Surprising my wife with the cruise of her dreams

[autocruise]

Ahh missed that in prevess posts

[terrific_surprise]

Our Bon Voyage Experience yesterday (no, we did not sail to Mexico :() turned out beautifully, with times of tears and laughter, meeting new friends and reliving old memories of our last cruise on the Sapphire Princess. There were some mishaps along the way (including a major revelation that could totally expose everything I am writing here to DW), but I tried to stay in "cruise mode," and at the end of the day I returned home with a very happy (albeit exhausted, emotionally and physically) wife.

 

I'm still a bit in the post-cruise blues mode (after only four hours on the ship!) so it may be some time before I am able to process all of my thoughts and memories of our visit to the Sapphire Princess (especially when we have a busy week ahead).

 

For now, I just want to rewind to Friday and explain more about what happened after our visit to the Fanfare Fountains. The Red Car returned at the end of the noon fountain show, with DW still in shock and wiping away her tears.

 

We took the Red Car back down to the Acapulco restaurant, where DW asked for a table looking out over the water. During the delicious meal (in an atmosphere which was unbelievably hot for February) I sent some text messages to a secret contact to make sure the next phase of the surprise was ready. Then I led DW back to the Red Car station, telling her "now we're going to go to the other end of the Red Line."

 

When the Red Car arrived at its final station on 22nd Street, DW and I got out and walked across the street to the "Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles" warehouse. "I thought you might enjoy looking at what these vendors are selling," I told DW as we entered. Normally she loves browsing through little knick knacks, but she seemed dazed, showing little interest even when I pointed out items she would normally want to look at like little hair clips.

 

"Where is the ATM?" I asked one of the vendors. They pointed me toward the back of the warehouse.

 

DW later told me that she was thinking "why does he want to go to an ATM? There will probably be a service charge!" (We hate wasting even a dollar.)

 

Of course I wasn't really interested in the ATM, but my secret contact had told me that I could find her near the ATM. I had sent my secret contact our photograph so she was prepared for our approach.

 

When I saw her I said to DW "I would like to introduce you to my friend Charlotte. She has some things she would like to show you."

 

Several months ago I had contacted Charlotte after seeing her CharMel Jewelry business listed on the Craffed website. I was impressed by her "beautiful hand-made jewelry specializing in uniquely shaped natural stones and materials from God's Great Earth and Seas." I told Charlotte that I would be in town on February 15 and that I would like to see if she could make a special necklace and bracelet for my wife that would symbolize "Sapphire" and "Gold."

 

Charlotte wanted to give me more than one option, so she emailed me photos of two different necklace and bracelet sets she had made. I couldn't decide between the two, so I decided to wait and let DW decide.

 

A couple of days before our planned visit, Charlotte sent me an email asking whether she could make something else that would include more than just sapphire and gold. I replied "You know the symbolism (gold/sapphire) I am looking for. Beyond that I'm sure you know much more than I do about what looks good together." So on Valentine's Day Charlotte created a new necklace and bracelet set that I hadn't seen until Friday when we arrived at her booth.

 

After all of the effort Charlotte put into making these unique necklaces and bracelets, I worried that maybe DW wouldn't like any of them, or wouldn't want me to spend the money for them. I don't have much experience buying jewelry for DW. In fact, before we were engaged, I told her that I was against jewelry, and that I thought that a woman should focus on inner beauty, not outer beauty. On the day that I proposed to her, I had read her the proverb "Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." Eventually she convinced me that we should have wedding rings (yes, she really had to convince me!) but for many years I continued to be a wet blanket when it came to jewelry.

 

My appreciation for symbolism eventually overcame my aversion to jewelry. I really wanted my wife to have something that would forever symbolize this experience.

 

I was so relieved when DW seemed to immediately be enthralled with the three necklace/bracelet sets Charlotte had made. Charlotte brought the necklaces outside into the sunlight so that we could fully appreciate their sparkling radiance. DW eventually chose the set that Charlotte had made the day before, which I thought was particularly appropriate.

 

After DW made her selection, she left the booth so that I could finalize the deal with Charlotte. I pulled out a golden envelope and asked Charlotte to put it in the box with the jewelry. When our transaction was completed, I told DW "come back over here, I want to take a picture you with Charlotte."

 

After taking one picture, I exclaimed (as if I had just thought of it) "wait, you should be wearing the necklace and bracelet!"

 

DW opened up the jewelry box, chuckling when she saw the golden envelope. Then she put the necklace and bracelet on, and I took this photo.

 

As we walked out of the Crafted warehouse, DW showed her new jewelry to the girl at the pedestrian gate, who was so ecstatic at the sight of the sparkling jewels that she followed along with us for about 50 feet, going on and on about how beautiful it was! (Later I kidded with DW, saying "she was so excited, I think she must have thought we were going to give her your necklace!")

 

We made our way back to the Red Car station, where DW took the new golden envelope out. On the front I had written "YWI" (which means "You're Worth It!"). Inside was this less-than-ideal photo (but I thought it might be my last chance to use it, because we might soon be seeing it at the International Cafe on the Sapphire Princess):

 

On the back I had written "Thousands of people eagerly wait to experience her, but we get to go to the front of the line! – I'm eager for more time with you."

 

When we boarded the Sapphire Princess for the Bon Voyage Experience, the Future Cruise Consultant was so dazzled by DW's jewelry that she interrupted her planned talk to express her amazement at how brightly the necklace sparkled.

