Cruise choice - which do you choose?

[rigs32]

This is more of a food for thought question. In trying to look out for guests and also have the best event possible, which do to choose:

 

Cruise A - cheaper rates, four port stops, slightly older ship with traditional entertainment

 

Cruise B - rates that are about $200 more per person, three port stops, one of the newer ships that offers lots of non-traditional entertainment (think Epic, Allure, or Oasis)

 

Note: Both are 7 day cruises leaving from the same port so transportation costs are equal.

 

Do you go with the cheaper cruise hoping that more people can attend? Do you go with the more expensive ship that you think would be a bigger crowd pleaser? Since any wedding is the combination of at least two families (usually 3 or 4 these days) plus friends, neither choice is an obvious one given the guest list.

[dcdiva]

Well, first, I don't think you could go wrong with either option. If both are ships and itinieraries that you would enjoy, your guests will certainly enjoy it too.

 

But am thinking the best choice might depend a bit on the demographic of your guests. We had quite a few older cruisers including some with mobility issues. So a smaller ship was more appealing since it was easier to navigate once onboard. But we also had some families with small children, so onboard amenities for kids as well as adults were also important. We went with a mid-size ship that offered a mix of both. Our group was about half first timers and half experienced cruisers, so that didn't really play into our decision, but I could see how ship with more frills might have been more appealing the seasoned cruisers. In our case, a few hundred dollars more might have kept a few people from joining us, but not many. On the other hand, when my cousin was married on a cruise, many guests were recent grads with limited vacation budgets. So for them, a hundred dollars

more per person may have been a deal breaker.

 

Just some random thoughts...either way, I don't think you can make a bad choice.

[jul1221]

It's your wedding, choose what YOU want, not what's going to make everyone else happy.

[cruiseonthebrain]

Wow- I feel a little bad about this, but I never even considered what sailing guests would rather have. I was purely selfish and chose the ship and date (the date was the biggest issue for us) that my DH and I wanted. I kinda figured people could make up their own minds whether they would sail. The people that couldn't attend could not attend regardless of the cruise. The people who attended but didn't sail with us were never going to take a cruise vacation anyway. So we just picked the date we wanted, picked the newest ship we had not sailed yet, and that was it. Good luck!!!!

[ltcTN]

I am in the early stages of helping my daughter plan a wedding for May of 2013. I guess my portion of the program is payment!:D What I would like to know is what do I need to expected do. I understand the charge for the wedding itself but what about rooms and such.

 

Also I would like to hear some do'sand don'ts in the process. Thanks!

[cruiseonthebrain]

I am in the early stages of helping my daughter plan a wedding for May of 2013. I guess my portion of the program is payment!:D What I would like to know is what do I need to expected do. I understand the charge for the wedding itself but what about rooms and such.

 

Also I would like to hear some do'sand don'ts in the process. Thanks!

 

 

My parents gave a very generous cash gift about a year ahead of time. We used that and paid for the rest ourselves. The main costs were the wedding and reception and our cabin. Sailing guests paid for their own cabins. Also, pre-cruise, we paid for our hotel room and my parents hotel room and used hotel points to pay the room for my DH's parents and my sister's family. If you are paying for eveything- then photos are a big ticket item to budget for (we spent $1500 and felt like that was a great deal) and there is a separate fee for the videographer (I would have skipped this- about $700). We spent $100 for the DJ and probably gave out about $200 in tips. Don't forget to add in the money for save the dates and invitations and favors and flowers (if you decide to do them). I think a cruise wedding was much more cost effective than a land wedding, but things did add up. I know it's been said on here before, but booking the wedding and then the cabins early really is key. Good luck and happy planning!

[lightskinedgyal]

This is more of a food for thought question. In trying to look out for guests and also have the best event possible, which do to choose:

 

Cruise A - cheaper rates, four port stops, slightly older ship with traditional entertainment

 

Cruise B - rates that are about $200 more per person, three port stops, one of the newer ships that offers lots of non-traditional entertainment (think Epic, Allure, or Oasis)

 

Note: Both are 7 day cruises leaving from the same port so transportation costs are equal.

 

Do you go with the cheaper cruise hoping that more people can attend? Do you go with the more expensive ship that you think would be a bigger crowd pleaser? Since any wedding is the combination of at least two families (usually 3 or 4 these days) plus friends, neither choice is an obvious one given the guest list.

 

 

In my opinion i would go with the cruise that people can attend but thats just me i wanted people to be able to attend and not feel like they are broke after!...............as some people in your family/friends will feel obligated to go they will pay any price to go so for them i picked a cruise that is cost effective because i know they love us and want to be there no matter what. For me my finance has never been on a cruise so any cruise will seem great to him and his family....the only people coming that have been on a cruise is myself, my mom and brother for all our other guest the cheaper ship will seem great! As they have nothing to compare it too. If your guest are previous cruisers then you might want to pick a ship that is more expensive because their expectations will be higher! i say go with what you want as well as think about the guest that will actually come and what suits you all......but of course depends on if you care if you have allot of guest or not! My finance would prefer to have none LOL!

[gymbomb]

We picked the ship/itinerary before we decided to get married on it, so we just went with what we wanted. Leaving from a port ~70 miles from home made everything so much easier for us that if I had it to do over I wouldn't even consider a different itinerary. Not a lot of options from Boston and Bermuda is definitely our style!

 

When we were looking at dates though there was a significant difference in price between the two we'd narrowed it down to so we went with the cheaper date. Everyone we thought would join us did, plus a few people that we hadn't expected (but were thrilled to have).

 

Edit: But to answer your actual question... If the cheaper one has more port stops and is on a ship that is at least ok, I'd pick that one.

[cupcake8503]

We chose our wedding cruise based on itinerary and date. We both have siblings that are under 18 so school was a factor. We didn't really concern ourselves with price because we are getting married on embarkation day, so guests don't have to sail. If we were getting married while cruising, the only people we would have made sure the price was ok with is our parents, grandparents & siblings because those are the people we definitely want to be present. We are ok with friends & extended family not being able to attend.

 

I say only be concerned with those whose presence is most important to you both. I'm not saying don't consider other people but you will not please everyone. You and your spouse's happiness is what is most important.

 

Congratulations and Happy Planning!

[WDrake_98]

Remember that the cruise will be your honeymoon. I'm all about having some wedding guests sail, as I have about 8. However I wouldn't go out of my way to attempt to please a larger group with pricing and itinerary.

 

Its your wedding, picking the ship should be a personal choice between you and your fiance. You will drain yourself quickly if you continue to put your guests first in every decision you make.

 

They are getting to attend your wedding for free. If they have the funds, availability and desire to cruise they will.

 

 

There was another bride that posted recently about wishing she hadn't tried to get as many guests as possible to book because she spent a lot of the cruise trying to make sure her guests where happy and getting along instead of just enjoying her honeymoon.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[Tiggertastic]

We had booked the cruise and then decided it was the best place to have the wedding - so we went through the itinerary and selected the best port - St Thomas and got married on the beach instead of on the ship - very worthwhile

 

Go for what you want to do not what others want to do - if they really want to come to the wedding they will pay the extra if that is the one you choose