Cruising on my B-day by myself

[Eli_6]

So, my husband may be bailing on our Australia to Singapore trip.  Both he and my younger son keep equivocating. They have concerns about the long flights. (They are in a different room that we can cancel and get all but $150 back through May 28th.)  If they ditch, it will just be my older (11 yo) son and I on the cruise. (We like to fly!) I will be on the boat on my birthday. It will be a sea day.  So, my question is this: Do I need to order myself a birthday cake? (Not a huge fan of the carnival birthday cakes.) Or will my waiter take notice and sing me happy birthday?  I know I can't depend on my 11 yo to do anything. He won't even remember it is my birthday or know what day it is. I thought about trying to do Chef's Table that night but it would be a waste of money on my kid. Although, I suppose I could leave him in the kids club and go by myself...

[pinklucky61]

I'm only gold level, but this last April (solo cruise), no mention of my birthday by any crew member all day. That's fine by me since I'm an introvert.

[starstruck05]

You usually can note on your booking that it's a special occasion and put your birthday. We've done it when we sailed before or after a birthday and the crew sung happy Birthday in the dining room with a dessert of their choosing. I say their choosing because we did this for my birthday once and they brought me diet orange cake. For my mom for our last cruise, they brought the melting cake but I don't believe happy Birthday was sung to her. It depends on how busy they are. 

[Bigeee67]

I have in the past cruised on my birthday for most cruises. 

Not once has anyone on any ship recognized my birthday.

As stated by others, I am an introvert as well, and this suits me just fine.

I have seen a cake delivered to other people and B-day singing so I suspect

someone in that party has made special arrangements.

[BlerkOne]

Tell the maitre d' what kind of cake you want and offer to pay for it. Something that will make the other cruisers jealous. We've done that before.

[mamiamjo]

We've sailed on our anniversary and DW birthday. I made note on our booking for each but never got any kind of recognition so you may need to talk to Guest Services or the Maitre d'

[mkcurran]

2 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

So, my husband may be bailing on our Australia to Singapore trip.  Both he and my younger son keep equivocating. They have concerns about the long flights. (They are in a different room that we can cancel and get all but $150 back through May 28th.)  If they ditch, it will just be my older (11 yo) son and I on the cruise. (We like to fly!) I will be on the boat on my birthday. It will be a sea day.  So, my question is this: Do I need to order myself a birthday cake? (Not a huge fan of the carnival birthday cakes.) Or will my waiter take notice and sing me happy birthday?  I know I can't depend on my 11 yo to do anything. He won't even remember it is my birthday or know what day it is. I thought about trying to do Chef's Table that night but it would be a waste of money on my kid. Although, I suppose I could leave him in the kids club and go by myself...

Toss the kid into the club and enjoy the chef's table. Get a sash saying, "birthday queen" and live it up! Wear the sash all day. 🙂 

[shof515]

i am also an introvert  and will feel very very embarrassed if the waiters sings the happy birthday song that they do

[Butterbean1000]

The hubs and I will be celebrating an anniversary on our upcoming cruise. The Carnival website asks you if you will be celebrating anything on the cruise and what day will you like to celebrate it.  I don't think you can expect the crew to know your birthday and when you would like for it to be acknowledged.

 

[DallasGuy75219]

3 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

So, my question is this: Do I need to order myself a birthday cake? (Not a huge fan of the carnival birthday cakes.) Or will my waiter take notice and sing me happy birthday?

If you want a whole cake, you will need to order and pay for it yourself. Carnival no longer provides those for free. 

 

If you're happy being sung to with a candle in a piece of dessert, just let your MDR waiter know its your birthday and they can take care of that. 

[Eli_6]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Tell the maitre d' what kind of cake you want and offer to pay for it. Something that will make the other cruisers jealous. We've done that before.

That sounds like a very interesting proposal. I did not know this was a possibility...

TBH, I really don't care if I am recognized or sung to.  It's really JUST about the cake. 

[Eli_6]

1 hour ago, mkcurran said:

Toss the kid into the club and enjoy the chef's table. Get a sash saying, "birthday queen" and live it up! Wear the sash all day. 🙂 

I am seriously contemplating sending him to the Kid's Club and going to the Chef's table.  Plus, I am pretty sure they would give me a cake at the Chef's Table because I have seen them do it for others...and it looked better than the one you order through the Fun Shops.

