Celebrating my 50th birthday on board

Bruiserknits · Apr 1, 2015

OK, trying to make a long story short. In 2005 I turned 40. My birthday party was canceled due to this little thing called Tropical Storm Arlene and never got rescheduled. Needless to say I was quite disappointed. I vowed that for my 50th birthday I was going to do something Disney with my best girlfriends and my daughters. Well, the best girlfriends bailed on my for one reason or another so I decided to do a Mother-Daughter celebration and finally do a cruise. So this is a first cruise and birthday celebration all rolled into one.

Here's my questions: What ideas do you have to make this a true celebration? We are planning a spa time and even though we are only doing a 3 night cruise we are planning on dressing up nicely one night for dinner. My daughters are 19 and 22, so not little kids. We are doing this sort of on the cheap (we will have money for a few nice things and drinks, but not excessive splurging). Any ideas of how to decorate our door? Are there Happy Birthday buttons like there are in the parks?

artnerds · Apr 1, 2015

Just make sure you have it noted on your reservation that you are celebrating your birthday. You never know what might happen!

It was my then-fiancé-now-husband's birthday on our Alaskan cruise last year, and we got a special dessert when we were at dinner at Remy, a birthday cake towel sculpture in our room, and a decorated stateroom door.

My favorite touch was the party hat on our fish:

PrincessShmoo · Apr 1, 2015

The birthday buttons:

The chocolate mousse/cake you get in the dining room:

birthday mousse royal court fantasy 2014 20140 P1030283 1500.jpg

ajmomouse · Apr 1, 2015

If it isn't truly your birthday I believe you need to tell them you are celebrating. I assume they will still give you the cake. I am celebrating my 50th in Alaska this July but my birthday isn't til September.
We had my son's birthday onboard this November all we had was the cake at dinner and a note wishing him a happy birthday in the room, but we weren't in a concierge room like previous poster.

Bruiserknits · Apr 1, 2015

I think my TA has put this information in my reservation. I'll double check, though.

NAB · Apr 1, 2015

I got that cake in the picture above on Fantasy in March with Happy Birthday written across the bottom of the plate and they servers sang to me. Also got a birthday pin at the same time. Nothing in the room though.

You can do your own decorating in your room. Maybe the room steward will see it and make that towel cake for you too.

cheribelle · Apr 1, 2015

Definitely mention it on your reservation. But I think what they do in your stateroom definitely depends on your stateroom host (unless you order a special Birthday Package which guarantees you will have your stateroom decorated).

When we sailed on the Dream, we had an amazing host. This was not concierge. We had it noted in our reservation that it was my daughters and husbands birthday. She decorated our stateroom with the full birthday package - banner, bed runner, "towel cake" and a wonderful note. We didn't keep the items (I kind of felt guilty because we didn't pay for it). But it made for a nice photo and lots of smiles

We are sailing again for the same birthdays this year but I do not expect that treatment again. Just a special dessert at dinner would be nice and that's what I originally expected.

But check into the birthday deco package offered on line at DCL if you definitely want your room decorated!

artnerds · Apr 1, 2015

ajmomouse said:
If it isn't truly your birthday I believe you need to tell them you are celebrating. I assume they will still give you the cake. I am celebrating my 50th in Alaska this July but my birthday isn't til September.
We had my son's birthday onboard this November all we had was the cake at dinner and a note wishing him a happy birthday in the room, but we weren't in a concierge room like previous poster.

This wasn't about traveling concierge, this was about my being super nice to our Room Host and asking him to do something special.

Dug720 · Apr 1, 2015

artnerds said:
This wasn't about traveling concierge, this was about my being super nice to our Room Host and asking him to do something special.

I will agree that you don't have to be concierge for your host to do something special. Being nice to them never hurts at all.

