A surprise

[obnurse]

My sister and I are planning a surprise cruise for our dh's. We will include 2 of our kids from Boston, 1 from Tampa and 1 still from home. Does anyone have any good ideas of how we can pull this off without them knowing? My goal would be to actually get them all the way to Ft. Lauderdale totally clueless. Have any of you pulled off a surprise cruise? Any advice is appreciated. We are sailing September 13th.

[jamessemaj]

Not to highjack the thread, but ask out of curiosity, why? I don't care for surprise events, and don't understand why some do. Just ignore my question if you find it offensive, sorry for that, but I would appreciate an answer.

[toberman]

Unless your DH and your sister's DH (along with the kids) are "totally clueless" - you don't have a chance in hell of pulling this off..... too many people involved.

I actually did it once, with the help of a good TA (but only for me and my wife)... booked at trip to Hawaii, but the TA gave me a receipt for a trip to Florida. Wife didn't know til after about 6 hours on the plane!! :)

[obnurse]

The simple answer to your question is this: we will be celebrating two 60th birthdays and one retirement. They aren't the type to want a huge party, neither are thrilled with being in the limelight. What they do have in common is that they (and all of us) love to cruise. And I guess most importantly, we LOVE surprises. :-) . Now....do you have any good ideas for us :-)

[Coveguy4]

What a great idea, hope you can pull it off ! Good Luck and have a great cruise...

[jamessemaj]

Thanks for responding, happy birthdays and retirement. But...not caring to be in the limelight seems contrary to a surprise not in favor of. I'll let it go.

 

My reluctant suggestion would be to plan a gathering in Ft. Lauderdale for the kids and family since one lives in Florida. I guess the cruise would be the surprise beyond that, but it would be a beginning.

[Cruisin' Chick]

You both know your husbands better than us. As for mine, he loves being able to pack his own clothes (I pack mine and until the last cruise, packed my daughter's clothes too -- last time she was old enough to select what to pack for herself) and to check out the ports, even though we were repeating the same itinerary for the third time. I wouldn't want to cheat him out of the tasks he loves to do (I'm the one who calls to book the cruise, plug the info into the Princess website and print out the docs/luggage tags as well as research the ports for possible things to do while there, but he pays for the actual fare, so whatever he wants to do...). Plus, he has to get the time off and he'll know best as to the right time to do it (even though we have to vacation when our girl is off from school so that narrows down those dates), but fortunately, he's high enough up that he can usually get his pick of dates.

[obnurse]

My dh's birthday is Sept. 10th. We are thinking of telling them on my dh's birthday that we are going to Florida. That way, they'll have time to pack. They'll be surprised to see all the kids when we get to Florida and then we can tell them we are cruising the next morning. One of our concerns is that I don't think we can secretly pull off the packing for a 7 day cruise. Packing snorkel gear is a dead give away, ha ha!

[Life is Good Cruising]

My dh's birthday is Sept. 10th. We are thinking of telling them on my dh's birthday that we are going to Florida. That way, they'll have time to pack. They'll be surprised to see all the kids when we get to Florida and then we can tell them we are cruising the next morning. One of our concerns is that I don't think we can secretly pull off the packing for a 7 day cruise. Packing snorkel gear is a dead give away, ha ha!

 

 

Can you mail the snorkel gear to one of the kids and let them bring it?

[HENDRICKSFAN01]

I did. For my wife. Told her we were going to cocoa beach for her bday. When we were passing the port I said lets get a closer look. Once in the port I acted like I was trying to get out but pulled right up to the porters. She was shocked when I said get out we are going aboard.

[janetz]

My dh's birthday is Sept. 10th. We are thinking of telling them on my dh's birthday that we are going to Florida. That way, they'll have time to pack. They'll be surprised to see all the kids when we get to Florida and then we can tell them we are cruising the next morning. One of our concerns is that I don't think we can secretly pull off the packing for a 7 day cruise. Packing snorkel gear is a dead give away, ha ha!

 

Why? 7 day cruise vs. land vacation in Florida? Except for formal wear that should be ok. Just put what he needs and cant see in your own suitcase. Tell them you heard of a great place to snorkel. Will you need to take their passports along? This sounds fun!

