birthday celebrations

[ginka]

Years ago when we cruised with Princess, if you had a birthday while on board, they decorated your state room door and the waiter made a big deal of it at dinner and I think sang to you. However, I see now that they have celebration packages that you can buy. We put on our cruise personalizer that it is my daughters birthday while we are on the cruise, but did not purchase any of the special celebration packages. Will they still decorate her door and recognize it at dinner? Her birthday is actually on the first formal night, so not sure if that will make a difference or not.

 

If they do not do anytihing, I would like to take some decorations along, so would be nice to know ahead of time if they still do this.

 

thanks!

[paul929207]

You will get three balloons and a sign on the cabin door. If you have TD, a cake will be delivered at dinner. If you have AD you get a card to give to the waiter on the day you are celebrating.

[AKman2495]

And t he card will tell them to deliver a cake to your table and they will sing-the also enlist other passengers.

 

If you don't finish the cake they will take it and deliver it to your room later.

 

Also, you get a card signed by the captain.

 

All this is free-just check the special occasion box in the personalizer.

 

The packages for purchase are add ons.

 

Here are some shots of a typical birthday door.

[wineforhealth]

I would also bring extra room decorations, it adds to the fun during the cruise.

 

Sounds like your getting very excited planning your cruise

[ginka]

thank you! Sounds great! We do have the TD , so it should be all set. One other question tho,, one thread stated that if your group has more than one room booked, you can switch who is in what room by going to the pursers office and getting new keys and assignments. My daughter and I are booked in one room and my son and husband in the other. I think we are going to let the kids stay in a room togther and my husband and I share a room, so if my daughter switches to the other room at check in, will the birthday information get changed as well. Just want to make sure it is her door that gets decorated and not mine :)

 

(and she is the one that would be moving)

[mrsihopes]

We both celebrated our birthdays onboard on our panama canal cruise in December. Yes it was marked on the cruise personilizer that we would be celebrating our birthday. Neither of us got our balloons, Happy Birthday sign or our cake card. Oh well not sure what happened there....

[shredie]

On our last cruise, our regular table mates (in the MDR) had two occasions, a birthday and a retirement, and they got the little cakes on both nights. And I guess since there were only four of us at the table, they shared both times!

[deelastcre]

We celebrated our Anniversary. When I didn't see a sign or a card, I talked to the cabin steward. He made sure that I received the sign, balloons and card. If it's noted in your personalizer, you should be recognized on the voyage.

[Astro Flyer]

We both celebrated our birthdays onboard on our panama canal cruise in December. Yes it was marked on the cruise personilizer that we would be celebrating our birthday. Neither of us got our balloons, Happy Birthday sign or our cake card. Oh well not sure what happened there....

On my recent cruise I heard someone in the same situation discussing it with the Captain's Circle hostess who told him to mention it to their cabin steward & that it would be done. I've had requests for things such as a mattress pad not done so sometimes the cabin steward isn't informed of requests.

 

We're sailing RCCL for a family birthday cruise & they only give a slice of one of the daily cakes with a candle & singing. I prefer the Princess individual chocalate mini-cake but not sure if they'd charge like RCCL does for a cake for 8-12 passengers. I've stopped mentioning birthdays or anniversaries to them because I don't need another dessert. :p

[sbhdmh]

My daughter was booked in with my mother but actually stayed with us. The cabin steward was aware so everything was left for her on our cabin door. The steward also made her an adorable towel animal with a Happy Birthday sign. We brought along birthday hats, a "birthday girl" sash, party blowers and a candle. I slipped the candle to the waiter at breakfast and she had it in her blueberry pancakes, along with a serenade from a group of waiters. At dinner she had a special chocolate cake and another waiter serenade. All no charge. It was formal night so as a special treat I brought her to the hair salon for a fancy up-do. She was in heaven!

[ginka]

thanks! hopefully that is how it will be for her :)

[pablo222]

 

If you don't finish the cake they will take it and deliver it to your room later.

 

A

 

Have you seen 'the cake' recently? It's a double-wide cupcake.

 

Also, I think the balloons have been downsized.

[aikensbest]

Have you seen 'the cake' recently? It's a double-wide cupcake.

 

Also, I think the balloons have been downsized.

