Nervous about surprise cruise

[JERME81]

Here is a little background:
I'm giving my partner a Disney Cruise to sail next September 2014 for his 40th birthday/our 1 year since our civil union/our 10 years of being together.

Our first and only cruise was last year aboard the Celebrity Millennium. It left us both with a sour taste about cruising. The ship was aweful and the ports were not that great either.

I'm willing to give cruising a second chance so when I asked about it, my partners said he will only go on another cruise only if its on a Disney Ship.

So......I booked us via Kathy W at Dreams Unlimited for September of 2014 on the Disney Dream. I booked a CAT 5E room, and I picked a room on the back of the ship on Deck 10. Its a corner room with a large veranda.

I'm nervous he will not be all that excited about it.

The way I'm giving him this gift is I bought a miniature Disney Dream model ship off the online Disney Store and I'm going to wrap it up with a special note/card and give to him.

His party is this coming weekend Saturday August 3rd so I hope he likes it.

Anyway, just wanted to get that out there and see what kind of feedback anyone has.

Thanks!

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

It sounds terrific to me. That was a very thoughtful gift. Disney is a different experience compared to other lines. We love Disney. Hope he loves it.

 

[tweis]

Here is a little background:
I'm giving my partner a Disney Cruise to sail next September 2014 for his 40th birthday/our 1 year since our civil union/our 10 years of being together.

Our first and only cruise was last year aboard the Celebrity Millennium. It left us both with a sour taste about cruising. The ship was aweful and the ports were not that great either.

I'm willing to give cruising a second chance so when I asked about it, my partners said he will only go on another cruise only if its on a Disney Ship.

So......I booked us via Kathy W at Dreams Unlimited for September of 2014 on the Disney Dream. I booked a CAT 5E room, and I picked a room on the back of the ship on Deck 10. Its a corner room with a large veranda.

I'm nervous he will not be all that excited about it.

The way I'm giving him this gift is I bought a miniature Disney Dream model ship off the online Disney Store and I'm going to wrap it up with a special note/card and give to him.

His party is this coming weekend Saturday August 3rd so I hope he likes it.

Anyway, just wanted to get that out there and see what kind of feedback anyone has.

Thanks!

Sounds awesome. I haven't tried a 5E yet but I've heard they are great. We use Dreams Unlimited also, and so far we have had great results. The onboard credit they give really helps out with onboard purchases.

I think they way you are giving him the gift is wonderful. I'm sure you all will have a great time.

 

[JERME81]

Sounds awesome. I haven't tried a 5E yet but I've heard they are great. We use Dreams Unlimited also, and so far we have had great results. The onboard credit they give really helps out with onboard purchases.

I think they way you are giving him the gift is wonderful. I'm sure you all will have a great time.

Yes, the onboard credit sounds awesome. This is my first trip using Dreams, normally I plan my own trips to WDW but cruising is foreign to me.

 

[PoohJen]

And...You two will have a FUN year for all the planning! Pick him up a current Passporter (I understand a new one comes out in the next few weeks) for an in depth intro to Disney cruising, read every last Trip Report on the DIS and start your packing list!!! Not that that is what I do....

 

[amandamajor73]

That's a wonderful gift, I hope you both enjoy it. My DH felt the same about cruising after our first with Royal Carribean, but he loved our first Disney cruise so much that we are off on our 5th Disney cruise this year and we've booked our 6th for 2014! Have a fab time.

 

[Goofy559]

Here is a little background:
I'm giving my partner a Disney Cruise to sail next September 2014 for his 40th birthday/our 1 year since our civil union/our 10 years of being together.

So......I booked us via Kathy W at Dreams Unlimited for September of 2014 on the Disney Dream. I booked a CAT 5E room, and I picked a room on the back of the ship on Deck 10. Its a corner room with a large veranda.

I'm nervous he will not be all that excited about it.

Anyway, just wanted to get that out there and see what kind of feedback anyone has.

Thanks!

Hi. This all sounds fabulous! My only comment would be that the deck 10 5E cabins are right below the buffet - and I have seen folks comment about the noise. That being said, I have sailed in a 5E on deck 9 on the Fantasy (similar to Dream) and absolutely loved it.

Have a great time!

 

[VS85]

I think that sounds amazing! I would love a surprise like that. If you're concerned that he may not be thrilled with the idea of cruising because of your last experience, maybe you can also order the free DCL vacation planning DVD and give that to him along with the model of the Dream. You guys can watch it together and he can see all the fun stuff there is to do on the trip, whether its excursions, a nice dinner at Remy, or a spa day! I know the DVD takes a few weeks to arrive so you might not be able to get it in time for the 3rd, but you can show it to him later too. I pop it in every now and then when I feel like my cruise is a billion years away (Oct 2014) and it gets me excited all over again! Plus it's free - yay!

