How to pull off Christmas Surprise?

[niiaka]

I've asked a couple times under different threads.. and saw an awesome post today.. so starting my own and hoping my friends here can help me too.

 

1st.. back story..

We cruised for xmas last year and the kids loved it. (My kids are ages 17, 16, 15, 12, 10.. yes I've been busy..lol) They didn't mind that santa didn't deliver a livingroom full of presents. They each got about 5 items.. designer sunglasses, nintendo ds games.. small items that were easy to pack. Christmas morning 2007 we woke up and the kids were amazed that presents were even there and quickly asked if we could cruise again for 2008 xmas.

Our kids have cruised several times.. so they know all the florida ports and very savy. This year we are bringing both grandparents and 2 of their cousins, my brother and his girlfriend.. so a grand total of 13 of us. Because so many of us, we have them convinced that a cruise is out of the question due to the expense. We've told them that we are going to Orlando to the Nick Hotel (very nice place for kids, but not where we want to spend the holidays..lol) and they seem excited about that, even though we've stayed here several times.

 

However, we've actually booked 2 cruises.. RCL's Majesty Dec 22-26th and Carnival Triumph Dec 28-Jan 4th. Both out of Miami. We are driving from Canada to Miami (but we've done this a few times so they won't suspect anything here) We want to keep it a surprise as long as possible. I know that as soon as we pass road signs for the I-4 to Orlando.. they will figure something out.. they know the route and a detour will make them suspicious..LOL So we will probably have to tell them in a hotel or something the last night of our drive. How can we make this fun and exciting for them?

 

We're looking for ideas to let them know about the 1st cruise.. keeping the 2nd cruise a surprise. After the 1st cruise.. we'll check into hotel at miami and tell them due to the holidays that the Orlando hotels we wanted are booked until the 28th.. so waiting it out in Miami to do some sightseeing for those who haven't been there before. I'm planning on printing special dessert menu's and have the staff at Bubba Gumps (our usual eating spot in miami..lol) slip them into the kids' dessert menu.. letting them know then that we are taking a 2nd cruise.

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas to pull off this surprise? Any input would be appreciated

[M&Mtime]

I want to do somthing like this for my kids but I want them to get a little older first. Currently they are 8,7, and 3. Let us know how it goes and any pointers you can give out would be great.

[jckvpa0]

Do you want to adopt me ??? Okay, so I'm old enough to be your kids mother, who cares !!! I can't even imagine all the packing for five kids, my heads spinning just thinking about it ! And that's a heck of a long drive with 5 teenagers, hope they have their own I pods !

[travelntreats]

purchase a small christmas tree (artificial) and place it in your stateroom for the first cruise.... have it decorated with the next cruise docs attached to one of ornaments on christams eve !

[DONDON55]

you could say you are going to the Keys first, then back up to orlando.......

 

We cruised out of Jacksonville 4 years ago and our girls thought they were going to Clearwater........we headed south on I95 from Massachusetts and we stayed overnight in Savannah Georgia, got out the maps and checked off all the places we wanted to stop along A1A from Jacksonville down to Daytona.

 

the next morning we headed out for our adventure and when we arrived in Jacksonville, they loved the beach so we decided to stay overnight......we stayed a the Holiday Inn Express accross the street from the cruise terminal........the girls still had no idea we were going on a cruise........everyone in the hotel was talking about the cruise and asking us if we were going.......the girls sadly said no, just passing through.

 

the next morning we got up had a good breakfast and packed up the car and headed out..........when we pulled into the cruise terminal they asked where we were going, before I could answer, we came around the bend and they saw the ship. I could see them in the rear view mirror and thiers eyes got bigger and bigger...........OMG WE'RE GOING ON A CRUISE ! ! ! ! !! They were so excited..........I was amazed that we were able to keep it a secret right up to the last minute.

 

Later we saw people on the ship from the hotel and they got a big chuckle out of our sneaky surprise...........

 

dondon55

foxboro ma

[travelgarn]

I surprised my DH with a cruise in February. Our anniversary is in March and only 5 days apart from our son's bday so we usually celebrate our anniversary in February. Well, I told him that we were going to Cocoa Beach with another couple for our anniversary. And I was able to keep it a secret until we pulled up to port! (We booked in September!!!) This is how....

We turned off of I-95 for Port Canaveral and everything is cool b/c signs show us going to Cocoa Beach also. Then as we're getting closer, my husband says (almost like it's on cue) "I'm hungry. Are we gonna get some lunch?" Well, my friend says, "Yeah, I know this place by the port that I heard was good." (because you know he'll go for it when it's not ME suggesting it) Then I chime in with, "Oh good. 'Cause I want to get a video of the Disney Wonder for Grant (son) to see." [Of course, we know that the Wonder & Sensation are in port next to each other.]

So, to capture it all my friend starts rolling the video camera & even narrates to my son that this is the Disney Wonder. And I add, "And there is the Carnival Sensation." I then lean to the front seat where my husband is sitting while her husband is driving - hand him our luggage tags - and say, "Michael, put these on our luggage when we pull up here!"

 

He was TOTOALLY dumbfounded. He kept looking at the tags & looking at me! It was GREAT!!!! :D My 8 yo DS didn't even know 'cause I knew he'd blow it.

 

What was funny about it was that my friends husband almost let the cat out of the bag a couple of times. Even on the way down, he asks my DH, "Are you gonna gamble?" My husband says, "HUH???" And he quickly recovers with, "You know we could go on one of those gambling boats..." Phewww!:cool:

 

Anyway, to the OP .... maybe you could do something like that as your near I-4. ???

