Surprise Cruise

[Medako]

My husband and I went on the Breeze in April and after we got home, we decided to do it again - but take the kids this time. The cruise is booked, but we're hoping to wait until Christmas to tell them (sailing next May). I'm looking for fun ways to share the surprise when the time comes.

 

(11 & 6 year old boys)

[saraandnick]

I like to do scavenger hunts. Each clue also has something they can use on the cruise (lanyard, new swimsuit, sunscreen, etc)

 

 

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[Defender1791]

I wish I wouldn't have told our kids until it was time to go. They were really excited about it at first. But with kids, 1 week seems like eternity! At this point, the excitement has gone away. They're mostly just like, "I'm ready for the cruise already." I'd love to see the excitement, and the experience happen all at once when they find out the real reason why we stayed in the Airbnb the night before!

 

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[meatloafsfan]

How about a puzzle? You can either print it yourself and glue the paper to cardboard and cut it up or have an online company do it for you.

 

One thing I will say is temper your expectations for their reaction. It may not be what you're expecting (jumping up and down, super excited). Sometimes it takes a bit for things to sink in, sometimes the reaction is over the top (i.e. crying), sometimes it's more like, "oh, okay. But what about soccer practice....(or whatever).

[bnorris10]

Honestly I would wait til closer to the cruise to tell them - Heck what about waiting until your actually on the way to the terminal and you pull up to see this big beautiful boat

[Guy2073]

Honestly I would wait til closer to the cruise to tell them - Heck what about waiting until your actually on the way to the terminal and you pull up to see this big beautiful boat

 

My mom and dad did this with Disney world in 1978, i still remember it like yesterday. Unless your kids are 40 i vote for this

[hrwi]

I gave my kids a disney trip a few years ago for christmas. I had a bunch of small gifts, like sunglasses, a mini toiletry kit, and then worked up to a disney t shirt and a new backpack - with a "ticket" for the vacation in it. I just made an old fashioned looking ticket that said "disney february 11-16" or whatever date. The ticket turned out super cute - let me see if I have any photos of it.

[Mysticks1]

Honestly I would wait til closer to the cruise to tell them - Heck what about waiting until your actually on the way to the terminal and you pull up to see this big beautiful boat

 

If you can stand to wait I would wait until you are leaving. We did this with my daughter when she was around 10. My mother and I took her to Disney and she didn't know until we picked her up from school a little early. Everything packed in the car and we were leaving.

If you choose to tell them at Christmas I agree with the scavenger hunt. Buy them little gifts that pertain to cruising and have them look all over for them and then make them try to guess what everything is for.

[camijo]

When I took my kids on their first cruise, I told them right away, I don't think I could keep a surprise/secret for months, lol.. They counted down, just like I did and the excitement never went away. They were hooked and are ready for their next cruise.

 

I hope you come up with a exciting way of telling them!

[Medako]

Thanks everyone. I have several ideas floating around in my head, but thankfully still have time to figure it out. :)

 

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[nhsails]

Another vote for waiting. They are most likely not going to have the anticipation level you do. We did this one year. Dropped all off at school. Packed their bags, picked them up and headed to airport. Got on plane to Miami went to hotel near Port. Wasn't until then they guessed a cruise. THEN they were really excited. I did totes in their luggage for each with sunscreen, goggles, sunglasses etc name and cruise date.

[NotTheBatesMotel]

I think it depends entirely on your kid re: when to tell them. With my son, he requires a LOT of preparation and talking about what the trip will be like for it go to smoothly. Plus, a lot of kids enjoy counting down and planning! My sister surprised my nephews at Christmas with a March cruise. She bought them ship-themed Lego kits! I thought that was a really fun way to tell them.

[5ten]

I could never tell my kids last minute. We did that for Disney one year and we didn't tell them where we were going. Picked them up early from school and started driving. My oldest threw up from anxiety the whole way. We finally told her 1/2 way there but it was too late, her anxiety was so bad by then to calm down. Did not make for a good surprise. So make sure you think about your kids personalities before a last minute surprise.;p

 

Mine stay excited about cruises but mostly because we have friends that go with us. But I make the kids a "goodie" for everyday on the ship and I have my kids help so they can surprise their friends. :D

[Jodi3284]

I'm loving these ideas! We are taking our son for his birthday next month and he does not know. We aren't going to tell him till he sees the ship. I've been trying to figure out how to make the road trip exciting too.

 

I've made him his own personal "Kevin Fun Times" so that every port and excursions will be a surprise when his fun times are delivered nightly with the regular ones. He is going to be so happy I can't wait to see his little face!

 

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[Neotericisis]

This is cute!!! We haven't told our children either (DS 8, DD 9). When we went to Disney last August I went over board with buying stuff (even got monogrammed beach towels with matching bathing suits!) and ended up putting it all in 2 boxes (1 for each) outside by the mail box. I got a stock photo of a clip art mail box and cut it into puzzle pieces. I made them go on a scavenger hunt with each clue leading to a different piece of the puzzle (It was like 8-10 pieces). The last clue was the mailbox's face so they really had no clue what it was. They then went out to the mailbox and there was a letter from Mickey and the gang which detailed that they were leaving for Disney early in the morning (we wanted to tell them the day before because new tablets were part of the package so they needed time to program them). I was hoping for a BIG reaction, but I think it was just hard for them to process. They were just shocked, LOL. They were more interested in their new toys/gadgets and it really hit them once we arrived.

 

This is their first cruise and all they know is that they are going out of the country, they don't know if its flying, driving, or cruise. My son over heard me talking about the Bahamas so I keep trying to confuse him LOL. Hmm, we are driving to Charleston from NJ so maybe I'll fool them and say we are driving to Mexico! With my luck they'll probably be all excited for Mexico and be disappointed that its now the Bahamas LOL! Maybe I'll say Canada, but they may pick up on the fact that we are headed south :confused:

 

Let us know what you decide to do for the big reveal!