Think Positive

We were on a cruise to the Panama Canal in Dec. and I enjoyed the cake, the balloons, and the sign on the cabin door all celebrating my 80th. Never thought to check the size.

[sherryf]

I'm taking my mom on a cruise to Alaska this summer, in "celebration" of her 70th birthday. The problem is that her birthday is in February, and obviously we won't be cruising to Alaska then. Will they let us celebrate it in July? Also, she can't eat chocolate, so can we request a different type of cake if we order the day before? She'll be discussing menus with the head waiter daily anyway, due to other dietary restrictions.

[cbreit]

I got the balloons as well as the birthday card taped on the door in November. Then I received a card to hand to our waiter in the dining room asking them to deliver the "cake" the night we requested.. Dinner and desserts came but no birthday cake, so hubby asked the waiter about it. Finally about 20 minutes later, a bunch of staff came out with a small cake and sang happy birthday. It was nice but if we didn't remind the waiter, nothing would have happened.

[AKman2495]

Have you seen 'the cake' recently? It's a double-wide cupcake.

 

Also, I think the balloons have been downsized.

 

I had a cake in Sept on the Coral and it is not that small. Four people could share it and get a reasonable sized piece. 6 would get a taste.

 

My DW doesn't like cake so I got to eat the whole thing. It took a week and I kept it in the refrigerator. Our steward delivered silverware so it was easy to polish off.

[ginka]

I'm taking my mom on a cruise to Alaska this summer, in "celebration" of her 70th birthday. The problem is that her birthday is in February, and obviously we won't be cruising to Alaska then. Will they let us celebrate it in July? Also, she can't eat chocolate, so can we request a different type of cake if we order the day before? She'll be discussing menus with the head waiter daily anyway, due to other dietary restrictions.

 

sherryf--

I dont believe that princess will 'celebrate' with you in the form of the 'free' cake and balloons unless the event is while you are actually on the cruise. When you are on the cruise personalizer, you have to select the event and then the date from the drop down menu and the only dates available are for while you are on the cruise. I could be wrong and I'm sure someone will correct me, but it does make sense since lots of people are cruising in 'celebration' of something and they would have tons of doors decorated and have to sing happy birthday to almost every table is you could celebrate any event of the year. You might be able to request something special be done like a candle in her dessert or something.

[Princess Patches]

I'm taking my mom on a cruise to Alaska this summer, in "celebration" of her 70th birthday. The problem is that her birthday is in February, and obviously we won't be cruising to Alaska then. Will they let us celebrate it in July? Also, she can't eat chocolate, so can we request a different type of cake if we order the day before? She'll be discussing menus with the head waiter daily anyway, due to other dietary restrictions.

 

Princess seems to be cracking down on birthdays lately. Our TA told us when we booked that the birthday had to be within 30 days of the sailing, which it was. We got the individual cake covered in hardened chocolate and it fed 2-3 easily. It was delicious. We also had the waiters sing to us and got the sign and a balloon on the cabin door. It was all free. This was just last month on the Golden.

 

I do not think they are cracking down on anything other than birthdays because they have your birth date in their records. I think anything goes with anniversary dates. Tell your TA at the time of booking that you want your birthday celebrated.

[MustangGT]

On our last cruise I had talked with Princess and noted my husband's birthday in the personalizer. When we boarded, I checked with Passenger Services and they knew nothing about it. Since I had checked several days before his birthday, there was time to get the balloons and cake.

My advice is to check once on board to be sure the steward knows about the celebration you want to have acknowledged.:D

[Kerry&LuAnn]

My wife's birthday on a Princess cruise is one of our happiest cruise memories. She was not aware that I had indicated her birthday on the cruise personalizer, and she was so surprised to see the balloons and door sign on her birthday. At dinner that night ("Anytime" dining), she did not notice when I discretely handed the card to our waiter. At dessert time, she asked the waiter for a chocolate dessert on the menu, but knowing she was going to be receiving a delicious chocolate birthday dessert, he actually tried steering her attention to something different. She insisted what she wanted, and he kept making other suggestions. After he left, she expressed to me her surprise... she had never had a cruise waiter try to talk her out of a particular menu item! She understood when he soon brought the chocolate dessert she ordered, plus the chocolate birthday cake dessert! And if that wasn't enough fun, she was serenaded by the two waiters - one from Mexico and one from Eastern Europe - with an unusual mixture of accents - neither of whom could carry a tune! To this day, we smile knowingly at each other whenever we hear someone sing "Happy Birthday!"

