Sister's birthday on our cruise... what to do?

FigmentSpark

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 9, 2016
What do you do for an adult birthday? It's an excursion day, but we'll just be doing a shorter excursion. She doesn't like chocolate and we aren't drinkers. I thought about buying the robe package, but she's flying and will likely not have space in her luggage to take it home. Also, she's not interested in the spa, so that's out.

So how can I make her day a little special? We're not usually together on her birthday (live on opposite ends of the country), so it would be nice to make her day feel nice for her. I will make her a birthday magnet (that's a whole other thread in the Creative DISigns forum!), but that's all I've thought of so far.

Any ideas?
 
Does she like any character's or princesses? Maybe try to do a meet and greet. Or try to book Palo/Remy depending on what ship you are on.
 
My brother and I are of an age where we are concerned about leaving too much “stuff” behind for our kids to deal with, so we’ve started exchanging intangible gifts. I got him bacon of the month and jerky of the month, he gets me gift cards to streaming services I’m too cheap to buy myself. Would something like that work? It wouldn’t be Disney-specific, but you could give it to her on the cruise.

Or if she likes the Disney bath products, you could buy her some. The four-bottle set is about $103 on Shop Disney.
 


If she doesn’t like chocolate, why not a vanilla bday cupcake?

There are also bday room decorations in the onboard gifts.
 
What ship are you on? If it's the Fantasy/Dream - how about a trip to Sweet on You or Vanellope's for an over the top ice cream sundae? Pretend like you're kids again! :)
Another idea would be to get a room decorating package or pack some streamers/banners in your suitcase to make it festive.
And of course, just being together and on a Disney cruise sounds like a perfect birthday celebration no matter what you do!
 
Palo and Remy maybe? Or just bring a gift along from home. No need to make it a cruise birthday gift if you feel pressured and it isn't something your sister would enjoy.
 


She's already nixed Palo/Remy because she doesn't think it's worth paying extra for food when food's included. She also doesn't want to do any meet and greets. I like the idea of Sweet on You (oh, I forgot to mention its the Fantasy), but I don't know if she'll go for that.

She likes specialty coffees (like lattes, etc). I wish they had a pre-purchase coffee card for the ship. That would be a good start.

I thought about the birthday decorations, but they seemed geared younger to me. Am I being too picky? I will make up a birthday sign for our door and maybe something for the room (any ideas for that?).

Vanilla cupcake? Is that available somewhere?
 
Vanellope's has cupcakes, you can also have one in the room when you arrive, you can pre-purchase through onboard gift purchase section. They also have flower's for purchase, but you can't remove them from the ship after the cruise.
Etsy can make you a birthday door magnet, there's tons of options.
You can giver her a Disney gift card and she can put it on the onboard account for coffee, etc.
You can order a birthday hat for her, ShopDisney sells them, I believe.
 
no matter what your age, it’s always nice to wake up to someone acknowledging it is your day.
Order room service for breakfast. You can go as small or big as you want.
Bring a toothpick/stick with happy birthday to stick in fruit or a pastry. have a couple of party hats or a birthday button. Run up and grab her favorite specialty coffee before the room service delivery.
 
from personal experience and the fact that your sister doesn’t want to do the up charge restaurants, I would recommend not ordering the special cake. We did for my 13yo’s bday, and it was fine but with all the other dessert options and thrill of the ship, it was just not “worth it” to us.
 
She's already nixed Palo/Remy because she doesn't think it's worth paying extra for food when food's included. She also doesn't want to do any meet and greets. I like the idea of Sweet on You (oh, I forgot to mention its the Fantasy), but I don't know if she'll go for that.

She likes specialty coffees (like lattes, etc). I wish they had a pre-purchase coffee card for the ship. That would be a good start.

I thought about the birthday decorations, but they seemed geared younger to me. Am I being too picky? I will make up a birthday sign for our door and maybe something for the room (any ideas for that?).

Vanilla cupcake? Is that available somewhere?
Sweet on You has cupcakes in addition to ice cream, so could be a nice place to stop in. Also, Cove Cafe has some amazing coffee creations since you mentioned she likes coffee. They even have special Disney artwork in the foam. I totally get the idea of not wanting to pay extra for food you've already paid for, but Sweet on You and Cove Cafe do not cost much extra - a few dollars for each item.
I also think you can get Birthday buttons from Guest services just like they give out at the parks. And if you let your dining staff know, they will likely plate the dessert with a little extra pixie dust.
 
Birthday buttons are a good idea. I like the gift card for coffees and treats, too.

Our excursion that day (Grand Cayman) is from 11-1pm, so right in the middle, but also leaves time to maybe figure something else to do. Anyone know what the port is like for when we return? What's there to do?
 
Make sure to let your room host know, ask him if he can do something special. A few years ago my sons gf had her birthday while we were on the Fantasy. The room host made a lovely birthday cake out of towels, it was amazing and a really nice no cost surprise.
also if your servers are aware they will bring out a dessert and sing happy birthday to her. If she’s not a dessert person they will bring out a plate with happy birthday written on it in chocolate. Get the birthday button that a prev poster mentioned and have her wear it. She will get tons of happy birthdays from cm,s and you never know, she could get a bit of pixie dust.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!







Top