Not wanting to be tacky..advise

[PrincessDreams4P&B]

Our family is taking our first cruise on Oct. 21st on the CB. The day we sail will be our youngest son's 4th birthday. I would like to make it special as well as plan other surprises for our sons during the week but worry about what they type of "mood" is on the ship. Here is why..Last year we had a 7 day Dinsey cruise planned (for over a year) and had to cancel last minute due to issues with our (autistic) 6 year old son. In the planning (got alot of information from the DIS Boards), we had planned on T-shirts for the boys, commerating the trip, magnet designs for the doors, etc. They were all very "acceptable" and even encouraged things to do , however I get the feeling that Princess has more of an "elite' feel and less of a magic of kids feeling to it? (We heard great things about Princess and their ability to work with special needs kids and they were less than half of what Disney would have cost us)

 

Any thoughts or ideas? If there is more of that type of atmosphere on board, how can I bring the two world together and make the ship feel more magical to my son's (they are under the impression we are going on a pirate's boat and they will be Jack Sparrow), without having people saying "Oh God, it's THOSE people again". I don't want to be tacky or uncivilized, I am just a Mom who loves going that extra mile to see her kids smile and have a great time.

 

What can they do for kids birthday's? Can I order him a cake? Something special for the room?

 

I know it's alot of questions, so thanks in advance!

[cjh]

You will be fine. They will put balloons on your cabin door if you fill out the personalizer at Princess.com and let them know it's his birthday.

[Coral]

I also agree - I think what you have planned sounds wonderful! All of those things will be fine on Princess.

 

I would just speak to the Matride/head waiter when you walk into the dining room and mention the birthday. They will bring over a special cake for the birthday boy. Though it is usually an individual dessert which usually isn't a bad thing because most people are full after dinner (huge cake won't go to waste). The head waiter will probably do whatever you want....

[momthecruisedirector]

Perhaps the other adult (dad,mom, aunt, uncle, whoever) can give take the kids on a mini tour of the ship while you go straight up to the room put out some decorations and/or put some presents on his bed. They can't always get the balloons up before you get onboard but they will get them up that day. Princess is not a snobby line, at all, it's not Disney or Carnival but everyone loves to see a smiling birthday boy! If you are eating traditional seating you can call the concierge to let them know it's his birthday that night. If personal choice dining, excuse yourself early at dinner to let the maitrede (geez, I don't know how to spell that!!) know about the birthday. They'll do the best they can to accomdate, bringing him a slice of cake and sing to him. Enjoy!

[jlp20]

The only thing you might consider is why others are on the ship. You are on a cruise aimed at ADULTS. Disney’s target customer is the family. The vast number of people on Princess are couples and that who Princess caters to.

 

You will be fine, but do not expect special treatment because you are a family, someone has a birthday or one of your party has special needs. Before you fire back, consider we took our daughter on our last cruise and she is Down’s. Like any vacation, it is what you make it.

 

If you let Princess know about the birthday, they will decorate the door to you cabin the day of the event. Make sure to take your child to one of the main dining rooms the day of his birthday and let your server know of the birthday.

[Cruiseteach]

I think between the ship, the dining room and the kids' program, they will do all they can to make this a special birthday for your son. Although Princess tends to attract an older clientele, I disagree that they are strictly aimed at adults. I don't have kids, but I think they seem very family-friendly, esp if your kids are well-behaved, as I am sure they are.

As for the kids expecting a pirate ship- guess what! If you are going to the Caribbean, you can do that! They are excursions in several places that take you on a pirate ship. It will be a blast! Check the excursions list when it is available to you. I know it was available on our Panama Canal cruise in Grand Cayman.

[PrincessDreams4P&B]

You will be fine, but do not expect special treatment because you are a family, someone has a birthday or one of your party has special needs. Before you fire back, consider we took our daughter on our last cruise and she is Down’s. Like any vacation, it is what you make it.

 

 

I am hopeful that I did not give the impression that we expected special treatment for my son's birthday, I only wanted to know what my options were regarding us being able to do things (making it what we wanted) As for my special needs son, my comment about them working with autistic children, was only to address that I have only heard positve things about the kids program and the counslers and that they are well versed in kids with autism and what to expect. This was a big deciding factor when we were figuring out who we wanted to sail with. I am hopeful that you had a positive experience sailing and that your daughter had a wonderful time.

[Princess-of-Quite-alot]

Make sure your son wears a big badge that says "Today is my BIRTHDAY!" I am sure every person at the meals and in the elevators, etc will be sure to wish him a happy birthday!:D You can also bring streamers, balloons, etc and put them up in the room. I'm sure the party store near you would carry pirate themed stuff to hang on the wall with removable tacky stuff or tape. Have fun! Ships Ahoy!:D

[Ethel5]

You will be fine, but do not expect special treatment because you are a family, someone has a birthday or one of your party has special needs. Before you fire back, consider we took our daughter on our last cruise and she is Down’s.