[mamiamjo]

1 minute ago, Eli_6 said:

TBH, I really don't care if I am recognized or sung to.  It's really JUST about the cake. 

🎂😎

[Eli_6]

4 hours ago, starstruck05 said:

You usually can note on your booking that it's a special occasion and put your birthday. We've done it when we sailed before or after a birthday and the crew sung happy Birthday in the dining room with a dessert of their choosing. I say their choosing because we did this for my birthday once and they brought me diet orange cake. For my mom for our last cruise, they brought the melting cake but I don't believe happy Birthday was sung to her. It depends on how busy they are. 

I would be so sad if they bought me diet orange cake. 

Edited May 13 by Eli_6

[starstruck05]

12 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

I would be so sad if the bought me diet orange cake. 

It Definitely was sad. 🤣

[Eli_6]

Oh man, for a second I got super excited because I thought I could go to the Thing 1 and Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast ON my birthday...and I was envisioning my son and I dressing up like Thing 1 and Thing 2...but then I realized they are only doing it on the last Sea Day which is not my birthday. Womp, womp, womp. 

[BlerkOne]

29 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

That sounds like a very interesting proposal. I did not know this was a possibility...

TBH, I really don't care if I am recognized or sung to.  It's really JUST about the cake. 

One time we had one made FOR the matre d' (his assistant was the co-conspirator in this case) (it wasn't his birthday or probably the right age).

Edited May 13 by BlerkOne

[edspec]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

I am seriously contemplating sending him to the Kid's Club and going to the Chef's table.  Plus, I am pretty sure they would give me a cake at the Chef's Table because I have seen them do it for others...and it looked better than the one you order through the Fun Shops.

This sounds like a great plan.

[pe4all]

I like the idea of you going to Chef's Table while your son goes to Kid's Club.  I have never done it myself, but have heard it is fantastic.  You can always have your son celebrate with you at breakfast or lunch.   

[ninjacat123]

8 hours ago, mkcurran said:

Toss the kid into the club and enjoy the chef's table. Get a sash saying, "birthday queen" and live it up! Wear the sash all day. 🙂 

And a tiara!! 👍😁🥳

[Honolulu Blue]

A couple of years ago I went cruising on my birthday, not on Carnival, and their loyalty club gave me a card and a magnet.  That was a nice touch.  

 

I've outgrown parties and don't think I'd like to be picked on in any way on my B-day.  I can always pick out an extra slice of cake at the trough if I had a taste for such.  But everyone should celebrate their special days in ways that make them the happiest. 🥳

[xyzcruiser]

Another vote for the Chef's Table from me- a nice way to make your birthday special but they control what day the Chef's Table is, maybe not on your actual birthday. The spectacle of being sung to in the MDR is not for me but if you and your son would enjoy it, maybe he would like to be the one that arranges it. Maybe your husband could prep him before the trip on requesting it from the hostesses or server. Most 11 yr olds would probably get a kick out being in charge of that.

[Viajera7]

On 5/13/2024 at 3:41 PM, Eli_6 said:

I am seriously contemplating sending him to the Kid's Club and going to the Chef's table.  Plus, I am pretty sure they would give me a cake at the Chef's Table because I have seen them do it for others...and it looked better than the one you order through the Fun Shops.

I did the Chef’s Table for my birthday on the Vista last year. When I made the reservation I told them that it was my birthday. We had a meeting before the experience to fill a form and they asked if we were celebrating anything and I said that it was my birthday. We had the experience and at the end they  just sang Happy Birthday. No cake. Not even a cup cake. I still enjoyed the experience and it included a photo so that was ok for me.

 

A year before I celebrated my birthday on the NCL Jade with my cousin. On the first day, we went to a dining room to make specialty dining reservations. We mentioned that we wanted one of the reservations for my birthday.  The person taking care of us said Happy Birthday and gave me a birthday card that was good for a cake to be used the day of my birthday.
 

This year I’m booked on  a transpacific on the Panorama. I’m planning to go to the steakhouse.