Surprise!!!

Hello All,

Help me, put our heads together...

My girlfriend, has NEVER been on a cruise. Ugh. To fix this problem...I am taking her on an over night cruise, Seattle to Vancouver. We're not sure if she gets sea sickness, so we're going to ease into cruising. :)

This is where you come in, how do I get her on the bloody 4 hour train to Seattle without a return ticket, because Amtrak tickets say "One Way", correct? If they don't say "One way" or "Return" I'm golden but...otherwise, I need a real good excuse for that one...

Please keep in mind we are a 28 year old(s) female couple. I'm a Ruby member--if that helps, this will be my first cruise as such, I don't know if we get boarding perks...?

Basically, how do you think I should get her to the terminal without figuring it out? How should I break the news when we see my first cruise ship, ever?! --Can I just say the Crown Princess was my first and it will be her first...aw so cute! Once we get to the train station in Vancouver, she's going to know we're headed to Seattle, I can't avoid that but I'd like to get her to the cruise terminal without figuring it out and then say something really cool and awesome revealing we are going on a cruise to get back home...OK GO!!! What are your ideas?

How about telling her you have plane tickets for the way back if they do indicate it? I've done the ride from Seattle to Vancouver but don't remember if they say anything on them about one way or anything. That's a great ride. Since you're going South, tell them you want to sit on the right side so you have the ocean view. Talk up the sea on your way south.

Take some ginger with you...I think the ride was pretty smooth, but it can't hurt to be prepared.

Sounds like a fun surprise but hard to pull off! Good luck!

Ruby passengers do not have priority embarkation, no boarding privileges. Only when you reach platinum, so, on your sixth cruise.. the only perks you'll receive is an invitation to the gold and ruby Captain Circle party and upgraded insurance.

Have fun!

If you think you can get her to just trust that you have the return tickets, say that Amtrak has a goofy price structure and it was cheaper to book two one-way than to book round trip.

Taking ginger tablets or capsules (which can be purchased at any supermarket, drug store or health food store) along on this cruise is an excellent idea. They are a natural way to curb seasickness and they really do work. (I suffer terribly from seasickness and they always soothe my queasy stomach.) So you won't have to worry about any bad side effects from a medicinal remedy.

But, as you probably already know, modern cruise ships are so well stablized that it take a lot of big swells to cause the passengers to feel any motion. Even if your girlfriend does suffer from seasickness, she likely will not on a cruise ship.

What a thoughtful gesture--have fun!

I agree - tell her it was cheaper to book one way, and maybe you would take the ferry to Vancouver Island and then home the next day.....misdirection, misdirection, misdirection......you will decide when you wake up and see how the weather is.......

IMO an overnight cruise is not a good way to introduce someone to cruising.

Not near enough exposure and a totally different cruising experience on a 1 night cruise. Just sayin. :cool:

That's really sweet you want to surprise her. I have to agree that a one night isn't much to fully grasp cruising.

I think a three night would be better.

I'm also curious how you are going to explain the change of clothes you will be carrying? :D

However the outcome, have a great time!!

Shylie...I don't recall any severe sea conditions from Seattle to Vancouver & hopefully you'll have the same experience.

My wife is very susceptible to all types of motion sickness yet has enjoyed dozens of cruises & more than a cumulative year at sea. :) She carries meclizine (a much cheaper but effective generic of Bonine) to take whenever necessary. It's an antihistamine & thus may cause some sleepiness so she takes it at night. It's helped her deal with 25' seas & near hurricane force winds in the notoriously rough Tasman Sea but that won't be the conditions for your short cruise.

Motion sickness techniques probably won't be a solution on your overnight cruise however if she feels the motion maybe it's a way to encourage her to take a longer cruise. :)

Hopefully both of you will enjoy your cruise resulting in many more great days on a cruise. :D

I agree - tell her it was cheaper to book one way, and maybe you would take the ferry to Vancouver Island and then home the next day.....misdirection, misdirection, misdirection......you will decide when you wake up and see how the weather is.......

I like the idea of saying we're taking the ferry back up, we have both always wanted to do that. She'll be thrown off, and that would definitely be a reason to be asking a cab driver at the train station to take us to a Pier!!

I can stall her at Pike Place...she might find it strange that we're exploring Pike Place and then heading straight to the Ferry Terminal to go home....BUT check in is always crazy if you go right at noon...I could hold off, we can grab coffee, explore and then head to the "ferry" terminal.

