pass me by, but I noticed you said you were thinking of using A Wedding for You. I used them to book my August 2001 wedding in Key West. We were sailing onboard the Imagination (Carnival) and were to get married at the Ernest Hemmingway House and Gardens. Well, in the end, our ship had mechanical problems and we were diverted to Freeport and never made it to Key West.

 

A Wedding For You was completely useless! Not only did they not try to help us get married, even though they have sites in Freeport, (We were eventually married **VERY QUICKLY** by Carnival's Wedding Program when we got back to Miami before we disembarked, thanks to a VERY helpful purser onboard the ship) they maintained there was nothing they could do for us, and that was it. All I had wanted my guests to see was a wedding (honestly I didnt even care if it was legal) because for some of them, this was a once in a lifetime trip, ruined.

 

I FOUGHT to have to get even a bit of the money back for stuff that was paid for and obviously not used and hey could sell again. (Bottles of champagne..etc. We ate the cost of admission, the cake, the officiant, the photographer....) Anyway, that is why my husband and I's wedding anniversary is August 6 instead of August 3.

 

It doesnt even have to be the weather that ruins your wedding.

 

***I cannot recommend enough that you book through the ship.***

 

Save yourself the heartache. It's supposed to be the happiest day of your life, you shouldnt have to worry about it.

 

All the best on your upcoming marriage!

Samantha Wills

 

 

MandyGirl: Is that Willingham74?!?!? Do you remember me from the Norway? You stayed in our suite!

[MandyGirl]

Hey Samantha!! Yes, it's me! I could not remember your ID for the life of me!!! And yes, we LOVED your suite!! :) I still use your mechanical problems as an example of the "what ifs" that can happen with a cruisewedding. :( We're returning to our wedding beach this November, and I cannot wait! Still haven't tried RCCL yet though. I think Curt has gotten hooked on the "smaller ships" with less than 2000 passengers. (!) I've tried updating all my user IDs and email addresses... I'm now at mandy@cmgoddard.com I can't believe school starts back for me this Friday! UGH!

[Got2Cruise]

We stayed at the Wyndham for a week, and there were several weddings during the week. The Wyndham has all types of facilities depending how much you want to spend. There was a gorgeous wedding chapel that overlooked the beach, but we saw most of the brides getting married right on the shoreline. Contact the hotels such as Wyndham and the Mariott. I think you are even allowed to be married at Magens Bay if you wish.

[Franchise]

Try This - It should do the trick

 

http://www.virginislandsmap.com/stthomas/weddings/index.htm

[Toni D]

Thank you everybody this is all very helpful.

 

I guess that it is a gamble no matter what route you go. It seems that no matter the company some people have a great experience while others have a terrrible one. There do seem to be benefits to using Royal Romance just in case of port changes and bad weather.

 

So far we've got 36 people traveling with me and we really don't want to let them down. I just don't know. :confused:

 

 

Thanks again!!

[debandbill]

Toni....your plans are your plans but I have a suggestion. Why not have the wedding precruise and then possibly plan a nice get-together in St. Thomas somewhere. This does a couple of things. The pressure will be off to have the perfect wedding in a location that is mostly out of your control. Everyone that is sailing with you and you yourself can enjoy the cruise. Speaking from someone who was on the fringe of all the wedding stuff, I was just ready to enjoy my cruise and not be worried with all the details of a wedding and a hysterical bride not having plans go as expected. It was very hot in the Caribbean, even in October, and all the wedding clothes really got sweaty...all that water and we couldn't jump in. Just my opinion, but I was there and it no vacation till the wedding was done!