Can you cruise with no planning?

[serene56]

Ok, I have a few cruises under my skin now. ANd I planned every one to make the whole week==neat and tidy.

Now I have a cruise scheduled for February.. and being a planner that I am - was wondering if at all possible just to cruise with making no plans until we get to ALL the ports and just play it by ear.

 

or will that make me crazier??

 

help me out fellow cruisers- will I be sorry?

[pholter]

I don't think I could and probably the only way to do it is to NOT visit these boards! :)

That would be waaaayyyy too hard.. Planning is 1/2 the fun for me at least, but you don't have to stick with any of it once you arrive.

[Florida Beach]

I am the one who plan down to the minutes whenever we go on vacation. When we travel, I have a 3 rings binder which contains all of the information about my arrangements and destinations. I can provide the nearest Hospital/Doctor phone numbers on demand. I can tell you what time and what subway station will take you where and how long. I am the one who would wake my family up at 5:00AM to make them watch the sun rise in Grand Canyon.

 

On our Eastern Caribbean Cruise on RCCL, we booked the cabins, packed and off we went. Well, I did email a tour company in St. Thomas but didn't book with him. That was the best vacation in years.

 

Go for it. You will like the experience. :)

[roscoesdream]

We usually plan and plan but I think it would be fun just to get on the ship with no plans and just go with the flow. In fact that might let me do some things I have never done before and I might find out that I like them.

[Knights on the Beach]

NO -- I would pass out dead if I had to do it that way. ;)

[BottledRed]

I'm a compulsive planner ... before the trip. As long as I plan everything in advance, I never mind go-with-the-flow once the trip starts.

 

 

I think that in the back of my head I just need to know all the options before I say who cares, let's have fun!

[herb]

Plan, plan, plan.

We travel with a group of friends and they all laugh at me saying I'm so anal retentive. As soon as I book a cruise I get a folder and start collecting information on all the ports of call, shore excursions possible and I make notes on what I read on the message boards.

 

Yes, they all laugh but then they thank me when we all go on our cruise and they realize that all this information has made for a better cruise experience :)

[kajsb]

My DF that I travel with gets very impatient with my planning. But, even though he hates to admit it, he appreciates all the planning once we are on the cruise. I'm obsessive and compulsive about the planning. It's already started on a cruise that isn't until 01/2006. But, if I were to get a call that I was leaving on a cruise tomorrow morning, I would fly out the door and all my usual planning rituals would be out the window. :D

[jlane]

I agree that half the fun is planning what I'll be doing on my vacation. I like to have a general idea of what's out there and available. Usually, the best deals are made in advance. However, my overall perspective is that once I've done the "planning," and I'm on my trip, I'm on VACATION. I then kick back and will always go with the flow.

 

It's a great method to avoid the "stressful" type of vacation!!!

 

JMO

[BamBamG]

I did the least planning ever for a cruise on my last trip and really enjoyed it. We had a general idea of what we wanted to do on each island but not a single excursion pre-booked. Usually, we have all that figured out far in advance but this time it was just a lot of "let's decide when we get there" and I thought it would make me nuts but ended up being very relaxing.

[Runner Girl]

Sometimes that's the best way!

[serene56]

I liked planning. Looking up all my options. Checking prices. and looking at other options. But my friends are getting a little bit peeved when I say this or that is available..what do you think of this- or that.

I am gonna try to do this cruise with looking at nothing-- and when they get there and want to know whats to do- I will say "I DONT KNOW" (LOL)

 

I have been on these boards for over 4 years. I like reading other peoples experience. Going on a cruise with no planning is very scarey for me..lol

Think I can do it??

[tef43]

I would definitely consider this idea for the next one. Pack and show up. Whatever happens, happens.

[wenhigh]

I get too excited and plan months in advance. If you are not an organization buff or can be spontaneous, then it is probably okay. I am just scared I will miss something! I know, I shouldn't worry on vacation.

[Cotton]

Good topic, Serene.:)

Since I've done the same itinerary 3 times in a row, with a 4th coming up, there's not much planning to do.

However, if I were going to new ports, I'd certainly do some research, but still do NO organized excursions or tours. I like wandering around on my own and discovering things, trying the local cuisine, etc. More adventurous that way, I think.