Good ideas so far!! Keep 'em coming!!

My biggest fear is she will be a sea sicko. I'm NOT, to a severe degree, I'm that person trotting around the ship with a big smile on her face looking for entertainment, shopping, watching movies under the stars because there is barely anybody out of their rooms.

IMO an overnight cruise is not a good way to introduce someone to cruising.

Not near enough exposure and a totally different cruising experience on a 1 night cruise. Just sayin. :cool:

I know, but I'd like her to just try sleeping on a ship, see how she does. Ships, swells etc do not phase me, I rarely feel it but everyone else on the other hand are tossing their cookies while at the next breakfast table from me or in the halls as I pass them. I've never had to take a gravol or ginger tablet but I'm a little worried about how she's going to do, I was a bit traumatized by the gentlemen tossing his cookies at the breakfast table during an Alaskan cruise...

Next year will be her first CRUISE cruise, we're probably going to do Alaska. Just something out of our home town port. That was our plan for her first cruise, but I found a quick over nighter, ocean view room for cheap and took the opportunity. Then I ended up finding a discounted seat sale on the Amtrak train and took advantage. It just worked out to give her a night away.

I don't have problems with mal de mer, but I know people who suffer from motion sickness of all kinds. Some swear by the pressure point wristbands (perhaps pack two in your luggage), and some get by with sipping a ginger ale or eating candied ginger, in lieu of meds. I say go prepared - some bonine, some candied ginger, but if she is at all bothered, a ginger ale on the rocks first thing.

Recently I have had issues with nausea for no reason - too old to be pregnant - at home not in any conveyance, etc. - and have turned to ginger ale for quick relief.

Have fun surprising her.....hopefully she will be a natural sailor and you two will have lots of fun cruising together for years and years. Bon Voyage.

Make sure you have Bonine (its sold over the counter) for motion sickness. I have bad motion sickness and always have to take it throughout my whole cruise. Also, I read waters in Seattle can be rough (we're leaving from seattle in June headed to Alaska), so I'm kinda nervous about that since I've always sailed the Caribbean so I'm taking extra precautions and also taking ginger along with Bonine. You don't want her to get off to a bad start, otherwise she'll never cruise again.

good for you shyle , hopefully she loves it:)

i cant stress enough to start her on bonine or meclazine the DAY BEFORE you leave. i know this makes the surprise even tougher , but crucial for it to work;)

our first cruise , my wife spent 36 hours of hell because we knew no better , every cruise since then we have her start meds day before,because once you start feeling seasick the meds are not going to work:eek:

maybe you'll have to "dose" her without her knowing:Dto keep the surprise intact

anyhoo ,best of luck on your mission

dave

Yeah, that will be fun...well, to have her look decent, I'll tell her it's a no sweatpants outting.

I will probably do a combination of stealing, buying and hiding her clothes in order to pack them. And because it's over night, I'll only pack the bare minimum: Dress shirt for dinner for her, dress for me, jammies and next day clothes, we both live within 45 minutes of the terminal once back in Canada, so if we have to be in the same pants as the day before, we'll at least be able to change soon after.

Hello!!!

I'm definitely going to pack gravol or ginger and probably secretly drug her the night before we leave OR have her take it as soon as she wakes up.

As for the nerves over an Alaskan cruise; it is A LOT of fun. The waters do get rough but it's sooo much fun and honestly we only had problems the day at sea on the way back, otherwise it was all smooth sailing. If you are doing return Seattle, you are on the outside of BC's islands coming back and that's where you encounter open sea conditions. On the way up you go up between BC and our islands, not much for action there, some but not tons. It's a beautiful trip, cool, but beautiful. Do the nature walk and crab feast in Ketchikan!!! Or any tour ending in the Ketchikan Crab feast, if you like crab you will never regret it!

I like the idea of saying we're taking the ferry back up, we have both always wanted to do that. She'll be thrown off, and that would definitely be a reason to be asking a cab driver at the train station to take us to a Pier!!

 

My biggest fear is she will be a sea sicko. I'm NOT, to a severe degree, I'm that person trotting around the ship with a big smile on her face looking for entertainment, shopping, watching movies under the stars because there is barely anybody out of their rooms.

I'm definitely going to pack gravol or ginger and probably secretly drug her the night before we leave OR have her take it as soon as she wakes up.

