Celebrating a birthday

[mitsugirly]

My daughter will be celebrating her 12th birthday while we are cruising next. I considered buying the birthday decorations package for her but it states they decorate the room on "Day One". Her birthday isn't until toward the end of the cruise and just wondering can you request that they decorate the room on the actual day? Or does it always have to be the first day of the cruise? I guess I could always go out and get my own decorations and do it myself but just thought it would be neat for us to be out and her come back to a room all decorated.

 

Thanks in advance on thoughts.

[Clarea]

I'd plan to do it yourself, that way you have control.  From what I read here, you cannot depend on the decorations going up when you want.

[ZiggaZagga17]

10 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

My daughter will be celebrating her 12th birthday while we are cruising next. I considered buying the birthday decorations package for her but it states they decorate the room on "Day One". Her birthday isn't until toward the end of the cruise and just wondering can you request that they decorate the room on the actual day? Or does it always have to be the first day of the cruise? I guess I could always go out and get my own decorations and do it myself but just thought it would be neat for us to be out and her come back to a room all decorated.

 

Thanks in advance on thoughts.

My advice is to tell any member of staff (especially wait staff) who stands still long enough about her birthday - the staff love the change of 'routine' as some will really go out of their way to make it special for her! 

[Sail n Snow]

I’d spend the money on a birthday cake instead and decorate yourself. We had a birthday celebration last summer and all you need to do is talk to the head waiter.  We needed a gluten free cake and to my surprise it was actually the best gf cake I’ve ever had and the wait staff came over and sang with us.  

[1025cruise]

The cake was good.

I once ordered one for my wife's birthday, with the intention of sharing it with our tablemates. Unfortunately, we ended up not having tablemates (they never showed). Knowing it would go to waste, I cancelled the order. However, we got it anyways. 

 

 

[Cel_cruise]

We celebrated a friends 50th on board Symphony.   

 

I bought decorations (with lots of magnets) to decorate her room - we made a sign to put in the wall and grabbed a package of the pull down spirals to hang from the ceiling.   Our other friends decorated their door.     The cabin steward opted to add in the birthday package for free as his gift to her.   It’s nice - holds photos from a magnet.  

 

Our wait staff did something amazing for her pretty much every night.   We didn’t buy anything but they would put a candle in anything and sing anytime.   At chops and Jaimes they did chocolate and raspberry swirl decorations on her plate and such.  

 

My advice - bring something from home that’s easy (again - magnets to decorate the cabin were SOOO easy!  We did it in just a few minutes!!)!!  Let the waitstaff and room steward help you out - tip extra if they do!   If all else fails - go by a giant ice cream Sundae and celebrate with that!!!

[mitsugirly]

19 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

I'd plan to do it yourself, that way you have control.  From what I read here, you cannot depend on the decorations going up when you want.

 

Good advice! Thanks

 

8 hours ago, ZiggaZagga17 said:

My advice is to tell any member of staff (especially wait staff) who stands still long enough about her birthday - the staff love the change of 'routine' as some will really go out of their way to make it special for her! 

 

Hopefully we'll be able to go to the MDR on that night. We usually only go 2x a cruise and opt for other things and buffet the rest of the time.

 

8 hours ago, Sail n Snow said:

I’d spend the money on a birthday cake instead and decorate yourself. We had a birthday celebration last summer and all you need to do is talk to the head waiter.  We needed a gluten free cake and to my surprise it was actually the best gf cake I’ve ever had and the wait staff came over and sang with us.  

 

How do you talk to the head waiter? Do you just ask your waiter to talk to them? (I would want to do it without her knowing, so wouldn't want the HW coming to the table).

 

3 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

The cake was good.

I once ordered one for my wife's birthday, with the intention of sharing it with our tablemates. Unfortunately, we ended up not having tablemates (they never showed). Knowing it would go to waste, I cancelled the order. However, we got it anyways. 

 

 

 

Are you referring to the cake you order online pre-cruise?

 

1 hour ago, Cel_cruise said:

We celebrated a friends 50th on board Symphony.   

