Do you Over-plan, not plan, or comfortably plan your cruise

[aeonix01]

This question is to see who:

1) Over Plans: For me that means those who scrutinize every detail. What nights to dine MDR, which to do specialty. Need an event or excursion filled in every slot possible. This person typically needs a vacation after their vacation.

 

2) Confortably plans: This person chooses some excursions. They go with the flow so that they don't stress out. They often reserve things either closer to the cruise or on board unless there is something they definitely don't want to miss.

 

3) The Not-Planner: Other than dining options, this doesn't bother to plan anything at all. Not excursions, not dining options. They just hope for walk-in or at the moment options for dining and excursions.

 

Which are you?

[STEVE-O]

This question is to see who:

1) Over Plans: For me that means those who scrutinize every detail. What nights to dine MDR, which to do specialty. Need an event or excursion filled in every slot possible. This person typically needs a vacation after their vacation.

 

2) Confortably plans: This person chooses some excursions. They go with the flow so that they don't stress out. They often reserve things either closer to the cruise or on board unless there is something they definitely don't want to miss.

 

3) The Not-Planner: Other than dining options, this doesn't bother to plan anything at all. Not excursions, not dining options. They just hope for walk-in or at the moment options for dining and excursions.

 

Which are you?

 

I definitely OVERPLAN..! I research every stop, compare reviews all over the internet....purchase or book excursions 10 months in advance...make up travel calendars with date/time/place, etc.

 

 

On our last cruise, our tablemates had NOTHING planned...they bought excursions on the pier and had just as good a time as we did...and probably saved $$$. I just CAN NOT do that....I have to know who/what/where/when/how much in advance of sailing..... I think there's

a term for this kind of person......at least I'm not in denial...

[milton333]

I wouldn't say that I "need a vacation after the vacation." However. . .

 

I am madly in love with TripIt, and with constructing my itinerary (pre- and post-cruise travel and activities, cruise ports, etc.). I will confess to reviewing a recent Cruise Compass for the FOTS Eastern sailing and adding events to my TripIt itinerary that I would want to know about while on board, including when afternoon tea is, when Johnny Rockets opens, when the Dreamworks Character breakfasts are, etc.

 

Which is, I suppose, kind of OCD. But I'll be traveling with my toddler and with my parents, who are first-time cruisers. It's hard to herd along a group of travelers, and I feel like unofficial "cruise director" for mom and dad because I sold them on the idea of their first cruise.

 

I've found that on past vacations (including land vacations), and even at home, if there's no plan to identify activities that we might want to do, we end up wasting a lot of time sitting around trying to decide what to do and getting moving out the door. E.g., you end up spending 4 hours talking about where to eat, researching where to eat, figuring out transportation, and eating.

 

With a youngster, I need to be prepared to change gears and "do something" to burn energy and keep him entertained. I don't have to do everything on my itinerary, but I feel more comfortable knowing that if 3 pm rolls around and we're at loose ends, we can go do afternoon tea or Latin dancing or something. It's also easier for me to pick out, in advance, things that might interest me from the very long (and very small-type) list on the Cruise Compass.

[MikeNJ1109]

Our normal work-a-day lives are so structured and so hectic, that we cruise to NOT have anything planned out in advance (absent those items that absolutely have to be done in advance, such as airfare to / from the port). No dinner reservations us (we do MTD) ... no pre-planned excursions ... nothing even remotely on the horizon. In essence, we "wing it".

 

Michael and Silke

[01Sweetpea]

This question is to see who:

1) Over Plans: For me that means those who scrutinize every detail. What nights to dine MDR, which to do specialty. Need an event or excursion filled in every slot possible. This person typically needs a vacation after their vacation.

 

2) Confortably plans: This person chooses some excursions. They go with the flow so that they don't stress out. They often reserve things either closer to the cruise or on board unless there is something they definitely don't want to miss.

 

3) The Not-Planner: Other than dining options, this doesn't bother to plan anything at all. Not excursions, not dining options. They just hope for walk-in or at the moment options for dining and excursions.

 

Which are you?

 

I'm an "over-planner", but I don't need a vaction after my vacation.

 

I think half the fun of vacation is the planning process, looking at itineraries, researching the ships that go there, booking the vacation, etc. Then researching the ports, the excursions available, talking to my family about what they want to do on this vacation. I do research the dining menus and compasses to pick our specialty dining night and what night to go to what show. I's something I enjoy doing. :)

 

I find by doing this my vacation is less stressful, and we get to do alot of what we want.

