Destination Wedding Cruise: Planning Cruise Weddings Onshore

Having trouble finding a wedding venue with an available date? You’re not alone. After the cancellations and delays of the last few years, many couples are finally planning their weddings. But there’s only so many days available and most venues are already booked for this year - and filling up fast for next. If you want to get married soon, you might need to get creative. One way to get a wedding date is by planning a destination wedding cruise.

How to Get a Wedding Date For This Year

One way to find a wedding venue is by looking outside your local area. Destination weddings are more popular than ever. They’re fun, easy to plan and can be affordable if you choose the right resort and package.

If you’re thinking about a destination wedding, read this next All Inclusive Destination Weddings: Plan a Resort Wedding

Unfortunately, lots of resorts are booking up fast, too. One more option is to book a cruise and get married on board or onshore. Some cruise lines have already booked all their spots for this year. If you’re planning for next year, it’s not too early to lock in your date.

If you decide to book your wedding through a cruise line, read this next Wedding Cruises: How to Plan Cruise Weddings

Please note: this article contains affiliate links. That means that I may earn a commission if you decide to buy something.

Planning an Onshore Wedding

If you can’t get a wedding date through a cruise ship, there’s one more option to consider. There’s still space on the cruises, there’s just no wedding dates available. If you’re willing to do some of the planning yourself, you can skip the official cruise wedding packages and go straight to a local planner.

Typically, when the cruise ship docks, all the passengers disembark and head out on excursions. Instead of going sightseeing, you can go to your wedding. If you hire a local planner, they’ll arrange all the details, including transportation from the cruise ship for you and your guests.

Cruise ships stop at some of the most popular locations for destination weddings, including Bahamas, Jamaica and Mexico. You can do a bit of research and find local wedding planners in all these locations. You can even find wedding planners on Caribbean islands, like St Thomas, St Lucia and Barbados.

What Will a Local Wedding Planner Do?

Most local planners offer all inclusive wedding packages at a few different price levels. Most packages will include pickup and return transportation from the cruise ship. Plus a wedding venue, along with chairs, tables and decorations for your wedding ceremony and reception.

Most packages include a symbolic ceremony with an officiant. If you decide to hold your legal ceremony at your destination, most wedding planners will help you organize your paperwork, and get your marriage license.

Some planners might also arrange:

Hair and makeup appointments
Wedding photographer
Live ceremony music
Reception band or DJ
Cake and champagne reception
Cocktail reception
Brunch or lunch reception
Dinner reception

Best Destinations to Plan an Onshore Wedding

Each cruise line has their own itinerary, but typically, they’ll all visit the most popular destinations. If you’ve already got a destination in mind for your wedding, you can look for cruises that stop there. If you haven’t decided yet, there’s a few main routes to look at:

Cruise Ship Ports in the Bahamas

The most popular cruise stop in the Bahamas is Nassau. Most cruise ships in the Bahamas will also stop at a private island. The islands are only for cruise ship passengers, so you won’t be able to hire local wedding planners there.

But if your ship stops in Nassau or Freeport - you’re in luck! There’s tons of great wedding planners who can arrange any type of celebration for you.

Nassau - on Grand Providence Island
Freeport - on Grand Bahama Island
Princess Cays - private island for Princess Cruises
Castaway Cay - private island for Disney Cruises
Great Stirrup Cay - private island for Norwegian Cruise Line
Half Moon Cay - private island for Carnival Cruises
Coco Cay - private island for Royal Caribbean

Cruise Ship Ports in Mexico

Most cruise ships stop at Cozumel, Yucatan and Costa Maya. Costa Maya is a private beach for cruise ship passengers, so you won’t find local wedding planners there. Yucatan is a popular port in Progreso, but there’s not a lot of locations or planners for local weddings there, either.

Luckily, Cozumel has tons of locations that are perfect for destination weddings. The island also has lots of local planners who can help plan your wedding ceremony and reception.

Cozumel
Yucatan
Costa Maya - private beach

Cruise Ship Ports in the Eastern Caribbean

St Kitts
St Lucia
St Thomas
Grand Cayman
Grand Turk
Martinique
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Western Caribbean Cruise Ship Stops

Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Falmouth, Jamaica
Belize City
Roatán, Honduras

Southern Caribbean Ports For Cruises

St Maarten
Antigua
Barbados
Dominica
Granada
Bonaire
Curacao
Guadalupe

Weekend Wedding Cruise to the Bahamas

If you’re short on time or cash, lots of cruise lines offer 3, 4 or 5 day cruises to Nassau. You can enjoy a few days on the ship, then hop off and get married when you get to Nassau. It’s a popular location, so it’s easy to find great wedding planners.

