Carnival Corp. will begin offering
same-sex weddings at sea on three of its cruise lines.
According to CruiseCritic.com,
a recent ruling in Bermuda allows the cruise giant to offer such
unions for the first time aboard ships registered in Bermuda.
Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises and Cunard Line are now taking
bookings for such weddings. While Carnival Corp. owns ten cruise
lines, all or part of these three cruise lines are registered in
Bermuda.
Marriage licenses will be issued by
Bermuda and ceremonies will be performed by the ship's captain or his
deputy.
“I am delighted that following this
much anticipated change in the legalities we are now the first
British cruise line to be able to arrange same-sex weddings onboard,”
said Paul Ludlow, a senior vice president at P&O Cruises.
“Weddings at sea are very romantic and getting married by the
captain in the middle of the ocean is an unforgettable experience.”
P&O Cruises and Cunard said that
they have already taken their first bookings involving a gay or
lesbian couple, while Princess Cruises, which has 13 ships registered
in Bermuda, said in a statement that it is “working on developing a
range of services and amenities to meet the needs of same-sex couple
ceremonies and will release full information on these shortly.”