 

I have to disagree with this statement. The crew will bend over backward to make your children feel welcome. Just let them know about the Birthday ahead of time by either calling 1-800-Princess or ask you travel agent to do it.

 

On my recent cruise there was a special kid and he was introduced to the audience while we were waiting for a tour to start. From then on every time we (the audience) saw Nathan, we were sure to say Hi or make a comment to him. There were also several blind people with service animals on board and they too were well taken care of.

 

Do not hesitate to ask for what you need.

 

Have a great vacation and smooth sailing.

[mississauga]

"cjh" and "coral" have given the correct info about what happens for a birthday celebration. You need to indicate the birthday on your cruise personalizer for the balloons and birthday sign on the door of your cabin and mention the birthday to someone in the dining room, be it the maitre'd or your waiter. The following have been our experiences on Princess:

 

We celebrated my husband's birthday on the Diamond ( one of the larger size ships) last year and the room steward hung the balloons over the doorway with a Happy Birthday sign on the door. We did not mention his birthday in the dining room and no one sang or brought him a birthday cake which was how we preferred it. We just returned from the Dawn ( an older and smaller ship) where we celebrated our 30th anniversary. One of our tablemates (who had a birthday a few days before the cruise) brought the champagne I had given her for her birthday to the dining room on the day of our anniversary and told our waiters ( we had PC dining ) that we were celebrating her birthday and our anniversary. To our surprise, they brought a small individual cake with a candle and sang Happy Birthday to her and then brought a larger cake ( enough for 4 people ) and sang Happy Anniversary to us. The cakes were delicious and not the plain with sugar icing types we have seen on other cruiselines. Balloons were also taped beside the door of our cabin.

[Bucky3]

We just returned from our Sapphire Princess cruise (April 8-15). Our anniversary was MARCH 26th, but on the last night of the cruise our waiters brought a cake and sang and our door was decorated with balloons. We didn't tell anyone we were celebrating our anniversary, but it is listed on our cruise personalizer, so somebody must keep track of those things! I guess if you're on one of their ships within a specified amount of time (maybe 30 days), they celebrate! Have a wonderful cruise - the best family vacation venue I can think of!

[mississauga]

Forgot to say " Happy cruising! " Have fun and enjoy yourselves!

[DesrtDrmr]

PrincessDreams,

Forgive me for using your nickname! :)

Your family will have a great time! You can also put a magnetic sign on your door.........maybe a pirate something, so the kids will know it's THEIR room. Lots of people put signs or decorations on the cabin doors. I wouldn't worry about what anyone else thinks............the grumps will always be grumpy, no matter what, but most of your fellow passengers will be friendly and warm. I like the idea the above poster had about putting an "Its My Birthday" button on your son.........I'll be almost EVERYONE will recognize his special day. All the grandparents on board (sorry, but I know there are a lot of us) will have to chat, the kids programs seem to be very enjoyable to the kids, and we have seen many children dressed up for formal night.........it's always fun to see how proud they look of themselves.

Have a wonderful cruise, and keep being the great Mom it sounds like you are.....

[Coral]

You will be fine, but do not expect special treatment because you are a family, someone has a birthday or one of your party has special needs. Before you fire back, consider we took our daughter on our last cruise and she is Down’s. Like any vacation, it is what you make it.

 

I totally disagree. We had someone with Down's Syndrome with our group on our last cruise and I thought staff did a great job with this individual. My mom is visually impaired and has a service dog - we have cruised with the dog many times and staff always goes out of their way to make sure everything is fine. I also see staff doing fun things to make sure kids have a blast. I have seen staff doing magic tricks, bringing out special dishes, etc. . .Princess is definitely a family line, while not Disney - kids are welcome on the line.

[Nliedel]

As a mom with two special needs children I just wanted to tell you to really enjoy this wonderful vacation with your family! I hope your tiny guy has a fabulous birthday!

[FamilyGuy1010]

One more thing...as long as you don't do anything to affect safety or damage anything, you can decorate your cabin as you see fit. I am thinking a Pirate's treasure cave?

 

My kids love Princess and the staff always treats them like any other passenger. Sometimes, even better.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[cjh]

I also have 2 special needs kids. Both are in wheelchairs and have spina bifida. Other then the chairs they are just like anyother 8 and 16 year old and Princess treats them like they are the Princesses of the ship.

[Love Boat Dream]

My 6.5 year old has been on 7 cruises!

 

We were on the Dawn last month. I saw someone decorate their door for their 50th birthday, so why not for a kids too! They will hang balloons for him and there will be a small cake in the dining room if you let them know.

 

No food is allowed in the kids club area though because of allergies.

