Royal Wedding on Oasis Class

[MrsBMoore]

Hello All,

 

I am recently engaged and am looking to get married on the Oasis or Allure of the seas ships next summer. I have completed 3 cruises, a 4th one this summer and our wedding cruise will be our 5th. I am a platinum C&A Member also; so I am very loyal to Royal Caribbean and love cruising on their ships. I can't seem to find any personal experiences about any wedding ceremonies that happened aboard the ship through all of my searches on google. Is there anyone that can give me any insight or advice on getting married on the ship?

I am open to any and all suggestions. The wedding onboard the ship is something i definately want to do; im absolutely sure about that. Can't really book anything or pick a date because Royal Caribbean hasn't released the June or July 2015 cruise dates yet. I know the summer is Hurricane season, is it better to book or plan before August to avoid rain?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Nikki

[Matt]

Welcome and congrats on getting engaged Nikki!

 

I know Royal Caribbean re-did their entire wedding packages back in October 2012: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2012/10/31/royal-caribbean-offers-new-weddings-sea

 

I can't offer any firsthand information other than you can actually get married onboard, whereas in the past you had to technically get married off the ship for legal reasons but that's all changed.

 

In terms of avoiding rain, June, July and August are definitely the rainy seasons in the tropics but June & July tends to be less active hurricane wise than August through October.  Not saying you won't have a hurricane but odds are better.  If you can, yes, I think June/July might be a better choice all things considered.

[Tylor]

Hi Nikki,

 

Congratulations on your recent engagement! My wife and I were married on Liberty of the Seas in 2008 in Miami, Florida (the port Liberty was home ported at the time). We had a group of 10 sail with us and the over all experience was wonderful. I do know the process has changed a bit though. Back in 2008 only a marriage officiant could marry, but now I believe that a captain can marry. Also legal ceremonies had to take place either in a US port or while docked at an island. But I believe this has changed too. Now you can have a ceremony at sea in international water. I could be wrong, but I have read this on Cruise Critic. 

 

Royal Romance (now called Royal Weddings) did all of the leg work, which made things very easy. Since we got married in Miami, Royal Caribbean obtained our State of Florida wedding license on our behalf. This is something some states allow, some don't. Most you have to show up in person to get a marriage license. With island ceremonies, you are at the mercy of whatever their rules are for obtaining a marriage license. The first thing to do is to contact Royal Weddings and go over what you want and check on dates, when sailings become available.

 

And if you get marriage on Oasis or Allure you'll get some amazing photographs that you'll be able to take home with you at the end of your cruise. Ship photographers took us all over the ship for photos!

 

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions. 

 

Posing with our wedding officiant Marty. She was amazing!

 

Taken in the wedding chapel on Liberty of the Seas.

 

 

 

We have a photo of us sitting in the Morgan with the sign switched to Just Married.

[Matt]

Great photos Tylor!

[Don]

Tylor response wins prize for most pertinent & helpful of the year.

[MrsBMoore]

Thanks a bunch. The information i have read is that you can get married while the ship is moving which is most exciting. My fiance just told me that they are moving the Allure ships to Barcelona next year, so it will be on the Oasis of the Seas. Since they are pretty much the same ship, its not a big deal. We did photos last summer, and they are awesome (very expensive IMO) but they were beautifully taken. I have been doing a lot of research but thanks for your input so far, is definately helping.

Also, Tyler your pics are awesome. Thanks again!

[Bryce G.]

On a related note, has anyone ever witnessed or heard about people getting engaged on a Royal cruise ship? In a...public...manner? Perhaps with the help of Royal Caribbean (ie- microphone & proposal in MDR/Royal promenade, etc)?

[Matt]

On a related note, has anyone ever witnessed or heard about people getting engaged on a Royal cruise ship? In a...public...manner? Perhaps with the help of Royal Caribbean (ie- microphone & proposal in MDR/Royal promenade, etc)?