Cruise ships do book up, especially on popular dates, holidays and long weekends. Once you’ve chosen your date, make sure you and your guests book your cabins as soon as possible.

Carnival Cruise Wedding: Fun and Affordable

Carnival Cruises are popular with couples and families. The ships have lots of activities and a fun, party atmosphere. If you are inviting wedding guests of all ages, Carnival is a good choice. They offer inexpensive cruises to all the most popular destinations, including Bahamas, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean Wedding: Adventurous Activities

Royal Caribbean cruises are family friendly with amazing amenities onboard the ships. As well as pools and activities, some ships also have climbing walls, surfing simulators and ice rinks. The biggest ships are separated into neighborhoods, so you can find different themes in different areas. One thing’s for sure - you’ll never get bored on a Royal Caribbean cruise!

Disney Cruise Wedding: Family Entertainment

Disney Cruise line is the ultimate in family fun. The cruise ships offer an experience similar to their theme parks, with lots of characters and entertainment. Visit The Disney Cruise Wedding page to find out if there’s available dates.

Princess Cruise Wedding: Upgraded Elegance

If you’re looking for elegance and style, Princess offers upgraded ships with five star cabins, dining and entertainment. Princess Cruises stop at some of the most popular Caribbean destinations that are perfect for a destination wedding.

Princess also offers some cruises with late night departures from port. That means that you can stay longer in spots like Aruba, St Thomas or Cozumel. If you want to plan a dinner after your wedding ceremony, one of these cruises would be perfect.

Hiring a Local Destination Wedding Planner

When you’re hiring a planner abroad, try to find their business website, plus their social media pages. Check for comments or reviews from other couples. Try to find current reviews on independent websites, like google business.

If you can’t find a planner at your destination, try looking for official tourism pages. Many tourist offices will offer advice for local weddings.

Here’s a few local planners to help you get started, but please note: I’m not a representative for these planners. This is for informational purposes only and current at the time of writing. Be sure to visit their official websites for pricing and package details.

Cruise Ship Wedding Packages in the Bahamas

Glenn Ferguson is a wedding planner and licensed marriage officiant in the Bahamas. He offers 12 different wedding packages, so you can choose from a sweet and simple ceremony, all the way up to a luxury package that includes a reception, complete with a meal, wedding cake, private bar and a DJ: Bahamas Cruise Wedding Packages

Cruise Weddings in Jamaica: Ocho Rios, Montego Bay or Negril

Bandoo Events Solutions offers ceremonies and receptions at some of the most beautiful locations, including local gardens, beaches and waterfalls. They offer a special Destination Cruise Wedding Package that includes everything you need for your wedding, plus amazing add ons, like live music or a Jamaican steel band: Bandoo Events Solutions Cruise Wedding Packages

Cruise Wedding Planner in Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel Wedding Planners can plan your wedding at a local beach club that’s perfect for cruise ship couples. The location has everything you want in a destination wedding: a white sandy beach, turquoise water and a garden reception with an ocean view. If you’re looking for something unique, you can even book a Mystic Shaman Ceremony for your wedding: Cozumel Wedding Planners at Mr Sancho’s Beach Club

Timeline For an Onshore Cruise Wedding Reception

Most cruise ships don’t stay in port long enough to plan a traditional wedding reception, with a full dinner and dance afterwards. If you’ve only got time for your ceremony, with a cake and wine reception, you can continue to celebrate once you return to the ship.

You can make a group booking in the main dining room and enjoy a wedding dinner with your guests. Or, if you’ve got some room in your budget, you could book a dinner in one of the specialty restaurants and treat your guests to a special meal.

After dinner, you can head to the nightclub for an afterparty. Even without a private dance floor, you can still have a great time on the ship and celebrate your wedding in style.

Unique Tropical Wedding

Many couples are having trouble booking a traditional wedding date. But it’s actually a great reason to go ahead and plan something unique. If you’ve ever wanted a tropical wedding - an onshore cruise ship wedding is a fantastic way to plan a wedding this year!