Booked our Christmas SURPRISE!!

[mandyleighflies]

My kids are 14 and 16 and the holiday's are just different than when they were younger. Gifts are no longer a "big deal" and they have been asking for experiences more than physical things. Therefore, my mom and I decided to book a surprise Christmas cruise the week before Christmas to surprise them for the holiday. We will be sailing on Freedom OTS Dec 18-21 to CocoCay and Nassau!! We will be sharing a 2 bedroom suite with my mom and have a "good old fashioned family christmas". 😂 We would have sailed over the actual Christmas holidays except for the following, they go to their dad the day after Christmas (co-parenting), I will most likely be working over Christmas (Flight Attendant) and the CROWDS are not our thing. 

 

I plan on having t-shirts made and a door sign. Then on the evening of December 16th, I will have the kids open their "presents" and it will be a luggage tag, the t-shirt and a note of SURPRISE...we leave TOMORROW!! 

 

I think this will be the best holiday present and one they won't forget for sure. 

 

Hubby and I are sailing on Allure a week prior for our wedding anniversary, so I will basically be on back to back's 🙈 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Wow!  Sounds awesome.  When our kids were growing up we often traded gifts of travel for "stuff".  They are late 20's-early 30's now and to this day they talk about that cruise to Aruba where our beach umbrella blew away with the wind...that one cruise when we almost missed the last shuttle back to the ship because we fell asleep under a tree and Megan's Beach...or that one cruise where DD lost her bracelet in the MDR only to have it turn up again in the room by a very caring steward who went on the look out for it...or that one cruise when other DD won her first jackpot in the casino....  The memories are far more valuable than any of the "things" they may receive that will be long forgotten over the years.  Good for you!

[BecciBoo]

We did Odyssey last December 11-18 and absolutely loved it.  They had the official tree lighting the first sea day, we sang carols and had Santa, it was great and still more reasonable than Christmas week.  It was a little cold, even in the Caribbean so we didn't spend a great deal of time in the water or ocean, but it was just great...enjoy!

 

Ditto Peaches, my grown kids now with grown kids still talk about our cruises as family...those were the days!  Sniff.

Edited May 18, 2023 by BecciBoo

[Kellie in Texas]

I am also of the "give them experiences, not stuff" philosophy. Oldest son got a cruise for high school graduation and for college graduation; younger son got one for high school graduation -- postponed two years due to Covid. He's still in college so we haven't determined his graduation trip yet. I hate to be the fly in the ointment but I really think you should tell them ahead of time. They may want to enjoy the anticipation, look for excursions, research the ship, etc. You could have a "Christmas in July" celebration maybe. 

[OCSC Mike]

21 minutes ago, Kellie in Texas said:

I hate to be the fly in the ointment but I really think you should tell them ahead of time. They may want to enjoy the anticipation, look for excursions, research the ship, etc. You could have a "Christmas in July" celebration maybe.

 

Yeah, I could see going either way. The OP knows her kids.

 

My young nieces love planning for cruises and they're only 13 and 9, lol. They've watched multiple full ship tours on YouTube ahead of our Wonder cruise in 2.5 weeks. On the other hand, I have someone in my roll call who has even lied to their kids about the trip to Florida. They told them they're going for a wedding. 🤣

[mandyleighflies]

26 minutes ago, Kellie in Texas said:

I am also of the "give them experiences, not stuff" philosophy. Oldest son got a cruise for high school graduation and for college graduation; younger son got one for high school graduation -- postponed two years due to Covid. He's still in college so we haven't determined his graduation trip yet. I hate to be the fly in the ointment but I really think you should tell them ahead of time. They may want to enjoy the anticipation, look for excursions, research the ship, etc. You could have a "Christmas in July" celebration maybe. 

 

My kids are airline kids so they are used to "on the whim" trips and love the excitement of the unknown. In February 2021 we surprised them with a quick trip to Disney. Literally woke them up at 5am to get on an 8am flight to Orlando. I had previously "pre packed" clothes for them so no stress there. They are older now and my teenage daughter will want to pack for herself. Knowing we are going, mom and I will buy them new clothes or beach stuff in anticipation. We will spend that evening before looking at YouTube of the room for sure. 

[mjkacmom]

I’ve had 5 teenagers, one of them was taken out of GS for a week every year except junior year in HS for an overseas dance competition (junior year was too important academically to risk it). It took weeks before and after to deal with assignments. My oldest was 11 when I pulled a surprise vacation (WDW ply’s cruise), she was a little freaked out about school and friends (since she was still in elementary I had contacted her teacher). Our next cruise my kids were pulled out for 3 days, she was 14 and hesitant (no surprise) and asked for no more vacations during school. I would not keep this a surprise.

