tamilyn Posted October 11, 2022 #1 Share Posted October 11, 2022 So, I know I've read on here different ways folks have surprised their families with cruises for Christmas, but I can't seem to find the threads right away. I'd love to hear how some of you have done this if you'd be willing to share! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Kellie in Texas Posted October 11, 2022 #2 Share Posted October 11, 2022 I remember other threads similar to this too, maybe not a holiday surprise cruise but just a surprise cruise. My thoughts are don't wait to tell people. I am the cruise planner in my house and we've got a New Year's Eve 2022 cruise booked but I told my family back in July. I love the anticipation of it, so I would feel cheated if I didn't have lots of time to look forward to it. Plus everybody needs time to get passports, wardrobe, look at excursions, etc. You can always gather everybody to "watch a movie" and then pull up videos of the ship, ports, etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamilyn Posted October 11, 2022 Author #3 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Yes, maybe I wasn't very clear... We are giving the cruise as a Christmas gift but not actually going on the cruise until next year. So, plenty of time to prepare (or back out if they want). I was just looking for creative ways to "give the gift". 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HicksRA Posted October 11, 2022 #4 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Maybe a wrapped bucket of water with a little boat floating in it….. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Rubyfisch Posted October 11, 2022 #5 Share Posted October 11, 2022 I took my parents on their first cruise as a surprise 65th birthday gift for my mother. I put together a binder with a tab for each port and a some other things, wrapped the binder, and gave it to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DaKahuna Posted October 11, 2022 #6 Share Posted October 11, 2022 46 minutes ago, tamilyn said: Yes, maybe I wasn't very clear... We are giving the cruise as a Christmas gift but not actually going on the cruise until next year. So, plenty of time to prepare (or back out if they want). I was just looking for creative ways to "give the gift". Make some fake boarding passes, print them out and put them a Christmas card. I did something similar when I gave three of our grandchildren vacations at Seaworld. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplin Posted October 11, 2022 #7 Share Posted October 11, 2022 I gave monogrammed beach towels and a cloth bag ( Vera Bradley) filled with funny towel clips (Amazon) and sunscreen. I also had personalized door magnets with their name on it for their cabin doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATSEAMYLIFE Posted October 11, 2022 #8 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Buy a model of the ship, wrap it up, and put under the tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Kellie in Texas Posted October 11, 2022 #9 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Our first family cruise was to Alaska in 2011 (oldest son's high school graduation). For Christmas, I got everybody a rain jacket (wrapped individually), long-sleeved tshirts/Henleys, and a couple of other gifts like that. Then -- and this was back in the day when you didn't book online, you got the big RCCL "wish book" brochure -- I wrapped the brochure in a box with little sticky tabs on the page for the specific cruise we were going on. So, by the time they saw the brochure, they had pretty well figured it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverbeenhere Posted October 11, 2022 #10 Share Posted October 11, 2022 (edited) Invite me over for the big day and say: "Hey everyone! Guess who's going on a cruise with us next Christmas!" Edited October 11, 2022 by neverbeenhere Merry Christmas 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
def0715 Posted October 11, 2022 #11 Share Posted October 11, 2022 I did a scavenger hunt kind of thing for my daughters. There was a wrapped gift for each of them at the very end of the hunt. Inside were matching T-shirts I had gotten made with our cruise particulars. It was a fun way for them to figure it out, and they were surprised and thrilled. We took a photo in our matching shirts, which we still have somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linerode Posted October 11, 2022 #12 Share Posted October 11, 2022 3 hours ago, tamilyn said: Yes, maybe I wasn't very clear... We are giving the cruise as a Christmas gift but not actually going on the cruise until next year. So, plenty of time to prepare (or back out if they want). I was just looking for creative ways to "give the gift". I did this for my wife. I created a notebook of the reservation documents plus pictures and information about the ports, pictures of the cabin, etc. Wrapped it up in a box and she loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renza Posted October 12, 2022 #13 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Fill up a box with travel size goodies like toothpaste, mouthwash, shampoos, and print fake boarding passes. Get cruise luggage tags, towel clips. Have picture of ship too. Have fun and fill it with anything cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingos Posted October 12, 2022 #14 Share Posted October 12, 2022 DH gave me an envelope stuffed full on $1 bills - I thought he was taking me to a strip club (!) until I saw the rest of the things in the box - a photo of a tropical island, a picture of a tropical drink, and a picture of a cruise ship. 