 

I didn't see the purchase of this jewelry as an object in itself. (Frankly, I was repulsed by the emphasis on purchasing jewelry on our Mexican Riviera cruise.) But I saw this as an opportunity to make a lasting memory -- and that is something I consider to be worth investing in. That's what this whole yearlong surprise (and especially the cruise) is about: making a memory that will remind us of our love for each other, no matter what lies ahead for us. What I'm writing here is kind of a "notebook," like the one in the movie The Notebook, which I hope will stay with us (and especially with my Dear Wife) until the end of our physical lives, even if our minds threaten to make us forget. Some horrible family tragedies in recent years, when it seemed that some of our loved ones forgot who they once were, have made me all the more conscious of the importance of planning for tangible ways of reminding ourselves of our love for each other -- no matter what uncharted waters we may face in the years ahead.

Edited February 17, 2013 by terrific_surprise
correction

[nyfarmgirl]

This is all so wonderfully thoughtful and romantic. Have you considered printing all of the posts from this thread and putting them in a notebook for your wife to read while you are on the cruise? I know if it were me, I would love to see all of the thoughts and behind the scenes stuff that has gone on behind my back. Trust me it will be better than any novel either of you could select.

 

Carla

[elcydcruiser]

Terrific_Surprise.....What a wonderful story you are sharing. I hope you enjoyed the BVE. I sure did. My friends enjoyed it too...except they got to stay on board and sail away to Mexico. I can hardly wait to read the rest of your journey. I hope DW is surprised.

[cruisemama5]

Shows in his signature they are sailing 3-27-13. So a little over a month away.

[terrific_surprise]

After picking up my wife's new "golden sapphire" necklace and bracelet Friday afternoon, we rode the Red Car back to where our van was parked, near the Acapulco restaurant. With the sun already low in the western sky, I knew that we would not have time to see all of the sights I had planned to show DW, but it didn't matter. ("It will give us something to look forward to later," I told myself.)

 

My exhausted DW was hoping for a chance to rest (after this busy day which had begun with her reliving so many childhood memories in her old neighborhoods and had then suddenly shifted to the emotional surprises of seeing the bridge, "red line," fountains and sparkling jewelry) but she could also sense that my plans for the day were not over, and the interior of our van had become too hot to even consider taking a nap. I tried not to push her too hard, but I couldn't resist the appeal of the setting sun, especially when some of the San Pedro area photo-clues I had given her included glorious sunsets.

 

She wearily sat in the driver's seat as I directed her through the streets of San Pedro. I think the stress of wondering what was going to happen contributed significantly to her exhaustion. The questions she asked repeatedly throughout the day (such as "what are the kids going to do? Don't you know that there are things I'm scheduled to do for the ministry next week? Is somebody going to cover for me?") showed that she was really wrestling with the possibility that we might be leaving on a cruise the next day. Hearing me constantly reply "just trust me" seemed to be of little comfort. She even called the kids and asked them if they knew when we would be back, but the kids refused to reveal anything. I did feel bad to put her through such torture, but I hoped that she would eventually consider the ultimate result of the surprise to have been worth the stress.

 

After I pointed her to the parking lot where the Korean Friendship Bell was supposed to be, I thought my GPS had made a mistake. But when we rounded a corner, it came into view on top of the hill.

 

"I recognize that!" DW immediately exclaimed, recalling the photo I had given her in September:

She quickly added, "I'm glad we're not going to China!" (We have some dear friends from China, but I don't think DW is ready to be a world traveler. Apparently the photo had worried her a bit.)

 

When we walked up to the Korean Friendship Bell, we were not only treated to the beautiful sunset, but as a bonus we were blessed with an astounding view of Catalina Island. It seemed like we could almost reach out and touch the island, which we recalled fondly as the first port on our first cruise. (Was this the clearest day of the year? It sure seemed that way.)

 

We took some photos around the Korean Friendship Bell, including one that seemed almost identical to the photo-clue I had given her. But this one was my favorite:

 

From the top of the hill, we could look down to see part of the Point Fermin Lighthouse, which DW somehow recognized from the top even though at this angle it was mostly obscured by the trees and looked quite different from the clue I had given her in November.

 

After kissing in the glow of the romantic sunset, we made our way back down through the streets of San Pedro, eventually returning to the Fanfare Fountains. DW had an hour or so to rest in the van before the evening show made her feel like dancing again. Although the evening show repeated the same songs we had already heard during the noon show, the lights in the fountain (and on the palm trees and bridge which towered over the scene) made it seem like a whole new experience.

 

We missed part of the evening show, taking the Red Car back to Acapulco in an attempt to get their half-priced appetizers, but when we walked in the door at 7:55 they told us that we were too late. As we returned to the Red Car for our final trip of the day, the conductor poked fun at us, saying "you two sure know how to get your dollar's worth!"

 

DW had already asked me several times throughout the day how early we would need to get up on Saturday, so I think she somehow sensed what was coming. (Maybe it was that clue I had given her last month about "greeting her with the sunrise.") Knowing how early the next day would begin (and eagerly looking forward to it), I encouraged DW to get to right to sleep, looking forward to her waking up to a dream come true.

[terrific_surprise]

Terrific_Surprise.....What a wonderful story you are sharing. I hope you enjoyed the BVE. I sure did. My friends enjoyed it too...except they got to stay on board and sail away to Mexico. I can hardly wait to read the rest of your journey. I hope DW is surprised.

 

We enjoyed sharing lunch in the MDR with you and your friends! That was a pleasant surprise to encounter fellow CC members (although it did worry me a bit that DW might find out something too soon). It must be fun to have the port so close to home.

[terrific_surprise]

This is all so wonderfully thoughtful and romantic. Have you considered printing all of the posts from this thread and putting them in a notebook for your wife to read while you are on the cruise? I know if it were me, I would love to see all of the thoughts and behind the scenes stuff that has gone on behind my back. Trust me it will be better than any novel either of you could select.

 

Carla

 

I definitely plan to have her read through this, although I'm not sure yet what form that will take. At this point I'm just hoping that she doesn't find all of this before the cruise begins!