In February I was in a 4E (had booked 8B GTY), and I got a nice swath of sunburn right across my back in St. Maarten - I didn't realize that spray sunscreen doesn't spread like I thought it did, so there was a perfect line across my back between where I reached with it and the top of my bathing suit. I was going to suck it up and pay for the solar gel in the shops on board since I wasn't concierge. Well, when I opened the door, my stateroom host was just setting up for her evening rounds and we said hi and chatted briefly. She asked me where I was off to and I said I had gotten sunburned and was going to get some gel in the shops. She shook her head and told me to wait there. In a few minutes she was back with some of the tubes they get in concierge, and she gave them to me with advice to put them in the fridge so they would be cooler at night. I didn't ask her to go and get them, and I was perfectly fine buying my own. But it was a super nice thing she didn't have to do.

Bruiserknits · Apr 1, 2015

Love all the information. I may just go buy a happy birthday tiara for my fish anyway. That is so stinking cute. Can't wait to set sail. We just got our room assignment and we went from a 6B GTY to a 5C room. Happy birthday is already starting!

HappilyEverAfter80 · Apr 1, 2015

Dug720 said:
I will agree that you don't have to be concierge for your host to do something special. Being nice to them never hurts at all.

In February I was in a 4E (had booked 8B GTY), and I got a nice swath of sunburn right across my back in St. Maarten - I didn't realize that spray sunscreen doesn't spread like I thought it did, so there was a perfect line across my back between where I reached with it and the top of my bathing suit. I was going to suck it up and pay for the solar gel in the shops on board since I wasn't concierge. Well, when I opened the door, my stateroom host was just setting up for her evening rounds and we said hi and chatted briefly. She asked me where I was off to and I said I had gotten sunburned and was going to get some gel in the shops. She shook her head and told me to wait there. In a few minutes she was back with some of the tubes they get in concierge, and she gave them to me with advice to put them in the fridge so they would be cooler at night. I didn't ask her to go and get them, and I was perfectly fine buying my own. But it was a super nice thing she didn't have to do.

This is exactly what happened to me last year on the Magic. I got a little (ok a lot) red on CC, it was a very cloudy day and I put sunscreen on when the sun finally came out but it was too late. My stateroom host was in the hallway when I was coming back, took one look at me and asked me to wait. Came back with a couple of bottles of the solar gel (while singing Sheryl Crow's soak up the sun

. I wasn't sure what got into him but as soon as I looked in the mirror I knew...we were not in concierge either. I agree that being nice to your hosts helps although it's not guaranteed they will go out of their way for you.
Anyway I hope you have a wonderful celebration onboard, enjoy your cruise and Happy Birthday!

Bruiserknits · Apr 1, 2015

Thanks and being VERY fair I am stocking up on sunscreen and soothing gel. I don't want the host to have to be nice to me (like that).

Dug720 · Apr 1, 2015

Bruiserknits said:
Thanks and being VERY fair I am stocking up on sunscreen and soothing gel. I don't want the host to have to be nice to me (like that).

I was just happy she didn't offer vinegar. THAT happened when we cruised on the Emerald Seas way back when I was in 6th grade (no we weren't rich...there was a massive special and we'd been in a rented house for three years). Our second day in Nassau (see how long ago that was? a ship could have two days there!!) we went to Paradise Island (long before Atlantis existed) and while I love the ocean I usually am not in it for long because - well, google the "Something touched my leg!" horse picture and that's how I am in the Atlantic where I can't see my feet. So I fell in love with the crystal clear water. And we didn't notice how burned I was getting, even with sunscreen. Not quite blistering, but it had to be close. By dinner it had fully come out, and our waiter took one look at me and offered to get vinegar. (My reaction? "I am NOT a pickle!") We opted for Noxzema and lotion, and other than wearing the "badge of shame" the rest of the cruise (our family term for having to wear a shirt over a bathing suit) I was fine.

Celebrating my 50th birthday on board

Bruiserknits

Adventure is out there

artnerds

DIS Veteran

PrincessShmoo

DIS veteran

ajmomouse

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Bruiserknits

Adventure is out there

NAB

<font color=green>That first page just got too hea

cheribelle

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artnerds

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Dug720

See the line where the sky meets the sea?

Bruiserknits

Adventure is out there

HappilyEverAfter80

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Bruiserknits

Adventure is out there

Dug720

See the line where the sky meets the sea?

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