Has Anyone Been Married on Castaway Cay?

[ConnorMichelleClay]

My fiancé and I are considering having our wedding next year at Disney's Castaway Cay. We originally intended on just getting married on Castaway Cay's beach, but we noticed on the Disney Wedding website that there is an option to get married on a pier called Wedding Pointe. We fell in love with this spot. It is beautiful and much more private than the beach. Castaway Cay weddings start at $4,000+ according to their website. When we called both Disney Cruise Line and Disney Fairytale Weddings, they informed us they could not tell us how much it was to get married on Wedding Pointe. They simply said it was an up-charge from the base-price of $4,000. They said we could not find out the additional cost to get married at Wedding Pointe until we booked our cruise and our wedding package. We were told a wedding consultant would contact us 2-3 days after the booking of our wedding to talk details of price. I find it really inconvenient that I have to book and pay a deposit on the cruise and wedding package before I can find out how much the whole thing will cost me in the end. I also asked about how much a wedding photographer costed to add on, an option mentioned on the Disney Wedding's site, but no one knew the price tag for that add-on either. My question is, has anyone out there been married on Castaway Cay's Wedding Pointe? If so, how much did it cost you? And how much is it to have Disney photograph your wedding? Feel free to add in any other helpful advice/things we should know before we choose Castaway Cay for our special day! Thanks in advance!

 

[ScoutN]

We were supposed to. Castaway had a gnarly thunderstorm (read: multiple) that morning. So the island wedding was off. They threw around different locations for it and we ended up in the atrium. If you've googled Disney cruise weddings then you have more than likely seen some of our photos.

Island weddings are usually $1,000 over base. Then you look at the decorations and add-ons the price goes up, but not by much. We used our own photographers who are professional photographers by trade and rely on their quality in order to make a living. They were with us much earlier than a ship photographer would be and longer, also.

DCL weddings are insanely popular. Now that atrium weddings are an official option they are even more popular. They can be full for a specific cruise. Booking the cruise when the itinerary is released is paramount. They only do one CC wedding per day and you have to find out if it is booked before you decide on a cruise.

There are a couple of write-ups floating around that my wife has done. I can PM one to you this evening once she can locate it, if you would like.

 

[Surfin' Tuna]

I cannot offer any information on this other than to say this is ridiculous. If you are planning a cruise to marry on the cruise then one would assume cost would be a huge consideration. They should be able to at least ballpark it for you before booking something. Maybe you should try calling again and getting someone more helpful? Maybe a travel agent might be able to give some additional info as well.

 

[ConnorMichelleClay]

I cannot offer any information on this other than to say this is ridiculous. If you are planning a cruise to marry on the cruise then one would assume cost would be a huge consideration. They should be able to at least ballpark it for you before booking something. Maybe you should try calling again and getting someone more helpful? Maybe a travel agent might be able to give some additional info as well.

I spoke with a cast member from DCL's booking department and they did not know, but they directed me to call Disney Fairytale Weddings. I spoke with someone from Disney Fairytale Weddings and they gave all of the same responses, stating that they did not know any of the add-on charges. Definitely disappointing. I think we are just going to have to book the wedding at its base price and then wait to talk to our wedding planner when we are contacted 2-3 days later. They did say that if it ends up being too expensive, they will allow us to cancel. After they have charged our credit card for the deposit, of course... Very unfortunate and frustrating!

 

[MaryJaneP]

Seems like they should be able to quesstimate a menu of possible charges and still indicate that there may be some fluctuation on final invoice due to the flexible nature of weather etc including or eliminating the inclusion of certain items. Even a "most everything" figure would seem to be helpful. Unlikely that the prices are not known now since DCL presumably has charged for them in the past and knows what these items are billed at. Disney Fairytale Weddings should step up and be forthcoming.

 

[Surfin' Tuna]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Even if it is a wide ranging ballpark, "they run from X to Y." Anything is better than, "book your trip, go through the process, get excited, and then if you decide you want to ruin your dream you can cancel." I'm not even the one planning, and it is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Keep us posted and good luck in getting your wedding planned.

