Have you every surprised your tween with a cruise?

[Sprasa03]

Me and hubby had planned on surprising my SIL and her 10 yr old son with a cruise (Breakaway to Bermuds). She is a hard working single mom and her son is a mature,sensitive & smart young man. He does good in school, sports, has good friends. We wanted to gift them a vacation they could probably never afford on their own.

 

We had to break down and tell the secret to my SIL cause we needed them both to get passports but my nephew still does not know.

We planned this to be around his birthday in late August so it's the ultimate birthday present but we're not sure what the best way to finally let out the surprise!

 

We were thinking about maybe making a box with Bermuda shorts, a picture of the boat, snorkeling gear, sun tan lotion, bathing suit. etc.

 

or maybe some elaborate scheme where we fake a letter and say he's won a contest and a cruise to Bermuda

 

We were also thinking about maybe just saying we're spending a day in NYC and then driving him up to the pier and telling him then that we're going on a cruise

 

Has anyone else done this kind of thing? Any ideas would be appreciated. I feel like it's hard to WOW an 11 yr old boy...

[sctexan]

If it were me, I would most likely simply say you are spending the day in NYC and then surprise him at the pier. But, having said that, have you asked his mom? She knows him better than anyone. He might be the type that doesn't like surprises and needs time to process things. Plus he might want to pack his own things instead of them being packed for him.

 

Regardless, of what you do 11 year old boys are hard to WOW. ☺ It's just the way they are. You are very sweet to gift this trip to him and I'm sure he'll remember it for the rest of his life.

 

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Edited June 12, 2016 by sctexan

[Quilting_Cruiser]

What a thoughtful and generous gift! :) I agree with the previous poster to talk with your SIL about it. I would never surprise my daughter with something this big--she hates surprises and she has to prepare herself for something like going on a cruise. My girl is very shy and finds meeting new people full of angst. So, to spring a cruise on her would cause all kinds of anxiety. Kids are different, so talk to Mom about what would be the best way and whether he needs advance "notice."

 

Does your family ever get together and have game nights? You could rig a game so that he keeps winning and wins different things for the cruise with the "grand prize" being the cruise itself. Maybe a trivia-type game. Just a thought...

[dexddd]

We've surprised our kids the first time we were going on DCL. They knew something was up as we were getting close to the port but then we said we were going on CCL. Originally we told them we were going somewhere on land so they packed accordingly. We then went to the DCL dock and they were super surprised when their close family friends were on the cruise.

[ColinIllinois]

Half the fun of a cruise is the anticipation leading up to the big day. Just tell him in advance and let the fun begin.

[LrgPizza]

Half the fun of a cruise is the anticipation leading up to the big day. Just tell him in advance and let the fun begin.

 

I agree with this. Telling him late will dilute the surprise. Surprise him with it ASAP.

[esm54687]

That's awesome of you and your hubby!! Sounds like the 4 of you are pretty special!!

 

Don't lie to him about a "letter" because at 10 you want to reward him for hard work and help him learn that you earn things.... you just don't open an envelope. It is also an opportunity to show him how "family" works and that his aunt & uncle have his & his mom's back..... this may be a "pay it forward" learning moment for him!!

 

So, about the surprise....... being 10, he will want to "brag" a little to his friends about the trip so maybe starting at 90 days out you give him one gift (Bermuda shorts), then 10 days later maybe sunscreen, then another 10 days maybe the snorkeling gear, then 10 more days maybe an outline of Bermuda (develop investigative skills), and finally the on the last day, email him the link to the Bermuda Web cam showing the BA..... complete this so he has 10 days left to watch the ship or check out the deck cam, etc and show to his friends...

 

The build up is just as fun as the cruise!! Have a great time and let us know

Edited June 12, 2016 by esm54687

[TougherThanTheRest]

For my son's 9th birthday, we told him we were going to visit a friend in NYC for a day and would stay in a hotel for one night. He thought that was great.

 

On his 9th birthday, we left my friend's house and got in a cab to the birthday hotel. When we got to the hotel, my son was excited because he could see it had a water slide on the roof. We asked if he recognized the hotel---since it was the size of an aircraft carrier and had the Statute of Liberty painted on the side [emoji849]---he did not.

 

We then explained the hotel was going to Bermuda....

 

Once the shock wore off, best birthday ever.

[matondo]

Look on You Tube for Cruise Surprise. There are quite a few different ways they surprise children from pulling up to the ship and getting on to a scavenger hunt. I have always wanted to surprise my husband with a cruise but I can never get anything over on him.

[ccc321]

I did this for my kids. They knew we were going on a cruise so they were able to explore it online, they just though we were going in April when we were actually going in February. We were leaving the Friday before school break so I changed all the clocks in the house and brought them to their bus stop just like any other day. Then I told them that they didn't have to go to school.. They were a bit confused, then I blurted out "you're going on a cruise today".

My daughter didn't believe me at first and I had to show her the date on the luggage tags. As for being packed, they just thought I was a crazy mom packing super early. They are now 15 and 18 and they still love how I surprised them. I would do it again if I could just giving them a little notice because they are a little older.

 

Good luck

Whatever you decide, the happiness you are going to see on his face will be priceless.

[dogboy]

What a nice thing to do! He is going to be surprised whenever you tell him and part of the cruise is the anticipation and planning. My vote is tell him early.:)

[Katsumom]

I agree that you shou check with your SIL as she will know best. Last year we did a big surprise for my dd who was 10. We we in Florida visiting grandma and then spending 2 nights at Disney. When we were checking in I complained about the people in the next room being too loud. She said, they probably just have kids. I put on an angry face and opened the connecting door - the look of horror on her face was priceless as I went to knock on the connecting side. In the room next door was her BFF and grandparents. They were both so shocked! Fast forward 2 days. At the end of the day we are sitting by the pool and I had every go around and say what their favorite part of the holiday was. When it was my turn I said I couldn't yet because in the morning we would be driving to the port to get on a cruise - the screams could be heard across the pool and it took 10 minutes before they believed us and realized they weren't being punked. It is a great memory for all of us but it does depend on the kid!

[Crusin6]

Me and hubby had planned on surprising my SIL and her 10 yr old son with a cruise (Breakaway to Bermuds). She is a hard working single mom and her son is a mature,sensitive & smart young man. He does good in school, sports, has good friends. We wanted to gift them a vacation they could probably never afford on their own.

 

We had to break down and tell the secret to my SIL cause we needed them both to get passports but my nephew still does not know.

We planned this to be around his birthday in late August so it's the ultimate birthday present but we're not sure what the best way to finally let out the surprise!

 

We were thinking about maybe making a box with Bermuda shorts, a picture of the boat, snorkeling gear, sun tan lotion, bathing suit. etc.

 

or maybe some elaborate scheme where we fake a letter and say he's won a contest and a cruise to Bermuda

 

We were also thinking about maybe just saying we're spending a day in NYC and then driving him up to the pier and telling him then that we're going on a cruise

 

Has anyone else done this kind of thing? Any ideas would be appreciated. I feel like it's hard to WOW an 11 yr old boy...

 

 

Lol a 10 year old will figure it out once the pp pix are taken plus the child needs to be present at the pp office and the other parent needs to sign off so will probably spill the beans

 

 

Although it is possible the other parent is completely out of the picture and the 10 yo can buy into some story that it's not a passport but just formality for school or something

 

 

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[Crusin6]

Half the fun of a cruise is the anticipation leading up to the big day. Just tell him in advance and let the fun begin.

 

 

And get him involved in planning and researching excursions

 

 

People would be surprised how educational this is for the kid plus it builds independence and responsibility

 

I'm all for extending childhood as long as possible but will never give up an opportunity that will build character and increase their knowledge.

 

 

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[jewelmick]

Anticipation is a large part of the fun.

 

Tell him a month or two out...when you go to get the pp pics...make a production of it, scavenger hunts are good...but tell him enough ahead of time so he can get excited and help in planning and research in the places you will go.

 

 

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[Sprasa03]

I had heard that if you tell Norwegian your surprising someone with a cruise they may give you something free (like a hat, key chain, etc.) to present during the surprise.

 

So I wrote to Norwegian - they called to tell me they would send something and what they sent was a ... A BROCHURE!

 

The same ol' brochure you would get in the mail!!!

 

The letter that came with it says it talks about the breakaway and bermuda - along with all the other ships and locations for 2016 and 2017.

 

So much for that idea...

[DMH15]

All I have to say is I remember the time my BIL suprised my sister and whisked her off to Curacao. He had secretly spoken with her boss and arranged the time off. He packed for her and had the suitcases in the trunk...

 

Surprise!

 

My sister was thrilled and certainly surprised. Then she opened her suitcase. Hubby had just reached in her closet and grabbed. This included the beaded dress my grandmother had made while working at the studios in Hollywood in the forties, which was several sizes too small for sis. He packed 27 pairs of socks but no shoes.

 

Needless to say sis got to go on a bit of a shopping spree on the island.

 

I would tell him before and let him have the "fun" of packing. Even at 10 he might have preferences.

