How do I reveal the surprise of an upgraded room!?

[pseudochicken]

Unbeknownced to my girlfriend, I have upgraded us from a oceanview room on the 2nd deck of the Millennium on an Alaskan cruise (6-19-2009)to a balcony room. (I even got one of the sweet 16 on the 6th deck!)

 

Now how do I go about surprising her?

 

She is rather clever, and will more than likely be very suspicious I bet. My family will actually be on this cruise, and their balcony will actually be on the same floor as our room (they are mid ship and we are forward in one of the sweet 16, both on the starboard side).

 

I was thinking that we would go to check out the cool balcony room that my family has once we are allowed to go to our rooms. I'll have to be careful using my family as a distraction because my mom is the type that accidentally slips up a surprise. Then we'll meander, and I will suddenly slip the card in our room and reveal the surprise!

 

But I have a few questions... Will our key cards have our room number on it and the type of room we are in? Is there anything before we are allowed in the rooms that will give it away? If it does she will immediately notice and the surprise might be revealed too soon.

 

I want VERY badly to reveal the surprise as we step into the room. Again, she knows that we are supposed to be on the lowest passenger deck. If you look up the deck lay out of the Millenium, we were originally supposed to be in room 2007. Now, unknown to my girlfriend, we are in room 6016. My family's room is 6052.

 

Not only am I out-of-my-mind excited for this cruise, I'm excited for the surprise! If you haven't already gathered, my gf and I surprise one another as much as we can. It's fun! ;) :D

 

Thanks in advance!

[sweetpea2009]

What a lovely surprise!! Question though, won't your luggage tags have the new room number printed on them?? Can you distract her so she doesn't see the tags? I ask because in our house, I have to see every piece of paper that relates to our holiday plans...poor DH would *never* be able to hide something like that from me if it was printed anywhere on our documents!

[D4]

That's an awesome surprise!

 

Your cabin keys won't have your room # on them. That's so nobody can find your key and get into your room. The keys also don't have the cabin type on them.

 

The only things I can think of that might let her find out are: if she uses CruiseCritic (since you posted this here), if she goes into your online reservation, or if she notices the cabin number on the luggage tags.

 

Have fun!

[Mysticks1]

I would also say the luggage tags might be a problem. Since your family is on the same deck you might have your luggage tags disappear and have extras from the family members to put on yours. You would have to carry the luggage to your cabin but that might save your surprise.

Or you and the other gentleman might tell the ladies to go on ahead when dealing with the porters and then get the luggage tags on without them seeing you.

[paulred]

I had the same problem when I upgraded to a balcony on our recent TA.

 

In the end, I told my wife well before the cruise. Why?

 

Planning all aspects of the cruise and anticipating what we would see and do was a big part of the overall enjoyment of the experience. By holding back vital information, you are robbing her of this pleasure. If you tell her now, you get an immediate thank you, and another one when you arrive on board. If you wait, you might just get an angry, "how can you not tell me " look.

 

Speaking as a long time married gent, you never want to remind a spouse or GF that you are capable of keeping big secrets from her.

 

Paul

[eandj]

Will you be with her when she is packing? Hand her a blanket as she packs. When she asks what it's for or why she should pack it...tell her she might need it while sitting on the balcony. Surprise.

 

 

I'd think it would be tough to keep it a surprise till she steps into the room because of the luggage tags. Too with paper work, unless you are the only one dealing with all the documents...which I doubt.

[WapCaplet]

The only real solution here is to blindfold your girlfriend now and probably give her earplugs too. She might be upset and frustrated by having to spend the next 2 weeks both blind and deaf, but the surprise should remain intact.

 

;)

[quiescentlyfrozen]

Can you convince her (At the last minute before you leave, so she can't check floorplans) that you just found out that the cruiseline moved you to a different cabin in the same roomtype, so she's not suprised by the room number change? Then all is well and the suprise will be "omg a balcony!" as opposed to "i'm suspiscious why is he trying to hide the luggage tags?".

 

You could even fake a call to celebrity along the lines of "why is my cabin different? is this the same room type? i'm really apalled at the customer service, why would you move me?!" etc etc.

