Princess Harborside Wedding logistics (Ft. Lauderdale)

[PrincessCatarina]

Hi,

 

We opted for the harborside wedding option on the Emerald Princess due to many non-sailing guests and I'm having a hard time getting specific answers from TWE coordinator.

 

If you have either organized or attended a harborside wedding, how were the logistics regarding:

• assigned ceremony time (Princess is telling everyone to be there at 10:30 a.m.)...and what time were non-sailing guests asked to leave
  
• how much luggage can non-sailing guests take with them (many will be catching flights right after the wedding), is it the same as sailing guests (carry-on + garment bag)? where will they be expected to store their bags while attending the wedding? Just trying to figure out if it would be best to strongly advise them to leave the bags at the hotel instead of worrying about it...
  
• best man toast / speeches -- was this pretty easy to do if you were assigned to one of the main dining rooms (we will be having a lunch reception)?
  

thanks in advance for any light anyone can shed on this!

[LilBlackDress]

Hi,

 

I didn't get married on Princess, we got married on RCI however, I would think that since they all use 'The Wedding Experience' most of what you asked would be the same regardless of the cruise line.

 

 

• assigned ceremony time (Princess is telling everyone to be there at 10:30 a.m.)...and what time were non-sailing guests asked to leave
  

This could depend on the package or if you pay for an extra hour. In MOST cases, you will have about an hour reception and the guests will be escorted off by the wedding consultant. There are times that they will allow guests to stay in the lounge/dining room/reception area a lil longer but no matter what the case may be they will ask all non sailing guests to disembark at least one hour before the ship is scheduled to depart

 

• how much luggage can non-sailing guests take with them (many will be catching flights right after the wedding), is it the same as sailing guests (carry-on + garment bag)? where will they be expected to store their bags while attending the wedding? Just trying to figure out if it would be best to strongly advise them to leave the bags at the hotel instead of worrying about it...
  

I haven't heard of non sailing guests bringing anything with them other than stuff for the bride. I think I was told they could bring a carry on and garment bag but they would have to leave it in a cabin of one of your sailing guests and if they wanted to change it would have to be in a sailing guests cabin. I would suggest they leave it at the hotel. Some hotels will allow you/them to store it in the back room (if you stayed the night before) for a few hours.

 

• best man toast / speeches -- was this pretty easy to do if you were assigned to one of the main dining rooms (we will be having a lunch reception)?
  

Can't answer this one... we were in a lounge (some other passengers were there as well) but there was no problems with the toasts for us.

 

How are your non sailing guests getting to the port? Rental Car? Shuttle from the hotel? Taxi? TWE?

 

We had 3 non sailing guests staying at the hotel the night before and the night of the wedding. All the other non sailing guests stored their bags in that hotel room. We had all guests meet at the hotel in the morning to either follow the shuttle or use the shuttle I arranged through the hotel. It made for less headaches for us all to arrive at once.

 

Hope this helps

 

Best of Luck and Congrats

[PrincessCatarina]

Thank you so much - this helps!

 

We are planning on reserving a shuttle to the port but not everyone will be staying at the same place and some will have rental cars.

 

Thanks again for the good advice.

[LilBlackDress]

If anyone is staying the extra night see if they would mind storing the bags... maybe those with rental cars can help transport the non sailing guests back to the hotel storing the luggage.

 

Most important... if you are using the hotel shuttle dbl and triple check that they know you will need an early departure. Most hotels in the area that provide free shuttle service don't start transportation until noon.

 

again if they all can meet at one hotel beforehand it will save you much grief at the port

[goodlife 2]

Hi,

 

We opted for the harborside wedding option on the Emerald Princess due to many non-sailing guests and I'm having a hard time getting specific answers from TWE coordinator.

 

If you have either organized or attended a harborside wedding, how were the logistics regarding:

• assigned ceremony time (Princess is telling everyone to be there at 10:30 a.m.)...and what time were non-sailing guests asked to leave
  
• how much luggage can non-sailing guests take with them (many will be catching flights right after the wedding), is it the same as sailing guests (carry-on + garment bag)? where will they be expected to store their bags while attending the wedding? Just trying to figure out if it would be best to strongly advise them to leave the bags at the hotel instead of worrying about it...
  
• best man toast / speeches -- was this pretty easy to do if you were assigned to one of the main dining rooms (we will be having a lunch reception)?
  

thanks in advance for any light anyone can shed on this!

 

 

Hi there,

I was married harborside on the Crown last year, and we were also there for 10:30am. Actually was a pretty smooth process. Our ceremony was supposed to be at 1pm but ended up happening around 1:30pm because the minister was still at the other ceremony. LOL.. of course, I had told everyone at home who was watching on the Web Cam, and they all sat around their computers waiting.... some waited, others didn't and missed it! So be prepared for delays!! I was okay with that, as I decided to sit myself at a bar and order myself a stiff drink!

We only had a couple of non-sailing guests, and I believe they left sometime around 3:30-4pm. As I recall their was some sort of announcement and the onboard wedding co-ordinator was good at communicating how much time they had left, and walked them down.

They did have to leave their passports with the staff at check in while onboard.

They didn't have any luggage to bring on, as everyone is supposed to come dressed for the wedding. Yep, I would tell them to leave their stuff at the hotel. They can always bring a small bag onboard with them....

We actually had a reception at the Adiago Lounge which was close to the chapel, and worked out well for us with a group of 25.

cost was $25 p.p and included unlimited alcoholic drinks and hot/cold appetizers for 1 hour.

This was 2nd time getting married for us both, and it worked out really well.

My TWE agent was Alexandria, and she was wonderful.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with! Good luck