Cruises: new love boats

Ala, the old TV series "Love Boat," marrying at sea has been an option for years but cruise weddings, second marriages and vow renewals are getting more popular than ever, observers say.
 

A major reason: the economy as couples look to trim wedding budgets while at the same time minimize stress.
 

Nearly two-thirds of travel agents surveyed last year by the Cruise Lines International Association had booked increasing numbers of cruise weddings in the past two years. CLIA reports that for some cruise lines, wedding business has risen as much as 60 percent in the decade.
 

Cruise lines are starting to cater to the trend.
 

Disney Cruise lines offers an in-house Fairytale Weddings & Honeymoons service. Royal Ocdean events handles ceremonies for Holland America Line and other lines such as Princess Cruises uses the Wedding Experience company for its bookings.
 

You may marry in port before you embark on the cruise, at sea in the ship’s chapel or other spots on board, or ashore in increasingly exotic locales.
 

"It’s just so cheap to go on cruises, it’s scandalous at this point," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com, an online resource for cruise information, told the Dallas Morning News.

She added:
 

"You’ll pay $20,000 to get married in a hotel ballroom when, at a fraction, you can marry in some entirely romantic places and have the cruise, too."
 

Held onboard or at hundreds of locations worldwide, ceremonies range from about $1,500 to $3,500 for a basic package, on top of the trip cost, the newspaper reports.
 

European weddings are a little pricier, ranging from $2,500 to $7,000. Brown says popular venues include secluded South Pacific beaches; a catamaran, yacht or private island in the Caribbean; villas, gardens, wineries, chateaus and monasteries; atop Alaskan glaciers; and on ships.
 

Although most wedding cruises involve a handful of friends and family going a short holiday to the Caribbean or Bahamas, nearly 10 percent of travel agents surveyed by the industry association had booked weddings for 30 to 200 guests.
 

A few couples are even opting to charter luxury yachts or river cruise ships so that they can chart an itinerary and design an intimate, custom ceremony, according to CLIA.
 

For couples on a budget, there are plenty of ways to personalize wedding packages. For minimal extra cost they can upgrade menus or add live entertainment and additional cocktail receptions, bridesmaids’ teas, stag parties, showers or engagement ceremonies.
 

In movie-style glamorous fashion, some couples want the captain to perform the ceremony.
 

If you’re counting on the captain marrying you legally at sea, book with Celebrity, P&O Cruises, Azamara Cruises or Princess, advises the Morning News. Their ships are flagged to either Malta or Bermuda, the only countries whose laws recognize captain-officiated civil ceremonies in open water.
 

By David Wilkening