CruiserTB

I'm growing impatient with Royal for not releasing Anthem yet. :mad: I'm also regretting my decision not to book Celebrity Summit when it was released as a back up. Ugh. I think I'm giving them another week and if it's not released I'm just going to cut my losses and book Summit. :( Now I know why people book multiple cruises at the same time.:rolleyes:

Wow Mona it's coming along. So exciting. :D

I'm starting to get frustrated that Royal keeps pushing back the release date for their July 2017 cruises. I'm thinking of just going with Celebrity so I can start on the fun of planning. :D

Have you researched Bermuda photographers yet? It's on my list of things to do :)

No but after the dates come out and we actually book the wedding I'll put my wedding planner on that.:D

You... Might want to send me an email too. ;)

I would but I don't have your e-mail. Can you e-mail me tdwedding2017@yahoo.com. :D

We are officially booked for a Baltimore port wedding aboard the Carnival Pride on July 2, 2017! My fiancé and I got engaged in Bermuda while on the Grandeur of the Seas this past summer and loved Bermuda. Our original plan was to go back to Bermuda to get married on the beach but have decided to have a port wedding due to non-sailing guest issues instead. I am planning on hiring a professional photographer in Bermuda to do a beach shoot in our wedding attire when we get to the island. So far we have 25 staterooms booked and close to the limit of 50 non-sailing guests. So excited!!!

We're doing this as well! Getting married in port and plan on hiring a photographer for a beach shoot in Bermuda. Just waiting for Royal to release the dates so we can finally decide between them and Celebrity.:D

Hi folks. some updates.

 

We ended up not using the best western - their transfer time to the pier was too late - not until 10am and that was cutting it too close for this bride. So instead, guests are going to book through Trinity Reservations at the Ramada - it's $202/night which includes up to 21 days of parking, and a private transfer to the pier which can be set up at any time. Much better.

 

I'm having some mild panic attacks. More people replied yes than we were expecting... so we are at 120 guests... and the newly installed Tuscan Grille only holds 106. So... Denise and Liz are working on how to handle that. I can't uninvite people, and I can't just have a cocktail party reception. I'm trying my best not to flip out.

 

Other details are coming together. I've arranged for my girls to have transport up to the pier - we are going to have our hair and makeup done at my salon before heading up to Bayonne. Also decided on the pre-wedding dinner the night before. Harold's in Edison.

 

I'm at under the 2 month mark. Trying not to panic. ;)

Wow! It sounds like everything is coming together! I can't believe you have less than two months! (We are at the 5.5 month mark ourselves). Quick question, is the private transfer from the Ramada included in that pricing? We currently have a room block set up at the Hampton Inn Newark Airport. I priced 12 different hotels and they seem to be the best priced. We almost went with the Best Western as well, but didn't like the time of the shuttle and the parking was not included. The Hampton Inn includes parking for the week and the room for $129. It does not include the shuttle, but they use a private company and can set up transfers for us. We may just set this up for our sailing guests and pay for this. I looked into a shuttle bus and the prices are somewhat outrageous.

 

Wow! That is a fantastic number of people going! Let me know what they work out for you. We are cutting ours close for QSine. We haven't sent invites out yet, but are right at the cut off (82 is our capacity).

 

Have you picked wedding cake flavors yet? We are tempted to do a second tour of the ship, but don't know if they would offer tasting of the cake anyway. We chose to buy a tiered cake for our guests and were offered some unique flavors, but do not know how they would translate to a cake.

 

Thanks and much luck!!!

Wow such exciting times for you both. I technically don't have a date yet but I think we're going with Royal although Celebrity is looking really good as well. Sooo I'm keeping an eye out on this thread. :D

Fallsgracefully I sent you an e-mail since we're not supposed to ask TA related questions here. :rolleyes: :D

Dates should be opening up VERY soon. I have it on.. erm... good authority. ;)

Oooh, excited. :D

For others wishing to learn from this post, you can search a trade organization, such as ASTA (american society of travel agents). From there you can pick the agent near you with the best reviews. I agree with the others that this is a hotly contested topic. Personally, I believe that finding a good TA is a blessing, and the real rewards come from building a relationship with the TA.

I think that's the key, finding a good TA. I'm struggling with this as well. I normally do my own bookings and go on a cruise once or twice a year. I even organized a group cruise where I was in charge of everything, all the bookings, collecting payments, paying it off, etc... Quite frankly it was a real hassle. So for the next big group cruise I'm doing, I wanted to find a TA that could handle it all.

This past weekend I went on a cruise and I used a TA I found online as kind of a test and I did explain to her I was trying the ship out for a group cruise next year of which I expect 50-100 guests to sail with me. She seemed nice and excited and said she could try and arrange for me to meet with someone onboard to discuss the cruise next year since she was going to be on the sailing with me.

However, I was disappointed in the service I received from her. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations. I thought TA's monitored your booking for price drops and would let you know if they saw anything. With the one I had, I learned of the price drops and would let her know and there were a few times when she waited too long to get back to me and so I missed the price drop because by the time she looked the price had increased again. I even resorted to sending her screen shots so that she could see the price drops. In the end I did get one price drop but it seemed like I was bothering her by asking her to send in the request (this is based on a remark she made about how much business she does with the cruiseline). Also, other than sending me my cruise documents I never heard from her again, so needless to say we didn't meet on the cruise.