Now - if my PVP called me this afternoon and said I could get on a ship out of N.O. tomorow for a cheapie last-minute cruise, I'd just drop everything and go!:D

[dbarry]

Count me in with just about everyone else, as soon as a cruise is booked I'm off and planning. Most times everything runs smoothly as planned, but not always. That's perfectly fine with me. I have just booked a October 2005 on the Glory and I'm starting to get aggravated with the planning. I haven't been able to find excursions that sound great to me, I can't find any videos about the Glory and already some of my family members and friends are avoiding me! That's one reason that I'm on this message board a couple of times each day. We are going to Progreso, Cozumel, Belize and Key West. I've been to Cozumel and Key West many times but never to the other two places. I've all but decided to not plan any excursions, it's early still, and just play it by ear. Since this cruise is so far in the future, (gives me more time to save money), maybe I should switch my thinking to what I could plan to do aboard the ship. You know perhaps a sea spa cruise!

 

Darlene

[hstrybuf]

I couldn't do it! I have to have some kind of plan for each port, even if it's just to go shopping, and then I know what I'm looking for before we get there. Sea days are definitely go with the flow.

[phinfan63]

My first cruise is 31 days away but I have been diligently reading these boards and printing all helpful hints. I am driving my traveling companions nuts I'm sure but I like to know what all the options are. I think we have all decided not to do any shore excursions but if they change their mind, I have the information :)

[DebBrown]

Best cruise I ever took was my first one. Didn't have a clue as to what to expect. Didn't plan a thing until onboard and chose shore excursions then. It was great to just go with the flow. Maybe because my job entails so much "planning" I'm not as big on it outside of work. I love to be spontaneous! :D

[GoinCruisin]

I agree with Deb... I would go nuts if I tried to plan every minute of my cruise!!! I like to get there, see what's available to me, see what the weather is, see what my mood is and take it from there... You never know what you might run into... I always have a basic IDEA of what I might like to do, but once the actual cruise is planned, that is all the planning I need :D

[Cruise lover 01010]

Sure you can. Lots of OCD planners out there killing themselves before during and after the trip (because they forgot to plan something!). And of course the whole point of thr trip is lost. Too much planning spoils all of the fun although from what Ive heard on these posts my upcoming trip on the Pride might be a blowout.

[cruisinqt]

When I went on my first few cruises, I didn't know about these boards. So there are a lot of really great places out there that I didn't go to because I didn't know about them. Now that I know about CC and the boards, I think my cruises will be much better. I think hearing about people's experiences has helped me to plan a fantastic cruise. I think it will be much better than my previous cruises. So my cruise is much more "planned" than usual because I have got so many first hand recommendations for certain excursions and tours. I don't have every minute planned, I have just booked a couple of excursions that have been highly recommended. And I have a pretty good idea of where I am going to go and what I am going to do when I get into the various ports. Maybe I've planned too much, but I feel much more confident this time about our plans while in port. All of the things that I am planning on doing, other cruisers have raved about and had a blast doing them. So I feel more confident about how much fun we will have on our cruise. I don't think I could cruise without planning things out and knowing where I'm going.

 

If you were going someplace that you've been before and you're familiar with, then maybe it would be okay. But if it's a new place you might be a little more careful. Some places have areas that are not very safe, like Jamaica. Montego Bay and Ocho Rios are pretty safe. But if you wander away from them and into Kingston, you could get into some trouble because that area is not very safe. I like to plan ahead and make sure of what areas are safe to be in and where I should avoid. I also like to save time on shopping by just finding out from other CCers where the good shopping is. Sometimes planning ahead can save you time and money. I don't think I could do without a little planning ahead. But that's just me!

[Grayce]

I am definately a planner but I consider it half the fun. I know it is giving me something to do as I count down the days until my first cruise. I am like this for most things. I always have everything organized ahead of time. I am also super cautious so I like to plan for everything that might come up. Maybe a little OCD in me :rolleyes:

[MrPete]

The nice thing about cruising is that your only responsibiltiy is making sure you show up at the right time. If you follow the "what to know" book included in your documents, everything else simply becomes a surprise.

 

I would assume most first time cruisers did this.

 

I started cruising in 1988, and didn't get a computer until 10 years later. I survived! And as we all do, I became an expert after my first cruise......until I went on my second.....and so on.....

[Jett456]

I couldn't know without at least doing some research into the ship, ports, etc. I wouldn't necessarily have to book excursions but I'd have to know what is available to do and what not to do.