Edited April 12, 2014 by janetz

[HENDRICKSFAN01]

Packing snorkel gear is a dead give away, ha ha!

 

Your going to florida, why would he not think to bring snorkel gear?

[rjack22]

For me, the anticipation of the cruise is half the fun! I love to plan. If I were to be surprised with a cruise, although I would of course be delighted, I would also feel a little cheated.

 

Could you surprise them with a cruise for Christmas or a birthday and tell them then?

[obnurse]

Thanks, everyone for your votes of confidence and good ideas! We are slowly unfolding these ideas into a plan. I really think we will pull this off and we are really getting excited. I'm not sure what they will be more excited about.....the cruise or seeing the kids who live far away.....but I think the cruise WITH the kids who live far away!

[Karysa]

My sister and I are planning a surprise cruise for our dh's. We will include 2 of our kids from Boston, 1 from Tampa and 1 still from home. Does anyone have any good ideas of how we can pull this off without them knowing? My goal would be to actually get them all the way to Ft. Lauderdale totally clueless. Have any of you pulled off a surprise cruise? Any advice is appreciated. We are sailing September 13th.

 

If DH told me we were going to South Beach for a long weekend I would believe him but FLL no way. Not sure why but honestly that would have cruise written all over it to me. Could you fly in to Miami and perhaps make it look like a South Beach or Florida Keys trip?

[jmf123]

I met a lady at breakfast on our first cruise who had surprised her DH for his 40th birthday, with a southern Caribbean cruise. She arranged for his time off from work and everything. Two days earlier, he had a black tie event to attend. She faked illness and stayed home to pack. The next morning she had a limo pick them up and take them to the airport. He had no clue where they were going...

 

I don't recall where they lived, but they had a layover in Charlotte, NC. He was excited, saying he'd always wanted to see NC. "No honey, we have another plane to catch", she said. When they landed in San Juan, he had no idea they were going on a cruise until the cab pulled up to the pier. Then he was surprised each morning, as we sailed to a different island on our port-intensive itinerary! He loved it!

[SeagoingMom]

This thread is so CC, don't you think? OP asks for ideas on how to pull off a surprise event and 1/2 or more of the posts are strangers' opinions about why they themselves would hate to be surprised and why the OP shouldn't do it at all, or simply that it won't work!

 

Sigh...

[OCruisers]

My DH would not like this surprise .... He would absolutely want to know in advance. :o

