Cruise planning mistakes: What were yours?

[madelinerose]

I will relax when I am done planning everything and writing my to-do and packing lists. I can't relax until then because I have never been on a cruise or to Europe before..

 

 

My apologies. You sound like you have it all together. ;)

 

On my first cruise, I had to get 4 key cards because I kept putting mine by a magnetic closure on my tiny crossbody purse and it would de-magnetize.

 

Booked a ship excursion that basically drove around a 1-mile radius. We complained and got half the $ refunded.

 

Used to pack waaay too many clothes.

 

Booked a stern cabin that was in pretty poor shape. Should have checked out more photos because there were some very recent ones online.

[printingchick]

Forgot one.

 

On my very first cruise, I was so excited I lost track of all those "Drinks of the Day". I missed dinner the first night! NEVER AGAIN!!!

[FINTUCKYFARMS]

Biggest mistake was packing for 5 people and packed one person to a suitcase. One suitcase was lost and that person had no clothes. Next time we fly, I will mix everything evenly between all the suitcases.

[Popcruise]

• Cruised to Bar Harbor, Maine and didn’t eat lobster, and it was so cheap.
  
• Worried too much about formal night. (Just dress in something nice that is comfortable to you).
  
• Didn’t snorkel enough.
  
• As someone else mentioned, waited to late in life to start cruising. (Now we are trying to catch up).
  
• Don't leave without your medicines. (Ship infirmaries are only open certain times and they only carry certain medicines).
  

[loanin]

Admit it; everyone makes mistakes while planning and preparing for a vacation whether it is on land or at sea. People learn what to not do next time whenever they travel, even if they go on vacations every year. I know I have learned a lot about vacation planning in the many places I have traveled. So I thought to prevent others from making mistakes it would be good if cruisers shared what they had done wrong during all of their past trips. This would help more than just the first-time cruisers and answer a lot of questoins that many people have IMHO. So let's get started.

Did you ever . . .

Pack too much, pack too little, or pack the wrong things for your cruise?

Hire a bad tour company, sail on a bad ship, or eat at a bad restaurant?

Select the wrong cabin, do the wrong activities, or order the wrong food?

Take pictures of the wrong things and forget to take pictures you wanted?

Get too much or not enough cash or exchange currency the wrong way?

Expect the locals to be fluent in English were nobody knows a word of it?

Forget to bring necessities with you to ports or lock valuables in the safe?

Try to smuggle items onboard and get caught during the security check?

Drive the wrong way, get off at the wrong stop, or ride on the wrong bus?

Lose track of time and get to the train, bus, or ship dock after departure?

Miss the beginning of a tour you had reserved in advance for any reason?

Give a taxi driver the name of the wrong place or a city too far from port?

Fly to the embarkation port on the start date instead of the day before it?

Of cvourse, there are many more mistakes that can be made during a cruise vacation if you count problems I don't know about depending on the specific details of your cruise. If you made any other mistakes not listed here, tell everyone all of them too.

I personally think this is a great idea/post. I have never done a trip where I didn't think, if I had to do it again, I would or would not do....or had I realized, I would have or would not have...to have other share theirs ahead of time in invaluable in my opinion..sort of like if a teenager would listen to your lessons learned in life..haha

[mudscraper]

Not learning about using Priceline or Hotwire for our trips until recently.

We`ve paid $60.00 to $80.00 per night in 4 star hotels for our last three trips. It sure beats paying the rack rate minus a piddly 10% AARP discount. For our Tampa and San Diego trips the hotel website rates were triple what we paid for the rooms using these sites.

 

 

Rich

 

 

Rich

[KayTea]

Thank you for answering my 'too many excursions question!' if I posted it on the wrong board - I apologize as i'm not that computer savvy and that was my very first post - it took me about 1/2 an hour to figure out what to do - but this sight seemed very helpful while I was reading through the boards.

 

I do appreciate the feedback on my excursion question! and that is good advice to learn the ports! thank you!

[Rob&Bonnie]

We were content to be 'lurkers' on CC, and skipped the first few get togethers. Last cruise we met with our CC group at Senor Frogs before the cruise and had one of the BEST CRUISES EVER! We now have a reunion cruise planned for February and we can't wait to see everyone again.

[GlendaleCruiser]

Overpacked the first time. Now, if I have to do laundry half way through I'm okay with that, as I have so much more room for souvenirs. I often take clothes that I don't want anymore and leave them behind--more room for souvenirs.

 

WORST cruise mistake: Lost track of my photo card that I had traded out to put in a new one. Thought it was securely in my suitcase and have not seen it since. Lost the first 173 pictures of Rome and the Dream Inaugural cruise from Civitavecchia.

[Fergus]

Is it possible to book tooo many excursions??? My husband and I are going to alaska for a cruisetour and I want to 'SEE IT ALL' my husband keeps reminding me 'this is a vacation'. We are doing a 6 day land portion (fairbanks, denali, talkeetna, anchorage, alyeska) followed by a 7 day cruise - southbound out of Seward (hubbard glacier, juneau, skagway, icy strait point, ketchikan and the inside passage).

 

Any recommended "must sees" along that path would be appreciated!

