What do you do before a cruise?

[Athena.delta]

Hello! :)

 

I am very excited for my voyager cruise on 7th December, and was hoping you can share some tips/advice about pre-cruise preparation!

 

For those who have been cruising, we all know how quickly the days pass, and it's imperative to plan ahead of time, e.g. what to do and when, etc.

 

How do you plan prior to a cruise? e.g. do you research all the locations before hand and print out maps and stuff, or research good restaurants and cafes there, etc?

 

I'm going to NZ, stopping at melbourne along the way..

Thanks! :)

[maureencruiser]

I do all of those things and I practically live on CC, reading as much as I can. Tripadvisor is good for things to do and restaurants. Have a great trip! :D

[satxdiver]

Look at the ports and what the ship offers for excursions. You may decide to join one or it may give you ideas to research for a private tour. Use CC port pages to research what others have done on a particular port and how they felt about the ship/private excursion.

 

You can use trip advisor dot com to see what non-pax say about restaurants, bars and attractions in most large ports.

 

Make a list of everything you think you will need on the trip and then pare it down for just the essentials. You have to get it in your luggage and you will have to get it to the airport and ship. A lot of pax bring too many clothes, shoes, etc.

 

Things like a power strip (you may only have one or two outlets available) for your electronics, magnets for the walls (they are metal) to hold up notices, etc., hand cleanser and bag/pack for shore excursions, small clock (none in room except for TV and phone), cabin decorations, door decorations (helps to find your cabin door - they all look alike!), etc.

[SamFritz]

Hourly visits to Cruise Critic.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, please excuse all the typos.

[Philly Steve]

Cruise Critic, YouTube for destinations and the ship, and the Roll Call.

[voyager89]

Bite my nails

 

 

And live on cruise critic, trip advisor, cruise time tables - to see what other ships will be on ports with us- well that I only do once

 

I go to my account on rc.com to see if anything has changed LOL

 

I also create a music setlist on my phone with music I want to listen to. And one of the things I enjoy, I do a list on my phone also with every clothing and accesory item I will bring :eek: yes, I am serious haha. More than doing it to prevent forgeting something, I do it because I loooove fashion and I plan every single thing on my daily outfits. shoes, clothes, accesories, bag, shades etc etc. yes I am a freak like that :o

[mskaufman]

Also, the library to plan out what my priorities are for each port day. Would those priorities change if there was inclement weather? I also look at Google images to see if there are any places that I want to capture with my camera.

[lauren0309]

I'm sailing in 10 days so now the days are creeping for me. What I do to pass these last grueling days...I go on cruise critic at least once an hour, go over my wardrobe, look through my paperwork to make sure I have everything organized, watch you tube videos on the ship I am sailing on and I'm watching the weather forecast to make sure I have no problems as far as flying out. I wanna go already!!!

[cb at sea]

I always research where I'm going, whether on a cruise or land vacation!

 

But, I don't overplan my days on the ship....it's a vacation and supposed to have "down" time" for relaxation and doing nothing!

[Keith1010]

We do a lot of research on the ports of call from what we would like to do in each port to what the normal temperature is. We also do a pre cruise stay so we plan what we will do then.

 

I find that the weeks before the cruise that the time goes vey fast.

 

Keith

[dorisis]

I make lists and then I add to the lists when i think of something more I will need to do. As the days go by I cross off what is done.

 

I sort and resort the clothing I want to take and right before I pack, I elliminate a lot of the items.

 

Stop the paper. Stop the mail. Let a neighbor know we will be gone. Clean out the fridge. Call the credit card company to let them know we will be gone. Take extra cash out of the bank for tips and sundries.

 

This year I am writting Christmas Cards and wrapping gifts to be mailed when we return from a cruise a week before Christmas. Right before leaving I turn the thermostat off and unplug all the large appliances and other gadgets.I also turnoff the water at the outside main.

 

The day before we leave I will wash all the laundry including sheets and towels. My cleaning lady will be here the day before we leave to tidy up the house.

[sealeggs]

We are hind of fly by the seat of your pants people for the most part. Oh don't get me wrong there are a few things we will plan for, but we will most likely just go with the flow.

[michelle1836]

I make lists and then I add to the lists when i think of something more I will need to do. As the days go by I cross off what is done.

