Keeping track of your activities while cruising

[Thebes]

Good morning ,

I know this question was discussed in the past but I couldn't find the thread. Question is what method do u use to keep track of your daily activity such as timing of dinners, excursion , shows, etc. any iPhone or iPad users have an apps ideas ?

[catl331]

I just mark the daily program with a yellow highlighter and carry that. We never do more than one excursion a day, and always one that departs early, so that is no problem to remember.

Edited January 12, 2014 by catl331

[sail7seas]

We don't micro-manage our vacations/cruises. We have traditional dining so we know we have dinner at 8:00 each evening. We go to breakfast when we're ready, if we don't have a tour (which we just about never do in Caribbean), we go ashore when we feel like it..... or we don't go at all.

 

We never schedule ourselves tightly.

If there is an activity that interests us, when it is time to go, we go......or not.

 

For us, that is what vacation is about.

But we all do it 'our own way'. :)

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

We also have fixed dining -- 5:30 on our last cruise (much prefer 5:45) -- so that is set.

If we do any excursions -- we try to plan them for the morning.

We are early risers -- DH is in the gym by 6 AM. When he gets back and cleans up and changes, we head to the Pinnacle for breakfast -- 7:30 for port days and 8 for sea days.

When we don't take an excursion, we get off the ship whenever we feel like.

If there are any activities on the ship that we want to do, we do them.

We don't fill our day with so many things that we are tired at the end of the day -- did that years ago when we were younger.

Thus we don't need apps or anything to remind of us where we need to be all the time.

[RuthC]

If I have a shore excursion the next day, I pull out the ticket the night before and make a mental note of the time I have to be ready. That forces me to figure what time I need to be ready for breakfast/get up.

I review the daily program the night before and note what activities I may be interested in, mark them on the program, and make a mental note.

If there is something like a private party to attend, I write that in on the program, and note it.

Dinner is the same time every night, which makes cocktail time approximately the same time.

 

In the morning I quickly review the daily program to remember the plans, and then I just remember.

As the ad says: "It's not complicated".

[trixiee]

My iPhone gets put away in the safe, and does not get taken out until we're ready to disembark! Yellow highlighter, pre-printed itenerary from HAL website, and a few good magnets to hang the itenerary and invitations on the wall. We bring a small travel alarm clock, just so we now what time it is.

 

I really need to disconnect from anything electronic when on vacation...:)

[startwin]

Pen, paper and a highlighter work well. Don't over-think things. And if you have memory problems put a post-it note on the mirror the night before so you know you are supposed to go on an excursion, or whatever.;)

[sail7seas]

If you have an excursion, leave the ticket envelope on the counter.

It's bright hot pink color will catch you eye and you won't forget you have an excursion scheduled.

 

[iflyrc5]

During the planning process I make up an Excel spreadsheet that shows the port, arrival/departure time, and any plans for the day including tour/time/$ required and others going with us (we do mostly private tours). I then tape a copy of the sheet to the mirror for easy reference and can also pencil in any changes as they come up like invitations to special parties. Then we use a highlighter to mark the Explorer each evening to plan the non-tour activities. I use 1 color of highlighter and my DW uses a different color as we often do different activities.

 

Just relax and enjoy you vacation.

[Crew News]

I have a calendar on my tablet with all of my activities (arrival/departure times, dining, excursions, etc.) that I update each evening when I receive my On Location outside our stateroom door.

 

It must be noted that one of my first activities after boarding is to compare my tablet itinerary with the my excursion/dining cards in that bright pink envelope on the desk and to make any changes.

[SilvertoGold]

You all are soooo busy!

 

For us it is: eat, sleep, walk the deck and stare at the sea!

 

For parties, Pinnacle dinners, things that have a set time, we use the horribly old-fashioned method of sticking a post-it note on the wall under the thermostat with the details. Works well!

[mamaofami]

If we have an excursion, we leave the pink envelope on the dresser the night before and make note what time we have to be ready.

 

We don't do too many excursions in the Caribbean anymore. We grab a taxi and go to the beach, being very careful to note the all aboard time so we're back on time.

 

We have early dining, so we know we eat at 5:30 or is it 5:45. Not sure.

 

No stressing about activities. We've seen what we want to see in the CAribbean on land and sea tours, so we just want to head to a beach.

[OVgirl]

I also take a high lighter with me and in the evening mark off the things I'm interested in for the next day. I keep the daily program with me and then in the late afternoon I check it again and see that I've missed most of the things I was planning to do. Just too busy enjoying the cruise.

No worries, there is always tomorrow......

[Scrapnana]

I have a small (about 9x12) dry erase board that has magnets on the back (found at Michael's and cost about $2) that I put up on the wall. Each night I write what I might like to do the next day, the time and location.

