A cruise wedding combines one of the most important days of your life with exciting travel destinations, plenty of entertainment and an array of things to eat, do and drink. Most major cruise lines offer a variety of services to help you plan your wedding, and options range from onboard wedding ceremonies to weddings before you embark, on top of a glacier or on a sandy beach. Even better? Cruise ship weddings come with a built-in honeymoon.
But before you start planning, let's start with the basics: What does a cruise ship wedding cost? They start around $1, 500 (plus the cruise costs) for Carnival’s Intimate Gold wedding package. From there, prices climb depending on the line you choose and what you add on to your ceremony.
Read on for Cruise Critic's 10 favorite cruise lines for weddings. They offer a variety of options and price points for most travelers planning a cruise wedding.
Cruise Select :: Getting Married On A Cruise
What can you do if you want to get married in a beautiful location but don't want the hassle of wedding planning? Get married on a cruise! Many cruise lines offer a variety of services to help you plan a shipboard or shoreside ceremony, followed by a romantic cruise honeymoon. Plus, a wedding on a cruise ship can be a great value, with prices starting around $1, 500 (the sky's the limit) on top of the cost of the cruise. Family and friends can join you for just the ceremony or the full cruise.
These 10 cruise lines offer a variety of ceremony options and price points for anyone looking to plan a cruise wedding. Before you sign on to a wedding at sea, make sure you've read our 9 Things to Know When Planning a Cruise Wedding.
Princess Cruises | Celebrity Cruises | Disney Cruise Line | Carnival Cruise Line | Norwegian Cruise Line | Royal Caribbean International | P&O Cruises | Holland America | Cunard Line | MSC Cruises
Wedding & Vow Renewal Cruises
Why? Princess is a prime choice because, of all the lines offering shipboard wedding options, it provides one of the best combinations of features, services and facilities. Princess' Tie the Knot packages are available on all ships, and most ships have dedicated wedding chapels.
Package Details: Princess offers three wedding packages. The Tie the Knot at Sea package, for $2, 500 plus a $498 license fee, includes use of the onboard wedding chapel or other select ship venue, a ceremony officiated by the captain, a wedding coordinator, live music, two floral arrangements, a rose bouquet for the bride and groom's boutonniere, the services of a photographer and a selection of prints, wedding cake, bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine and two keepsake flutes, a commemorative wedding certificate, chocolate-covered strawberries, deluxe breakfast for two, dinner for the couple at a speciality restaurant and rose petals on the bed at turn-down.
The Tie the Knot Harborside package -- ranging from $2, 000 to $3, 000 plus licensing fees up to $500, based on the destination -- includes priority check-in and boarding for the couple and guests, an onboard wedding ceremony in the chapel or library performed by a nondenominational officiant, a wedding coordinator, recorded music, two silk floral arrangements, a rose bouquet and boutonniere, a photographer, wedding cake, bottle of sparkling wine and a keepsake wedding certificate.
Planning A Wedding? Skyline Cruises Is The Perfect Venue!
The Tie the Knot Ashore package, ranging from around $3, 000 to $5, 000, includes a ceremony at a beach or garden (or even at a glacier in Alaska), transportation for the couple, a nondenominational officiant, a wedding coordinator, a bouquet and boutonniere, a photographer, cake for two, bottle of sparkling wine and a keepsake certificate. Receptions, photography packages and enhanced ceremony options are available at extra cost.
Coolest Quirk: Not only can your ceremony be conducted at sea by the captain, but the line also features state-of-the-art technology that allows you to broadcast the ceremony live, via webcam, to friends and family on land. Some Princess captains are pretty romantic. On one particular cruise over Valentine's Day, the captain casually announced he'd conduct vow renewals for anyone who wanted them, and about a half-dozen couples showed up.
Caveat: Keep in mind that licensing fees can add up to an additional $500 to any selected wedding package. There may also be surcharges of up to $200 for weddings held during busy peak season or holiday travel periods.
Wedding Cruises Sydney
Why? Celebrity captains can perform both legal and symbolic ceremonies at sea (except on Xpedition). As of October 2017, they can also perform legal same-sex weddings at sea. The line's fleet of ships offers a pleasant mix of fun and luxury, leaving the happy couple and their guests with plenty to do before and after the big day. Celebrity also offers special supplementary celebration packages (for a fee) such as a welcome reception, tea service, cigar and whiskey party and trash-the-dress photo shoots to set the tone for a customised wedding cruise. Bonus: The line offers an interactive wedding website, teeming with info and imagery about the line's wedding packages around the globe.
