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going on weddingmoon cruise



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 1st, 2005, 08:42 PM
char
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Default going on weddingmoon cruise

Hi there. . I'm a 1st time cruiser and going on the Explorer this
November w/ my Fiance and family and friends .. why?? I'm getting
married this November on the beach in St.Thomas when the ship docks for
day. Can anyone help and give me tips and pointers on what to do or
NOT do during our week long cruise which stops at San Juan, St.
Maarten, St.Thomas and Bahamas?? Also, I want to give "welcome gift
bags" to my wedding guests either as they arrive at desk to check in or
have in their cabin waiting for them-- any ideas as to what I can put
in bags that won't be expensive and heavy as I'll have to bring in
suitcase with me? or any idea on how to do this?? I would appreciate
anyone's help .. any excursions that would be of interest? or to
avoid?? Basically, anything you can tell me about your cruise on this
ship would help. Bringing about 25-30 people coming to wedding. Have
four children going so I hope the ship will have plenty for the kids
and I know my parents will love the casino . . You can reply to me at:
or here and I'll try to remember to check this
forum for the answers. . .Thanks everyone! Charlene

  #2  
Old July 1st, 2005, 09:42 PM
LeeNY
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char wrote:
Hi there. . I'm a 1st time cruiser and going on the Explorer this
November w/ my Fiance and family and friends .. why?? I'm getting
married this November on the beach in St.Thomas when the ship docks for
day.


Congratulations.

Can anyone help and give me tips and pointers on what to do or
NOT do during our week long cruise which stops at San Juan, St.
Maarten, St.Thomas and Bahamas??


Tell us what kind of things you like to do. Do you want to plan things
revolving around the water? Are you into historic stuff? Is shopping
your thing?

Also, I want to give "welcome gift
bags" to my wedding guests either as they arrive at desk to check in or
have in their cabin waiting for them-- any ideas as to what I can put
in bags that won't be expensive and heavy as I'll have to bring in
suitcase with me? or any idea on how to do this??


Hmm. Well, getting the stuff into your guests' cabins shouldn't be too
tough, although you might not get it there before they go into their
cabins for the first time. With the help of the cabin stewards assigned
to the cabins, you should, for sure, be able to get stuff into the
cabins at the first night's turn-down cabin service. We've done this a
few times. Seek out the steward assigned to whatever cabin, ask them to
put the gift in the room, and that's it. We got a sense that they were
into the fun of the surprise. Maybe show up 5 or 10 minutes late for
that first evening meal. All your guests will be seated while you're
running around delivering gifts. The cabin stewards are usually out and
about at this time, too.

Your other option is to order something from the catalog that RCI has,
of gifts that can be delivered to the room - flowers, chocolate covered
strawberries, hors d'oeuvres, champagne, gift certificates for stuff on
board like casino, drinks, spa, etc. Usually, there will be a catalog
of stuff included with your cruise documents. Or, if you can't wait
until then, you can probably find what's available on RCI's website.

anyone's help .. any excursions that would be of interest? or to
avoid??


In St. Maarten, I think practically everyone has raved about both the
Golden Eagle Catamaran and the America's Cup Racing Yachts. I did the
catamaran, and it really was a lot of fun. Next time, I think I'm going
to taxi over to Marigot on the French side.

In San Juan, we took one of our very favorite excursions ever. It was
horseback riding on passo fino horses in Dorado, which was a bit of a
drive. We're usually pretty hesitant to book riding tours with
unfamiliar operators, because too often, the horses are in sorry shape,
not well cared for, and so used to the nose-to-tail kind of ride that
it's a bore. Not the case here. Horses were great, ride was great.

Aren't you busy getting married in St. Thomas? If you have a few hours
to hit a beach, I really like Coki for its great snorkeling, beach bar
and restaurant service and relaxed atmosphere. I think the cab is
something like $5-7 per person.

Bahamas - do you have a lot of time there? I don't know what your
itinerary is, but that port always seems to be either a morning or an
afternoon. Lots of people head over to Atlantis to check it out. I've
taken a really great snorkeling tour there. Or, you can just relax on
board - take advantage of discounted spa prices that often pop up on
port days.


Bringing about 25-30 people coming to wedding.


That should be great. We were lucky enough to attend a similar wedding
on Enchantment of the Seas last summer. We also had about that number
of people. The wedding was on Key West. For the most part, everyone did
their own thing during the day, but we all had dinner together each
night.

