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Planning Process - Half the Fun!!!


JanetMarie
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Is this a girls only thread?

 

I totally agree! Half the fun, of any holiday, is the planning and preparation.

I live for my holidays (or vacations!!!) much to my wife's despair.

 

As incidental reading matter, I often take along holiday brochures and books pertaining to our next break...drives her nuts!!!

This is our second cruise, the first on a real cruise ship, and these boards have been a godsend.

Only thing is, its a total surprise for her, so all my research is being done at work, also, all the tickets are being sent here as well, just hope I can keep it quiet till November!!:D

 

15 pairs of shoes!!

Yes I know its a joke, but I'm sure there are some women out there saying "15 to 20 pairs should be sufficient!"

WHAT?...c'mon girls I'm only joking :D :D

I know you posted this a month ago, but I just recently discovered this thread.

 

I have got to ask, was your first cruise in a kayak? :eek:

 

Or did you both sit on the sofa together and watch a cruise movie? :rolleyes:

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  • 3 months later...
In the past we have cruised with another couple. After booking one cruise, almost a year in advance, we wondered how to deal with the long anticipation. It was decided that each couple, on a monthly rotating basis, would host a cruise themed gathering on the day of the month the ship was to depart.

 

We had great fun after dinner one evening, ice carving in their garage. On another occasion, during dinner, a surprise announcement had us going to our designated areas to put on life jackets for a lifeboat drill. We've enjoyed napkin folding, and a "shore excursion" to an area casino to sharpen our gaming skills.

 

Whatever you do to pass the time before your ship sails, I hope you enjoy both the anticipation,the cruise itself, and then the anticipation of the next one.

 

What a great and fun idea!!!!! I may have to try something like this

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I did the 3-ring binder for a recent cruise. It was helpful for planning. Then, when we returned home, I sifted it out and added the daily bulletins from our ship and other literature that we got along the way. It has become a Memory Book of the cruise.

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In the past we have cruised with another couple. After booking one cruise, almost a year in advance, we wondered how to deal with the long anticipation. It was decided that each couple, on a monthly rotating basis, would host a cruise themed gathering on the day of the month the ship was to depart.

 

We had great fun after dinner one evening, ice carving in their garage. On another occasion, during dinner, a surprise announcement had us going to our designated areas to put on life jackets for a lifeboat drill. We've enjoyed napkin folding, and a "shore excursion" to an area casino to sharpen our gaming skills.

 

 

WiscCruiser- What great fun you are having. And it really makes the time go by faster for you. For fun one time try to make towel animals like the room stewards do. They mainly use only use 3-4 towels to create those great artsy things. Have a wonderful cruise and before you know it you will be sailing away on your ship if you haven't already.

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while the planning is fun (especially watching the youtube videos regarding our ship) part of the fun, and a ritual for me, is always reading What Time is the Midnight Buffet--by CC member chesterh. A guaranteed to make you laugh book, and reminds me why cruising is great. It also puts you in the mind of the first time cruiser, and reminds me of my first time. I highly recommend reading it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I love planning too. It meets one of my vital needs of anticipation. I need something in my life to look forward and plan. It could be a party, weekend trip or a cruise.

 

Our next cruise isn't for 8 weeks but I already have everything planned and a folder with all the details done. Since we cruise quite a bit I don't need to shop for much, we have all the clothes we need. As soon as we get back from this one I'll start to plan the next one. We book as far out as possible and have several more booked.

Edited by cruiselvr04
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Oh my gosh. I remember how obsessed I was when I booked my first cruise which was 13 months in advance. It was my dream Alaska cruise. I thought about it every minute of the day and had dreams of what the ship and my land tours were going to be like. I saw my self on the plane taking me to Vancouver and seeing my beautiful ship! My family and co-workers almost stopped talking to me because I was absolutely consumed with my plans. I was single and had thought about a Alaska cruise all my life. Also The Love Boat was very popular on TV then and it got my heart pumping for my first time on my first big beautiful ship. I am not ashamed too say I now see how ridiculous I must have seemed to them, but to me I was feeling all the excitement others feel now before they set foot on the Dock going to the Cruise of your Dreams. I still do. Make plans and enjoy everyone, it never goes away !!!!

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  • 3 months later...

I love planning for a cruise. I have a family cruise in November of 2018 and I have already got my binder filled with lists and information. I start buying little things we will need and putting it away instead of waiting till just before and having to buy it all at once

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I can relate to this thread big time! Some might call it OCD, but I've been a 'planner' all my life and I love planning our cruises down to the most minute detail! :)

 

Talk about lists, and daily activity planning... that's me. DW says I'm crazy, but I love it and agree with others who said that anticipation / planning is a big part of the whole cruise experience. :D

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  • 3 months later...
  • 5 months later...

I am not happy unless I'm planning a big trip. I am an Excel guru and keep a lot of stuff there (Packing lists, excursion prices, etc) but I also have something the fam affectionately calls "the manifesto." It's a Word template that I use to build the trip, filling it out as I go. It's got the calendar, all my logon and checkin info, the flight info, the hotel info, the ship info, the places to eat on the ship, tips from cruisers that I find on the web, excursions, etc. It is usually 30 pages long or so. I print it out and bring it with us for reference.