🤣 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum2Mercury Posted October 12, 2022 #15 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Luggage tags? Sunscreen? It's on clearance at Walmart right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise Gopher Posted October 12, 2022 #16 Share Posted October 12, 2022 We gave my parents a Mediterranean cruise last Christmas and we bought some different foods/snacks from Spain, France and Italy to package in a box for each of them, and then at the bottom of the box under the food we put a printed itinerary of the cruise and a fake cruise boarding pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike-Cruisin Posted October 12, 2022 #17 Share Posted October 12, 2022 One year I found small tin boxes similar to the old lunch boxes we used as kids that were painted to look like travel suitcases with stickers on them of various cities. Inside the "suitcases" were fake boarding passes and a Christmas ornament relating to the destinations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ReneeFLL Posted October 12, 2022 #18 Share Posted October 12, 2022 5 hours ago, tamilyn said: Yes, maybe I wasn't very clear... We are giving the cruise as a Christmas gift but not actually going on the cruise until next year. So, plenty of time to prepare (or back out if they want). I was just looking for creative ways to "give the gift". Not to be a Debbie Downer, but there could be some ramifications if they back out after you have purchased the cruise. Make sure you book it with a refundable deposit. There are other things that I read about, but didn’t pay much attention to. Something about if you book it in someone’s name and they back out then they will get the FCC or refund and not you. It goes to the person who’s name is on the reservation even if you paid for it. @Ourusualbeachwill know the details. If this is for your spouse and kids and not relatives then it probably isn’t a big deal. Just something to keep in mind. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted October 12, 2022 #19 Share Posted October 12, 2022 1 minute ago, ReneeFLL said: Not to be a Debbie Downer, but there could be some ramifications if they back out after you have purchased the cruise. Make sure you book it with a refundable deposit. There are other things that I read about, but didn’t pay much attention to. Something about if you book it in someone’s name and they back out then they will get the FCC or refund and not you. It goes to the person who’s name is on the reservation even if you paid for it. @Ourusualbeachwill know the details. If this is for your spouse and kids and not relatives then it probably isn’t a big deal. Just something to keep in mind. What you stated sbout FCC's was correct up until July however the non refundable deposits now are 100% forfeited if they cancel. No FCC's are issued. Definitely should be booking refundable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DaKahuna Posted October 12, 2022 #20 Share Posted October 12, 2022 1 minute ago, ReneeFLL said: Not to be a Debbie Downer, but there could be some ramifications if they back out after you have purchased the cruise. Make sure you book it with a refundable deposit. There are other things that I read about, but didn’t pay much attention to. Something about if you book it in someone’s name and they back out then they will get the FCC or refund and not you. It goes to the person who’s name is on the reservation even if you paid for it. @Ourusualbeachwill know the details. If this is for your spouse and kids and not relatives then it probably isn’t a big deal. Just something to keep in mind. I am pretty sure it goes back to the credit card that was used to make the deposit and any payments, regardless of the name on the reservation. How would they refund if they did have a credit card to refund it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ReneeFLL Posted October 12, 2022 #21 Share Posted October 12, 2022 2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said: What you stated sbout FCC's was correct up until July however the non refundable deposits now are 100% forfeited if they cancel. No FCC's are issued. Definitely should be booking refundable. Thanks for correcting me. I figured I’d possibly have something wrong. 1 minute ago, DaKahuna said: I am pretty sure it goes back to the credit card that was used to make the deposit and any payments, regardless of the name on the reservation. How would they refund if they did have a credit card to refund it to. It must have been the FCC that was refunded to the person who’s name was on the reservation. I knew Ken would be able to correct me if wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted October 12, 2022 #22 Share Posted October 12, 2022 1 minute ago, ReneeFLL said: Thanks for correcting me. I figured I’d possibly have something wrong. It must have been the FCC that was refunded to the person who’s name was on the reservation. I knew Ken would be able to correct me if wrong. This was definitely an issue during Covid with all the FCC's that were being issued after final payment or being sble to cancel nrd bookings without penalty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARandomTraveler Posted October 12, 2022 #23 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Print out the itinerary, fold it up and put it in this BILZ Gift Card and Money Puzzle - Brain Teasing Maze for Cash or Gift Cards - Great for Stocking Stuffers, Secret Santa Gifts, or Birthdays https://a.co/d/31Dgw7n Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tin can Posted October 12, 2022 #24 Share Posted October 12, 2022 I printed a big card myself with the ship and destinations on it and superimposed my wife's and sons head on to people at these destinations. It wasn't difficult to do and was very funny even if I do say so myself, they were confused initially and then very excited so it had the right effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbee79 Posted October 12, 2022 #25 Share Posted October 12, 2022 It wasn't for a cruise, but I brought my parents return flights for a trip that included Malta, Venice & Rome. For them I made up some boarding passes, and used them as bookmarks inside "Italian for Dummies". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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