I'm a very laid back type of person and don't really need much but for the group cruise I would like a TA that can look out for my guests and for me that means letting us know when/if there's a price drop and being on top of it. Other than that I just want someone I can direct my guests to concerning the cruise. So yeah it's hard because not all TAs are alike and finding a good one is hard. I also wish CC would allow people to recommend specific TAs:D

I took a photo (phone camera) of the little room they had set up to have a ceremony on Saturday on the side of 270. Hopefully, you can see it..

 

Thanks! I'm glad you got this. Now that you mention it I do believe I saw something going on in Boleros.

Welcome Katie! :D There's not a whole lot of information on Royal but there is some. If you go to my Anthem of the Seas posting there's a lady in there ariawoman who was married on oasis. She wrote some stuff about it there.:D

How was the seating, are you having a "meal" reception at Two70?

The seating was huge. I was actually concerned it would be too big but FH came up with a good plan that if guests stick to the lower level it will be fine. It's connected to CafeTwo70 in the back so there's plenty of tables and places to eat. I wish the wedding scheduled there would have gone on so I could have seen how it looked all set up but alas either I missed it or it didn't happen as the girl who told me about it said the couple was nervous about the bad reviews on Anthem as of late and may have cancelled. I know I peeked in Two70 multiples times on Saturday and didn't see anything.

My pictures do not do it justice.

Thanks for the update! I look forward to the pictures. Geez :eek:, let's hope the release dates aren't pushed back, I am ready to get this moving!:D

Did you have an opportunity to check out any of the specialty restaurants while you were on-board? I have been toying with the idea of buyout of Wonderland although I have not told my FH (he is all about giving opinions and not doing any research). Our numbers keep growing and I want to arrange something really special for those who choose to attend. I have never cruised before so don't have the experience. I have been looking at the shorter trips so that I can potentially experience it prior as you and your FH did. I will definiately be using the boards for inspiration.

Yes we ate at Chops which is the restaurant we will buyout. It was great. I was toying with Wonderland but decided to play it safe with Chops. Wonderland is more adventurous which I like because I'm an adventurous eater and FH is a trained chef so he likes it as well but when we thought about the variety of guests we will be having we decided to go with what I know would be pleasing for the majority of our guests. And I must say the food at Chops was excellent.:D

This is North Star and also the view from it.

Also is another view from two70. The sun is bright but you can see the view.

Here are some pics of Two70 which based on the number of guests we expect (75-100) will be where our wedding will take place. There's a nice sized dance floor and an upper level with dj booth.

Awesome thanks for the update! Can't wait to see the pictures. You gave me butterflies! I am so excited for for you and ME too!!! My TA said the dates should be out this week...I almost can't contain myself.

Sorry work was crazy yesterday. Will post pics today. I need to find a TA. I heard on the main cruise critic Royal board that they pushed the release date out to April. I'm hoping that's not true though and I'll be able to book soon.

Come on Anthem. Sigh. I just want to book a 5 night to Bayonne to Bermuda in July.

Hey we had a great time! It was so nice and although there were a couple of missteps nothing that would deter us and my FH was like he doesn't need to try out celebrity and wants to book Royal for our wedding. :D Now we're just waiting for the dates to be released.

Sorry I didn't see a chapel, I did look at Two70 which is where our wedding would be held and it was beautiful. I also saw a couple getting married on North Star which logistically wouldn't work for us but looked nice. I took so many pictures, I'll post in a few.

Ahh I need July 2017 for Anthem to come out already.

I am on the FB one. I'm not sure i joined the one here. I booked this like 3 weeks ago out of desperation to get the heck out of dodge for a weekend lol).

Oh well come on over, it's never to late to join.:D It is over 135 pages long though and got a bit out of hand at one point but now everyone is playing nice.:D

Ahh the eskimo site is only showing 2 11 night cruises in July from NJ. Where's the 5 night or even the 7 night. I'm guessing everything isn't loaded yet. If so I'm going to have to change some plans...

Its glue in Scotland or are you stuck like glu

Thanks now I feel silly. I already had that website I thought everyone was referring to a different one.:D

(http://www.) + {first person pronoun} + {liquid adhesive} - {fifth letter of the alphabet} + {type of vacation we are discussing} + (.com)

 

This dancing around is a bit silly IMO...but those are the rules...

ahh i'm stuck with the liquid adhesive man.:confused:

I'm the friend. I'm not worried LOL. :-)

Are you on the roll call? We have some nice activities planned including a cabin crawl which I like so I can see the different cabin types. :D

So far they aren't communicating to us on the March 4th sailing. :( Hoping no news is good news.

 

I was married on the Oasis, if anyone has questions for RCCL weddings in general :-) I'll be attending Mona's on the Summit in May :-)

Nice, I definitely want a wedding recap.:D

I was considering doing the same thing! I was looking at the al a carte options for the reception, and thought it would technically be a similar in costs. We want an open bar as well. The preference is for a ceremony the 2nd day of sailing. Sorry if I missed it but, how many are you planning for? We are looking at about 60 to sail with us and attend the ceremony and reception.

We're estimating between 70-100 guests sailing with us. We're doing an embarkation day wedding.