NCL Wedding

[dna32]

Help...I will be getting married on one of NCL's cruise ships to the West Caribbean. Unfortunately i will not be picking the ship since my dad will be booking. (It's my parents 50th and since my dad was already paying for the whole family to go on a cruise...my fiance and I thought it would be best to get married then. It will save my dad a bit of money!):o

 

My questions are...:confused:

 

can anyone please tell me since you can only marry at port would it be best to be married first thing in the am..or later? Any suggestions on the reception. Since we will all be passengers would it still be nice to have the reception in one of the lounges or in a restaurant? can I use one of the free restaurants? i am not trying to be cheep...just trying to figure things out. i have never been on a cruise so this is all new for me..and very nerve racking already! My brother in law is a minister and will be performing the ceremony ( we will actuall already be married..just wanted to have the whole family there for ceremony and all. my brother is a professional photographer so pictures arent an issue. can I bring my own chanpagne and wedding toast flutes? What about gifts for the guests..and name cards..are we able to have a special table set up in one of the main dining areas if i book it with the wedding coordinator??? So many questions???:eek:

 

If there is anyone who can help...I would be so very thankful!!:)

[jlm92402]

http://www.ncl.com/more/wedding_index.htm

 

This is the link to the wedding page for NCL. Make sure you download the brochure at the bottom, it lists all the details.

 

You can have your own officiant, but you can not have your own photographer. Decorations should be fine, but NCL picks the time & place for all this to happen. You need to call and reserve a wedding package, and reception if you want one...but it all needs to be done through NCL. The number is on their site. They will be able to answer all your specific questions.

 

Also, there is a special board for cruise weddings...you will be able to get more of a response for your questions there http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

 

I am getting married on the Jewel next March.

[Ginamarie]

Since you'll already be legally married, NCL can treat the wedding like any other event onboard. Once you've picked the ship and the dates you're going, I would contact the event coordinator for the ship. She can set you up in the right sized room onboard the ship for a ceremony and arrange to have whatever chairs, etc. that you need. As for a reception, it might be possible to have it in the room where you have the ceremony, or you could just make reservations to have everyone seated in the dining room at the same time after the ceremony.

[dna32]

Thanks...that is very helpful. Do you know if they limit what you can bring aboard for the wedding?:confused:

[micheleg]

Hi D'iana,

 

If you plan on having a full (reproduced) wedding, then you'll most probably have to book the entire thing through "The Wedding Experience" which is the same as the Onboard Aisles for NCL. Although all of your guests are sailing with you and you're already married, it's doubtful that the ship would close a restaurant and/or lounge while you are sailing to accomodate you and your guests. That being said, here's how it goes..as I just got married onboard the NCL Jewel on April 30th and then sailed with her across the Atlantic to Europe.

 

1. You will have to arrange everything with The Wedding Experience and will have to purchase at least the base package which includes the ceremony, 1 hour of photography, wedding coordinator, and base wedding flowers and cake.

2. You do not have a choice of times, it is up to the Food & Beverage department on the ship depending on your location and other events booked on the day of embarkation.

3. You cannot use your brother as the photographer. You will have to use the photographer through The Wedding Experience (the first hour is included in your wedding package). Sure he can try to take pics, but they may shoo him off as I don't know how strict they really are about that. All of our guests brought camera's and were snapping away, but no one had professional equipment other than TWE photographer.

4. Depending on the number of guests, they might have your ceremony in one dining room and your reception in an ajoining one. It just depends on if you plan on having a sit down luncheon or just a cocktail reception. Ours was a sit down luncheon and we had the ceremony in Azura and then we walked though some ajoining doors into LeBistro for the luncheon. This was good and none of our guests got lost. Both venues were closed to other passengers. All receptions are optional and do cost depending on the package you want and are based per person.

5. Everything can be upgraded, but with upgrades come costs.

Upgrades available:

a. Flowers - We did and they were all custom by TWE's florists. All bouquets and flowers for the tables. After many emails and pictures, they came out stunning and everyone raved. You will not be able to bring live flowers on board. You can however bring silk flowers if you do not want to pay extra for upgraded flowers.

b. Music - We had one of the ships musicians play keyboards for two hours - lovely

c. Cake - We wanted a custom cake and the Executive chef and Pastry chefs came up with a cake even more beautiful than the picture we emailed - THANK YOU IVAN!!!! That was worth the extra $$$$ You cannot use your own vendor. If you want something custom, they will do anything (within reason) or attempt to duplicate your picture. But there will be extra charges per person.

d. Photographer - Don't buy an extra hour..this was the only disappointment. Once he leaves..let your brother take the pics! ;)

e. Champagne Toast - We were pleasantly surprised. It was really good and kept flowing even though we only paid for one glass per person.

