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Article in Wedding Section of the Boston Globe

Baby, Let’s Cruise
by E.T. Robbins

Step back into a golden era. Splash in turquoise waters. Marvel at ice glaciers. Take part in day-long activities – snorkeling, sunbathing, and sampling sweets from a midday smorgasbord. Or stay in your cabin for as long as you want while occupied in, well, other activities. It is your honeymoon after all. What better way to launch the rest of your life together than aboard your own love boat?

Let’s pretend for a moment that money is no object. Close your eyes and imagine six blissful nights at sea on a transatlantic voyage aboard the QE2. Or an intimate cruise in Tahiti on the Wind Song. Have a few extra vacation days saved up? Cruise the Pacific Northwest and experience nature in her most pristine setting. Yeah, it’s the stuff that dreams are made of, but for the next few paragraphs, we’re going to allow ourselves to dream big.

Transatlantic crossing aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2)

You’ve tasted countless wedding cakes and chicken dishes. Your mother-in-law finally found a dress. The wedding planner reminds you to make time for yourself the week before the wedding. Uh-huh. Then there’s the actual wedding day - a whirl-wind of flashing bulbs, stomach butterflies, and hugs from aunts and uncles seen only at, well, weddings.

“Spending six nights at sea on a transatlantic voyage aboard the QE2 is just what tired newlyweds need,” says Gary Gerbino, vice president of M. Silver Associates – the firm that handles PR for Cunard. “Step back in time, and feel free to relax. Stay in your cabin for the week if you want to.”

With 1,184 square feet of pure magnificence in a split-level grand suite – aptly named the Queen Mary or the Queen Elizabeth – there are plenty of reasons why you should wile away the hours inside your cabin. Step onto a private balcony, go for a dip together in a marble bathtub, or enjoy the view (without worrying about the elements) from your own glass-enclosed conservatory. Invite new-found friends to sup in your dining room, or amuse yourselves with the suite’s complete entertainment system. Then, of course, there’s the bedroom.

Cunard has had regularly scheduled transatlantic service since 1840. In other words, they’ve had a lot of practice getting it right. There are 17 transatlantic crossings between April and December, making it easy to find a cruise to coincide with your special day.

The QE2 boasts five-star restaurants (four of the six nights are formal, so tuxes and gowns are a must) and speed (a maximum of 32 knots, making her the fastest passenger vessel on the seas). The cost of a six-night transatlantic voyage in a grand suite is $22,749 per person, which includes one-way business class airfare. Want to make the trip even more memorable? Try one of Cunard’s European Entrée Land Tours. Either start or end your honeymoon cruise with a three or six-night stay in London . Prices start at $595 per person.

Jill Sussman, owner of Vacations Etc. in Framingham , says Tahiti is a “honeymooner’s dream.” The best way to take in this tropical island? Aboard the a luxury cruise ship. According to Sussman, seven nights (plus a four-night pre/post stay in an over-water bungalow) is a dream honeymoon.

Mitchell Lange, owner of Island Cruises and Travel outside Chicago (check out his fun Web site: www.honeymooncruiseshopper.com), agrees with Sussman’s choice of cruise line for a dream honeymoon, while recommending the waters of the Caribbean and Costa Rica . “It’s more intimate,” Lange comments referring to the smaller ports and the fact that luxury cruise ships carry only 300 passengers.

Land of the Midnight Sun

Alaska ’s state flower is the forget-me-not. Appropriate since you won’t soon forget a 12-night Alaskan cruise aboard the Crystal Harmony. Your late-spring, summer, or early autumn wedding is perfect timing for these cruises that run May-September. Experience midnight sun. Gawk at glaciers. Spy an orca whale. That is if you can tear yourself away from your 948 square foot Crystal Penthouse with verandah, a master bath with Jacuzzi, and of course, the all-important ocean view.

Lange notes that Alaska is one of the top three cruise destinations he books, and that his own Alaskan cruise remains one of his favorite experiences.

Minding your Cruising Details

Whether it’s luxurious or a special deal, here are some things to keep in mind when planning your honeymoon cruise. Make sure you’re working with a travel agent who has cruising experience. A fast way to find the right agent is to log onto Cruise Line International Association’s Web site at www.cruising.org. From there, simply type in your zip code and faster than you can say " midnight buffet," a list of Master Cruise Counselors (MCC) or Accredited Cruise Counselors (ACC) is at your fingertips complete with email and phone numbers.

Lange offers this piece of advice: know what activities you want in advance. Do you like on-shore excursions through majestic ruins, sunbathing on the beach or time alone in your cabin? Does the idea of 3000 passengers sound exciting, or would you prefer the intimacy of a yacht? Finally, of course, there’s price. Although the sky was the limit for our little cruising dream, it’s important to shop around. Gerbino recommends booking a cruise the moment you set your wedding date. Sussman says six to nine months out should be sufficient, but that most cruise lines “offer better deals to early bookers…but last minute space is often available. Most often the low rates are for inside or obstructed view cabins.”

Melissa Cerretani of Saugus celebrated her five-year wedding anniversary in October, and remembers her tropical honeymoon cruise to the Caribbean . She sums up the cruising experience best, “You can get adventurous and do everything, or you don’t have to do anything at all.”