tips to make it extra special?

[catharina]

Hi Guys

 

I have been reading a lot here and now it is almost there: our first cruise next week !

I am with my husband for our 5th wedding anniversary and with my parents. We gave this trip as a present for his 65th birthday this week. My dad is terminally ill and this was a big wish of him, so I am so glad to be able to make it come true!

 

havind said all our special reasons for this cruise, I want to make it UNFORGETTABLE!

 

Have you guys got any tips to make this cruise extra special, memorable, unforgettable? Anything I can do, not do, arrange?

 

any tips would be highly appreciated

 

Cat

[SuitCaseBears]

That's so difficult to answer because what would make me and my husband think a cruise was Extra Special might bore or even annoy your family. I don't know you and your family and one of the greatest things about cruising is the variety.

 

BUT, one thing I can tell you, you're traveling with people who love you. So if you have a great time, they will have a great time just sharing in your joy.

 

I can tell you want everything to be perfect for them, but honestly, nothing is perfect and they can still have the best times of their lives.

 

So I'd say start by spending time reading the boards to get ideas, and then maybe ask specific "how do I arrange for X" questions.

 

And then whatever else you do - relax and enjoy. Enjoyment and pleasure are contagious. If you're fretting about something that wasn't just as you planned, that's contagious too.

[timeforadaiquiri]

Did you look at the cruise line's website for the extra gifts and decorations that you can purchase? Things like decorations, a cake, champagne....

[cruisinreunion]

Perhaps on the dress up night, you could have a nice family portrait done, one of all four of you, and maybe even one with just you and your dad. Make two copies, one for you and one for him. Have a birthday cake at dinner one night and sing happy birthday to him.

 

Just sit back and enjoy the ocean breeze, a few laughs, and take in the beautiful scenery. Those will give you special memories and make the cruise special

[Taxguy77]

The protrait sounds very nice, see if you can get the negative or at least some extra copies. The photographer might negotiate a better price than he quotes first, so ask and wait a few days before talking to him again.

 

A couple of things come to mind. Talk to the Maitre'D when he has some time, maybe an appointment, and ask how you can make the birthday dinner outstanding. If you get him on your side, miracles can happen in his jurisdiction. And he would appreciate a little extra income for his extra work, if you give him a big smile and special thanks after that, the rest of your cruise will be great.

 

Don't plan any shore trips (for him) he is not 100% interested in. Maybe he would rather do something else, like laze around the pool.

[lady_cruiser]

One of the ladies where I work went on a cruise with her 85 year old grandmother (she turned 85 while on the cruise.) She had the ship photograph take 12 "special" photographs of her grandmother around the ship and then had a calendar made with each month featuring a different photograph. I remembered June was a photograph of her grandmother in a bathing suit sitting by the pool drinking the DOD.

 

Maybe you can have this done and then at Christmas time give these calendars as gifts. Any passenger walking around the ship will be glad to take a group photo of you, using your camera, if you ask them. You can buy photo calendars at stores like Michaels Arts and Crafts and then glue on the photograph yourself to save money. Each month can feature different group poses. One month can be the group formal night, another month can be all of you relaxing by the pool, on the dock when leaving the ship to tour a port-of-call, etc. Once you get start you will be surprise how much your imagination will kick in high gear.

[cb at sea]

I have a feeling that by taking the cruise with your dad, and not "buying" anything else, it will still be the most memorable time of your life.

[catharina]

Hi Guys!

 

Thanks, it really is not about buying a lot of extras for him. Since I am paying for the whole cruise for four, I am already almost banktrupt ;-)

 

But these tips are GREAT! That calender idea is superb, with my own camera! And the nice formals we will definately do. I am spurring my parents on to take their party clothing with them and I have a nice long gown myself (not easy to find over here in my size!) This saturday we will have a BIG party for his 65th birthday so we already own the party clothing now :-) I am so stressed out about arranging everything for his party and the cruise, just hope it will be OK

 

Talking to the Maitre D is certainly a good idea, as is the birthday cake. Hopefully they speak good english/german/spanish, because my Italian is non-existent

 

THANK you for all of your input. Just wondering how much I would tip him appropriately? (sorry come from a non-tipping country so have no clue)

 

I only organised one shore ex, to Taormina. Because he was there once when he was young and would love to see it again. So I arranged for a private exc there. The rest we will just take it day by day, stroll around, see how he feels. Tunis we will skip and make use of the ship and (hopefully!) pools all day

 

Thanks again for all your input. Just looking for small ideas that can make our cruise even more memorable then it is going to be!

