Questions about getting married on a ship

[MinnesotaCruiser423]

DW and I are cruising with 2 first timers that are thinking about getting married on our upcoming cruise. They do not want anything big or fancy, no additional guests (besides DW and I), just short and married is the goal.

 

Does anyone have any first hand experience with getting married on a carnival ship? I have read all of the info on carnival's website and seen all of the packages they have to offer.

 

I know I can contact carnival directly and I probably will, but first hand experience goes along way.

 

Their ideal situation would 15 minutes with the captain, DW and I as witnesses, and then back to the cruise.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation?

 

Thanks,

 

Matt

[PSkinner]

Don't really know the whole answer here but a friend here at work was wanting to get married on a ship. They ended up getting married here by a judge and then doing a "ceremony" on the ship. Less paperwork and requirements that way.

[rollissaria]

DW and I are cruising with 2 first timers that are thinking about getting married on our upcoming cruise. They do not want anything big or fancy, no additional guests (besides DW and I), just short and married is the goal.

 

Does anyone have any first hand experience with getting married on a carnival ship? I have read all of the info on carnival's website and seen all of the packages they have to offer.

 

I know I can contact carnival directly and I probably will, but first hand experience goes along way.

 

Their ideal situation would 15 minutes with the captain, DW and I as witnesses, and then back to the cruise.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation?

 

Thanks,

 

Matt

 

Go visit the Wedding and Honeymoon forum under Special Interest Cruising - you'll find all the answers you could ever want there with people that have done this, their reviews, and people currently booking theirs.

[rollissaria]

I should also add....

I'm a future Carnival bride...getting married onboard the Victory this July. We are doing a wedding in Port on embarkation day. The Captain is not allowed to do weddings or vow renewals, their wedding department provides an officient. I can't recall if the Captain is available to do mock ceremonies or not on this cruise line (they do on some) but you have to already be married (like via a court house). The also do weddings in certain ports, etc.

I was able to find out more information by visiting the forum I mentioned a moment ago than by calling Carnival...those other brides have done a lot of leg work! And when you call Carnival, make sure you call their wedding department - they're the only ones that would be able to answer.

[demos]

Carnival does wonderful weddings, both of our Daughters were married on Carnival ships. The thing you need to find out is if there is availability left for the cruise you are sailing on. They only allow a few per sailing.

 

We did the weddings on sailing day before the ship sails. I can tell you it was a fantastic experience for both weddings and worth every penny we spent. The wedding section on CC has a wealth of information and possibly reviews of weddings on the ship you are sailing on.

[girlscruise2011]

DW and I are cruising with 2 first timers that are thinking about getting married on our upcoming cruise. They do not want anything big or fancy, no additional guests (besides DW and I), just short and married is the goal.

 

Does anyone have any first hand experience with getting married on a carnival ship? I have read all of the info on carnival's website and seen all of the packages they have to offer.

 

I know I can contact carnival directly and I probably will, but first hand experience goes along way.

 

Their ideal situation would 15 minutes with the captain, DW and I as witnesses, and then back to the cruise.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation?

 

Thanks,

 

Matt

 

I am sailing in May on the Victory and a coworker is coming with me and getting married on the beach in Key West. He called Carnival Weddings and its $1200 for a 15 min ceremony for up to 8 people, cake and champagne. Then an additional $300 for the marriage license.

 

Beach in Key West is $289.

[Carnival_Brides]

I should also add....

The Captain is not allowed to do weddings or vow renewals, their wedding department provides an officient.

 

That's actually not true. We signed the paperwork before we left and had an at-sea wedding/vow renewal where el Capitan presided. Total cost for license, ceremony, and reception for 20 was $900. We could have skipped the reception and it would have cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $300.

[ThisFemmeKat]

What she said. the Captain can and does do the Vow renewals at sea. I am having one October. you get a marriage license at home before the cruise and captain does ceremony.. thats about 385 i think.. or justget a wedding package (more $$) and they do license for you.. but no captain on those..

[Sauer-kraut]

Have them get married at City Hall before the cruise. Save so much money and then splurge at the steakhouse for a fancy reception dinner.

[foilman2002]

I'm curious about something. I'm a wedding officiant in the State of New York, and I don't know of any license that is necessary for a vow renewal or re-affirmation. Yet I see that in one instance it cost $300, and in another instance it was included in a fee that was charged. What is it that is being charged for?