[terrific_surprise]

At about 5:30 Saturday morning (just after I finished posting on CC) I told my wife that she could keep resting for a while, as I drove the van a short distance away. Looking at the Sapphire Princess' bridge cam, I could see that it was approaching the lights of Los Angeles. I knew from watching the bridge cam from time to time over the past year and a half that I needed to be in place by 5:45.

 

After driving to the far end of San Pedro's Ports O' Call Village, I told DW that she could still rest for a few more minutes. I wanted to wait as long as possible before inviting her to come out (because she does not enjoy cold air).

 

I got out and walked to the railing at the water's edge and began trying to figure out the best lighting and camera placement for the pictures I hoped to soon take. I considered driving somewhere further south so that we could actually see the ship coming in from the open ocean, but I decided that this location would suffice.

 

About 15 minutes later, as I looked toward the ocean side of the channel, I saw the Sapphire Princess coming toward me, noticing in particular the distinctive outline of the ship's bridge.

 

I ran back to the van and excitedly appealed to DW "come on out! I don't want you to miss the sunrise!"

 

She hurried back to the railing with me as we looked out over the water, but the Sapphire Princess was nowhere to be seen! Apparently I was hallucinating in my exuberance. Checking the bridge cam, I could see that the ship had not yet even passed the breakwater.

 

We looked out toward the eastern sky together as the colors slowly brightened. I hoped that DW wouldn't grow tired of waiting in the chilly air. "The sun hasn't quite risen yet, but it will soon," I encouraged her. "You won't want to miss it."

 

After about 15 minutes of waiting, I saw her again -- the Sapphire Princess coming toward me in the channel. But this time it was real!

 

DW was looking toward her, but could she see her? (You should be able to see the Sapphire Princess in all of these pictures -- if you look hard enough.)

 

At this point, I was glad that we hadn't tried to see the ship coming in off of the open ocean, because the buildings along the channel provided just enough cover to enhance the surprise that was about to happen.

 

DW later told me that at first she had figured that we were going to watch a ship come in, but by this time she had begun to wonder if we really were there just to watch the sunrise.

 

 

DW still hadn't seen the ship when I snapped the above photo. I put the camera on video mode to capture the moment when DW finally saw the ship.

 

 

Pretending that I was surprised by something I saw in the channel, I exclaimed "what's that?"

 

She turned around and responded with a gasp, "how did that sneak in?"

 

At this point my plan was for us to walk north, following the ship on her way to the dock. But she was going faster than I thought she would be, so instead we climbed in our van and drove back to the Fanfare Fountains parking lot.

 

"Wouldn't it be fun to watch it dock?" I asked DW.

 

She was interested in more than just "fun." She was looking for answers. "This was just a practice run, right?"

 

"We'll see."

 

"Should I put that jewelry on?"

 

"That would probably be appropriate," I replied (of course I had always intended for her to wear the new jewelry for the BVE). "I'm going to try to see if they will let us on the ship, and if we look too scuzzy they may not want us."

Edited February 19, 2013 by terrific_surprise
added video link

[terrific_surprise]

As we drove toward the dock trying to keep up with the Sapphire Princess, DW continued talking frantically.

 

"Where does it go now?" she asked.

 

I knew what she meant, but I didn't want her to know the answer yet. It would destroy some of the magic of this moment. So I just answered "down to the dock."

 

"But it's passing through heading where?" She really wanted an answer, but I wasn't going to give it to her yet (even though I had given her the cryptic answer in a clue about a month ago, when I wrote that the Sapphire was "returning from the land of your dreams before heading back to the land of our memories").

 

"We're not really going to..." her voice trailed off in disbelief. "We're not! You're lying!

 

"Do we just get to be on for a little while, and then get off or what?" she asked. "Do they have tours?" She was more perceptive than I thought she would be. I had never heard of a Bon Voyage Experience until I talked to Charles at Princess when I first began planning this, and I assumed that she hadn't heard of it either.

 

I replied with a question, as if I didn't know the answer: "do they allow that?"

 

We parked at the Fanfare Fountains and walked over to the dock just in time to see the Sapphire Princess making an amazingly quick turn around the corner just as the sun broke over the horizon.

 

 

 

 

"Really," DW continued "a cruise to Hawaii? Really? Remember we used to say we didn't even know if there was really a cruise to Hawaii." I was relieved to hear her say this, as it was an indication that she had not done much online research (but my sense of relief would be short-lived).

 

"That's really a lot of money to cruise to Hawaii," DW said.

 

"Is it?" I replied, as if I didn't know. "Maybe I will regret this."

 

"Maybe we're really not cruising to Hawaii," DW just couldn't stop talking. "You just want me to think we are? That would really be mean!"

 

As the Sapphire Princess finished docking, DW suddenly sounded upset: "I didn't put on my necklace and bracelet!"

 

"You'll have a chance for that," I replied calmly. "We have a little time to kill here before we see if they will let us on." By this time it was about 7 am.

 

"Let us on just for fun, right? We're not really going."

 

I winked, "Hopefully it will be fun!"

 

"I saw that I'm scheduled for Monday" DW continued (referring to our ministry schedule).

 

"I put you on the schedule for Monday. I didn't want to make it obvious."

 

"What's the earliest you can get on?" DW asked.

 

"It said 12:30," I replied, honestly reporting the misstatement printed on the Princess e-ticket (which DW had not yet seen). "But I think we should try to be there by 10. I don't want to miss a minute."

 

I had some plans to fill the next few hours, including something that I would eventually regret that revealed more than what I intended.

Edited February 19, 2013 by terrific_surprise
formatting, typos

[ilovemom]

Oh my gosh this is getting so exciting, I can't wait for the rest!