[Fouremco]

During the planning process I make up an Excel spreadsheet that shows the port, arrival/departure time, and any plans for the day including tour/time/$ required and others going with us (we do mostly private tours). I then tape a copy of the sheet to the mirror for easy reference and can also pencil in any changes as they come up like invitations to special parties. Then we use a highlighter to mark the Explorer each evening to plan the non-tour activities. I use 1 color of highlighter and my DW uses a different color as we often do different activities.

 

Just relax and enjoy you vacation.

Very similar approach to mine, except that I keep my spreadsheet in DropBox and can access it from any of my iDevices. That way I can double-check at any time/place. I also include dining information with reservation times/locations, other than MDR, and note which nights are formal. Sea days are generally relaxing for us with little participation in ship's activities, but DW and I will go through the explorer to see if there is anything that we might want to consider.

[rafinmd]

My iPhone gets put away in the safe, and does not get taken out until we're ready to disembark! Yellow highlighter, pre-printed itenerary from HAL website, and a few good magnets to hang the itenerary and invitations on the wall. We bring a small travel alarm clock, just so we now what time it is.

 

I really need to disconnect from anything electronic when on vacation...:)

 

Where do you put the magnets on HAL ships. The only one I know of with metal walls is the Prinsendam.

 

Roy

[WeBeGone]

For our longer cruises, I create a notebook with an envelope for each port. All my maps, research, tours, info etc goes into the envelope. When we're at that port, the envelope goes into my day bag and I'm set. A highlighter works for the daily newsletters on board.

[Thebes]

Thanks everyone. I like the advises given here to not micro manage our cruise and use a highlighter. And stow away my iPhone in the safe and not over think things :)

Edited January 12, 2014 by Thebes

[innlady1]

We don't micro manage our cruises either. We just have a "go with the flow" attitude. I print out the Itinerary on the HAL site making notes there. And we bring along highlighters to highlight things in the "On Location" Daily Program.

 

Are you new to crusing, Thebes?

[Linda&Vern]

Thanks everyone. I like the advises given here to not micro manage our cruise and use a highlighter. And stow away my iPhone in the safe and not over think things :)

Yes Thebes, it does sound like you tend to micro-manage. Of all the executives I worked for in another lifetime, I liked those kind the best. It beat those that like to fly by the seat of their pants. However, this is a VACATION, so ya' gotta learn to RELAX. (Please take this with the humor that is intended.)

 

For on-board activities, that is easy. Each night you will get the daily program for the next day. Use your highlighter to mark any interesting activities, write the time of your dinner plans on there and you're all set to go.

 

For ports, I like to use 8 1/2 x 11 clear plastic sleeves (folders with only one side open). For each port folder I include everything I want to know about that port: A street map from my computer, info about the terminal where we might dock, city info I find interesting, historical info, excursion info, etc.) The night before each port we look thru the relevant folder to remind ourselves of what we are doing or what we want to see there and put those things, along with the daily program, into the backpack that we take ashore. Be sure to take the daily program and the port info sheet you should get ... just in case you need the port agent contact info.

 

Hope you have a great cruise ... and certainly hope you post a review here when you return. AND, I sure hope with all your questions that we didn't forget to tell you something. :D That reminds me - did anyone tell you to pack duck tape? :eek:

Edited January 12, 2014 by Linda&Vern

[Typhoon1]

We check the daily program and remember what we want to do the following day. Other than that, certain things never change. Being early risers, breakfast in the MDR as soon as we are ready. MDR lunch at noon.

 

Dinner around six.

 

If there is a show of interest, we attend following dinner. Noting else is set in stone and very subject to change.

[MMAmom17]

Thanks for some great tips for this first time cruiser:)

[donswife]

Thanks for some great tips for this first time cruiser:)

 

Another tip is to throw away all the papers, sale ads, etc that you don't really need. If you want to keep the daily programs as souvenirs, put the old ones in a drawer or shelf so you don't do what I did and try to attend the activities from the day before! :D

 

Happy sailing.

[496and706]

The only scheduled thing that we come close to worrying about is getting to the dining room in time for dinner every night.

 

We are on vacation. All of the electronics stay at home. :cool:

[sunnygidget]

I make a calendar using a spreadsheet, putting everything on it including flights, seat numbers, hotels, phone numbers, excursions, ship times in port, etc. I print it out, take it with and use a magnet (the wall of the cabin are magnetic) to post it, in the cabin. I can add to it, if needed, but a quick glance tells be what I need to know, like an early depart in port time for that day, before I leave the cabin. My husband has a watch that he programs for things, like that last tender is in an hour so we'd better get a move on alarm.

 

Mico manage maybe, but we've never been late to board, or kept people waiting at a bus, to me that's a relaxing feeling.