I haven't witnessed one yet

[CruiserDudeBobby8]

my dream is to get married on Allure,

[Bryce G.]

my dream is to get married on Allure,

I'm thinking about getting engaged on Allure. :-)

[Tylor]

On a related note, has anyone ever witnessed or heard about people getting engaged on a Royal cruise ship? In a...public...manner? Perhaps with the help of Royal Caribbean (ie- microphone & proposal in MDR/Royal promenade, etc)?

 

Bryce,

 

RoyalCaribbean.com > All About Cruising > Royal Weddings > Wedding Packages > Royal Proposal

 

Starting at $450

 

For a romantic surprise, Royal Romance can arrange a marriage proposal for your special occasion complete with everything you need to "pop the question" in style.

• Choosing an ideal onboard setting with input from a Royal Romance Specialist
• Coordination of details that ensure the perfect proposal moment
• Cruise program administrator available onboard the ship for consultation
• Single long-stemmed red rose
• Champagne breakfast-in-bed for two
• Chocolate-covered strawberries in your stateroom one evening at turn-down

 

;)

[Bryce G.]

Bryce,

 

RoyalCaribbean.com > All About Cruising > Royal Weddings > Wedding Packages > Royal Proposal

 

;)

Thanks Tylor. $450 starting!? Good lord. Jake would actually be ANGRY with me if he saw I spent that much for champagne, strawberries, and "advice" on where to propose! Haha.

[Tylor]

Thanks Tylor. $450 starting!? Good lord. Jake would actually be ANGRY with me if he saw I spent that much for champagne, strawberries, and "advice" on where to propose! Haha.

 

I know it's pricey. I guess you pay somewhat of a premium to have them "involved". If I remember correctly my wedding was $1,850 for just a ceremony in the chapel and champagne toast w/ strawberries. No reception, cake or anything else. Photos were all extra too. But, it's the price of love.  :rolleyes:

[Bryce G.]

No. The price of love is when I see a photographer packing up, and I slip him a $50, and gesture at him to "follow me," and I walk out on deck and propose. And the photographer gets a bunch of shots. (which i will pay for later, obviously).

 

Either that, or I can propose WHILE we're getting formal night photos taken--just not romantic AT ALL.

[bcarney]

Thanks Tylor. $450 starting!? Good lord. Jake would actually be ANGRY with me if he saw I spent that much for champagne, strawberries, and "advice" on where to propose! Haha.

 

Gosh, for $450 I think I'd just pony up the extra money and book a suite, and then ask the concierge if they could arrange having the the photographer at the right place and right time.  And then you've got the suite to celebrate in!

 

Get photos if you can - I proposed to Emily at sunset on the top of Brockway Mountain (way up at the tip of the upper peninsula).  While the images are in my head, it's a bit difficult to have extra prints made for friends and family, LOL. 

 

I hope Jake doesn't peruse these message boards, otherwise the surprise will be spoiled! ;)  Enjoy your proposal and treasure the moment. :)  

[CruiserDudeBobby8]

I'm thinking about getting engaged on Allure. :-)

 

im sure its very romantic! i have the same idea as you propose at sea

[Lks]

I will be getting married on the Allure in June. Most of the experiences I've read about are on wedding site forums like The Knot. Though I still can't find much for weddings at sea, as most seem to get married in port.

 

From what I've read, some people have problems with the Royal Romance department, and I can understand why. The reps you talk to when you call are just basic reps and not wedding coordinators (at least that's what I was told when a problem arose). Every time I called they answered my questions right away and were great but apparently just telling me what I wanted to hear. I called numerous times with questions, especially about the date we want (very specific but is an at sea day) I was constantly reassured they would NOT pick my date. The contract came (wrong one but got that fixed) and called again concerning some wording about date, again they assured me they would not pick the date. So we pay up and months go by. Depending on how far in advance you start planning this can happen, we started in November and they really don't do much with you until 80-90 days out from sailing. I called with a question the reps couldn't answer (time of wedding and when would I find that out) and ended up talking to the person who handled the contract for us only to find out they won't confirm a date for me, I wouldn't find that out until embarkation. I was really upset seeing as though I'd called and asked a few times before even signing the contract. After many hours on the phone, going round and round (I fully understand the policy that if something happens the captain or first mate MAY not be able to marry us but was NOT okay with them telling me my wedding could be at any time during the sailing). We finally compromised on a requested wedding date (you can request a specific date but will only tell you, you have a 50/50 shot at getting what you request) and if for some reason the captain or first mate can't marry us it will change from a legal ceremony to a symbolic one. No price adjustment and I have to forfeit the $ for our marriage license but I still get a ceremony on the day I want.