 

Someone know where to order sunshine? ;-)

 

Just! Can't! Stop! Using! Exclamation marks!! I am THAT excited

 

love from Holland

Cat

[Cruise Gypsy]

 

Thanks again for all your input. Just looking for small ideas that can make our cruise even more memorable then it is going to be!

 

Someone know where to order sunshine? ;-)

 

Just! Can't! Stop! Using! Exclamation marks!! I am THAT excited

 

love from Holland

Cat

 

If you are looking for a simple idea.

 

Do some of the members of your family enjoy games? DH and I love cribbage - we have a travel board and some of my favorite moments onboard are finding a great spot to play for a couple of hours. For my sister it is Scrabble - on her first cruise she was a bit overwhelmed until the Scrabble board came out. :) Anyway, it is always a great memory but my suggestion is to bring your own - you never know if the onboard set will be checked out or missing pieces.

 

As for the sunshine - I can't help you. I am from Seattle (very cloudy part of the US).:D

[Davidson Duo]

Having done a couple of family cruises, what we have found is not to over schedule your time together. That will develop itself over the course of the cruise when you all find what appeals to you.

 

Our one stipulation from our parents (mid 80's) was that everyone eat together at dinner time. It was so special to be able to return to something so familiar as sitting down at the big table (very big in our case - 16 of us, so we needed two tables together). It seems so simple, but what was most special to us all was just spending the time together.

 

And dinner gave us time to relate our stories about what we did during the day. We did seem to revert to our childhood - lots of giggles as our memories returned of long ago events. With 7 kids growing up, there were lots we had to remember!

 

The family photos on formal night are also wonderful memories we all have, that remind us of how special our family is.

 

Try to find time for each of you to spend one on one time with your folks. It is great to have group time, but just one event where it is just you will mean a lot to your folks. Maybe afternoon tea, time on deck, a card game, whatever appeals to you. You and Dad, you and Mom, Mom and Husband. And just your Dad and your husband will be a great memory for them as it is something that probably rarely happens.

 

If your Dad is not at his best, don't over schedule. It can be a bit overwhelming. He will want some time on his own for relaxing, but if he is like my folks, sometimes is not comfortable saying no if he thinks others will want him to do something. Just pay attention and you should be able to figure out his needs.

 

Other things we did that weren't planned but just seemed to develop were gathering every morning in the Lido for breakfast as well as at the ongoing puzzle during the day (5000 piece the one cruise - we were in heaven!). We have always loved to puzzle as a family, and this was an unexpected bonus.

 

We didn't schedule these, it just became the norm for us to gravitate to these spots. One of us would show up first, and the rest just seemed to drift in and out over the day which made it no stress. Familiar activities from our childhood were what seemed most special to replicate on our cruise.

 

Whatever you do, it will be the time spent together that will mean the most to you. And remember at the end of the cruise to exchange pictures with the rest of the family. We all take our cameras and snap lots of photos, but rarely get pictures of ourselves. By sharing, we all get to share the whole family experience, which is what it is all about. Enjoy your cruise - what a great thing to do for your Dad -I know you all will cherish the memories forever. :)

[true45]

What a wonderful thing to do for your family. Not sure about the cruise you are going on but on some cruiselines websites there is a space for you to indicate "special occasions". On our last cruise, we were celebrating our 60th Bdays & 40th wedding anniversary. There was a big party with champagne & cake & live music for all the invited anniversary&honeymoon couples. Birthdays were celebrated separately in the dining room. You could also check with your travel agent if you have used one. You don't have to spend any extra money for these celebrations. You will have a great time. & just to echo another poster - don't schedule too much, relax & enjoy your time together.

[catharina]

Thank you very much guys, all very valuable advice. Especially the over-scheduling, I tend to do that a lot ;-)

 

I will also bring a game with us (good idea), take lost of pictures and do some one on one stuff. And as suggested earlier, I'll see the Maitre D to see if we can arrange some nirthday thing for him, although his real birthday is TODAY, the cruise is in a week orso

 

Thank you so much, these are the kinds of tips I was looking for

[Cruise Gypsy]

Thank you very much guys, all very valuable advice. Especially the over-scheduling, I tend to do that a lot ;-)

 

I will also bring a game with us (good idea), take lost of pictures and do some one on one stuff. And as suggested earlier, I'll see the Maitre D to see if we can arrange some nirthday thing for him, although his real birthday is TODAY, the cruise is in a week orso

 

Thank you so much, these are the kinds of tips I was looking for

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise! There will be many wonderful memories created. :D

[euro cruiser]

One of the best memories I have of my father is from a few weeks before he died. We spent most of an entire weekend going through his music collection, which was a springboard for him to talk about his life, and what was going on when each song or album or musician was popular.

