TexasCTD

My girlfriend (fiancee) and I recently became engaged. We are both 43 and this will be our 2nd marriage, each. We are also each the parents of teenagers.

We want to get married in some way that minimizes the hassle and expense but still have special meaning to us. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise and that topic came up as a nice way to enjoy our honeymoon. Well, then upon further discussion we thought it might be a nice way to get married too........perhaps before we literally and figuratively "set sail" in our new life together.


Since we live in Texas we believe (im speculating here) that we can go ahead and get our marriage license locally and then get married on a cruise ship in the port at Galveston, TX....before it departs. We will probably have a small reception for family and friends following the trip.

Has anybody gone on a "wedding" cruise or a "honeymoon" cruise? Do you have any advice to offer? Thanks in advance!

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Mule Skinner

Did the honeymoon cruise 18 years ago, (yep 18 years today actually) left out of Miami for the western Carribean 7 nite trip. It is probably the best way to vacation, no worries about hotels, cars, or restaruants, its all part of the package from the cruise line. The biggest concern is what time can I start drinking and how long can I keep drinking. We had a blast and will prolly go again for our 20th. Really is one of the best times we have had and we are fortunate enough to be able to travel quite a bit.

Totallyrad

We did a honeymoon cruise, 7 days in Alaska. It was absolutely wonderful. The best months there for cruising are July and August. Shop it hard. We had cut a deal with a travel agent and less than a week later we saw one in the paper for less money, same cruise. A couple more phone calls, a very upset travel agent and we saved $700 which paid for our airfare.

Hvytrkmech

I can not speak of the logistics for getting married on a cruise ship. However, I do think that since it is both your 2nd marriage it would be a great idea to get married on a cruise ship.


Congratulations!

STate

My wife and I were not married on a cruise ship...but we did fly to Cancun MX. We bought a weeks all inclusive resort package, and added a ceremony, came with a horse drawn carriage on the beach and everything. Our marriage certificate is in spanish, but completely legal here. We had a great time, invited a couple of our closest. then had a big reception for everyone when we got back.
I say go for it! Very little stress to have to deal with on the planning side, which was a huge plus for the misses.

Congrats!

TexasCTD

Well the Mrs. to be and me both think this is a great idea and im glad to see some confirmations of that from you guys.

The fiancee is signing up for her passport as I write. I already have mine.
Tentatively, we are looking at late Feb or so as a possible date. I'd love to go to Alaska but that might be a still a little chilly then....(for a cruise)....and expensive.

Is the idea of doing it in Galveston bay good? We are not stuck on Galveston......it could be anywhere I guess that the cruise take us. We just want to minimize hassle and expense....and get maximum bang for our hard earned bucks.

Does anybody have a suggestion on where to have the ceremony? What cruise line? Anything we should avoid? Thx again!

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bansh-eman

You can get your marriage certificate at the JP and then have your "wedding" which is nothing more than a ceremony anywhere and anytime you want. To the state they don't care about the "wedding" once you sign the papers at the JP your married in their eyes.

Oh and another thing... Checkout travlezoo.com
They send me emails once a week with crazy low prices on air fare and cruises and all kinds of stuff. You can probably get some smoking deals out of Galveston off there that hit the Caribbean Islands

Oldschooldodge

My wife and I are about to go on our second cruise next week. Leaving out of Galveston isn't bad, and you can even park your vehicle at a nearby "secured" lot for around $70 a week. Miami is a very popular port for cruise ships, but once you go through the Miami airport you will wish you would have just left out of Galveston. Cruises are great, resonably priced, worry free fun. We cruise Royal Caribbean BTW. The ship that leaves out of Galveston is supposed to be brand new, and much better than the last ship we cruised on.

