Married at Sea: Cruise Ship Weddings

Last year alone over 2 000 weddings where held aboard various cruise ships. This no doubt attest to the fact that cruise ship weddings are a very special experience indeed. As a result of the growing popularity, many cruise lines are now also offering services aimed directly at those who wish to be married at sea. Among the things they can help you with is hiring special wedding planners to have with you on the voyage to even having a real wedding chapel on board.

Depending on the cruise line of your choice, you can be as involved as you want to be in the planning process. Many cruise lines now have full-time wedding planners who make planning your cruise ship wedding a breeze. Once you tell them how you have envisioned your wedding, they will take care of the rest. No need for you to personally search for florists, caterers, or bands; they take care of it all. Your cruise ship wedding can take place on board the vessel or in one of the ports of call. And with the exception of your clergy member (a few cruise lines provide clergy, though with the growth in popularity of cruise ship weddings, more and more lines are providing clergy), you have nothing to bring except yourself and other wedding attendees!

Planning your cruise ship wedding

Weddings in general have a very broad price range, and cruise ship weddings are no exception. For just below $800 you can have a wedding with Carnival cruise lines, which is certainly a most affordable deal. This actually holds true for cruise ship weddings in general, as it is possible to have an almost luxurious wedding for a very attractive price. Depending on how far you want to take it, there are naturally also more expensive choices available.

With a cruise ship wedding, you have a few options when it comes to your guests. You can get married right before the cruise begins (either on the ship or in the port city) with your family and friends, and then enjoy the cruise as your honeymoon. Many couples choose to get married in a port city while on their cruise, and the guests can then travel to join them at this location. The newlyweds then can get back on the ship to enjoy the next few days on their own together.

Others prefer to book the entire wedding entourage - or at least their closest family, on the entire cruise - giving them a real treat at the same time. A compromise between the two alternatives is to have the guests board the ship for the wedding ceremony and party (mid-cruise), and then get off at the next port. Check with the various cruise ship lines you are considering first, as all of them do not necessarily offer all these alternatives.

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