Bob46

We were married at boarding in Fort Lauderdale on January 31st. I'm 58 and she's 55. This is the second marriage for both of us. We had 15 family and guests attend and sail with us.

We were supposed to be at the port by 10, but got there at 10:15 and then it was hurry up and wait. The wedding was scheduled for 12:45 and the reception at 1:30. Customs was slow clearing the ship and we didn't get on the ship until 12:15. How many of you ladies could get ready in 30 minutes? While waiting, our officiant Christine and our coordinator Christine (yes, same name) were great. The officiant went over the entire wedding with us, going so far as to draw diagrams where everyone would stand and move. While standing in line waiting, Laurie was having her makeup done. Once the doors opened, the coordinator and the girls went flying to our room and us guys made our way to another room. Needless to say the wedding started late. It was about 1 when we got going.

Our wedding was in the Gallery. The room was nice but nothing fancy. We didn't need anything fancy so it was fine for us, but there was a large bag in a corner of decorations for the next wedding that was following us. We didn't do much other than the basic ceremony which was a good thing because it speeded things up for the next group. The next wedding only had the bride and groom sailing and 15 non sailing guests. There is a cutoff time for non sailing guests to leave, so if we ran late, they wouldn't get their full time. Our wedding was beautiful with more than a few tears shed. The officiant Christine did an amazing job and made it special for us. I want to take a second and apologize now for what will be an over use of the word "amazing". It will be a common theme but I don't know how else to describe the day. Then the coordinator Christine took over and did a great job moving every one to where we needed to be.

During the wedding our photographer, Pravin, was taking a lot of pictures but was not intrusive at all. After the service we did a lot of staged group pictures and then it was on to the reception. We chose Henri's Dance club for the reception because we wanted the DJ. We aren't dancers but we wanted the music. In fact, our first dance, was our first dance. Even then it was hard to find a song we agreed on, finally going with "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars (a perfect choice thanks to my daughter).

The reception was amazing. We went with the 11/2 hours and it was great. We chose Something Blue for our signature drink. We had a couple people who rarely drink but those were so good they both had a few. The bar would mix anything you wanted. One brother-in-law started at the top of the beer list and just kept working his way down. We chose the red velvet cake with vanilla frosting. You know the part when you intertwine arms and feed each other cake? I was trying to think of something romantic to say. What came out was "God this is good". The appetizers were all good, but nothing was great. They did keep them coming. There were fruit cups that were beautiful and pretty veggie cups. The apps were: Roast Beef and Brie Cheese Canape, California Sushi Roll, Stuffed Mushrooms, Chicken Nuggets, Lamb Empanadas, Spanakopita, Spring Rolls, Bacon Wrapped Sweet Plantains (one of the favorites), Chicken Balls on Fire, Batter Fried Shrimp, and for our Vegan and Gluten guests we had a Potato Pancake with Apple Wedge (this was actually my favorite). One of our bar servers was Lisa. She was fun during the reception, and she was our bar server at diner, so that was a pleasant surprise.

Throughout the reception Pravin was taking pictures. After, he brought us on deck for more poses. The only problem was that my eyes are very light sensitive and I couldn't stop squinting. He managed to pose us and got a few good ones. I had read on this board how everyone liked their pictures, but nothing prepared me for how good they were. Simply amazing. We had a time set to look over the pictures, but unknown to me, my son met with him earlier and they picked out pictures and had a book all done. Pravin brought the book to our dinner table and informed me that my son and daughter bought us the picture package. We couldn't believe it. We still met with Pravin and he showed us the rest of the pictures that weren't in the book. He said we could switch out any pictures we wanted. In the end, we left the book as it was and bought the rest of the pictures.

The rest of the week our onboard coordinator was Dragana. Every night she came to our table to see if there was anything we needed. I thought this was nice. It made you feel like they wanted to do whatever they could to please you. The entire cruise was great and everyone had an amazing time.

We got married on the ship Jan 31. It was amazing and I'll post more later. We were married in the Gallery. If you want fancy, you can bring your own decorations, but it was nice and good enough for us. The reception was in Henri's Dance Club. Our group didn't dance, but we wanted the D.J.. While there we checked out the Degas Lounge and Alfreds (we had read these boards A LOT and wanted to help). We agreed that Alfreds has better décor, but it has a low ceiling that seemed a little odd. Degas is where the comedy show takes place. It's pretty large and impersonal. We agreed we would choose Alfreds. There wasn't any smoke smell there.

I actually held up a sign that said "She Said Yes" but at one point when she had her floatation belt and mask on, they went to take her picture and she said no, so they thought she didn't want her picture taken at all. We were sorry they misunderstood, but it was a great time. That's me in the still shot when you hit the play arrow.