[sunlovermtl]

Unbeknownced to my girlfriend, I have upgraded us from a oceanview room on the 2nd deck of the Millennium on an Alaskan cruise (6-19-2009)to a balcony room. (I even got one of the sweet 16 on the 6th deck!)

 

Now how do I go about surprising her?

 

She is rather clever, and will more than likely be very suspicious I bet. My family will actually be on this cruise, and their balcony will actually be on the same floor as our room (they are mid ship and we are forward in one of the sweet 16, both on the starboard side).

 

I was thinking that we would go to check out the cool balcony room that my family has once we are allowed to go to our rooms. I'll have to be careful using my family as a distraction because my mom is the type that accidentally slips up a surprise. Then we'll meander, and I will suddenly slip the card in our room and reveal the surprise!

 

But I have a few questions... Will our key cards have our room number on it and the type of room we are in? Is there anything before we are allowed in the rooms that will give it away? If it does she will immediately notice and the surprise might be revealed too soon.

 

I want VERY badly to reveal the surprise as we step into the room. Again, she knows that we are supposed to be on the lowest passenger deck. If you look up the deck lay out of the Millenium, we were originally supposed to be in room 2007. Now, unknown to my girlfriend, we are in room 6016. My family's room is 6052.

 

Not only am I out-of-my-mind excited for this cruise, I'm excited for the surprise! If you haven't already gathered, my gf and I surprise one another as much as we can. It's fun! ;) :D

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Wow that is a great surprise. However when you check in you will be asked to confirm the inforomation which will include your room number.

Like others have said the luggage tags will reveal the deck and room number. So I would if she hasn't caught on tell her the night before. She will be equally surprise and exited.

[travelntreats]

I had the same problem when I upgraded to a balcony on our recent TA.

 

In the end, I told my wife well before the cruise. Why?

 

Planning all aspects of the cruise and anticipating what we would see and do was a big part of the overall enjoyment of the experience. By holding back vital information, you are robbing her of this pleasure. If you tell her now, you get an immediate thank you, and another one when you arrive on board. If you wait, you might just get an angry, "how can you not tell me " look.

 

Speaking as a long time married gent, you never want to remind a spouse or GF that you are capable of keeping big secrets from her.

 

Paul

My wife of 25 years has yet to be upset with the surprises I do for her INCLUDING unknown stateroom upgrades :eek:. Now if I did not surpirse her... then the sparks would be a flying !

 

OP.... Some have already offered some GREAT suggestions... You do whatever is necessary to get that gal a memorable surprise... you will be a hero for the week and rewarded accordingly I bet ! ;):D;)

 

Suggestion provided by a 25 year married veteran who still calls his wife his newlywed bride ! :rolleyes:

[hcat]

trying to surprise her on board sounds like more fun-- success would depend how much she is into the planning & knowledge of trip details...

 

another nice touch would be to have flowers sent to the stateroom for your arrival & some bubbly to toast with on the balcony!

[earl_m]

Originaly we booked an outside room, Later I updated to a mini suite without telling her . The tag don`t tell you if it a suite or not.

when we arrive at the outside of the room. I told her to opened the door because my hands were filled. When she opened the door and saw the outside balcony and a much larger room than the photo I showed months ago, it was a Kodak moment!!!

[Cruisenouvelle]

I would offer the same advice others have, but just want to say - that's a really sweet idea! Hope your cruise is wonderful!

[pseudochicken]

Hello all!

 

Thank you so very much for your ideas!

 

This trip I have done ALL of the documentation and planning. She AND I like to be control freaks, but she gave way to me because I am the cruise "expert". I have only been on 3 cruises, she's been on 1 a long time ago, but I read up on cruise stuff ALL the time. I am kinda obsessed with mariner history, seafaring, REAL pirate history, naval warfare history and the cruise industry. So she just deferred all the planning to me. She does not check cruisecritic let alone know about it, as far as I know.

 

I would like to wait as long as possible for the surprise. She won't be upset and I really don't see any planning issues by revealing it as she walks in the door.