 

I sort and resort the clothing I want to take and right before I pack, I elliminate a lot of the items.

 

Stop the paper. Stop the mail. Let a neighbor know we will be gone. Clean out the fridge. Call the credit card company to let them know we will be gone. Take extra cash out of the bank for tips and sundries.

 

The day before we leave I will wash all the laundry including sheets and towels. My cleaning lady will be here the day before we leave to tidy up the house.

 

LOL yes, me too. I also live on CC like some others and follow my 'what to do before you cruise' check list

[bltrn]

GO NUTS!!! :eek:

[Hlitner]

Besides going nuts :) we like to do some planning because we tend to do most ports on our own. In NZ this can mean using public transit or even renting a car in certain ports. A good starting point for port research is to simply look at the various excursions sold by the cruise line. This gives you a good idea about what is in the area and what options might be perfect for your day. We then try to figure out how and if we can do what we want on our own, or if we truly need one of the rare (and too expensive) tours.

 

Hank

[SuitCaseBears]

In addition to living on cuisecritic, I spend a lot of time on TripAdvisor and just googling the various ports, not to mention YouTube and google images.

 

All the while I'm adding stuff to my "cruise worksheet" which is a MANY paged Excel Spreadsheet where I collect all of my information.

 

I've not cruised that much and we've been on a few different lines, so when we're going on a new line I read the "secrets of..." threads and take copious notes.

 

Then I have a page for "overview" with the whole cruise and just a summary of where we are each day and if I have a specific exursion.

 

Then I have a page for each day of the cruise whether it's a sea day or port day and I create a calendar of what we're doing when, including specialty dining and spa visits.

 

Then I convince DH not to have me locked up because of my spreadsheets, and I do Sheldon imitations which will make sense to anyone who watches The BIg Bang Theory.

 

That ^^ I might start months and months in advance. The idea is that I can have fun with a 10 day cruise for probably 5 months.

 

As it gets closer I get the packing spreadsheet out. I start with a master spread sheet and I adjust for the number of days of the cruise, where we're going etc. and then it calculates how many of what I need, and then I change it all.

 

Around this time my husband again gently suggests I'm insane and laughs indulgently.

 

The thing is that I'm not at all rigid about what we do once we're on the ship. Plans can be changed on a whim, or not. But I just like the planning. and all the planning means we have options if we wake up and suddenly decide to do something not on the spread sheet. In fact I don't usually even look at the spreadsheet except maybe to remember spa appointments.

[OCruisers]

Some things really can't be done too far in advance.

Hate the very last minute things we have do the day of before leaving on a cruise.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[headhunterke]

I search so many info and read so many posts here on CC, I feel like I'm studying for college again. And the last couple of weeks before the cruise, I'm totally of this planet. You don't want me as a colleague then, because I'm as unfocused as one can be ;-)

[SPacificbound]

The planning is half the fun. :)

[sparky-elpaso]

In addition to living on cuisecritic, I spend a lot of time on TripAdvisor and just googling the various ports, not to mention YouTube and google images.

 

All the while I'm adding stuff to my "cruise worksheet" which is a MANY paged Excel Spreadsheet where I collect all of my information.

 

I've not cruised that much and we've been on a few different lines, so when we're going on a new line I read the "secrets of..." threads and take copious notes.

 

Then I have a page for "overview" with the whole cruise and just a summary of where we are each day and if I have a specific exursion.

 

Then I have a page for each day of the cruise whether it's a sea day or port day and I create a calendar of what we're doing when, including specialty dining and spa visits.

 

Then I convince DH not to have me locked up because of my spreadsheets, and I do Sheldon imitations which will make sense to anyone who watches The BIg Bang Theory.

 

That ^^ I might start months and months in advance. The idea is that I can have fun with a 10 day cruise for probably 5 months.

 

As it gets closer I get the packing spreadsheet out. I start with a master spread sheet and I adjust for the number of days of the cruise, where we're going etc. and then it calculates how many of what I need, and then I change it all.

 

Around this time my husband again gently suggests I'm insane and laughs indulgently.

 

The thing is that I'm not at all rigid about what we do once we're on the ship. Plans can be changed on a whim, or not. But I just like the planning. and all the planning means we have options if we wake up and suddenly decide to do something not on the spread sheet. In fact I don't usually even look at the spreadsheet except maybe to remember spa appointments.