[gedam]

This would make a very interesting poll :)

 

Like milton333, on land based holidays with two teenagers and two elderly parents, we find that sooo much time is wasted on what we are going to do. Even worse the decision after wandering around aimlessly for an hour looking at menus, is where we are going to eat in the evening!

 

So yes I plan hard on a cruise :eek:

[luvscruising2007]

I do a lot of research about ports and excursions. But I don't plan what to do until closer to the cruise. So I guess I am inbetween over planner and comfortable planner.

I could in no way wait until the last minute to plan anything.

[maxxedout2]

Howdy,

 

Ya, plan away.

 

These trips are too expensive not to have

a plan in place before the Ping of the card.

 

:cool::cool:

[cb at sea]

I "comfortably" plan....I do like to research our ports, so that we know something about where we're going. I've never felt the need to scrutinize the Daily Compass or menus in advance! Once the cruise and flights are booked, all I do is dream about the upcoming vacation. We don't "micro-manage" our vacation time....seems too much like work!

[Venusleo1]

I would have to put myself in the category of the over-planner but I too dont think I need a vacation after my vacation.

 

I will pre-book specialty restaurants if I can and thats about all I plan for on-board activities dinning ect... we just go off the compass and do what we want once on board, but the ports are what I spend alot of time planning out and researching. I find that we enjoy ourselves sooo much more when we have an excursion planned and don't just "wing" it. On the few occassions where we have winged it or have been forced to wing it due to an excursion being cancelled we did not have the best time.

 

Anyways all the planning keeps me occupied and happy while I am waiting for the actual trip! I enjoy it, and I know my husband appreciates it!

[Nanatopiper]

Well, I'm some where in between comfortably plans, and overly plans.

 

I'm always packing a notepad, and pen with me. ;) We talk alot, well, alright constantly what time, and day we will leave home. Sailing in the winter, and we need to be prepared, since we are driving to port. Picking up little cosmetics and "oh I will need this" on the ship, and not to mention that I have my check off list, and do a trial pack of the suitcase, about a month before our sailing.:p

 

I Love reading all the posts and reviews of the ship that we are sailing on, and taking notes on the "what not to miss" onboard, and the excursions that people take. Then take it to the fam, and ask if they are interested in doing them.

 

Guess it sounds like I'm more of an overly planner, after reading this back thru, huh? :D

[Familygoboston]

Definately a planner, but OP are you projecting how you would feel if you planned that much? According to the other "planner" posters this is not how THEY feel doing that much planning. The planners obviously really enjoy it! And I know for myself, I love the planning (it's fun to anticipate the trip) I relax more having planned ( because I'm not stressing onboard about what to do and is there any more room and do I have to stand in that line?) But the people who do things the last minute ARE NOT stressing about it, because it's what makes them happy!

 

As a boss once told me "planning is everything but plans mean nothing". And we take that to heart; the weather, a chance meeting of another fun couple...anything can change our plans and we are happy to do it!

 

Oh, and if while cruising I had a nickel for every person at dinner who says, "wow, how did you know to do that? go there?", I could take another cruise!:D

[daveky]

I "comfortably plan" these days. I do research though on cruise critic on reading threads from recent cruisers before my cruise date to be aware of any changes such as airport security, USDA, embarkation-debarkation, etc. so I'm not caught off guard. ie booking in advance shows on Oasis and Allure which was a change from other ships.

 

Dave

[onefishtwofish]

I would say we comfortably plan....

 

We generally scour the excursions but tend to book very little or just ones we are 110% sure we want to do. Sometimes we have decided to do something once we got "on land" and that's worked out too.

 

We usually don't do specialty restaurants, so that part doesn't apply.

 

However, this time I did pre-book shows (last year on Oasis we didn't book anything but saw everything we wanted to by going there around 10 minutes prior to showtime). I did like knowing we had a spot for the shows, so would do that one again - BUT we did NOT stress about it!

 

We have been to these ports (except Falmouth) so not too much interested us this go-round.....we did do the trolley ride in Falmouth ($10 p/p) and if you want to see the "REAL" Jamaica, do it. You will feel VERY thankful afterwards! My kids 9 & 11 were very humbled by what they saw. The market there right off the ship is nice and the people were extremely nice.

 

:D

[Texas Teen]

I'm definately an overplanner! I don't have any cruises planned yet, but I still try to make plans of what I would do on a particular ship as if I were going on a particular cruise! :eek:

[kc320]

I would say I comfortably plan...I tend to do a lot of research on my ports if I am cruising...but I don't always book something for each port...I actually think I do more planning if I am taking a land based vacation as I like to know about the area my hotel is in, what is nearby to see,do or places to eat...