 

I didn't even think of the luggage tags. That could be a problem. I have to figure out a way so I do them only and she can't look at them. A problem is that she doesn't like me doing work. Things like carrying luggage, or heavy things, or doing manual labor, I ALWAYS insist on carrying her stuff as well or doing the labor for her. But she likes to pull or do as much as me. I think it's cute, but it won't be if it ruins the surprise... ;D

 

I have a question then: I did the online check in through My Celebrity on celebritycruises.com (Celebrity's website). When we check in at the pier, what type of things must we sign and check in with? So you are telling me we will have to sign documentation that will confirm our room number?

 

If there is no way to hide the room number, then I will have to go with what some of you suggested: Pretend like our room got switched to a different ocean view. That is less preferable but may be my option here. Ha ha, I am getting so excited, because even if I were to call her up right now and make it as least exciting as possible, I know she is going to be bouncing off the walls excited when she finds out. So I really cannot mess up, but I can make it a whole lot better by revealing it to her at the last possible moment. ( /slash/ letting the room reveal the surprise itself when she walks in :D )

 

AhhhHH!!! I am so excited to surprise her! If there is ANYTHING you guys can inform me about regarding checking in and getting on the ship that can in someway help me withhold revealing the surprise, I would be VERY appreciative!

 

Oh, and OF COURSE I will be checking in on this post a lot the next few weeks and letting you know that the surprise is still ON. :D And of COURSE I will let you know how it goes!

 

Thanks a MILLION!

[Denny01]

Since you are checking in on line, you have to option of not getting paper copies of your documents, and download them. If you didn't 'check' the paper docs, then you'll not get luggage tags in the mail. Even if you did, you don't put them on until you get to the ship, especially if you are flying.

 

When you get dockside, you'll fill out luggage tags yourself and she won't be the wiser.

 

When completing the check-in, I don't remember the SR number being an obvious thing. She may have to sign or see some of the paper, but still, there are 'ways' of not bringing it to her attention, especially since you have family with you who can help with distractions if required.

 

This is a great idea! I'm a lousy secret-keeper! I end up blurting things out or hinting and blowing it. I bet she'll love it.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Denny

[CathyCruises]

Do you even HAVE luggage tags? If you do, I would just keep them aside and tell her the cruise line suggests not outting them on the baggage until right before boarding in case they come off. Then, right as you hand then to the porter, put them on each one as you hand it off--she probably won't even notice. If you have to get the ones at the pier and fill them out there, it will be trickier--but if you do it yourself you can just write it out, tie it on, and hand off the bag.

 

Good luck-lucky girl!

 

Cathy

[esther e]

....or, you can opt for only carry-on bags! You need to luggage tags that way.

[sunlovermtl]

Only the person who is using the credit card to charge the seapass charges to needs to sign the paperwork. Therefore maybe slip a note to the agent when you give your documents over saying not to confirm any information just that everything is in order. Also have your inlaws keep her aside. This way the room key will not give any indicatione and like you said go see the inlaws room first.

 

Good luck

[AlanAllyn]

I would suggest you go with the change of cabin idea. (at the last minute)

I'm not sure what the checkin procedure is in Seattle or Vancouver, but in Ft. Lauderdale they had checkin lines by deck.

 

Alan

[Napi's Mom]

I would suggest you go with the change of cabin idea. (at the last minute)

I'm not sure what the checkin procedure is in Seattle or Vancouver, but in Ft. Lauderdale they had checkin lines by deck.

 

Alan

6/19 cruise boards in Seward. My suggestion is if you aren't doing the train, you have the bags delivered to the dock from whatever transfer you use, get the luggage tags there...or if you have them...put them on there. It's what the Edoc's suggest anyway.

pseudochicken : Welcome to our little area of the world. You are a ways away from our cabin, an OV in the bow...and we're jealous over the balcony...we got a last min. upsell I guess they call it..200$pp from inside to Concierge veranda, on an Oceania cruise (About a $1200pp value) and have had balconies since, until this cruise. After a Mega $$$ cruise to NZ/OZ in Jan, we can't afford the Veranda again.:D Enjoy that veranda!!! Come by & see us in 6004

[Larainerenee]

From a newbie sailing next week on Millennium on the 6th deck - what is a "sweet sixteen" cabin??????

