PHOTO: Wedding couples can even try out Royal Caribbean’s Flowrider in their finery.

Love is always in the air, especially in February when Valentine’s Day rolls around. And that is great news for you, because couples in love have always loved taking cruises.

After all, what is more romantic than a stroll on deck under the stars? Sharing an elegant dinner with a flute of something bubbly? Or having hot coffee and breakfast brought to you in bed. Heck, how about someone else making the bed and cleaning?

The word is out and, now, couples are turning to cruises to celebrate the most romantic milestones, whether it’s an anniversary, a honeymoon or even the wedding itself.

Increasing in popularity are vow-renewal ceremonies, which represent a celebration, often of major anniversaries, but sometimes just because.

And more often than not, couples are bringing along children, friends and other family members.

Cyndi Bass, who owns a CruiseOne franchise in Birmingham, Ala., with her husband Johnny, has developed a specialty in romance travel and is glad she did, as that business has grown. More couples are choosing a wedding in a cruise port or aboard ship because it’s easy and much less expensive that many ceremonies on land. They’d prefer to use the money for a down payment on a house than for a blow-out wedding bash for 500.

“So many people now are more cost-conscious and are seeing that cruises are a great value for their money,” Bass says. “They say ‘on a cruise, if I add a wedding to it, the captain can come and marry us.’ If they want to get married on St. Thomas, the wedding planner is already included and they can get the ship’s photographer. Years ago the ship photographer was there to take photographs of people on the ship, now they have portrait galleries. Couples can go in and have a portrait session, and the photographer actually can follow you around the ship, take photos of the wedding party, and also follow you on land.”

The beauty of it is that most cruise lines offer wedding packages, which can be customized to include whatever the couple wants.

“They have everything right there in the package,” Bass says. “Ships have different restaurants, so you can set up a wonderful romantic dinner just for the two of you or, if you have a small group, you can arrange it in a different restaurant. It’s all there. We can arrange all of that, so it’s a seamless process for the couple right from when they get on board.”

Ruth Turpin, owner of Cruises Etc. in Fort Worth, Texas, a Virtuoso member, has seen an increase in weddings either aboard ships or in ports of call.

Turpin herself specializes in luxury cruises and is seeing some of her more upscale clients planning renewal-of-vows ceremonies for milestone anniversaries.

“We’ve had quite a few of our luxury clients want to do vow renewals as part of a mini-anniversary celebration for their 25th or 50th on Regent Seven Seas and Crystal Cruises. Regent’s is a package you buy through the gift order department. It’s about $470. It is very nice and includes a letter from the captain, champagne, a cake, flowers and a little ceremony by the cruise director. [Clients have] really loved it, thought it was great,” Turpin says. “Crystal’s is pretty complicated but it’s a full-blown ceremony with a coordinator, invitations, champagne and photography, and it costs about $2,000. I’ve only done one but [the clients] said it was beyond fabulous.”

Word of mouth is already spreading. “Another lady heard about what her friend did on Regent and now is going to do the same thing,” Turpin says.

What spurs such celebrating of milestones? “I think people really are more focused on their families and the special return on life,” Turpin says. “They want to do experiential things that they’re always going to remember, rather than just going on vacation.”

Turpin does not promote herself as a wedding planner or honeymoon specialist, but such bookings come to her naturally. Bass, on the other hand, actively seeks the romance business. “It’s really a lot of fun,” she says.

Bass qualifies the clients to see what kind of honeymoon they’re dreaming about. “Some couples really are adventurous, maybe because that’s how they met,” Bass says. “They want to ride bikes, hike or go kayaking, things they really enjoy together, and they want to include that in their honeymoon. It’s a completely different qualification from someone who wants to really relax.”

Age can make a difference too. Many second weddings include multigenerational groups. “In fact, I have a couple who just spoke to me about their second wedding,” Bass says. “They both have children in their teens and really don’t want to leave them at home, so they’re all looking at doing a cruise wedding. They haven’t decided if they want to get married on a cruise ship or get married in one of the ports.”

PHOTO: Couples can find an idyllic escape on a private motu during a Paul Gauguin cruise.

That’s just one of the decisions of a cruise ship wedding. Many times, the ceremony actually takes place in the homeport, before the ship departs — that way, guests who aren’t actually sailing can attend. Sometimes, the ceremony is held on an island during the cruise; resorts often work with cruise lines to organize the wedding. (This might require contingency plans in the unlikely event that the ship skips that port.) And, onboard weddings can be organized, but sometimes they are ceremonial only. A few lines, including Princess, offer legal weddings at sea officiated by the captain.

“I tend to lean toward Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises,” Bass says. “Royal Caribbean ships have wonderful chapels. The Oasis and Allure of the Seas have a large wedding area and room with beautiful picture windows overlooking the ocean. You can have a small reception there, and they can set up a dinner right there for you.”

While much of her romance referrals come through word of mouth, Bass says it’s beneficial to partner with another person in the wedding business. She works with a wedding photographer, and they offer a special package to couples that book them both.

“We both contribute to it, so it’s a win-win situation for both of us,” Bass says.