 

We are in the process of making ceremony decisions now and getting our license paperwork in order.

I am really hoping that once we are on board our experience is better than what we've seen so far. For the money we are paying for the at sea wedding (almost $5000 once the cost of the marriage license is included) and the cruise I expected better service. This will be our first cruise with Royal and the Royal wedding at sea package is the most expensive of all the cruise lines I talked to. So far they seem a bit hands off (I had to request the wedding brochures and other information be sent to me, it was never offered), once a problem arose I was sent an email regarding the time line and what would happen when but never saw that before hand. If we (and some guests) hadn't already booked and paid for the cruise I may have just cancelled and gone with a different cruise line.

 

I would say as long as you know you have to stay on top of everything, making the effort to contact them and get what you need, and as long as you get EVERYTHING in writing, things should be fine. They certainly won't hold your hand through the process or even give you much guidance.

 

That's my experience so far and we are at 73 days out. We are sailing June 8th with the wedding Friday the 13th (yes really :) ) Its a Friday the 13th with a full moon and that won't happen again for 35 years, hence why we need that date. I just hope we don't have a superstitious captain. ;)

[Caz]

Lks - I would be REALLY interested to know about your experience. I am planning a wedding on Brilliance of the Seas in April 2016. I was told that they won't even talk to you about dates/times until 2 months out from the sail date. But, they want you to sign the contract and pay for everything in advance. I'm very hesitant to do that because I don't see why I would pay everything up front before knowing what I am getting.  They won't even tell me if I can have an outside wedding. Actually, won't even tell me what locations are available on their ships for an outside wedding.  Not cool.

I want my wedding outside, on a day when the ship is at sea at about 5pm. How hard is that for them to agree to 22 months out?

I am not planning on having a reception. We have our dinner in the formal dinning room for 6pm each night so I want to get married at 5 and then use our regular dinner in the formal dinning room as our reception - cutting down our costs.  It's super frustrating.

Please, please, please update this blog with your experience. It will really help me figure out what I am going to do.

Thank you!

[Tylor]

I will be getting married on the Allure in June. Most of the experiences I've read about are on wedding site forums like The Knot. Though I still can't find much for weddings at sea, as most seem to get married in port.

 

From what I've read, some people have problems with the Royal Romance department, and I can understand why. The reps you talk to when you call are just basic reps and not wedding coordinators (at least that's what I was told when a problem arose). Every time I called they answered my questions right away and were great but apparently just telling me what I wanted to hear. I called numerous times with questions, especially about the date we want (very specific but is an at sea day) I was constantly reassured they would NOT pick my date. The contract came (wrong one but got that fixed) and called again concerning some wording about date, again they assured me they would not pick the date. So we pay up and months go by. Depending on how far in advance you start planning this can happen, we started in November and they really don't do much with you until 80-90 days out from sailing. I called with a question the reps couldn't answer (time of wedding and when would I find that out) and ended up talking to the person who handled the contract for us only to find out they won't confirm a date for me, I wouldn't find that out until embarkation. I was really upset seeing as though I'd called and asked a few times before even signing the contract. After many hours on the phone, going round and round (I fully understand the policy that if something happens the captain or first mate MAY not be able to marry us but was NOT okay with them telling me my wedding could be at any time during the sailing). We finally compromised on a requested wedding date (you can request a specific date but will only tell you, you have a 50/50 shot at getting what you request) and if for some reason the captain or first mate can't marry us it will change from a legal ceremony to a symbolic one. No price adjustment and I have to forfeit the $ for our marriage license but I still get a ceremony on the day I want.

