I feel sick!

[wrp96]

Instead of feeling guilty, think of this as payback for putting up with them during the teenage years.

 

That's what my mom does when I pay for her to go on trips with me.:p

[Sea_princess1]

We celebrated our 25th wedding Anniversary last night! Our kids PAID for a cruise for us. How can I accept such an expensive gift from our children without feeling guilty.:confused:

Think about all the things you've done for them over the past 25 years, that you wouldn't put a price on. Sometimes money is a tricky thing. We decide it's more than it is. Your children are trying to show you that it's a little consequence for all the love you've given them...or gone through for them or because of them.

[FLHugh]

WOW, what kind of kids would do that!!!! Must have had some pretty special parents! Have a great cruise and bring home many pictures.

[Sea_princess1]

Now there's an idea.:)

 

I wish I could afford to send my mom on one. She wouldn't go though, "too much water" in her words. "Ma, it's a cruise." my words. I would have to break down and go on it myself.:D Enjoy your cruise and know that you are blessed with children who want, and can obviously afford, to do something really fantastic for you.:cool:

Gotcha!! I WORK for a cruise line and my 87 yr old mom REFUSES to go. When she decided to become non adventurous I don't know, but all of a sudden she has... parents!! What to do with them? Ya raise em, hope for the best, and look how they turn out!!

[Booking It]

The Brilliance cruise to Norway in my signature line will be my gift to my mother this Christmas. I know that she will have a similar reaction... She won't want to accept such an extravagant gift.

 

But here is my side and I imagine this is how your kids feel... I really, really want to do this for her. I have a nice career and I can finally afford to take care of everything for her. She has had a rough couple of years, and she deserves it. Trust me... Your kids wouldn't have done it if they didn't feel like you deserved it.

 

I know that I will be heartbroken if my mother refuses this gift. Please accept yours with glee and take lots of pictures for them.

[molsonschooner]

Our sons put us on a cruise for our 30th anniversary. We had a wonderful time(got us hooked on cruising). We often talk about that first cruise but the thing we remember most is that the kids did this for us. Enjoy your cruise and realize that your kids love you and wanted to do this for you.

[CruisesOnMyMind]

We celebrated our 25th wedding Anniversary last night! Our kids PAID for a cruise for us. How can I accept such an expensive gift from our children without feeling guilty.:confused:

 

 

As others have said, please accept this gift with a smile and a thankyou. My DH sent his parents on a vacation to an island for their 25th. Well they didn't like the island, and he shouldn't have done that, and they didn't need anything,,,,,,,That vacation pops up in conversations here and there and I know it hurts DH when they have nothing positive to say about it. I want to strangle them at that point.

So please say thankyou and enjoy!

You know most times the joy is in the giving, not the recieving, so please give them that pleasure!

[CruisinParrothead]

Gotcha!! I WORK for a cruise line and my 87 yr old mom REFUSES to go. When she decided to become non adventurous I don't know, but all of a sudden she has... parents!! What to do with them? Ya raise em, hope for the best, and look how they turn out!!

I seriously laughed out loud at that last sentence!

 

My parents are celebrating 30 years in September... I'm really thinking they deserve a trip to Alaska! They are going to semi-retire in a couple years, so I figured it might be a nice anniversary/semi-retirement gift!

[CRUISEBUG1]

What AMAZING children you have raised. ENJOY every last minute and while you are on board book another cruise for yourselves and your children!!!!:D

[Host Faith]

We celebrated our 25th wedding Anniversary last night! Our kids PAID for a cruise for us. How can I accept such an expensive gift from our children without feeling guilty.:confused:

 

Happy Anniversary! Enjoy because you've sown richly into them their whole lives. This gift is small compared to the love you've shown them and the strong example of marriage you've given over the years. Celebrate and be thankful- you've raised them right!! :)

[temple1]

As others have said, please accept this gift with a smile and a thankyou. My DH sent his parents on a vacation to an island for their 25th. Well they didn't like the island, and he shouldn't have done that, and they didn't need anything,,,,,,,That vacation pops up in conversations here and there and I know it hurts DH when they have nothing positive to say about it. I want to strangle them at that point.

So please say thankyou and enjoy!

You know most times the joy is in the giving, not the recieving, so please give them that pleasure!

 

How awful. Unfortunately, we all know people like that. Personally, no matter how bad or what went wrong, it is the thought that counts.

 

To the OP - unless you know your children can not honestly afford paying for the trip - accept it with the joy and excitement it was given to you.

 

Just be glad it wasn't a George Foreman Grill (not that there is anything wrong with that) or some other utilitarian item.

 

For me, considering some of the more interesting gifts we've received over the years (lol - yes they are adults with good careers and they love DH and me but they have no clue) - if they had saved the money and paid for all or even part of a cruise it would have been a much better use of their money. ;)

 

So, if you don't want to go, I can send you some of our more interesting Christmas, anniversary, birthday and Mother's day gifts we've received over the years in exchange. :eek:

[crusinmama06]

Sick? Why do you think I keep taking my kids on all of these cruises? I am prepping them for the day that they start paying for mine! :p:D

 

But seriously...take lots of pics! Tell them it was the BEST vacation of your life (even if it wasn't ;)) And keep thanking them for giving you such a generous gift. You raised yourself some wonderful children. Great job!

[cynt]

25th HONEYMOON on the kids!!! Sounds great to me!!!

[MOSusan]

How can I plant this seed in my kids' heads? They've got 10 years to save...must think of a plan.