[Cruisin' Chick]

We were cruising a week after my daughter's birthday in 2004 on the Sapphire so I did note it in the CP. After a day on board, I noticed that there weren't balloons on our cabin door, but on the next cabin's door. So figuring there was a mistake, I called the passenger services desk and mentioned that it was my daughter's birthday (since I knew they had a window of time of about a month according to the website). The next day, the balloons were up and we were given a card (we had assigned seating, but I seem to remember back then, everyone had assigned seating IIRC) to give to the waitstaff. We wanted to let her celebrate with her fellow kids, but the kids' staff said that they don't allow food in that room and even couldn't have the party at the kids' dinner in the Horizon (which makes sense as some children may have allergies to some of the ingredients). So we took the cake back to the cabin and ate it there with her (she was eating all her meals in the Horizon Court on that cruise:rolleyes:).

 

We just got off the Golden Princess and the table next to us had three birthdays and one anniversary during the two weeks. We saw some cabins near us with balloons and signs.

[caribill]

sherryf--

I dont believe that princess will 'celebrate' with you in the form of the 'free' cake and balloons unless the event is while you are actually on the cruise. When you are on the cruise personalizer, you have to select the event and then the date from the drop down menu and the only dates available are for while you are on the cruise.

 

Princess will celebrate an occasion that is within several weeks before or after the cruise.

 

The drop down menu is for which day you want to celebrate on board. Even if the event is during the cruise, you can choose for Princess to celebrate it another day.

[pablo222]

I had a cake in Sept on the Coral and it is not that small. Four people could share it and get a reasonable sized piece. 6 would get a taste.

 

 

Somewhere I have a recent picture of a tablemate's cake.

I estimate that it is between four and five inches in diameter.

 

If I went to a bakery, and ordered a birthday cake, I would

cry if this was what was delivered.

 

Regardless, I don't understand the whole thing. Certainly it's

nice if a family member or friend does something special for

your birthday.

 

But, when a small group of waiters are commanded by an

overbearing headwaiter to sing, is it really that heart-felt?

One might 'know' their waiter, but they certainly don't

know the waiters from surrounding stations who are commanded

to participate. And, all the while those waiters are sweating

bullets hoping that one of their PAX doesn't write a bad comment

about the delay in service.

[AKman2495]

Somewhere I have a recent picture of a tablemate's cake.

I estimate that it is between four and five inches in diameter.

 

If I went to a bakery, and ordered a birthday cake, I would

cry if this was what was delivered.

 

So would I but this is not a cake from a bakery. It is a cake on a ship. One which I found quite good and enjoyed. Obviously, each to his own.

 

Regardless, I don't understand the whole thing. Certainly it's

nice if a family member or friend does something special for

your birthday.

 

But, when a small group of waiters are commanded by an

overbearing headwaiter to sing, is it really that heart-felt?

One might 'know' their waiter, but they certainly don't

know the waiters from surrounding stations who are commanded

to participate. And, all the while those waiters are sweating

bullets hoping that one of their PAX doesn't write a bad comment

about the delay in service.

 

Well, on the Coral, that is simply not what happened. First of all, the waiters and head waiters were a happy bunch. They all worked together very well and at least acted like they were having fun-I truly believe they enjoyed what they did. Second there is no overbearing headwaiter twisting arms. Princess celebrates many special occasions every day so it is frequent practice.

 

The delay of service is minimal besides, dining in the MDR is not supposed to be a race-it is supposed to be a leisurely meal with conversation and conviviality.

 

I truly felt they were happy delivering the cake and singing. BUt, I guess, if you are grumpy to being with it would be easy to believe that the whole thing is a waste of time.

 

I know for me and many others who were similarly greeted, it was anything but a waste of time.

[caribill]

But, when a small group of waiters are commanded by an

overbearing headwaiter to sing, is it really that heart-felt?

One might 'know' their waiter, but they certainly don't

know the waiters from surrounding stations who are commanded

to participate.

 

On our most recent celebration at dinner, not only did the waitstaff sing, but one made sound effects as if fireworks were going off. They seemed to genuinely enjoy doing this. Waitstaff from other areas did not participate.

 

 

 

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