Best of luck to you. Post a review when you get back!

Lee

  #3  
Old July 1st, 2005, 10:02 PM
Charles
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In article .com,
char wrote:

Hi there. . I'm a 1st time cruiser and going on the Explorer this
November w/ my Fiance and family and friends .. why?? I'm getting
married this November on the beach in St.Thomas when the ship docks for
day.


I hate to bring this up but have you thought about the possibility that
the ship could for various reasons either skip or be late to St.
Thomas? It happens for various reason. For example last year the ship I
was on was about 6 hours late to St. Maartin because of a medical
evacuation. We had a couple of hours there in the evening instead of
the regular schedualed port time.

--
Charles
  #4  
Old July 2nd, 2005, 05:23 AM
Thomas Smith
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Answered in-line

"char" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi there. . I'm a 1st time cruiser and going on the Explorer this
November w/ my Fiance and family and friends .. why?? I'm getting
married this November on the beach in St.Thomas when the ship docks for
day.


Congratulations! Have you (or your travel agent) contacted Royal
Caribbean's wedding department? They have wedding planners that will help
you make arrangements for what you need such as licenses, an officiant, and
other fun plans.

Can anyone help and give me tips and pointers on what to do or
NOT do during our week long cruise which stops at San Juan, St.
Maarten, St.Thomas and Bahamas??


A lot depends on what you want to do and when you will be in port. Saint
Thomas is famous for shopping, but you might be able to find better deals in
San Juan. Where are you going in the Bahamas?

Also, I want to give "welcome gift
bags" to my wedding guests either as they arrive at desk to check in or
have in their cabin waiting for them-- any ideas as to what I can put
in bags that won't be expensive and heavy as I'll have to bring in
suitcase with me? or any idea on how to do this??


You can purchase gifts directly from Royal Caribbean and have them waiting
in the cabins when they arrive. Having them waiting at the check-in desk is
nearly impossible because of the logistics of checking in and out over 3.500
passengers in less than six hours.

I would appreciate
anyone's help .. any excursions that would be of interest? or to
avoid?? Basically, anything you can tell me about your cruise on this
ship would help. Bringing about 25-30 people coming to wedding. Have
four children going so I hope the ship will have plenty for the kids
and I know my parents will love the casino . .


There is an extensive childrens program on board that will keep the kids
busy and out from under everyone's feet all week long.

You can reply to me at:
or here and I'll try to remember to check this
forum for the answers. . .Thanks everyone! Charlene


Hope this helps.

--
I'm Tom Smith, and I approved this message.


  #5  
Old July 2nd, 2005, 08:08 PM
BiG Orange
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Am I the only one here that thinks doing your first cruise as a wedding is a
bad idea?

What happens if they can't go to the port of call? What happens if you don't
take well to cruises and get sick?

BiG Orange


  #6  
Old July 2nd, 2005, 09:51 PM
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Hi Char, which sailing are you on? Somebody I work with has a son
getting married on the Explorer in November, also. They, too, are
getting married on the beach in St. Thomas.

I was married on a cruise three years ago. We had 52 family/friends
that sailed with us, as well as about 8 others who attended the wedding
only. We opted to get married onboard the ship before it left the Port
of Miami to facilitate those who couldn't sail with us but still wanted
to be able to attend the wedding.

Some pointers I can give you. As my TA notified me of new guests who
had booked, I periodically sent out "Cruise Bulletins" letting
everybody know who was going and in which cabin they were booked. I
also updated everyone on flight plans, rehearsal dinner, precruise
hotel, etc.

As our guests were spending their hard-earned money to attend our
wedding (although we did book a 5 night cruise to make it more
affordable for all involved), we wanted to cut down on their expenses
wherever possible. All our guests (at our suggestion) arrived in Miami
the day prior to our sailing and most of us were all on the same
flight. Since we were flying into Ft. Lauderdale but staying overnight
in Miami (since our cruise left from Miami), I didn't want all my
guests to incur the traveling expenses from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami.
We had a 45 passenger bus meet us at Ft. Lauderdale airport and
transport all of us to Miami. We blocked off rooms for a great rate at
Best Western Marina Park Hotel in Miami (now Holiday Inn Port of
Miami). It was a great location, and the night before the ship sailed,
we had a "rehearsal dinner" for all our guests at Bubba Gumps
Restaurant across the street from the hotel at Bayside Market. Nobody
had to worry about transportation, as Bayside is right across the
street from the hotel. We had a pre-set dinner menu, but everybody got
to choose their entree (from a selection of about 8 different entrees).
At the manager's suggestion, rather than paying for an open bar ($13
pp per hour), we just had everybody order whatever they wanted to
drink, and we picked up the tab. The manager was right; it was far
less expensive this way.

