Carnival WC's

[maddam_5maria]

Does anyone know if you can request a different WC through Carnival? I am getting alil irritated with mine. I've heard good things about another one there and would like to start dealing with her. I don't want to call rock the boat if it isn't possible. I wouldn't want finger marks in my cake or something because I rubbed someone the wrong way by asking at the Wedding Department.

[J's Gal]

Maria, the way I understand it, there are coordinators assigned to each ship(s), example: the coordinator that I deal with covers the Conquest and the Ecstasy.

But if you aren't happy, I would hope you could speak with someone else. :o

[Karen_and_Andy]

My friend was married last December on a Carnival ship and she was really irritated with her wedding coordinator as well by the time her wedding came around. Her wedding coordinator failed to book a bunch of the stuff she requested for her reception and she didn't find out about it until about a week or two before the cruise when another WC was filling in for her WC who was on vacation. If I remember correctly, one of the things messed up was that she didn't get the hors'deOveures she ordered for the guests to munch on between the ceremony and the reception. She had paid for it though so she was really upset. She ended up getting a refund on that.

 

I don't remember what she said her WC's name was, but I know she certainly vented to all of us bridesmaids about it throughout her planning. She was really stressed out and upset with Carnival towards the end, right before the wedding. Luckily the people on the ship who helped her with the actual wedding and reception seemed very nice and that somewhat negated the negative view she had of her WC and the cruise line.

[flyerso6]

Why did she have to order the hors'deOveures? they come with the package. Unless she wanted something specfic she shouldn't have had to order it.

[maddam_5maria]

My friend was married last December on a Carnival ship and she was really irritated with her wedding coordinator as well by the time her wedding came around. Her wedding coordinator failed to book a bunch of the stuff she requested for her reception and she didn't find out about it until about a week or two before the cruise when another WC was filling in for her WC who was on vacation. If I remember correctly, one of the things messed up was that she didn't get the hors'deOveures she ordered for the guests to munch on between the ceremony and the reception. She had paid for it though so she was really upset. She ended up getting a refund on that.

 

I don't remember what she said her WC's name was, but I know she certainly vented to all of us bridesmaids about it throughout her planning. She was really stressed out and upset with Carnival towards the end, right before the wedding. Luckily the people on the ship who helped her with the actual wedding and reception seemed very nice and that somewhat negated the negative view she had of her WC and the cruise line.

 

I did think the H'D's came with the package...but either what that must have been terrible! I don't know what I would do if something that major happened. I just find my WC VERY snotty, not willing to "work" with me as well as she should, never gives me a straight answer on things, etc. I've heard this from someone else on this particular WC. She just assumed this WC was new and wasn't that educated on the whole process. But it was a year ago she dealt with her...if she was new she isn't new anymore! I try my best to be a pleasant as possible with her...but I am not sure how much longer I can bite my lip which will cause me to pay for it in the long run. ANYTHING can easily be "forgotten" or "misunderstood"...know what I mean.

[Karen_and_Andy]

I emailed her for more details today about what specifically happened with the hors'deOveures situation because there were definately none after the ceremony. She replied and said they were supposed to come with her wedding package but she requested some small changes so she thinks her WC wrote down that she didn't want any served at all instead of the changes she wanted.

 

She swears she went over her requests and plans several times with her WC, which I totally believe because she was the ultimate Bridezilla fixating on every single little detail during the planning process and drove all of her friends (including me) crazy. She said some of the mistakes were caught by the other WC filling in for her vacationing WC, but there were still some mixups like the hors'deOveures thing and getting a bridal bouquet when she told the WC she had purchased silk bouquets from a florist and requested that the fresh flower bouquet that came with the package be made into a centerpiece instead since she had no use for a second bridal bouquet.

 

She said it took a lot of complaining, but she was eventually refunded for what the cruise line said the value of the hors'deOveures were. She said they didn't do anything refund-wise regarding the flower request mixup.

 

Overall, I thought her wedding was nice and it helped my fiance and I decide to have our wedding on a cruise but ours will be MUCH smaller than hers. She had double the amount of RSVPs than what she expected plus she had 8 of us as bridesmaids so it turned out to be a pretty big affair for a cruise wedding. She sent out a lot of invitations, taking the chance that not many people would spend the money to go on a cruise and attend so she was shocked at the response. We're not going to take that approach. We're keeping the guest list very small right from the start.

[Karen_and_Andy]

...I am not sure how much longer I can bite my lip which will cause me to pay for it in the long run. ANYTHING can easily be "forgotten" or "misunderstood"...know what I mean.

 

You know, that may be why there were some mistakes. Maybe they were not so accidental. I can see where she might have gotten on the WC's nerves or bad side because she really was the ultimate Bridezilla during the planning and she got extremely knit-picky near the very end because she was so stressed out and didn't feel she was getting the level of service she should from her WC.

 

I know she was only like that because she was really nervous and wanted everything to go perfectly. She and her husband had dated for many years so her wedding was a long time in the making and something she had looked forward to and planned in her head for many years. I would think a WC, especially one experienced with brides planning a wedding in unfamiliar territory, would be used to dealing with that kind of bride.

[esbie11]

I would think a WC, especially one experienced with brides planning a wedding in unfamiliar territory, would be used to dealing with that kind of bride.

 

I think that is part of the problem though. Many people assume that when they call TWE(or whatever name the individual cruiseline calls them), they are speaking to "wedding coordinators." But you are not. These are people who work in a call center in Florida. I would venture to say few have ever actually been to your wedding site or on your cruiseship. That is why they can offer little or no details about things. They simply gather the info from you, and then just prior to your wedding they contact the local WC in the area where you are getting married and pass the info to them. This also explaines why they are so expensive. If it were possible to "cut out the middle man (TWE)"-which you can only do for weddings not onboard the ship-you can save a lot of money.

Sorry to but in, I just don't want people to mis-understand that when they call TWE, they are NOT speaking with true "wedding coordinators".

[maddam_5maria]

I think that is part of the problem though. Many people assume that when they call TWE(or whatever name the individual cruiseline calls them), they are speaking to "wedding coordinators." But you are not. These are people who work in a call center in Florida. I would venture to say few have ever actually been to your wedding site or on your cruiseship. That is why they can offer little or no details about things. They simply gather the info from you, and then just prior to your wedding they contact the local WC in the area where you are getting married and pass the info to them. This also explaines why they are so expensive. If it were possible to "cut out the middle man (TWE)"-which you can only do for weddings not onboard the ship-you can save a lot of money.

Sorry to but in, I just don't want people to mis-understand that when they call TWE, they are NOT speaking with true "wedding coordinators".

 

It's alittle different when it comes to Carnival. Carnival DOES have it's own WC's. The only involvment TWE has in the whole process with Carnival Weddings is the ceremoney itself...no other details.

[esbie11]

It's alittle different when it comes to Carnival. Carnival DOES have it's own WC's. The only involvment TWE has in the whole process with Carnival Weddings is the ceremoney itself...no other details.

 

Well then that is already one thing you have going for you! I hope you can find someone who is better to work with than your current WC. Weddings are supposed to be fun, it stinks when you have to deal with unnecessary stress!

[maddam_5maria]

Well then that is already one thing you have going for you! I hope you can find someone who is better to work with than your current WC. Weddings are supposed to be fun, it stinks when you have to deal with unnecessary stress!

 

Definatly! When the whole cruise idea came up I was thinking of how much less stress it would be on me seeing as most of the details are taking care of. Mostly because you are limited to what can be done..but still in all less decisions and whatnot. Looks like it's not all easy breezy like I thought.

[Karen_and_Andy]

...The only involvment TWE has in the whole process with Carnival Weddings is the ceremoney itself...no other details.

 

Jennifer was married on the ship right before embarking on the trip. Would Carnival have been responsible for the mistakes in her food and reception plans or would that have been something that the subcontractor would've helped plan, or shall I say, mess up?