 

We are in the process of making ceremony decisions now and getting our license paperwork in order.

I am really hoping that once we are on board our experience is better than what we've seen so far. For the money we are paying for the at sea wedding (almost $5000 once the cost of the marriage license is included) and the cruise I expected better service. This will be our first cruise with Royal and the Royal wedding at sea package is the most expensive of all the cruise lines I talked to. So far they seem a bit hands off (I had to request the wedding brochures and other information be sent to me, it was never offered), once a problem arose I was sent an email regarding the time line and what would happen when but never saw that before hand. If we (and some guests) hadn't already booked and paid for the cruise I may have just cancelled and gone with a different cruise line.

 

I would say as long as you know you have to stay on top of everything, making the effort to contact them and get what you need, and as long as you get EVERYTHING in writing, things should be fine. They certainly won't hold your hand through the process or even give you much guidance.

 

That's my experience so far and we are at 73 days out. We are sailing June 8th with the wedding Friday the 13th (yes really :) ) Its a Friday the 13th with a full moon and that won't happen again for 35 years, hence why we need that date. I just hope we don't have a superstitious captain. ;)

 

Lks, I hope your wedding was wonderful. One thing to note, Royal Romance is a separate contractor from Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean does not manage its own wedding and vowel renewal program. Royal Caribbean subcontracts spa services and its onboard shopping as well. I did have a few issues with my royal romance people, but once onboard the wedding coordinator and officiant were wonderful.

 

Lks - I would be REALLY interested to know about your experience. I am planning a wedding on Brilliance of the Seas in April 2016. I was told that they won't even talk to you about dates/times until 2 months out from the sail date. But, they want you to sign the contract and pay for everything in advance. I'm very hesitant to do that because I don't see why I would pay everything up front before knowing what I am getting.  They won't even tell me if I can have an outside wedding. Actually, won't even tell me what locations are available on their ships for an outside wedding.  Not cool.

 

I want my wedding outside, on a day when the ship is at sea at about 5pm. How hard is that for them to agree to 22 months out?

 

I am not planning on having a reception. We have our dinner in the formal dinning room for 6pm each night so I want to get married at 5 and then use our regular dinner in the formal dinning room as our reception - cutting down our costs.  It's super frustrating.

 

Please, please, please update this blog with your experience. It will really help me figure out what I am going to do.

 

Thank you!

 

Caz, I understand your frustration with locations and dates. One thing to remember, a lot of things on a moving vessel can't be guaranteed. A lot of stuff happens outside and most public places can't be made private for a wedding. I hope things work out for you and you get the wedding of your dreams. 

[AussieCoasterKing]

We are getting married on the Radiance of the Seas in January. We are very excited! :)  We too have had mixed results with Royal Romance so I'm please to hear the staff on-board are generally more helpful.

 

We've had it confirmed that we can get married on the helipad but it will be at the discration of the captain. To be honest I'm not holding my breath.

 

I have SO MANY questions but I'll ask I'd love to ask two. We will have a photographer for the ceremony but I was thinking of taking 3 or 4 cameras and tripods to video record the ceremony myself. Would this be a problem?

 

Also, I would love to surprise my partner :wub:  by getting a free cabin upgrade, we've cruised three times with RCCL now but I've never asked. Can anybody give me advice on who to ask and when? We're only gold at the moment but I was hoping they might take wedding into consideration.

 

I'll let everybody who how we go and any tips I come up with along the way.

 

Thank you

Luke

[michelle]

Aussie Coaster - not sure they do the "free Cabin upgrades" anymore - they want people to pay for

upgrades, but if your prices have fluctuated at all you may be able to get an upgrade if the

total price of what you have paid on your cabin, is now the same as higher categories - dont' give up hope

[AussieCoasterKing]

Aussie Coaster - not sure they do the "free Cabin upgrades" anymore - they want people to pay for

upgrades, but if your prices have fluctuated at all you may be able to get an upgrade if the

total price of what you have paid on your cabin, is now the same as higher categories - dont' give up hope

I didn't know that, thanks Michelle. 

