FANTASY 11/18/2006 Cruise Wedding Review

[STEPH&MIKE]

We just arrived back this morning. I have updated our wedding website with lots of photos. We had the time of our lives!! The wedding was sensational and the family cruise vacation was unforgettable. It really went by soooo fast. I took the advice of many from this site and savored the moment. I hope to help some of you by info posted in my review.

 

We arrived in New Orleans on Thursday evening and picked up the tuxedos. There were a couple of alterations needed that were done on site within minutes.

 

Friday we applied for the marriage license with a waiver for the 72 hour waiting period because we are from out of state. Was nervous about that, but it was a breeze. The city of New Orleans is really trying to promote tourim and caters to out of towners :) Friday night we had a very casual out of town/rehearsal dinner at my parents house.

 

New Orleans is really a great city and she looks great! The brand new Erato street Cruise terminal is really nice. Drop off your luggage to the porters in the covered parking garage then park for $14 day. The garage is connected to the cruise terminal. Non-sailing guests were also allowed to park also.

 

Saturday morning we woke up at 5 am and the hair/make-up professional arrived by 6 am. Heather traveled to our hotel room and did an outstanding job. Very professional natural airbrush make-up and a beautiful updo. She made me feel gorgeous. She was able to get six of us done by 9 am!!

Getting us, our children, wedding party and our luggage to the port only five blocks away by 10:30 was the most chaotic part of the entire day. Whew...I sure am glad my hair and make-up was done because when I checked in the Carnival folks were waiting on us. Check-in is very busy and did take some time due to our large group and the new terminal. We were able to board the ship by 1145 am. We had just enough time to get dressed and it was time for the ceremony at 1pm. We had a large balcony suite and it was very crowded with all the girls trying to get dressed at the same time! The guys decided to dress in another suite in our group as well. I see why they want everyone except the bride and groom to be dressed. We just didn't want to risk traveling in the formal dresses and tuxedos. It worked out just fine and was loads of fun.

 

We carried all of our silk flowers, favors, cake-topper and the supplies needed for the sand ceremony on board in boxes. We also carried on my dress, veil, make-up, the bridal party dresses, tuxes, shoes, etc....Use the porters as much as possible. The ceremony was delayed by 15 min (not sure why), there were three weddings that day. But it did not cut in to our reception time a bit. Everything went very smoothly and was really nice. Our ceremony was in the main showroom "The Universe Lounge" on stage with plenty of comfortable seating for our 43 guests. The minister of our ceremony complimented the sand ceremony we incorporated for our blended family. We chose to do the sand ceremony instead of the unity candle. She said she would not forget how beautiful it was and had not seen the sand ceremony performed before.

The only complaint I had with the wedding was the red neon lights in the Universe Lounge for the ceremony. It affected the picture and videos. We did not realize the lights were on until we reviewed our photos. They should have turned off those red neon lights prior to our ceremony. Originally we budgeted $800-1000 for photos. I was not happy with the outrageous price of the photo package. We were able to purchase the photos and get the cd for $600. I do not believe the photos are worth the $2000.00 they originally wanted. This is really the only problem with the entire day. I was so upset about my photos I was only going to buy 2 8x10 photos at $15 each. I am glad my groom was able to voice our complaint and negotiate the price for our less than perfect treasured keepsakes -better than no photos. Our family and friends also took pictures, but the ship's photographer took the majority. I have to say he was very professional and was not pushy when I wanted to spend time with family. He was very patient and was always immediately available when I did want special photos. He took us around the ship after the reception was over during the muster drill ;)

 

The reception was very elegant in the Cleopatra Piano Lounge. The room was decorated very well with an egyptian theme. The ice sculpture was nice--we had the 1 1/2 hour Deluxe package. The cake was very yummy mixed white and choco with choco filling-I even got many compliments on the cake ;) They put our cake topper on with the carnival one---but it was still cute and well decorated table. Appetizers were plentiful and very tasty,too. The cocktails were served very promptly to our guests. The piano player even made announcements for us on cue ....for cake cutting, boquet toss, toasts, and even played our Cd for the first dance. I think that Carnival goes out of their way to exceed expectations for a cruise wedding and at a great bargain. Not everything can go perfect. If I had to do it over again I would still choose a Cruise Wedding. Please let me know if I can help any future brides or answer any questions. This forum has been invaluable to me...So thanks to all the brides for your ideas and support.

Steph

WWW.PalmerWeddingCruise.com

[Alaskabride]

Steph, Can you please explain the Sand Ceremony to me. I have never heard of it before. Also I would love to see your photos.

[STEPH&MIKE]

My pictures are available on my personal website www.Palmerweddingcruise.com by clicking on the Photo Album tab on our site.

 

The flowing sand and blending of the colors symbolize the bringing together of two lives into one.

We chose to include our children in the ceremony and found it to be very appropriate and meaningful to us for a cruiseship wedding as well. I forgot where I originally got the idea. But found this Interesting article explaining the sand ceremony .............

http://www.wedalert.com/content/arti...d_Ceremony.asp

 

I ordered our set from

http://www.kensingtonclassics.com/product/8246

 

also found some nice sets at this website

http://perfectweddingmemories.com/prod02.htm

 

We used the following reading and incorporated the children into it by adding a few lines..........

 

UNITY SAND CEREMONY

(after the minister reads the statement below, pour the two containers of sand into the third container simultaneously.

_______________ and ______________, today you join your separate lives together. The two separate bottles of sand symbolize your separate lives, separate families and separate sets of friends. They represent all that you are and all that you’ll ever be as an individual. They also represent your lives before today. As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be.

