How to surprise my husband with a suite

[cruisinqt]

So I’ve never done this before but I’m surprising my husband with a Vista Suite on our Carnival Pride cruise. He thinks we are in a normal balcony cabin as usual. I’ve already devised a way to keep him from seeing the bill or payments so that’s not a problem. And he never goes online and looks up the cruise details either so I'm not worried about that. But will I be able to keep this a surprise right up until we walk into our cabin? Or will there be “suite” or “vista suite” on any of the luggage tags? What about the boarding papers, anything on them? Is it possible to keep him out of the loop right up until we see the room? Anyone else who has done this please let me know. And if there’s something that will give it away does anyone have any ideas on how to break the news to him ahead of time in a fun way?

[May1cruiser]

The one time we were offered an upsell to jr suite, i thought the boarding pass just said priority, but it was a long time ago. 

 

I think I was too excited to hold back the info and told DW ahead of cruise. It was on elation, and just 4 days. It was nice, but we always enjoy our cruises, so not a huge impact to experience. 

 

I think the room steward was a little more attentive than in the past, so I am not sure if suite team is a little stronger??

 

[cruisinqt]

26 minutes ago, May1cruiser said:

The one time we were offered an upsell to jr suite, i thought the boarding pass just said priority, but it was a long time ago. 

 

I think I was too excited to hold back the info and told DW ahead of cruise. It was on elation, and just 4 days. It was nice, but we always enjoy our cruises, so not a huge impact to experience. 

 

I think the room steward was a little more attentive than in the past, so I am not sure if suite team is a little stronger??

 

We did a suite many years ago and just like you, I can’t remember what the luggage tags said either. I’m hoping I can hold it in but I’m pretty excited too. This is our first overseas cruise and our first time in London. We are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary and the upgraded cabin is his gift. He’s always wanted one of the fancier suites and there is only one suite bigger than this one so he should be pleasantly surprised (if I can keep it a secret.?

[kelkel2]

If you don’t get the answer, we check in for our cruise next week and I can let you know. We’ll be in a suite and I can tell you if it shows up on anything. Just make sure your husband doesn’t get the emails from carnival, my husband gets an email every time I make a booking. 

[angela12345]

The story on having "Priority" on your luggage tags ... you should tell him you're buying faster to the fun for y'alls anniversary.  

[LaRue1975]

I have a suite on the Radiance January 9th sailing, our boarding passes and luggage tags say priority, no mention of the suite, just deck and cabin number. Good idea to say you bought FFTF if he notices and asks about the priority tags. I have told my hubby we have a suite this time but he never listens when I talk about travel plans so he’ll probably be surprised too! 😜

[cruisinqt]

1 hour ago, kelkel2 said:

If you don’t get the answer, we check in for our cruise next week and I can let you know. We’ll be in a suite and I can tell you if it shows up on anything. Just make sure your husband doesn’t get the emails from carnival, my husband gets an email every time I make a booking. 

Oh yeah I didn’t think about that. It was booked under my name so I think it’s ok but I’ll check. 

[cruisinqt]

1 hour ago, angela12345 said:

The story on having "Priority" on your luggage tags ... you should tell him you're buying faster to the fun for y'alls anniversary.  

Good idea. 

[cruisinqt]

8 minutes ago, LaRue1975 said:

I have a suite on the Radiance January 9th sailing, our boarding passes and luggage tags say priority, no mention of the suite, just deck and cabin number. Good idea to say you bought FFTF if he notices and asks about the priority tags. I have told my hubby we have a suite this time but he never listens when I talk about travel plans so he’ll probably be surprised too! 😜

Oh my that’s too funny. Same thing here. I tell him stuff then later he swears I never told him. It’s like they only halfway listen with an occasion nod not realizing that some of the stuff we are telling them is important. If I did tell him he’d probably forget too. 

[LaRue1975]

Oh, and you will LOVE the Vista Suite on Pride, it’s amazing! We sailed on the Legend and Spirit in 2007 and 2008, both times in Vista suites, best cabins we have  sailed in by far. We did the one way from Vancouver to Anchorage on the Spirit with our BFFs, we had both Vista Suites on the 7th deck. It was our trip of a lifetime so far and will be very tough to beat. You will enjoy every moment, it’s going to be a great surprise! 

[cruisinqt]

2 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

Oh, and you will LOVE the Vista Suite on Pride, it’s amazing! We sailed on the Legend and Spirit in 2007 and 2008, both times in Vista suites, best cabins we have  sailed in by far. We did the one way from Vancouver to Anchorage on the Spirit with our BFFs, we had both Vista Suites on the 7th deck. It was our trip of a lifetime so far and will be very tough to beat. You will enjoy every moment, it’s going to be a great surprise! 