[terrific_surprise]

"There's a place here in San Pedro that serves Hawaiian french toast and Hawaiian omelettes," I told my wife after we watched the Sapphire Princess finish docking. "I don't know if you're in the mood for that, or if you would like to save your appetite for being on the ship."

 

She rolled her eyes at me in disbelief.

 

"You know, they have a lot of food on the ship," I continued, pretending not to notice her ridicule.

 

"Yeah, right," she laughed, still acting like this was just a big joke.

 

"Seriously," I said, "we can go to breakfast, then get cleaned up a little bit and see what happens."

 

"Clean up for what?" she asked.

 

"For getting on the ship!"

 

That wasn't enough for her. "You need to really let me know, because..." she paused, then added in a louder voice, "Because!!"

 

"I do have your bags packed," I answered weakly.

 

"Oh, I know," she laughed, "the kids were asking why we had so many suitcases." (I had hidden them in the back of the van, so I had thought she hadn't seen them.)

 

Her mood seemed to change a bit as she began singing "anticipation..." finally replying "that breakfast sounds good. What time are we supposed to get on the ship?"

 

"I'm eager to get on there," I confessed, "so I don't mind if we go at 10 and have to wait an hour and a half to get on."

 

"So we're really getting on the ship?"

 

"I'm gonna try, we'll see if they let us. 'I'm the captain's brother and I have an important message to give him,'" I pretended. "We'll figure out some way to get on there."

 

"Are you sure?" she asked, "just to look?"

 

"You know, people do stow away sometimes," I joked.

 

"We have the van, so we're really not going anywhere," DW declared. "We're just going to look around on the ship."

 

"I do have a second set of keys, you know," I countered. "You underestimate my ingenuity."

 

"Your ingenuity is just fine," she laughed. "I've never underestimated it."

 

Did I detect a hint of innuendo in her voice? Yes, she confirmed it (though I still didn't quite understand it).

 

As we made our way to the restaurant, I confessed that I had made a couple of secret side trips to San Pedro to investigate things during this past year, and pointed to some landmarks relating to some San Pedro clues that I had initially planned but later scrapped.

 

Soon we arrived at the Omelette and Waffle Shop on Gaffey St. In my nervousness I butchered the name, calling it the "awful shop." I winced in response to my goof, saying "maybe we shouldn't eat here after all" (but I'm glad we decided not to let that stop us).

 

After we chose a table, we were both surprised when we looked up to see a picture of one the clues I had given her, the Korean Friendship Bell we had visited the night before. (It would have been hilarious to have seen DW's reaction if we hadn't visited it first, but instead it cast kind of a romantic mood for the breakfast.)

 

 

"You told me that we would have a good time after [our busy ministry time]," she said, explaining why she still didn't believe that we could be going on the ship yet.

 

"Well, you know," I responded, "I have been known to throw out a misleading clue from time to time just to confuse things a little."

 

"Yeah, you're doing a good job of that," she sighed.

 

She devoured her Hawaiian omelette, telling me that I should make her one at home. (I enjoy making unusual omelettes for her, but I told her that it never occured to me to put pineapple in an omelette. That would have been a great clue earlier in this process.)

 

Then came a moment I would later regret. It wasn't an accident. No, it was something I planned long ago. But it had unforeseen consequences.

 

DW rarely uses a computer, but she frequently gets online through her phone. So I borrowed her phone and installed the "Ship Mate" app. It did worry me for a moment when I saw that it listed the names of all of the various Princess ships, but I ignored the voice of caution in my head and selected Sapphire Princess, thinking that she would only notice the information on this one ship. After surviving so many previous clues where I had worried that she might find out too much through some online research, I was no longer too concerned about the dangers of her curiosity.

 

After breakfast, we returned to the van and made our way back to the Fanfare Fountains parking lot, which was now in the shadow of the Sapphire Princess.

 

"Is this a last-minute if-there's-room-to-get-on kind of thing?" DW asked.

 

"You mean standby?" I replied in question, without answering her question. I doubt that this is even possible with cruises, but I was glad that she raised the question.

 

"Is this a dream and I'm gonna wake up?" she asked, sounding quite sincere.

 

"It feels kind of like a dream," I laughed in agreement.

 

"I've had these dreams where I have been all excited thinking 'wow, we're going on a cruise!'" she explained "and then I wake up going 'awww....'"

 

"Was it fun to have those dreams or was it disappointing?" I asked.

 

"It wasn't fun bringing [our 12 year old son]," DW said with a look of frustration "and then realizing 'what am I going to do with him?'"

 

"You dreamed that too? I seriously had that dream too!" (Except in my dream, we had DS#9 with us on the day of the BVE but we couldn't board the ship with him. But I couldn't explain this to DW yet.)

 

"Be careful what you wish for," I chided DW, "it might come true!"

 

After parking the van, I pulled the suitcases out of the back of the van. By now it was about 8:30 am.

 

"What kind of clothes should I wear?" DW asked.

 

"Smart casual," I responded, parroting the instructions Princess gives, "like we're going to a nice restaurant."

 

"Should I wear this bracelet too?" she asked, referring to the empty charm bracelet I had given her on Valentine's Day.

 

I really wanted to say "yes," but I told her truthfully that it probably didn't go well with the "golden sapphire" necklace and bracelet I had given her on Friday, so she left it off.

 

"We're not in a hurry, right?" DW asked as she looked through her clothes. She didn't even recognize many of the clothes she had set aside months ago, asking me to put them away for the surprise.

 

"No, we've got time!" I assured her. "Plenty of time to just relax and soak it in! That doesn't mean I'm not anxious to get started, but we're not in a hurry."