My wife and I eloped in Antigua last December at a Sandals resort, and we had a blast. No regrets at all. The family will get over it eventually. Since this will be y'alls second marriage, I think a cruise is a great choice. On the last cruise we went on, we went to Montego Bay, the Grand Caymons, and Cozumel. Cozumel was our favorite. In Cozumel you can take an excursion to the little island were the Corona commercials are filmed(Passion Island), which I highly recommend. Cruises are the best bang for your buck when it comes to vacations IMO. My wife is about to graduate from law school in May, so this will be our last vacation for a while. I hope we have as much fun this time, as we did the last time.

You can eat and drink all day long if you want. I only gained 7 lbs that week. My advice is the get to the port early, and be aware of the fact that gratuity is not included for the wait staff. This will run about $100-$150 for a 7 day cruise. Alcohol is not included either .

I say go for it.

DmaxEter

Do it once you get out of US waters. Then its not legal and means nothing when you get back and have had time to REALLY think about the decision you made.

staarma

Well we didn't get married on one but we took one for our honey moon. It was a Royal Carribean on Majesty of the Seas. Did the Western Carribean 7 day/night cruise. We hooked up with a couple other couples and had a blast. We did a few of our shore excursions with them too and then had our table assignments with them for the dinners. Sign up for the second dinner seating usually at 8 O' clock so it gives you time to get back on the boat and shower up and "what not" before having to rush for dinner. Bring enough changes of clothing for your suit for the formal dinners and then go rest and wait for the midnight buffet. The midnight buffets are where all of the cool sculptures and good eats are. The formal dinners will make her feel special by letting her get dressed up and everything is waited on you hand and foot so we did both. Can't eat much at the midnight buffet because you're still pretty full from the formal dinner but go anyways so you don't miss anything.

ChrisJohnson

The cruise thing could be a good thing. In my case, since I used to work offshore, and was nearly killed there and lost my career, boat rides just don't do it for me any more. The cool thing about my wedding, 2nd for me and the wife, was no one knew about it. Not even our kids, mine from my first marriage, and her's from her first marriage. Family, friends, and neighbors thought we were having a big BBQ party in the back yard. Everyone showed up in shorts and flipflops. When no thought anything about it, the family preacher/friend married us in front of everyone, with our shocked kids as part of the show! There was no worry about a big wedding, and no one had to worry about gifts. The wife and I wanted to keep it simple, and we sure did! Even the family dog was surprised, and got to be a part of the show. Then a few weeks later, the wife and I went out to Vegas to celebrate. Now you got me thinking about maybe taking the wife on a cruise during spring break! I am a full time student now, and am only 44, and my young wife being 42. Don't tell her I mentioned her age though!

bansh-eman

I like it! Man where were you 6 years ago! lol

Justwannabeme

go! enjoy! yes, TX likes the justice of the Peace, check if you need a blood test (four day wait). cozumel is excellent and low cost. wow!

I must be out of place. been married or together for ? 26 years. yes, same guy. still best friends. just a note - yes a captain of a ship is the authority and had the powers to marry BUT maritime law says he better be running the ship. no time once docked or in port soooooo best not go that way.

TexasCTD

Thanks everybody for the great advice.....even you Patrick (DMaxeater).


Staarma, seriously, that is great info to know.


I did talk to Royal Carribean this evening for a few minutes and it sounds like they have a nice trip leaving Galveston, very reasonably priced, that will work nicely. I didn't pull the trigger yet till I could talk to the future Mrs.....but she gave it a big thumbs up. But now we need to call the "wedding" people and get that part planned out. IM afraid that is where we are going to experience the "sticker shock"..

I was considering other ports, but those are going to involve more time, expense, hassle....etc.............and the ship leaving Galveston takes us to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. I've been to Cozumel before and had a great time.

Sounds like we will sign up for that cruise......head down to Galveston the day before and get a local room. Go put the car in storage. Show up to the ship that departure morning with marriage license in hand........check in to our rooms...change...go do the "I do's" at our designated time..........then start enjoying our honeymoon while the ship is loading etc. Then off we go....to sea. Is it that simple or am I missing something??

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MikeyB

Hey Robert,

I can't help you with any cruise information, but congrats!!

MikeyB