I need to change my cruise style!

[Jane2357]

Most of my prior cruises have been with my daughter/sisters/friends. I've only taken one cruise with my dh and that was the new Solstice back in 2008. He didn't hate it but he didn't love it, as an exec. type - he loves to relax on vaca and felt the cruise was too structured. That would be my fault as I am a type A and don't want to miss anything.

 

Do you consider yourself to have a cruise "style"? Are you an over planner? A go with the flow? Do you know every nook the ship?

 

We have a 2 night and 7 night booked before our very first 14 nighter. I want to RELAX and really enjoy the experience without feeling like I'm rushing to find a lounger, rushing to get on, get off, get to dinner, get to the show.

 

I read the reviews here and it seems that everyone is enjoying everything - this can't be true but it leads me to think I MUST do it all.

 

The 14 nighter will be our 20th Anniv., our 1st suite and our 1st aft. In an effort to not be on such a strict schedule I will try the Select dining but now I read that people are making reservations for those so once again I feel that I better plan to do the same. :eek:

 

Are there others out there that over pack, over plan, over schedule? Did you used to be this way? How do I STOP? Any tips on how to make this more relaxing will be appreciated!!!

[jackdiamond]

Jane, I have a very simple attitude which is that I do not sweat the small stuff.

[warmwinds]

Why do you both have to do the same things on board? I like to go to all the "talks", activities, etc...my husband likes to work out, swim, and read on the veranda. Works for us.

[yayvacation!]

As a fellow type A I feel your "over planning" pain!

 

For me it depends on the cruise, we are going on a SE Asia cruise and almost every port day is planned to the minute, Alaska was the same. For our Caribbean cruises the first couple were planned out now we just do whatever we feel like when we dock.

 

The only thing that really helps me balance my "planner" personality with my H's more laid back style is to actually plan in do nothing or go with the flow days. So 5 ports are crazy planned for Asia, and 2 ports I've looked into, didn't schedule anything and figured will wander around and see what interests us. I've read about the ports, have a vague idea of what I want to wander to, but nothing set in stone if that makes sense.

 

Just saying "relax" or "go with the flow" doesn't work for people like us! ;)

 

Enjoy the suite! We booked a suite for our first cruise and haven't been able to book anything since! :D the butler will also help make your cruise more relaxing, breakfast on the balcony, afternoon tea, dinner in your suite, have him book your reservations, etc,etc.

 

Andrea

[hmorrow]

Hi

When we first started to cruise, we did everything we could. Now after MANY cruises we do practically nothing. We just got off a fifteen night ta and never went to the first show.

 

Some people say they don't care about their cabin, but we spend time there. We do what we want, when we want or even nothing at all. It works for us. It took a while for me to feel like I was not "missing" something. Actually, what I'm not missing is any stress!

 

Good luck in finding your happy medium......

Helaine

[deelastcre]

I have changed a bit with over planning and over packing for my cruises. I still need to work on taking too many clothes. The itinerary dictates how much I plan. In Europe, Alaska, Hawaii, and Panama Canal, I booked more excursions because I would probably not return, again. In the past, I felt that I had to go to every onboard activity. I still underline the activities and if I get to them fine. The Wine Tastings are the only thing that I don't give up. I have found that I can relax and enjoy the cruise in the Caribbean without a lot of planning. I've been to most of the Islands. When I sail to the last few, I will explore them. I am retired, but it is no fun to return from a vacation tired.

[wwcruisers]

Jane, your post gave me a much-needed chuckle. :D

 

When DH and I seriously started cruising (10 years ago), we had that "Only seven days to do it all" philosophy -- shows, shore excursions, lectures, wine tastings -- you name it, we tried to do it! And then we wondered why we returned home more exhausted than when we left! :eek: Over the years, we have tried to slow things down and just "go with the flow" -- much more relaxing. Of course, there are always things to pre-plan, like shore excursions, or roll-call activities, but our efforts at being more spontaneous have paid off. We have friends who love RC's mega-ships (Oasis & Allure) -- but we have no desire to sail on ships so large that practically every meal, show, and activity has to be pre-booked before departure. :rolleyes:

 

Probably your 14-night cruise will be much more relaxing. With more sea days, you won't feel pressured to see and do everything on the ship in a day or two. Just kick back, enjoy your anniversary and your aft suite. Set aside some "lazy time" in the afternoons, and let your butler serve you tea and munchies on your balcony, while watching the ship's wake. :cool:

[mum and son]

I try to go on cruises with plenty of sea days - and I leave them unplanned so I can just wander around the ship, sleep whenever, eat whenever, drink whenever. Port days can be very hectic so I use the sea days to recharge my batteries!