[MarriedonRRC]

Hi Nikki,

Congratulations,

We were married on RC Marrinar of the seas 9-19-2010 Beautiful Wedding & formal reception. If you have any ? Please ask.

Jeanette

[MarriedonRRC]

Hi to those getting married on RC. Our experience with Wedding a ordinaries was a night mere!!!!!! Once on RC, the two wedding coordinator s and officiant were simply amazing!!!?Nothing like our experience with the WC prior to our wedding. We have a blog on there wedding sight!

We were married in the Wedding Chapel. 40 guests attended our Wedding, and we had a formal reception luncheon, everyone was impressed. We paid $7,000 . Wedding cake is extra, we paid the extra charge.

You have pkgs to choose from. RC has there own; a Florist, photographer, coordinators, bakery. We gave up on RC WC they are contracted out side of Royal Caribbean. The coordinators that meet you on your Cruise Ship are contracted w/ RC. Once your on board the ship you are in great hands!!!! We did tip each person $200.00 our choice. We did the sand ceremony, we brought our own silk flower arrangements, cake topper, favors mints in a tin with our photo while the sun sets. Beware! You have to choose

All your photos 2 nights prior to your cruise ends, this was a must but an inconvience, we spent 3 days looking over a thousand photos, not fun! Just be picky, lighting etc. I made a list of photos I wanted, the photographer was delited.

Tip * Get everything in writing. I even made a list with two separate bags one for the wedding and one for the formal reception. We made our own CD's one for the wedding and one for the formal reception.

If you would like helpful tips where to look on line etc. I can help. We wish you a wonderful wedding and one incredible honeymoon!!

Wedding Coordinator, J

[AussieCoasterKing]

Hi Guys

 

We are back from getting married at sea on the Radiance! While we had a bit of an issue with a slab of concrete being passed off as a mattress the rest of the trip was wonderful! We had arranged to be married on the helipad but not only was it too windy (which I expected) it was really rough seas that day but we were able to have our ceremony (it was only us and our two kids) in Chops Grill. Much nicer then the Star lounge or whatever its called.

 

Our issue with Royal Romance was more based on living in another country and the hopeless VOIP phone service they have to use, but I do agree with MarriedonRRC, the staff onboard were fantastic including the captain! When we were late to the ceremony he was completely understanding. He spent another 20 minutes after the service just talking to us. To add to our wonderful time he also invited us to have dinner with him and gave us a tour of the bridge. He spent so much time talking to us and was generally engaged with us, we felt very special. On top of that though, everybody onboard was wonderful, the staff and fellow cruisers all made us feel like VIPs.

 

While I'm not sure about cruising on older RCCL ships again due to being explained that we should expect "firmer" beds on older ships we really did love all the other aspects of Radiance.

 

Oh and we didn't get any upgrade as the ship was fully booked but at least I asked.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Luke

[Matt]

Thanks for the report Luke and a big congratulations!  Sounds like you had a great time and the ceremony, despite the weather changes, was a success!

[kiawindows]

Welcome and congrats on getting engaged Nikki!

 

I know Royal Caribbean re-did their entire wedding packages back in October 2012: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2012/10/31/royal-caribbean-offers-new-weddings-sea

 

I can't offer any firsthand information other than you can actually get married onboard, whereas in the past you had to technically get married off the ship for legal reasons but that's all changed.

 

In terms of avoiding rain, June, July and August are definitely the rainy seasons in the tropics but June & July tends to be less active hurricane wise than August through October.  Not saying you won't have a hurricane but odds are better.  If you can, yes, I think June/July might be a better choice all things considered.

[kiawindows]

Thanks for the report Luke and a big congratulations!  Sounds like you had a great time and the ceremony, despite the weather changes, was a success!

 

Thanks for the report Luke and a big congratulations!  Sounds like you had a great time and the ceremony, despite the weather changes, was a success!