Edited July 6, 2016 by DMH15

[wdwfamily]

We have surprised our kids many times with vacations (cruises, DisneyWorld, Marco Island Florida, San Diego). We have done everything from telling them the day of to telling them a few days before. Unless you want to tell him way in advance, I think its very exciting to do it close to or on the day of.

 

We have wrapped up brochures, written a poem, had themed packages (Disney Shirts that said "I am going to the Walt Disney World Resort". etc.) and just showed up at the airport and climbed on a plane. The hardest part is packing without them knowing as we tend to surprise them in the winter and have to drag out summer clothes.

 

Any way you do it, make sure to video it! Some of our best videos are of these surprise trips :)

[luvincruising]

Have SIL tell ds, "Your aunt and uncle are going on a cruise and want us to see them off at the pier; afterwards, we will spend a few days in NYC and enjoy the sites.".

At the pier, uncle can drop off the bags to the porter & park while SIL, ds & aunt stand in line for check-in. At the check-in counter, aunt can distract ds while uncle and SIL check-in everyone.

On the ship, aunt & uncle can show them their cabin. If you have adjoining cabins, SIL could make some excuse to go out into the hall, access her cabin, knock on the adjoining door inside the cabin saying "Housekeeping!!", aunt tells ds to see who that is, and he opens the door to "Surprise!!!".

 

This is elaborate but doable. For our dd's first cruise, we told her that we were driving to Florida and staying in a hotel at the beach. When we were in sight of the ship, we pointed at it and told her that is our hotel. She was very surprised. It was a great cruise. This could be your Plan B.

:)

[liser1232]

Your post is very timely. I am surprising my 12 and 14 year old in August. They've always wanted to go on a cruise since their friends seem to go on many of them, but funds are very tight for us. My mom and I decided that the 5 of us will go on a cruise together and she's helping out!!

We are determined not to tell them until we are there. Last time we were in Miami, and passed the port to go to South Beach, the kids just stared longingly at the ships and whined "why can't we go on a cruise".

My kids are very hard working, get amazing grades, and participate in many competitive sports. This is a something we're really looking forward to.

I'm torturing my poor kids. Told them we were going on a vacation to Florida. They politely smiled and said "yay", but I could tell they were like "but we always go there". I told them Florida so they will pack accordingly, including their snorkeling gear.

To torture them even further, the night before the cruise I booked the Miami Intercontinental with a harbour view. I want them to stare at the ship in the morning and sigh.

That's as far as I've got with the planning. They will figure it out once we get in a cab to head over.

[Vacation Lover1]

I agree that the anticipation is part of the fun, but we really wanted to surprise the kids with a pre-Christmas cruise a few years ago. We had our "Elves" leave clues each day for 2 weeks describing a big family gift. They had a blast trying to figure out what it was and were thrilled when they found out it was a cruise.

 

Here are the clues we left. Feel free to borrow and modify to suit your needs.

 

 

Saturday, December 7

What will you do when you see it?

That, my friends is up to you.

You’ll need a bathing suit and ice skates

How’s that for a clue?

 

Tuesday, December 10

The big day is getting near.

We know it’s hard to believe!

Solve this riddle and you might figure it out:

Once you get there, you’ll leave.

 

Monday, December 9

Will you head North? East? South? West?

You’ll find out another day

But here’s a clue to prepare you:

It’s ten hours in a car one way

 

Wednesday, December 11

You aren’t just going one place.

If you count a night’s hotel stay

You’ll be going to four destinations

A different activity for you each day.

 

Thursday, December 12

An island adventure or a day at the pool?

River rafting or snorkeling at high tide?

Dinner with family or hanging with friends?

Who says you need to decide?

 

Friday, December 13

Pack your bags, you’re heading South.

Tomorrow’s the big day!

First stop: Ft. Lauderdale

And then you’ll be on your way.

 

You’ll raft down the river in Jamaica.

Grand Cayman: snorkel the clear, blue sea.

Spend the day on a private island,

Swim the ocean & relax by a coconut tree

 

On Sunday you’ll be boarding

A ship like you’ve never seen.

A FloRider, a balcony, an ice rink!

Fun for every parent, kid and teen.

Edited July 7, 2016 by Vacation Lover1

[ccc321]

I had heard that if you tell Norwegian your surprising someone with a cruise they may give you something free (like a hat, key chain, etc.) to present during the surprise.

 

So I wrote to Norwegian - they called to tell me they would send something and what they sent was a ... A BROCHURE!

 

The same ol' brochure you would get in the mail!!!

 

The letter that came with it says it talks about the breakaway and bermuda - along with all the other ships and locations for 2016 and 2017.

 

So much for that idea...

 

lol That's tooo funny!