The next a.m. all our guests had a free breakfast at the hotel
(included in the group rate we got), and we had hired shuttle buses to
take all our guests to the ship.

Also, I had our TA make arrangements through the cruiseline that all
our dinner seating arrangements would be done so that we all had tables
next to each other at dinner. That worked out well.

As far as wedding favors, we had dolphin shaped bottle openers with our
names and wedding date engraved. We placed them in little taffeta gift
bags, and the wedding coordinator handed them out at the reception
onboard the ship.

Also, since we didn't really need invitations, since those that were
coming had already booked the cruise, I went to a website
www.bottlemeamessage.com and had our wedding invitations made up there.
They were printed on parchment paper, rolled up and placed in corked
glass bottles. The bottles had sand and real tiny seashells in them.
Each family who was coming on the cruise had one mailed to them prior
to the cruise,along with a little pocketbook I ordered at amazon.com
called The Essential Little Cruise Book.

During the cruise itself, everybody was pretty much left to do their
own thing. In port (Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios) we had made
arrangements for excursions, and we invited anyone who would like to
join us (they paid their own excursion costs). We did a private tour
in Ocho Rios, and in Grand Cayman, we booked a snorkel/stingray
excursion with Captain Marvins. Most of our guests came with us.
During sea days, most of us all met at the pool area and hung out.
Since we had a large suite (as did my brother and SIL, right next door
to us), we had an "open door" policy for cocktails in our cabins before
dinner. We just kept our cabin doors open, and everyone meandered in
and out having a cocktail.

If there are any other things I can help you with, don't hesitate to
ask. We had an absolute blast, and we are so glad we decided to get
married on a cruise. It was so much fun and no stress involved.

Jo-Ann

  #7  
Old July 2nd, 2005, 10:08 PM
Jean O'Boyle
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wrote in message
oups.com...
During the cruise itself, everybody was pretty much left to do their
own thing. In port (Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios) we had made
arrangements for excursions, and we invited anyone who would like to
join us (they paid their own excursion costs). We did a private tour
in Ocho Rios, and in Grand Cayman, we booked a snorkel/stingray
excursion with Captain Marvins. Most of our guests came with us.
During sea days, most of us all met at the pool area and hung out.
Since we had a large suite (as did my brother and SIL, right next door
to us), we had an "open door" policy for cocktails in our cabins before
dinner. We just kept our cabin doors open, and everyone meandered in
and out having a cocktail.

If there are any other things I can help you with, don't hesitate to
ask. We had an absolute blast, and we are so glad we decided to get
married on a cruise. It was so much fun and no stress involved.


Gee, Jo-Ann, what a neat wedding!..you really had it planned perfectly! What
I'd like to know is, why wasn't I invited?

--Jean ;-)


  #8  
Old July 2nd, 2005, 11:36 PM
villa deauville
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J-Ann
How long did it take to plan your fairy tale wedding?

SUNNY

S'nd I
XXX

(* _*)

  #9  
Old July 3rd, 2005, 12:49 AM
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Why, Jean, you know that if I had known you, you and Ed surely would
have been invited.

As a matter of fact, Pam and Chuck decided to surprise us and show up.
We still can't believe they managed to pull it off without our knowing
anything. I was shocked when Pam walked up to me in the terminal, but
so happy to see our cruising buddies. I only regret that with all the
guests we had onboard I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I
would have liked, but I think they understood.

Jo-Ann

  #10  
Old July 3rd, 2005, 12:52 AM
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Sunny, we booked the wedding about 14 months before sailing. That gave
our family/friends plenty of time to make arrangements if they chose to
attend the wedding. I would say most of our guests booked over the
next 6-8 months. But really it was an absolute pleasure to plan. It
was so much fun to plan, that Bob and I often say we should plan
another one for a vow renewal.

Jo-Ann

 




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