 

[mmouse37]

Since he already expressed interest in a Disney Cruise I would bet that he will be very excited!!! Once you reveal the surprise check out Youtube for tons of video on everything DCL. You can build the excitement that way!!!

MJ

 

[AKMOUSE]

My hubby surprised me with a cruise and he had said he wanted to wrap up a model ship - but couldn't find one. I think that is awesome!! (I still want a model one personally).

You will have a year to plan and discuss and look forward to it.
I think it is very thoughtful of you and I am sure you will have a fabulous time!!

 

[jrabbit]

And...You two will have a FUN year for all the planning! Pick him up a current Passporter (I understand a new one comes out in the next few weeks) for an in depth intro to Disney cruising, read every last Trip Report on the DIS and start your packing list!!! Not that that is what I do....

RE: Packing List: there are only 2 things that are a must.... Passport and Credit card. Anything you forget can be purchased!! So don't sweat that part. Actually you are doing the Bahamas so I don't think that you need the passport (but it never hurts to have it while traveling) - a third thing is sun screen.

Have a great party and don't worry. You both will have a fabulous time!

 

[wdwwishes]

I think you'll have a great time. DCL is just awesome. Be sure you have dinner at one of the adult only restaurants one night to celebrate.

 

[JERME81]

My hubby surprised me with a cruise and he had said he wanted to wrap up a model ship - but couldn't find one. I think that is awesome!! (I still want a model one personally).

You will have a year to plan and discuss and look forward to it.
I think it is very thoughtful of you and I am sure you will have a fabulous time!!

I got the shop of the Disney Store online. They have model ships for all 4 Disney ships.

I think it was around $32.00 and with shipping and tax it was just over $40.00.

 

[JERME81]

RE: Packing List: there are only 2 things that are a must.... Passport and Credit card. Anything you forget can be purchased!! So don't sweat that part. Actually you are doing the Bahamas so I don't think that you need the passport (but it never hurts to have it while traveling) - a third thing is sun screen.

Have a great party and don't worry. You both will have a fabulous time!

We got passports last year before our first cruise. We went to Los Cabos this past April so we are getting our money's worth out of them. Next April we are going to Punta Cana in the Dominican.

 

[JERME81]

I think you'll have a great time. DCL is just awesome. Be sure you have dinner at one of the adult only restaurants one night to celebrate.

I was thinking about doing the Palo brunch one day. Do you have to get all dressed up for brunch? Do we have to wear suit jackets for brunch?

 

[LemonPie]

I was thinking about doing the Palo brunch one day. Do you have to get all dressed up for brunch? Do we have to wear suit jackets for brunch?

slacks and a nice shirt should be fine. Really anything but shorts or jeans should be ok.

 

[JERME81]

slacks and a nice shirt should be fine. Really anything but shorts or jeans should be ok.

Thats good to know, I really don't like the dress up thing on vacation.

 

[conandrob240]

I am sure he is going to be excited. Different cruise lines and even different cruises within a line can be dramatically different so remind him of that if he gets concerned or nervous. A Disney cruise is so much about the experience, where other lines are more about the itinerary. So, on a less than magical line, older ship, bad itinerary, it can be a big zero. Castaway Cay alone is worth the price of admission IMHO, it is one of the most magical, beautiful islands I have ever been to (and I travel quite a bit). Add to that the magic of Disney and you really can't NOT enjoy yourself!

No matter what, I am sure what he will be thinking this weekend is what a great partner he has, how special you made his birthday and how much effort you made to make it just right for him. THAT is what he is going to care about- the cruise itself will be the icing on his cake!

I will add that you may want to break your "no dress up rule" for Remy. For Palo, I wouldn't bother (nice but like a good Italian restaurant in any big city). Remy, though, that is something really, truly special that you don't find very often.

 

[JERME81]

Here is an update on my surpise cruise:

I gathered everyone up at the party and told my partner I had a special gift for him to open. I told him to open the box first then the card will explain the contents of the box.

So he opened up the box with the model Disney Dream ship in it and was a little confused as to why I got him that.

So then he opened the card and read what I wrote. I said he does so much for our little family (me, him and our two basset hounds) and I wanted to do something special for him so I bought us a cruise.

He started to cry right away which made me cry.

He was so shocked that I gave him a cruise! He is so excited so now I can begin planning for our cruise Sept. 28 2014.

 

[LWQuestie]

Yay!! Glad it went well!