Any other cruise brides out there?

[betandpjk]

Congrats Sarice! I'm glad everything went smoothly.

[Corinnalyn]

Hello Fellow Cruise Brides,

I just received an email from my TA about not needing passports for cruises. I am totally confused because last month there was a big push for them an now the email from the state department says "if you are leaving from a US port and returning from a US port you only need birth cert. and a photo ID". Anyone else receive this email?

I really enjoy this forum it gives me a lot of good ideas for our wedding.

[merocket59]

really?? I just assumed you needed them for the ports of call... it is so confusing!

[Prettyhazardous]

It constantly changes. It's so annoying. I just told ppl that if your only reason for getting a passport is for the wedding than to just opt for the passport card bc it's cheaper.

[Cattie]

I would make sure people get passports. They don't go to waste and are good for 10 years.

 

BTW I posted my cruise review!! We had a fabulous wedding!!

[JaimeandBrandon]

Congrats Cattie!!! I'm so happy for you!

[sm316217]

It has been a long time from my last post in this thread. I am now a married woman!!! I’m the bride that was worried that her 54 guest wouldn’t fit in the chapel on the Mariner of the Seas that holds 40 people max. Well I fudged the total number of guests and provided our wedding coordinator with a total of 40 and we ended up in the Chapel. I loved the Chapel and everyone fit just fine…. We even had some room to spare. All that worry for nothing.

 

We were using Royal Romance (TWE) to handle the plans and they were not the best but OK in the end.

 

We did the wedding in port in the middle of the cruise. I would recommend this over the stressful departure day. The day before the wedding, we went to the beach and relaxed. It was nice.

 

Few mishaps…. The wedding coordinator that TWE provided was totally crappy. She was a local from Jamaica. First thing… she mixed up the music and played “Here comes the bride†when the ministers went down. I was like “hey, that is my song.†Then she turned it off and played the correct song but the problem was that she never changed the song back for me. So I didn’t get to walk down to “Here comes the bride….†This makes me a little sad when I think about it. Also she kept talking and talking… she became center of attention at my wedding. I hated her for that and will not watch our wedding video because of it. The cake was the wrong cake as well (but it was very yummy, so no problem). She also made my dad make a speech at the wedding when he didn’t want to. I complained about it later to TWE and all they could offer was free photo announcements. I really didn’t need them but I took them. Anyways, I tend to block out that part from my memories because everything else was just AWSOME!!!!!

 

Other than that the wedding and cruise was the best! I loved being a BRIDE…. I LOVED IT!!!!!! I love being a cruise bride. Everyone on the ship was so great. The minister they provided was really great. He had that cool Jamaican accent and a great speaking voice, and was so very nice. After the wedding and reception my husband and I left the ship (in our dress and tux) to get some photos outside and there was a line of people waiting to get on and they all cheered. The Chapel on the ship is so pretty. Our photos were so great (I bought the disk, and sadly I had to pay $1,000 for it but they threw in 5X7s of all 250+ photos they took). We had another reception at home and it was so great. I wish I could do it all again.

 

I was a little nervous about having all of our family members with us on the trip but this was great too. We were so busy and the ship is so big. It made it really nice to pass our people in the halls and find them in the bars, pool, etc. Everyone had such a great time. I was such a nervous wreck about the planning but I was happy and relaxed on my wedding day (my parents were a mess, which makes me laugh to think about it).

 

To Future Cruise Brides….. you are in for the time of your life!!!! Stay relaxed. Go with the flow, enjoy your moment.

[sm316217]

One more thing….. If you are getting married in Jamaica…. Our official marriage license came about two months after the wedding. Listed on our official marriage license they give the “Condition of the Groom” and the “Condition of the Bride” as they come to be married. Next to “Condition of the Groom” they listed “Bachelor,” next to “Condition of the Bride” they listed “Spinster.”

 

SPINSTER!!!!!!...... on the Marriage License! My husband likes to tell everyone that he saved me from a life of being a spinster. I just laugh.

[sm316217]

Another bit of advice…..

 

If you are getting married on the ship, when you meet your photographer tell him/her you want a group photo. Your day goes so fast and after the reception everyone scatters to do their own thing. Make an announcement… “Before you all go… lets get a group photo.” This was the first photos that our photographer shot after the wedding. We took it on the stairs with almost all of our party (my husband’s brother and wife didn’t hear the announcement and took off for the island, we didn’t get any shots with them… but that is another story). I love our group photo. I got 8X10s and gave one to our parents, aunts, and many of the guest traveling with us.

[JaimeandBrandon]

Spinster... that's so funny!! I love Jamaica! Congratulations!