 

Is there something you can easily carry that might trigger similar conversations with your father while relaxing on the ship? Even a copy of a family tree, which is an opportunity to talk about family members you never knew, and hear stories of your father's life. You could come home with a momento of your trip, a written or oral family history, that would be valuable to you today, and to future generations of your family.

 

After my father died I came across a photo album of his from the 1940's that chronicled his time in India during World War II. I wish I'd known about it and had the time to page through it with him, and hear the stories behind the photos and letters in the album. Carrying one book like that wouldn't take up much room in your luggage.

[ailuro]

On the photo theme again, maybe you could make up posters for your doors, I have read that many people decorate their cabin doors so no-one gets mixed up and tries the handle....

 

a few old pics of him and your mum as youngsters, a few pics of you as kids, even some pics of family pets past and present. Leave a bit of spcae to take it home with you and add pics of your parents on the ship....

 

Things like finding out his favourite song and asking the band to play it so your Mum and Dad can have a little dance together...

 

they won't cost money, but they will make for a few happy memories and will give you something to look back on fondly.

[luannsimon]

Hi Guys!

 

Thanks, it really is not about buying a lot of extras for him. Since I am paying for the whole cruise for four, I am already almost banktrupt ;-)

 

But these tips are GREAT! That calender idea is superb, with my own camera! And the nice formals we will definately do. I am spurring my parents on to take their party clothing with them and I have a nice long gown myself (not easy to find over here in my size!) This saturday we will have a BIG party for his 65th birthday so we already own the party clothing now :-) I am so stressed out about arranging everything for his party and the cruise, just hope it will be OK

 

Talking to the Maitre D is certainly a good idea, as is the birthday cake. Hopefully they speak good english/german/spanish, because my Italian is non-existent

 

THANK you for all of your input. Just wondering how much I would tip him appropriately? (sorry come from a non-tipping country so have no clue)

 

I only organised one shore ex, to Taormina. Because he was there once when he was young and would love to see it again. So I arranged for a private exc there. The rest we will just take it day by day, stroll around, see how he feels. Tunis we will skip and make use of the ship and (hopefully!) pools all day

 

Thanks again for all your input. Just looking for small ideas that can make our cruise even more memorable then it is going to be!

 

Someone know where to order sunshine? ;-)

 

Just! Can't! Stop! Using! Exclamation marks!! I am THAT excited

 

love from Holland

Cat

You sound like a wonderful daughter.

[BroncosFan2010]

Thank you very much guys, all very valuable advice. Especially the over-scheduling, I tend to do that a lot ;-)

 

I will also bring a game with us (good idea), take lost of pictures and do some one on one stuff. And as suggested earlier, I'll see the Maitre D to see if we can arrange some nirthday thing for him, although his real birthday is TODAY, the cruise is in a week orso

 

Thank you so much, these are the kinds of tips I was looking for

 

Most cruise ships have a "game room" with cards and board games if you don't want to bring a game with you and have it take up space.

[catharina]

Thanks again guys!

 

will definately bring a game for us to play on deck, good idea! We love yahtzee

 

decorating the doors is nice and handy! good idea!

 

and taking some memory book is also good.

 

Dad and I , on our holidays we always make a diary together. In turns we write what has happened that day and we make lots of silly drawings with it of the situation (neither of us can draw, which makes it even more laughable) These diaries are dear to me and we'll make one for sure this time!

 

In holland we also have books to fill in which are called: Dad is telling... of Mom is telling...

It is filled with all kinds of questions about their life and they fill in the blanks. Dad has almost finished his :-)

 

You are all so nice to give me free and easy tips to make for a great cruise! Thanks CCers!

[Cruise Gypsy]

Thanks again guys!

 

will definately bring a game for us to play on deck, good idea! We love yahtzee

 

We love Yahtzee too - it is a great game. Have a great cruise.:D