:)

 

Yes, it is possible to try too many excursions. You have a LOT planned for your trip - try to build in some time to just relax and watch Alaska go by! Be aware that Alaska is HUGE and you'll have a lot of travel time between activities, but just the traveling is fun too - lots to look at and marvel at. Try to make time to enjoy the little things - watching wildlife and beautiful scenery, soaking up sun when it appears, reading information signs, people watching, stuff like that. Enjoy your trip!

[Stelladoro]

Booking cruise air and missing half a day in Venice, due to major jetlag. Luckily, the ship was docked overnight and we still enjoyed next day in Venice. Lesson learned and now we always book our own air and arrive at least one or two days prior to cruise.

[ActiveTraveler]

Thank you for answering my 'too many excursions question!' if I posted it on the wrong board - I apologize as i'm not that computer savvy and that was my very first post - it took me about 1/2 an hour to figure out what to do - but this sight seemed very helpful while I was reading through the boards.

 

I do appreciate the feedback on my excursion question! and that is good advice to learn the ports! thank you!

 

I misunderstood "too many excursions" to mean "too many cruises." My bad.

Welcome to the board. You are not alone; even the veterans here do not always post in the right threads or forums.

It is nice to see some cruisers got lucky and did not ruin their vacations, but learned to not do what they did again anyway. :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

Thank you for answering my 'too many excursions question!' if I posted it on the wrong board - I apologize as i'm not that computer savvy and that was my very first post - it took me about 1/2 an hour to figure out what to do - but this sight seemed very helpful while I was reading through the boards.

 

I do appreciate the feedback on my excursion question! and that is good advice to learn the ports! thank you!

 

You're very welcome. I'm glad to help. Don't worry about posting, just look around and you'll get familiar with the boards here. Going to the Alaskan destinations board will be very helpful too. But I don't think your first post was inappropriate and it seemed to fit the original question as many first time cruisers often do try to do too much or do too many excursions. Just don't stress out, relax and have a great cruise.

 

BTW, I had help with my first cruise as I was going with my then bf (now hubby). He had already been on a cruise so he knew the ropes. We did quite a bit onboard (trivia -- which we won, galley tour, bridge tour -- they had then pre-9/11, etc.), but we just sightsee'd in the three ports on our own -- no excursions. Hubby did negotiate with a taxi driver to give us a tour of Mazatlan, but I think he wanted to practice his recent lessons in Spanish with him.:):rolleyes:

 

Seriously, my biggest advice to anyone is fly into your embarkation port at least a day ahead, unless you live within a short driving distance.

[rentlady]

We wanted to beat the school kids, so we took a 4 days cruise out of Miami to the Bahamas. Didn't figure the college kids were 99% of the passengers. We were on "Magesty of the Seas "and it was a party ship 24/7.

[ActiveTraveler]

We wanted to beat the school kids, so we took a 4 days cruise out of Miami to the Bahamas. Didn't figure the college kids were 99% of the passengers. We were on "Majesty of the Seas "and it was a party ship 24/7.

 

Royal Caribbean is a family-oriented cruise line, so if you want to sail with older people during the school year, pick a different cruise line. Families and college students easily afford four-day cruises, so I also suggest looking at longer itineraries.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've had no major snafus other than too many/wrong clothes and especially shoes. I almost always end up with sore feet (problem feet) from wearing shoes I haven't worn for a while.

 

This past April on the Navigator was our worst mishap. We booked a tour of the French Riviera with six other people from our Roll Call. We were to meet the guide on the dock at 10:00.

 

Our mistake was listening to RCI who kept saying, "Don't go to the tenders until you are ready to go ashore", repeated continually. So, we didn't--though we still started out more than an hour before 10.

 

There was a medical evacuation that slowed tendering up, and, as far as I could tell they paid no attention to the tickets we had anyway. All the other six people were on time--or early. Next time we will get on the first tender possible, despite announcement!

 

We arrived on dock about 10:40--tour had left, and we were responsible for the price. The good news is that we were able to contact the company and they had the driver drop the other passengers off in Monte Carlo, where they did the regular tour, and he came back to get us. (Monaco is not very far from Villefranche.) We ended up having a great tour in spite of the horrible tension of being left--and I don't blame the driver; they waited until 10:30 for us, cutting into the tour time for the others.

 

Lesson learned!

[jmps]

I, too, plan like mad before a cruise. It is really fun for me; especially the shore excursions. However, what I learned is to relax and change plans as needed during the vacation. Be willing to throw the plan out and go with the flow during the vacation or it isn't a vacation. The plan is to make things easier not cause stress.

 

I got upset once because my family wanted to walk to a place that I planned on taking a trolley to. I had spent a lot of time figuring all the details/schedule of the trolley it was stressing me out. Big mistake. The walk was better.

 

The same thing happened to my daughter when her friend who was with us made us late for the ferry to Virgin Gorda. She was really stressed that we weren't following the schedule I had created. Big mistake. We ended up talking to locals and some people from Australia while we waited for the next ferry. We (not she) had a great time. We still had plenty of time to snorkel and see the Baths.

 

Sometimes, the unplanned things are the best things you do on a vacation.

