Crashing a Cruise....suggestions?

[nlsoftly]

What a great idea! I would totally love being surprised by friends or family members on a cruise...or surprising one of them.

 

Whatever you do, if plans gang agley and you accidentally run into them before planned, be prepared to handle it. I'm thinking, if you overlap at embarkation and figure there is no way they will not see you, you might walk up and ask for change for a ten for a tip...something normal with maximum zing.

 

Have FUN!

[Sherlock43031]

more information is needed like age, etc.. but, generally surprising someone who thought they were getting away may ruin their vacation. could be they have plans that might be better not known to family. I would be interested to hear age and marriage status of everyone.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Sherlock43031

[alexspepa]

more information is needed like age, etc.. but, generally surprising someone who thought they were getting away may ruin their vacation. could be they have plans that might be better not known to family. I would be interested to hear age and marriage status of everyone.

 

jeez - she did not ask for advice on whether to go or not, they have already booked. She also obviously included the phrase - And yes, they WILL LOVE IT so as to avoid negative responses.

 

by the way I love the suggestion to act as their waiter!...or perhaps you could sneak into one of the many photo ops you will be bombarded with.

 

Have fun!...

[JustCruiseMe]

I think that will be fun! They won't be looking for you so it will be a bit easier to hide until your reveal but I think asking if they plan on being there when they first open is a good idea!

 

I love my family but we don't do vacations together well. We tried that this year and it doesn't work for us. Not enough easy going people in my family I think (I'm one). BIL only wants to be with his grandson an no one else, niece gets mouthy with her mom, etc....so I prefer to go with just me and sweetie.

[CaroleSS]

My family cruises together on a regular basis (our largest group was 13!!), and we are quite happy doing so. Others may not like it but, the OP said the brothers will LOVE IT, so I think she knows them better than we do.

 

I DO think you should arrange to sit together. You might call/email the cruise line about 2 - 3 weeks ahead of time (around then they will be doing seating) and ask to be put at the same table.

 

Maybe show up with a bottle of 'bubbly'......<knock><knock> "room service". Or somehow finding them during the sail away and bring them some fru-fru drink and have a nice toast together.

 

Like the idea of reserving a table for 4 at a specialty restaurant for the first night.

 

You guys will have a great time! Enjoy your family!!

[michelle1836]

The BEST way is to tell them you need their booking number because your mom & dad wanted to send them a Bon Voyage gift. Then Call your cruise rep and have them link up your booking numbers for dinner. That'd be the best way to surprise them. Ken

 

good idea! do you live near them? maybe you can go to there house and have them log on and pretend you want to know about the cruise because you want to go on one in the future. if you get their cabin number/booking # you can link your dining times

[xxoocruiser]

My sister and I have secretly booked the same cruise as our brothers.

We would love to just pop in on them on embarkation day. :eek:

 

Hoping we don't run into each other at the port check-in; we plan on keeping a low profile until we are underway. We know which deck they are on but not the room numbers and we don't think the "officials" at guest services will share this info.

 

Keeping the Cruise Line, Port and Date a secret ...... any suggestions on how best to surprise them? And yes, they WILL LOVE IT:D

 

 

The cruise line cannot give out cabin numbers so don't even ask. There are privacy laws that the cruise line must abide by for the safety and protection of all it's passengers.

 

You may think they will love it however your brothers might just be wanting it to be a boys cruise without sisters present.. Personally if my brother wanted me on the same cruise he would have asked me in the first place. I'm guessing that your brothers may never have asked you or your sister.

[Athankfulheart]

If you are cruising Carnival and can get their booking number ( under the guise of sending a BV gift?) then you can go to Manage my Booking > Quick booking access and input that number, last name, birthdate, ship and date of sailing and it will pull up their booking for you. That will show the cabin number. You wont be able to link dining without knowing the last 4 of the credit card that they booked with. If you can link dining then there are no worries because your linked dining does not show up anywhere on the website when you sign in. Have fun :)

[littleville]

Thanks to everyone for suggestions and great ideas.