[ghstudio]

We have pretty much stopped 7 day cruises, now preferring 10 days or more and we're doing more B2B cruises. We found that on a 7 day cruise, we felt we had to do everything...after all, we only had 7 days. The longer cruises now let us do what we want..and we find that we actually do less and less, preferring to read on our balcony to trivial pursuit and similar. We aren't locked at the hip....we check the schedule in the morning before or at breakfast and decide the things we'll do together, perhaps a time for lunch (or not). It's much more relaxing. I do the excursion planning, since we much prefer private or at least smaller excursions. Occasionally, I'll go one way and my wife will go another since I like adventure and my wife likes sightseeing...and then we'll take ship tours which are only cost effective if you are going alone. Our dining angst has gone away now that we book aqua and enjoy blu and the semi-personalized service and 'eat when you want, in what you want clothes". My wife, btw is type A (or AAAA if there is such a thing), I am only an A when forced to be so as in planning the excursions...otherwise, tomorrow is soon enough ;)

[hcat]

everyone is different.. I am the over-planner, DH goes with the flow but likes to be active...

 

sometimes we find a cruise is a hectic-vacation ...too much to do even if we try to do less & relax more...we now pack less stuff and stay on board in some ports for a nice quiet day...hardly ever go to the shows at night... we just find a nice spot with a bit of music to wind down... and dining in BLU is really great for us...no more MDR!

 

10/11 nights is about perfect for us but a week is Ok too..... the longer ones are appealing but being away that long is difficult for us due to cat sitting issues right now.. and the same general routine for too long can get stale!

 

recently we tried an all inclusive resort & really liked the change of pace.. we had a huge room, were quite pampered and felt less locked in to a schedule.. we relaxed more although there were many activites if we wanted them...& no port shopping to distract us!! Now we are well-relaxed for our March cruise (7 days)

 

crusining is still # 1 for us but sometimes a break can help make it seem fresh again!!

 

Happy Anniv to OP--enjoy your cruise

[nothriver]

I'm relatively new to cruising but my "style" is port intensive cruising, with the cruiseship primarily as a hotel room/transportation. I'm an overplanner, as you describe, when it comes to planning our port days, but when it comes to the cruiseship itself, we are there to relax, eat, and sleep. I do enjoy reading trip reports and do take advantage of a few of the activities I've read about that others highly recommend that sound especially appealing to me. Our last cruise was on HAL and for example, we took the ship tour one sea day, and enjoyed the Indonesian Tea on on the other sea day. For the most part, we like to read, swim, play board games, work on a puzzle - the kind of thing we never have time to do in our busy lives at home - it is wonderful!

[OCruisers]

[quote name=Jane2357;36385680The 14 nighter will be our 20th Anniv.' date=' our 1st suite and our 1st aft. In an effort to not be on such a strict schedule I will try the Select dining but now I read that people are making reservations for those so once again I feel that I better plan to do the same. :eek:

 

Are there others out there that over pack, over plan, over schedule? Did you used to be this way? How do I STOP? Any tips on how to make this more relaxing will be appreciated!!!

 

The only help I can be is to turn your Type A into planning on how to not plan anything and just go with the flow for at least half of the cruise. It's not easy. Sometimes not planning is harder than planning. Is is for me but DH loves having no advance plans at all some days/evenings.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Zoey1]

Most of my prior cruises have been with my daughter/sisters/friends. I've only taken one cruise with my dh and that was the new Solstice back in 2008. He didn't hate it but he didn't love it, as an exec. type - he loves to relax on vaca and felt the cruise was too structured. That would be my fault as I am a type A and don't want to miss anything.

 

Do you consider yourself to have a cruise "style"? Are you an over planner? A go with the flow? Do you know every nook the ship?

 

We have a 2 night and 7 night booked before our very first 14 nighter. I want to RELAX and really enjoy the experience without feeling like I'm rushing to find a lounger, rushing to get on, get off, get to dinner, get to the show.

 

I read the reviews here and it seems that everyone is enjoying everything - this can't be true but it leads me to think I MUST do it all.

