Scavenger Hunt on Liberty - Need Ideas!

[Roma Belle]

DH and I are cruising on the Liberty this summer for his milestone birthday celebration. He thinks its just the two of us going. What he will find out is that 10 other people will be coming along with us.

 

All I have told him is that we are taking a trip and the dates. Nothing else.

 

We have had scavenger hunts as part of our relationship for important events (engagement: he left clues all over the city of Chicago and I had to find them while riding around in a limo. It was awesome!), and would really like to surprise him with one to find the group.

 

The thought is to have my brother-in-law slide the first clue under the door of our cabin on embarkation day, and then we start from there.

 

Where should the clues lead? Where would be a good spot for the final clue to lead and the group to be waiting?

 

Any thoughts or suggestions...or if this would be a logistical nightmare...let me know! I am a really good planner, so I hope with a little help, I can pull this off!

 

Thanks!

[OceanDreams]

That is going to be so much fun.

OK....here is my idea. Plant a clue at the top of the water slide.....and one at the bottom. Good luck and don't forget to tell us all about it when you return from your cruise.

OceanDreams

[rockbock]

The only logistical problem I can think of is making sure that you and DH don't run into the other 10 guests accidentally. Assuming you plan to get to the port around 10:30am , you have three hours to kill before your room is ready (including time that you and DH will be in the same waiting area at port with the other 10 guests), then probably another 30-60 minutes for him to chase clues around. So unless your guests are planning to not get to the port until later, there's a good chance that you'll end up running into some of them accidentally.

[grgsgrl]

You could get the room steward to deliver one with a puzzled look on his face, or put one on the back of the bathroom door, or on the ceiling.

Get all the folks involved and put them all over. :D

Lead him on a merry chase and then end up on the lido with your crew.

This is an awesome thing to do for your DH. Hope it works out well for you and you have a blast.

[Roma Belle]

Thanks for all of the ideas so far! I am not familiar with the ship layout too much, so I am relying on the experts!

 

 

The only logistical problem I can think of is making sure that you and DH don't run into the other 10 guests accidentally. Assuming you plan to get to the port around 10:30am , you have three hours to kill before your room is ready (including time that you and DH will be in the same waiting area at port with the other 10 guests), then probably another 30-60 minutes for him to chase clues around. So unless your guests are planning to not get to the port until later, there's a good chance that you'll end up running into some of them accidentally.

 

I had thought about this as well. We don't need to be on the ship super early. I was thinking of getting there later than our guests, so there would be little chance of us running into each other. Everyone will be arriving days prior to the cruise in different parts of FL except for one couple who will be flying in that morning.

 

If we get to the pier at 1 PM (4PM sail away, 2:30 all aboard), would that be too late? For those more experienced cruises, what are the crowds like at that time. Then we could go straight to our stateroom and get settled in, while everyone else is assembling somewhere.

[OceanDreams]

Oh my gosh....I feel like a dork now. I didn't understand that the 10 friends were what he was suppose to be looking for. DUH! :o

OceanDreams

[my3boysmom]

How long do you want to make it last? Do you want to have him find out quickly after getting settled in your room? Do you just want him following clues around the ship or give hints about what the surprise is?

[Catrin]

Some Ideas where you can place clues

 

Secret Forward Decks on Decks 6 or 9.

Piano Bar Lounge

Video Game Room

Gym

Red Frog Pub

A Laundry Room

Casino

Ice Cream Machine

 

That would be very FUN!

[lego7191]

I'd be terrified that someone would pick up a clue somewhere along the way and the paper trail would be lost.

 

Could you have each one of the ten friends holding the next clue, and he finds each of them individually after you board the ship?

 

You give him the first clue on embarkation day, either in the hotel or in the cruise terminal, or soon after boarding the ship, etc. and the first clue leads him to the first of 10 friends/family and that person has the second clue.

 

You'd have to (1) make sure to get the appropriate clues to the right people ahead of time (email?) and (2) make sure they had all boarded the ship prior to you two boarding so they'd have time to get in place.

 

Would be fun to make a rhyme out of it with the next "stop" missing from the text and make him fill in the missing word in order to figure out where to go.

[rockbock]

Could you have each one of the ten friends holding the next clue, and he finds each of them individually after you board the ship?

 

This is what I thought the OP was trying to do when I first read it. I thought the scavenger hunt was to find each person. Then at the very end I realized that she wanted him to find the group together at the end.

