Surprise Birthday Cruise

[cruisingiscool]

Now there is no cruise for me on offer I would like to withdraw my hasty application for me to adopt you. I have, though, shown my children your posting and mentioned what a wonderful child you must be, so I live in hope.

I surprised my husband with a cruise for his 50th birthday, and we will be embarking on his 60th Birthday (his age not the number of cruises) cruise in February 2012, and before that will be cruising the Eastern med, so that we dont have to wait too long to get our cruising fix. We really caught the bug from that one off holiday. It was a wonderful surprise for him. He runs a small building company, so I contacted his employees, one by one, swore them to secrecy and sorted out his jobs with their help , so that he could be away for his birthday without worrying. His customers were very sweet and once they knew why he wouldnt be onsite were excited to be part of the secret, although his men are very trustworthy and capable so it was not a real problem. I had more problem getting time of from work for me than for him. I booked the cruise and airport hotel for the the night before we flew out and had planned to drive us there but one of his friends offered his brand new Mercedes complete with chauffer with uniform to run us to the hotel and pick us up from the airport on our return. He even supplied a bottle of champagne ! DH had NO idea, and although he thought we might be going away for a long weekend, was very surprised when I started packing larger suitcases than he thought we would need ! His face when the chauffer knocked on the door, then stood by the car with the passenger door open was something to cherish. DH had made me promise not to do a surprise party, because he "hates surprises" but amazingly loved the cruise surprise and we had an amazing time. The kids, both teens at the time bought him some formal wear, and arranged to pay for the formal night photos (his actual birthday) so that we had a wonderful memento of the day. The photograph has pride of place in our sitting room and still brings a smile to my face when I think of DH's stunned reaction to it all. it was absolutely worth all the planning and he deserved every moment of it. I am sure your surprise will be just as fantastic for your mum. This birthday no cruise surprise for him. BUT I have other plans............... :)

[johneeo]

Now there is no cruise for me on offer I would like to withdraw my hasty application for me to adopt you. I have, though, shown my children your posting and mentioned what a wonderful child you must be, so I live in hope.

I surprised my husband with a cruise for his 50th birthday, and we will be embarking on his 60th Birthday (his age not the number of cruises) cruise in February 2012, and before that will be cruising the Eastern med, so that we dont have to wait too long to get our cruising fix. We really caught the bug from that one off holiday. It was a wonderful surprise for him. He runs a small building company, so I contacted his employees, one by one, swore them to secrecy and sorted out his jobs with their help , so that he could be away for his birthday without worrying. His customers were very sweet and once they knew why he wouldnt be onsite were excited to be part of the secret, although his men are very trustworthy and capable so it was not a real problem. I had more problem getting time of from work for me than for him. I booked the cruise and airport hotel for the the night before we flew out and had planned to drive us there but one of his friends offered his brand new Mercedes complete with chauffer with uniform to run us to the hotel and pick us up from the airport on our return. He even supplied a bottle of champagne ! DH had NO idea, and although he thought we might be going away for a long weekend, was very surprised when I started packing larger suitcases than he thought we would need ! His face when the chauffer knocked on the door, then stood by the car with the passenger door open was something to cherish. DH had made me promise not to do a surprise party, because he "hates surprises" but amazingly loved the cruise surprise and we had an amazing time. The kids, both teens at the time bought him some formal wear, and arranged to pay for the formal night photos (his actual birthday) so that we had a wonderful memento of the day. The photograph has pride of place in our sitting room and still brings a smile to my face when I think of DH's stunned reaction to it all. it was absolutely worth all the planning and he deserved every moment of it. I am sure your surprise will be just as fantastic for your mum. This birthday no cruise surprise for him. BUT I have other plans............... :)

 

Paragraphs are everybody's friends.

[Gathina]

Make a gift certifcate on the computer "valid for one week cruise, good until 8/2012" or whatever.

 

Then plan it together.

 

Problem solved. If she loves surprises,great, if she doesn't or doesn't want/can't go, then nothing lost.

 

Covers all your bases.

 

 

Hi all I am looking for some guidance here if anyone can help me. My mom is turning 60 in September and I am planning to take her on a surprise one week NCL cruise on her fav ship. Are there any tips for someone who has never surprised someone with a cruise and/or any advice on how to pull this off? Any help, ideas, suggestions would be appreciated!:D

[Gathina]

Make a gift certifcate on the computer "valid for one week cruise, good until 8/2012" or whatever.

 

Then plan it together.

