Creative Ways to Surprise Someone with a Cruise

[Julia Goolia]

Hi, all.

 

I am paying for both my mother and my adult niece to join me on the Carnival Magic in October for the last 9 day sailing before her transatlantic. I will be in Afghanistan and will meet them in Barcelona a couple of days before the cruise (it will be my two week R&R leave).

 

My niece knows about it already as I had to make sure her schedule was cleared but I want to surprise my mother for mother's day. As I will have already left for my overseas adventure, I won't be there so I need something that I can put in a card, wrap up, etc. I am planning to either try to skype with them while she opens it or have them record it and email it to me.

 

So -- I need all creative minds to help me out. What would be a really great way to surprise her? All kinds of things have been running through my brain but I can't seem to put anything together. I thought about maybe listing all of the places that we will stop and writing on a letter/card or something that she has to choose one to vacation in. Then on the next card/letter/page or whatever spring the news that we will be going to ALL of them. I thought about making up a fake airline ticket/boarding pass and then a fake "cruise ticket/boarding pass."

 

I don't know...please help! Thanks in advance for any great ideas -- or any ideas at all, for that matter. :)

[5waldos]

Blow up a picture of the Dream and put a picture of you, your mother, and your niece on it. (How are you with photoshop?) Wrap up with your mocked up plane tickets and cruise tickets. Not sure why you will be in Afghanistan but not a lot of folks go over for an extended vacation. she will probably be just as happy to see you safe as she will be about the cruise- at least initially. Be safe- from what we hear it is kinda rough over there.

 

And then could you adopt me? I hope that my children will be as thoughtful as your mother's daughter is when they finish growing up.

[Julia Goolia]

Blow up a picture of the Dream and put a picture of you, your mother, and your niece on it. (How are you with photoshop?) Wrap up with your mocked up plane tickets and cruise tickets. Not sure why you will be in Afghanistan but not a lot of folks go over for an extended vacation. she will probably be just as happy to see you safe as she will be about the cruise- at least initially. Be safe- from what we hear it is kinda rough over there.

 

And then could you adopt me? I hope that my children will be as thoughtful as your mother's daughter is when they finish growing up.

 

Thanks! I like the idea of photoshopping us into a photo of the ship. And by mother's day I can likely find a good photo of the Magic to use as well.

 

As for Afghanistan -- I am in the Army. Unfortunately this is not my first trip over there but God willing, I will make it back safely this time as well. And you are right -- she will be happy just to see me come home but I still want to do something spectacular for my two week leave from there.

 

As for adopting you -- well, I think God definitely knew what He was doing when He chose not to bless me with my own children so I had better pass. ;) I spoil my nieces and nephews rotten (especially the one who is my frequent traveling companion and will be with us on the Magic) and I figure that there is no one better to treat like a queen than my mother. She is truly a saint and struggled to raise us after my father died when I was very young. I would not be the person I am today or have any of the blessings that I have had it not been for her. She deserves the world and I try to give her as much of it as I can.

 

Thanks again for the ideas. I will keep them in the back of my head until I am ready to make a decision/get started on my creative project.

 

Take care,

[Julia Goolia]

And then could you adopt me? I hope that my children will be as thoughtful as your mother's daughter is when they finish growing up.

 

Just realized that you mentioned your children -- if I adopt you, that gives me instant grandchildren and as I'm only in my late 30s, I don't think I am ready to be a grandmother yet! :p

[5waldos]

Be safe- and although it is becoming a bit of a trite line- thanks for your service to our country. Hopefully this trip will give you something fun to contemplate when things are quiet.

[5waldos]

Just realized that you mentioned your children -- if I adopt you, that gives me instant grandchildren and as I'm only in my late 30s, I don't think I am ready to be a grandmother yet! :p

 

Oh come on- they are all adopted so it would be a great mixup of a family!

[LBumb]

nice surprise

[kmrnclrk]

How you got approved R&R all the way forecasted to October is amazing. I'm sure you've got to be somebody important then, so I'm not asking questions.

 

I like the idea of proposing a vacation to one of the stops, then surprising her with ALL of them. Not sure how to pull it off.

If you can get post cards of all the stops, you could always do the age old box-in-a-box-in-a-box. Using subsequently bigger envelopes, put one postcard in each envelope so she opens one, sees the postcard, thinks shes going there. Then opens the next one, and by then she might have figured it out. The last postcard could be one of the ship. Just my ideas.

[Cruise Sampler]

I love surpirsing my girls. It makes the time before the cruise even more fun for them.

 

Every year I do something different for the cruise. Like last year they were picked up in a long stretch black and silver limo with butterfly doors when they got off of the airplane.

 

This year, they will have a fit!

 

YOU are wondeful to surpirse your mother. I have 3 daughters so I told them they may try and guess the surprise but they have to write it down and do not call me. When we arrive in the cruise city the day before I will review all the guesses, but I do not think any of them will guess this years surprise!!

 

I am in Shanghai and two of them will meet me in Florida from Michigan.

 

So how ever you surprise your mom will be great and memorable!!! But what I have found is that being together for the length of the crusie counts above all else, especially when there are thousands miles of separation!!!!!

[Clearwater]

I surprised my whole family one Christmas with a cruise.

 

Here is how I pulled it off..

 

They opened the scrapbook and it had a large picture of suitcases, and read Pack your bags.

 

Second page read: Get your passports ready and had photos and scrapbooking items of passports.

 

Third and subsequent pages were dropping hints.. such as save your quarters for gambling, pack 2 nice outfits for elegant night, bring a few bathing suits for the warm waters, etc etc..

 

Anyways, each page they read and were freaking out with anticipation. It was pretty neat and when they got to the end, it had the ship printed out, lots of photos from the website, neat cruiseship scrap items, etc..

 

Now while I know you are in Afghanistan and there aren't Michael's craftstores on your corner... Maybe your niece can help you with this? Get the scrapbook together and then all skype but have it come from you. That way, she may think you did it before you left or mailed it, etc... Get your niece involved tho.

 

Then you can watch her on skype as she opens each page and is surprised.

 

Also, she can use the scrapbook AFTER the cruise for all the photos and mementos she saves. We did that and it was wonderful!

 

Lastly: Stay safe over there!!!! :)

 

This will be one of the best memories ever! The first surprise went over SO well, that I am now on my 3rd booking for the family for this October. I created monsters ;) hahah