Surprise Cruise for Wife - Help Needed

[FantasticDisFamily]

Would that make 3 of us then? IF he attempted to pack for me that is the approach he'd take. Either that or take NOTHING from the bathroom...

Deb

 

[Padre Disney]

I would not tell her at all and do exactly like Magic_Fan_Bruce did.

You didn't say how old the children are. I would guess they are older if they have agreed to stay with the grandparents. Have the kids make your wife a card that you could give her from them. She will be happy when she finds out that you all kept the secret together and planned this wonderful surprise.

I agree with Padams. If my husband planned a trip like this for me I would wear what ever he packed.

By the way Magic_Fan_ Bruce I think you are on the same cruise us we are. My 20th anniversary is coming up in October. Please drop my Dh a few ideas on how to plan a surprise cruise.

 

[mkandk]

Oh, I was SO hoping that this was my husband in disguise!!

I'm one of the few that would be so happy pulling into the terminal, I could care less about the packing details. The only issue might be not saying a proper goodbye to the kids...maybe you could get them to make a card for her, and you could give it to her on the ship?

And definitely have some spare cash for the stuff you didn't pack, because you will probably miss something.

Also, I don't think anyone's mentioned hair styling stuff?

Mary

 

[natsmom125]

My thinking..just to be safe...I'd tell her you are going someplace
else!!!

We had been planning a trip to Biloxi, Mississippi to gamble. DH kept telling me to pack "some nice clothes"...I'm saying "to go to
Biloxi??" But, I did anyway. He kept saying "take lots of cash"..
I'm saying "to Biloxi??" Well, to make a long story short....we wound up in Las Vegas!!!! He and his store manager and his wife had this trip all planned...to Vegas. I am the worlds best
planner. I have to know where we are going to stop and have
lunch on the way to Orlando!!!! So, imagine my shock, surprise, and whatever other adjective you might want to use here...when we wound up in Vegas!!!

Tell her you are going to ORL for the week or Vero...somewhere she can take "nice clothes" and not be surprised...then the morning of the cruise...tell her where you are actually going...believe me....it will be a big enough surprise and shock then!!!! When they told me we were going to Vegas...I looked up at the them and said "have y'all lost your minds??" She will
feel the same way...and really did not believe it until we were on the plane...

Anyway, whatever you do...good luck and let us know.
Phyllis

 

[DaveEM]

Thanks everyone for all your input! My wife is pretty laid back, so I'm sure she'd kiss me and not clobber me, regardless of what I forgot to pack. There's been some great ideas here, especially the grocery bag in the bathroom thing, I just might use that one...

Reading all of your replies has given me an idea that I think might just work. I'll go ahead and pack everything for her (and Deb, next time she wears light colored shorts, I'll ask her to show me her underwear ). Then on the morning of the cruise, I'll get my parents to take her out somewhere and the kids and I can decorate the house for a little bon voyage party. My parents will bring her back home and "Surprise! We're going on a cruise....right now!" That way, she gets to say goodbye to the kids and the kids are part of the fun.

Thanks again all! Your help has been invaluable!

Dave

 

[jgalecpa]

Bravo to all, especially to DaveEM,

Notice NOT ONE PERSON commented on leaving your kids.

You love your wife and you love your kids, separately.

As a man who has done similar "surprises" on smaller scale (weekends, etc). I agree with the "enlist a friend" scenario.

I have always had a surprise time (e.g. 2pm the day we are leaving) that I tell her and lay out all the plans.

This assuages her fears. allows her to know the arrangements for the DK are made, and say good bye.

However you do it, Bueno suerte.

Jim

 

[Gillian]

A little party sounds great!

Do you have a hairdryer on your list? If her hair is short or thin, it won't matter, but the dryers on board aren't very powerful! I never travel with one, but have it on my list for our next Disney cruise!

 

[tecdavidt]

Bravo DaveEM! I love your plan. A surprise Bon Voyage party with the family and telling her we are leaving right now. Oh yes, this will be good. Keep us posted. Kathy

 

[shmoogrrrl]

I did something like this for my husband on our first wedding annivarsary. I told him that we were going away for the weekend to Harper's Ferry (We are both history buffs) which is like 45 minutes away from here. I said the place we were staying at had a fancy dinner place, so he'd need a suit. In reality, we were going to Las Vegas.

