Cunard Insists It Will Remain British As Company Shifts To Bermuda To Offer Weddings At Sea
Wedding bells are on the horizon for British couples wishing to get married at sea
as Cunard registers its ships in Bermuda so that it will be able to legally carry out ceremonies aboard its fleet.The cruise company had to break 170 years of maritime history in the United Kingdom to do this because the British law does not allow cruise ships to conduct destination weddings while out at sea.
The law is in place because the ships are not accessible for members of the public who want to object during the wedding ceremony.
Bermuda"s laws allow captains to marry couples at sea so Cunard decided to shift the registration of its fleet of ships from Southampton in the UK to the Caribbean island so that it could cash in on the lucrative market of destination weddings as the number of couples choosing weddings abroad over traditional ceremonies is on the increase.
The move means that the company"s ships - Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria "" will now be setting sail with the name of Bermuda"s capital city, Hamilton, on their hulls.
John Denham, a Southampton MP, said: "A lot of people are deeply disappointed and very upset by this decision.
"The company claims it wants to offer couples the chance to marry at sea. But if that is the real reason, why didn"t it lobby harder for a change in the rules?"
President and Managing Director of Cunard, Peter Shanks, insisted: "The ships will continue to fly the traditional Red Ensign and will continue to sail in and out of Southampton.
"Passengers will still see evidence of our proud links to the Royal Family on board and they will still be able to enjoy our British pubs and British ballrooms. In fact, they will not notice an iota of difference."
Cruise weddings abroad are on the rise as statistics reveal that ceremonies at sea have increased by approximately 60 per cent over the last ten years. Cunard"s American owner, Carnival, carried out 2,200 marriages on its ships in 2010.
A brochure is scheduled to be released this month, providing further details about the new packages for destination weddings which are estimated to cost 1,500, and the "Weddings at Sea" programme will go on sale in December, 2011.
Mr Shanks concluded: "We have always been a British company and Bermuda is a colony with strong British links. Cunard will remain proudly British in everything we do."
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