 

When she worried about whether she would need various items, I just put them in my backpack, explaining that we wouldn't have access to our luggage until later in the day. I even put all of the golden envelopes in the backpack. In the end my heavy backpack became an irritating burden during our brief time on the ship, but I suppose it was a necessary part of the ruse.

 

"I didn't even bring my other necklace," DW pouted, referring to the necklace we had bought together for our 25th anniversary on our Sapphire Princess cruise.

 

"Well, you kind of blew that," I shrugged.

 

"No," DW shot back, "you did!

 

"Plus," she continued, "we didn't finish the puzzle."

 

I tried to satisfy this concern by explaining "we could finish it on the cruise," but she wasn't buying it.

 

"We're not going on that big ship, are we?" DW said, slipping back into disbelief. "You're just taking me on a little ship. We're going to go canoeing or something, right?

 

"I know!" DW suddenly announced, referring to a key clue I had given her in August, "kayaking!"

 

"Right," I sarcastically replied, "we're going to kayak right alongside the Sapphire Princess."

 

I hope it doesn't seem like I am taking too long to get to the point on these CC posts, but it is taking me a while to go through my notes of this experience, and I am enjoying the process of reliving what happened, anticipating the day when DW will be able to relive all of this too. In my next post, she will finally learn the truth (at least some of it).

[olemissreb]

OK I can understand wanting your DW to be able to relive the experience through your writing, but the suspense is killing me! I'm dying here!! PLEASE get on with it and let us know your wife's reaction to the BVE and the news that you will be cruising to Hawaii!!!!:D

[terrific_surprise]

Sorry this is taking so long! For those like Olemissreb who want me to cut to the chase, I can assure you that there is a happy ending (at least so far -- although it didn't all go the way I had hoped it would.). However, the revelation didn't happen all at once, so it is hard for me to summarize at this point.

After we finished changing our clothes and putting some "essentials" in my backpack (most of which we never touched), I told my wife to stay at the Fanfare Fountains while I reparked the van. I didn't say that I was bringing the luggage to be loaded on the ship, but I definitely wanted to give her that (false) impression (and I would later learn that it worked).

 

While I reparked the van down by the Acapulco restaurant, DW was sitting by the fountains posting updates on Facebook. Over the previous two days she had been posting pictures of where we were, with the caption "Where in the world is Terri....?" (I might as well use her real name, which is the inspiration for her nickname "Terrific," which in turn of course is the inspiration for my CC username.)

 

As she waited by the fountains, she posted "Could this really be happening? I am a little skweemish!"

 

I took the long way when I returned from reparking the van, so that DW might think that I had been at the cruise terminal, but she didn't even notice.

 

I was still on the other side of the fountains beyond the fence when I saw a man walk up to her and stop to say something. Later I saw what she posted after this encounter: "A man just walked past me and asked 'are you ok , miss?' I smiled and said 'yes!' He must have noticed my tears of joy!"

 

When I finally reached her, it was about 10:30 (later than I had intended, but I still hoped that we wouldn't miss a minute of our allotted time on the ship). She was finishing up her Facebook post, but I was anxious for us to board the ship. I took her hand and we walked together through the gate to the doors where we could enter the building.

 

After passing the luggage loading area, we came to a door where a man called out "welcome folks, I just need your boarding passes in your hands before you can go in the door."

 

Unable to hide the boarding passes any longer, I pulled them out of my backpack and handed one to DW. (Until this moment she didn't even know I had boarding passes.)

 

She thought it was fake, insisting "that's not really a boarding pass."

 

"Oh yes it is!" I replied.

 

She laughed as the man verified her boarding pass, saying "you paid him off!" Then she just stood there for a moment.

 

"Come on in!" I called to her. Turning to a female port employee who was ushering people through the door, I explained "she's a little stunned."

 

"Oooh," the port employee shouted as DW made her way through the door, "we're gonna have some fun!"

 

We then went to the little tables to fill out the health forms. While DW filled hers out, she continued to say that the whole thing was fake (even the health forms)! I wasn't sure what to write down for the cabin number on the form, so finally I just wrote "BVE" on both forms, thinking that DW might think this abbreviation in fact referred to a stateroom.

 

From there we went up the escalator, where we met another woman in uniform.

 

"I'm just going to take a look at your boarding pass," she said. After we handed them to her, she replied "lovely!"

 

I thought that was our cue to move on past her. Not so fast!

 

Still looking at our passes, she asked "what deck are we one? What's our stateroom number?"

 

Uh oh.

 

"Bon Voyage," I replied, hoping that would satisfy her (and that it wouldn't reveal too much to DW).

 

"You're Bon Voyage? Ok, all right, fine...." she continued.

 

"Please just let us move on," I thought. But she wasn't finished.

 

"Both of you are Bon Voyage, you're not sailing," she stated, as if she was telling us something we didn't know (of course in DW's case, she was).

 

It wasn't enough for her to say it just once. Pointing us toward the appropriate counter, she put the final nail in the coffin of my ruse, announcing to DW "You're just here for the day."

 

Turning to DW, I sighed "I tried. Oh well, now you can breathe easy and just enjoy the day. I should have paid her off!"

 

DW replied that she was already suspicious when she couldn't tell by looking at the boarding pass where the cruise was going.

 

After we handed over our birth certificates and IDs at the counter, the woman on the other side quickly responded "I'll be right back with your keys."

 

"Keys!" I said, looking at DW, "she's gonna bring us our keys! If only that other lady hadn't said that, that would have sealed the deal, wouldn't it?"

 

"Yeah," DW laughed.

 

The Princess representative quickly found DW's paperwork, but for a couple of agonizing minutes she couldn't find mine! After she found mine, she gave us each a letter explaining the Bon Voyage Experience and directed us on to the security checkpoint.

