Royal Caribbean wedding help!

Hello everyone,

My Fiancé and I decided to take our close family & friends on a cruise to celebrate our wedding. We will be doing a 4 day cruise out of Miami on Majesty of the Seas. I understand this is one of their older boats but it is what we could afford for the amount of people we are taking with us. Does anyone have any experiences with onboard cruise weddings? Do you recommend weddings at port, at sea or on a beach? We have about 20 quests and I am trying to make plans for the ceremony. I want something nice but simple..any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks

There is a Honeymoon and Wedding board where you can find all sorts of help. Try posting your question here.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

Thank you!

Congratulations on you upcoming marriage!

Have you researched the wedding packages on the official RCI website? It's definitely costly - to be married at sea is almost $4000.00. You must plan everything through the company and use their consultants. I will give you the link below.

Personally, I think it would be lovely to be married in port; you could all head to a beach, hotel, or other destination and be married there. Of course there are other things to consider like licence, legality, clergy/officiant, etc.

Anyway, here is that link:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/weddings/home.do <---click here, Royal Caribbean wedding info

Or maybe you can do your own thing, especially if that $4,000 is correct. Here is what my son and daughter in law did. They planned a destination wedding and they could not get clergy to marry them at their venue. They got married the day before by a justice of the peace on a hilltop. Just the very immediate family attended. They had a ceremony at the reception which was officiated by a friend with bridesmaids, groomsmen, walking down the aisle, the whole works. Then a month later they had a religious ceremony at our house where we hosted a small reception for our friends and family, many who could not attend the destination wedding.

I am not suggesting you do this 3 part wedding, but maybe you just want to repeat your vows in front of your guests somewhere special on the cruise without the official clergy/justice of the peace.

Congratulations and good luck on your future marriage.

Thank you...it is very costly and the $4000 at sea package is a ceremony only. We are looking to do something in Miami before the ship leaves Monday but the beach ceremonies seem costly too...upwards of $2500-3000. I am just looking or a simple ceremony that looks nice for about 20 guests followed by a light lim I or brunch prior to out departure. I feel that it isn't too complicated but am

Having a hard time finding a company and place to do this....

Just so you know...ports CAN be missed..and they do NOT need a reason! Or, they can switch the order of your ports.

I would get married BEFORE the cruise, or ON the ship...that way, you won't have to worry about missing your most important port!!!!

If it's cheaper to do it on land BEFORE the cruise, do that...and you'll have a huge "reception" party at sea!!!

I posed this exact question here about 8 years ago or so - met my husband on a cruise so thought it would be appropriate to get married on a cruise, at a Jamaican port stop.

Someone suggested doing an all-inclusive resort instead - she pointed out how unromantic a cruise ship full of kids can be. The resort had a wedding package and took care of everything. I'd always dreamed of getting married barefoot on the beach at sunset - and I did!

But we didn't invite anybody else to go with us, unlike your 20 guests. So perhaps a cruise would be best for you. You're smart in doing it pre-cruise in Miami - much easier.

Good luck and congratulations!

Are you looking to actually get legally married, or is it more of a significance ceremony/renewal kind of thing? Did that come out right? :D I mean, is this THE legal ceremony? If so, do you need to look at the legal obligations such as blood tests, licence, officiant, fees, etc.?

Have you Googled the info? What is needed to wed in Miami?...

Thank you...it is very costly and the $4000 at sea package is a ceremony only. We are looking to do something in Miami before the ship leaves Monday but the beach ceremonies seem costly too...upwards of $2500-3000. I am just looking or a simple ceremony that looks nice for about 20 guests followed by a light lim I or brunch prior to out departure. I feel that it isn't too complicated but am

Having a hard time finding a company and place to do this....