Since you're considering telling her you'll return by the ferry, could you say it's a good idea to take meclizine the night before?

Being an antihistamine, it may cause some drowsiness the night before which may not be a bad thing but not as drowsy as the antihistamine Benadryl (the generic version is why "PM" types of meds are marketed as sleep aids).

If meclizine is available OTC in Canada, it's just as effective for my wife & at only penny's per tablet much cheaper than the Bonine brand name version. It is designed to prevent mal de mer so it's best to take prior to feeling it's affects & to chum the water! :p

Obviously our suggestions for any meds including OTC ones need to consider individual health issues. Thankfully meclizine works great for my wife without the side affects of the patch & hopefully if necessary (or as a precaution) also for your girlfriend to fully enjoy her overnight cruise & want to cruise again. :D

Shyle, if you look at the little map on the Princess website for your 1 day cruise you will see that the route from Seattle to Vancouver is in quite a protected area to the east of Vancouver Island. I would not worry about a problem with sea sickness. It should be very calm seas. Have fun and enjoy your cruise.

To fix this problem...I am taking her on an over night cruise, Seattle to Vancouver.

Just a question of curiosity, first. Are you going to be on the Ruby, sailing on the 13th of Sept. or the Crown, sailing on the 25th of Sept?

Secondly, as far as avoiding seasickness, I think your plan for an overnight is a good one, even though you won't be out on the ocean itself, the Sea-Vancouver trip might be a good first step, especially if she's a bit leery of being on a ship. One thing that you might want to try to avoid seasickness is the use of wrist-bands in lieu of drugs. No, I'm not an anti-drug person, but some people do find that the wrist bands do work for them and allow them to skip taking drugs for that. The bands are available on board the Princess ships in the gift shops if you can't find them anywhere else. Just remember to follow the directions and wear them correctly (should be about 3 finger widths above the wrist.)

The end-of-season cruises are usually pretty full so expect to see a pretty full ship for your cruise. I would also check out the Roll Call here on Cruise Critic for your cruise!

Hope that you two have a great cruise!

Tom :)

As an aside, which train were you planning on taking south?

The 6:30 am departure from Main & Terminal or the 5:30 pm? If you take the evening one the night before you can spend one night in Seattle near the pier then go "look" at the ship the next day.

I love your idea of the surprise. Using the excuse that you got a special deal with buying one-way tickets will work perfectly as well as telling her that you will be taking the ferry back home. It will give you a perfect reason for the ride to the pier. As most of us here have already had many embarkation nightmares, I suggest that you spend time in Seattle, have lunch, and slowly work your way over to the pier. You are less likely to have to wait in long lines and you can have a uneventful boarding.

Last but not least, if you haven't already bought your ticket, make sure to book a cabin in as low a level as you can and in the center most part of the ship. There is almost no movement whatsoever in the bottom-middle part of the ship. I am like you, I LOVE the motion of the water; the more, the better. I want to know I am on the ocean and not just a moving hotel. :D

I hope you both have a wonderful cruise.

What a nice thing to do ! Can you come up with an old friend or family member that is going on a cruise and you would meet near the pier for coffre before they sail, and surprise !!! No one is at the peir and you are the ones sailing ? You could even have that out of town cousin call you to confirm...

I also suggest Bonine but only if there is no medical reason for her not to take it. Talk to her pharmacist before.

Have a great cruise and please let us know hop it worked.

I'm a little worried about how she's going to do, I was a bit traumatized by the gentlemen tossing his cookies at the breakfast table during an Alaskan cruise...

We've been on many cruises as you can see in my sig line. Out of all these cruises, there's only been 1 cruise where we saw people who were sea sick. That was the cruise from SF to Hawaii. Two days out we hit a severe storm, we didn't get sick but others did. I doubt your friend will get sick or even think about it. It's mind over matter. Have the ginger available though JIC. I'm not able to pull off a surprise with a straight face, so I can't offer you any suggestions on how to surprise her. Have fun though!

I'm confused. When we took Amtrak from Vancouver to Chico, CA we had to take a BUS first from Vancouver to Seattle. There was no train from Vancouver to Seattle. Now it sounds like one can catch the train all the way. I surely hope that's the case as we intend to repeat this trip next June coming back from Alaska.

I recommend telling her you want to stop by the port before sightseeing or going to your hotel to show her a cruise ship before it sails. Then, get in line to check in and board! [emoji16]