 

If DW had read the BVE letter before hearing "you're just here for the day," the letter would also have given away the fact that we weren't sailing. (But I might have been able to snatch it away from her if she hadn't already known.)

 

I had heard the Princess representative say that our BVE numbers were 3 and 4, so I was surprised to see 30-40 people waiting in the area where we were told to sit. I later learned that most of them were not BVE but "in transit" (whatever that means).

 

After only 10 minutes or so of waiting, the group began boarding, so we hadn't lost a minute on the ship!

 

Security photos were taken, but the ship's photographer was nowhere to be seen. (I guess he hadn't setup for taking photos yet.)

 

When we stepped onto the Sapphire Princess, the Future Cruise Consultant welcomed us, asking us to wait for her nearby. When I saw that we were standing in the doorway of Club Fusion, I told DW "this is where we had our dancing lessons! Let's go in here to wait!"

 

As we approached the closest Club Fusion chairs, I quickly slipped a golden envelope onto the table nearby. But when DW sat down, she was several chairs away from where I had put the envelope, so I had to encourage her to move down a little.

 

When she found the envelope, she immediately noticed that it was bulkier than usual.

 

On the front of the envelope I had written "To my Sapphire Princess."

 

Inside was this photo:

DW figured that I put it there to make her think we were sailing to Mexico. (Of course by now it was too late for that to work.)

 

On the back I had written: "The Vincent Thomas bridge was built by John A. Roebling's Sons Co. and completed in 1963. – Hey, baby, I love you!" (I soon discovered that DW didn't even realize that the nearby bridge was named after Vincent Thomas, but this final bridge clue was supposed to provide the answer to the previous bridge clues.)

 

I didn't put a puzzle piece in the envelope this time. Instead, this bracelet charm was inside:

 

I intended for this charm to symbolize Sapphire Princess (with her later learning the significance of the Golden aspect). I know that the little jewel is not the right shade to be a sapphire, but I thought that it was close enough to symbolize it, and DW seemed to agree. The jewel is actually an Aquamarine, which happens to be DW's birthstone, so it is still symbolically appropriate.

 

(If you suspect that I am preparing DW for a transition in the purpose of the golden envelopes, your suspicions are correct.) :cool:

Edited February 21, 2013 by terrific_surprise
typo

[Mrs.C05]

Oh man, I can't wait for her reaction of you guys STAYING on the ship!!!! Ahhh! Com'on Mr. Terrific!!!

[terrific_surprise]

When my wife announced this morning that the Sapphire Princess is back in Los Angeles, I realized just how late I am in finishing my CC report of what happened during our BVE last Saturday! Sorry, I didn't intend to drag this out so long! All too often, "life" just seems to get in the way of my CC postings!

 

 

After boarding the Sapphire Princess last Saturday morning, we had about 30 minutes to explore the ship, going to the colorful Piazza to grab a pre-lunch snack from the International Cafe before the dining room opened for lunch. (I just posted a separate BVE review which provides more details about the food and activities we enjoyed on board.)

 

Sharing our table at the BVE lunch were three ladies who were also a part of the Bon Voyage Experience (although two of them were staying on board for the cruise). Throughout our time on the ship, DW told almost everybody she encountered that we would be back on the ship in late March to sail to Hawaii. I had not yet actually told her the date we would be sailing, but she apparently assumed it would be near her March 27 birthday. Neither did I did tell that we would be sailing again on the Sapphire Princess, but it was natural for her to come to that conclusion after all of the clues I had given her. (I do admit that I was hoping that for the present time she would think that we would again be cruising on the Sapphire Princess, because I wanted to delay the revelation of the "Golden Princess" as the final big surprise. Nevertheless, I had unintentionally already set the stage for DW to prematurely discover the Golden Princess.)

 

DW enjoyed getting to know the three ladies who were dining with us and asking them questions about cruising. It wasn't long before I realized that one of our dining companions was Nonnie (CC username Irishnana). Eventually it became apparent that the other two ladies (Janet and Elcydcruiser) were also on CC. Dining with CC members made me a bit nervous, as I was not prepared to reveal my CC writings to DW yet.

 

One of the ladies' major topics of conversation was a less-than-ideal cruise to Hawaii, where the rough seas reportedly even resulted in broken bones. Thankfully, we were assured that we would likely experience kinder and gentler seas in late March.

 

When we finally left the lunch table, one of our dining companions asked for my CC username. Pointing to my wife I nervously replied, "well, she is 'terrific' and I am surprising her, so maybe you can figure it out from there." (Later I encountered the ladies outside of DW's presence and made sure they knew my full username.)

 

With just a little effort, I'm sure that DW can now locate my CC writings, but I'm hoping that she will be too busy in the coming weeks to take the time to look into it. Or maybe she will just want to wait until I ask her to read it. Time will tell.

 

After lunch, we made our way to the terrace pool, soaking in the view of snow-capped Mt. Baldy framed below the Vincent Thomas Bridge -- a view so amazingly similar to the photo clue I had given DW on our Mt. Baldy hike in June. The significance of Mt. Baldy in DW's childhood memories as well as the role it played in this year of surprises made this view like a velvet ribbon tied around a pretty package, so we took plenty of time to soak in the view and take pictures from various locations.

 

 

After a brief visit to Skywalker's, we passed by a shuffleboard court, where I asked DW if she had time for a game of shuffleboard, but she opted out (an experience which happened to correspond perfectly with a clue I had given her in November).

 

Making our way to the Sun Deck, we briefly took in the view of the Movies Under the Stars screen (which had not been a feature of the Sapphire Princess on our 2010 cruise). Then we attempted to reenact that special photo of the two of us with the Vincent Thomas Bridge behind us, the photo which had been taken from this same deck on embarkation day in 2010 and eventually became the basis of the puzzle I have been giving her one piece at a time throughout the year.