 

The 14 nighter will be our 20th Anniv., our 1st suite and our 1st aft. In an effort to not be on such a strict schedule I will try the Select dining but now I read that people are making reservations for those so once again I feel that I better plan to do the same. :eek:

 

Are there others out there that over pack, over plan, over schedule? Did you used to be this way? How do I STOP? Any tips on how to make this more relaxing will be appreciated!!!

 

I am pretty type A but do love to relax on our cruises. As other posters have said the sea days are ultra relaxing as there is no rush to get up, etc. We have realized that as for loungers, it is okay if we are not sitting that close to the pool, this way we again don't have to rush out. We always do 2nd seating but usually go to all the speciality restaurants and make those reservations around the same time. We sometimes do different things, go to a lecture, exercise etc. As for over packing, you would think we never went away, we are notorious over packers, trying to work on this yet again for our up coming cruise on the Reflection. Hope you can sit back and enjoy your cruise together ;-)

[debandbruce]

DH and I have changed how we cruise as well and we haven't been on as many as most people have. I am the lounger, I like to read enjoy a specialty coffee watch the water go by. While DH does enjoy this he doesn't like to sit for too long. He will come with me to the solarium and see that I am all set then he heads off to the gym. He will come back at some point and join me or if I feel like going to the cabin he meets me there. When we were on the Eclipse we had an aft cabin and I loved going back there for sailaway. I would grab a glass of wine and the plate of cheese and fruit that we ordered in place of the canapes and enjoyed the view.

We are not fans of waiting in line for dinner anywhere especially on vacation so have never chosen anytime dining but I did dine in Blu last year when I was in Aqua Class and found that was a perfect compromise.

We have definately become go with the flow cruisers. I used to plan out every day and every port. Shore excursions and dining were always booked ahead of time but now we never do ships tours we just go to the end of the pier and get a cab. I have to say as a reformed over-planner I do like our present cruise style, we just seem so much more relaxed.

 

just to add we love sea days and can't wait to have 5 in a row when we sail to Hawaii next year!

[celle]

I tend to choose cruises for the port itinerary - like to go to different places. The second factor when choosing a cruise is the number of days at sea. We like sea days, relaxing and not having to do anything.

 

I don't care who the cruise director is, or even if there is one. I may choose a few lectures or other activities but, for the most part, I like to find a quiet place and sit and read, while watching the sea.

 

Perhaps your DH would like to just relax and do nothing. You could do your thing and he could do his, while agreeing to meet up now and then.

 

Good luck anyway!

[navyrotorhead]

I've only taken one cruise with my dh. He didn't hate it but he didn't love it, as an exec. type - he loves to relax on vaca and felt the cruise was too structured. That would be my fault as I am a type A and don't want to miss anything.

 

I want to RELAX and really enjoy the experience without feeling like I'm rushing to find a lounger, rushing to get on, get off, get to dinner, get to the show.

 

In an effort to not be on such a strict schedule I will try the Select dining but now I read that people are making reservations for those so once again I feel that I better plan to do the same. :eek:

 

How do I STOP? Any tips on how to make this more relaxing will be appreciated!!!

 

Rent or stream the original "Karate Kid" movie and LEARN from Mr Miyagi. :D

 

"Better learn Balance. Balance is key. Lesson not just Karate only. Lesson for whole life. Whole life have a balance. Everything be better." ;)

 

ESPECIALLY while cruising! TRY to remember... It's a V A C A T I O N ! :rolleyes:

 

Have FUN ! :)

[fleckle]

Why do you both have to do the same things on board?....

You said exactly what I was thinking.

They are on vacation. There are no hard and fast rules about what they should or shouldn't do.

 

They can each do whatever they like, as the mood strikes them. When they both want to do the same thing, that is fine. When they each want to do different things, that is fine too.

 

There is no reason why one must fit the mold of a particular "cruise style" at all. Sometimes it is fun to plan every last little detail, and sometimes it is fun just to play it by ear and see where the road takes you.

 

 

I read the reviews here and it seems that everyone is enjoying everything - this can't be true but it leads me to think I MUST do it all.

Most of us had mothers who gave us some very good advice when we were children, and I hope you were lucky enough to have one of them.

When you would come home and tell her what "everyone" was doing, what did she say to you?? :D

[Keith1010]

Just try to enjoy each day which is even easier to do on a longer cruise.

 

Keith

[kyriecat]

I like to have a schedule, my husband does not. After over 25 years together, we've learned to compromise.

