Royal Caribbean Wedding - To Do or Not To Do

[amberocks18]

I've been planning to get married onboard a cruise and have enjoyed Royal Caribbean's cruise line for years so I thought it would be a no-brainer perfect idea. Reading reviews about the wedding package planning process is giving me terrible anxiety that this is a nightmare in the making. Has anyone recently had a wedding with Royal Caribbean? How was it? Highs and Lows please! All advice appreciated! I believe they have replaced their coordinating company so I hope that means service has improved. I'm not into planning all the details but being an active participant for a successfully communicated celebration is expected but from what I've read, even the basic idea of customer service is terrible.

[Clarea]

Our daughter got married while at sea on Liberty two years ago. Everything the ship people did for us was outstanding, no complaints at all. They even got the Captain to perform the ceremony, it can also be the Staff Captain and you have no control over who does it.

 

The problem was the pre-cruise planning coordinator, called Royal Romance at the time. They were difficult to connect with, messages and emails would take days to be returned. They blew one major communication to the ship, which was the plans for the ladies in the wedding to have their hair and makeup done the morning of the ceremony. Because the ship spa people didn't know about this plan, they took much longer than planned and no photographs could be taken before the ceremony. They moved the photos to after the ceremony which caused the bride and groom to miss most of the reception.

 

I would suggest you somehow find a way to open a line of communication with the coordinator on the ship, so you can double check all your plans.

[jsacco20]

I got married 8 years ago on the Explorer of the Seas. Reviews weren't any better back then and I relied heavily on this site for advice/help. Royal Romance were a royal PIA but ultimately it was worth it and I don't regret at all.

 

It was annoying having to go through the cruse for everything since we got married on ship in port but if you are planning on having this type of wedding, you have to go in it with an open mind. I did a bunch of stuff to make it my own and had my friend carry on a suitcase and set up the reception area the best way she could while I was getting ready for the ceremony.

 

 

I wrote my own ceremony and even though I had sent it in weeks in advance, the person who married us never received it and wanted to do his own thing. We compromised and did a bit of both. I made my own playlist for the ceremony and that worked perfect. We had a buffet reception (in the lounge) which was wonderful.

 

 

We had 150 people come onboard for the wedding (which was in the theater) and about 90 people stay onboard to sail with us for the week. We set up wedding related activities in Bermuda such as a beer/food tasting and a golf outing.

 

 

Feel free to email me if you want to ask me any questions. I'd be happy to help. I know how scary and unsure the whole thing is!

jsacco20@aol.com

[cb at sea]

If you aren't really picky, it could be fine. If you are the planner...then get married BEFORE you board...and do it your own way. Let the cruise be the "after party".

[flhokie]

We got married at sea on Princess 9 years ago so I can't comment on recent RCCL wedding experiences, but I'll add a few things.

 

We really enjoyed our wedding. We got married the 1st day at sea. The ceremony was followed by a lunch in a specialty restaurant and then a reception in a lounge. We had a total of 50 people. The prices are set so there's no negotiating, etc, but we did not find things to be any more expensive than land based options (and sometimes less expensive).

 

You do have to give up a lot of control--and be ok with that---when doing a cruise ship wedding. If you have very specific ideas of exactly how your wedding must be (or else the day is ruined) it's not a good option.

 

I kept a binder of all communication with the planners, etc. and took it with me. There were a few things I had to pull out to show the planner on the ship. In our case, the shipboard planner was not good at all, but the maitre d' of the specialty restaurant was so fantastic and did everything in his power to make up for the planner.

 

There were some things that did not go as planned (photographer never showed up at the cabin to take pre-ceremony photos as agreed, the hair appointments were not set as planned--and the planner would not help with it and the spa would not do my makeup like the agreed to on embarkation day), but in the end we had a wonderful time with family and friends.

 

If you go in to it with the mindset that things can go wrong, but in the end you'll be married and have a wonderful adventure, it can be a wonderful option for a wedding.