 

After we went back down to the Promenade Deck, I took some photos of DW at various places which mentioned "Hamilton," the home port of the Sapphire Princess.

 

 

With all of the conversations over the past year relating to "Hamilton," I had thought that this would have been one of the funnier moments of our BVE, but in actuality DW did not seem to be the least bit surprised. She was curious, however, about why I asked her to pose for a photo by the Mitsubishi sign.

 

We had a brief but romantic walk around the front of the Promenade Deck, looking down upon the area where we had watched the Sapphire Princess docking at sunrise.

 

Before we had left home on Valentine's Day, I had told the kids how to find the webcam for the Sapphire Princess' Hearts and Minds Chapel, thinking that it would be fun for them to see us on the webcam while we were there. Unfortunately, the doors to the chapel were locked during the BVE, so I never phoned the kids to tell them to look for us. Nevertheless, they later told me that they did look at the webcam, noticing an elderly couple looking in the door.

 

During our final BVE hour we visited the International Cafe again and then ordered pizza at Alfredo's, choosing of course the selection dubbed "Sapphire Princess."

 

Throughout our brief time on the ship, DW made friends with several Princess employees, always enthusiastically asking them if they would still be on the ship at the end of March when we would (supposedly) be back on board. (Since childhood, DW has been good at quickly making friends with strangers.)

 

Our waitress at Alfredo's was one of the ones who said that she would still be on board in late March, so as we left, my wife told her "we'll be seeing you again soon." I did feel a little bad about that -- but not bad enough to break the news to DW that there were no plans to see our "love boat" Sapphire Princess (or any of her new friends) again.

 

 

As we returned to our van, I wondered how long it would take DW to find the next surprise-clue I had prepared for her. I didn't have to wait long.

Edited February 23, 2013 by terrific_surprise
punctuation

[strummer]

Hi There,

 

I have only read your first post but I have to say that I am in awe about the thought and planning you are putting into this. The love and respect for your wife is wonderful and I can't wait to read the rest of your post - I have a lot to get through :D

[Mrs.C05]

I lost track....when is the actual cruise again?

 

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2

[terrific_surprise]

Hi There,

 

I have only read your first post but I have to say that I am in awe about the thought and planning you are putting into this. The love and respect for your wife is wonderful and I can't wait to read the rest of your post - I have a lot to get through :D

 

Enjoy the journey (I know I have)! Don't be surprised if it becomes a bit overwhelming at times. :rolleyes:

[terrific_surprise]

I lost track....when is the actual cruise again?

 

One month from today: Wednesday, March 27 (it looks like that will be a few days after you return from your anniversary cruise)!

Edited February 27, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

In spite of the fact that I have neglected to post on CC for the past several days (having far too many distractions from "real life"), I still have more to tell about what happened on February 16 after our beautiful Sapphire Princess Bon Voyage Experience.

 

Although after we left the ship we seemed to be the only non-employees in the whole building, we felt that a Bon Voyage Experience isn't really complete without saying "bon voyage" to those who are sailing. We never witnessed the days of people cheering and throwing confetti as the ship sails away (except for seeing it on Love Boat reruns) but some shore-side excitement seemed to us to be appropriate.

 

So we made our way back down to the parking lot of the Acapulco restaurant and waited for the ship to sail by. When the Sapphire Princess approached, my wife enthusiastically waved and cheered at those who were sailing by. (Did any of you on board wonder who that crazy lady screaming from the shore was?)

 

After the huge ship passed by, we wanted to see her one more time, so we drove down Harbor Blvd. to the end of Miner St. where we watched the Sapphire Princess make her way out onto the open ocean.

 

At that point it would have been nice to visit some more San Pedro area sights, watch the sunset together again, and maybe even take in another evening Fanfare Fountains show, but reality (and our kids) began to call us home, and DW was getting tired. So we got back on the Interstate, leaving our cruise ship memories behind in anticipation of our cruise ship memories which will happen soon.

 

As DW drove down the freeway, I wondered what would happen now to the Fanfare CD I had made her, which had been such an important part of the yearlong surprise process. Now that the fountains had unlocked the meaning of the mysterious songs, would she want to listen to the CD again, or would she be tired of it? I hoped that it would bring back pleasant memories for her to hear the songs again, but I wanted to wait to see what her attitude would be about it, so I refrained from suggesting that we listen to it.

 

About an hour down the road, I was pleasantly surprised when she switched from the radio to the CD, obviously wanting to enjoy the experience of listening to the fountain songs again. But after listening to the first 12 songs on the CD, she was astonished to hear the Colonel Bogey March where she expected to hear Stars and Stripes Forever.

 

"I don't remember this song being on this CD!" she exclaimed just a few seconds into the song.

 

I pretended to be puzzled by what she said, acting like she should have heard this song a hundred times as she listened to the CD over the months. (After all, they're both marching band songs with a similar sound.)

 

"I would have remembered if this song had been on there!" she insisted, going on to tell me how the Colonel Bogey March relates to a hilarious story dating back to her days in a college marching band. (Of course, I already knew the story -- I had intentionally switched the songs on the CD to trigger this memory.)

 

Eventually I revealed that the song might be a clue. As she responded with a dazed look in her eyes, I chuckled "I never said that today would be the end of the clues, did I?"

 

Throwing her head back in exasperation, she sighed "I'm too tired!"

 

Her frustration would soon turn to delight as When You Wish Upon a Star began to play, followed the Hawaiian War Dance, the Hukilau song and Little Brown Gal (the two Hawaiian songs she sang in her childhood). Then she heard the Hawaiian version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World." These songs (except for the Hawaiian War Dance) had not been on the original CD.