 

I bought decorations (with lots of magnets) to decorate her room - we made a sign to put in the wall and grabbed a package of the pull down spirals to hang from the ceiling.   Our other friends decorated their door.     The cabin steward opted to add in the birthday package for free as his gift to her.   It’s nice - holds photos from a magnet.  

 

Our wait staff did something amazing for her pretty much every night.   We didn’t buy anything but they would put a candle in anything and sing anytime.   At chops and Jaimes they did chocolate and raspberry swirl decorations on her plate and such.  

 

My advice - bring something from home that’s easy (again - magnets to decorate the cabin were SOOO easy!  We did it in just a few minutes!!)!!  Let the waitstaff and room steward help you out - tip extra if they do!   If all else fails - go by a giant ice cream Sundae and celebrate with that!!!

 

 

We have celebrated my hubby and my oldest daughters Bday while sailing in the past and I do have those decorations they used to decorate the room still. (Our TA did it as a surprise).  I think I'm also going to go to the party store and see what I can find.

 

I really LOVE the idea of going to the ice cream store to get something extra special as well (I had not planned on going there at all since it's an extra charge and the ice cream in the buffet suits us well). But, that sounds like a wonderful treat! Thanks for mentioning that.

[cyntil8ing]

My daughter turned 16 on board a Celebrity ship last summer. I bought decorations on Amazon and we did the decorating ourselves. 
 

It also happened to be the day of the Cruise Critic party, and we were lucky enough to get Captain Kate involved.

 

Finally, they provided a cake for free in the dining room and were happy to sing for her again.

[smilz]

2 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

Good advice! Thanks

 

 

Hopefully we'll be able to go to the MDR on that night. We usually only go 2x a cruise and opt for other things and buffet the rest of the time.

 

 

How do you talk to the head waiter? Do you just ask your waiter to talk to them? (I would want to do it without her knowing, so wouldn't want the HW coming to the table).

 

 

Are you referring to the cake you order online pre-cruise?

 

 

 

We have celebrated my hubby and my oldest daughters Bday while sailing in the past and I do have those decorations they used to decorate the room still. (Our TA did it as a surprise).  I think I'm also going to go to the party store and see what I can find.

 

I really LOVE the idea of going to the ice cream store to get something extra special as well (I had not planned on going there at all since it's an extra charge and the ice cream in the buffet suits us well). But, that sounds like a wonderful treat! Thanks for mentioning that.

Skip party store and go to Dollar tree! Lots of appropriate wall hangings and banners and stuff for a 12 year old! Don't forget to pack the tape!  You can choose any night you want to celebrate and you don't have to buy the cake. Just let he server know but your daughter would probably prefer the celebration on her special day, Enjoy!

[Sail n Snow]

3 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

Good advice! Thanks

 

....

Are you referring to the cake you order online pre-cruise?

 

I ordered the cake while on the cruise. I believe I talked to the dining room manager (it may have been the head waiter). It was a full size cake and had to be ordered at least one day in advance.  I think it cost $49 but again has been the best gluten free cake any of us have ever had which was a great surprise.  The frosting was amazing. 

Edited January 26, 2020 by Sail n Snow

[mitsugirly]

16 hours ago, smilz said:

 Don't forget to pack the tape! 

 

 

Oh gosh, hadn't thought about that. I'll have to make sure I do this. Thanks for reminding me.

[Cel_cruise]

19 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

 

Oh gosh, hadn't thought about that. I'll have to make sure I do this. Thanks for reminding me.

 

I would say ‘pack a fastener’ of some sort - but tape leaves a residue on the wall and can be hard to remove...if you use tape - plan accordingly to get the tape off!!  And use the right kind of tape for what you are hanging (some things are just to heavy for scotch tape). 

 

We use magnets and painters tape (if we have to tape something and can’t do it with our magnets).  

[brillohead]

I would go to the Dollar Tree for decorations, and also pick up some Command Strips instead of tape (remove from wall without damage).

If you want it to be a surprise for your daughter, just give the items to your room steward, tell them what day/time, and slip them some money... the whole thing will happen magically while you're all out of the room, and you'll be assured that it will be on the correct day!