Need help being sneaky. Booked a GS, but don't want DW to know

[Toddcan]

I had a D2 booked, on our upcoming Liberty cruise, but I just cancelled it, and grabbed a GS. My wife thinks we still have "a balcony" cabin.

 

My ideal plan is to have her enter the cabin and be shocked, but there are a lot of obstacles in my way. I've never booked a suite before, and we are only Gold, so there will be several items that will tip her off that our cabin is not a D2 before we get onto the ship. I'm asking for any suggestions on how to be sneaky.

 

Now, what I have working for me is that I am the planner. She loves to cruise, but is perfectly fine with leaving all the planning up to me. So, I can get lots past her - simply because she doesn't know

 

As I understand it, here are the problems.

1. Luggage tags. They will have "GS" on them, I think. May not be a big issue, because she doesn't know what D2 or GS means.

2. Check in line. I think there is a seperate line for suites. I may have to just bite the bullet and line up in the regular line.. That, or if the line is too large - I may have to tell her we have a suite if she even notices we are lining up in the suite line. (Edit.. wait..can we only check in at the suite check in section - or do all check in booths have gold cards?)

3. Gold Card at check in. She knows that the normal cards are white. She doesn't know a gold card exists. Not sure what I can say to explain it.. maybe that after 10 cruise points (lol), you get a gold card. IS there anything else at check in that might tip her off?

4. Approaching the cabin. It's on deck 10. Our other cabin was deck 7. I told her about the "balcony cabin"(D2) location, but I suspect she will not clue if I say our cabin is deck 10.

5. The cabin outside. I understand GS have doorbells?? (um.. why?). Is there any other markings on the cabin to identify it as a GS? I hope not, I hope it just says the cabin number like all the other ones.

 

If all of this works out, I'll get her to open the door herself and walk in first.

 

Any thoughts, or suggestions, or glitches I don't know about?

Edited October 10, 2013 by Toddcan

[joepeka]

I had a D2 booked, on our upcoming Liberty cruise, but I just cancelled it, and grabbed a GS. My wife thinks we still have "a balcony" cabin.

 

My ideal plan is to have her enter the cabin and be shocked, but there are a lot of obstacles in my way. I've never booked a suite before, and we are only Gold, so there will be several items that will tip her off that our cabin is not a D2 before we get onto the ship. I'm asking for any suggestions on how to be sneaky.

 

Now, what I have working for me is that I am the planner. She loves to cruise, but is perfectly fine with leaving all the planning up to me. So, I can get lots past her - simply because she doesn't know

 

As I understand it, here are the problems.

1. Luggage tags. They will have "GS" on them, I think. May not be a big issue, because she doesn't know what D2 or GS means.

2. Check in line. I think there is a seperate line for suites. I may have to just bite the bullet and line up in the regular line.. That, or if the line is too large - I may have to tell her we have a suite if she even notices we are lining up in the suite line.

3. Gold Card at check in. She knows that the normal cards are white. She doesn't know a gold card exists. Not sure what I can say to explain it.. maybe that after 10 cruise points (lol), you get a gold card. IS there anything else at check in that might tip her off?

4. Approaching the cabin. It's on deck 10. Our other cabin was deck 7. I told her about the "balcony cabin"(D2) location, but I suspect she will not clue if I say our cabin is deck 10.

5. The cabin outside. I understand GS have doorbells?? (um.. why?). Is there any other markings on the cabin to identify it as a GS? I hope not, I hope it just says the cabin number like all the other ones.

 

If all of this works out, I'll get her to open the door herself and walk in first.

 

Any thoughts, or suggestions, or glitches I don't know about?

Good for you! I hope you're successful on this.... she will be happily shocked if you can pull it off.

 

I can only answer #1 with confidence: your luggage tags will say "Suite" on them in very visible lettering. So definitely keep those away from her. ;) On #2 I believe there is a separate line and if so, you can always use the regular line as you say unless you've blown it prior and she already knows!

[lady_cruiser]

If she signs into the website she might get a clue so you also might want to change the password and tell her that RCL website is down again.

 

I am not sure how you are going to keep the gold card away from her except when you get to the counter you tell (whisper) the person checking you in what you are up to. Then ask her to hand her wife's key to you to hold until you are on the ship.

 

She might get a clue when you hand her back the card so she can be dinged in. That might be a good time to tell her.

 

To add to the surprise why not order a dozen red roses and a bottle of wine and have that waiting for her once she walks in the cabin.