[moposh]

Sounds fun.  Will you be packing for them?

[fishiecrackers]

My teens would love this. They love travel but don't get into the planning or anticipation. I've always been tempted to do it, but have no idea how I'd keep our calendar clear for a week without raising suspicions, haha. Like, "We have 35 obligations each week before and after but this week is miraculously free!" 😆

[mandyleighflies]

20 hours ago, moposh said:

Sounds fun.  Will you be packing for them?

 

It's only a 3 day cruise so they can pack pretty quickly for that event. I will be sure to do their laundry ahead of time so I know everything is clean and ready to go. We travel several times a year so my kids can pack pretty quickly. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

18 hours ago, fishiecrackers said:

We have 35 obligations each week before and after but this week is miraculously free!" 😆

You could make up fake obligations and write them in on the calendar. Make them plausible but ridiculous like ‘doggie spa day’ or ‘meeting with the mayor’. 

[cynt]

I would have loved this surprise as a kid. GO FOR IT!!

[smokeybandit]

We did that last Christmas for my son. We were visiting relatives first, so we packed an extra suitcase when he was at school with summer/cruise stuff.

 

On the flight "home" our son didn't pick up on the fact something was amiss until the pilot gave his first update about how long it would take to get to Orlando.  He about lost it and thought we were joking.

[sargemrs]

On 5/18/2023 at 7:58 AM, mandyleighflies said:

My kids are 14 and 16 and the holiday's are just different than when they were younger. Gifts are no longer a "big deal" and they have been asking for experiences more than physical things. Therefore, my mom and I decided to book a surprise Christmas cruise the week before Christmas to surprise them for the holiday. We will be sailing on Freedom OTS Dec 18-21 to CocoCay and Nassau!! We will be sharing a 2 bedroom suite with my mom and have a "good old fashioned family christmas". 😂 We would have sailed over the actual Christmas holidays except for the following, they go to their dad the day after Christmas (co-parenting), I will most likely be working over Christmas (Flight Attendant) and the CROWDS are not our thing. 

 

I plan on having t-shirts made and a door sign. Then on the evening of December 16th, I will have the kids open their "presents" and it will be a luggage tag, the t-shirt and a note of SURPRISE...we leave TOMORROW!! 

 

I think this will be the best holiday present and one they won't forget for sure. 

 

Hubby and I are sailing on Allure a week prior for our wedding anniversary, so I will basically be on back to back's 🙈 

Noticed you're making a door sign. We have 5 cabin group going on Allure in August and I was wanting to make door signs for fun.  Do you use the magnetic paper and print on it or??  Just curious and needing idea.  (Sorry to hijack!)

[Russ Lomas]

We did the surprise cruise for the kids and the looks on their faces were priceless.  They knew they were going on a cruise, but we told them a different ship (small old one) that happened to be leaving from the same port, and when they got to the port they found out which ship they were really going on.

 

You may even want to tell them you rented a house in Florida for a few days and keep the cruise a total surprise til you pull up to the port. 

[mandyleighflies]

On 5/19/2023 at 7:11 PM, sargemrs said:

Noticed you're making a door sign. We have 5 cabin group going on Allure in August and I was wanting to make door signs for fun.  Do you use the magnetic paper and print on it or??  Just curious and needing idea.  (Sorry to hijack!)

 

I WISH I was that crafty!! I use a shop on Etsy for all our door signs! 

 

CynthiaYoungDesigns

 

She makes quality signs with strong magnets! Seeing as you need so many, I would message her on Etsy and see if she can give you a discount on bulk/multi purchase items. 

[mandyleighflies]

On 5/19/2023 at 7:27 PM, Russ Lomas said:

We did the surprise cruise for the kids and the looks on their faces were priceless.  They knew they were going on a cruise, but we told them a different ship (small old one) that happened to be leaving from the same port, and when they got to the port they found out which ship they were really going on.

 

You may even want to tell them you rented a house in Florida for a few days and keep the cruise a total surprise til you pull up to the port. 

 

I would love to make it a longer trip however, I will be sailing on Allure 8-11th with just my husband so I will have to work between cruises. Great idea though!! 

[sargemrs]

2 hours ago, mandyleighflies said:

 

I WISH I was that crafty!! I use a shop on Etsy for all our door signs! 

 

CynthiaYoungDesigns

 

She makes quality signs with strong magnets! Seeing as you need so many, I would message her on Etsy and see if she can give you a discount on bulk/multi purchase items. 

Oh thank you SO much!  I will look her up!