Why not marry on a Love Boat?

It’s Valentine’s Day, and if thoughts are turning from a sweet little card, a romantic meal and a bottle of pink fizz, towards a proposal and a diamond ring, then what better than a wedding on a cruise ship?
A record number of couples are choosing to marry at sea, and it can’t simply be because it’s an easy way to combine the ceremony with the honeymoon.
There were three weddings today on Arcadia, which is currently cruising off southern Australia, and there were six during my two-week Caribbean cruise on Ventura last year. In 2008 a total of 371 couples were married on P&O ships, a third more than in 2007.
P&O have even set up a dedicated Weddings at Sea website, complete with booking form.
It doesn’t have to be expensive, either. A P&O wedding package costs from £725, plus £249 for licences, in order to have the ship’s captain, in his smart white uniform, pronounce you man and wife.
There’s the fare on top of that, of course, and you might want to bring along a few guests, but when you consider that the average cost of a wedding at home is £19,200, there’s room to manoeuvre.
P&O and sister line Princess (the original Love Boats) can perform weddings at sea because their ships are registered in Bermuda. Celebrity recently got in on the act by registering their ships in Malta.
If you want to go crazy with your wedding, Royal Caribbean will perform ceremonies on the climbing wall or the FlowRider surf simulator.
Sure beats a windowless room in your local register office.