No escape... Nikki and Bob Watson from Canberra were married on the Pacific Jewel in July. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
Queensland couple Christy and Jason Howard were married on the Pacific Dawn in March. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
CRUISE ship weddings are booming in popularity as brides and grooms increasingly opt for affordable, hassle free nuptials at sea.
But the idea may not be everyone's cup of tea, with the wedding guests then joining the happy couple on their honeymoon.
P&O Cruises began offering wedding packages nearly two years ago but Carnival Australia spokesman David Jones said the concept had gone ``gangbusters'' in the past few months.
"It's got to the point now where we have 55 weddings booked, including one wedding on a ship coming out of Brisbane next year with 150 guests,'' he said.
"The family and friends all sail on the honeymoon with the bride and groom.
"There's a lot of gregarious brides and grooms out there who don't mind their family coming along.''
Three-day cruises are the most popular for cruise ship weddings, with all of P&O's short breaks cruises next year set to include weddings.
Due to legal requirements the wedding must take place while the ship is berthed, so the celebrant comes on board for the ceremony then leaves before the ship departs.
"The brides love the fact that virtually all the arrangements are made,'' Mr Jones said.
"They effectively only have to turn up on the day with their hair and make-up done and everything else is done for them.''
Wedding packages cost $1,320 including the venue, a photographer for two hours, flowers, cake and group dining for wedding guests.
Couples can pay extra for an upgraded photo package and reception in celebrity chef Luke Mangan's Salt Grill restaurant.
Vow renewals have also taken off, with 40 ceremonies planned over the next few months.
"We're going to have to ration the renewal of vows to five per cruise because the captains are very busy people looking after the ship,'' Mr Jones said.
Christy and Jason Howard, from Emu Park near Rockhampton, were married onboard Pacific Dawn in March and travelled on their honeymoon cruise with a wedding party of 50 people.
The wedding and cruise cost the couple around $3000 on the cruise, $1399 for the wedding and $699 on photos.
"My sister used to work at P&O and we just decided to do it," Mrs Howard said.
"It's something different and we got a weeks holiday as well as getting married.
"I wasn't stressed at all. All we had to do was select the type of cake and colour of the flowers - everything else was done for us."
Bob and Nikki Watson, from Canberra, were married aboard the Pacific Jewel in July with 16 guests.
"It was so much cheaper than a regular wedding,'' Mrs Watson said.
"We stayed in the best suite but if we'd chosen a regular cabin it would have been around $5000 for the whole lot.
"I'm at a time of my life where everyone is getting married and they're all going to so much effort and they're all so stressed - all we had to choose was the colour of the flowers and the type of wedding cake.
"There's so many wedding where you don't get to spend any time with the bride and groom because they're duty bound to spend time with their family.
"We probably didn't spend that much time with guests ourselves but we got to see them over the next ten days but if we didn't want to see them we could just go to our room.''
Louise Hirschbichler and Jon Kiploks, from Port Hedland in Western Australia, also plan to wed aboard the Pacific Jewel in January, with 50 guests expected for the nuptials.
"Originally we thought we'd run away to Bali or Thailand but we didn't want to hurt family too much,'' Miss Hirschbichler said.
"Both of us had cruised before and we were floating ideas around.
"We have a lot of friends and family back home in Adelaide but it would have cost around $26,000.''
Instead the whole experience will cost around $11,000, including the 10 day cruise, $40 a head dinner at Salt Grill and photographs.
"It's still dramatically cheaper and everyone gets a holiday as well,'' Ms Hirschbichler said.
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