 

Seriously, I'm starting to think that it might be better for us to fly to an island and get married there, planning through an on-island planner, rather than deal with any of the potential issues using that subcontractor planning service. We were leaning towards Royal Caribbean because their cruises seem to attract more couples and less of the singles crowd like Carnival. Since we'll be married and 99% of our family members and friends who will be attending are married, we were thinking that the "fun ships" of Carnival might be too spring breakish with a lot of singles, especially during the time (March/April) we're looking at for our wedding.

 

I've never been on an Alaska cruise, but my FILs have. I saw someone's wedding photos on this board last night and the couple were married on a glacier in Alaska. That is something I never considered and it looked really nice. It would be different, too, from my friends wedding cruise in the Caribbean. If we end up deciding to go ahead a book a cruise wedding and end up in Alaska rather than somewhere warm, we'll probably have to marry during the summer when it's warmer and more sailings to choose from.

[maddam_5maria]

Jennifer was married on the ship right before embarking on the trip. Would Carnival have been responsible for the mistakes in her food and reception plans or would that have been something that the subcontractor would've helped plan, or shall I say, mess up?

 

Seriously, I'm starting to think that it might be better for us to fly to an island and get married there, planning through an on-island planner, rather than deal with any of the potential issues using that subcontractor planning service. We were leaning towards Royal Caribbean because their cruises seem to attract more couples and less of the singles crowd like Carnival. Since we'll be married and 99% of our family members and friends who will be attending are married, we were thinking that the "fun ships" of Carnival might be too spring breakish with a lot of singles, especially during the time (March/April) we're looking at for our wedding.

 

I've never been on an Alaska cruise, but my FILs have. I saw someone's wedding photos on this board last night and the couple were married on a glacier in Alaska. That is something I never considered and it looked really nice. It would be different, too, from my friends wedding cruise in the Caribbean. If we end up deciding to go ahead a book a cruise wedding and end up in Alaska rather than somewhere warm, we'll probably have to marry during the summer when it's warmer and more sailings to choose from.

 

Yes...the reception is the responsiblity of Carnival. If there was a mess up with the food Carnival was the one to be held accountable.

 

Glacier..yes..beautiful! If you have the funds I think it would definatly be worth it. I've been on two Carnival Cruises and I must say it wasn't all singles like most ppl suspect. Maybe I just didn't see them?? I dunno but it was mostly couples. I've went in July and in December. So the time of the year was no different with my experiences. However, they certainly are "fun" ships just not "singles" fun ships. I had a blast on both cruises I went on. I'm from New Orleans so "fun" run in veins.

 

I mostly choose carnival this time because of covienence. The dock is 15mins from my house. This allows non-sailing guest to attend without spending an entire day traveling. This also helps with the sailing guest not having that extra cost for airfare. I fit the cruiseing bill for 25 people...all the immediate family. Had there been airfare involved I wouldn't have been able to do this for them. That would have easily added another $200-$400 bucks per person. If there was another cruiseline departing from New Orleans instead of Carnival...that's the one we'd be on instead.

[tiffanylynch]

I will be getting married on the Carnival Victory June 28th. So far, I havent had any trouble with my wedding coordinator or the people that are contracted out to handle the ceremony. Hopefully after June 28th I will still have the same opinon about everything. It has been a lot less stressful having a cruise wedding than planning your typical big wedding. We have 50 people sailing with us but we are the only ones in the wedding....no bridemaids or groomsmen. The only thing that I worry about is the unknown...I have no idea what the ceremony room looks like or anything, so I guess its a good thing I'm really laid back about the whole situation.....just want to get married and have fun! Any suggestions from anyone who has done this before are GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!

[Inspiration_bride]

I was just wondering... do the wc's ever call and check in with you?Should I be calling her or just when i have questions?? I know a cruise wedding is supposed to be easy but i feel like i am missing something :)

[Prinycesa07]

I was just wondering... do the wc's ever call and check in with you?Should I be calling her or just when i have questions?? I know a cruise wedding is supposed to be easy but i feel like i am missing something :)

 

Nope, i never heard from mine until a few days before the wedding. You could call if you have a question of course. It's very laid back, you aren't missing anything lol. I used to feel the same way before my wedding though because it seemed that people were upset they weren't hearing from their coordinators and they had all these questions. I was confused because i never needed my WC. I was really, really laid back about it all, which i think is important when you are having a wedding like this.