 

Also, ship captains are not able to perform weddings unless they are also jp's or otherwise ordained to perform weddings. However, they are empowered to enter the wedding into the ship's log. And whether it is an ordained captain or another ordained officiant it is my understanding that actual weddings on board a ship must take place within territorial waters of a country, and most therefore take place while in dock.

 

As for vow renewals, anyone, including the ship's captain, can do those, I guess that would be up to the shipline's policy.

[jmichael110]

My wife and I were married on the Carnival Pride almost 7 years ago and it was a wonderful experience. The wedding department made it so easy for us. They sent a couple of forms that detailed what you wanted in the ceremony (what music, what vows, etc.) and what you wanted for the reception (cake, etc.) and they took care of everything.

It was nice because Long Beach was the closest port to us here in Las Vegas (I know everyone comes to Vegas to get married and we live here and went elsewhere). The Pride was in Long Beach at that time and the Spirit class ships actually have a chapel. If you can pick a Spirt class ship it make it that much nicer. Now, from what I have heard, depending on their schedule and the number of people involved, you will not necessarily get the chapel for your ceremony, but on any other class of ship you will 100% not get one.

Bottom line, I would recommend it for anyone looking to get married and not have a huge group.

[Carnival_Brides]

I'm curious about something. I'm a wedding officiant in the State of New York, and I don't know of any license that is necessary for a vow renewal or re-affirmation. Yet I see that in one instance it cost $300, and in another instance it was included in a fee that was charged. What is it that is being charged for?

 

Also, ship captains are not able to perform weddings unless they are also jp's or otherwise ordained to perform weddings. However, they are empowered to enter the wedding into the ship's log. And whether it is an ordained captain or another ordained officiant it is my understanding that actual weddings on board a ship must take place within territorial waters of a country, and most therefore take place while in dock.

 

As for vow renewals, anyone, including the ship's captain, can do those, I guess that would be up to the shipline's policy.

 

FemmeKat and I, and our respective wives had additional legal issues to contend with because we are same-sex couples. Since you're paying quite a large premium for a legal ceremony with CCL weddings, we both opted to have at-sea weddings, which CCL books as vow renewals, since they were requiring us to be married before the cruise wedding anyway.

 

In the case of my wife and I, we applied for our $30 license in MD and had a ceremony that met the legal requirements here before we boarded the ship and had our wedding (other lines also do this before they leave the port). The ceremony on the ship included everything (personalized vows, ring exchange, etc), except for the captain pronouncing us legally married, which he is not allowed to do as you stated.

 

Some couples also opt to sign the paperwork ahead of time, in case their ship misses a scheduled port and they need to move their wedding elsewhere. It allows for maximum flexibility, instead of being tethered to a particular port.

 

In the case of the $300 marriage license, I'm really unsure of where that was--which island or port is charging that much!?

[firemanbobswife]

We were married on the Conquest in 2003 on the ship in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

 

The weeding department will give you all the info you need. There will be forms you need to fill out and send back with copies of your Birth Certificates so they can obtain your marriage license in the country in which you will get married.

 

I don't suggest a port that you have to tender in such as Grand Cayman. We had to bypass that port due to high winds/seas. There was a wedding that was to take place that day. They didn't get married. I am SO glad I didn't choose that stop. I felt really bad for the couple.

 

The minister came on the ship in Jamaica, met with me and asked of I wanted a Religious or NonReligious ceremony (I went with the first option if it matters). It was very nice. Our party consisted of his mom and stepdad, and my 2 boys. We were assigned a photographer and got a lot of pictures. The next day we met in the little lounge place and got to pick which ones we wanted to purchase.

 

It was great and we were so happy with the way things went. It was perfect. Feel free to ask me any specific questions and I'll answer the best I can.

[mrgame101]

We were married on the Glory in 2009. Was a wonderful experience. You made your choices and everything else was handled by Carnival. The people in the wedding department were extremely helpful.

 

All of our guests (you can have people board just for the ceremony) said it was beautiful and had nothing but great things to say.

[bonnys]

DH and I were married on the Glory 9 years ago and loved it! We were married in Port Canaveral before the ship sailed and it was perfect for us because it allowed guests that didn't want to go on the cruise to go to our wedding. As for the $300 license, iirc there the fee for the license included the actual license, having someone from the wedding dept. go to the necessary courthouse to apply for it, certified mailing of the license and stuff like that. It wasn't the license itself that was so costly, it was the convenience of us not having to arrive days before sailing to meet the requirements of the local gov't. to get the license.