[SuiteTraveler]

My biggest goof was NOT opening the tour tickets for St. Maarten until the day of the tour. When I arranged the tour, everything on the internet and my schedule (RCCL) showed the tour was at 12 noon. However, at 11:15am, when I got my tickets out I saw the tour started at 11am - which is 12 noon St. Maartin time, but 11am ship's time. I did go to the ship's excursion desk to complain about this - the excursion should have been shown on the RCCL website and my calendar as being at 11am, but they did not offer a refund and just said I should have opened my tickets and checked the time when I got them. Normally, I would have done that, but my husband found the envelope and he put the tickets in our safe, so I never even knew we got our tickets until the day of the excursion. Oh, well...

[quepaquete]

Apparently not all people agree with me a learning experience and a mistake frequently are the same thing.

 

The difference is seeing the glass half empty or half full.

Mistake is a negative affirmation, experience is a more positive one.

 

So in my mind, there is a big difference.

[UlvaZell]

Attempting a logistically challenging excursion as a DIY rather than booking through the line...

[MICHLEV1974]

My biggest mistake was thinking everyone in my group had researched or did some sort of reading about our travel places prior to getting there. I was the official guide everywhere and was bombarded with q&a from all angles. How does one fix this? i have no idea! :D they all know i am crazy about research and know i will have the answer. possible solution: pick new cruise buddies? nah! just don't assume.... lol

[luvs2travl]

1. Flying into port the same day as the embarkation. We did it only once - on our first cruise - the flight was delayed and we were literally the last group of passngers to board the ship before the gangway was removed. Now we fly in AT LEAST one day early. W-a-y too much stress!

 

2. Listening to chronic complainers that gripe about everything from the temperature of the pool to the tyupe of bread served with dinner to the smudge on their mirror in the bathroom. I really think some people just cruise to complain! Now - we just tune them out!

 

3. Packing way too many clothes. We have learned to used the ship's laundry service or the self-serve laundry when available.

 

4. Sometimes forgetting how very fortunate we are to be able to take these wonderful cruises and appreciating them as fully as we should. :)

[MissRabbit]

I, too, plan like mad before a cruise. It is really fun for me; especially the shore excursions. However, what I learned is to relax and change plans as needed during the vacation. Be willing to throw the plan out and go with the flow during the vacation or it isn't a vacation. The plan is to make things easier not cause stress.

 

Sometimes, the unplanned things are the best things you do on a vacation.

 

I plan like mad to the point of obession. For me, i make a list of the best beaches, the restaurants that would best suit our needs and the things to do and prices. So when we actually go, as long as we stick to the possible options, we can wing it as to what we feel like doing and where we feel like going.

 

I consider the research as allowing me to make an informed decision that has the least likelihood of producing a horrible experience!

 

 

1. Flying into port the same day as the embarkation. We did it only once - on our first cruise - the flight was delayed and we were literally the last group of passngers to board the ship before the gangway was removed. Now we fly in AT LEAST one day early. W-a-y too much stress!

 

2. Listening to chronic complainers that gripe about everything from the temperature of the pool to the tyupe of bread served with dinner to the smudge on their mirror in the bathroom. I really think some people just cruise to complain! Now - we just tune them out!

 

3. Packing way too many clothes. We have learned to used the ship's laundry service or the self-serve laundry when available.

 

4. Sometimes forgetting how very fortunate we are to be able to take these wonderful cruises and appreciating them as fully as we should. :)

 

1. AMEN!

2. AMEN! Although making them feel like a schmuck sounds like a good idea too.

3. AMEN! A sink and some degergent halfway through the cruise is all i need.

4. AMEN! This is the biggest one of all. And a good thing to say to those in #2 who complain.

[printingchick]

"Sometimes forgetting how very fortunate we are to be able to take these wonderful cruises and appreciating them as fully as we should. "

 

This is SUCH a good point. I am a single woman with mostly-grown kids and I don't have a lot of "fun money" to spend. But I do somehow manage to scrape together enough - with the help of credit card points, sales, NextCruise certificates...whatever it takes - to go on a cruise every year. There may be a lot of people who have more than I do, but there are a lot of people who DON'T cruise very year. They are the truly poor ones!

 

Thanks for the reminder!

[Cruisin' Chick]

My biggest goof was NOT opening the tour tickets for St. Maarten until the day of the tour. When I arranged the tour, everything on the internet and my schedule (RCCL) showed the tour was at 12 noon. However, at 11:15am, when I got my tickets out I saw the tour started at 11am - which is 12 noon St. Maartin time, but 11am ship's time. I did go to the ship's excursion desk to complain about this - the excursion should have been shown on the RCCL website and my calendar as being at 11am, but they did not offer a refund and just said I should have opened my tickets and checked the time when I got them. Normally, I would have done that, but my husband found the envelope and he put the tickets in our safe, so I never even knew we got our tickets until the day of the excursion. Oh, well...

 

On our last cruise, we've had the most ship's excursions we've ever signed up for: 3 for a 15-day cruise. Got our tickets on the first day from our cabin steward and he even suggested always checking them out. Good thing as the time had changed for one.