Cruise Lines Arrange for Couples to Jump Ship to Tie the Knot

If you can’t decide if you want your destination wedding to be on a cruise ship or a sunset beach ceremony, why choose?

Cruise lines are increasingly offering a complete wedding experience that is part cruise, part beach paradise. Cruise passengers board vessels with their betrothed in hand and their wedding parties in tow -  all of whom will jump ship to celebrate the big event on, and then re-board where the party continues.


“It is a great trend and it’s cost effective.  They can have their wedding in a beautiful venue on land while local wedding planners do the paperwork and make all arrangements in advance and the couple gets back on the ship for the honeymoon,” says Susie Wagner, founder and publisher of Honeymoons.com

Always ahead of the pack, Disney Cruise Lines’ Fairytale Weddings has been organizing off-the-ship weddings since 1998 when the cruise line purchased a Bahamian island, Castaway Cay.

Royal Ocean Events coordinates weddings for many of the cruise lines, including Holland America, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises.

Holland America offers a wedding destination for the couple and 10 guests at its own chapel on Half Moon Cay, the cruise line's private island, as well as at Bluebeard’s Castle or Lime Tree Beach on St. Thomas, Pigeon Point Beach on St. Lucia, Cockle Shell Beach on St. Kitts, Valley Church Beach on Antigua and Grand Old House on Grand Cayman.

Carnival also offers destination wedding packages at just about any port of call in the Caribbean from Barbados, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Nassau.

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