It’s so nice to hear a personal experience like that. I’m especially excited about the big wrap around balcony on this Vista Suite. We did a suite once before on a different ship  but it was the lowest level of suite so it had a bigger bathroom, a living area, and a slightly larger balcony. It was very nice but didn’t have a lot of the wow factor. But this suite has it all. With several floor to ceiling windows and a huge wrap around balcony I just couldn’t resist it.  I’ll probably never do it again because it’s not cheap. But we are celebrating our retirement and our 30th anniversary so I splurged. I can’t imagine booking side by side vista suites with your bff ‘s that must have been amazing. 

[ShakyBeef]

Happy Anniversary!  And what a nice gift for your DH!  We've had Deck 4 Vista Suites (my favourite) on Pride and love them!  The best cabins on the best class of Carnival ship!  To (kinda) answer some of your questions:

 

Your luggage tags, as someone said earlier, will indeed say "PRIORITY" along with your cabin number and Deck, but will not say "SUITE".

 

Your S&S cards may or may not have "SUITE GUEST" stickers on them.  They don't seem to be real consistent on whether or not they use these stickers, and full disclosure: I haven't cruised since 2020, so this might be old info.  But since you don't get your S&S cards until you get to your room, I guess none of this matters.🤪

 

You will be able to board as Suite guests just after wedding parties and just before Diamond and Platinum.  FTTF comes after Platinum.  If you want to take advantage of this perk, that might "give it away" to your DH.  So, you could wait to board with FTTF and just show your boarding passes to the gate guard as you go through, proving that you were allowed to have boarded already.

 

Unfortunately, I can't remember if our boarding passes from our last cruise said "PRIORITY" or "SUITE" at the top.  And I can't get into view my current boarding passes until March.  So, not much help here.🤭

 

Have a great cruise, I'm sure you'll love the Suite!

[Theicom1]

The boarding pass will say "Boarding Zone Priority"

On the top right, under your VIFP number, and the barcode they scan, it will say "Category SUITE"

[ShakyBeef]

12 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

And if there’s something that will give it away does anyone have any ideas on how to break the news to him ahead of time in a fun way?

 

You maybe could have some fun in a practical joke way pretending to "sneak into" the Suites boarding zone.  So he'll think you might "get caught" and kicked out into the back of the Priority line with the FTTF.  You can spin some story about how since your tags and passes say "PRIORITY" no one will know and they'll let you through.  You can say you heard it on CC that people cheat this way and get away with it.  Then you get to take advantage of your actual Suite boarding time and, depending on his comfort level and attitude, possibly have some fun making him nervous about getting caught breaking the rules. 

[sunshower9]

I'm surprising my husband with an Excel Aft Suite on the Celebration next year for our anniversary.  Luckily my husband knows NOTHING about our vacations.  I just tell when when to be ready and what to pack.  He doesn't remember anything I tell him anyway.  I don't think he even realizes that we're sailing during our anniversary lol.  I'm not going to say anything, but if he asks I'll just tell him we're in our regular balcony.  I'm going to record his reaction when we open the door to our cabin.  A few cruises ago, I started a "tradition" of filming as we walk into our cabin for the first time, in preparation of recording him when we enter our suite.  That way he won't get suspicious when I pull out the phone and start recording.

 

Anyway, it's going to be a great surprise for your husband.  You're going to have a fantastic cruise!

[eastoftheboston]

I'm in a suite in just over a week. If you hold on to both boarding passes "to make sure he doesn't lose his," you should be fine. 

The BP has priority in red on the top left, but like you said you could pass that off as FTTF. The only spot on the BP that gives it away is on the top right-hand side, under a bar code, is your VIFP number in small type, and under that it says "Category: Suite" with Suite in Bold. But it's in a 10 or 12-point font. It doesn't really stand out unless you're looking for it. 

Can confirm what others said, your luggage tag will say Priority, but it won't say Suite

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

You maybe could have some fun in a practical joke way pretending to "sneak into" the Suites boarding zone.  So he'll think you might "get caught" and kicked out into the back of the Priority line with the FTTF.  You can spin some story about how since your tags and passes say "PRIORITY" no one will know and they'll let you through.  You can say you heard it on CC that people cheat this way and get away with it.  Then you get to take advantage of your actual Suite boarding time and, depending on his comfort level and attitude, possibly have some fun making him nervous about getting caught breaking the rules. 

Nice!!🤣

[angela12345]

47 minutes ago, sunshower9 said:

I'm going to record his reaction when we open the door to our cabin.  A few cruises ago, I started a "tradition" of filming as we walk into our cabin for the first time, in preparation of recording him when we enter our suite.  That way he won't get suspicious when I pull out the phone and start recording.

Hahaha !  Now that's taking it to the next level.  Well done !

[cruisinqt]

3 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

Happy Anniversary!  And what a nice gift for your DH!  We've had Deck 4 Vista Suites (my favourite) on Pride and love them!  The best cabins on the best class of Carnival ship!  To (kinda) answer some of your questions:

 

Your luggage tags, as someone said earlier, will indeed say "PRIORITY" along with your cabin number and Deck, but will not say "SUITE".

