Caribbean Cruise Suggestions: Honeymoon Cruise

Hi there. . I'm a 1st time cruiser and going on the Explorer this
November w/ my Fiance and family and friends .. why?? I'm getting
married this November on the beach in St.Thomas when the ship docks for
day. Can anyone help and give me tips and pointers on what to do or
NOT do during our week long cruise which stops at San Juan, St.
Maarten, St.Thomas and Bahamas?? Also, I want to give "welcome gift
bags" to my wedding guests either as they arrive at desk to check in or
have in their cabin waiting for them-- any ideas as to what I can put
in bags that won't be expensive and heavy as I'll have to bring in
suitcase with me? or any idea on how to do this?? I would appreciate
anyone's help .. any excursions that would be of interest? or to
avoid?? Basically, anything you can tell me about your cruise on this
ship would help. Bringing about 25-30 people coming to wedding. Have
four children going so I hope the ship will have plenty for the kids
and I know my parents will love the casino . . You can reply to me at:
char.lear@comcast.net or here and I'll try to remember to check this
forum for the answers. . .Thanks everyone! Charlene

char wrote:
> Hi there. . I'm a 1st time cruiser and going on the Explorer this
> November w/ my Fiance and family and friends .. why?? I'm getting
> married this November on the beach in St.Thomas when the ship docks for
> day.

Congratulations.

>Can anyone help and give me tips and pointers on what to do or
> NOT do during our week long cruise which stops at San Juan, St.
> Maarten, St.Thomas and Bahamas??

Tell us what kind of things you like to do. Do you want to plan things
revolving around the water? Are you into historic stuff? Is shopping
your thing?

Also, I want to give "welcome gift
> bags" to my wedding guests either as they arrive at desk to check in or
> have in their cabin waiting for them-- any ideas as to what I can put
> in bags that won't be expensive and heavy as I'll have to bring in
> suitcase with me? or any idea on how to do this??

Hmm. Well, getting the stuff into your guests' cabins shouldn't be too
tough, although you might not get it there before they go into their
cabins for the first time. With the help of the cabin stewards assigned
to the cabins, you should, for sure, be able to get stuff into the
cabins at the first night's turn-down cabin service. We've done this a
few times. Seek out the steward assigned to whatever cabin, ask them to
put the gift in the room, and that's it. We got a sense that they were
into the fun of the surprise. Maybe show up 5 or 10 minutes late for
that first evening meal. All your guests will be seated while you're
running around delivering gifts. The cabin stewards are usually out and
about at this time, too.

Your other option is to order something from the catalog that RCI has,
of gifts that can be delivered to the room - flowers, chocolate covered
strawberries, hors d'oeuvres, champagne, gift certificates for stuff on
board like casino, drinks, spa, etc. Usually, there will be a catalog
of stuff included with your cruise documents. Or, if you can't wait
until then, you can probably find what's available on RCI's website.

> anyone's help .. any excursions that would be of interest? or to
> avoid??

In St. Maarten, I think practically everyone has raved about both the
Golden Eagle Catamaran and the America's Cup Racing Yachts. I did the
catamaran, and it really was a lot of fun. Next time, I think I'm going
to taxi over to Marigot on the French side.

In San Juan, we took one of our very favorite excursions ever. It was
horseback riding on passo fino horses in Dorado, which was a bit of a
drive. We're usually pretty hesitant to book riding tours with
unfamiliar operators, because too often, the horses are in sorry shape,
not well cared for, and so used to the nose-to-tail kind of ride that
it's a bore. Not the case here. Horses were great, ride was great.

Aren't you busy getting married in St. Thomas? If you have a few hours
to hit a beach, I really like Coki for its great snorkeling, beach bar
and restaurant service and relaxed atmosphere. I think the cab is
something like $5-7 per person.

Bahamas - do you have a lot of time there? I don't know what your
itinerary is, but that port always seems to be either a morning or an
afternoon. Lots of people head over to Atlantis to check it out. I've
taken a really great snorkeling tour there. Or, you can just relax on
board - take advantage of discounted spa prices that often pop up on
port days.


> Bringing about 25-30 people coming to wedding.

That should be great. We were lucky enough to attend a similar wedding
on Enchantment of the Seas last summer. We also had about that number
of people. The wedding was on Key West. For the most part, everyone did
their own thing during the day, but we all had dinner together each
night.

Best of luck to you. Post a review when you get back!

Lee

In article <1120246923.020072.151160@g14g2000cwa.************ .com>,
char <char.lear@comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi there. . I'm a 1st time cruiser and going on the Explorer this
> November w/ my Fiance and family and friends .. why?? I'm getting
> married this November on the beach in St.Thomas when the ship docks for
> day.

I hate to bring this up but have you thought about the possibility that
the ship could for various reasons either skip or be late to St.
Thomas? It happens for various reason. For example last year the ship I
was on was about 6 hours late to St. Maartin because of a medical
evacuation. We had a couple of hours there in the evening instead of
the regular schedualed port time.

