The Romance of the High Seas

A Cruise Ship Wedding or Honeymoon

Who hasn't longed for the romance of the open seas with the breeze blowing over the ship and the sounds of the seas rippling as you cruise?  

Cruise ship weddings are romantic.  They are relaxing, they are all inclusive and you are automatically on your honeymoon!  You'll have your lodging aboard the ship, all the food you can eat whenever you want to eat, free world class entertainment and transportation to exotic ports. 

Onboard you'll find a casino that is open during sailing,  a fitness center, spa, beauty salon, tuxedo rentals, shopping, swimming pools, lounges, a disco, library and more.  A few ships have ice skating rinks, rock climbing walls in additon to the usual amenities. Your cruise ship is a floating city.  You can engage in activities or not, its your choice!

No need to worry about where you are heading for dinner or making dinner reservations.   Everyone laughs the first time they cruise.  It just seems wrong to get up from the table without paying and without tipping the waiter.  All the tips are handled through the cruise line and are probably much less than you'd tip on a land vacation.

You can dress for dinner or have room service deliver it to your stateroom.  You can join in the Newleywed Game or lounge on deck.  Its all up to you, its your vacation!

The basic guidelines for getting married on a cruise ship are fairly simple. 

• You MUST be sailing on the ship to be married on the ship, but you may have guests onboard if you marry in port before sailing. 
• You are responsible for obtaining your marriage licence.
•  You will be married by a goverment approved official and NOT the ships captain.  You may bring aboard your own clergyman to perform the wedding.
• You must make and pay for all arrangements in advance and it is advised you arrive a day prior to sailing.

You will be working with a wedding specialist from the cruise line or from an independent consultant that works exclusively with your cruise line to make all the wedding arrangements.  They'll give you the information you need to obtain your marriage licence. 

The cruise line packages the wedding services.  Each package is different and prices vary according to the services you choose.   You'll have the services of a photographer, the wedding coordinator, the clergyman.  You'll get a bride's bouquet and groom's boutinere, a cake, a champagne or sparkling juice toast and some ship commemoratives in the basic packages.  You can include a wedding luncheon for your guests or have a mini reception onboard, or it can just be the two of you.  The prices actually depend on your boarding port if you are getting married in port.

Most cruise ship weddings take place in port before the ship sails.  They can take place in the ship's chapel, a drawing room or lounge.  You are able to have non sailing guests come aboard for the ceremony and reception.   Of course, your guests can sail with you.  The ships are large enough that you can have your privacy and still enjoy your guests on your terms.

The exception is Princess Cruise line's Grand Princess.   They have a wedding chapel onboard and the captain is licened to perform legal weddings at sea.  Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas has a wedding chapel, but weddings must be performed in port.

After the ceremony, you'll be escorted to various parts of the ship to take photos and to perhaps have your first dance as man and wife.  Here's a tip:  Keep your wedding attire on during the evening.   Everyone on the ship will congratulate you and celebrate with you. Someone may even send you a bottle of champagne or buy you a drink!

You may be surprised to find out that you aren't the only wedding on the ship.  If you sail on a Sunday, you'll probably see a lot of newleyweds from the day before sailing with you.  You can ask your cruise consultant to seat you with other newleyweds or to seat you alone.  A lot of the newleyweds enjoy being seated together because they can do shore excursions together and everyone is on their honeymoon!

Carnival cruise lines does over 2,000 weddings a year.   Carnival can arrange weddings for you on or off the ship:

When you choose your cabin, make sure you get an outside cabin or a cabin with a balcony.  With an inside cabin you'll miss all the beautiful scenery when the ship glides into port and the beautiful sunsets while at sea.  Its your honeymoon, the small amount of money to upgrade to sailing with a view is definitely worth the money spent.

If you choose a balcony cabin, you can have breakfast delivered to your cabin and dine on the balcony in your bathrobes.  Very romantic and very relaxing! Its a very calm place to read a book and relax with a tropical drink or just enjoy the open seas. 

Don't overpack for your cruise!  The cabins are not very large, but they are very space effecient and very comfortable.  Carnival has the largest size regular cabins.  All the cabins have storage, but if you bring too many suitcases, you may be tripping over them.  The ships all have onboard laundries, so you can send clothing off to be cleaned if necessary.  Some even have washer and dryers available for you to use.

You need to bring:

Your wedding dress and wedding accessories.

A swimsuit & sunscreen and after sun lotions.  They are pricey on the ship. 

Sunglasses.

Beach shoes, sandals, flip flops

Tee shirts, short and casual daytime on board or on shore clothes.

Workout clothes and gym shoes. 

Comfortable walking shoes.

A light sweater for inside the ship because sometimes the air conditioning is chilly.

Dressier dinner clothes...slacks, skirts, dresses, pant suits.  You cannot wear shorts in the dressing room for dinner. 

One really dressy outfit for the captain's dinner.

Cameras and waterproof disposable cameras.  You'll pay almost double on the ship for a disposable water camera.   Bring your camera charger and enough memory on your digital camera for all the pictures you take on the cruise.

Binoculars.

Prescription medications and over the counter medications like Tylenol and antacids. 

The cruise ship supplies beach towels for on and off ship excursions. No need to pack a beach towel.   You also won't need to bring a hair dryer, bathrooms are equipped with them.  A tote bag is great for toting your beach towels and lotions on shore, but the cruise line will give you a large plastic tote bag if you forget.

 Tips from experienced cruisers:

Choose a cabin in the center of the ship if you are prone to motion sickness.  You won't feel the motion in the center of the ship, but you will in the front and aft of the ship.  The best cabin locations are near the center not too far from the elevators or stairs. If you choose about 4 cabins away from the elevators, it'll be quieter.  It'll save you a long walk because the new ships are huge!  Also, avoid cabins above or below the show areas and disco, you are liable to hear the music.

Bring along an electrical outlet strip for extra electrical outlets.  Most cruise ships only have one or two electrical outlets.  Use it to charge your cell phone, your alarm clock, hair dryer, curling iron, electric shaver and more.  You will be surprized to see that you have sporadic cell phone service in the islands, even when cruising! 

Buy an inexpensive over the door shoe holder with pockets.   Hang it over the inside bathroom door for extra places to put your lotions and hairbrushes. 

Buy an insulated  beverage cup so you can keep it full of ice water, ice tea or lemonade without having to go to the Lido deck to refill it or buying expensive bottled water.   Don't drink the bottled water or soda in your cabin, you'll be billed for it.  Soft drinks and alcohol are not free! 

Pack a swim suit in your carry on.  You won't get your luggage in your cabin until later in the day.  If you decide to go up on deck, you'll have your swimsuit.