[foilman2002]

DH and I were married on the Glory 9 years ago and loved it! We were married in Port Canaveral before the ship sailed and it was perfect for us because it allowed guests that didn't want to go on the cruise to go to our wedding. As for the $300 license, iirc there the fee for the license included the actual license, having someone from the wedding dept. go to the necessary courthouse to apply for it, certified mailing of the license and stuff like that. It wasn't the license itself that was so costly, it was the convenience of us not having to arrive days before sailing to meet the requirements of the local gov't. to get the license.

 

Interesting. I wish I could add that to my services and charge that fee for it. In New York State the couple must appear before the town or city clerk and apply for the license in person.

 

I'm sure the ship lines do a fantastic job of performing the ceremonies/renewals. It sounds like its very special.

[OKweatherguy]

DW and I got married on the victory in San Juan last May and loved every bit of it. Compared to a wedding in a church, it is very low stress and probably cheaper too. We had a group of 28 at the wedding and 25 of those sailed. The wedding planner does most of the work and everything is planned for you, although you can have inputs and changes. There are plenty of wedding options available and range from just a couple of people to several dozen. You can also decide what sort of reception you want. I would recommend only getting married on the day you embark, if there is a problem with the ship or a particular port and the ship has to divert elsewhere, you would no longer getting married in that port (if you have family traveling to meet you at a port for the wedding it would be a bigger problem). I think carnival lists its prices online.

[rollissaria]

That's actually not true. We signed the paperwork before we left and had an at-sea wedding/vow renewal where el Capitan presided. Total cost for license, ceremony, and reception for 20 was $900. We could have skipped the reception and it would have cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $300.

 

Okay you are right, I just re-read what I typed and meant to say that I was not sure if they were allowed to or not. I thought I had read somewhere that on some cruise lines the captain does not/cannot perform at sea weddings, but was not positive. Sorry about the confusion!

[rollissaria]

What she said. the Captain can and does do the Vow renewals at sea. I am having one October. you get a marriage license at home before the cruise and captain does ceremony.. thats about 385 i think.. or justget a wedding package (more $$) and they do license for you.. but no captain on those..

 

Right , I knew that captains could do the vow renewals (because the couple would already be married), and can do symbolic ceremonies )where you were married prior to your trip at home, but as I just mentioned I was unsure about if they performed actual ceremonies at sea (meaning two unmarried couples want to become officially married while out at sea) - I thought Carnival was one of the lines that did not. I could be mistaken, I thought I remember reading that. My wedding is an embarkation day wedding in port before the ship sails and Carnival is providing an officiant that is not the captain.

[Carnival_Brides]

meaning two unmarried couples want to become officially married while out at sea - I thought Carnival was one of the lines that did not. I could be mistaken, I thought I remember reading that. My wedding is an embarkation day wedding in port before the ship sails and Carnival is providing an officiant that is not the captain.

 

 

That is correct, there's a small handful of lines that offer that service--Cunard and Celebrity are the big two.

[foilman2002]

but as I just mentioned I was unsure about if they performed actual ceremonies at sea (meaning two unmarried couples want to become officially married while out at sea) - .

 

This is one ceremony I would definitely not do.

 

 

"That is correct, there's a small handful of lines that offer that service--Cunard and Celebrity are the big two."

 

And here I would have thought that Cunard was the more conservative of all the lines.

 

Lol, I know what you both meant to say, but couldn't resist.

[rollissaria]

This is one ceremony I would definitely not do.

Lol, I know what you meant to say, but couldn't resist.

 

Hahahahaha! Oopsie! It was really early this morning I hadn't had coffee yet and the sun wasn't even peeking. :)

[foilman2002]

Hahahahaha! Oopsie! It was really early this morning I hadn't had coffee yet and the sun wasn't even peeking. :)

 

Boy, you are fast. I immediately edited the post to include the remark about Cunard, and you had already responded.

[serene56]

Each sailing is allowed only 3 weddings per week. Make sure your sailing has a wedding available to book before you book it.

Depending on how many people--- is where it will be held.

[Prinycesa07]

I got married 5 yrs ago aboard Carnival Fantasy in New Orleans. It was an awesome time and the wedding department helped a lot.