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

[Illmaxict]

I obsessively research every aspect of the trip, yet plan nothing. I like to have nothing set in stone except my room number. The rest can fall into place as it comes, but I do like to be more than aware of all my options.

[mosywoes]

What, overplan....are you talking to to ME?? Yes, I'm quite excited about our first cruise and am really bordering on some obsessive behavior at this point!! From creating a packing list 100 days out, but now that embarkation is 85 days out I really need to get cracking here :D to having plans for port days (they aren't exhausting plans...pretty proud of myself there) I have a pretty good idea of what I should expect, thanks in great part to all of you on CC and my friend currently sailing on the Dream this week!:)

[debshomespun]

I fall between the OverPlanner and the ComfortablyPlanner. I will research the ports, and will plan a few private excursions. We don't do the Specialty Restaurants (the couple times we have tried them, we made the reservations while on the ship). Some ports, I will check out the best beaches, and just catch a cab or the bus to the beach. :D

 

Our cruises on the Oasis and Allure B2B, will stress me out a little more, since I need to make the reservations for the shows before we go. We will do MTD, so we can eat when we want. I will not make reservations before we go. My SIL said she did, and it was hard to figure it all out. Then, while on Oasis, they had to wait longer than the people without reservations! :eek:

[Desert Cruizers]

For our trips, land or sea, I will scout out our stops, research interestings things to see and book any tours ahead of time. Once all that work is done then I can relax and enjoy our travels much better, knowing where we will going and how transportation will be provided.

[skandls]

We make our list of 'must dos' and plan and book those if possible. Other days depend on our moods and energy levels. I did book the shows on the Oasis - that ship requires planning because of all the specialty restaurants and the schedules for the shows.

[VegasChic]

I never used to plan until all these show options and dining venues started. When I went on the Epic last year I planned so much that I didnt plan sleeping the night before and was so exhausted when I got onboard. Also I looked at so many pictures and videos that I felt like I already sailed before I boarded. I feel I'm doing the same with my upcoming Allure cruise but I can't help it, it's in my nature to plan.

 

However, my husband is the complete opposite and we've tried that route but it's usually a disaster and I remember crying a couple of trips that he planned because they were just plain awful. He is not planning any trips in my house the only thing he should plan is paying for it!!:D

[megr1125]

aside from planning the CRUISE itself, once i get on the ship, whatever happens happens mostly...except of course for the occasional slot pull/CC meet & mingle and nightly 'meetings' in certain 'meeting facilities' with the likes of medicken and radio....:rolleyes:;):p

[logansnonna]

I am the Overplanner for our group of four so that we are ready to hit the vacation full steam ahead. I am the Bossypants. Then when someone says "let's do this instead" or "Let's just head out and see what happens" out comes the bottom lip, pouty face. Somehow we always have a great time anyway and everyone is happy.

[kpatrick74]

I would think the majority of us are on this board, so we can plan:D.

 

I am a middle of the road planner.....If I can book shows, specialty dining, etc. ahead of time I will do that. I will make notes of the things I have read "not to miss" and try to do those. This next cruise, I am "planning" on My Time Dining so I don't have to plan too much. I will book my shows n Chops but will go with the flow of what I see that interests me.

[aeonix01]

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

 

I simply meant this as a fun general question really, and it seems that people here are enjoying the topic.

 

My comment about people needing a vacation from their vacation came from lots of experiences with people who meticulously plan every detail and every moment of a trip. The people I knew who did that often came back saying they needed a vacation after just getting back from one.

 

As for me, I'm a comfortable planner. Certain things you HAVE to plan such as dining time, air, transport to/from the pier..etc. I definitely have the "Must do" things booked plenty ahead of time. Other than that, we have one excursion for 3/4 of our ports. We left plenty of time to kick back and just enjoy the air or whatever. I don't yet know what I'm packing other than my formal wear and swim gear.

 

I do read almost all of the posts on here that pertain to my trip, or RCI news. I also borderline obsess about reading things that may help for an upcoming cruise, watch videos online about excursions and about the ship if I haven't yet sailed on her. I want to know details about food quality..etc to help plan the trip, cruise line, ship, etc.

 

Other than that, I'm generalizing three possible categories of personality type for vacationers. Not everyone fits into one, or meets every criteria of a type I outlined. Some disagree with part of it, some are a mix of two/three or so. It's all in fun really. I hope you guys are having fun with this topic.

[ma_in_ak]

For me, researching the cruise, the ship, the ports, is all part of the whole vacation. I love knowing as much as possible and what to expect before we go. I usually plan excursions in advance and pre book specialty dining. Then when we are on board, I don't have to care about figuring anything out. If we make it to stuff happening on board, great, if not, oh well. So I guess I am an over planner in advance and a no planner on board.

 

We did a trip in January to Playa Del Carmen. We stayed in a cute little hotel and had no plans. It seemed like we spent half of everyday figuring out where to eat. As soon as we were done with lunch, we were starting to wonder what we would do for dinner. I hated that! Thank goodness breakfast was included at our hotel.