 

Your wife will love your surprise.

Edited October 10, 2013 by lady_cruiser

[petel]

I had a D2 booked, on our upcoming Liberty cruise, but I just cancelled it, and grabbed a GS. My wife thinks we still have "a balcony" cabin.

 

My ideal plan is to have her enter the cabin and be shocked, but there are a lot of obstacles in my way. I've never booked a suite before, and we are only Gold, so there will be several items that will tip her off that our cabin is not a D2 before we get onto the ship. I'm asking for any suggestions on how to be sneaky.

 

Now, what I have working for me is that I am the planner. She loves to cruise, but is perfectly fine with leaving all the planning up to me. So, I can get lots past her - simply because she doesn't know

 

As I understand it, here are the problems.

1. Luggage tags. They will have "GS" on them, I think. May not be a big issue, because she doesn't know what D2 or GS means.

2. Check in line. I think there is a seperate line for suites. I may have to just bite the bullet and line up in the regular line.. That, or if the line is too large - I may have to tell her we have a suite if she even notices we are lining up in the suite line. (Edit.. wait..can we only check in at the suite check in section - or do all check in booths have gold cards?)

3. Gold Card at check in. She knows that the normal cards are white. She doesn't know a gold card exists. Not sure what I can say to explain it.. maybe that after 10 cruise points (lol), you get a gold card. IS there anything else at check in that might tip her off?

4. Approaching the cabin. It's on deck 10. Our other cabin was deck 7. I told her about the "balcony cabin"(D2) location, but I suspect she will not clue if I say our cabin is deck 10.

5. The cabin outside. I understand GS have doorbells?? (um.. why?). Is there any other markings on the cabin to identify it as a GS? I hope not, I hope it just says the cabin number like all the other ones.

 

If all of this works out, I'll get her to open the door herself and walk in first.

 

Any thoughts, or suggestions, or glitches I don't know about?

 

Unless she is totally zoned she will know before you get on board BUT, the door you want to see her open is the bathroom! Watch that close.

 

Enjoy :D

[PH8]

Tell her that you read on here,they changed the color of the seapass cards............gold members get gold cards....

 

Dont print out your luggage tags ahead......get them at the port.

 

I think even if she realizes at the port,that you have a suite,she will still be shocked when she actually gets in it.......

[leaveitallbehind]

As others have referenced, let me summarize a few of the more noticeable differences to overcome with her:

 

1. Luggage tags and boarding docs both say "Suite" on them.

2. As you enter the terminal the greeter who examines your boarding docs to let you in will direct you to the suite check in area. The "regular" check in may redirect you as well.

3. There is a separate suite waiting lounge as well which you will be directed to.

4. The suite guest check in area and lounge is clearly marked and not easy to overlook.

5. The SeaPass cards are gold. Only suite guests and Pinnacle C & A members are issued those.

6. There is a doorbell outside the suite. (as a courtesy to you with the stateroom attendants).

7. The doors are somewhat larger and more nicely finished.

8. If she knows your D2 is on deck 7 she may notice you are getting off the elevator on deck 10.

 

Other than that you should be home free - she'll never have a clue...:D

Edited October 10, 2013 by leaveitallbehind

[niksmom630]

Fairly certain my luggage tags did not say "Suite" on them. The setsail pass, however, has a "suite" icon on it, and it's pretty noticable. Good luck!

[LamboPuppy]

Toddcan,

 

Great suggestions from PH8.

 

Also, you can forego the suite check-in line, go to the D-1 line and have a pre-written concise note written on top of all of your check-in documents that might read "Surprising wife with suite. Please don't mention suite. Thank you so much"

 

What fun!!

[Tkaklita]

What a fantastic treat you are doing for her (and yourself). I cannot add any help but would just like to ask that you please come back and let us know how it went???

 

We all love hearing the end results and not many remember to post back.

 

Have a wonderful cruise and I hope you are able to surprise her at the very end as you wish!!

[MS52]

Tell her on the way to the port. She will still be very surprised, enjoy all the perks of the suite (sweet) checkin and you can relax!

[jennywren46]

maybe if she finds out its a suite just let her assume you've had an upgrade from a balcony to a junior suite let her have an even bigger surprise when she finds its a GS. What a wonderful surprise have a fantastic cruise.

[SnappyNappi]

If all of this works out, I'll get her to open the door herself and walk in first.

 

Any thoughts, or suggestions, or glitches I don't know about?