We are not sure if our brothers are Cruise Critic Members; hence our low-key, little-info query. If they see this the flags will go up for sure.

They are kinda-frequent cruisers and have pestered us to join them in the past.....we have always joked about it.

 

We appreciate ALL points of view.:)

 

I can just imagine some of you will be looking over your shoulders

if you have sisters that may pull a sneak on you aboard ship.:D

 

Anyway, we are really excited about this and will update as plans unfold.

Keep the ideas coming!

 

[notentirelynormal]

Sorry but I know I wouldn't want someone to crash my cruise. Of course you know your brothers so they may not mind.

 

Hope they weren't planing some down time away from their sisters.

 

Don

 

Why do people always post this kind of thing. She already said that they would love the surprise. YOU, you wouldn't like it. So what did you add to this thread except your own feelings. You contributed nothing but negativity. The OP was asking for positive advise.

[Langley Cruisers]

I can just imagine some of you will be looking over your shoulders if you have sisters that may pull a sneak on you aboard ship. :D

 

You're so fun and you have a great attitude, despite the negativity we all encountered here! I hope you have a great time, and please come back and tell us what you did! Some new members post here and then we never hear from them again. Come on back!

[CaroleSS]

Keep the ideas coming!

 

OK....here's an idea that I did with my family. How about breaking up the girls vs the boys and doing a shipboard scavenger hunt?? The list I have would need to be modified, but it collects things and photos (the intent was to have fun memories of the cruise). Which ever team gets the most 'items' wins (we just did mouse pads for everyone). We thought it was fun.

 

Not sure what line/ship you are on, but how about excursions? Maybe you all could do something together that you'd never considered before - paragliding or ATVs or horseback riding?

[Amy from Delaware]

Do the brothers know about cruisecritic? You could tell them, and show them how to get to their roll call. Then YOU go onto the roll call with a name they won't recognize, "get to know" them, and plan to meet onboard, and/or share an excursion. ;)

[zoncom]

Cannot believe no one has mentioned the possibility Bros are bringing ladies with them. Would be embarassing.

[lady_cruiser]

I would love for my brother and 'sister'-in-law to pop in on my sister and I and surprise us for one of our cruises. But at the same time I can understand how some people prefer to cruise away from family and friends for a week or two.

 

OP some of the suggestions were great; tell them you love getting to the terminal early and are just wondering what time they get there. Or just come out and ask them what their cabin number is because you want to send them a surprise. Of course we know the surprise is you and your sister showing up but they don't have to know that.

 

Good luck and happy cruising.

[TrqoisWtrs]

OP - I think it sounds like a blast! This from someone who was just surprised on my cruise!

 

DH and I sailed on Valor 11/10. Since we leave San Juan at 10pm, we were in our cabin around 6pm or so getting ready to go eat. A knock came at the door. I opened it thinking it was our cabin steward coming to introduce himself. Imagine my shock :eek: when it was our two friends from back home! They had flown down to join me and hubby on the cruise as a surprise for my 50th b-day. It was so cool. For that split second you stand there and your brain doesn't comprehend what you are seeing. :D We have gone on group trips with them in the past, so this was just so awesome. Guess it was in the works for 4 months and I had no clue. :)

 

So go and enjoy your surprise! And yes, keep us posted. :)

[Amy from Delaware]

OP - I think it sounds like a blast! This from someone who was just surprised on my cruise!