--
Charles

Answered in-line

"char" <char.lear@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1120246923.020072.151160@g14g2000cwa.******** o********...
> Hi there. . I'm a 1st time cruiser and going on the Explorer this
> November w/ my Fiance and family and friends .. why?? I'm getting
> married this November on the beach in St.Thomas when the ship docks for
> day.

Congratulations! Have you (or your travel agent) contacted Royal
Caribbean's wedding department? They have wedding planners that will help
you make arrangements for what you need such as licenses, an officiant, and
other fun plans.

> Can anyone help and give me tips and pointers on what to do or
> NOT do during our week long cruise which stops at San Juan, St.
> Maarten, St.Thomas and Bahamas??

A lot depends on what you want to do and when you will be in port. Saint
Thomas is famous for shopping, but you might be able to find better deals in
San Juan. Where are you going in the Bahamas?

> Also, I want to give "welcome gift
> bags" to my wedding guests either as they arrive at desk to check in or
> have in their cabin waiting for them-- any ideas as to what I can put
> in bags that won't be expensive and heavy as I'll have to bring in
> suitcase with me? or any idea on how to do this??

You can purchase gifts directly from Royal Caribbean and have them waiting
in the cabins when they arrive. Having them waiting at the check-in desk is
nearly impossible because of the logistics of checking in and out over 3.500
passengers in less than six hours.

> I would appreciate
> anyone's help .. any excursions that would be of interest? or to
> avoid?? Basically, anything you can tell me about your cruise on this
> ship would help. Bringing about 25-30 people coming to wedding. Have
> four children going so I hope the ship will have plenty for the kids
> and I know my parents will love the casino . .

There is an extensive childrens program on board that will keep the kids
busy and out from under everyone's feet all week long.

> You can reply to me at:
> char.lear@comcast.net or here and I'll try to remember to check this
> forum for the answers. . .Thanks everyone! Charlene
>

Hope this helps.

--
I'm Tom Smith, and I approved this message.

Am I the only one here that thinks doing your first cruise as a wedding is a
bad idea?

What happens if they can't go to the port of call? What happens if you don't
take well to cruises and get sick?

BiG Orange

<caribbeanqueen3@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1120337506.950114.111630@o13g2000cwo.******** o********...
> During the cruise itself, everybody was pretty much left to do their
> own thing. In port (Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios) we had made
> arrangements for excursions, and we invited anyone who would like to
> join us (they paid their own excursion costs). We did a private tour
> in Ocho Rios, and in Grand Cayman, we booked a snorkel/stingray
> excursion with Captain Marvins. Most of our guests came with us.
> During sea days, most of us all met at the pool area and hung out.
> Since we had a large suite (as did my brother and SIL, right next door
> to us), we had an "open door" policy for cocktails in our cabins before
> dinner. We just kept our cabin doors open, and everyone meandered in
> and out having a cocktail.
>
> If there are any other things I can help you with, don't hesitate to
> ask. We had an absolute blast, and we are so glad we decided to get
> married on a cruise. It was so much fun and no stress involved.

Gee, Jo-Ann, what a neat wedding!..you really had it planned perfectly! What
I'd like to know is, why wasn't I invited?

--Jean ;-)

J-Ann
How long did it take to plan your fairy tale wedding?

SUNNY

S'nd I
XXX

(* _*)

Why, Jean, you know that if I had known you, you and Ed surely would
have been invited.

As a matter of fact, Pam and Chuck decided to surprise us and show up.
We still can't believe they managed to pull it off without our knowing
anything. I was shocked when Pam walked up to me in the terminal, but
so happy to see our cruising buddies. I only regret that with all the
guests we had onboard I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I
would have liked, but I think they understood.

Jo-Ann

Sunny, we booked the wedding about 14 months before sailing. That gave
our family/friends plenty of time to make arrangements if they chose to
attend the wedding. I would say most of our guests booked over the
next 6-8 months. But really it was an absolute pleasure to plan. It
was so much fun to plan, that Bob and I often say we should plan
another one for a vow renewal.

Jo-Ann

<caribbeanqueen3@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1120348180.023364.291090@o13g2000cwo.******** o********...
> Why, Jean, you know that if I had known you, you and Ed surely would
> have been invited.
>
> As a matter of fact, Pam and Chuck decided to surprise us and show up.
> We still can't believe they managed to pull it off without our knowing
> anything. I was shocked when Pam walked up to me in the terminal, but
> so happy to see our cruising buddies. I only regret that with all the
> guests we had onboard I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I
> would have liked, but I think they understood.
>
> Jo-Ann

Hey! It was your honeymoon.. Of course they understood!
I was just kidding about the invite...We really did not get to know you and
Bob until the GGC when we went to the orphanage in Roatan with you! I'm glad
age counted as far as the front seat in that truck! ;-)

--Jean