Toddcan,

I am the planner too and I tried to do this last year for my husband when we sailed Oasis in November. About 3 months before our cruise I took an 'upgrade' from a Central Park Balcony to a W-suite guarantee for very little money, which made it worth it...but I didn't tell him, didn't even let on that I was up to anything - also planning to surprise him with the big reveal when we got to our room... However, 5 days before the cruise I found out that we were assigned a Crown Loft Suite---which was THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER! (..but I digress.) So I kept the secret until 2 AM the 'morning' that we were leaving... and caved in, deciding then to tell him when we were going to bed that I had upgraded us and that we would be staying in a Crown Loft - which at the time, he had no idea what that even was because it was so far beyond our price range.

 

Anyway, when I explained the upgraded cabin and what we would have, he was SO incredibly excited and we got to share excitement, which made it even better 'surprise' for both of us.

 

So as it turned out - as we went through the boarding process, I realized that I was very happy that I had told him before we got there. There was the luggage tags which said "Suite" as well as our cruise documents, the check in line, the separate seating area before we got on the ship, the woman checking us in as soon as we got into the terminal who commented when looking at our paperwork, "WOW! You are going to LOVE your Crown Loft Suite", and the Gold Card - which screams SUITE and is a dead giveaway.

 

I love the idea of surprising your DW - however, I hope you are not disappointed if someone, who will not know that it is a surprise, gives it up before you reach your room...

 

A Grand Suite is a fabulous room that you will both love and I wish you a very happy and safe cruise! :)

[Mines]

I did this to my wife on our last cruise. Beleive me, she will be so interested and excited about the surroundings that she will not look at the small details. My wife never suspected a thing until opening the door.

 

The most difficult part will be the seapass card that says suite on it. Best thing is to keep it in your hand until passing the security. If you are lucky, she will probably be looking at the machine then so will not notice the card.

[skiiergirl]

Toddcan,

 

Great suggestions from PH8.

 

Also, you can forego the suite check-in line, go to the D-1 line and have a pre-written concise note written on top of all of your check-in documents that might read "Surprising wife with suite. Please don't mention suite. Thank you so much"

 

What fun!!

 

I think having a note attached to your paperwork is a good idea.

 

I think the surprise will be cool if you can pull it off. However, I think if you wait until you are at the cabin to surprise her you will miss out on some of the "benefits". (suite line, suite waiting area -unless you plan on checking in after the boarding has already begun).

 

I surprised Mr Ski with an OS upgrade once. It was hard keeping it a secret but was worth it. He usually puts the luggage tags on at the hotel but I convinced him that day that we should wait until we got to pier to put them on. so while we were in line waiting on the porter I whipped out the luggage tags and set sail. When he saw the cabin number he immediately knew and was elated! He then got to experience the whole suite checkin process, etc.

Edited October 10, 2013 by skiiergirl

[brklyn78]

That is so sweet! My husband is big on surprises -- but I often ruin them because I'm very observant (or maybe nosey). To get past the issue of the line, the seapass cards, and the luggage tags (which won't say suite but will have the room number), I agree with the poster who suggested you tell her you upgraded to a junior suite. You could even downplay it like "one of their smaller junior suites" or "an obstructed junior suite." I don't think either of these exists, but it sounds like she's new enough to cruising that she won't know that. If you tell her there was a room change, it will also take care of the fact that she'll see a different number on the luggage tags.

 

As a serial surprise-ruiner, I think the junior suite upgrade story would cover most of the things I'd be likely to spot.

 

Good luck!

[leaveitallbehind]

The most difficult part will be the seapass card that says suite on it. Best thing is to keep it in your hand until passing the security. If you are lucky, she will probably be looking at the machine then so will not notice the card.

 

Looking at mine from Oasis last year and the cards do not say "Suite" on it - however they are a very distinctive gold color, and are the only cards issued in this color. (Other than for Pinnacle C & A guests).

Edited October 10, 2013 by leaveitallbehind

[Toddcan]

All great ideas! Thanks.

 

Just for further clarification:

She has cruised with me on all 5 of the cruises in my signature, so she knows "cruising". She just doesn't know "planning", because I do all of that.

 

She will not even see the set sail documents. I print them out for everyone, and keep them in my binder.

She never logs into the RCI website - ever. I do all of the data entry for the pre-cruise.

The only time she touches anything to do with the cruise is when I hand out the cards after checking in.