 

[Phonedave]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Even if it is a wide ranging ballpark, "they run from X to Y."

Maybe they are in the range of "If you have to ask, you can't afford it"

-dave

 

[DisneyJoe]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Even if it is a wide ranging ballpark, "they run from X to Y." Anything is better than, "book your trip, go through the process, get excited, and then if you decide you want to ruin your dream you can cancel." I'm not even the one planning, and it is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Keep us posted and good luck in getting your wedding planned.

They can't give you a high end, because that high end can be very high. I've heard of WDW weddings that have a cost of $200k with all of the extras - Cinderella's carriage with horses and footmen etc.

I think the best you are going to get is what ScoutN gave you above. Make a refundable deposit and then talk to the planner a few days later.

 

[ScoutN]

They should be able to at least ballpark it for you before booking something.

Uh, they do right here

I spoke with a cast member from DCL's booking department and they did not know, but they directed me to call Disney Fairytale Weddings. I spoke with someone from Disney Fairytale Weddings and they gave all of the same responses, stating that they did not know any of the add-on charges. Definitely disappointing. I think we are just going to have to book the wedding at its base price and then wait to talk to our wedding planner when we are contacted 2-3 days later. They did say that if it ends up being too expensive, they will allow us to cancel. After they have charged our credit card for the deposit, of course... Very unfortunate and frustrating!

The base cost is for eight people (including the bride and groom), each guest after that is $20/head. Sure anyone can go and watch, but they won't be able to get to the cake and champagne reception.

The add-ons do not run it up like they would at WDW. We had tiki torches (which ended being refunded due to rain-out on CC), palm fronds, shells, flowers, bridal party flowers, additional champagne, 40 total guests, hair for @WifeUnit and some other stuff bringing the overall wedding costs paid to DCL came to be less than $6,000. All in all we ran less than $2,000 in add-ons and additional guest fees over the base cost. Take note that my list does not include photography as we brought our own.

Seems like they should be able to quesstimate a menu of possible charges and still indicate that there may be some fluctuation on final invoice due to the flexible nature of weather etc including or eliminating the inclusion of certain items. Even a "most everything" figure would seem to be helpful. Unlikely that the prices are not known now since DCL presumably has charged for them in the past and knows what these items are billed at. Disney Fairytale Weddings should step up and be forthcoming.

In our case, since we paid the additional for the island venue that was rained out thus forcing (not complaining about the backup location AT ALL) us to be married on the ship, we were refunded that difference. If they still do that, I cannot say as this was just over two years ago.

They can't give you a high end, because that high end can be very high. I've heard of WDW weddings that have a cost of $200k with all of the extras - Cinderella's carriage with horses and footmen etc.

I think the best you are going to get is what ScoutN gave you above. Make a refundable deposit and then talk to the planner a few days later.

As a travel agent who does a ton of pricing for those just shopping around, I can see where they are coming from.

An open wallet that has no bottom can get anything it wants in regards to a wedding. Fortunately, it would be very, very difficult to run up the cost of a DCL wedding. A travel agent may know but the travel agent just sees the invoice of what to pay toward your reservation. All the details that lead to that cost is not known to the TA.

 

[ConnorMichelleClay]

Hey everyone! Just an update. On Friday, I received an email from the Wedding Services Manager at Disney Cruise Line Fairy Tale Weddings. She sent me several documents pertaining to choices for flowers, music, songs, etc. Unfortunately, there was still no information about the option to upgrade our ceremony to the Wedding Pointe location. I emailed the manager back on Friday, asking her for this information, but I have not received a reply yet. I'm not complaining about that, as I assume she works Monday-Friday and has not had time to get back with me. I tried to call her today from the number she provided in her email, but I just received an automated voice telling me that they were not able to take my call at this time.

After doing some research, I am unsure as to whether or not we will be using Disney's photography for the wedding. I have read from too many people that the images were sub-par and very basic. I definitely do not want to have our dream wedding and regret not having amazing pictures to look back on! However, as I mentioned, I did receive Disney's options for photography and pricing, so I will paste those below.