[sassy0930]

Well, the good thing is the person you talk to is not the person who wil lbe at your wedding. SO you can hate the person on the phone all you want. PLUS I don't think it would affect the outcome of your wedding, unless of course they aren't taking down your info. They don't really DO anything except overnight your license to TWE.

 

Madame Maria, The don't have real wedding coordinators. Not like you would find if you got a coordinator for a land based wedding. They are not the advocate of the bride and groom, they are reps of Carnival. They are not in the business of making sure the bride and groom are happy, they are in the business of making more money for Carnival. AND as far as my wedding is concerned all they do is overnight (at a cost of 75 to me) my wedding license to TWE. I'm not having a reception so the WC at carnival is really just a middleman who is making the whole process cost more. I wish I could just work with TWE alone and save the costs, but it wasn't possible to do that and get married on Carnival.

 

Maybe for my next wedding i'll do better HAHAHA. J/K

 

It's possible to survive a Carnival wedding but don't expect your WC to care about YOUR day because they are concerned with making sure it several other peoples day in addition to yours!

[maddam_5maria]

Madame Maria, The don't have real wedding coordinators. Not like you would find if you got a coordinator for a land based wedding. They are not the advocate of the bride and groom, they are reps of Carnival. They are not in the business of making sure the bride and groom are happy, they are in the business of making more money for Carnival. AND as far as my wedding is concerned all they do is overnight (at a cost of 75 to me) my wedding license to TWE. I'm not having a reception so the WC at carnival is really just a middleman who is making the whole process cost more. I wish I could just work with TWE alone and save the costs, but it wasn't possible to do that and get married on Carnival.

 

While Carnival’s WC’s may not be the typical land based WC you would choose to hire independently…they are still WC’s. A WC is the person that is there to help you with the planning process…and they do that. Maybe not as well as we would want..but they are there if we need advise or have questions. They are limited to how much they can help, as opposed to a land-based WC, only because of the limits with being married on a ship. There are no certifications needed to be a WC...including land based WC’s. I do see what you are saying about them not really giving a crap. I’m actually battling that myself right now! They are assigned to us based on our ships. Not by our needs, wants, taste, desires or because they have a passion for it.…which is how you would select a land based WC.

To me it is like being assigned a court appointed lawyer…you may not like them or choose them but they are still lawyers.

P.S. I’m not good with words…hope you guys can understand what I am saying. HAHA.

[Karen_and_Andy]

They are assigned to us based on our ships. Not by our needs, wants, taste, desires or because they have a passion for it.…To me it is like being assigned a court appointed lawyer…you may not like them or choose them but they are still lawyers.

 

Maddam_5maria, your comment about cruiseline, or better yet, subcontractor, WCs being like court appointed lawyers was such a good analogy. Too, it cracked me up. :)

[Crusin's_girl]

Oh wow, I have nothing short of wonderful experiences when calling Carnival. I have never actually talked to my WC, but everyone else is great! I just call and talk to anyone who answers!

[Poomah]

U go Cruisin's Girl - 19 & 20 - that was 35 years ago and we are still going strong ;) - wouldn't trade my DH for the world. Congratulations and Happy Wedding!

[Crusin's_girl]

U go Cruisin's Girl - 19 & 20 - that was 35 years ago and we are still going strong ;) - wouldn't trade my DH for the world. Congratulations and Happy Wedding!

 

THANK YOU, and Congratulations to you! 35 years is wonderful!

[BeachBrittani]

Has anyone ever used the WC Jenny?

[maddam_5maria]

Has anyone ever used the WC Jenny?

 

I haven't had her but wished I did! I know someone that did have her and had nothing but great things to say about her. You should be pleased!

[BeachBrittani]

I haven't had her but wished I did! I know someone that did have her and had nothing but great things to say about her. You should be pleased!

 

Thanks maddammaria!!! :D