Weddings at sea
By Mike Pickup, Mike writes about travel for numerous newspapers and magazines, both consumer and trade. He is also the Editor of Holiday Magazine and a professionally trained photographer. For more information click here
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Have you ever thought about getting married on a cruise? It’s a fascinating option and one that combines a stress-free wedding and a luxury honeymoon in one package.
Getting married at sea is not as unusual as you may think. One cruise line usually arranges around 1500 weddings a year.
Getting married at sea is not as unusual as you may think. One cruise line usually arranges around 1500 weddings a year.
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Not all cruise lines offer legally recognised weddings and to do so the cruise line must want to to it and the ship must be registered in a country that recognises onboard weddings, including single sex weddings where required. Cruise lines that offer legal weddings include Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian, Cunard and P&O Cruises. Other cruise lines offer renewals of vows and wedding-style events, but they have no legal or religious significance.
The wedding takes place on a sea day when the ship is in international waters, so the wedding officially takes place where the ship is registered. The ship will arrange for you to get a formal wedding certificate from the country of registration, but as this will take a short time, you will be given a commemorative one on the day. |
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The ship will supply a photographer but in most cases you will have to pay for the photos, although some packages may include an initial few. Of course there will be a cake and a bottle of bubbly, flowers for the bride and a matching buttonhole for the groom.
The wedding will be performed by the ship’s master or another senior officer. You will need two witnesses but if you don’t have them the ship will happily arrange for a couple of officers to join you. After the event there are a number of options and cruise lines have special wedding brochures from which you can choose what you want, from a romantic dinner for two to booking out the ship’s disco for a large wedding party. |
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As weddings take place on a sea day Cunard's transatlantic crossing between New York and Southampton is a popular itinerary, as is the cruise from California to Hawai'i. On Cunard's QM2 the bride will be escorted to the wedding venue by a traditional scarlet-uniformed bell boy.
Costs vary dependent on the cruise line but £3,000 is an average starter plus, of course, the cost of the cruise itself. Compared to organising a traditional land-based wedding, getting married at sea is simple. There are planners both ashore and on board to make certain everything goes to plan. Just pick the items you want from the cruise line brochure and relax, knowing everything for your wedding and honeymoon will be taken care of.
Costs vary dependent on the cruise line but £3,000 is an average starter plus, of course, the cost of the cruise itself. Compared to organising a traditional land-based wedding, getting married at sea is simple. There are planners both ashore and on board to make certain everything goes to plan. Just pick the items you want from the cruise line brochure and relax, knowing everything for your wedding and honeymoon will be taken care of.
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Images supplied by Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbeanean
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