[Stags14]

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?

 

Haha... I was a little upset when I found out I had to actually plan which nights we were going to go to a show on Allure. I in no way, shape or form need to be following a plan while on vacation. I do however like to know what's offered at the ports - but we never book an excurion before we go. What if we decided we wanted to do something else? I realize it works great for some - but not for us really... my wife is happy if there's a beach and I'm happy if there's a bar :p And that's pretty much all it takes and we've got our excursion lol.

 

I did plan 2 specialty restaurants for our upcoming cruise also - I just heard things filled up on this ship so I wanted to make sure we got our first choice of dining :D

 

I actually don't like the fact that we have to have our shows planned out but we'll see how it goes.

[aeonix01]

Haha... I was a little upset when I found out I had to actually plan which nights we were going to go to a show on Allure. I in no way, shape or form need to be following a plan while on vacation. I do however like to know what's offered at the ports - but we never book an excurion before we go. What if we decided we wanted to do something else? I realize it works great for some - but not for us really... my wife is happy if there's a beach and I'm happy if there's a bar :p And that's pretty much all it takes and we've got our excursion lol.

 

I did plan 2 specialty restaurants for our upcoming cruise also - I just heard things filled up on this ship so I wanted to make sure we got our first choice of dining :D

 

I actually don't like the fact that we have to have our shows planned out but we'll see how it goes.

 

I completely understand where you're coming from. On Explorer for example, you can't plan shows though as compared to other ships. It seems you have to try to get a ticket for something like the ice show.

 

On Explorer there really is only one specialty restaurant that I know of, so it's not always easy to get a seating, and you have to decide quickly.

 

I realize you're likely not talking about the Explorer above, but, interestingly enough, not being able to book a show that's in demand has me nervous that my soon to be wife and I will miss it. I usually don't care about that kind of thing.

[Stags14]

I completely understand where you're coming from. On Explorer for example, you can't plan shows though as compared to other ships. It seems you have to try to get a ticket for something like the ice show.

 

On Explorer there really is only one specialty restaurant that I know of, so it's not always easy to get a seating, and you have to decide quickly.

 

I realize you're likely not talking about the Explorer above, but, interestingly enough, not being able to book a show that's in demand has me nervous that my soon to be wife and I will miss it. I usually don't care about that kind of thing.

 

I'm referring to the Allure. I had to make sure we had the shows booked and while I was fiddling around I figured I might as well reserve samba grille and rita's party since I knew I wanted to do those two things. I think if you head to the show like 15 minutes early you'll probably be fine...

[sparky-elpaso]

I think I'm somewhere in between 1 and 2. I like to reserve shore excursions ahead of time - don't want to be that person who doesn't get to go because the excursion is full. And I do have a spreadsheet for what we plan to wear each day - helps in making my packing list and keeping track of what we may need to buy before we leave. Our upcoming cruise is 34 days so I need to "have all our ducks in a row". I also have small notebooks that I use to keep track of expenses, where we go and what we do each day. I'm an avid photographer and I've found it helps in keeping track of what I've taken pictures of each day.

[Happy ks]

The first cruise we took, I overplanned to the point where I had a spreadsheet listing where we were going, how long we'd be there, what clothes to wear to that event, etc... Then we left, nothing was going my way and I threw out the list and went with the flow. The whole family was happier.

 

Excursions:

Now, it depends on where we are going. When we go on a 7 night cruise I will make plans for the port days. If we are in a group I may plan one group outing. When we went to the Med, we planned every port stop (except one, and we had a great day improvising :)). I don't stress over it.

 

Packing:

We have the clothing/packing thing down to a science now, no more agonizing over that any longer. The toiletry bag is always packed. Clothing is X amount of shorts, X amount of tops, X amount of dresses. Pack from the shoes up and make sure it all matches, then just decide what to wear after your shower and hair is dried, easy peasy. The only thing that changes is the length of the sleeves/pants according to weather. We pack as light as we can and use the onboard laundry/dry cleanaing service. Everything comes home dirty, we don't have it all laundered.

 

Transportation:

We grab a cab, get a map of town when we get to our destination and no longer fret over that sort of thing. We've learned the hard way not to rely on buses, trains or rental cars. Yes it costs more, but is way more convenient, faster and we've gotten great tips from cab drivers all over the place. With airfare I look for the quickest route, even if it means driving to a further airport. I'd rather drive an hour to the airport and only fly 5 hours than the one 20 minutes from the house and have connecting flights that take 8 hours, even if it does cost a little more for the shorter flight.

 

My only obsession with cruising now is reading Cruise Critic every day.

[maxxedout2]

I obsessively research every aspect of the trip, yet plan nothing. I like to have nothing set in stone except my room number. The rest can fall into place as it comes, but I do like to be more than aware of all my options.

 

'obsessive research' hehehehe.

 

Good one!

 

Obsessive Research Disorder.

 

ORD.

 

:cool: