Need help from all creative cruisers please

[beckzay]

I need some creative help! I've booked, and almost paid off, a cruise for my husband's 40th birthday. He has no idea :) So, now that it's getting closer (not really that close but I did book it 6 months ago), I'm trying to come up with a fun, clever way to surprise him with it.

 

I will be telling him about it on his actual birthday which is 10 days before we sail. I would love to hear about anyone's experience if they have either given or received a surprise like this...or have a great idea how to make the surprise memorable. Although I'm open to any ideas, I think he would think a scavenger hunt might be cheezy, but maybe not :P

[ashley@cruisecritic]

I need some creative help! I've booked, and almost paid off, a cruise for my husband's 40th birthday. He has no idea :) So, now that it's getting closer (not really that close but I did book it 6 months ago), I'm trying to come up with a fun, clever way to surprise him with it.

 

I will be telling him about it on his actual birthday which is 10 days before we sail. I would love to hear about anyone's experience if they have either given or received a surprise like this...or have a great idea how to make the surprise memorable. Although I'm open to any ideas, I think he would think a scavenger hunt might be cheezy, but maybe not :P

 

 

How fun! Maybe put some Carnival luggage tags into a box and wrap it?

[cntrydncr1]

I surprised my son at Christmas. I wrapped boxes with clues and he had to guess what it was.

[trvlgirlmq]

Give him a Carnival gift card! Let him ponder that for a moment.

[Trulyoldnavy]

On his birthday give him some Bermuda shorts. In the pocket have the printed boarding passes. Force him to try the pants on (to see how they look/make sure they fit). When he comes out to model them give him a drink with fruit and an umbrella in it. If he hasn't found the boarding passes yet you can direct him to check the pockets.

[BoDidly]

Download a ships horn for your ring tone ,

http://www.zedge.net/ringtones/0-5-1-ships%20horn/

[USNUZULOOSE]

How about watching some good movies with cruising involved. Serve up some desserts and put the boarding passes on the tray with everything.

[siestakeys04]

I told my aunt that I wanted them to watch a slide show about a guy at my husbands job wanting to surprise his wife with a cruise I had different slides with things from the Bahamas food on the ship and the route we were taking. But at a certain slide we stood beside the laptop with arrows pointing at us saying they are taking you on a cruise. They were in shock. Have fun however you reveal it.

 

 

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[Drazil65]

Pick out one of your ports and prepare a traditional meal from that culture, decorate the house with things you would see in that port (don't forget some traditional caribbean music), get a Carnival gift card in an envelope and put his name on it like a place card in front of his plate.

 

Let him enjoy the meal and the music then let him open his card, it will put him in the mood for a cruise!!!

[hutt1]

I once did a slide presentation as if it was a showcase from a game show. You can start with the flight or drive to the port and a night at the fabulous ----- hotel and a romantic dinner for two at -------. It is time consuming but it is a lot of fun, especially if you add sound effects and have your party guests act as the studio audience.

[isaiahsnana]

I surprised my son-in-law with a cruise for his birthday (my daughter and her three sons as well as my son and his family were already going on the trip with me. Son-in-law is an engineer with a large corporation in a management position and was concerned about missing work. My daughter secretly talked to his boss and arranged the dates. I purchased a wind up dolphin toy (we booked the dolphin swim), a bag of snacks marked with the email verifying the chef's table, and a set of sand toys and tied it up with a Carnival ribbon I had saved from a previous cruise gift. He was very surprised!

[easyboy]

The dining staff may have some idea for you.

[SuzanneH]

I did a mock newspaper once with specialized headlines. I wish I could remember what program I used. It was a great surprise. I've also done the gift card thing recently for our next Disney trip that is right before our cruise. My son was less excited than I hoped when he saw the Disney gift card, but was super excited when he heard we were cruising, too! I should have thrown in one of my Carnival gift cards, too!

