So, can anyone help with advice on travel agents and getting married on a cruise???

Question

I have never used one. So, I guess my question would be do I pay them? and if so how much? or does whatever company you book with pay them. I am just trying t get a idea bc I want to either get married on a cruise or take a cruise and get off to get married. But, I have NO clue to how much $ that would be... I know that I wouldnt pay for my guest.. They would pay for there own tickets and I would only have close family. And Im guessing maybe an agent would be able to give me that info.

Answer 1

Call a travel agent and speak to them over the phone:

getting married on a cruise ship is nice, but it does require quite a bit of planning: Here is some info to get you started:

http://www.vacationstogo.com/wedding_cru...

Good Luck

Answer 2

Most of the information that has been given is pretty accurate except for the person who said guests aren't allowed on board.  Generally, on the day of the wedding, everyone involved in the wedding is granted early boarded (including your guests).  In order for the guests to be given passes, they must be on the security list.  This is information that needs to be furnished to the cruise lines ahead of time.  It consists of the person's full legal name, birthdate & drivers license number. Everyone is required to show a photo ID on pier day.  When everyone has arrived, the entire party is escorted on board by the wedding planner.  Guests have to be off the ship 1 hour before scheduled sailing time.  

Don't specify the starboard side of the ship, ask for the water side.  Depending on the port and the pier , the water side will vary.  

Hope this helps

Answer 3

Cruise agents collect a commission from the cruise line.   So, you should not have to pay them anything.  Some agents charge a service charge on top of the commission they collect.  I have a fantastic agent who does not charge any additional fees, even if you have to cancel for some reason.  Given him a call and see if he can help you out ...

Bob DeAgazio

Regional Manager, San Diego

7777 Girard Ave, Suite 106

LaJolla, CA 92037

Direct: 858-459-0681  ext. 1421

Toll Free:  800-869-0674

Fax:  [phone]

www.worldviewtravel.com

Virtuoso Member-- "Specialists in the Art of Travel"

Answer 4

First of all when you book a cruise the cruise line pays the travel agent, you don't pay anything to the agent.  The only exception is if you decide not to use the cruise line air and have the travel agent book the air travel for you.  In that case the agent MAY charge about $10 per ticket because the airlines do not pay commissions.  

Second, if you get married on ship the only persons who can attend the wedding will be the guests who have paid for the cruise.  Cruise lines no longer allow visitors on ships.  The post 9/11 regulations have led to a lot more security on ships.  Most of the cruise line web sites have a statement right on there saying we do not allow guests.

Third, the agent can help you decide on a cruise and book it for you and your guests.  But the travel agent will not plan your wedding; he/she may be able to refer you to places where you can have your wedding, like in the Bahamas, or at a resort somewhere.  You really have a lot of decisions to make about the cruise, including where you want to cruise to, which cruise line you should go with AND which ship, when you want to go, and what type cabin you want.

Most every cruise ship, especially on the newer ships, have a small wedding chapel where you can get married.  Some of the cruise line wed sites have information about their wedding packages and others you have to call the line and speak with their weddings coordinator.  Usually the number for that person is right on the cruise line web site.

I have been on about 20 cruises on 4 different cruise lines and I think that you should go with one of the better cruise lines like Princess, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean.  So here are some leads for you.

Celebrity Cruise Line weddings:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/whyceleb...

Princess Cruise Line:

http://www.princess.com/romance/light/ar...

Royal Caribbean Cruise line:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcr...

Answer 5

If you call the cruise company, they can give you lots of info. I had my marriage vows renewed on a Princess cruise. I had flowers set up for me  and they took us to a special room with the captain, gave us a certificate and a picture. It was very nice. I have also seen several weddings on board ship. All of the Princess ships have their own chapels on them. In fact if you go to Princess.com, then click on ships, you can see several of the ships chapels. They can arrange everything for you. There web site will give you lots of info.

Answer 6

Easy part first: You generally don't pay travel agents.  The cruise lines pay them.  Well, OK, Expedia and a few others charge $20, but most don't.  You also don't have to go through a travel agent, you can book directly through the cruise line.

As for weddings on cruise ships: Yay!  I think that's wonderful. It's a great way to have someone else worry about all the details, and know that you will get a great result.

A few things to be aware of:

-Royal Ocean Events ( http://www.royalwed.com/ ) handles weddings for Carnival, Holland America Line and Regent.  Not sure who does the other cruise lines, but I don't think it's the cruise lines themselves, and it's definitely not done by travel agents. Their site has lots of information and prices.

-You will always get married in port, not at sea.  (You can do a "vow renewal ceremony" at sea but not a legally binding wedding.)  Ask for a venue on the starboard side of the ship, so you have a view of the water, not the pier.  =)

-Guests can come aboard just for the day so you don't have to make everyone cruise with you.  However, you can only have around 50 guests come for the day.  If you want more, they will have to cruise with you.  (I can confirm this from personal observation in 2007, on Holland America Line, and 2006 on Carnival.  While you DO have to get security clearance for all your guests in advance, you CAN do this.)

-Rough costs (this is from memory, so probably not exact): $1,800 for Royal Ocean Events which includes the officiant, flowers, and general taking-care-of-details.  Add the cost of food and drinks for the reception (totally depends on what you want and how many people -- generally cheaper though than a nice restaurant on land), $60 for the marriage license, plus the cost of your cruise.

- If the timing works, I highly recommend a repositioning cruise for a wedding, such as Vancouver - Seattle - LA, with the wedding in Seattle.  This way you and select guests can get on the night before (Vancouver), have a nice, leisurely rehearsal dinner, and be relaxed for the big day (in Seattle).

If you have other guests cruise with you, I urge you to find a very good travel agent (if you don't have one, call the Virtuoso network -- 1-866-401-7974) or book through the cruise line directly.  It'll be important that the right people are at the right dinner table, etc. and frankly a lot of travel agents just aren't that helpful.

By the way, if you do decide to do a cruise, please consider sharing your experience -- I'm sure a lot of people would love to read your stories and see pictures!  You can get a free Cruise Journal at:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/journals

Congratulations and very best wishes!