 

Good luck & let us know how it turns out. I love surprises!!

 

DJ

[CruiznWithHubby]

Oh my goodness,,,there are gonna be some very happy children come Christmas time :) Surprises are hard, though,,,,,,good luck,,,everyone has fantastic ideas and I can't even think what to add,,,,

 

I surprised my grandson with a day at Disney once (we live outside Tampa) and even that little thing was hard as heck,,,,,and the kid is DEAF (yes, literally deaf),,,if we goofed a bit, we at least had the advantage that he couldn't really HEAR us@!!! (otoh, you can't whisper unless his head is turned, because he's pretty good at reading lips!!!)

 

The only thing I could think of was to somehow get Santa to give them presents with their documents inside,,,would Santa be on the RCCL ship for the first cruise?? Might RCCL help you out with that???,,,not sure how you'd manage that otherwise, though,,,,

 

Holly

 

Holly

[Donna - dsw]

We are taking our kids / grandkids frist week in December - they think we are going to a house on the beach in Miami - - I can hardly wait to see their faces when we pull into the port! lol

 

Say since you have been to the Nick so much you are going to a beach house in Miami!

[KAWS]

For the first cruise something we did comes to mind.

 

We had told our kids we were going to stay for an overnight at a hotel for a mini vacation and the kids had a blast there. We were sitting around the room near check out time and I said something like, "I sure hate to go home. Wouldn't it be great if we could go somewhere cool like Florida?" Of course the kids agreed and I smiled and said, "Well I think we should!" They said, "yeah when........" and I threw the tickets up in the air (that I had been sitting on) on the bed and shouted, "How about right now!!" After they calmed down from freaking, we went to the airport and off we went. So your idea of the night before at the hotel would work just fine.

 

I also like the idea about Bubba Gumps, but it might be a bit tough to pull off. How about finding your waiter on the last day of the first cruise (like right before dinner - make some excuse for one of you to go away for a few minutes) and ask the waiter to put the next cruise documents on each of their plates at the table?

[dclark]

I have surprised my family with so many holiday cruises that they expect it. However, last summer, I told them that were going on a 7 day CCL cruise, then would chill in FLL for a few days.

After we left the Liberty, we went to Yankee Clipper Sheraton. On the second day, I turned on the TV and Dora the Explorer was on. I turned on my camcorder and told my wife to wake up. She said "Why? it is 9:00am!"

I told her that we have to pack up to go on another cruise. She didn't believe me, but my younger daughter did. My 16 year old said "Another cruise? Sweet!". That morning, we dropped off the ental and boarded the Majesty of the Seas for a four day cruise.

It is pretty fun watching the video with my wife complaining and hearing Dora in the background!

[Megnolia]

I love your cruise surprise!

 

It reminded me of a friend in highschool. Her family was planning a trip to Hawaii, then when they got to the airport, her dad told them it was actually a Mexican Riviera Cruise. I have to say, after getting my hopes up for Hawaii, I would be kind of disappointed about the cruise... so just don't let them get their hopes up for something they'll be sad to miss! ;)

[dclark]

I love your cruise surprise!

 

It reminded me of a friend in highschool. Her family was planning a trip to Hawaii, then when they got to the airport, her dad told them it was actually a Mexican Riviera Cruise. I have to say, after getting my hopes up for Hawaii, I would be kind of disappointed about the cruise... so just don't let them get their hopes up for something they'll be sad to miss! ;)

 

The first big vacation we went on I kept it secret, but let my family think we were going to Hawaii. The night before, I told the that we were not going to Hawaii. They let me know that they were disappointed, but I told them that we were going to Disney World for two days, Universal for 4 and staying at their hotel for unlimited ride access, then when were all done, told them we were going on the Glory.

[Noire]

I took my son to Disney world for his birthday. It was a surprise trip. The night before we were scheduled to leave I told him that he could open one birthday present but I had to choose which one. It was 4 envelopes. The first three were hints about where we were going. He tried to guess after each hint. The last told him what the surprise was. My older niece went with us and she grabbed a microphone and acted like a game show host. Maybe you could do something along these lines. In the last envelope you could say something along the lines of we're not going on one but TWO cruises!!!

[Seafor2]

This is so awesome that you can surprise your kids... and get away with everyone. I'd love to do something like that but my 6 year old HATES surprises. We're taking her on a cruise with us in December and we had to do the countdown calendar and all. If you tried to surprise her it would upset her applecart, as the saying goes. Last year we took the day off work and changed her from her baby nursery to her older sister's old bedroom and she cried for 3 days. (It was a much bigger room and her sister had been moved out for 4 years.)

 

One year for Christmas we did a scavenger hunt for our two oldests stocking stuffers. (our girls are 24, 17 1/2 and 6 now) Maybe you could do a scavenger hunt onboard the first cruise for clues. OR maybe even on the weekend between cruises.

 

Let us know how it goes. I think it's awesome the grandparents are going, too. You could never get my dad to leave home for Christmas, let alone go on a cruise.

[Muumuu]

Cruises for gifts is a wonderful idea. The grandsons gift for this Christmas is a cruise over Thanksgiving. The oldest knows about it but not the 7 year old. Neither know about the June cruise out of NY for 8 days to Canada on the Triumph. That will be a total suprise for both.