8/19/07 Conquest Wedding Review

[DG2007]

Conquest Wedding Review

We sailed on the 8/19/07 Conquest. Even though there were a few speed bumps with our wedding and getting our photos, overall we loved our wedding and how it turned out. It turned out better than we hoped. Since we live about 20 minutes from Galveston I had hired someone to come do my hair and make-up at my house at 7am that morning. So once onboard I didn’t have to do anything but touch up my lipstick. We didn’t invite any guests, we got the “Just for the Bride and Groom” package and we didn’t upgrade anything.

 

Embarkation: We arrived at the pier around 10:15. My husband dropped me and our bags off and a porter came by and took them away. He then led me and our carryon bags down to the entrance and one of the Carnival ladies led me upstairs and sat me down at one of the big tables overlooking the parking lot. Meanwhile my husband drove over to Lot B to park the car and brought the shuttle back. When he got back he walked straight upstairs to be with me. After waiting only a couple of minutes the wedding coordinator and her assistant, Richard, showed up and introduced themselves. Richard bought me a bottle of water and gave me an information sheet about Hurricane Dean and our expected itinerary. Once my husband arrived we just sat there and waited to go through security. There was another bridal party and about 15 of their non-sailing guests waiting with us. Finally, they allowed us to go through security around 11am; they escorted us straight to the front of the line while all the other Carnival passengers looked on.

 

Once through security we were led to VIP check-in and received our sail & sign cards. After that the wedding coordinators led us into a room where we all waited for the ship to clear customs. While in that room they explained to us what would happen once on board and told us when my husband should be to the Painter’s Library for the ceremony and they explained that I would be escorted by Richard at 1:20. At around 11:45 we were able to board the ship and Richard led us down to our stateroom.

 

After boarding: We dropped off our carryons in our stateroom and then decided to go tour the ship since our wedding wasn’t until 1:30. On Lido Deck and got some pizza and then headed back to our room to start getting ready. My husband was supposed to be at the Painter’s Library at 1:15 so he left and I finished getting ready. Richard came to get me around 1:20 and had my bouquet with him – honestly, I was very pleased with the bouquet. I didn’t upgrade or anything just went with the basic white rose bouquet and chose red as my ribbon choice and I think it turned out perfect, much better than I expected!

 

Ceremony: The ceremony started the second I arrived, I walked down the aisle to the music we had chosen. It went so fast but it was perfect. Since we didn’t have any guests it was just the two of us, the officiant (the head wedding coordinator), her assistant, Richard, and the photographer. It was very intimate. There was a small issue with the music at the end of the ceremony but I barely noticed, I think the wedding coordinators were more upset by it. We both thought it was funny.

 

Post Wedding: After the ceremony was done we did the cake cutting and had a glass of champagne. Right as we were about to cut the cake though someone walked in with the cake topper – cheesy but whatever, I didn’t care. Prior to the ceremony the wedding coordinator had placed my husband’s boutonniere on top of the cake because he couldn’t wear it on his Army dress blue uniform (uniform regulations!). I thought the cake looked very nice with just a white rose on top but it was cute with the topper too. We had a good giggle about the cake topper. Also the guy helping us cut the cake and pouring our champagne was a little bossy at first but then suddenly he turned into a big teddy bear and was all sweet and nice. Very strange change of attitude but oh well. We didn’t care; we were having a great time. During the cake and champagne time the photographer was still taking a ton of pictures and then took us for some posed pictures. The wedding coordinator sent our champagne flutes and cake topper to our room and our champagne and cake were available in the dining room that night. We finished off the champagne the first night and had cake for the next few nights until we had our waiters serve the rest to the other couples at our table (also newlyweds and the table next to us). They all enjoyed the cake. We thought the cake was very good. We had white cake with white frosting and strawberry filling. The filling was a creamy strawberry, not fresh strawberries but we still thought it was very tasty. And even three or four days later the cake was very moist and tasty.

 

