By state
Planning from where you actually live
Distance to the port is the single biggest driver of who attends your wedding.
The Cruise Bride coordinates the sailing, the cabins and the guest travel. The cruise line runs its own wedding program where one is offered.
Tell us about your celebration
A cruise wedding specialist replies personally, usually within one business day.
Two couples can plan an identical wedding and get completely different results, because one of them chose a ship their guests could drive to. Airfare is the line item that quietly removes people from a guest list, and it is the one you have most control over.
Each state page below starts from where you are: which ports are realistically reachable, whether that means a drive or a connection, what your state's marriage licence rules mean if you sign at home before sailing, and the itineraries couples from your state most often choose.
If your state has no port of its own, that is not a problem — it just makes the choice of port a deliberate decision rather than a default.
Most popular cruising states
Where the largest share of wedding groups sail from.
- CaliforniaMexican Riviera from Los Angeles, or Alaska from San Francisco in summer.
- TexasWestern Caribbean from Galveston, seven nights.
- FloridaBahamas from Port Canaveral or Eastern Caribbean from Miami.
- New YorkBermuda in summer, Canada and New England in autumn.
- PennsylvaniaBermuda from Cape Liberty, or Caribbean from Baltimore in winter.
- IllinoisCaribbean from Florida, flying in the day before.
- OhioBahamas or Eastern Caribbean from Florida.
- GeorgiaShort Bahamas sailings from Jacksonville.
- North CarolinaBahamas from Charleston, or Bermuda from Norfolk.
- MichiganCaribbean from Florida in winter.
- New JerseyBermuda from Cape Liberty, seven nights.
- VirginiaBermuda from Norfolk in summer.
Every state, A to Z
- AlabamaMobile is a home port and New Orleans is two hours further, so almost nobody flies.
- AlaskaSeward and the southeast ports are on your doorstep, and the summer season is short and spectacular.
- ArizonaSan Diego and Long Beach are five to six hours by road, and many couples drive.
- ArkansasNew Orleans is a comfortable day's drive from most of the state.
- CaliforniaFour working cruise ports inside the state, so most couples drive to the ship rather than fly.
- ColoradoDenver is a hub, so almost every embarkation port is a direct flight of four hours or less.
- ConnecticutNew York and Boston terminals are both within two to three hours.
- DelawareBaltimore is about ninety minutes and Cape Liberty around two hours.
- FloridaFive major ports and no flights required — Florida couples have more sailing choice than anyone in the country.
- GeorgiaJacksonville and Charleston are both within four hours of Atlanta's outer suburbs.
- HawaiiHonolulu sails inter-island weekly, so a wedding sailing needs no mainland travel at all.
- IdahoSeattle is a long drive or a short flight, and the natural choice for Alaska.
- IllinoisNo nearby port, but O'Hare and Midway make almost every embarkation city a direct flight.
- IndianaIndianapolis has direct Florida service; most couples fly in the day before.
- IowaMost couples connect through Chicago, Dallas or Minneapolis to a Gulf or Florida port.
- KansasGalveston is the usual drive; Florida is a connection through Dallas or Chicago.
- KentuckyMost couples fly from Louisville or Cincinnati; New Orleans is a long drive.
- LouisianaNew Orleans is the home port, and the city itself carries the pre-cruise weekend.
- MaineBoston is two to four hours by road depending on where in the state you start.
- MarylandBaltimore is a home port, so most of the guest list drives and parks at the terminal.
- MassachusettsBoston's Flynn Cruiseport is in the city, with autumn Canada and New England sailings on the doorstep.
- MichiganDetroit has direct flights to every Florida embarkation city.
- MinnesotaMinneapolis has direct service to Florida and Seattle year round.
- MississippiBoth Gulf ports are within a few hours, so a large drive-in guest list is realistic.
- MissouriGalveston and New Orleans are both long but manageable drives; flights from St Louis and Kansas City are cheap.
- MontanaSeattle is the practical gateway, by air from Bozeman, Billings or Missoula.
- NebraskaOmaha connects easily to Houston, Dallas and Denver for onward flights.
- NevadaLong Beach is four hours from Las Vegas by road and a short hop by air.
- New HampshireBoston is an hour away, which makes autumn New England sailings almost local.
- New JerseyCape Liberty is in the state — for many couples the ship is closer than the reception hall would have been.
- New MexicoGalveston and the California ports are both about twelve hours by road, or a short flight.
- New YorkThree terminals across the harbour, all reachable without a flight from most of the metro area.
- North CarolinaCharleston and Norfolk are both drivable, which keeps guest costs down considerably.
- North DakotaMinneapolis is the connecting hub for almost every itinerary.
- OhioBaltimore is a long day's drive; most couples fly to Florida instead.
- OklahomaGalveston is a long day's drive and the usual choice for a group.
- OregonSeattle is three hours by road from Portland, making Alaska sailings a drive-to option.
- PennsylvaniaCape Liberty and Baltimore are both drivable from most of the state, typically two to four hours.
- Rhode IslandBoston is an hour and New York around three, so no flights are needed.
- South CarolinaCharleston is a home port and one of the most attractive pre-cruise cities in the country.
- South DakotaConnections through Minneapolis or Denver reach every embarkation port.
- TennesseeNew Orleans is a day's drive from Nashville and Memphis; Florida is a cheap flight.
- TexasGalveston is within a day's drive of most of the state, which is why Texas guest lists are the largest we handle.
- UtahSalt Lake City is a hub with direct flights to every West Coast port.
- VermontBoston is three to four hours; Montreal's airport serves connections for the north of the state.
- VirginiaNorfolk is in the state and Baltimore is a short drive from the north.
- WashingtonSeattle is the Alaska gateway and reachable from anywhere in the state in a day.
- Washington, D.C.Baltimore is under an hour, making it one of the easiest departures in the country to organise.
- West VirginiaBaltimore is the closest port for most of the state, typically four to six hours.
- WisconsinMilwaukee and Chicago airports both serve every Florida port directly.
- WyomingDenver or Salt Lake City connections reach every West Coast and Gulf port.
What planning with us costs
- $0.0k–$0k
- Typical cruise-line ceremony package, before the reception
- $000–$000
- Per guest, per night, inside cabin at double occupancy
- 00–00 mo
- Lead time we ask for when a group is coming with you
- $0
- What our planning costs you — the cruise lines pay us