LuLu

~~~

[mapsmith]

A suggestion.

 

Maybe a cousin's Daughter is a) getting married and you have been invited? (includes wedding clothes for Elegant/formal night)

b) said cousin's daughter is getting ready to have a child and wants you two to be godparents at the christening. (again would have to take a suit)

 

c) and the one I would fall for. A combined 60th birthday party in Key West. (maybe if the ship stops there.) But you have to fly to Ft. Lauderdale and drive down.

 

But the birthday trip to a resort that turns out to be a cruise would be great. Allows for the anticipation and planning that makes travel fun.

[HENDRICKSFAN01]

This thread is so CC, don't you think? OP asks for ideas on how to pull off a surprise event and 1/2 or more of the posts are strangers' opinions about why they themselves would hate to be surprised and why the OP shouldn't do it at all, or simply that it won't work!

 

Sigh...

 

Yep

[rvsullivan]

This thread is so CC, don't you think? OP asks for ideas on how to pull off a surprise event and 1/2 or more of the posts are strangers' opinions about why they themselves would hate to be surprised and why the OP shouldn't do it at all, or simply that it won't work!

 

Sigh...

 

 

When the OP states "any advice is appreciated", you will get advice and opinion. OP doesn't seem to be as upset as you are???;)

[Sue Do-Over]

You have time to invent a celebration that warrants a trip -- maybe a school reunion trip or something? Faking an emergency would be tough -- easy to execute, maybe, but undue stress that could take away from the fun. How about 'winning' a trip to Vegas or DisneyWorld? In the movies, it seems so easy.

 

I imagine a blindfold and a sign that says "Mystery Vacation in progress" so that people don't think you're kidnapping him. He'd only need to be masked when he could see destination signs, like sitting at the airport gate, but I'd keep the Mystery sign up all the time. If he's a good sport, he might be willing to wear the mask longer.

 

Could you mix up his outfit, like have him wear a snow boots, Mickey Mouse ears and a Hawiian shirt together, so that he can't figure out which way you're traveling?

 

Or, have him select two wardrobes, one for warm weather, one for cold, and lay them out on the bed. Underwear and a shaving kit get packed anyway, but YOU pack just one set, and he doesn't know which. If you've got space, have him pack for BOTH. (You could sneak extra/bulky items out if the bag gets too big.)

 

Or, ship ahead the destination-specific items, swim trunks, snorkel, suit and tie, etc. so that when you tell him to 'pack for 7 days', he packs a standard assortment of shirts/shorts/slacks.

 

I, personally, would love to be swept away on vacation. My pack list is pretty concise, and we keep it pretty casual on board, so I wouldn't be distressed if I didn't have the perfect outfit for every event. In fact, if he's got a sense of humor, it's all part of the fun. "I got kidnapped on a mystery vacation!"

Edited April 13, 2014 by Sue Do-Over

[megr1125]

I managed to surprise my mom a couple times, though once the cruise line and the TA screwed up and sent the docs to the HOUSE instead of the agent....but i digress...

 

Once was a land trip to Aruba...I took her for her hair appointment, went home, packed, picked her up and headed to the airport...after a discussion she made me turn around to go BACK home to see what I packed (I only forgot a nightgown...heck could have bought that at a mall near the airport..)

 

Once, the easter bunny brought us a cruise for easter....I had custom, beach themed candies made at a local store, got blue and pink grass for the basket, added a chocolate boat that I wrote the name of the ship on (couldn't find a chocolate cruise ship..:mad::rolleyes:)..... Worked out well...

 

So, OP...sounds like a LOT of fun, do NOT have ANYTHING sent to the house (though most lines don't even send paper docs anymore..)

 

I would somehow let them know that they're going to Fla for whatever reason...I DO like the person who said he got 'lost' at the port...that's funny!

 

Good luck....if you decide to tell them ahead, make it in a creative way...

 

One time, I didn't tell mom, but I went to the craft store and got all kinds of vacation-themed stickers and put them on the calendar....about 5 days ahead of leaving she figured it all out. See she made me promise after the Aruba trip to not tell her at the last minute... Well, I didn't. She had five days notice.

 

You'll make a great memory for your family.....and I am glad I have those memories of surprise trips now that mom's not here anymore...

[jmf123]

You'll make a great memory for your family.....and I am glad I have those memories of surprise trips now that mom's not here anymore...

 

^LIKE^ And read on if you enjoy surprises. My three siblings and I thrilled my mom for her 70th birthday- we all just flew in. I even surprised my sister, who had no clue she was on the same connecting flight as DH and I! I took an old ticket jacket and faked that we were on a different airline. She lived in Seattle then, and we met up with her in the airport for our connecting flight(s). We said goodbye and she boarded the plane. Minutes later, we came down the aisle and asked her if the seats next to her were taken. (Of course I had reserved them!).

 

Ten years ago we gave my folks a surprise 50th anniversary cake with a cruiseship decorated on it- accompanied by a cruise brochure announcing the gift of a Big Band cruise on the Mississippi Queen!

 

My DH and I will be in PA this month to celebrate mom's 85th birthday. Then in July is their 60th anniversary celebration- and dad's birthday. They think only my sister (in Ohio) will be there. Surprise! We are coming (from CA), as well as my other sister (now in Switzerland), and my brother (in Florida)! :cool:

 

If you can stand one more- 15 years ago my parents called me (in CA) and sang Happy Birthday, and wished me a great day. Shortly after, DH and I drove an hour to my uncle's house, to spend the day with him. Guess who answered the door...my PARENTS! Shock of my life, loved it! I had no clue that my folks hadn't called me from their home in PA that morning! :D

[Lerin]

Wonderful idea and congrats.

 

My only concern with telling them so late is that important items may not get packed (medications, Passports, etc...) or home commitments will be overlooked (work, clubs, appointments, even a ball game...)

 

Since it is cc and I have to add my personal two cents ;) I'll say that I would LOVE a surprise cruise. However, I would HATE a surprise cruise that I didn't get to pack for.