[barbie5401]

We take my parents on at least two cruises a year with us, it is the greatest joy that I can have is to have them share wonderful times that we will both remember forever.

 

I feel blessed to have them!

[kyriecat]

I wonder if I've been making my parents sick in the past since I've paid for trips for them. My birthday is in January and Mom's is in December. I've taken her on two birthday cruises with me since my dad doesn't care much for travelling. I paid to upgrade my parents' cabin on a cruise that we took as a family. I've also paid for flights so my parents could visit my mom's mom since they hadn't seen her in a few years. My husband's mom doesn't like to travel so we've bought upgrades for her house over the years.

 

I love my parents and occasionally want to do something special for them. They gave me a good sense of morals and saved to put me through college. I'm sure there were things that they did without while I was growing up because they were raising kids. My husband and I aren't wealthy but we both have stable jobs and can afford to do special things for our parents. We do it because we love them and want to show our appreciation for what they did for us and for we put them through, especially during our teenage years. :p;)

 

Obviously your children wanted to get you something special for your anniversary and a cruise is what came to mind. Take the cruise and enjoy.

[dmwnc1959]

I did the same for my parents anniversary many years ago and splurged on a Cat 12 Suite on a 3-night Carnival Ecstasy cruise. It's all my mom talked about for years. My fondest memories were of the canned video tape they got back of shipboard events 'catching' them having a good time. I have a picture of them exiting the gangway in Nassau next to my computer desk. After my mom died I took my dad on two more cruises on the Royal Princess and Voyager of the Seas. He had a blast.

 

What we do for our parents is nothing compared to what they did for us.

 

Take the gift as it was intended; a gift to loving parents from their loving kids. Have a good time. Make memories. Buy formal night pictures and give them to your kids.

 

Most of all, have a great time and let them know just how much you appreciate it when you get back.

[1stcruiser1]

If you really are sick about it then don't go- see if you can transfer names on the booking to your kids.

Somehow, I don't think anyone would be sick enough about it to not go- I'm sure you will enjoy it.

[COMBOY]

We celebrated our 25th wedding Anniversary last night! Our kids PAID for a cruise for us. How can I accept such an expensive gift from our children without feeling guilty.:confused:

 

Unless they are expecting something in return then there is nothing to feel guilty nor confused about. They did this because they wanted to. You accept it by going and enjoy yourself to the fullest. It would be impolite to do anything less. When you return you should send them each a lovely card expressing your sincerest gratitude. Take lots of pictures to share with them. If you find a few gifts during your cruise then I'm sure they would appreciate it, but it's not required. Maybe a nice framed picture of the two of you during formal night, etc. When my parents passed away I paid for my Godparent's (my parent's dearest friends and neighbors) 7 days Mexico cruise including an onboard credit, etc for their anniversary. Why..because they were very special to my parents and because I wanted to show my appreciation for all they did during my mom's illness and my Dad's passing. They were thrilled. They came back and were so excited about the wonderful time they had. They had only been on one other a cruise many years ago. They talked about it for weeks. Do the same...just don't bore them. LOL :) Have fun. Write a review for us here on Cruisecritic. Enjoy.

[klingoncruiser]

Wow! You have wonderful kids who are wanting to honor and repay their parents. I would be overjoyed to accept in!:eek:

[Mollys Mum]

Please give your children my phone number and tell them I am available for adoption! ;)

 

We are taking our kids and their SO's on a cruise next January to celebrate the completion of my daughter's treatment for cancer. Believe me, it gives me more pleasure to take them than they could possibly get out of the trip. I'm sure your children feel the same way and are thrilled and excited to be able to give this to you. Shower them with thanks and delight and you will all be in heaven. :) It's a win-win situation.

[kuddles14]

When we celebrated our 25th several years ago, our daughter was in college and our son in high school. Needless to say they really didn't have the money to do anything special for us. Or so we thought. Little did we know that behind our backs they had some how managed to save money, and give us a very nice and unexpected anniversary party. Although they didn't have a lot of money to spend, they did manage to turn it into a barbeque. They could afford hamburgers and hot dogs along with the typical salads. May in-laws knew all about this and bought the cake and my sister-in-law the rolls.

We were so over whelmed by all of this. After everyone was gone, our son, daughter and one of her friends who helped, talked about all the behind the scenes fun they had. How they hid everything, how they got in contact with everyone, etc. We asked them why. The answer was simple. We love you mom and dad and you have done so much for us that we just wanted to say thanks.

So accept this very kind and generous gift, for they just want to say thanks for everything you have done for them. Don't feel guilty or sick, you would just be upsetting them. I am sure they had a great time planning it and were probably very anxious to give it to you. They will talk about it for years to come, and you can look upon this special trip with very fond and loving memories. You did a great job to have such unselfish children who love you so very much.

[ilionite65]

Please, allow your children to do for you someting that I'm sure they have been very excited to plan. I have a somewhat similare story. My son and his bride were paying for their own wedding. Her parents were elderly and the "kids" didn't want a wedding to be a burden for them. My future daughter-in-law told me shortly before the wedding that her parents had sent her money to go towards the wedding, and she really didn't want to take it from them. I told her, don't deny your parents the joy of participating in this occasion, they raised you and probably talked about the day you would get married many times. It is their right to do what they feel they can do for your wedding. They accepted the money, some from us too in fact. In a round about way your situation reminds me of their wedding. Your children have the right to give you the gift they choose for you, and waited with anticipation to give to you. Be excited for their loving gift and thoughtfulness!