Questions To Ask Our Cruise Wedding Rep?

[sarasam18]

Hello!! I am getting married in 2015 and we are just starting our planning for a cruise wedding. We have narrowed down our top choice to be Princess. But for brides who have been married on a cruise( any cruise line), could anyone give me some ideas of what to ask our consultant? Does anyone have any tips that may come in handy? Did you come into problems when planning your wedding? Any surprises I should consider(good or bad)? I've got plenty of time to work this all out but I don't want to forget anything!! Any advice would be helpful. ????

 

Thanks!

Sarah

[acw271011]

Congrats and welcome to the site! Good luck with your planning!

[TAkathy]

First of all, Congratulations!

 

Cruise weddings can be a great alternative to an at-home site.  But there are some things that can make them trickier than other types of destination weddings.

 

Princess is a good choice as they have been doing weddings the longest and were the first line to do ceremonies on the ship - the "Love Boat"

 

You will need to decide if you are going to have the ceremony onboard or at a port.  Either can be arranged and there are chapels on the ship for onsite events.  Having something at a port stop is risky if the ship needs to change itineraries at the last minute so you are better of having a ship wedding.  If that is the case you should know:

1) how many weddings are scheduled for the same cruise / same day?

2) Do you need to use the ship florist/photographer or can you supply your own (if you want to do that)

3) How many guests can be accommodated at a ship ceremony?

4) What services does the ship wedding planner provide?

5) who serves as your contact person/event coordinator on the ship?

6) what choices do you have for your reception (a meal or just cake and champagne?)

7) where will the reception be held and what is the timing of the event

8) what number of guests is included in their package pricing and what is the cost for more than the number stated?

 

Regarding the staterooms reserved for guests, it is usually required that you book the cruise reservation before you can secure the wedding date.  That is something you may want professional help with so that you don't have to manage the financial end of that process.  People are going to want different types of accommodations and explaining cruise pricing, room categories and availability can get quite involved and sometimes confusing.  Other fees and policies need to be explained so that guests understand what their costs will be and when the payments will be due.

 

Good Luck with the planning.  Princess is a great choice - one of my favorite cruise lines!

[sarasam18]

Thank you ladies! And what great questions. Some I didn't think about so I made sure to write them down in my planning notebook so when the time comes, I can ask. We won't even know what dates are available for next fall yet for at least another week or so. Its nice to take some time to plan because I can cover all the bases. I'm learning so much already from forums and reviews that I've read. does princess provide a discount if you "block" a certain number of rooms for your guests? I guess I could just make sure they all go through princes or talk to the same rep so everyone is on the same page... Oh and how would you word your save the dates and invites? It seems like its going to get tricky. I don't want to confuse people!! Lol

[TAkathy]

Sara -

A travel agent can help you secure a group booking that is tailored to the needs of your guests. Even then, adjustments are often required as people get familiar with what each type of accommodation offers. These often have a price discount over a standard booking but require a minimum number of rooms (8) to be booked in order to receive the extra amenities a group block affords - they are different depending on the sailing date and itinerary.

When you speak to a Princess Rep, you are speaking with a salesperson - not a travel agent (no matter how they describe themselves).  They are order takers and their job is to get you to make a reservation before you hang up the phone.  There is much more to booking a successful cruise than placing a deposit - especially with a group traveling for a special event. It is important to work with someone who can coordinate the specific details for all the travelers (air, hotels, cruise staterooms, travel insurance) and be able to help people sift through the maze of information they will encounter along the way. No matter how much a Princess rep can tell you about the ship, they won't be able to help you with the other details that will make or break this event.  

Once you have secured the cruise reservation you will be able to book a wedding date.  They want to be sure you are actually committed to taking the cruise before they will secure special ship services as it involves multiple departments to coordinate.

When and where are you wanting to travel from and to what destination?

This will be much easier and less stressful if you work with a trained travel professional who knows how to book and coordinate group cruises.

[da0220]

I'm Planning my Cruise wedding for Jan 31, 2015 / NCL - Sky.  does anyone have any advice.   trying to keep the cost down for the wedding reception.  

[gresley]

Having just had my cruise wedding, I can't stress this enough:

 

Get the name of the on boat coordinator.

 

We had been dealing with the group coordinator, thinking she'd be the one we'd handle the whole time. We found out a week beforehand that she made the reservations, but there was another, different coordinator who handled everything at sea, and anything further would have to go through her. Who we had never talked to before.

 

It unfortunately happened that there were a lot of problems and miscommunications with the ship. Having the group coordinator's name (and the name of her boss!) helped smooth things over a lot.

[BarbaraBusybee]

Thank you this helped a lot.

[Brinley]

A lot of good information.

[zupochka]

This is very helpful - thank you ladies!