[jmf123]

One of my friends was married on St. Thomas (Magen's Bay beach) during a Serenade cruise 12 years ago. Not a recent ceremony, but everything went perfect for them that day, including hair and makeup. amberocks18, have you checked out the Honeymoon & Wedding Cruises forum? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31. Congrats on your wedding!

[amberocks18]

Thank you all so much for the feedback! I truly appreciate it. I do feel that I am okay with not having a lot of specific control but the standard communication and timeline follow through can be managed with proper organization, which I rock at! You all brought back my excitement to proceed. I know there will be bumps, no wedding is perfect, but I just don't want it to be a disaster either. I'm thinking that as long as I can effectively communicate with the director on the actual cruise I will be okay. Our close friends and family are all excited about the idea, or at least tolerating it for us. It is a short inexpensive cruise, 3 nights to the bahamas, we all live in south florida, and this is mainly for an elongated reception since i think traditional weddings are over too quickly for all the time and money spent planning. Honeymoon will be separate. We are thinking about getting married on the day before the ship returns so I will have a day and a half on board before to hammer out any issues which may be the key.

[amberocks18]

I will try to remind myself to keep it simple and that this is for my guests to celebrate with us so as long as we are together we will enjoy it

[Matched2014]

I will try to remind myself to keep it simple and that this is for my guests to celebrate with us so as long as we are together we will enjoy it

 

Hi! My Fiancee and I are planning the same thing right now and have the SAME concerns after reading all of the bad reviews and numerous emails unresponded by the "Royal Wedding" staff. We are planning on getting married on the Harmony in December and when we spoke with Marcus on the phone, he was very nice and seemed to think there would be no problem with what we wanted. He told us to send him an email with the details of what we want (very small - there's only about 10 of us and we don't have a lot of demands, just basic, ceremony by Captain, wedding cake, photos, maybe some lite snacks, etc.). We sent the email a week ago and have tried to get him to respond twice with nothing.....I just sent him another email and mentioned the bad reviews, I wasn't rude, just stated the facts, so HOPEFULLY we will get a response, but any advice on how to get through all of this is greatly appreciated here as well!! GOOD LUCK to you too!!! When is your cruise/wedding?

[amberocks18]

I was planning a much larger cruise than you mentioned sothe package price and the minor benefits included were my biggest hurdle, my fiancéand I have since put the “ceremony on board” off the table. There are so manyunknowns for the logistics and minimum contact based on the package contract inorder to sort it all out that for such a large event it was going to cost afortune for mediocre return, so it wouldn’t be worth the money for us. I’ve hadpretty good contact and good service, just the way they do the planning and thepackage offered that put us off. I think I may have spoken to Marcus once andgot the same service, I say bypass him and call for help. I have been working withKayla who was very nice and responsive, see if you can ask for her. For thedescription you mentioned, the wedding cruise will probably be just right foryou, but for us, we are just too large a group. Best Wishes for a great weddingand happy marriage!

[Matched2014]

Thank you so much! Already emailed Kayla and got a response.....good luck to you on your wedding as well and congratulations!!

[Atehpangs]

Hello. Any updates on the weddings? I'll be getting married on Anthem of the Seas on 1st Sea Day (April 1st) and I'm planning the wedding now with Laura G.

[lailajane1]

My fiance and I are planning to get married on the 5 day cruise to Bermuda in 2019 through royal caribbean. We decided on this awhile ago, but had to wait for the official 2019 itineraries to be released. I am horrified after reading some of the reviews... are there any updates on your wedding? I would appreciate any and all tips as we prepare for this.

[cb at sea]

I agree with a small wedding prior to the cruise...and let the cruise be the "thing"! A ceremony is a ceremony......no need to pay big bucks for the wedding...the MARRIAGE is the thing!

[JoeRum]

We are renewing our vows for our 25th anniversary on Liberty of the Seas the week of Feb 4th. Communication via email has been our complaint so far. Along with the huge cost and what you get for it. Can give you an update of how it goes after we return if you would like.