Brianna, I'm a chef, wedding and event planner. The cheapest way to do this would be to have an off hours ceremony at a restaurant. By off-hours I mean between 2 and 5 pm. This is the time of day that most restaurants still have staff but don't have many customers. Often I can get the restaurant for the cost of meals only. I did a recent wedding at a Mexican restaurant and all told it was $5,000 for everything, including the ceremony site, reception site, food for 75 guests. The food cost was $14.99 per person plus 20% tip and we had nachos and chips and salsa appetizer, Chicken and Beef Fajita buffet, and to save money we had banana creme pie and key lime pie instead of a wedding cake.

If I was hunting for a restaurant for you in Miami, I would look for less expensive restaurants that have waterfront dining and start by contacting the manager of each restaurant to inquire about what they could do. For example, I found a nice casual restaurant called Scotty's Landing and a Spanish restaurant called Crazy About You - http://www.crazyaboutyourestaurant.com/main.php - it appears the food cost would be under $30 per person - very reasonable, house wines are $15 per bottle and if you do this off-hours, then you may be able to use both the terrace and inside. If you buy your dessert from the restaurant instead of bringing it in, then they won't charge you a cake cutting fee which is typically $10 to $15 per slice. And it's a beautiful restaurant with white chairs and candles everywhere.

Here's a whole list of restaurants with outdoor dining in Miami:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/tn/12/17/1142/Miami/Outdoor-Seating/South-Beach-restaurants

Here is another potential option:

http://www.windridgeyachts.com/miami/yacht-charters/weddings?src=google&ad=yacht&gclid=CN7N4-OKzMMCFQiPaQodirIAPw

Here's where you can find an officiant:

http://www.weddingwire.com/c/fl-florida/miami/wedding-officiants/9-vendors.html

If you really want a beach wedding, here is someone in the area who is an expert on affordable beach weddings:

http://www.notaryontime.com/default.html

Wishing you and your fiancé all the best!

Hello everyone,

 

My Fiancé and I decided to take our close family & friends on a cruise to celebrate our wedding. We will be doing a 4 day cruise out of Miami on Majesty of the Seas. I understand this is one of their older boats but it is what we could afford for the amount of people we are taking with us. Does anyone have any experiences with onboard cruise weddings? Do you recommend weddings at port, at sea or on a beach? We have about 20 quests and I am trying to make plans for the ceremony. I want something nice but simple..any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

 

Thanks

Things have changed since I got married on RCI... yes the Honeymoon and Wedding board will have some information but MOST the brides there are Carnival Brides (or at least thats what it use to be). You can get great info there as far as Favors, invites, requirements (and a VERY good thread is What I wish I had known before the big day - advice from past brides)

Local Wedding consultants for destination weddings tend to be a lil less expensive than RCI. That being said you do have to consider the pros and cons. If you do a RCI wedding and have more than 8 cabins booked they give you a group rate. If you use a local vendor they have a lil bit more flexibility with their wedding packages. If you do go with a local vendor Bahamas have requirements that are different from Key West.... make sure you know if you would qualify for the Bahamas.

Please let me know if you have any specific questions :) Best Wishes

Hi! Hopefully I can answer some questions. I was married on Empress of the Seas in 2006 in San Juan, PR. I was legally married in PR due to the wait times for the approval of the marriage at the courthouse two days prior to the ceremony. I also had parents attending the wedding onboard for the day and then leaving the ship. We had priority boarding and were maybe the fourth and fifth people onboard? I felt pretty rushed. Quick trip to salon for my hair and then back to the room to very quickly do my make-up and get dressed. The ship was not crowded at all as only a handful of people were on-board at the time of the ceremony. We had maybe 15 people at a far distance watching us through glass. After the ceremony, quick cake cutting (our cake was even still partially frozen) and off for pictures around the ship. If you do decide to have the ceremony on-board be warned it is very windy in some spots! Veil blowing, hair blowing, dress blowing, lol. Yes, there were people walking around when we did pictures but I never felt crowded. The ceremony was quite early. Then off to a bar for a glass of champagne and our parents disembarked. We had a local non-partisan clergy marry us (he was just arranged through the ship). The bouquet was very pretty. It was a quick, easy wedding that didn't require hours of planning and fretting. Of course, it will be different for you if your family is staying on-board and can continue to celebrate. The communication with the wedding planner through RCCL was excellent. A representative arrived at our hotel and take us to the court house two days prior. She spoke to the clerk there for us (as we don't speak fluent Spanish) and it was over pretty quickly and painlessly. I carried my wedding dress on that day and whatever I needed in my carry-on. My mom carried the dress off. It flew in my suitcase from Philadelphia to San Juan no problems! Happy planning!

