HoneyLuna Honeymoon Registries Are An Acceptable Bridal Registry Option - (a nice little "say so" from Real Simple!)

We LOVE this!  Yes, HoneyLuna honeymoon registries ARE an acceptable bridal registry option!

Thank you for the kudos Real Simple!

P.S. The Emily Post Institute of Etiquette also says honeymoon registries are an acceptable bridal registry option!

Honeymoon Budget: 25 Ways to Honeymoon for Less shared with you by HoneyLuna

Don't hitchhike to your honeymoon!  Use HoneyLuna!

Here is a great article on the Knot.com with 25 Ways To Honeymoon For Less - we especially like #3!

The secrets to getting the most bang for your honeymoon buck are to shop around and plan ahead. Keep in mind that you can avoid paying full price about 99% of the time -- even some early-booking discounts apply to peak times. Here are 25 money-saving tips to help you plan the romantic vacation of your discount dreams.

1. Set Your Priorities

First decide what your goals are for the trip and exactly what you can and can't live without. Let's say you have $1,000 for the honeymoon. If pampering is first on your list, book a long weekend in the suite of a nearby spa resort. If getting away from it all is most important, use that same amount of money to take a week-long camping trip complete with gourmet eats and treats.

2. Work With A Travel Agent

For one-stop, stress-free trip planning, a travel agent can't be beat. They can save you money with air/hotel or fly/drive/hotel packages (thanks to their high business volume), they have the skinny on last-minute or ongoing sales, and can offer the wisdom gained from years of travel experience. For savings at sea, call an agency that specializes in booking cruises. And be sure to let the travel agent know your priorities so he knows exactly what to cut and keep from your itinerary.

3. Consider A Honeymoon Registry

Here's how it works: Some travel agencies and tour operators offer a registry service by which they collect, track, and apply contributions from your wedding guests toward your honeymoon expenses. Some services, such as www.honeyluna.com, even allow guests to "sponsor" specific activities such as a sunset cruise, scuba trip, spa treatment, or meal at a romantic restaurant.

To read the rest of the article, please visit  http://wedding.theknot.com/honeymoons/honeymoon-planning/articles/25-ways-to-honeymoon-on-a-budget.aspx

Top 10 Swim Up Bars for your HoneyLuna honeymoon!

This is a great top 10 list from Trip Advisor  (www.tripadvisor.com)  If you're looking for the perfect honeymoon resort with a swim up bar, then be sure to check these places out -- Trip Advisor has included some fabulous photos as well!  After you've booked your honeymoon, be sure to include "cocktails at the swim up bar" on your HoneyLuna honeymoon registry!

1. Dreams Punta Cana Punta Cana, Dominican Republic See all pool photos 2. Beaches Turks & Caicos Providenciales, Turks & Caicos See all pool photos 3. Excellence Playa Mujeres Playa Mujeres, Mexico See all pool photos 4. Holiday Village Rhodes Kolimbia, Greece See all pool photos 5. Riu Touareg Boa Vista, Cape Verde See all pool photos 6. North Beach Plantation North Myrtle Beach, SC See all pool photos 7. Hotel Mountain Paradise La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica See all pool photos 8. Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa Montego Bay, Jamaica See all pool photos 9. Padma Resort Bali at Legian Legian, Bali, Indonesia See all pool photos 10. Room Mate Grace New York City, NY See all pool photos

Found this great post from a bride about HoneyLuna on a TheKnot.Com

Like Our FaceBook Page and Enter to Win A $50 Gift Card

We used www.HoneyLuna.com   and were thrilled with the site.  It's beautiful, easy for our friends to use and our friends and family LOVED IT!  

They all agreed that it was better giving us a fun, romantic or experiential gift on our honeymoon than something we didn’t need that would just end up in a closet or being returned.  We too lived together and had everything for our house -- we just did not want or need more STUFF.  In no way were we being "grabby".  In fact, when we initially did not register anywhere our friends were outraged - they all said "but we have to get you something."  We took pictures of all the activities our friends bought for us and sent them in our thank you notes.  That way that saw that we enjoyed our gifts and now have a memento of us enjoying their wedding gift.  

As for the service fee - I don't get why people are so hung up on that.  We paid everyone else involved in our wedding for their service - the photographer, the minister, the reception venue, the caterer... This was another great service that made our lives easier, got us wonderful wedding gifts and our friends were happy.  Totally worth it.  

And btw, do you not think there is a fee at a department store?  The registry may be free but the gifts are marked up 40-50% -- so the 7% we paid with HoneyLuna was a real bargain.  

(Actually, we chose the option where our friends covered that fee - and they didn't mind as they didn't even have to leave their house to buy the gifts and knew we wouldn't be returning it!)  So use www.honeyluna.com and go have the honeymoon of your dreams!  Enjoy!!

 Thank you from HoneyLuna!

A Fabulous Cruise Through French Polynesia on the m/s Paul Gauguin (Bora Bora Day 2)

The m/s Paul Gauguin (left) in Bora Bora

Bora Bora is a small island - only 22 miles around - but is such an amazing  tropical playground I could stay there forever!  Thankfully, the Gauguin itinerary stays in Bora Bora for two full days!  There are an abundance of amazing shore excursions on Bora Bora and I do recommend you do them all!!!  Diving, snorkeling, jeep safaris, shark feeding....  all unforgettable! 

A lovely view from the beach

And of course, these are all activities that you can include on your HoneyLuna honeymoon registry (www.honeyluna.com) or your Paul Gauguin honeymoon registry (www.honeymoon.pgcruises.com). I highly recommend taking pictures of the two of you enjoying the activity or shore excursion and that your friends purchased for you as your wedding gift and sending it to them in a "thank you" note when you return home. Your friends will love seeing you having such a good time on your honeymoon cruise on the Paul Gauguin!

