You got married or left in Jackson hole, congrats! As your Jackson Hole Photographer, Im here to help you even beyond your wedding day. Obviously the mountains trees and rivers, and lakes attracted you to this location to choose it as your wedding or elopement location. Maybe you want to honeymoon someplace with a different scenery! Well, let me tell you about the wonderful world of cruising for your Jackson Hole Wedding to Tropical Cruise! 

How to Get There

Jackson Hole, WY has its own airport! You may have passed it many times on your way to the park. Honest to goodness, sometimes I find the best flight deals out of Jackson Hole rather than Salt Lake City! So let’s talk about some cruise locations. 

You can go on a cruise to pretty much anywhere in the world. Heck, they even have a cruise that can take you around the whole world! But in this blog I’m gonna talk about the most easily accessed, common destinations, and you can decide if they would be perfect for your Jackson Hole Wedding to Tropical Cruise!

The Destinations ( The Most Common)

Mexico

Mexico: Our experience here has always been amazing! It seems to be on the more affordable side, and the flight from Jackson, WY is on average around 3 hours to LA. While we didn’t enjoy the water ( a little too chilly in January) I loved the ocean, and I will be coming to another Mexico cruise when it will be warmer! While we went to many ports my absolute favorite was Mazatlan! It felt less touristy, most warm, and the locals around you (most of them are US snowbirds or retirees) are more than happy to help you find a place. I joined several of their community pages and was met with so many recommendations. Of course there are pushy people that want you to buy their merchandise, we didn’t notice anything overwhelming. One thing for sure, food is amazing and the beer is cheap (according to everyone in our cruise group). Our uber was only $2 (50 something pesos) for a 20 minute ride!

Caribbean

Caribbean: Average flight time from Jackson Hole, WY to Florida or Texas average around 6.5 hours. Typically more expensive. However the variety of cruises is significantly more. This is where you can find a lot of the new and bigger ships. I loved my Caribbean cruise with Sadie. The water is SO salty, you can’t drown- ha! You can snorkel without any kid of floating device and the water is so blue and clear. Jamaica has one of the worst ports I ever went to. People were beyond pushy and aggressive. Apparently it’s what they are known for. Yet the area is BEAUTIFUL! Just know to not take anything from anyone if they hand it to you. Keep your hands in your pockets and feel mean for just ignoring everyone.

It go out of control when we were there- so many people on our cruise ended up with stuff they didn’t want because they were handed something with their name carved in it for “free” and then were forced to pay for it. We didn’t have that same aggression at other ports. 

Travel Agents Work For YOU

Now that you’ve figured out where you want to go, let’s talk about where to book your cruise! There are benefits to booking directly with the cruise line. However I find the best prices and deals on icruise.com – and they have the best prices on excursions too! People always enjoy smartcruiser.com for the best travel agent deals! Travel agents work for you at no cost to you, but they can get you a lot of perks! The cost of the cruise itself may be the same cost across the board, but the travel agent can get you extra perks like onboard credit! That credit is very useful and can be used for drink packages, internet, merchandise, excursions, and more!

These different sites will show you all the different cruises you can go to, and where they deport from! We have deported from CA and from FL, and I honestly didn’t notice one being better than the other. I always checked Google to see what port would be the cheapest + the cruise. This overall gave me a better idea of the best bang for our buck!

Carnival Vs. Royal Caribbean

Carnival is known for being the “redneck” or “tailgate” cruise line- Sadie and I honestly loved it! I think there are pros and cons to every cruise line. Royal Caribbean is more relaxed and yet more extreme. They have water slides that literally drop you into a free fall, rock climbing wall, and much more. I think what matters most is the length of cruise you choose.

Length of Cruise

When looking at Cruises, I talked to friends and family that frequent cruising, and they all told me the same thing. “ DON’T GO ON ANYTHING LESS THAN 5 DAYS”. Why? Those cruises tend to be more of a booze cruise. However if that’s the environment you want- go for it! People are a lot more… lively. The next thing that makes a difference is the ship!

The Ships

Research the ships! Did you know that every ship is different and has different restaurant options and activities? Some ships are newer, and some are older. So make sure to look at deck plans, inclusive food options, and activities. While all food at the main dining (MD) is all inclusive, many ships have additional restaurants around the ship that may or may not be inclusive.

If you loved your cruise so much, don’t hesitate to book another one while on the cruise! You will be able to get some great incentives, and tell them who your travel agent is, and get double the points.

The Beds

Okay, maybe I’m just a bed snob, but I couldn’t sleep well on RCC. However, I do not like a firm mattress. SO, Carnivals beds were much better! They were soft and the pillows were fluffy! I know some people like firm mattresses, but I felt like I was sleeping on a rock! I put 6 blankets under me and it still wasn’t great.

Regardless of where you go, don’t forget to grab a drink and celebrate! It was our favorite thing to do!

Jackson Hole Wedding to Tropical Cruise

Hopefully this blog has been helpful in helping you get from your Jackson Hole Wedding to tropical cruise! The world has so much diverse beauty. It’s important to experience it all! Ready to get your wedding scheduled and on the books? Contact us HERE