I thought I would give an update to my original post. My plan to propose on the Black Pearl on Thursday was thrown off when I found out that the stores were all closed on Friday for Labor Day and I was leaving on Saturday. I had to regroup and proposed during a sunrise walk on the beach Tuesday. I had done a lot of research and found that Kays downtown had a lot of good reviews from repeat customers. I felt that if I did pay more than back home, the experience was worth it. We still did the Black Pearl cruise and it was fantastic. The funny thing is that Joann, one of the owners, bought her ring at the same Kays.

We are going on Thursday, April 30. Thanks for the seating tip. I was thinking sunset would be the best time.

It is the Black Pearl we are going with. In addition to the small numbers and comfortable seating, there is also a short video to remember the day.

We are staying at Casa Del Mar. My dad has 2 weeks there that he is going to sell and since retirement is in sight, we are planning on buying them. It will cut down on our cruising, but Aruba is a great place to go and relax. We are doing a sunset cruise where I'm going to pop the question (I hope she isn't reading this, but I suspect she knows).

Thanks for the advice. We're doing a land vacation this time and I thought it might mean more if I bought the ring where I propose.

I'm interested in buying an engagement ring in Aruba. How are the prices at Diamond International. Any other places we should check out?

My GF and I booked an inside on the Dream to save some money. Two weeks before the cruise I got a call to upgrade to a balcony for $300. I asked if they would do it for $200 and he said no. I checked to see if our rate had gone down and it hadn't, but balconies were pretty cheap. I emailed my PVP asking how much it would cost us to move to a cove balcony. She replied that to move to a specific cove it would cost $140 total (better than the $300 offer), but if I went with a tba, not only would it be nothing extra, but I would get $72 obc. We went with the tba.

I just did the Xunantunich Ruins tour with Carnival. It was not the most exciting tour I've ever done, but it was the MOST AMAZING tour I've ever done.

I got off the Dream on 9-7. We were in 2408. The temp was a low of 72.8 and a high of 74.4. We kept the curtains shut if the sun was shining in and the room was comfortable for us.

My GF and I are trying to save some money so we booked an inside for our Dream Cruise Aug 31. I received my first ever upsell call. We could go to a balcony for $299. I countered $200 and was told no. The next day I called my PVP to see how much more it would be to move to a cove balcony (love them). She said it would be a total $140 if I picked my room or if I went TBA, it would be no extra plus we get a $72 obc. I took the TBA and got my cove. A good PVP comes in handy.

Last September I did this excursion. We did go to the wall with no restrictions about going over. I took pictures of my GF to prove that she didn't chicken out.

I found that if I flew on Monday instead of Sunday when we get back, I saved $100 per person. I bid on a hotel in the French Qtr for $85. We save money and have a day to explore New Orleans

The sauna and gym are open to everyone. The 2 steam rooms, thalasso pool, and the 2 relaxation rooms were for Spa guests only and you needed a pass card to gain entrance. They are all coed. At age 56, I had never used a steam room and wasn't sure I would enjoy it, but we loved them. Our routine was to start with the eucalyptus scented one first, then shower to cool off, then move to the relaxation room that had heated stone lounges, then to the next sauna, shower, and into the thalasso pool. It took about an hour, but I felt great after.

I sailed on March 17th and the thalasso pool was working. I had read that it wasn't working the previous week. We booked a spa room because we didn't want to chance that the weekly packages were sold out. I think the cost of the package was $249 per couple. We used the Cloud 9 every day and loved it.

I am just off the ship today. In Nassau they announced priority for Platinum and FTTF. I was FTTF and had not heard about this before. They only used one side of the stairs from deck 3 down. When I got there, I mentioned to the crew member that I was FTTF and she sent me down the other stairs, right to the front of the line.

The weather the first day was 27 degrees, very windy, and rough seas. The second day it was still very rough, started around 34 degrees and climbed steadily all day into the high 40's. When we hit Port Canaveral, it was finally in the 60's.

Has any one used the Holiday Inn LaGuardia for a stay, park, and cruise? I found a site that quotes $174 after taxes for 10 days parking. You have to take a cab to the port which is listed as around $40 each way. I'll be driving down from Maine for a March 17th cruise on the Splendor.

I just returned from the Dream and I noticed a few towels saving lounges around the pools, but almost nothing in the Serenity area. We could always find 2 lounges together in the sun or shade. Whirlpools were often busy in the Serenity area, but as stated before, on Deck 11, they were usually empty and were hotter.

I used Royal Shuttle on Jan 6. The price was $60 for 3 people each way. They were very easy to use.