[bigeagle12]

Over plan .. and PROUD of it :D

 

Can't have to many spreadsheets. I drive my wife nuts. But she does appreciate it when the cruise is a complete success.

[newlifeca]

I adequately plan

[laxfanmom1]

Over plan and plan for my entire group of friends! We spent a year ahead of our recent Med cruise meeting at restaurants every month (with our group of 10 friends) to plan everything. I started out thinking that everyone would do whatever they wanted to do. We had done a cruise 5 years ago by ourselves and had a lot of fun hearing about everyone's excursions at the dinner table. But, with this one, once I mentioned my own plans, it turned out that all of my friends wanted to do the same thing. We even purposely left two of the ports unplanned until about 2 weeks before the cruise and, then, once I booked my tours, they all did the same thing.

 

We just booked another Med cruise (different ports) for 2012 with the same group and they've all mentioned that they can't wait for the planning meetings again!

 

Personally, though, I'm what most would consider over the top with my planning. Last year I read on here about a woman with a cruise clothing color coded spreadsheet. So, I got on excel and made myself one! It was great fun to play around with it and change my outfits around for several months before the cruise. By the time we actually left, though, I had had enough and I didn't even bring it (although the outfits listed all came onboard), and I threw caution to the wind and wore what I felt like wearing throughout the cruise!:)

 

To me it's more stressful NOT having a plan. I know that I drive some people (my sister)crazy, but I can't do it any other way!

[ddonalds]

I think I'm an over-planner, and the last cruise I took is probably going to change that. We did a Med cruise, but because I figured we would never go back to a couple of the countries - we just HAD to see everything. I was exhausted!!!! My next cruise - Caribbean, scheduling only that which must be (it'll be on Allure or Oasis, so there are shows that we'll definitely want to see) - and NO excursions. There will be massages in there somewhere, but nothing more stressful or preplanned than going to a show, or decorating a cupcake....:D

[bob278]

.....

As a boss once told me "planning is everything but plans mean nothing". And we take that to heart; the weather, a chance meeting of another fun couple...anything can change our plans and we are happy to do it!

.........

:D

Great statement. Another way to put it: "Man plans. God laughs."

 

I plan everything that has to do with movement (flights, transfers, etc.) to very detailed levels. Everything else, it varys. We almost always have some "must-do" things on a cruise (although as we repeat ports, that list gets smaller) and those are fully arranged/planned before we leave home. Otherwise, we are flexible and that combination allows us to enjoy ourselves. My wife thinks I overplan, but she has yet to complain that we had no problems on the trip.

[lah66]

I definitely overplan....I already know what we will be doing each day on our Feb 2013 cruise. If I have 8 hours on an island that I may never see again, you bet I am going to research the best thing to do and book it ASAP. But back on the ship....who knows where we will eat, if we will go to a show, what we will do...that is when we go with the flow and relax....

Right now I am planning a 2 week roadtrip to Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Gettysburg. Lord help me...It is harder to plan when you have days instead of just hours......

[cruiselvr04]

I am an overplanner but I don't let it stress me out. It would stress me more to not have a plan. As some have said then we take forever to decide what to do and wastes time. I think if you don't plan you could really miss out on some great things. Our port days are planned but sea days are no plan days. We do whatever we want when an activity catches our eye. Evenings we go to the show unless we have seen it before.

 

Years ago I planned every detail of a Disney trip. Laminated maps of the parks with schedules of which rides to do first and a laminated schedule for the plan for each day for 10 days including what time the teens needed to be out of bed. Yes they complained and made fun of me but.... it was our only trip there and they saw and did it all! In the end they were thankful Mom was so organized and we really had a great trip. Even used to put us all (4 kids, 2 adults) in the same color t-shirts so I could keep track of everyone.

[NeuroQueen]

Is there a category above "over planning"? We booked Oasis just nine weeks before we sailed and I was determined to not "miss a thing". I had the menus, compasses, etc all organized in order to book the shows and dinners at the most advantageous time. What a job it was. I was VERY overwhelmed! It all worked out, but you can't do it all in a week! Just pick the things you think you will enjoy the most based on personal preference and reviews from CC readers, of course! I definitely needed a vacation from my vacation! Would I do it again? Well! We are going again in April 2012 and I swear I'm going to wrestle with my demons and NOT overplan! I actually enjoy doing the research but have to admit the Oasis almost did me in. Maybe I need THERAPY!!!

[Cruise Envy]

I'm in the "more than a comfortable, but less than an OCD planner" group. I do a ton of planning and research prior to a cruise, and have normally picked out the major excursions well in advance. I've researched alternatives, have a list of things that I want to get to, but once I board... I relax and go with th flow. For me, planning fills the time before the cruise.