 

If we are going to ports that we have never been before, I will make arrangements to either take a tour or plan some things to do on our own. If we're in Europe, we will be off the ship as long as possible to see as much as we can. If we're in the Caribbean, we usually get back onboard between mid-afternoon.

 

If we're going to ports that we've seen before, we'll do something less strenuous, like have a beach day or wander around town.

 

Sea days have no plans - sleep late, see what's going on around the ship. We don't normally spend sea days together the whole time. We'll leave notes saying that we'll be back at a certain time or where we will be so the other knows.

 

The evenings are usually open. We don't mind having a set dinner time so fixed seating works for us, although we will normally have dinner at a specialty restaurant once a week for a change. We don't plan around the shows. If there is one that looks interesting, we'll see if seats are available. If not, we'll do something else.

[Jane2357]

I'm laughing as read through all the responses - I really do need to learn to go with the flow! As a type A I have a 3 point plan to teach myself to stop over packing, have some me time and not be so stressed about missing things.

1) I am going to start trying to put your suggestions into place on our little 2 nighter in January - where I am going to tackle my packing issues by only taking on a large carryon :eek: - if I can do it - it will be worthy of an award!!!

2) Then in October when we have a 6 night - I am going to try to encourage dh to spend time doing things on his own that he might enjoy, giving me some down time (although this is a group cruise and I'm the leader so it remains to be seen). In years past when he was working, we never had much alone time so we were joined at the hip - now that he is out of work and we have too much time together - lol - I'm ready to cut the strings and set him FREE.

3) Then in Feb. '14 - on our 14 night - I am going to let sea days (which I love) be nothing planned days. If I miss a sunrise, a formal night or dinner in the MDR - then so be it.

 

So there is my plan, hmmmm or does having a plan defeat the purpose? Giggle - I'm hopeless. :cool:

[hcat]

Sounds like a good "plan".

 

.I enjoyed this thread b/c I thought I was the only one feeling rushed to go here & go there all the time!!! I forgot to mention that on longer cruise we take "one night off" we get snacks, room svc or whatever , & watch a movie in the stateroom (S class usually has some good ones), read, do puzzles or do nothing!

 

DH has also agreed we should slow our pace on board...enjoy our balcony more & just sit!

[Jane2357]

Dining on the balcony is one thing that I am looking forward to doing - with our first suite. It would be fun to have a night off and dress in what ever - sipping wine and eating as the sun sets - on the aft - woohoo - that gets me very excited, we've a long time to wait :(

[debandbruce]

The aft view is so beautiful. Be sure to sit out there at some point on the first and last night. When we were on the Eclipse the Norwegian Epic was travelling behind us and The Allure passed us, it was so beautiful to see them all lit up at night. We saw many ships coming and going, add to that sight the wake, it was just lovely. Makes it very hard to go back to another part of the ship.

[lhbsurf]

We are very much alike!! A lot of good advice here as always, but as you can tell a lot of that 'going with the flow' comes after you have cruised several times and have experienced it all and know what you like and what you don't care about.

 

One of my best strategies is to plan "options" to do...that way I can enjoy researching and planning, but not necessarily feel like we have to do it all. If I come across something I have my heart set on - I book it, plan it, and do it and hubby is a good sport! Otherwise, I usually have a folder or calendar with options of things we can do...some we end up doing, others we don't.

 

Our last cruise, we surprisingly spent 14 days doing mostly nothing and it was one of our best and most relaxing vacations ever!!

[islandgirlejfan]

I think the only thing I really plan is my packing list and these days, I just keep it in the cruise folder on my computer and make changes to it when I get rid of something that's on the list or buy something new that I want to take along. We are down to taking just a carry on along so we can be among the first to get off and it's a practice I intend to keep doing, more so after reading the recent posts about disembarking. I need to keep those happy feelings I have aboard as long as possible! :D I have to say my habit of serious overpacking did not help me keep those feelings either....especially when I was in the washroom sorting, washing, drying and folding. :(

 

For now, we still go on shore excursions and we plan those out but other than that, we sort of pick and choose. We look at the dailies to see if there is anything of interest to us and if there is, we highlight it. We may make it to the highlighted activity or not. Enjoying time with each other and friends is more important to us these days. We loved our long, leisurely breakfasts and dinners with friends. I think the only ritual we really have is to get our morning coffee and enjoy some chatter....LOL, it's usually started by me and the need to take more cruises! I think that's why i love cruise vacations....if we are on a land based vacay, I have every minute packed.....I tend not to do that with cruises.