Thread: Cruise Ship Weddings Surge

CRUISES have long been popular with honeymooners looking for a romantic getaway after the wedding. Now, a growing number of brides and grooms are tying the knot on cruise ships and sailing off into the sunset with their entire wedding party in tow.


Practical Traveler - Couples Book a Wedding at Sea for a Better Deal - NYTimes.com

There are just so many ways this can save a couple a lot of money over the cost of a typical land based wedding and reception. Sitting down and working with an agent early on in the process helps it move along and in many cases it does not require as much lead time as a traditional wedding at home.

Here's another article talking about the surge in cruise ship weddings

More brides are going to sea than ever before. Some are even taking along a lot more than the groom.

One New York bride plans on setting sail this month with a contingent of more than 100 guests, says Courtney Recht, Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman.

On the briny, wedding business has increased by as much as 60 percent in the last decade, report the 21 maritime members of Cruise Lines International Association. The attraction, presciently noted years ago in a Royal Caribbean International survey, was that a whopping 95 percent of vacationers rated cruises as ``extremely or very romantic,'' compared with landlubber vacations.

Another reason is convenience. According to the cruise association, almost 35 percent of the group's 16,000 agents say their clients want to combine a wedding with a honeymoon; more than 23 percent say the top reason for a cruise wedding is value.

As a setting for romance, more than 80 percent of agents say nothing beats the Caribbean and Bahamas as favorite wedding destinations.

Today it's a lot easier to tie the knot either at sea or in ports around the globe. More cruise lines now offer shipboard wedding packages, amenities and wedding planning services, including legal marriages performed by ships' captains.

The notion of nautical nuptials was practically codified in 1998, when Princess Cruises, ``the Love Boat'' line, launched bona fide weddings at sea, performed by a ship's captain. According to spokeswoman Carol Maglione, more than 6,000 couples have since taken vows at sea or in port. Princess' weddings at sea are official, because the line's vessels are registered in Bermuda, which recognizes all marriages in international waters.

Besides weddings, many lines also offer honeymoon and vow renewal packages, bachelor and bachelorette parties, even programs for ``popping the question'' -- the ultimate engagement party at sea.

Carnival Cruise Lines, which saw a 60 percent increase in wedding packages in the last decade, anticipates that 2,400 couples will marry aboard its ``Fun Ships'' this year, according to the line's spokesman, Vance Gulliksen.

And options on all lines can read like a vast menu of choices.

Shipboard ceremonies on Carnival, for instance, are available on embarkation day in U.S. ports and many Caribbean destinations. Prices for Carnival's Just for the Bride & Groom package start at $1,195 and include an official civil ceremony, a champagne toast with keepsake flutes, flowers for both bride and groom, a wedding cake with cake topper, pre-recorded wedding music, a decorated bridal aisle and photographic services.

Add some guests, an hour-long open bar and hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, a traditional two-tiered wedding cake and coffee service, and the cost increases to $1,635.

Celebrity Cruises' most popular wedding package is the Nautical Nuptials program, featuring a captain-led wedding ceremony at sea offered on all Celebrity ships except Celebrity Xpedition.

Since 2008, even intimate Azamara Cruises' vessels have made marriage at sea legal on their ships with captain-led wedding ceremonies. Couples tying the knot with Azamara and Celebrity captains can choose from packages that include anything from private receptions in the ship's specialty restaurant to cake, champagne and more. Basic captain-performed wedding packages start at $2,500.

FMI: Cruising into matrimony - Cruises - MiamiHerald.com

I understand trying to keep the cost of a wedding low but I'm not sure I'd want my whole family on my honeymoon with me.

Very happy with my total family on cruise on my honeymoon. I love to travel with my family always.