mrstriceasnice

Hi!

We will be sailing on the Carnival Conquest for 5 nights in October for our honeymoon. Neither of us has ever been on a cruise.

Any tips or advice would be so helpful!

Most of the advice you will find on this forum will relate to shipboard weddings. That being said here is my best advice, Pack everything you think you will need then cut it by a third lol. Take a new in the box power strip in your carry on because there is only one plug in most rooms. The absolute most important thing to take is a happy attitude and lots of fun!

Hey everyone! I am getting married on the Freedom of the Seas July 2016. I am just wondering, is it cheaper to bring your own photographer and pay for their cruise fare? Or is it cheaper to just buy the pictures from the cruise photographer? If I brought my own, they would take pictures the whole week. The cruise fare would be around $1,400. I read that the pictures are anywhere between $500-$4,000. Any advice would help!:)

I got married on Carnival, my review in in my signature. I spent $400 on pictures. There are several in my review. I don't know ho RC handles it but I know Carnival is more than happy to help guests get good shots but they are less than thrilled to find out you have brought a professional photographer. If they don't know they are pro it's usually ok.

Kelly... how soon after you booked did you hear from TWE. My coordinator has yet to call me. I got a ton of information and forms sent to me via 2 separate emails but I haven't heard from anyone.

 

A couple things... the form I got for the cake didn't mention having different flavored tiers... did you ask specifically about that? And also... I'm assuming you had to ask for the additional menus? The one that was sent to me was very short.

I* can tell you I didn't not hear from TWE at all other than an email asking for money to get my marriage license for me. Once I told them I was handling it myself that was the last I heard until I called them about a month before my wedding because I had seen another bride say she had sent her ceremony outline in. When I called them then they emailed me the outline. I called after I sent it back them to make sure they had it and to see if they needed anything else from me. I heard from the wedding department at Carnival about two weeks before my ceremony where we went over everything and verified my menu, cake, etc. Beyond that The only time they contacted me was if I contacted them first.

2016 Bride here! I am looking to get married on a Carnival cruise next year! I am not sure where to start! Do I have to book my cruise first? Is TWE part of Carnival? Do they charge for their services?

 

Any help please! :confused:

 

TIA

You have to have your cruise booked then you would call the wedding department at Carnival. TWE is the company that Carnival contracts for much of the wedding day stuff. You also have to pay the wedding in full at the time you book. This does not account for extras you may add throughout the process but the initial fee will need to be paid. You can find the price lists on the Carnival website if you search weddings. Start with deciding if the packages they offer fit your needs. Then if you decide they do, begin your journey!

It didn't let me quote you! What the heck is going on... lol

 

Thank you!!! I wasn't going to purchase a bottle for that much and not be able to bring it where I wanted. I just think this is the easiest way to go for me because all I drink is Captain and I don't want to have to worry about tallying up drink after drink on board.

 

Everything is mostly complete. I cannot believe it.

Packing is becoming interesting as we will be on vacation for 2 weeks so I am sure I've overpacked A LOT!

We had rum delivered to our room, we brought tumblers on board with us and we mad our drinks with juice on board. We did get bottomless bubbles to have coke and juice for mixers. We took our drinks everywhere we went. we took a rum runner and kept it full and my husband carried it in the pocket of his cargo shorts.

From everything that I have heard, the waiting isn't bad. The guests are able to eat at the buffet and walk around the ship. I will be there earlier than that to hopefully get on first so I can get dressed and be able to take pictures before the wedding so I'm not sweaty from the reception fun. Hopefully we have enough time to go around the ship taking pictures. Also less people on the ship will make it easier!

Here is my experience with the waiting, I waited with my guests and we boarded as a group, even with a toddler in our midst it wasn't that bad. It gave me a chance to talk to may guests, pass out corsages and boutinerres, and go over things with my wedding coordinators. From the time you board until the ceremony, there is not likely to be picture taking time. Our pictures were partly after the ceremony but before the reception for family shots and such. then after the Muster drill we met our photographer and went around the ship taking pictures. Yes I attended the Muster drill in my HUGE wedding gown.

Oh thanks! I was under the impression that they were all metal !

