By Karen Quinn-Panzer
Travel Matters
Karen Quinn-Panzer
Happy New Year – a great time for reflection and celebration. For travel, it’s a popular time to focus on our vacations for the year, and perhaps to focus on what upcoming events we want to celebrate.
We just got off the Cunard Queen Elizabeth, a beautiful ship where we celebrated our 20-year renewal of vows with 14 friends onboard. This experience really enhanced my focus on a popular, but not often known, venue for celebrations – the cruise ship.
Did you know that vow renewals and weddings are not only very simple onboard a ship, but also much less expensive than planning the same sized event on land? For example, our celebration of 14 people on Cunard for $999 included a beautiful “yacht club” private venue decorated for the event; an event planner (before boarding and on the ship); invitations sent out to all the guests; music at the event; the captain of the ship officiating the vow renewal; order of service along with a printed program for all guests; a keepsake certificate of vow renewal; a Laurent-Perrier champagne toast; keepsake Royal Scot crystal champagne flutes; flowers at the event including bouquet and boutonniere; a photographer; a stateroom decorated with rose petals and streamers; a champagne breakfast for two; an intimate dinner for two in a specialty steakhouse restaurant; and hors d’eurves or cake for a slight additional cost.
Then there is the full wedding options on cruise ships that offer multiple packages – far less expensive than a similar ceremony in your home town or certainly at a destination wedding. For example, Carnival Cruise Line accommodates attendees – both sailing with the bridal party and those not sailing – as long as it’s on embarkation day.
How does that work? Well, my associate got married at sea on Carnival a few years ago. The bride and groom and their bridal party received priority embarkation at 10 a.m., and were directed to three staterooms readied for them to get dressed and prepare for the ceremony at noon. There were 40 people in attendance, with 30 of them sailing and the rest leaving the ship by 2 p.m., making it easy for both bride and groom, and for guests.
Wedding packages currently range from $1,799 for 10 guests up to $2,899 for 20 guests (more people can be added at a reasonable cost per person). They even offer a “Love Ashore” program where you can “tie the knot” on a sandy white beach with a beautiful ocean backdrop.
The wedding packages include much of what I listed above on Cunard for our vow renewal and generally include the wedding cake as well. Many different cruise lines offer these options.
Other celebration ideas include retirements, special birthdays, engagements and family reunions. Cunard Queen Mary 2 is offering a Sail250 celebration on the 250th anniversary of
Independence Day this July 4 and will be anchored in New York Harbor to be in the center of all the festivities – amidst the flotilla of tall ships, air show and fireworks.
Karen Quinn-Panzer is the owner and vacation specialist at Dream Vacations Quinn Panzer Travel in Milford.