Carnival wedding - how much time before ceremony?

[2preschoolers]

Hi there! We went on our tour of the Pride yesterday and were a bit concerned because apparently the ship got in to port late and they didn't start doing Priority Boarding until 135pm! They assured us that on the actual wedding day, we would all be in a separate waiting area and they would let us board the ship earlier. But none the less - I thought they had to wait until the ship was complete disembarked before letting anyone new on...right?

 

So for those who've gotten married or attended a wedding on Carnival - what time did yo actually get to board the ship and how much time did you have once on the ship to get dressed and also possibly take a a look at the ceremony and reception sites? She told us, on the tour, that we would have time when we first arrive to go look at the rooms and see if we like the lighting, etc. That part is not too important to me. My biggest concern, obviously, is having plenty of time to get dressed without being overly rushed. I'll arrive with hair and make up on. But my fiance and I didn't plan to be dressed prior to boarding. Will we both have time to get dressed , along with my 2 daughters?

 

THANKS!

[Carnival_Brides]

Our small tour group boarded with the bridal party and they were the first ones on the ship. The wedding waiting area is literally outside of the ICE office around the corner from where you take your picture before heading up the gangway. It's an ICE policy that the ship has to be completely cleared before new guests are allowed on, so I don't know how they got around that.

 

The chance that the ship could be late getting back into port is one of those things you have to weigh when you book an embarkation wedding--in the middle of winter--in Baltimore. This is the week that we got married last year and it's one of the handful of reasons we switched.

 

On our tour the bride and groom boarded around 12:20 and the wedding was at 1:30--so they had a little over an hour to get ready.

 

I'm not sure what CCL would do for you if there isn't enough time to have a wedding and a full reception because they still try to leave on-time even if they're late.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Carnival_Brides