    

Bora Bora Beach Day

The diving and the snorkeling are fabulous in Bora Bora so definitely if you are into water, make a snorkel and dive trip happen.  One of my favorite land activities is the jeep safari.  This is really a great way to see the island, have some fun and more importantly, get to higher elevation so you can see from up high the stunning amazing spectacular views of the Bora Bora lagoons.  There really is nowhere else like Bora Bora on earth!  Click here to see your shore excursion choices http://www.pgcruises.com/excursions/default.aspx

A couple enjoys the motu beach

Another option to kick back and relax is to take the tender to the Gauguin's private beach on a motu in Bora Bora.  The Gauguin has a private, lovely white sand beach on the motu with spectacular views back to the main island and Mont Pahia and Mount Otemanu.  You can enjoy a shore excursion in the morning and relax on the beach in the afternoon.  There are limited services on the beach but you can still enjoy a refreshing beverage as you soak up the sun, snorkel, relax and thank your lucky stars you are in paradise!

This is paradise!

The m/s Paul Gauguin leaves Bora Bora tonight.  You cruise out of the magficent lagoon just as the sun sets.  I promise you, you will never forget your two days in Bora Bora! 

Tomorrow, Moorea Day 1.....

Definitely not Iowa!

If you need help booking your Paul Gauguin cruise or your stay at the Intercontinetal Bora Bora Thalasso Resort and Spa, please email us at info (at) honeyluna.com and we will connect you with one of our expert travel agent partners to help you!

Register for your honeymoon!
www.honeyluna.com

A Fabulous Cruise through French Polynesia on the Paul Gauguin (Motu Monday and Bora Bora)

Cruising into Taha'a

 I must confess, this was my second time cruising through Tahiti on the m/s Paul Gauguin.  (The first time was in 2001 and I loved it so much I knew I had to come back!)  So I already knew that my favorite day was "Motu Monday".  Motu Monday is a "Robinson Caruso" kind of day, spent on Paul Gauguin's private island just off of Taha'a. 

Cruising to Taha's (Bora Bora in back)

To get there, we pulled up anchor in Raiatea and cruised slowly over to Taha'a.  No matter where you look, the scenery is amazing.  On one side of the ship you can look over to see Bora Bora in the distance.  On the other side, you see the beautiful island of Taha'a.  It is so beautiful, it's actually almost impossible to understand and believe that it's real!

Paul Gauguin's Motu!!

There are several shore excursions on Taha'a, and it is possible to enjoy a shore excursion and also spend time on the motu! (Click here to see PG's shore excursions! http://www.pgcruises.com/excursions/default.aspx ) Since I had been here before, I opted to do just a full day on the motu.  And a full day is not long enough!!  The motu is staffed with Paul Gauguin's gracious employees, who bring you water, cook you lunch, mix cocktails, serve you coconut water in coconuts, offer you kayaks.... it's just truly an amazing, enjoyable day!

Vow renewal on Motu!

 One couple had opted to enjoy their vow renewal (after 17 years!) on the Motu.  The Paul Gauguin staff can arrange weddings or vow renewals on the ship or several different places / choices throughout the cruise.  The motu of course is the perfect place for that wedding or vow renewal in paradise!  The ship's captain and the cruise director performed the ceremony -- and of course the staff did an amazing job of setting up the "venue". 

Happy Couple!

After the ceremony, they enjoyed cake and champagne before taking that celebratory dip in the South Pacific!!  What better way to "seal" your commitment?!

Strolling around the motu!

The Stunning Intercon Thalasso

It might be a slight exaggeration to say I cried shamelessly when we left the motu, but I was clearly very sad!  However, Bora Bora was our next stop (2 days!)  so at least I had something to look forward to!   We planned a day to the stunning Intercontinental Bora Bora Thalasso Resort and Spa.  This is also a day trip you can book as a shore excursion.  The resort is all over the water villas and offers stunning views wherever you are! 

The pool and beach.

The resort truly is a paradise and again, their amazing Concierge (Laure Salabert) and her team go out of their way to make your stay as spectacular as possible. And oh my goodness, the Spa.....

View from the Wedding Chapel

The Intercontinental Bora Bora Thalasso Resort and Spa is also a fabulous place for a wedding or vow renewal.  There are several places on the property to get married on the beach with a view, or they have a stunning chapel built out over their lagoon....again with amazing views.  The team will put together an unforgettable service to say your "I Do's" in paradise. 

I can't say enough about this property.... and... if time and budget allow, I highly recommend actually adding a few extra days pre or post cruise for a stay at the Intercontinental Bora Bora Thalasso Resort and Spa.  It will truly be some of the best days of your lives!!!


And I forgot to mention, the Intercontinental Bora Bora Thalasso Resort and Spa also has a honeymoon registry where you can register for the items and activities of your honeymoon at the Intercontinental Bora Bora Thalasso Resort and Spa as your wedding gifts!  Check it out!   http://www.honeymoonregistryborabora.com/

For more information on the Intercontinental Bora Bora Thalasso Resort and Spa you can visit their site at http://tahiti.intercontinental.com/

Tomorrow's post.... Day 2 Bora Bora. 

If you need help booking your Paul Gauguin cruise or your stay at the Intercontinetal Bora Bora Thalasso Resort and Spa, please email us at info (at) honeyluna.com  and we will connect you with one of our expert travel agent partners to help you!