 

DH and I sailed on Valor 11/10. Since we leave San Juan at 10pm, we were in our cabin around 6pm or so getting ready to go eat. A knock came at the door. I opened it thinking it was our cabin steward coming to introduce himself. Imagine my shock :eek: when it was our two friends from back home! They had flown down to join me and hubby on the cruise as a surprise for my 50th b-day. It was so cool. For that split second you stand there and your brain doesn't comprehend what you are seeing. :D We have gone on group trips with them in the past, so this was just so awesome. Guess it was in the works for 4 months and I had no clue. :)

 

So go and enjoy your surprise! And yes, keep us posted. :)

 

Oh, it's so nice to hear from someone who was the recipient of a surprise! Usually we never hear how these things turn out. I'm glad you were pleasantly surprised!!

[Sherlock43031]

jeez - she did not ask for advice on whether to go or not, they have already booked. She also obviously included the phrase - And yes, they WILL LOVE IT so as to avoid negative responses.

 

by the way I love the suggestion to act as their waiter!...or perhaps you could sneak into one of the many photo ops you will be bombarded with.

 

Have fun!...

 

of course they think their brothers will love it..

[jamessemaj]

Some like surprises like this, some don't. OP says there is no problem with that, but I am one who doesn't like surprises, and twice I have been surprised by people who thought there was no problem. I went along with it out of courtesy for what they thought was a nice gesture. They still don't know that I was uncomfortable and didn't like it. You never know for sure.

Edited December 4, 2013 by jamessemaj

[Aldeya]

Some like surprises like this, some don't. OP says there is no problem with that, but I am one who doesn't like surprises, and twice I have been surprised by people who thought there was no problem. I went along with it out of courtesy for what they thought was a nice gesture. They still don't know that I was uncomfortable and didn't like it. You never know for sure.

 

I agree. That's how I would feel. I wouldn't want to be surprised on the cruise I planned for myself and my DH.

 

Sometimes you just want to get away from everything and everyone. But to each it's own :)

[VillaHappy]

I surprised a bunch of cruise buddies on Adventure of the Seas earlier this year. What a hilight of our lives! Nothing beats the happy faces we saw when we ran into them in the check in line (JUST like we planned) and said "Hi everyone! we are going on this cruise with you!":D:D

[TinCan782]

I agree. That's how I would feel. I wouldn't want to be surprised on the cruise I planned for myself and my DH.

 

Sometimes you just want to get away from everything and everyone. But to each it's own :)

 

I don't think any of us on this side of the fence are saying don't do it but rather, its not for me! Planning a family cruise and being aware of it is one thing but popping this surprise when the ship sails is another. I don't have a problem with family members but, I'd still like to do things without them.

 

I know on previous cruises (and an upcoming one) we make certain plans whether its tours, me taking photos, eating on our schedule or, maybe planned nothing...just sitting around that I wouldn't care to have disrupted.

 

That said, I will be interesting to hear from the OP when they get back.

[Sherlock43031]

I surprised a bunch of cruise buddies on Adventure of the Seas earlier this year. What a hilight of our lives! Nothing beats the happy faces we saw when we ran into them in the check in line (JUST like we planned) and said "Hi everyone! we are going on this cruise with you!":D:D

 

the brothers sure would be surprised if they were already meeting 'friends' and their sisters showed up.

[Sue Do-Over]

My sister, mom and I each cruise a couple times a year, but never together (we live 1000 miles apart).

 

This summer, I got a great deal on a European cruise and booked it for DH, me and our daughter. When sis found out, we changed the reservation to include her and her daughter... and dad secretly funded mom as a surprise.

 

So, for 3 months sis and I chatted about shore excursions and destinations... and racked up OBC while we watched prices drop. Mom fretted that she'd spent her cruise allowance for the year, and couldn't afford it.

 

A month before the trip, she called me and said 'I'll do ANYTHING to go with you, can you get me on the cruise???' Dad tapped her on the shoulder and handed her the ticket folder. She almost fainted.

 

We had the BEST trip ever, and we'll never forget it.

[Sue Do-Over]

A boss got busted taking a cruise with his mistress when a colleague ran into them at poolside. It was pretty obvious they were together... That'd be QUITE a surprise!

Edited December 4, 2013 by Sue Do-Over