Package Details: The Celebrity Weddings program offers onboard ceremonies and destination weddings. The Nautical Nuptials at Sea package begins at $2, 995 and includes a captain-led ceremony, an event coordinator's services, live music, one hour of photography (photographs sold separately), cake for two, a bottle of Champagne, a bouquet and boutonniere, plus additional romantic turn-down amenities post-ceremony (see Coolest Quirk below). Couples can also arrange shoreside and in-port shipboard weddings, presided over by an officiant instead of the captain. Both in-port shipboard weddings (starting at $2, 495) and shoreside weddings (starting at $2, 995) include all of the Nautical Nuptials features (with the exception of live music and turn-down services) and a variety of enhancement options. Shoreside ceremonies also include round trip transportation to the ceremony site for the couple.
Coolest Quirk: Couples who book the Nautical Nuptials at Sea package each get some romantic extras, such as chocolate-covered strawberries, one bottle of Champagne, two Champagne flutes, his-and-hers robes, fresh in-room floral arrangements and rose petals on their bed on their wedding night.
How To Make Your Cruise Wedding Unique
Caveat: Licensing and regulatory fees are not included. (A license for a legal wedding at sea is $750, for instance.) Also, the number of wedding ceremonies performed on each sailing is based on the captain's availability. Couples should book their wedding packages in advance to allow time for the processing of marriage licenses and legal documents; for legal ceremonies at sea, all documentation should be completed and submitted about 10 weeks prior to sailing.
Why? It's a fun and quirky choice, particularly for second-wedding folks who have young kids, and Disney offers a low-stress, low-hassle package.
Package Details: Disney Cruise Line's Fairy Tale Weddings are available on all four Disney Cruise Line ships. Packages start at $3, 000 and include fresh floral options for the couple, the services of a Disney wedding coordinator and officiant, a solo musician (typically a pianist), Champagne toast, an elegant wedding cake with keepsake topper, a commemorative Disney wedding certificate, $100 onboard stateroom credit for the wedding couple and dinner for the bride and groom at Palo, the line's adults-only alternative restaurant, found on all Disney ships. The package can accommodate eight guests, plus the couple.
I Put Dreams Unlimited Travel To The Test!
Coolest Quirk: Dress-steaming is included in the package price. We also love that you can opt for a ceremony on Castaway Cay, Disney's private Bahamian island. (Packages start at $4, 000.)
Caveat: Beyond the cake and Champagne, Disney's wedding package does not include a reception or other services for wedding guests, though an appetizer/open bar reception is available at an additional cost. You can invite additional guests to your wedding ceremony, but events with more than 10 guests will incur an extra cost. Note that, if the couple are married onboard, the captain or a ship officer will preside over the ceremony. Disney Cruise Line weddings do not include the marriage license, so the couple are responsible for providing any necessary legal documentation. If the wedding occurs on Castaway Cay, the ceremony will be performed by a Bahamian official, but it is not a legal marriage; the couple will need to already be legally married before the ship departs.
Why? Carnival appeals to younger couples with its fun amenities and spirited ships. Carnival Spirit, Carnival Pride, Carnival Legend and Carnival Miracle have onboard chapels, though you can buy Carnival's wedding packages on any of the ships in the fleet.
The Globe Trotter's Guide To A Cruise Wedding
Package Details: Carnival offers two wedding packages, one for shipboard and the other for in-port weddings. To get married on the ship (ceremonies are held while the vessel's docked in the port of your choice), sign up for the Our Love Story Begins package, which starts at $2, 495. The package includes services of a personal wedding planner, assistance of a wedding coordinator, a private shipboard ceremony venue, priority check-in (for embarkation day weddings), a ceremony performed by a nondenominational officiant, a bottle of sparkling wine, a tiered wedding cake, recorded wedding music, ceremony decor, a honeymoon dinner for the couple, chocolate-covered strawberries for two and a photographer. (Prints are extra.)
The basic ceremony package can be supplemented by
