Wedding Question

[mlpreston]

Now that I am hooked on cruising, I am trying to convince my fiance of the idea of a cruise wedding. I have been looking at the Carnival Valor as I really, really like the itinerary. I think I would prefer to marry off the ship though maybe somewhere in Belize. If we decide to do it, do we do it sort of like a group cruise? Would we get a group cruise discount/OBC? I would easily be expecting about 45-50 people to cruise with us for our wedding.

 

How would I go about all of this? There is so much I wouldn't know where to start!!

 

Any help is appreciated!!!

[Meeko32198]

Well let me just say you've come to the best place to start! The brides, and a few grooms, on this board have been extremely helpful with answering questions. I would recommend doing a search for the Valor, as I know I've seen some other brides getting married on that ship, or search other Carnival reviews and look at their pictures.

 

If you have 8 or more cabins you can get a special rate and sometimes they include things like on board ship credit for each cabin, sometimes even free people depending on how many you get. I would recommend calling a travel agent, or carnival directly and see what you can get.

 

The one thing I've noticed that most of the brides who've already gotten married have posted is that if you are the "bridezilla" need everything to be perfect type a cruise ship wedding probably isn't right for you. If you're more laid back and can go with the flow it might be perfect.

 

I'm getting married on the Carnival Glory in October, and currently we have our max of 50 non-sailing guests, and 12 sailing guests. The numbers definately add up quick, and so does the bill where you only get 20 people with the deluxe package. It's still a heck of a lot cheaper than me getting married in my hometown (Orlando, FL).

 

Hope this helps you decide a bit. :)

[mlpreston]

[quote name=Meeko32198;9991272

I'm getting married on the Carnival Glory in October' date=' and currently we have our max of 50 non-sailing guests, and 12 sailing guests. The numbers definately add up quick, and so does the bill where you only get 20 people with the deluxe package. It's still a heck of a lot cheaper than me getting married in my hometown (Orlando, FL).

 

Hope this helps you decide a bit. :)[/quote]

 

 

What do you mean you get 20 people with the deluxe package? There's a package? Where can I find info on their packages? Does this include sailing for the 20 guests?

[dml1216]

Now that I am hooked on cruising, I am trying to convince my fiance of the idea of a cruise wedding. I have been looking at the Carnival Valor as I really, really like the itinerary. I think I would prefer to marry off the ship though maybe somewhere in Belize. If we decide to do it, do we do it sort of like a group cruise? Would we get a group cruise discount/OBC? I would easily be expecting about 45-50 people to cruise with us for our wedding.

 

How would I go about all of this? There is so much I wouldn't know where to start!!

 

Any help is appreciated!!!

 

YES! Most definitely do a group cruise. Call Carnival and they will set you up. My girl - Kara Oglebee - did a FANTASTIC! job. You will get OBC and your 8th (1 person in that cabin) sails free. This typically goes to the person planning the wedding (us) or you can elect to have the "freebie" split amongst all of the cabins. Several cabins were booked and then I called Carnival and talked to Kara and she re-booked everything, giving us the group perks. I am not advertising for her, but she was truly a gift. She actually saved me and my husband about $500. We had 26 sailing. Each cabin received a discount and $50 OBC. We had 9 cabins, so if you have more you receive more credits - you can elect to have OBC, cocktail party or other items in the rooms. Carnival was really great to us. I was very, very happy with my wedding this past March.

 

I would suggest calling them and asking them to send you info. It was a wonderful, relatively inexpensive way to have a classy, fabulous wedding.

 

I do want to second what the last poster stated, if you need to have full control over the wedding and what is going on, then this may not be for you. You really won't know much until about a month before the cruise/wedding. What I can say though, I knew what I wanted and in what room I wanted the wedding and they accommodated us. I thought they were great.

 

Congrats and best of luck to you!

[kandlwed]

I am actually getting married while on a Royal Caribbean shipm but on the beach in Key West, not sure how different they are than Carnival as far as group deals, but they sound similar. We have 38 cabins booked (120 guests) and we are getting a fee cocktail hour and $50 discount per cabin. I am going through a Travel Agent/soon-to-be neice, so I am not 100% sure of all the perks we are getting on top of those. I am glad we are getting married off the ship because I wanted things more personal, but if you don't want to do full on planning you can choose working with the ships coordinators. Also, make sure you check the marriage requirements in each place you port. I think Belize you have to have been there for a couple days before getting a license. I know some brides do a civil wedding before they go. I chose Key West because in is in the State, but our cruise is also going to Belize and Cozumel. Let me know if you have any questions and good luck!! :)

[serene56]

What do you mean you get 20 people with the deluxe package? There's a package? Where can I find info on their packages? Does this include sailing for the 20 guests?

 

 

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/images/Onboard_Experience/Weddings/weddings2007B.pdf

 

the package does not include cruise fare. THe delux is 1 1/2 hour open bar hot & cold hordereves. flowers for bride, groom, cake.

you can pay for upgrades. Carnival only allows three weddings per cruises.

We added the DJ for $125. (I think) if you have more quest then its an added costs.

 

IF you are going to do a group booking- I suggest talking to an agent that specialized in group bookings. You must be all booked together to get the group pricing and amenities..and it must be set up that way before youbook.

Booking a group sometimes you can get a cheaper deposit and make monthly payments. (the earlier you do this the cheaper the price.)

We booked out Liberty almsot 14 months ago. Inside cabins were 388. and today they are selling for 679pp- so you see it is cheaper to book long in advance-- it gives people a long time to make monthly payments.

[serene56]

fairbrot- talking about agencies or agents is againt the terms of service. sorry

[mandabear]

We actually booked on our own through Princess, but then contacted a TA. She was able to transfer our booking to her agency. She was also able to reserve a block of 8 rooms with no deposit due until mid-Sept. and we got a nice discount on the rooms. The main reason I switched to a TA is that I wanted my guests to call someone else with all of their booking questions.

[2007CarnivalBride]

I agree w/the others you have to try the group route! At our April 27, 2007 Carnival Cruise wedding we had 47 sailing guests(one cabin had a child in it) and we got a great discount on the rate as well as credits to each cabin on their sail and sign cards, a bottle of wine in each cabin and a credit for us for the free bearths! Our travel agent even cut a check for the credit instead of puttting on our sail and sign card. It really worked out great and our deposits for everyone were decreased as well. Everyone loved the wine in their cabins and was pleasently surpised by the extra money on their cards! With those perks and the OOT bags we gave our wedding guest felt quite spoiled!:) Plus we got to use the check towards other wedding expenses!