 

The staff loves children. They are all away from home for long periods and they are thrilled when they see a child. Everyone went out of their way to make my son happy.

 

The childrens staff is also great. Your kids will have a great time and so will you because you will know that they are very well cared for while you find time to relax and have fun!

[PrincessDreams4P&B]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful ideas and supportive posts. We are so excited to go, now if there was only a way to make the next 6 months countdown faster.....

[seattlekckckc]

I just got off the Sapphire yesterday, and I saw a couple of signs posted in some common areas with a couples picture and some sort of message to wish them happy Anniversary. It was very unobtrusive but cute!

 

As far as the pirate ship suggestion, might I suggest some research on the group you would possibly use. The ones I have seen before are commonly referred to as "booze cruises", and the one that sailed past us at our stop in PV a few days ago had many drunken partiers, some flashing their boobs at the ship as they arrived. Not exactly a place for kids, imo.

 

I would definalty decorate up more than the ballons around the door. We have done up the doors really good in the past! I would recommned the clear tape to make sure it doesnt rip any paint/paper off of the walls.

 

For a fun bday/seaday activity, I would suggest doing a treasure hunt on the ship! I have done one with kids I traveled with in the past, and I here are some of the things I had them search for...

 

~A signature from a waiter

~a "reserved" card from the art gallery

~a cookie from the buffet

~a napkin with salt and pepper sprinkled in it from the pizza place

~a plastic spoon from the ice cream place

~a crayon from the kids corner

~a broken ping pong ball

~a cup topper from the room

~a shore excursion sheet from the desk

~a bookmark from the library

~a paper clip from the pursers desk

~a list of 10 diffrent countries the waiters are from

~a chocolate given to them from a room steward

 

And the list goes on and on. I made sure that everything I had them get was not "stolen", ie, a dash of salt rather than taking the entire shaker! A plastic spoon rather than a metal one. A broken ping pong ball rather than a good one, you get the idea. At the end of the hunt, they ended up in the room where I had hidden the "loot" under the bed.

 

Quite honestly, I think your bday boy may get MORE attention from others, if he wore a pin, say than a Disney, becasue there are so fewer children onboard. Just ignore the grumps, they are grumpy no matter what!

 

Have a great cruise! Casey

[mamag]

I think a "It's my Birthday" pin is a great idea. I am a grandparent who misses her grandchildren when I cruise and a chance to wish a child a Happy Birthday would certainly bring a smile to my face.

 

Have you posted your ideas and ask for suggestions on your roll call? They may recognize the pin idea and wish your son Happy Birthday by name.

 

Hope your pirate adventure is a big success.

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

I find Princess goes a very good job, of meeting the needs of all onboard,

 

from the young ones through to the teens, Princess has something for all ages.

 

Last year a couple with a special needs child told us they always went with Princess due to the care there child got. Because of this they were able to go ashore and leave their child in safe hands, to allow them a few hours private time. We only met their child a few times and he was far better behavied than many on board.

 

I think they told Princess of there needs and this was met I do not know if they had to pay for the extra attention their child got .

 

With Adult Pools and Teen Only pools the big Princess ships has space for all, you will know doublt meet one narrow minded person, but do not let them stop you having a great time.

 

yours Shogun

[PrincessDreams4P&B]

RE: Treasure Hunt

Casey,

 

What a great idea! I never even thought about it...What fun that will be when my little pirates get restless for some pirate adventure.

 

RE: Pirate Cruise

I have been trying to do some research about the "booze cruises", some say that they are tame and families are welcome, while other people say they are filled with extreme partiers... We are taking the Western Itn., so if anyone knows of some great pirate ahunts on Grand Cayman (we miss pirate week there by 2 weeks :(, Ocho Rios or Cozumel, let me know..

 

Fantastic ideas guys, thanks again so much and keep them coming if you got em!

[bvillemiss]

Most of the crew members also have children and are delighted to get to know the children that come on board so they will do everything they can to insure your son has a very happy birthday. Just let them know and no stone will be left unturned. Princess is an excellent place to bring children.

[elmtree]

When my kids were little they always looked forward to my Treasure Hunts for their birthday gift..I would take cards and write clues on the back of each one leading them to the next clue and so on and on till they reached the X marks the spot where of course their main birthday gift was found..It was great fun for all the other kids could join in solving the clues that lead to the next one..for example...Go to the rock that lays 14 steps from the smallest tree in yard...You could adapt that on the ship and have any number of places to send your little pirate and when he reachs the last one..X marks the spot for his pirate chest of gold...Just make sure the clues are in the correct order to lead to the next one...Hey..this sounds like so much fun...wish someone would do it for my birthday..Ha...enjoy your children while they are young...I have found out that after around 13 yrs old this looses its appeal...Ha..