New reason to take a cruise: marriage
Almost two-thirds of travel agents report their cruise wedding business has increased in the last two years, according to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
“More and more cruise lines offer shipboard wedding packages, amenities and wedding planning services, including legal marriages performed by ships’ captains virtually anywhere in the world,” says CLIA.
Why? One major reason is single stop planning for the ceremony, reception and honeymoon.
There’s also a variety of choices for where the ceremony is done: ranging from at sea to a tropical beach.
“And, besides weddings, many CLIA lines offer honeymoon and vow renewal packages, bachelor and bachelorette parties, even programs for ‘popping the question’ – the ultimate engagement party at sea,” says the site.
Some recent findings:
• Almost 40 percent of travel agents have sold shipboard or destination wedding cruises
• Cruise weddings are getting more popular: Travel agents report booking more day-of-embarkation wedding cruises (18.3 percent); more shipboard weddings with guests going along for the cruise (22.1 percent) and more in-port weddings during the cruise (18.3 percent)
• The best reasons to have a cruise wedding? More than one-third of agents say their clients want to combine a wedding with a honeymoon; over 23 percent said value offered by cruise lines was the top reason
• Over 80 percent of agents rank the Caribbean/Bahamas destination as the overwhelming favorite among cruise wedding clientele
• The typical wedding cruise is a seven-day voyage in the Caribbean and/or The Bahamas, on a large cruise ship with less than ten guests in the group. However, almost one-third of agents report booking wedding groups of 10 to 20 guests and over 10 percent book wedding parties of 20 to 30, and some cruise lines have reported wedding parties of as much as 200
• The typical cruise wedding clientele are mid-priced travelers aged 44 or younger who book eight to 10 months ahead.
By David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports