luckyxx3

I just got back from Punta Cana, where my husband and I left pour ceremony and reception in the very capable hands of the La Barcaza staff. We had planned to get married on the private beach at the natural pool, but of course with my luck it POURED at the exact time we were supposed to head to the island and have the ceremony (mind you it was the ONLY time in rained the entire 12 days we were there!!!!) The staff was incredible in quickly rearranging everything to accommodate a ceremony on board which turned out to be perfect. The food was fantastic- we offered guests a choice of the grill or seafood grill and everyone raved about how delicious everything was. There drinks were also great. The bar tender (I wish I could remember her name) was so sweet, and made fantastic drinks all night long. Jorge was phenomenal and made our experience one we won't ever forget. He came out dressed in a bridesmaids dress when he knew I needed a pick-me-up because of the rain, and he and the captain kept a good eye on the weather for us. We met with Daniel at our resort a few days before the wedding to finalize everything and make the final payment. He was extremely professional and easy to deal with.. he had all of the details of our day noted based on our emails, and I'd trust him to coordinate my wedding all over again. I was skeptical when La Barcaza switched hands that I wasn't going to get the wedding of my dreams, but I'm SO glad I stuck it out through the transition, because it was the BEST decision we could have made and we wouldn't have changed a thing (well, except for the rain!). We also used the photographer recommended by La Barcaza, Martin Ameztoy & Sebastian Ambrogetti and they were PHENOMENAL!!! Our pictures perfectly captured the day and look like something right out of a magazine. They took over 1,700 pictures on Friday, the day of our wedding, and we had 220 edited pictures plus all of the originals by Monday! They delivered them to us in person at our resort- who could ask for anything better? I highly recommend any bride consider using them- spectacular results for a totally reasonable price. The La Barcaza photo package is totally, totally worth it To any brides who were nervous based on bad reviews early in the transition, don't be!! You will not regret having your reception on board- our friends and family are STILL raving about all the fun they had and how they will never forget what an amazing experience we had. If anyone has any questions, just let me know- I'd be more than happy to answer! - Lori

I just got back from Punta Cana, where my husband and I left pour ceremony and reception in the very capable hands of the La Barcaza staff. We had planned to get married on the private beach at the natural pool, but of course with my luck it POURED at the exact time we were supposed to head to the island and have the ceremony (mind you it was the ONLY time in rained the entire 12 days we were there!!!!) The staff was incredible in quickly rearranging everything to accommodate a ceremony on board which turned out to be perfect. The food was fantastic- we offered guests a choice of the grill or seafood grill and everyone raved about how delicious everything was. There drinks were also great. The bar tender (I wish I could remember her name) was so sweet, and made fantastic drinks all night long. Jorge was phenomenal and made our experience one we won't ever forget. He came out dressed in a bridesmaids dress when he knew I needed a pick-me-up because of the rain, and he and the captain kept a good eye on the weather for us. We met with Daniel at our resort a few days before the wedding to finalize everything and make the final payment. He was extremely professional and easy to deal with.. he had all of the details of our day noted based on our emails, and I'd trust him to coordinate my wedding all over again. I was skeptical when La Barcaza switched hands that I wasn't going to get the wedding of my dreams, but I'm SO glad I stuck it out through the transition, because it was the BEST decision we could have made and we wouldn't have changed a thing (well, except for the rain!). We also used the photographer recommended by La Barcaza, Martin Ameztoy & Sebastian Ambrogetti and they were PHENOMENAL!!! Our pictures perfectly captured the day and look like something right out of a magazine. They took over 1,700 pictures on Friday, the day of our wedding, and we had 220 edited pictures plus all of the originals by Monday! They delivered them to us in person at our resort- who could ask for anything better? I highly recommend any bride consider using them- spectacular results for a totally reasonable price. The La Barcaza photo package is totally, totally worth it To any brides who were nervous based on bad reviews early in the transition, don't be!! You will not regret having your reception on board- our friends and family are STILL raving about all the fun they had and how they will never forget what an amazing experience we had. If anyone has any questions, just let me know- I'd be more than happy to answer! - Lori

That would be so great- can you PM them to me? Thanks!!