Kim

Brianna we are in the same boat! I am thinking of doing the destination wedding and sailing out of Miami on the Majesty with a small group of family friends. Have been weighing the options of when/where to get married during the trip. I am definitely going to follow this thread. Let us know what you decide!

One other downside I read to getting married at sea was rough waters. Especially if anyone in your group hasn't traveled before and might be sick.

Vickie

Brianna, I'm a chef, wedding and event planner. The cheapest way to do this would be to have an off hours ceremony at a restaurant. By off-hours I mean between 2 and 5 pm. This is the time of day that most restaurants still have staff but don't have many customers. Often I can get the restaurant for the cost of meals only. I did a recent wedding at a Mexican restaurant and all told it was $5,000 for everything, including the ceremony site, reception site, food for 75 guests. The food cost was $14.99 per person plus 20% tip and we had nachos and chips and salsa appetizer, Chicken and Beef Fajita buffet, and to save money we had banana creme pie and key lime pie instead of a wedding cake.

 

If I was hunting for a restaurant for you in Miami, I would look for less expensive restaurants that have waterfront dining and start by contacting the manager of each restaurant to inquire about what they could do. For example, I found a nice casual restaurant called Scotty's Landing and a Spanish restaurant called Crazy About You - http://www.crazyaboutyourestaurant.com/main.php - it appears the food cost would be under $30 per person - very reasonable, house wines are $15 per bottle and if you do this off-hours, then you may be able to use both the terrace and inside. If you buy your dessert from the restaurant instead of bringing it in, then they won't charge you a cake cutting fee which is typically $10 to $15 per slice. And it's a beautiful restaurant with white chairs and candles everywhere.

 

Here's a whole list of restaurants with outdoor dining in Miami:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/tn/12/17/1142/Miami/Outdoor-Seating/South-Beach-restaurants

 

Here is another potential option:

http://www.windridgeyachts.com/miami/yacht-charters/weddings?src=google&ad=yacht&gclid=CN7N4-OKzMMCFQiPaQodirIAPw

 

Here's where you can find an officiant:

http://www.weddingwire.com/c/fl-florida/miami/wedding-officiants/9-vendors.html

 

If you really want a beach wedding, here is someone in the area who is an expert on affordable beach weddings:

http://www.notaryontime.com/default.html

 

Wishing you and your fiancé all the best!

That was an extemely helpful post for me too, thank you!

Hi, I'm organizing a post wedding reception/cocktail party aboard the Enchantment of the Seas in August. This means we will already be married and the party will be kind of a reenactment of the ceremony and vows. I'm trying to decide which lounge would be best on the ship and how to go about paying for the drinks for our 60 guests - more than half of whom do not drink alcohol- There is an option to pay per hour/per guest charges for unlimited bar service, but it seems to be this would be overkill since we will be paying for many people who don't drink.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you handle it?

TIA

Hi, I'm organizing a post wedding reception/cocktail party aboard the Enchantment of the Seas in August. This means we will already be married and the party will be kind of a reenactment of the ceremony and vows. I'm trying to decide which lounge would be best on the ship and how to go about paying for the drinks for our 60 guests - more than half of whom do not drink alcohol- There is an option to pay per hour/per guest charges for unlimited bar service, but it seems to be this would be overkill since we will be paying for many people who don't drink.

 

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you handle it?

 

TIA

This is a zombie thread. Suggest you ask your questions on the RCI forum, or here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31