Best Cruises for Weddings

Want to get married in a beautiful location without the hassle of planning a formal, sit-down dinner for 300 of your closest friends?

Say "I-do" again! What better way to enhance your anniversary or just recall that special day than by renewing your marriage vows with a memorable onboard ceremony.

Many cruise lines now offer a variety of services for a shipboard or shoreside ceremonies, which, of course, will be combined with a romantic cruise vacation.

Planning a cruise wedding or renewing your marriage vows at sea can be as easy as making one call. Just dial and -- poof -- our wedding travel specialists will begin arranging the ceremony, menu, cake, flowers and music. We may also be able to help you obtain wedding licenses or invitations. And it's easy to us them handle all the extras -- from tuxedo rental to hair and spa appointments.

An onboard wedding can be a great value, as well. Prices start at about $1,100 (the sky's the limit), on top of the cost of the cruise. Typically, onboard weddings are held in a ship's chapel (if one exists), a lounge, the library or a boardroom or even outdoors. While the members of the wedding couple must be passengers on the cruise, most lines with full-service packages include an option for land-side guests to come onboard for a couple of hours.

Married folks can also get in on the fun with onboard vow-renewal ceremonies -- a perfect way to celebrate on your anniversary trip. Weddings and vow renewals at sea can, indeed, be the ultimate in romance. But, before you book your cabin, remember these tips:

If you want to get married at sea by the captain, you're limited to only a handful of cruise lines, due to legal limitations.  But we can help you with all of those details.

Check out our picks for the best cruise options for weddings.

Princess Cruises

Princess is a prime choice because, of all the lines offering shipboard wedding options, it offers the best combination of features, services and facilities. Princess' Weddings at Sea packages are available on all ships, but only Caribbean Princess, Crown Crown Princess, Coral Princess, Diamond Princess, Emerald Princess, Golden Princess, Grand Princess, Grand Princess, Sapphire Princess, Sapphire Princess and Ruby Princess have dedicated wedding chapels.

Coolest Quirk: Not only can your ceremony be conducted at sea by the captain, but the line has also installed state-of-the-art technology that allows you to broadcast the ceremony live, via Web cam, to friends and family on land.

Vow Renewals are also available.

Celebrity Cruises/Azamara Club Cruises

Why? Until recently, the only North American line that was able to host at-sea weddings, officiated by its captains, was Princess, whose ships are registered to Bermuda. Celebrity created new options for engaged cruisers when it re-registered its ships in Malta (except for Expedition), where new regulations permit legal marriages at sea. Azamara's two ships are registered in Malta, as well.

Coolest Quirk: Couples also get some romantic extras, such as chocolate-covered strawberries, bottles of Champagne, Champagne flutes, fresh floral arrangements in their staterooms and rose petals on their beds on their wedding nights.

Vow Renewals: Both Celebrity and Azamara offer vow-renewal packages.

Disney Cruise Line

Disney is a great choice for second-wedding folks who have young kids.

Coolest Quirk: Dress-steaming is included and you can opt for a ceremony on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island.

Vow Renewals: A renewal of vows package is available.

Norwegian Cruise Line

NCL offers a vast array of options, which can turn basic packages into full-blown extravaganzas. And their newer, designed-for-Freestyle vessels -- such as Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Spirit, Norwegian Star, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Jade and Pride of America -- feature a wide range of restaurants with easily available romantic dining for two.

Vow Renewals packages are available.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean's program rivals is extensive with lot's of variety. Royal Caribbean also offers adventurous shipboard and destination weddings through a special program.  (Ask our Travel Specialist),

Receptions are not included in the price of the ceremony, but several options are available.

Coolest Quirk: Shoreside ceremonies, run the gamut from the simply scenic (a beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico) and the funky (a winery in Santorini, Greece) to the exotic (a ceremony atop a glacier in Juneau, Alaska).

Vow Renewals packages are available. 

As you can imagine, there's an incredible amount of choices and selcetion, these are only a few. Our experienced cruise wedding travel experts will take care of every detail...making your ultimate shipboard wedding completely stress free.