Even with that they are often not able to hold the magnet. And the blue poster putty comes off clean so it is Carnival approved. We used command hooks to hang the netting around our door because again they come off clean so Carnival approved. :)

My 20 year old son went on our wedding cruise with us. He could not drink on the ship however since we were in the Bahamas he could drink there. However Carnival would also not sell us the Brewery Tour for him because he was not 21. We ended up going with a local company called Pat and Diane and they have no problem selling us the tour.

As of right now all I will be doing is getting a "just married" car magnet to put on the door. I heard its really good to put something on your door as a identifier since they all look the same!

Since not all of the doors are magnetic be sure to bring some blue poster putty to hang your magnet. That is how we did ours.

I'm starting to get nervous about bringing my dress on board the plane. Does that count as a carry on? I sure hope not because i have another smaller suitcase I need to bring.

Mine counted as my carry on. My husband carried a smaller suitcase with his suit and out other wedding related stuff. We checked the rest of our non wedding related luggage.

552

Awesome, thank you so much for answering!

I talked to my mom this weekend and she said the same thing, they didn't pay to park.

Talk to your island planner. They often sell it for next to nothing. Usually it covers everything but the cake or flowers. It is definitely worth it for the price from this I've read who bought and used it.

Talk to your coordinator. They can sometimes work something out but it is difficult.

Hmmm.... I didn't ask my guests who did park the day of. I'll ask my mom's their when I tAlk to her later

Most wear their dresses back on the ship.

AAAhhh 31 days! Just had my last shower yesterday. :( Got me to thinking, (mostly because I procrastinate a LOT of things) has anyone found a flawless packing list? I am nervous to start packing but I know I need to otherwise I will forget things....

I don't know how flawless it is but here is the list I started with:

destination-wedding-packing-list.pdf

We ate in the dining room every night and at a table for 11. It was wonderful.

These boards are FULL of info. Now with Carnival you cannot get married on the ship while at sea if that is what you are looking for. Beyond that there is a wealth of info and we are all happy to share.

We are going over st pattys day. Thought I'd bring my own novelties.

We bring our own cups so we can make our own drinks. We get bottomless bubbles and the bar fills it with juice or soda then we add a splash of rum or whatever. Also it lets you have the tasty Mango juice blend after breakfast by filling up at breakfast then taking it to go.

Thank you for sharing the info about Brevard County. We decided to go that route and they have been nothing but helpful in making sure we get our marriage license in time for the wedding!

I'm glad, that was certainly our experience as well. I made sure to tell them how wonderful they were and that I would refer anyone that asked to them because they were so easy to work with.

I love the door banners! I would love one for our door, but I know that I would have to put it up and I'll be too tired for that. I was thinking of doing door hangers as well, but I'm wondering if it will get confusing or mixed up with the one's Carnival already has .

I put our up when I went to the room to get dressed. It honestly took me all of five minutes to decorate our door. I had the stuff in my carry on. I had the door hangers in my carry on also and I hung them on the doors nearest our cabin before I slid into my dress and then gave the other two out at dinner that night.

Thank you!!!!!! I didn't realize they had door rules. I really appreciate the information. That would have been awful thinking that a magnet would hold the banner up. :mad:

 

I did finish the door banner. It measures 16" x 36" so I think that will work. I think it turned out pretty good.

Looks great! The blue poster putty will hold it up perfectly!

Thanks for the great review. We are sailing Sensation in April, and we're very excited! Are there any specialty restaurants on the ship? We will celebrate our 5th anniversary while onboard, and I am wondering if there is something extra special we can do.

 

 

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No specialty restaurants but if you talk to the MDR staff they might be able to give you a special night. Also you can still order the Steak house steak and lobster for a $20 fee in the MDR.

Thanks to Aisha and Pat&Diane Tours for a great Brewery Tour on January 26, 2015! We took the tour with friends as part of our wedding cruise and Aisha was fun and very informative. She made the city tour fun and interesting even for those of us who had done a Freeport city tour before. She is a definite asset! And the tour was a BLAST! I was nervous about doing a non-ship sanctioned tour for the first time but chose this one because they would allow my 20 year old son to join us when Carnival would not. I am so glad I chose this tour with Pat and Diane! It meant a group of just us and our friends instead of a huge bus group. THANK YOU! And Thanks to Aisha again! And thanks to CC for the recommendation!