Sunset Catamaran Cruise instead of sitting dinner reception?

[Masha]

Hello ladies, I'm getting married at Beaches Negril in July 2013. Wedding is set for 4 p.m. I received the wedding packet from Beaches and I see the catamaran cruise for only $1950 it holds 1-110 people, includes open bar, catering and entertainment. It does sound enticing. I was wondering would it be good idea to do this instead of traditional sitting, anyone done that/ heard how was it?

[Jamaica2013]

Hello Masha - We have selected the catamaran cruise for our reception as well.  I am now concerned about the amount of water we will have to get in as we board.  Everyone will still have on their wedding attire since we are doing the catamaran as our reception.  I read one review that it was chest high water to board but it was from years ago.

[Masha]

Cruise sounds like a fabulous idea but I'll have some elderly guests and some guests who would not want to get in the water. This is the biggest concern for me. I wonder if they have a pier or something like that to help guest to board who don't want to get wet. I am confused. Did you try contacting vendors yet? I see pictures on this vendor's website http://www.negrilcruises.com/events.html and they have all the attire on and it's not wet lol 

[Masha]

This review sold me on catamaran http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-theme-boards_destination-weddings_wedding-in-jamaica-beaches-negril-catamaran-reception but I have to keep my guests happy as well and if they have to go chest deep in the water we'll have to think of something else. Decisions, decisions....

[Jamaica2013]

Hello Masha,

I was able to chat with a bride that recently did the catamaran cruise for her reception.  She said it is out in the water but the resort uses a dingy to transport you over to the catamaran.  I think it's about calf to knee high water from what she described. When I had my wedding planning call Chole mentioned that it would be about 2 feet of water.  I see you are a June 2013 bride also...what date? 

[Masha]

I'm actually a July bride, it's 5th of July to be exact. I need to make a poll and see if my guests would be willing to get wet a little bit. I personally don't mind at all and I already bought the dress for reception which is short, but majority of my guests probably won't be staying at the Beaches, I hear a lot of whining how expensive it is, so I told my travel agent to look for something cheap, but this means they won't be able to change. My wedding is set at 4 pm and I plan to start reception 6-7ish. When is your wedding and what time?

[Jamaica2013]

Our wedding is June 10th. We originally selected a date in April but the resort made an error in our contract. Our guest would of only been able to stay 3 nights and with the sister resort closing Beaches Negril did not have any additional days available during the week we selected.  We changed it to June and our guest will be able to select up to 6 nights.  I was really worried about the depth of the water for the catamaran because we are keeping it as a surprise reception for our guest.

[Mufin1785]

We are doing a sunset cruise as a reception, I it it is a nice touch! I think it will be truly unique!

[Masha]

@Jamaica2013 the depth is my concern as well, I hope someone who had done it before will come in this thread. 2 feet is quite a bit if you think of people wearing their nice attire. Unless I have to make sure everyone knows to wear something they don't mind getting wet, and if they do provide dingy maybe it's not a concern at all. So much to think about. You already had your planning session with Chloe? Mine is scheduled for October, how weird, considering we are just 1 month apart, I'm dying to ask so many questions. 

 

@Mufin1785

I agree, this would be so great! When is your wedding?

[Laura2013]

I am not having a catamaran reception, but we are doing a catamaran the day after the wedding. I was concerned about my 82 year old Grandmother getting on and off so I asked about how we get on and off the boat and she told me that we board and exit using a dock so my Grandmother should not have any issues. I am sure diffeent companies probably have different ways (dingy, walking in the water, etc.), but was relieved to know they use a dock.

 

I booked through Denise at Jamaicawatersports (also known as Freestyle). I finally went ahead and booked with them yesterday. I had been going back and forth for awhile now because there isn't a lot of feedback on them and the few reviews that I have read have been great and not so great. In the end I felt that the good reviews held more weight in my opinion and felt ok regarding my communication with Denise. We are just having a two hour open bar trip with snorkeling and not a reception. However I did read a review on here from a bride that did a full reception through them and said it was really great. I booked it so now I am just going have faith that it will be a positive experience!