[BananaAnna]

If we get to the pier at 1 PM (4PM sail away, 2:30 all aboard), would that be too late? For those more experienced cruises, what are the crowds like at that time. Then we could go straight to our stateroom and get settled in, while everyone else is assembling somewhere.

 

Be sure to factor in the muster drill.

[DentL]

If you are afraid of the clues getting lost, just hold them until he figures out the place, and then when he gets there have him do something silly to earn the next clue or something like that. That way you don't have to place them all along the ship and none of them will get lost.

 

Like let's say he likes to play blackjack - one of the clues could lead him to the blackjack table and in order to earn his next clue he has to jump up and down and yell blackjack ( the casino won't be open ... So he will look silly )

[Roma Belle]

Thank you all so much for the wonderful ideas!

 

If you are afraid of the clues getting lost, just hold them until he figures out the place, and then when he gets there have him do something silly to earn the next clue or something like that. That way you don't have to place them all along the ship and none of them will get lost.

 

Like let's say he likes to play blackjack - one of the clues could lead him to the blackjack table and in order to earn his next clue he has to jump up and down and yell blackjack ( the casino won't be open ... So he will look silly )

 

Great idea!!! Thanks! He does like to play Blackjack!

 

Some Ideas where you can place clues

 

Secret Forward Decks on Decks 6 or 9.

Piano Bar Lounge

Video Game Room

Gym

Red Frog Pub

A Laundry Room

Casino

Ice Cream Machine

 

That would be very FUN!

 

Also great ideas! Thank you!

 

How long do you want to make it last? Do you want to have him find out quickly after getting settled in your room? Do you just want him following clues around the ship or give hints about what the surprise is?

 

I am not sure how long...probably not too long. Maybe 5 clues or less...I don't want it too be too long that it would take time away from being with everyone.

[Roma Belle]

Be sure to factor in the muster drill.

 

Thanks for reminding me of this! I had not thought of it. If we are sailing away at 4 PM, what time do you think it will be? The last Carnival cruise we went on (2008), we did the drill after we were already sailing away.

 

I'd be terrified that someone would pick up a clue somewhere along the way and the paper trail would be lost.

 

Could you have each one of the ten friends holding the next clue, and he finds each of them individually after you board the ship?

 

You give him the first clue on embarkation day, either in the hotel or in the cruise terminal, or soon after boarding the ship, etc. and the first clue leads him to the first of 10 friends/family and that person has the second clue.

 

You'd have to (1) make sure to get the appropriate clues to the right people ahead of time (email?) and (2) make sure they had all boarded the ship prior to you two boarding so they'd have time to get in place.

 

Would be fun to make a rhyme out of it with the next "stop" missing from the text and make him fill in the missing word in order to figure out where to go.

 

I am also trying to think of how this will work realistically, so that there aren't really any snags. Maybe I will make duplicate copies of the clues to keep on hand if one mysteriously walks away. :rolleyes:

 

The goal is to have everyone on the ship well before we are there. That's why I was thinking of getting to the port around 1PM so that there are less crowds, and that we can go straight to our room. That way everyone else can get assembled somewhere.

 

The last scavenger hunt DH did for me was for our engagement. He left clues right before I found them so they didn't have time to get picked up and moved (these clues were in public places in the city of Chicago!). I plan on having my brother-in-law do the same thing. So while we are on our way to clue #2 (getting clue #1 on the cabin), he would be placing clue #3 somewhere...and then we go find that while he is on his way to #4, etc.

[myfamilyluvs2cruise]

I love your idea of a scavenger hunt! I am surprising my DH this summer as well on the Freedom. He knows we are going, but no clue about the other 47 people. I CAN'T WAIT!!!! Are you dying of excitement?

 

I have been trying to figure out the big surprise as well. I am probably going to do either a flash mob, or have them all come up to him one by one . . . still trying to picture it. Have gotten some good advice here on CC. :D

 

At any rate- hope your surprise scavenger hunt goes really well!!!

[cruzinfamilyof4]

I googled scavenger hunt riddles. There were a bunch of sites with riddles that I think you could use or change up for your needs.

 

I would have the room steward give the first clue and then keep the rest with me. When you get to the next location hand him the next clue. That way there isn't any chance of someone picking it up. You could end at a bar with a DOD waiting, or even back in the cabin of one of your friends/family with everyone there!

 

Be sure someone has a camera to get pictures of his surprise. Sounds like a lot of fun!

[mclinns04]

Have the final meeting on the Serenity Deck, unless you have children in the group. There would be less of chance of running into them by accident.