[pseudochicken]

Thank you ALL for the information you are providing! I certainly hope that they do not board by the deck number we are on! That'd give it away right there. Though, if they board the lower decks first, that may not be a problem because I can just make the excuse that we will wait to board with my family. And even if they go higher to lower decks, I can perhaps "lie" and say we got special permission because of my family. ;)

 

Do I need special luggage tags for celebrity cruises or will any do? If I do need a special luggage tag for Celebrity, can I get a hold of some before the pier? I will see if I can fill them out before hand and put them on just prior to handing them off. At the very earliest when we get off the transportation to Seward.

 

We are flying from Philadelphia, with my family (parents and 2 younger brothers) to Anchorage, via connection in Salt Lake City, the day before. We are staying at a hotel in Anchorage (through the cruise line) where we are meeting my grandma and my 11 year old cousin who will also be on the cruise. Then through the cruise line we have transportation (motor coach) to the ship in Seward. I gather it's about a 2 hour trip? I will be SO NERVOUS during those two hours!!!

 

6/19 cruise boards in Seward. My suggestion is if you aren't doing the train' date=' you have the bags delivered to the dock from whatever transfer you use, get the luggage tags [u']there[/u]...or if you have them...put them on there. It's what the Edoc's suggest anyway.

pseudochicken : Welcome to our little area of the world. You are a ways away from our cabin, an OV in the bow...and we're jealous over the balcony...we got a last min. upsell I guess they call it..200$pp from inside to Concierge veranda, on an Oceania cruise (About a $1200pp value) and have had balconies since, until this cruise. After a Mega $$$ cruise to NZ/OZ in Jan, we can't afford the Veranda again.:D Enjoy that veranda!!! Come by & see us in 6004

 

Good information! Thanks! Maybe I'll come by and give a quick hello! ;)

 

 

From a newbie sailing next week on Millennium on the 6th deck - what is a "sweet sixteen" cabin??????

 

A "sweet sixteen" cabin on the Celebrity M-class ships are the 8 most forward (furthest towards the front/bow of the ship) standard balcony cabins on deck 6 on the port and starboard side. So 8 to side = 16 total. These 16 cabins have twice the amount of deck space as a standard balcony, but on the deck plans and in terms of pricing are considered just standard balconies, nothing "special". But they are special!

 

I'll let you know how they are when I get back. :D

 

Thank you all for the information; you are helping me VERY much! Any more information would be fantastic!

 

Cheers!

[Mysticks1]

Do I need special luggage tags for celebrity cruises or will any do? If I do need a special luggage tag for Celebrity, can I get a hold of some before the pier? I will see if I can fill them out before hand and put them on just prior to handing them off. At the very earliest when we get off the transportation to Seward.

 

The tags are color coded and if like RCI they should be marked forward or aft, etc. so you do need their tags.

What you can do is type out your information and print it on mailing labels like the 1 x 3 size, then get the appropriate tags from the porter and just stick on the labels, no writing required and much quicker if you want to do that when she is distracted. Maybe have your family request a photo near that area and have them be lining up while you put the tags on the bags. You can make sure she is in charge of getting everyone just right.

[pseudochicken]

The tags are color coded and if like RCI they should be marked forward or aft, etc. so you do need their tags.

 

What you can do is type out your information and print it on mailing labels like the 1 x 3 size, then get the appropriate tags from the porter and just stick on the labels, no writing required and much quicker if you want to do that when she is distracted. Maybe have your family request a photo near that area and have them be lining up while you put the tags on the bags. You can make sure she is in charge of getting everyone just right.

 

 

That's an idea. I wonder if I can have tags shipped to me before the cruise?

[Mysticks1]

That's an idea. I wonder if I can have tags shipped to me before the cruise?

 

You might be able to. I would call whoever you booked through and ask if they can ship some to you. If you ordered paper documents they will come with the package.