Carnival Liberty Wedding Review May 2, 2010

[CruiseBride10]

Hi Everyone!

We are back from our cruise wedding! We had such an amazing time.
56 of our friends and family flew from Canada to Miami and sailed with us on the Carnival Liberty May 1-8. I thought I would break down my review because it is so long.

Carnival Wedding Coordinator

This was the only aspect of the cruise wedding we were surprised with. The wedding coordinator we dealt with prior to the wedding was Carolina and she was excellent. We had a lot of questions and she was very patient with us. They contacted us two weeks prior to our departure with our ceremony time and location. We were given the rooms we requested which was great.

Carolina told us the onboard wedding co-ordinator would contact us the night before the wedding (first day of cruise) but we did not hear from her. She told us after she thought we were late seating dining and game to the dining room to speak to us. Later that night my bridesmaids and I were getting things ready and I decided to call guest services and they transferred my call no problem.

The morning of the wedding the wedding coordinator met us at the hair salon to collect our passports, sail & sign cards, & marriage application original (requirements for Bahamas). She also took some items I had for the reception like my cake topper, guestbook, & first dance music.

My FH told me after their was an issue before the ceremony because the wedding coordinator told the officiant she did not have these documents and that he was responsible for taking these to the ceremony. My husband is a high stress individual so needless to say this but him over the edge a little. Everything worked out and the coordinator realized she left the documents in her office so it was no big deal.

Before I entered the ceremony an employee from the offiicant office handed me a customs claim form to fill out. This was unexpected and I would of rather do this earlier that morning but I got it done after the third try after making mistakes on the first two loll.

Overall these were only minor things and they in no way impacted our day. I thought I would share my experience just as a heads up.

Hair/Makeup

Myself and my bridesmaids made hair appointments as soon as we boarded the cruise on Saturday. The salon/spa was open right away and they had no trouble accommodating 10 appointments. Our appointments started at 9 am and we were all ready by 11 am. Everyone was really impressed with their hair and the stylist were very friendly. Each updo was between $50 - $65. If you ask for a rhinestone clip it will add another $20.

I was expecting to have my makeup done in the salon as well but was surprised they do not offer this service. I didn't check this out before hand so it was my own fault. My brother-in-law ended up doing our make-up and did a fabulous job.


Ceremony

We were married on board the ship while docked in Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.
The ceremony took place in the Tapestry Room at 1 p.m. About 20 minutes before my FH and the groomsmen went down to great and seat the guests as they arrived at the Tapestry Room. We were waiting for the coordinator to come get us but we just headed down on our own. The ceremony was about 15-20 minutes and was perfect! After exiting we greeted out guests and directed them to the reception location. We then signed the registrar and posed for pictures with the bridal party and our family.

Reception

The reception blew us away! We booked the 1.5 hr cocktail reception. It took place in the stage lounge and was decorated so beautifully. We had a guestbook table set up with petals I had brought along and the cake was gorgeous with silk flowers I had brought. We hired the trio for the reception and it was a latin band called Mambo Magic. They were excellent and they also took on the MC duties as well. We also brought a cd with our first dance, parent-child dance, as well as songs for the garter & bouquet. The band also set this up for us.

Our guests are still talking about the food at the reception. The platters were always being refilled and they were as full at the end of the reception as they were at the beginning. The drinks were just as abundant as well. The bar staff had 30 or 40 drinks ready waiting on the bar, their were table service waiters, and the bar would make any drink at request. Needless to say this made for a lot of funny dance moves to Mambo Magic later in the reception.

Photography

This was by far the best surprise. Our photographer was Melbin and he did an outstanding job. He was very patient with us during the posed portraits and took a lot of candid shots as well. We were so happy with his photographs. We met with Melbin the last night of the cruise to review the photos and decide on a package. We spent a lot more than we had planned. We got about 90 8x10's, 65 5x7's, and 3 16x20 canvas wall art prints for $2000. We definitely could have worked him down to a better price but we were rushed to make it to supper and he was too cute to barter with.

I'll try to post some photos as soon as I find out how.

[Cindy*]

Congratulations. It sounds like you had a great wedding.

[Girasole]

Congrats! Sounds like a great trip!

[wendyjd]

Congrats, sounds like a great time!!

[Mrs.B]

Congratulations! It sounds as if you had an amazing time.

[Cincee]

Congrats! Can I ask a few questions? I thinking of doing my wedding next year in a port, but have not decided which cruise. How long was you reception? Did you do a luncheon/dinner or cocktail and hors d'oeuvers? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[sgray]

Can't wait to see pics...Congrats!

[goodtoglow]

Congrats again!

Did you have a lunch reception? Since I am not planning on booking my wedding with Carnival, but rather an on-island coordinator, they won't allow me to book a room for a catered reception. I would have preferred to buy a reception package including open bar, instead we are renting out the Steakhouse and paying for "ghost guests" so that we have a private reception. I wish there was a way to work around this

[AishaB]

Sounds like it was wonderful (except for a few hitches). Thanks for sharing. Congratulations and good luck!

[CruiseBride10]

 

 

Originally Posted by goodtoglow 

 

Congrats again!

Did you have a lunch reception? Since I am not planning on booking my wedding with Carnival, but rather an on-island coordinator, they won't allow me to book a room for a catered reception. I would have preferred to buy a reception package including open bar, instead we are renting out the Steakhouse and paying for "ghost guests" so that we have a private reception. I wish there was a way to work around this

 

 

Hi Goodtoglow!

 

I am going to be on the same cruise you are getting married on next May. Our friends got engaged the last night of our cruise and they are getting married in Ocho Rios on May, 12!

 

We did not have the lunch reception.  We had the 1.5 hr cocktail reception and then had supper in the dining room.  It is too bad they won't let you have a reception but the steakhouse is suppose to be amazing! A lot of our family and friends went to the steakhouse for a night and they all said it was fabulous! They all said they wish they would of booked it the steakhouse for supper every night.

 

I'm not sure how to post my pictures but if you post your email I can forward them along.

 

Let me know if I you have any more questions.  

 

Talk soon.