 

(Of course I didn't actually change the original Fanfare CD, but I actually made a whole new CD which just appeared to be the same as the original. A few of the songs on the original CD had become a bit irritating to listen to repeatedly, so I removed them from the new version to make room for the new selections.)

 

The CD finished playing just in time for us to get home. I fell asleep that night satisfied that I had accomplished my mission: the weekend surprise had revealed just enough about the coming cruise to my wife, leaving a few key facts (like the name of the ship) for the final surprise.

 

Or so I thought.

Edited February 27, 2013 by terrific_surprise
typos

[olemissreb]

Does DW at least know what date you are leaving? Or is that still yet to come? With 28 days to go, I'd be wanting to start packing! :)

[terrific_surprise]

Does DW at least know what date you are leaving? Or is that still yet to come? With 28 days to go, I'd be wanting to start packing! :)

 

She knows the date (March 27, her birthday), the destination (Hawaii), the ship (Golden Princess) -- there's not much she doesn't know now (as I'm about to explain). I did have her bags packed before our Valentine's getaway, but now she has plenty of time to check what I did and repack. :)

[terrific_surprise]

The morning after our Sapphire Princess Bon Voyage Experience, I awoke with satisfaction, silently congratulating myself for successfully carrying out my plan. The BVE had revealed just enough about the coming cruise while continuing to keep some key facts (like the name of the Golden Princess) hidden. But in just a few minutes I would realize that I had committed one major blunder that would throw the future of my planned clues into confusion.

 

My wife asked "is it ok if we play 20 questions?"

 

I had a bad feeling about this. "Umm, sure," I slowly responded, wishing I could find a way out of this, "but I can't promise to answer all of them."

 

Her first question got right to the point: "Will our cruise be on the Sapphire Princess?" During the BVE, she had told several Sapphire Princess crew members she would be seeing them soon, so when she asked this question I knew that I was in trouble.

 

I tried to act like her question was silly, replying "Why would you ask that?"

 

"I was looking at some of the other Princess cruise ships," she explained, "and I noticed that there is a 'Golden' Princess." :eek:

 

(As I mentioned on August 22, DW had asked if there was a Golden Princess when we were looking at a model of the Diamond Princess in the Princess Cruises building, but I had somehow sidestepped the question, and it had never come up again.)

 

Even though I knew it was too late to keep playing my little game, I have been doing this for so many months that I couldn't seem to stop quite yet. I just had to flop around for a while, like a fish that has just been pulled out of the water. "Wow!" I exclaimed, "how did you find that?"

 

"It was on that app you loaded on my phone."

 

I had loaded the Ship Mate app on her phone on the morning of the BVE, foolishly continuing to install it even when I had seen that it mentions the Golden Princess. "So are there really 20 questions," I choked out, "or was that the only one?"

 

I hadn't answered her question, so I guess I can't blame her for not answering mine (as if it mattered). "So you're not going to tell me?"

 

"Don't you like surprises? I have to have something left to surprise you with!" Even though I knew now that she knew, I thought maybe I might be able to convince her to play along.

 

Then she really let me have it. "I also noticed," she said with smug confidence, "that the Golden Princess is sailing to Hawaii on my birthday."

 

"Oh, man, you really have figured it all out, haven't you!" :o

 

"That was so nice of you to work that out with them!" DW kidded, acting as if I had personally arranged for the Golden Princess to sail to Hawaii on March 27.

 

I could see that there was no point in playing this game anymore. So I finally opened up, revealing some of the things I had been waiting so long to say, such as how I was initially disappointed when I saw that the Sapphire Princess' Hawaii schedule wouldn't work for us, but that when I saw that the Golden Princess had a cruise leaving on her birthday, I decided then to focus the year of clues around the "golden" theme.

 

I also explained that this was the reason for the "Golden Sapphire" symbolism in the jewelry I had given her for the Bon Voyage Experience. I went on to tell her about some of the wonderful things I have learned about this cruise, especially about Dave and Leialoha of Elua.

 

Even though I had already admitted so much to her, I then tried to get back into the "game," hoping to retain just a smidgen of mystery. "But I'm still not officially admitting this to you, because I still have some clues planned. You don't want me to throw away my clues do you?"

 

Sounding a little perturbed, she asked "Why did you let me tell those people on the Sapphire that I would be seeing them again in a few weeks?"

 

"Sorry about that," I replied. "I felt really bad to do that, but I didn't want to give it all away yet."

 

Her mood quickly improved as she said "It's nice that I know something now, so that I can count down the days."

 

I explained how I have been counting down the days for so long, telling her that I could remember when "nine months until the cruise" seemed like such a big milestone.

 

Although I have obviously invested so much in this surprise, I think I have come to the conclusion that surprising your wife is overrated. If you are giving her something you know she will really enjoy, it may be better to give her more time to anticipate exactly what is going to happen. In this case, I think the BVE gave me the best of both worlds, with so many months leading up to this surprise, but now plenty of time to anticipate the coming Golden Princess cruise. Nevertheless, if I could go back and keep myself from installing that Ship Mate app on her phone, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to resist trying to extend the surprise, as I had envisioned her first seeing the name "Golden Princess" as the ship came into port on the morning of her birthday.

 

Just when I thought she had it all figured out, she asked "so how does this relate to renting a car in Las Vegas?" :confused:

 

"Are you serious," I laughed, "or are you just playing with me?"

 

She sounded quite serious, asking again "Didn't you say that we were going to rent a car?"

 

"Well I guess if you're serious about that, I'm going to leave you in suspense about something!"

 

"I might be able to figure it out," she smiled.

[crazy8mom]

Just discovered your post - what a wonderful birthday gift! Also think it is fantastic that you have 11 children! My husband and I have 8 so I can relate to shocking others!! Look forward to reading about your cruise.