Photographer: The photographer, Frank, was there buzzing around us the entire time during the ceremony and afterwards at our champagne and cake reception. But he was never intrusive. Here is where we hit one small speed bump. The photographer told us he would contact us the next day to go over our pictures. Well, we didn’t hear from him. We didn’t stress out about it since we were enjoying our honeymoon but by Thursday we were getting a bit nervous. So Thursday night when we ran into him outside the casino we asked what was going on. He said he would call us Friday. Again he didn’t call. So Saturday morning after breakfast we went to the gallery and asked to see him. He wasn’t on duty at that time but another staff member went to find him. At first he said Frank would meet with us at 5pm that evening but we said we wanted to see him right then. So he went to get Frank and after waiting about 20 minutes Frank appeared. He seemed annoyed that we had disturbed him during his off time but we were annoyed that he hadn’t kept his word about calling us sooner so we weren’t worried about whether we annoyed him. He showed us our pictures and tried to show us the slideshow he made but his laptop had problems and the slideshow kept messing up. So he went to get another laptop. Meanwhile we picked out the pictures we didn’t want – there were several that we didn’t like because we had our eyes closed or something like that. When he got back with the new laptop he said the entire package including the 16x20 canvas, slideshow, digital prints, photo album and all the prints was $1000 but his manager had authorized him to give us 20% off so we could get it all for $800. Well, we hated the slideshow, the song was terrible (some awful Lionel Richie song) and we definitely didn’t want a 16x20 canvas of ourselves up in our house. So we told him we didn’t want to spend anymore than $500 and we didn’t want a bunch of the pictures. He left and came back with a $700 price for everything. Again we told him we didn’t want about half the pictures nor the slideshow or canvas. He said he would discuss it with his manager and get back with us at 5pm. So at 5pm we met him in the gallery and he had all the pictures we had chosen packaged up with the album and said the price would be $400. We agreed with that price and took it. We definitely felt like he was trying to exploit our emotions by waiting until the last day. I wanted the digital prints but not bad enough to pay $800 for them. I scanned all of our prints when we got home and they look fantastic on the computer and printed out. I think a lot of people spend the extra cash to get the CD without realizing that they could scan them at home and they look just as good. It’s definitely a system set up to frighten brides and grooms into buying something they otherwise wouldn’t. Even though we weren’t happy with his sales techniques we were very happy with the pictures he took. They turned out much better than expected and he got all the important moments, the kiss, the cake cutting, etc. I couldn’t be happier with the pictures we purchased.

 

Debarkation: We decided to do the self-assist. That was just silly because we had a huge garment bag with my dress, two small suitcases, a big duffle bag and another smaller garment bag. Not the smartest way to go when you have that much luggage. However, our deck was one of the first decks called and we were able to start the debarkation process early. The line to customs was long but moved quickly and we were on the shuttle to Lot B by 9am. It went a lot smoother than I thought it would go.

 

Conclusion: A cruise wedding is probably not the best idea for those people who have to be in charge of every detail. We had the attitude that nothing is perfect and if something went wrong then oh well. Our day was perfect even though there were a few speed bumps. But if it will ruin your day if the cake topper shows up late or if the music messes up, then you should rethink your decision to have a cruise ship wedding. I spoke to TWE about two times before the wedding, when I booked the ceremony and two weeks before our sailing to confirm our details. I was a very hands-off bride, I didn’t want the headache of planning all the details and I think it turned out wonderfully!

[ShedQueen77]

Gotta love those uniform regulations! :) I probably would have had a giggle about the cake topper showing up as we were cutting the cake too. I'm glad that everything turned out well for you. Congratulations!

[CCL_Bride_2007]

Hi! I'm glad you enjoyed your wedding! I think my husband and I played Roulette with your hubby in the Casino, is his name John? Anyway, we were married in Grand Cayman with a similar attitude as yours. If something goes wrong OH WELL! It's the only way to be, unless you like being in a bad mood. I forgot my flip flops, but I had some just married flops I was going to wear afterward that worked just fine and the comb for my veil came out but we improvised and everything was fine:D . Congrats!

 

Jessica and John Makin

[NurseBeth]

Congrats to you both!!! I would love to see a few pictures if you wouldn't mind sharing them. Glad to hear that you were finally able to iron out a photo package that was agreeable to you. Honestly I think it's a little "shady" of Carnival not to tell couples up front what prices will be for photos. :mad:

[Prinycesa07]

Congrats! It all sounds wonderful. It makes me even more excited.

 

 

P.s. anyone else noticing all the positive wedding experiences?! Yay!

[DG2007]

Hi! I'm glad you enjoyed your wedding! I think my husband and I played Roulette with your hubby in the Casino, is his name John? Anyway, we were married in Grand Cayman with a similar attitude as yours. If something goes wrong OH WELL! It's the only way to be, unless you like being in a bad mood. I forgot my flip flops, but I had some just married flops I was going to wear afterward that worked just fine and the comb for my veil came out but we improvised and everything was fine:D . Congrats!

 

Jessica and John Makin

 

Hi Jessica! I remember you, I met you at the roulette table, I think it was the night before you got married! That was my husband you played Roulette with, he actually mentioned a few times that he met another bride in the casino. We saw you in Grand Cayman in a store and you were still wearing your veil - fun! How did you like your wedding? I hope it was as great as you hoped it would be. Congrats to you!

Diane

[DG2007]

Congrats to you both!!! I would love to see a few pictures if you wouldn't mind sharing them. Glad to hear that you were finally able to iron out a photo package that was agreeable to you. Honestly I think it's a little "shady" of Carnival not to tell couples up front what prices will be for photos. :mad:

 

I completely agree about Carnival's wedding photo set-up - it's completely wrong! I'm writing a letter to complain and I hope one day enough people will complain so they will decide to change it.

 

Here are a couple pics (direct from the slideshow I made with them):

[NurseBeth]

You look so beautiful! And your new hubby was very handsome in his uniform!!! Nothing better than a man in uniform! ;)

[rellie2002]

You look gorgeous!!! I'm so happy for you! The pictures are beautiful :)