 

JoeRum

[gingersvp]

My cousin just had her ceremony on the Oasis earlier this month. She did it the first sea day and had a wonderful time. Early in the process she had communication problems but complained and escalated and wound up with a wonderful supervisor who was very on the ball.

 

She was very happy with the results, had great photos, we all had hair appointments the day of, she had make up done. They liked the cake but I thought it was dreadful. Staff was friendly and unobtrusive while serving food and drinks. We had a second cocktail party later in the week which was also nicely done.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

[Ashley8053]

I will be getting married on RCCL Anthem of the Seas on August 4, 2018. So far, the experience with "Royal Celebrations" has been fine. Sure, I don't get to pick every minute details about the wedding, but honestly, that takes some stress off. Our coordinator, Laura, has been great and is fairly responsive to my calls/emails, so no complaints there. Everyone I tell about my wedding plans are so impressed and think it's a really neat, unique idea - which is exactly what my fiance and I were going for. Here's hoping everything keeps going smoothly!

[Clarea]

I will be getting married on RCCL Anthem of the Seas on August 4, 2018. So far, the experience with "Royal Celebrations" has been fine. Sure, I don't get to pick every minute details about the wedding, but honestly, that takes some stress off. Our coordinator, Laura, has been great and is fairly responsive to my calls/emails, so no complaints there. Everyone I tell about my wedding plans are so impressed and think it's a really neat, unique idea - which is exactly what my fiance and I were going for. Here's hoping everything keeps going smoothly!

Glad it's working for you. I think Royal changed the contractor, because they were called Royal Romance when our daughter got married 3 years ago.

 

 

The onky advice I can give is to try to get the contact on the ship so you can confirm details. For example, our daughter had arranged for the bridal party to get their hair and makup done on the morning of the wedding. However, Royal Romance neglected to tell the ship about this, so 5 girls show up at the salon and there's only one stylist working that morning. Needless to say, this took way longer than expected, pre-wedding photos were cancelled, and they missed half the reception taking the photos thst should have been taken before the wedding.

[CapeGal]

Moving this subject up due to wedding and vow renewal season. Any words of wisdom? We are renewing our vows on Adventure during our May cruise. So far the planning is good. It will just be the two of us, but I'm sure many of you will have bigger affairs. How goes?

[OACEIS]

We got married embarkation day at Dazzles on Oasis. The pre wedding communication was a little lacking, but it ended up being a great experience. Food was above what we expected, the venue and on ship experience for our non sailing guests was amazing. The time wasn't as structured as you would expect but would absolutely do it again. Let me know if you have any questions!

Edited April 10, 2019 by OACEIS
typo

[denavo]

My wife and I got married 13 years ago on the Rhapsody of the Seas in port in Galveston. We had about 75 people attend the wedding and reception. We absolutely loved it. Like many others have said if you are willing to give up a little control it will be fine. Although it was in port you still have to prepare for a remote wedding bringing on extra luggage for wedding clothes etc. We did it with the idea of not having to deal with multiple vendors etc. We picked a package with Royal they did the rest. Other than picking the menu and drinks I don't remember having to hassle with much. It was a blast for those guests that had never been on a cruise ship before to see their amazement. 

So much so my brother got married on the Liberty of the Seas 2 years ago. They really enjoyed themselves and had no complaints. As stated you can have the ship provide an official but myself and my bro both had our mom( who is an ordained minister) marry us both. Great memories for my family so we have a deep connection with Royal Caribbean.

I will say since being on some of the newer mega ships if you have a large group coming I would choose one of those ships. They have chapels that are large enough to accommodate a large group if you still want that church feel. Our wedding felt like a one week event without a letdown. I took my tuxedo off and threw swimming trunks on and was at the pool with a drink less than 30 min after my reception. Of all my friends weddings every still remembers ours 13 years later. 🙂

[Ashley8053]

Hey all! I got married on Embarkation Day in August 2018 on Anthem of the Seas. I wrote a VERY DETAILED review of the entire experience on Cruise Critic. I've copied the link below. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions for things I didn't address - I'm happy to help!