Any other cruise brides out there?

Hey Jaime I guess we'll let you talk in our forum...lol j/k you're very welcome to talk in here.

Well I am using a Carnival Personal Vacation Planner for booking the cruise (however we are not booking as a group but our PVP is linking the entire group for me). We are doing a group discount with Airtran airlines and we have a St Thomas based WC. Hope that helps.

Thanks Ashley!

 

I've never been on a cruise before so I have lots of questions! First question: How does the whole alcohol thing work? We have lots of drinkers and I heard that alcohol is not included... are drink prices reasonable?

 

Second question: Do you have to be back on the ship a certain amount of time before it departs? Like if you depart from port at 10pm what time do you really have to be back to board the ship?

 

One more question! How much do travel agents charge? Or do they just make money off of your bookings?

 

Thanks in advance for any answers/advice!

 

Jaime

Congrats Jaime! Here are a few answers to your questions...

If the ship departs at 10 p.m. you'll probably have to be back on the ship by 9:15. It's usually between 45-60 minutes before departure.

Alcohol is pricey on the ship. Some people sneak their own stuff on but it doesn't always work and is at your own risk type of thing. There's really no way around paying the high prices expect for asking for your drinks in a regular glass (sometimes they put it in a fancy you keep it kind of glass and up the price).

I'm not sure i've heard great things about the website you mentioned. But I have no personal experience to speak from. I highly recommend getting a good travel agent and a separate wedding coordinator. Most places you book your wedding through will include the services of a wc. I tried to have my TA assist with the wedding portion and it was a big fat communication triangle which never works. If I had a do over for my cruise wedding I would have talked to different TA's to see what perks they could offer our group. I think I may have been able to negotiate more.

Let me know if you have anymore questions!

Thanks Andrea! Do you happen to know how much travel agents usually charge?

See my new siggy! So exciting!!

My TA didn't charge us and was instead paid by RCCL directly. That's why you should shop around and see what services and fees different travel agents have. My TA was willing to help us find a ceremony location. Some deal with travel arrangements only. I was really glad to have a TA because she dealt directly with my guests and all of their cruise and money related questions.

Well I see no price for my PVP on my invoice but I know she gets commission in there somewhere. For me the prices I get with my PVP are always better than if I shop around. And if I find a low price she's able to beat it. (No Carnival doesn't advertise this, but hey it worked for me in the past).

Re Alcohol on the ship I find that the prices are around the same as they would be at a bar at home. My FI and I did the Rum runnners on our last cruise and had no problem. Apparently the cruise ships have gotten savvy with their detection bc apparently someone was caught with rum runners. But we're still gonna try it bc hundreds of ppl have done them with no prob at all.

You usually have to be back at the ship ab an hour be4 it sails. But they will tell you over and over what time to return. If you are going to an island where they tender (such as grand cayman) I'd be back earlier bc there's always a horribly long line (unless of course you wait til the last min, lol).

Hi Ladies! Got back a couple days ago from a wonderful vacation and wedding. It was way better than I could of imagined. Our Royal Romance coordiantors and officiant did a fantastic job! They were all brothers and sisters and went above and beyond handling things once we got on the ship. Of course we were running late..in part due to the slow elevators @ the hotel..but we made it. The cruise was great of course except we had to miss Cozumel, Mexico because of the swine flu.

 

I will suggest if you are shipping your dress to make sure you have business days cushioned before the wedding. This will help in case your dress gets lost which unfortunately was the case for me. Thanks to the quick thinking of the shipper I used I did this and my dress was located and delivered before the wedding.

 

Take your time and enjoy every minute. I want a do over cause it went by so fast ;-)

Congratulations Sarice!! I'm so glad you got your dress in time... I was afraid you were going to say you didn't get your dress!!

 

Thanks for all your answers Andrea and Ashley! I'll have to give my drinking friends those rum runners.

 

Jaime

Jaime, great siggy!