We were leaving early on Thursday morning by plane and I found out Tuesday night that he planned to take his suit to the cleaners the next morning, then pick it up on the way out on Thursday. Since we were not driving, that would be quite impossible, so I ended up telling him that we were going further away and HAD to leave EARLY on Thursday. He got the suit Wednesday night and was quite surprised Thursday morning when I told him we were not driving anywhere, but a car was coming for us.

It was classic! The plane took us to Los Angeles then we switched to another plane to Vegas. He was totally in the dark the entire trip until we got on that second plane. It was awesome!

Anyway, I think however you decide to do it will be awesome. If you are worried that she will worry about not taking the kids, perhaps you can get Shirley to put together a little basket for her from the kids and let them pick things out and decide what the card should say?

Kathy

 

[ppiew]

WOW. How much would you charge to 'train' an old fuddy duddy that wouldn't even THINK of such an undertaking!!!!!! You ROCK!!
Back to basics -
Cosmetics/toothbrush/etc
Undies (panties/bras/
Shorts (khaki or neutral color)
Tops (tees, shirts, etc)
Wrap around skirt
Cotton 'shift' dress or casual/nice dress (1 or 2)
The old standby - 'little black dress"
Shoes - sandals, walking shoes(socks), dress shoes
Sweater for evenings
Nightgown (you could forget this!)
Jewelry - basic, gold hoops, sparkly stuff for formal nite
Purse/fanny pack/ camera
Curling iron (if she uses one)
You are truly amazing! Even if you forgot all of the above and just brought yourself, I am sure it would be enough. Have a super time - and tell your wife she is one lucky lady!

 

[logan1_2000]

I just went through this thread, including your last update, and I think you have the game plan just right. I had to modify the game plan--DW is far too neurotic to have simply kissed me if I had packed for her, and would have worried the entire time about who was going to care for our dogs while we travelled if she had not personally approved of the arrangements. So she was notified on her birthday, which gave her two weeks to plot plan and pack and enjoy the aniticpation. Wish I could have done it the way you are, but we each have to know our better half's personality, don't we. We had previously been on a Wonder cruise, so I also had a good idea of what to expect. We brought DS (6). I cleared it through DW's work and son's school, as a surprise, and had her best friend and sister as advisors.

I think the best advice you got was having a friend of hers as a co-conspirator (makes it fun for her after the fact to ask the friend how could you not tell me) and to give DW the chance to kiss kids goodbye.

One thing that I did that went over well--I made a book out of downloads of Navigators for our Itinerary and Menus from the various sites often linked from the boards, and added a couple other downloaded pics like the castaway club beach towel, that i also found, put that together with the cruise documents and passports, and wrapped the whole thing is Disney wrapping paper from toys r us and presented it that way.

Have fun.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Ok, maybe I'm in the minority here but if my husband packed for me I'd be upset. Don't get me wrong....I'd LOVE the surprise cruise but only I know what I want to pack. Some clothes that fit at one point might not fit right now or maybe he'd pack a dress or shoes that are really uncomfortable....we all have stuff in our closets that we keep around but wouldn't pack for a cruise....my hubby wouldn't know WHAT to pack and I in all likelihood would be unhappy with his choices.

I agree with telling her you are going away for a long weekend and to bring formal clothes for a "fancy" dinner. I would much prefer that!

 

[northernmouse]

Wow! What a great idea . . . I bow in your presencem, it's got me plotting for when the hubby hits 40 . . . !

DaveEM, we're on the same cruise as you, and I'm almost the same age as your wife (41). My hubby would say I'm pretty laid back too, but a 7-night cruise is a 'special case' when it comes to packing. I think you have a great solution.

I'm completely with you on the appeal of a 'total' surprise, though. We did that to my stepson (now 11) last year, and his reaction as we pulled up to the pier was the highlight of the trip.

I hope we see you on board the ship!