 

Obviously we're twins. :D Another thing I like to do is check out the ports using Google Earth. Sometimes you can see where the ship will dock because there's a cruise ship in the shot. Comes in especially handy in departure and ending ports if you plan to stay a day or two. You can set it so the location of hotels, restaurants, etc. show which makes it easy to get an idea of what's in a particular area. You can also measure distances to see if where you want to go is within walking distance.

[Teeara]

Then I convince DH not to have me locked up because of my spreadsheets, and I do Sheldon imitations which will make sense to anyone who watches The BIg Bang Theory.

 

LOL! Yeah, that's it EXACTLY! :D

 

I don't do a spreadsheet, but I do have several tables and charts I use for determining outfits to pack, the actual packing lists for each piece of luggage I take (with appropriate spaces to check off when repacking at the hotels pre- and post-cruise as well as on the ship prior to departure at the end of the cruise), and the itinerary with all information to share with the family back at home.

 

My latest addition is a post-it note on the front door reminding me to make sure I have ALL of my bags before leaving the house since I left one in the living room when we left for our Adventure cruise in 2011 and had to go to CVS once we arrived in San Juan to buy new undies and toiletries since they were in the bag. Had to buy a new bathing suit in Curacao since that was also in the bag and I didn't find any I liked in San Juan.

[Gunner22aa]

One month out I confirm the kennel reservation for the dog. The reservation could have been made up to a year in advance because the one I use is very popular and provides extensive one on one socialization.

 

One week out I check to confirm all is well with the flights as they were likely booked 9 months prior to the actual day of departure.

 

Print off all of the relevant information I need like boarding passes for the ship, transfer reservations and alike and make my cruise book up

 

24 hours prior to departure do the online check in for the flight and put the boarding passes in the cruise book

 

Afternoon prior to departure take the dog to the kennel and have a quick chat with my nextdoor neighbour the police detective who looks after my place when we are gone. Then vist the daughter and say good bye to my grandbabies and promise to bring them home something nice. Confirm which bottle my SIL wants me to pick up for him.

 

Evening prior to departure I pack. Takes about an hour at most. My wife started this two weeks ago.

 

Sit back and have a beer or two maybe chat a bit with my rollcall buddies on here and hit the sack early as we always have very early morning flights.

 

Morning of get up and off to the airport via taxi or my daughter. Fly, land and off to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon/night prior to boarding the next day.

[SuitCaseBears]

Obviously we're twins. :D Another thing I like to do is check out the ports using Google Earth. Sometimes you can see where the ship will dock because there's a cruise ship in the shot. Comes in especially handy in departure and ending ports if you plan to stay a day or two. You can set it so the location of hotels, restaurants, etc. show which makes it easy to get an idea of what's in a particular area. You can also measure distances to see if where you want to go is within walking distance.

 

Oooo Oooo Yes! I forgot to mention google earth.

 

I did a google earth of one port where we're doing a private tour and have to meet them at their offices at another pier. I was able to map out just how to get there, by seeing their boats which are quite distinctive and were featured on their website.

 

Of course later I found that they send you directions from the cruise ship dock to their dock. But it was much cooler to have figured it out myself and to be able to visualize it.

[SuitCaseBears]

I do have several tables and charts I use for determining outfits to pack, the actual packing lists for each piece of luggage I take (with appropriate spaces to check off when repacking at the hotels pre- and post-cruise as well as on the ship prior to departure at the end of the cruise), and the itinerary with all information to share with the family back at home.

 

Oh, I don't have the list by suitcase, but on my packing list I have a list of "bags" I have a "sun bag" which is a zip lock bag with suntan lotions (heavy duty for DH and light for me) Sun burn lotion etc.; a "bug bag" with insect repellant wipes and I use the battery operated things sometimes; a bag for charger cables; a bag for cold remedies; a bag for stomach remedies, etc.

 

Then depending on where we're going I just grab the appropriate zip lock bags. :D

[Athena.delta]

Dear all,

 

Thank you so so much for all your replies! They helped me quite a lot :)

 

PS.. anyone else on the voyager cruise on 7 December??

 

Wooooo 8 days to go!!!

 

CAN'T WAIT!!