Creative Way to Surprise the Kids with the Cruise!

Well how about some ornaments for the tree? Maybe you could give the kids individual "ship" ornaments on Christmas morning, or maybe their stocking could be filled with things they'll need for the cruise, like sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, etc. I think the ship ornaments would be good, that way next year when you unpack to decorate for Christmas, you'll have some great memories to talk about!! We did that for our boys last year, only we bought them airplane ornaments, and they loved them!! Have fun and be safe!!

Print out a picture of the ship, glue it to cardboard and cut it out so they can put the puzzle together. Or, do the same thing but with pics of inside the cruise (like the room and a pool) and do the same thing but they can each do a puzzle. Also, give them a few small cruise items in their stocking and gifts (towel, sunscreen, etc).

I have sailed with Carnival several times. My wife and I really enjoyed our cruises with them. I hope you have a wonderful time. What cruise are you taking?

Carnival has a ship on a pedistal (trophy) that they give out to passengers when they win a contest or game when they play any one of dozens of games on board. The chip and pedistal are fully plastic and the word "Carnival" and the name of the ship is on the base. It is about 5" tall and 4" wide. If you contact Carnival, I'm sure they can mail you three of those trophies so you can wrap them up and give them to your kids for Christmas. Call your cruise counselor and ask how you can order them.

I won my trophy playing trivial pursuit on the "Carnival Spirit". There were about 20 of us playing and they gave out a first, second, and third.

There are enough nibbles and food on the ship that you won't need to bring any food on the ship. I think they are serving something someplace on the ship from 6:00 am to 3:00 am (ship time).

I hope you have a wonderful time. Good luck to you and yours.

ETA: McMama has an excellent idea with the puzzle. Carnival also sells puzzles on board, but i don't know if they will have your ship on a puzzle. I have seen ship jigsaw puzzles in stores. They probably just won't be your ship.

You can go to the cruise website and see if they have souvenirs you can buy, like Tshirts with the cruiseline's logo. Or find T's online with one of the destination ports printed on it. You could do something goofy like buy a cheap picture frame and frame the cover of the cruise brochure with a big photo of the boat on it. Or wrap an empty photo album that has a picture of a cruise ship in the little window on the cover. Or give everyone something they can use on the cruise like waterproof/underwater cameras.

Such cute ideas already! The puzzle idea is pretty novel though! I was going to say have the kids open gifts in a certain order...the first one can open a package of sunscreen, the second can open a set of new swim suits or t-shirts and the third can open a package with their passports in it.

No matter what you do, it will be super fun! My husband and I love cruises!

Wrap up a (tightly) sealed jar of water with a toy boat floating in it (probably find @ dollar store). The weight will surely fool them!!!

Pack a suitcase with swimsuits camera, etc. and let them figure it out
A cruise ship for each.
A video of the places you are going and add a clip of you and dad announcing it at the end. Your cruise line probably has a video online or DVD available