Photography Packages:

Celebration Package
$349.95
20 – 5x7 Wedding Photographs
5 – 8x10 Wedding Photographs
1 – 8x10 Folio
Includes Event Photographer

Wishes Package
$549.95
30 – 5x7 Wedding Photographs
15 - 8x10 Wedding Photographs
Includes Event Photographer

Magic Package
$999.95
30 – 5x7 Wedding Photographs
30 – 8x10 Wedding Photographs
25 – Wedding Announcements
1 – Jump Drive of all Wedding Images Includes Event Photographer

Additional Offerings:
Jump Drive of all Wedding images - $399.95
25 Wedding Announcements - $24.95
Additional Hour of Photography - $85.00

^please note this item is not available for individual purchase

*There will be a fee of $85 added for ceremonies on Castaway Cay due to the additional photography time required for island ceremonies.

**Please note prices, services and products are subject to change at any time

 

[ConnorMichelleClay]

Hey guys, I've just found out a little more info. I talked to the wedding planner on the phone, and I was informed that getting married on Wedding Pointe is a $2,000 up-charge. This is definitely a little bit disappointing, considering that I had to book first in order to find out that this would be such a large expense. So in total, a wedding at Wedding Pointe is $6,000. I was thinking/hoping the upgrade would be $1,000. But $2,000 is a big amount to just tack-on after the fact.

As tradition goes, my parents are covering the cost of the wedding. My parents have agreed to pay up to $5,000 for the *actual wedding* portion of our trip, in addition to cruise fare for both my mom and dad, my brother, my sister, and myself. Racking up a total of around $12,000+ for the whole wedding and trip. My fiance is paying for his own cruise fare.

Getting married on the Castaway Cay beach costs $4,000 on its own. 8 guests are included in this cost, and every guest after that is $20 each. So far, we have 18 guests who have booked to attend the cruise and wedding, and we are expecting to have at least a few more. So at this point, at least $4,200 of our $5,000 budget has been accounted for. So my fiance and I are going to have to pay the difference or just settle for the beach.

I know that in the grand scheme of things a couple thousand dollars isn't huge, but we are both young, recent college grads who are working on paying off student loans, having a wedding, honeymoon, and buying a house. So its definitely not the best news to book your wedding and find out that you have to tack on a few grand to the cost.

 

[leslie0307]

Hey guys, I've just found out a little more info. I talked to the wedding planner on the phone, and I was informed that getting married on Wedding Pointe is a $2,000 up-charge. This is definitely a little bit disappointing, considering that I had to book first in order to find out that this would be such a large expense. So in total, a wedding at Wedding Pointe is $6,000. I was thinking/hoping the upgrade would be $1,000. But $2,000 is a big amount to just tack-on after the fact.

As tradition goes, my parents are covering the cost of the wedding. My parents have agreed to pay up to $5,000 for the *actual wedding* portion of our trip, in addition to cruise fare for both my mom and dad, my brother, my sister, and myself. Racking up a total of around $12,000+ for the whole wedding and trip. My fiance is paying for his own cruise fare.

Getting married on the Castaway Cay beach costs $4,000 on its own. 8 guests are included in this cost, and every guest after that is $20 each. So far, we have 18 guests who have booked to attend the cruise and wedding, and we are expecting to have at least a few more. So at this point, at least $4,200 of our $5,000 budget has been accounted for. So my fiance and I are going to have to pay the difference or just settle for the beach.

I know that in the grand scheme of things a couple thousand dollars isn't huge, but we are both young, recent college grads who are working on paying off student loans, having a wedding, honeymoon, and buying a house. So its definitely not the best news to book your wedding and find out that you have to tack on a few grand to the cost.

I am now facing the same choice of having my wedding at Castaway Cay or Wedding Pointe. I too was hoping that the upgrade would be no more than $1000. My concern about the beach wedding at Castaway Cay is the noise from the other vacationers in the background (which is understandable as it is also their vacation that they paid for and they have the right to be there in the background).

What did you end up doing?