 

Your S&S cards may or may not have "SUITE GUEST" stickers on them.  They don't seem to be real consistent on whether or not they use these stickers, and full disclosure: I haven't cruised since 2020, so this might be old info.  But since you don't get your S&S cards until you get to your room, I guess none of this matters.🤪

 

You will be able to board as Suite guests just after wedding parties and just before Diamond and Platinum.  FTTF comes after Platinum.  If you want to take advantage of this perk, that might "give it away" to your DH.  So, you could wait to board with FTTF and just show your boarding passes to the gate guard as you go through, proving that you were allowed to have boarded already.

 

Unfortunately, I can't remember if our boarding passes from our last cruise said "PRIORITY" or "SUITE" at the top.  And I can't get into view my current boarding passes until March.  So, not much help here.🤭

 

Have a great cruise, I'm sure you'll love the Suite!

Ours is also deck 4 it’s cabin 4228.I’m so excited! We are Platinum so I’ll just board along with Platinum guests. Our cruise isn’t until August so I won’t be able to see our boarding passes anytime soon either. It’s sounding like most cruisers don’t think it’s on the luggage tags so I’m hopeful that I can pull off the surprise. Thanks for the info. 

[cruisinqt]

2 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

You maybe could have some fun in a practical joke way pretending to "sneak into" the Suites boarding zone.  So he'll think you might "get caught" and kicked out into the back of the Priority line with the FTTF.  You can spin some story about how since your tags and passes say "PRIORITY" no one will know and they'll let you through.  You can say you heard it on CC that people cheat this way and get away with it.  Then you get to take advantage of your actual Suite boarding time and, depending on his comfort level and attitude, possibly have some fun making him nervous about getting caught breaking the rules. 

Wow that’s so sneaky! What a great idea!

[cruisinqt]

2 hours ago, sunshower9 said:

I'm surprising my husband with an Excel Aft Suite on the Celebration next year for our anniversary.  Luckily my husband knows NOTHING about our vacations.  I just tell when when to be ready and what to pack.  He doesn't remember anything I tell him anyway.  I don't think he even realizes that we're sailing during our anniversary lol.  I'm not going to say anything, but if he asks I'll just tell him we're in our regular balcony.  I'm going to record his reaction when we open the door to our cabin.  A few cruises ago, I started a "tradition" of filming as we walk into our cabin for the first time, in preparation of recording him when we enter our suite.  That way he won't get suspicious when I pull out the phone and start recording.

 

Anyway, it's going to be a great surprise for your husband.  You're going to have a fantastic cruise!

I never thought of recording his reaction. What a great idea. 

[cruisinqt]

2 hours ago, eastoftheboston said:

I'm in a suite in just over a week. If you hold on to both boarding passes "to make sure he doesn't lose his," you should be fine. 

The BP has priority in red on the top left, but like you said you could pass that off as FTTF. The only spot on the BP that gives it away is on the top right-hand side, under a bar code, is your VIFP number in small type, and under that it says "Category: Suite" with Suite in Bold. But it's in a 10 or 12-point font. It doesn't really stand out unless you're looking for it. 

Can confirm what others said, your luggage tag will say Priority, but it won't say Suite

The “priority” isn’t an issue since we’re Platinum but the “category: suite” is something he’d probably notice. He’s an engineer so he notices small details in fine print like that. I may just print it then white out that part then make another fresh print out without any white out on it. Ugh the perils of being married to an engineer. They are very meticulous about the fine details on things. Thanks for the heads up. 

[cruisinqt]

3 hours ago, Theicom1 said:

The boarding pass will say "Boarding Zone Priority"

On the top right, under your VIFP number, and the barcode they scan, it will say "Category SUITE"

Thanks for the heads up. I’ll be using my white out on that part before I hand my husband his boarding pass then. 

[ButterflyGirly]

I can unfortunately not answer any of your questions since I have never stayed in a suite but want to wish you a Happy 30th Anniversary!  DH and I had our 30th this past summer.

 

Enjoy the suite life!

[angela12345]

3 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

The “priority” isn’t an issue since we’re Platinum but the “category: suite” is something he’d probably notice. He’s an engineer so he notices small details in fine print like that. I may just print it then white out that part then make another fresh print out without any white out on it. Ugh the perils of being married to an engineer. They are very meticulous about the fine details on things. Thanks for the heads up. 

If you have access to Adobe Acrobat (not just the reader) or another PDF manipulator, you can take that text out before you even print it.  I'm guessing you can't print the boarding passes yet, correct ?  I do have Acrobat.  If you don't have Acrobat and also can remember when the time comes, hit me up on here by quoting me and/or @angela12345 and pause long enough for CC to display my name in the dropdown that will come up so you can select it and it will show @angela12345.  We'll figure out some way to get the PDF to me and I can edit it for you, if you'd like.