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I am not happy unless I'm planning a big trip. I am an Excel guru and keep a lot of stuff there (Packing lists, excursion prices, etc) but I also have something the fam affectionately calls "the manifesto." It's a Word template that I use to build the trip, filling it out as I go. It's got the calendar, all my logon and checkin info, the flight info, the hotel info, the ship info, the places to eat on the ship, tips from cruisers that I find on the web, excursions, etc. It is usually 30 pages long or so. I print it out and bring it with us for reference.

Sounds like just what I need! May I ask, is this a template you created for yourself,or is it a standard Word template? If the latter, what is it called?

Thanks!

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Yup. Feel the same way. In fact, my hubby tries to add more time to our countdown just so he can anticipate it longer! [emoji13][emoji13]

I start packing 2-3 weeks out...my dreams start taking place on ships as soon as we have booked....

We always take a longer drive to the port to extend the excitement....

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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  • 4 weeks later...

Love love love the planning stages of any vacation. My wife and I alternate the vacation we do every year. One year we do a long motorcycle ride the next a cruise. It’s the same but different. Every day we are in a new location. But the mode of transportation is different. I start planning about 9 months out. Each of our stops. Yelping the best places to eat. Best route. Spread sheets and maps. It’s part of the fun.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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  • 3 months later...

So happy to find this thread of kindred Type A planners!! We have a cruise with 10 people going on RCCL Allure OTS March 31, 2019 and the planning is going well. I am the family travel agent, like many of you, and this cruise will be a bit different as we have 2 sets of parents and one set of uncle/aunt (all 60's-70's to 80), my SIL and her hubby ( 50-58) and my DH and myself (47 each). I feel like I need to spend a bit more time "watching over" my parents to make sure they are enjoying themselves and doing fun stuff, while the others have cruised with us numerous times so they can do what they want. Hopefully it will all work out so that they don't get lost or feel overwhelmed. I am planning group excursions in Nassau and Costa Maya, so I have to also take into account the physical condition of the older folks, which varies. It's too early to book flights, but I will take care of that when the time comes, and ensure everyone meets up at same hotel the day before, etc. Half the time I think I am alwasy the one most excited for the trip! I was thinking about making little goodie bags for everyone, or door decorations, but am torn as to whether they would care or not. Now, for my parents, they are celebrating their 50th anniversary, so I will be decorating their room and doing some other special things for them throughout the trip, but I don't know if the others would appreciate the time/effort I would spend on doing something cute, so I don't know if I want to bother. Has anyone made up little cruise themed goodie bags/gifts for their cruise mates?

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Sounds like just what I need! May I ask, is this a template you created for yourself,or is it a standard Word template? If the latter, what is it called?

Thanks!

 

I do the same thing and basically just open a blank word document and copy/paste the cruise itinerary, my booking info, and then our plans for each island, as well as any tips I find on the internet in regards to the ship, drinks, shows not to miss, etc. I print it out and take it along with the hotel reservation or flight info and boarding passes in a clear document holder. While I'm on the cruise, I save the daily Fun Times in that clear holder to take home as a souvenir, so by the end of the cruise I have a full document holder and all the info is in one place and easy to save once I get home.

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So happy to find this thread of kindred Type A planners!! We have a cruise with 10 people going on RCCL Allure OTS March 31, 2019 and the planning is going well. I am the family travel agent, like many of you, and this cruise will be a bit different as we have 2 sets of parents and one set of uncle/aunt (all 60's-70's to 80), my SIL and her hubby ( 50-58) and my DH and myself (47 each). I feel like I need to spend a bit more time "watching over" my parents to make sure they are enjoying themselves and doing fun stuff, while the others have cruised with us numerous times so they can do what they want. Hopefully it will all work out so that they don't get lost or feel overwhelmed. I am planning group excursions in Nassau and Costa Maya, so I have to also take into account the physical condition of the older folks, which varies. It's too early to book flights, but I will take care of that when the time comes, and ensure everyone meets up at same hotel the day before, etc. Half the time I think I am alwasy the one most excited for the trip! I was thinking about making little goodie bags for everyone, or door decorations, but am torn as to whether they would care or not. Now, for my parents, they are celebrating their 50th anniversary, so I will be decorating their room and doing some other special things for them throughout the trip, but I don't know if the others would appreciate the time/effort I would spend on doing something cute, so I don't know if I want to bother. Has anyone made up little cruise themed goodie bags/gifts for their cruise mates?

we actually have a Pre Cruise Party a few weeks before our cruise and everyone bring "Cruise Useful" items to share. Lots of fun!

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we actually have a Pre Cruise Party a few weeks before our cruise and everyone bring "Cruise Useful" items to share. Lots of fun!

Since no one else has yet asked, I will: what are some of the "Cruise Useful" items you've shared?

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Since no one else has yet asked, I will: what are some of the "Cruise Useful" items you've shared?

No one has yet asked likely because this topic (must pack items, etc.) has been covered many times. A quick search on this forum will reveal tons of recommendations. ;):)

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