Hey Brides! I'm getting married on La Barcaza on July 26th, but our guests are staying at the Majestic Elegance. I have a few things I want to ship down there ahead of time (I got all of our guests 16oz custom plastic tumblers, since the cups they give you at the bar are so small!) and there's no way we're going to be able to pack them and bring them with us as they're way too bulky. Has anyone shipped anything to the resort or know the process for making sure they hold it for you when it gets there?

We're having our reception on board La Barzaca on July 26th- I'm so glad to hear all the GOOD reviews. There was a point I was seriously regretting our decision, but now I can't wait!

Oh my gosh it looks wonderful!! I'm so glad to hear you had a great time- helps to ease some nerves! Did you have to pay extra for the wooden chairs? Did you guys have a DJ.. details!! We're having our reception on board in July- would love to hear all about your experience!

I've been emailing Daniel back and forth- sometimes it takes a few days for him to respond, but so far he's been pretty helpful. He assured me that the photographers included in the photography package I booked with Flori were the same, and he added a DJ for our reception. I am bummed about being charged to bring our own alcohol, but I'm also kind of looking forward to not having to stress about where we're going to get wine and liquor from and/or how we're getting it to Punta Cana. I think we're just going to end up going with the upgraded open bar. I guess my situation is a bit different though because we're staying at the Majestic Elegance, but we're not getting married there. Flori is still coordinating our ceremony- it will be on a private beach just at 4:30pm, so we were already planning to pay for a cake, a champagne toast, etc. The resort wanted to give me a 1:00 time slot and I wasn't interested, so I booked the entire wedding (ceremony and reception) through Flori. Although she's not handling La Barcaza anymore, she did send me an email to let me know that she would still be handling the arrangements for the ceremony. Daniel has definitely eased my mind a bit, which is great because I was SO nervous about the change in ownership. I don't care much about chairs or glasses. I expected going into having a wedding in a different country that it would not be the big production it would have been at home, which is great because a big production is exactly what I didn't want. The way I look at..I'll be on a sunset cruise with my new husband, family, and best friends with plenty of alcohol and good music.. how bad can it be, right?

Any chance you can post the text from the document? I can't open it either. I'm less concerned about plastic chairs and cups, and more concerned that I'm going to get what I ask for/what I'm paying for. I want to make sure they are still going to honor my pricing, since I booked over 9 months ago, that the photographer is still included (and that it's the same photographer!), and that we can have a DJ, so I'm definitely interested in reading this new "policies" document, since it obviously didn't exist when most of us booked! La Barcaza Policies for clients.docx

I've been emailing, too. I did reach Daniel using [email protected]. I had asked about adding a DJ and what decorations, if any, were provided at no cost. He emailed back and was very pleasant in his email. He asked if I could send him the invoice that Flori had sent to me, so I did. He then emailed me back and asked for proof that I paid the deposit, so I sent him the confirmations I received from Wester Union when I wired the money. Since then, I haven't heard back and it's been over a week. I'm ok with waiting a few days for a response- I get that it's the Caribbean and things move slower there, but waiting a week and a half for a response is beginning to make me nervous.

Try using this email address- I got in touch with Daniel and he replied using this email: [email protected]

Reading this is seriously making me freak out. I did so much research to find the perfect reception venue so that it would be as stress-free as possible. I booked this a year ago for our July 2013 wedding reception and all of the reviews were fantastic- not a bad one among them. Has anyone cancelled since they switched owners? Or has anyone had a good experience since the boat switched hands? I'm so, so worried.

Hi Everyone, I'm new to the forum, but there's so much fantastic information on this site, I'm excited to read it all! My fiance and I are planning to get married July 2013 at the Majestic Elegance. We've traveled there twice and loved it, and for the price, I don't think you can beat it! We'd like to get married on the beach, then I've booked La Barcaza for a sunset dinner cruise for all of our guests. I thought I was well ahead of the curve, requesting my date and time 14 months in advance, but when I heard back from the wedding coordinator today, she told me they only have 1 time slot available, 12:00pm, on July 26th, they day we want to have our symbolic ceremony!! I don't understand how that's possible, as rates for July 2013 just became available 3 weeks ago! I really don't want to get married so early in the day, since La Barcaza isn't picking us up until 5:30! Has anyone else run into this problem? Were you able to negotiate a different time?