[Sugaree5335]

I've told my husband that we're going out of town, but haven't told him where. He'll find out when we get to the port...

[beckzay]

I've told my husband that we're going out of town, but haven't told him where. He'll find out when we get to the port...

 

I wish I could do that, but logistically it would be a nightmare for us. We have to fly from boston to orlando the day before so he would know before arriving at port. Plus, I've got to give him time to let it all sink in :)

[bigboatrider]

I surprised my son at Christmas. I wrapped boxes with clues and he had to guess what it was.

 

We give our adult kids "vacations" every year, as Christmas gifts. This is what my wife came up with. Sometimes it gets really fun watching them try to guess where they're going, lol. Of course, some of the novelty has worn off over the years, but they still "play along" for mom, lol.

 

OP - depending on where you're sailing to, you can include "clues" about the ports, cities, countries, etc. A "toy" ship. As someone mentioned, a luggage tag, but if you have a Carnival tag, it would be better as the last clue, obviously. We've even looked up famous people from areas that we are going to visit and used things associated with them as clues. A lil imagination could make it really fun! Good luck!

[Ranyw]

You can go on eBay and find a number of carnival trinkets, from mugs to mini ship's. When I surprised my mom I put a towel in a gift box along with the tickets...

 

 

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[louanne93]

We give our adult kids "vacations" every year, as Christmas gifts. This is what my wife came up with. Sometimes it gets really fun watching them try to guess where they're going, lol. Of course, some of the novelty has worn off over the years, but they still "play along" for mom, lol.

 

OP - depending on where you're sailing to, you can include "clues" about the ports, cities, countries, etc. A "toy" ship. As someone mentioned, a luggage tag, but if you have a Carnival tag, it would be better as the last clue, obviously. We've even looked up famous people from areas that we are going to visit and used things associated with them as clues. A lil imagination could make it really fun! Good luck!

 

If you don't believe, you don't receive!

[ShakyBeef]

My reveal was not as creative as most of these here, but FWIW, I surprised my DH with a 10-Day Celebrity cruise for his 30th birthday, back in 2010. His actual birthday was going to be during the cruise. I pretended that I just couldn't stand to wait any longer, and I had to give him his birthday gift about a week before his birthday (3 days before the cruise), and hauled out this HUGE cardboard box that it had cost me a small fortune to cover in wrapping paper. I had rigged it in such a way that when he opened the top flaps of the box, a cluster of helium balloons popped out, trailing a picture of our ship (Celebrity Mercury) with our sailing date and itinerary just below that, and our boarding passes at the bottom. The "news" ended up right in front of his face as the balloons went to the ceiling. It worked perfectly. He was surprised, alright! So much so that he had to rush to the powder room and be physically ill from the wonderful surprise :(:rolleyes::o (he didn't know yet that everything was taken care of at work and the thought of missing ten days without warning was unpleasantly overwhelming for him, to say the least).

 

But it was a great cruise that he really enjoyed. I had kept it secret for about 8 months - paying for it in secret, secretly arranging his vacation schedule with his employees and even some clients, booking all the shore excursions that he would most prefer, even packing in secret. I'll never do it again, though. Keeping that "good secret" was too stressful for me - it actually affected my well-being and health in some serious ways. I was a mess. I can't imagine how people who keep "bad secrets" from their spouses live with themselves!:eek: I'm sorry, I digress.:o

 

Good luck with your big reveal and have a great cruise!:)

[butterflys]

I surprised my mom with a cruise for Mother's Day. She lives out of town, so every time I'd talk to her I'd tell her things she should pack due to the weather or and to bring something dressy for "Mother's Day" dinner.

 

I purchased a customized scratch off ticket from Etsy that said "You are going on a cruise". I did a scavenger hunt so the last item was the scratch off ticket.

 

She was very surprised, especially when I told her that we were flying to port the next day. She was worried if she had packed properly. When I reminded her I told her what to bring.

 

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