 

But... some of you make a GREAT point... if I try and hide it all until we enter the cabin, we cannot share in the perks at check in. Also, she might get even more excited about the cabin if I tell her - but perhaps not until the night before. Hmm... gotta think about that one. If there are people who will be looking at our docs, and trying to guide us towards the suite lines, it might be too hard to hide. Plus, if I can get on the ship 30 mins earlier because of a shorter check in - that might be a better approach too.

 

I will say this.. if the risk is "significant" (whatever that means), that she will clue in before we get to the cabin.. I will likely just tell just before we get there..

 

Maybe as we're walking up to the first person who checks our docs... "Oh btw, we're in a suite, so let's get into this line here...." And leave it at that.. :)

 

got lots to consider.

[starfish216]

Tell her at the port so she can feel even more special getting all the suite perk's prior to boarding. By telling her at the port she will not have an opportunity to research GS and see ahead of time what your cabin will be like.

[North_Country_Cruiser]

If it doesn't ruin the surprise too much, I'd tell her you got upgraded to a junior suite. That would explain the perks like the suite line, the change in location, luggage tags, and card color (JS don't actually get Gold, but it wouldn't be hard to convince her you do). You could even go online and show her what a JS is (really just a slightly larger balcony room), so that's what she's expecting. THAN she'll be quite surprised to see the Grand Suite.

[mdjohn5]

In the excitement of getting on the ship, I doubt she will notice the color of the seapass. However, when they hand over the passes at check in, just grab them both and move along. Then hand them both to the security person as you board and say it is for both of you. I do this with the kids all the time, so it is not that unusual for security to be handed two or three cards at a time when people get on/off the ship.

 

You can always get luggage tags at the port. Maybe make up a story for your wife that they moved you to a balcony on a higher deck at the last second so you don't have the correct luggage tags like you normaly do....and act "mad" about it!

 

If you get routed to the suite line at check in, tell her your TA or however you booked the cruise was offering free priority boarding as an incitive...I don't think that actually exists, but she probably doesnt know that if you normaly do al the paperwork.

 

One giveaway before you get into the room is the hallway. She might notice that the doors are spaced much further appart than on the lower decks. Be ready with a story that you looked online and the room they "moved" you to is a balacony room tucked between two suites.

 

Good Luck!

[Mark_K]

Good luck. Things tend to happen to spoil surprises like that. One time my wife found out I was taking her to Hawaii for our anniversary when someone called to confirm the Leis on arrival.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[nolesrule]

Tell her at the port so she can feel even more special getting all the suite perk's prior to boarding. By telling her at the port she will not have an opportunity to research GS and see ahead of time what your cabin will be like.

 

This is probably how I would handle it with my wife if she thought we had a regular balcony.

 

But if you want to wait till actually on board, the best option would be the junior suite lie.

 

 

 

Reminds of the time I took my wife to Paris and the Greek islands for our 10th anniversary. She had no idea where we were going until we got to the gate for our international flight. Got through check-in and security without her ever seeing the boarding pass. The airline and TSA were very cooperative with my surprise plan.

[montekat]

I changed our regular balcony cabin to a suite on our last cruise to surprise my husband for our 45th anniversary. He lets me do all the planning, etc. I print up everything, make the luggage tags, yadda, yadda, yadda. Guess what, he walked in the room and all he noticed was "it's laid out a little different". He didn't even realize we had a grand suite until I told him. Hopefully your wife is a lot more observant!!

[JFontaine]

If she's like me, thinking about all aspects of the cruise in advance is half the fun (and worth the price!). So why not give her that enjoyment now? Print out a photo of the cabin and put it in a little box, stick a bow on it, and give it to her at dinner (or whenever), telling her that you got her something special for the cruise.

 

Similarly - you could print out a list of the perks associated with the cruise and give them to her in advance too, maybe a couple of days later, to keep the surprises coming.

 

All the best for a great trip!

[hansolosmom]

Wow how suite (couldn't resist ;) )

 

I'm the planner and my dh sounds like your wife. He's cruised with me, he loves to cruise but never goes on-line to check anything & has never been here on CC.

He would have absolutely NO idea what a gold card would mean. I could tell him it's because we're gold level and he'd be like Ok, and he probably wouldn't even ask.

 

I do like some of the ideas/ways to surprise her ahead of time. I'd probably have to do one of them because I'm terrible at keeping secrets.

 

Whatever you decide hope you have a great time.