 

We made our own music for the ceremony and burned a CD for each guest as a favor. We also had custom chocolates made in Miami, wrapped in clear cellophane with ribbons so we wouldn't have any Customs issues bringing them on board. Also made our own place cards for each guests. Menu's were also done by TWE/NCL. The ceremony and reception tables were set up by TWE and NCL staff while I was getting ready for the ceremony in our Suite.

 

You will have to have your hair and makeup done prior to boarding as there is no time to do that prior to the ceremony on embarkation day. All guests must arrive dressed for the wedding as well. Only the Bride and Groom will be allowed to change.

 

As you can see, there is a lot involved. I must say however, that it's still easier and ALOT cheaper than a land based wedding. The logistics are a little bit more cumbersome and so are the security issues, but if everyone coming to the wedding is sailing (unlike ours) that won't be an issue for you.

 

But...if you're already married and trying to cut costs...why not just have a big dinner for everyone one night in one of the specialty restaurants. You could probably have that arranged prior by your travel agent or directly with NCL's Food & Beverage department to ensure that they have a room set up for everyone in your party.

 

Anyway...all I can say is that our wedding was FABULOUS!!! TWE and NCL did an awesome job. Our guests are still talking about it...and we were treatly like royalty the entire 2 weeks. (Thank you Sean, Ruth, Paul, Ivan, and all of the other Officers and Staff, and the best crew afloat!)

 

If you have any questions, please do not be afraid to ask. I'll help out as much as possible!

 

Congrats and no matter what..have fun planning!

Michele

[dna32]

Wow..you were so helpful. My wedding party will be about 18-20 people so I wasn't sure what was best. It is not going to be very big...so i just wasn't sure what to do. I think I like the Idea to have the reception in the lounge with a cocktail reception. Thanks for taking the time to outline everything!:)

[carl_n_jess]

Michelle,

 

My Fiance and I are getting married in Boston on board before we ship off to Bermuda. My question is this, will I be able to "walk down the isle" with my father or is this just casual just walk up to the officiant kind of thing? I was trying to find answers on that all day!

[Cruisetini]

Hi Michelle,

I was married on board the Star last year. It was just the two of us but I "walked" down the isle so I don't see why your Dad can't come with you from your room. The photographer came to the room to take some before photos - and even helped me do the final zip on my gown. She then walked with me to the chapel and the minister and my husband were waiting for me at the alter. Everything was really nice - no stress, my flowers were beautiful (and I got to enjoy them in our suite for the entire week unlike most brides who have to leave them behind). We had lots of wonderful photos taken and its great to e-mail friends and family when you return - then everyone can share in the experience. If you are in the chapel they have rows of chairs and its a traditional set up. Another couple was married that had a number guests sailing and on just for the ceremony and they were in the lounge at the front of the ship with a stage. So you should ask where your ceremony will take place. Even though it was just us - after the ceremony we went into a nice room for cake & champagne that was private. This was really nice because with everyone boarding the ship people did not know where to go and there was alot of noise. So I really appreciated the isolated areas we were in durring our special time. After photos we went to the safety drill and then to dinner to continue the celebration. This is the best thing about freestyle - you really can do what ever you like. Enjoy your special day!

_______________________________________

[whatawonderfulworld]

I've been married for quite a while...but I loved reading every single one of these posts. We renewed our vows on our 25th anniversary...these lovely posts brought back many wonderful memories.

 

God bless you all for being so sweet to one another too. And congratulations to all the Brides and Grooms!

 

Peace be with you all,

 

W A W W

[micheleg]

Michelle,

 

My Fiance and I are getting married in Boston on board before we ship off to Bermuda. My question is this, will I be able to "walk down the isle" with my father or is this just casual just walk up to the officiant kind of thing? I was trying to find answers on that all day!

 

Hi Jess!

 

First of all..congrats!!! Second...Absolutely!!! My father walked me down the "aisle". They had me enter through Le Bistro so no one would see me while the guests were waiting in the restaurant Azura. Since we had over 50 guests, the chairs were set up in the restaurant to form an aisle. My Dad was waiting for me, and so were the rest of the wedding party. They started the music (which we provided) and then opened the ajoining doors and then everyone started walking down the aisle while my then husband was waiting for me along with the Officiant. Everyone stood when Dad and I entered and that's when my husband first saw me. It was lovely and I was the one who had to hold on tight to him so he wouldn't cry..lol :)

 

Not to worry...it'll be beautiful...and your wedding coordinator will fill you in on everything! Have fun and enjoy your day!

 

Michele :)