 

Problem solved. If she loves surprises,great, if she doesn't or doesn't want/can't go, then nothing lost.

 

Covers all your bases.

 

 

Hi all I am looking for some guidance here if anyone can help me. My mom is turning 60 in September and I am planning to take her on a surprise one week NCL cruise on her fav ship. Are there any tips for someone who has never surprised someone with a cruise and/or any advice on how to pull this off? Any help, ideas, suggestions would be appreciated!:D

[SchoolNurseMom]

I am planning a suprise cruise for dh for out 25th anniversary. Our anniversary is actually in March (2013). I work as a school nurse (SchoolNurseMom) and we have winter break in February. Dh works for Pepsi and has to ask for vacation time in advance. his birthday is in November so I think I will tell him about it around his birthday so he can request vacation in December and then cruise in February to celebrate anniversary in March! Whew!

I am enjoyiing the ideas of how you have used cards to tell of the cruise. I may borrow that idea! Now, I just have to save up money for our deposit and pick an itenerary and then my plan will be underway!

[friskat]

That surprise cruise for your DH sounds wonderful as is the time frame of telling him on his birthday to allow him time to book off work. I am loving hearing everyones stories so please keep them coming :)

[Happy ks]

I do all the planning and scheduling, etc...for all our cruises. But I would be delighted if someone surprised me and arranged everything :)

 

It will never happen, but I can dream.

[friskat]

Here is the update I told my mom about the cruise!!!!!!!!!! The more I thought about it I realized that short notice would freak her out and cause more stress then anything else intially. This is for her and it didn't feel right to spring it on her with no notice.

 

I told her last night by giving her two cards. The first was a thank you card for all of the wonderful things she has done for me. The second card was a birthday card with our edocs taped inside. Initially she thought I paid for only the cruise and that we still had to sort out airfare and hotel. I told her that was all done. She sat with her mouth hanging open and kept saying "are you serious" and "omg I am shocked".

 

She is very happy and when I told her that initially I was going to give her 5 days notice she was happy that I told her now so that she has time to get excited about the trip. I also told her I was going to have a dinner for her with a bunch of her friends and tell her then and she agreed telling her quietly is better.

[cb at sea]

I'm glad you told her....I would HATE only 5 days notice in the change of my daily life! And, planning is 1/2 the fun!

 

So, good for you and her...have a great time!

[jmf123]

friskat, I'm so glad that you surprised your Mom early, this will make it much more relaxing for her. You are in a for a very memorable cruise, I took my Mom on a southern Caribbean cruise and we enjoyed a wonderful week together. Then for my parent's 50th anniversary, my DH and I surprised them with a cruise on the Mississippi Queen which they loved. After dinner we presented them with the cruiseline brochure, along with a bakery cake with a ship drawn on it. (You could still have a dinner with your mom's friends, and perhaps a 'ship cake' to celebrate). I also made them a card that pictured people dancing to a big band (this was a Big Band cruise), but I had replaced the couples faces with my parents from photos I had of them.

 

Roadtripster, you'll like this one: On our first cruise we met a woman at breakfast who had surprised her DH with a 40th birthday cruise. She arranged with his employer for the week off, and feigned sickness prior to a Friday night black tie event he had to attend, so she could stay home and pack for the two of them. A limo picked them up the next morning and headed for the airport. I don't recall where they were from, but at their first stop in Charlotte, the guy excitedly said "I've always wanted to see North Carolina!". She replied "honey, we have another plane to catch". Off they flew to San Juan, and he didn't know they were going on a cruise until they pulled up at the pier and he saw the ship. Then he didn't know where he was going each day until our arrival into port in the morning- five islands in a week! :)

 

p.s. Deb in Cali, you put a tear in my eye with that Hawaii trip story!

[jschm27]

Wow! If your mom doesn't want it, you can supprise me! :D

 

I actually started to tear up when I read your post. What a great idea! Hopefully it will all work out. I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but monitor her calendar for commitments she might be making. That could screw things up if she buys a ticket for premium box at the monster truck races right in the middle of the cruise. :D

 

John

[friskat]

I was keeping an eye on the calendar to make sure that she didn't have anything big planned that she couldn't cancel. I am glad now that I have told her that I did tell her now. I forgot to factor in that there would be a day or two of shock while it sets in that she is going on a cruise for her birthday. She woke up the next morning and said that at first she thought that it might be a dream and was excited all over again when she realized it wasn't a dream and that this really is happening!