Getting Married at Grand Cayman Stop

[blanquita79]

We are getting married at the Grand Cayman stop on our Western Caribbean Cruise in February. My friend just went on the cruise in May and they were unable to tender to Grand Cayman, due to bad weather. Does this happen a lot or am I safe going in February? It would ruin the whole trip if we weren't able to get there!

 

Cruise Valor

[babyclaytonmom]

Ive been scheduled to port at Grand Cayman 4 times and made it there twice. I dont know what the odds are. One time was in Nov. and the other in Oct. when we couldnt go because of the weather/rough waves.

[dcdiva]

My Feb 05 wedding was in Key West instead of Grand Cayman because I was afraid we would not make the port. But the other wedding during our cruise was in Cayman, and I talked with the bride a bit about her experience. Fortunatley, weather was not an issue that week and we arrived on time in Grand Cayman. But tendering was a bit dicey. There were a couple of ships in port and by midday, the tenders were really backed up. Some people waited 45 minutes to dock and disembark -- including one of the wedding guests, who missed the ceremony. Fortunatlely, the whole bridal party and most of the guests made it safely to the garden location (I can't remember exactly where it was) and back.

[ralphlaurengirl20]

What day are you getting married? I have sched. our wedding date for 2-6-2007 in the caymans as well.

[blanquita79]

Me too! 2/6/07....What cruise ship are you traveling? I guess we'll be crossing our fingers together! Did you go through the ship to plan the wedding or a private company? Because of all the comments, I've made a back up plan to get married in Miami Beach if we can't get to Grand Cayman. It's just been really freaking me out!

[MandyGirl]

I had just recently replied to another thread about the reason we chose to not marry on Grand Cayman and instead look elsewhere.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=382032

 

Yes, I have heard before about the higher percentage of ships that miss Grand Cayman due to tendering. Certainly something to keep in mind when planning a wedding in my opinion. Any port can be missed, but apparently Grand Cayman has a slightly higher rate from reading the Grand Cayman Cruise Critic boards. :(

[ralphlaurengirl20]

We are traveling w/ RCCL enchantment of the seas. We will be Cayman Brides the same day, hopefully anyway!!

[blanquita79]

That's so awesome RalphLaurenGirl....Congrats and hope to see you there! We ship Carnival Valor.

 

[ralphlaurengirl20]

I have to be honest, I never thought much about tendering...until now. I am starting to get a little worried too. Are you working through TWE as well, I can't remember who Carnival goes through. Have they said anything about what would happen if you you are unable to tender?

[blanquita79]

If you went through Royal Caribbean, they should be able to marry you on the ship. You could call and check with them. I, on the other hand, found this great coordinator on my own (www.heartofcayman.com). They had exactly what I was looking for, because it's just the two of us. They have a special cruise package. So, not thinking about tendering being a problem, I booked through them. So, I guess I will just be out $300 deposit if we can't tender. I called Carnival and because I didn't go through them, they can't do last minute weddings on the ship. So, now I have a back up plan in Florida. Apparently, you don't need to give them much notice. Let me know if you want the name of the coordinator I found in Miami. They said they only need a 1-2 day notice.

[Sugar67]

We are due to be married in Jamaica on November 2, 2006 and have thought that if we couldnt dock we would just do a small private ceremony when we got back home. Could you please email the name of the co-ordinator in Miami please. Might be another option worth looking in to. Thanks a bunch. My email is deveaushunn@canada.com