 

(If children are a part of the new family, the sand ceremony can involve them also. Some families choose a different color for each member.)

[dottyparka]

Thanks for providing such a thorough review of your wedding onboard the Fantasy sailing out of New Orleans. I'm getting married on Fantasy on January 13th, and this has really put my mind at ease. Everything looked so beautiful and everyone looked like they were having a really great time.

 

I do have some questions for you, though. So far, I have the only wedding booked for that trip. Were you able to request the Cleopatra Bar or did they put you there because you had the piano player? Out of all the pictures I've seen of the ship, this is where I'd want my reception, but I don't know if I'd want the piano player. Do you remember any of the songs he played? Also, how were they able to play your CD so you could dance to your first song?

 

Thanks!

[STEPH&MIKE]

I was told that since I requested the piano player I would most likely have my reception in the Cleopatra lounge. The piano music was played on the round piano by Duane. The music was very elegant but I can't say that I remember the titles. We brought a cd player to play our first song but it wasn't needed. Duane gladly played our music on the main cd system for the lounge. He has a microphone, also. Remember that the coordinator will not be available to run the reception, you will have to decide when you are ready to do first dance, etc... They did prompt us to do the cake cutting and champagne toast pretty soon after entering the lounge. So you may want to have the cameras ready! I suppose you could request the Cleopatra lounge and if no one else books a piano player you may get your request. We really liked being in the center of the ship with all the glass windows in the Grand Spectrum. I found out the confirmation for location of the ceremony and reception 3 weeks before the wedding. The library is very pretty for a ceremony but was too small for my guests. How many guests are you expecting? Good luck and many blessings!!

[dottyparka]

Again, thanks for such great information. I'm expecting about 20 guests, plus me and the groom, of course. It might be worth it to go ahead and get the piano player, just to ensure I get the Cleopatra Bar.

[STEPH&MIKE]

Your welcome! I would secure the piano player ASAP if you have your heart set on Cleopatra's. I missed out on the videographer because someone else booked first. Best wishes and let me know if you need any other help;)

[chizUFL]

Hi Steph,

 

Thanks for the great review. We're getting married on Fantasy on March 15 and it's great to see some of what to expect.

 

Who did you get to come to the hotel to do hair and makeup? We are staying at the Doubletree on Canal and are looking for similar services. What was the approximate cost per person? It seems like you were very satisfied with your stylist.

 

Thanks,

Jessica

[shellie3007]

Your pictures are beautiful! We are getting married on Carnival Conquest March 16 2008. I was kind of nervous about doing the cruise wedding but after seeing your pictures and a few others pictures on this message board we went ahead and booked it yesterday. Thanks Bunches!!!!

 

 

 

 

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[STEPH&MIKE]

Heather is the stylists name. She was incredible!! She traveled to the hotel the morning of the wedding to do professional hair and airbrush make-up services and was an absolutely wonderful. I will always remember how beautiful I felt on this very special day :)

 

Click here to view her website that includes prices under the Services tab on her site. It was only $50.00 for the travel fee for the group. Her prices were very reasonable and definitely worth it. My sister and I got updos for $40 and airbrush make-up for $45. The children's updos only $20.

 

http://www.flawless-bride.com/

[dottyparka]

Yeah, I've heard that Flawless Bride is the way to go. I'm going to do my makeup and hair myself, since I keep it pretty simple, but I've seen photos of their work and it's incredible.

 

It's less than three weeks to my wedding and I still haven't gotten the final information from The Wedding Experience regarding where and when the wedding/reception will be. My wedding date is January 13th, and they told me to expect to hear something by January 2nd. It's starting to make me a little nervous...

[stevesgirl1111]

Dottyparka--

 

I know it's really hard not to worry but I'm sure everything is fine. Probably Jan 2 is the soonest you will hear anything so try not to worry about it! I didn't hear for mine until a little over a week out from the wedding and it all went great. Good luck and have a wonderful wedding!

[dottyparka]

Just a little update--I spoke with the coordinator today and she confirmed that my ceremony would be in the Pavillion Library and that the reception will be in Cleopatra's lounge. This has really put my mind at ease.

 

I can't wait to post my own review!

[STEPH&MIKE]

Congrats on getting the Cleopatra as a reception location!! The Library is a very pretty option for the ceremony as well. I hope everything is falling into place for you. Best wishes and have FUN! Can't wait to read your review and see your pictures.

[sas80]

The silk flowers look gorgeous! Makes me wish I had done it (my MOH talked me out of it)

 

Take that wedding CD to a professional photographer!!!

 

You would be amazed at what the can do with photoshop these days. I bet (for a fee) they can remove all that red from your pictures!

 

Beautiful family!

Congratulations!

[mandabear]

Congrats!!!

Your pictures are beautiful. I agree with the previous post that a good photographer can photo shop the red out (my fiance does some photo shop and he thinks it would work really well). I really enjoyed seeing the sand ceremony since we are thinking of incorporating that as well! Thanks for the great review!

[Alaskabride]

Your photos are beautiful!! Thanks for sharing. I really like the idea of the Sand Ceremony.

[rckjoseph]

hello! I get married on the Fantasy cruise ship July 14, 2007. I was wondering if they have a DJ, and what room would that be in? Also, if the video guy is booked, can someone from my family just videotape it? Thank you for your time. Your pictures were beautiful.:)

[rckjoseph]

hello... I was wondering how was your wedding and also if there is a DJ available for the boat. If so, what room would the reception be in? Thank you. I'm getting married July 14, 2007, and I am so nervous