[kiawindows]

Hello Nikki and congratulations. I just wanted to warn you about the Royal Caribbean weddings. My son and daughter in law got married on the ship in December 2014. Prior to set sailing they had an awful experience with people getting back to them. When they finally got the right people it went smoothly, however, to date they have not received all that they paid for. They especially have NOT RECEIVED their wedding certificate. They have emailed and called and NOBODY has returned either.  So as a note to you, be diligent and persistent on what you want and follow through. Don't let them forget you.

 

Signed Disappointed but beautiful cruise

[Extra petite]

Hi, is anyone able to offer advice on photography packages? I am getting married next month on oasis and not sure whether to upgrade the photography package. We are a small party, under 15 of us. Will one hour be enough for photos? I would like group shots after the ceremony and I would like photos in the different neighbourhoods of ship. Did you like your photos? I've read that they can be hit or miss. Any insights would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Matt]

Hi, is anyone able to offer advice on photography packages? I am getting married next month on oasis and not sure whether to upgrade the photography package. We are a small party, under 15 of us. Will one hour be enough for photos? I would like group shots after the ceremony and I would like photos in the different neighbourhoods of ship. Did you like your photos? I've read that they can be hit or miss. Any insights would be much appreciated. Thanks!

My friend got married and used the photo package (1 hour) and I think she said they all came out well.  In fact, it seemed like the photographers stayed a little longer than the 1 hour they stipulated (no promises that will happen for you too)

[AussieCoasterKing]

Hi, is anyone able to offer advice on photography packages? I am getting married next month on oasis and not sure whether to upgrade the photography package. We are a small party, under 15 of us. Will one hour be enough for photos? I would like group shots after the ceremony and I would like photos in the different neighbourhoods of ship. Did you like your photos? I've read that they can be hit or miss. Any insights would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Congratulations Extra Petite!

We had two hours of photography but he spent more time with us then that. Probably helped we were on a ship that didn't get a lot of weddings. There was only 4 of us (guess you call that a REALLY small group). We were also able to split the photos into two days which meant we all had to get dressed up twice but it allowed us to do outside shots on a beautiful day. 

 

Our photographer was pretty good at what he did. He was very nice! I wouldn't call him a professional and some shots were disappointing, but others were great! Honestly, I could imagine some would be less experienced but I suspect the bigger ships that have A LOT more weddings would also have more experienced photographers. 

 

My advice would be. Don't be afraid to speak up if you want a different location (they were very accommodating for us). Take the time of day into consideration (I even thought about the direction the ship was facing) and make sure he's taking the pictures at the highest resolution he can.

 

Matt, perhaps Extra Petite could come on the show after the wedding?

 

Good luck!

[DocLC]

I would recommend bringing samples of what you'd like, too, that you might find in wedding magazines. For instance, one of my favorite shots with my wife is our faces together underneath her veil.

[Matt]

Matt, perhaps Extra Petite could come on the show after the wedding?

Sure, if she wants to!

[Extra petite]

Thanks everyone for your input. It has been very helpful :) I think I will stick to one hour and maybe pre pay for extra photos.

 

Aussiecoasterking and Matt - what show are you referring to?? I've also never cruised before either so all this is new to me!

[AussieCoasterKing]

"what show are you referring to??

Only the best podcast ever! You have to listen to every ep if you've never cruised before!

https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/royal-caribbean-blog-podcast/id685427740?mt=2

 

That's the Australian link but it should work for you! Enjoy!

[DocLC]

Extra petite,

 

If you look at the top of the page, you should see "podcast" on the far right.  If you're on a mobile device or tablet, then click menu and then podcast.  Matt produces the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast every week; new episodes are released every Wednesday at approximately noon eastern time in the U.S.

[Extra petite]

Oh wow! I had no idea the podcasts were there. I will get listening! :)

[Matt]

Oh wow! I had no idea the podcasts were there. I will get listening! :)

Thanks for checking it out.  I hope you will enjoy it and please feel free to email the podcast with your questions, comments or thoughts! [email protected]