planning vs spontaneity your thoughts

[aebalc]

Hi and help! Going w/sister and her family on southern cruise in Oct. She has never done a cruise before and is wanting to make excursion plans for everyday well in advance. She fears if she doesn't we'll end up doing nothing and in effect wasting our vacation. I feel that we should plan the two or three excursions we really really want in advance and just go with the flow on the rest. With a port a day for 5 days plus the night life before our sea day it seems to me we would be very exhausting to have regimented activities planned daily. Any thoughts or experiences? Oh yeah our port o'call are st thomas, st maarten, antigua, barbados, st lucia out of san juan. thx

[want2seaitall]

Well...seeing as I just booked my cruise for NEXT April...I guess that would label me as a planner. But my thoughts are this...if you plan everything ahead of time...you will be able to relax better later. Otherwise you'll be in lines on the ship waiting to book your excursions...and they do book up. Excursions don't usually take up your entire day...so it does leave some room for spontaneity. I like to book with outside companies to save money as well.

 

Serenade of the Seas - April 2005 - Our first balcony!!!

RCCL Majesty of the Seas - April 2004

Carnival Inspiration - June 2003

RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002

 

 

[Florida Beach]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by aebalc:

... I feel that we should plan the two or three excursions we really really want in advance and just go with the flow on the rest. ...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

I am with you. I would plan as much as I can, but leave room for flexibility. Life is more interesting that way

 

Have a nice trip

 

March 28, 2004 - Mariner of the Seas

[sangoofy]

We are traveling with a party of 11, some of our group wants to do different things on some of the islands than others. For those specific excursions that fill up fast, we booked ahead to ensure we could do them. We also left some time for just enjoying the island, shopping, with some spontenaity allowed. That way we get the both of best worlds. Get to do what we really want to do but aren't tied to a schedule all the time. Since times are short on islands, its at least good to know what there may be to do and how best to go about it so you aren't wasting a lot of time just to get there.

[suev]

Half the fun of a vacation is in the planning and anticipation of it actually drawing nearer. I agree with Dentalchic, excursions usually do not take up the entire time so you'll still have free time to do as you please. I say, let her go for it!

[serene56]

Your time is limited to the ports. I make the best of my times.. never felt rushed or exhausted. Not only do I plan my days I also have a plan B (just in case)

I know what excursions I am doing each day. (For bugeting purposed) I am not standing in line trying to book an excursion once I arrive.

 

Is your sister wanting to plan your excursions or just hers? I know its a family vacation but it sounds like your sister may be better off planning for herself.

We did a family vacation for Florida/Disney world and I planned my days lust like my cruises. Everyone followed me. I did not ask them to do that...they coulda did what they wanted/ By the end of the week they were not speaking to me. (only for a few days) so you may want to take stuff like that into consideration. Too much together time may not be a good thing. Especailly if you all have kids in different age brackets.

Going NOWHERE

 

 

Miracle, February 13, 2005

Legend, October 22,2004

Voyager August 31,2003

Victory September 22,2002

Regal Empress,June 2001

Sensation,August 2000

[lmmn]

When I research the different ports, I try to find the excursions that look REALLY fun and interesting. I like to book ahead because they are typically the ones that fill up. I only have planned excursions about every other day, otherwise it seems to be too much. I still do a lot of research and have a couple ideas on different things to do more spontaneously on the other days. When I've gone with a group, we talk about different options at dinner the night before and try to have a plan for the next day. Sometimes we decide to do different activities and meet up at dinner.

 

Explorer of the Seas ~ 10/02

Majesty of the Seas ~ 1/03

Majesty of the Seas ~ 8/11/03

Navigator of the Seas ~ 10/11/03

Serenade of the Seas ~ 1/31/04

Adventure of the Seas ~ 1/30/05

[VickiVSN]

I start looking at excursion options very early, but only to find those things that I feel I MUST DO and book them. I only expect to find one or two of these each trips. The other ports I just walk off the ship and see where it takes me. Both hubby and I just walking around towns to explore shopping and local food. If I booked formal excursions every trip, we'd miss some of the true local charm. I also take my guide books with me so for the ports we didn't book an excursion, I can read the night before or morning and make plans that suit our mood and energy levels at the time.

 

You did manage to hit on two of the ports I did book ahead of time and would highly recommend.

 

St Thomas

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> The first one was booked privately on-line. Godfrey is a tour guide on St. Thomas who offers for $20 per person, to pick you up at your ship and take you in to town for shopping until noon. Its your choice to be picked up at 9:00, 10:00, or 11:00. From there he takes you on a two hour tour of the island, and finally drops you off at a beach of our choice from three (Sapphire, Magen's Bay, or Coki) for two hours and then picks you up and takes you back to the ship. This was an awesome deal and one I'd highly recommend. You can get more information and reserve with Godfrey on-line at http://www.godfreytoursvi.com. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

St Lucia

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> The second trip we did was a cruise line excursion called Caribbean Pirates Extravaganza. This was a great excursion out of St. Lucia aboard the Brig Unicorn. This ship was featured in the Disney movie Pirates of the Caribbean as the Henrietta. We took an hour sail (with Rum Punch or soda being served) to Pigeon Island were we had an hour to either enjoy one of two small beaches, participate in a treasure hunt, or hike up the high peaks and explore the old fort ruins. On the trip back they served finger foods and kept the Rum Punch flowing freely and they had planned a little line type dance, but the CD player died. So instead, one of the "pirates" yelled out "DAY-O" and everybody on board started singing the DAY-O chorus while the pirate made up versus fitting to the occasion. It really was great fun. On the treasure hunt, there were 6-keys hidden around Pigeon Island. One of the keys opened a treasure chest on board the Brig Unicorn which contained a gift certificate to Diamonds International. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

San Juan, we followed a walking tour map of Old San Juan and on St Maarten hung out at the beach in town where the water taxi's let you off. There is an EVERYTHING'S COOL thread, that talks more about this option in St Maarten.

 

The quotes come off my website.

 

Vicki

Check out my guide for first time cruisers http://www.vsn.org/cruise

 

Radiance 6/2002

Radiance 10/2002

Brilliance 11/2003

[/b]

LEGEND OF THE SEAS - September 26, 2004

Visit our Roll Call HERE

 

 

Cruise Europe 2005 (CC Group Cruise)- June 5, 2005 on the Brilliance

Visit our Roll Call HERE

[serene56]

I did Godfreys and would recommend him highly. You get to do it all for so very cheaply.

 

Going NOWHERE

 

 

Miracle, February 13, 2005

Legend, October 22,2004

Voyager August 31,2003

Victory September 22,2002

Regal Empress,June 2001

Sensation,August 2000

 

 

[lmmn]

We did this same itinerary. The excursions we booked ahead were Eli's Eco Tour in Antigua and Tiami catamaran in Barbados. I would highly recommend both. We like to snorkel, so we planned beach days and did a little shopping at the other ports.

 

Explorer of the Seas ~ 10/02

Majesty of the Seas ~ 1/03

Majesty of the Seas ~ 8/11/03

Navigator of the Seas ~ 10/11/03

Serenade of the Seas ~ 1/31/04

Adventure of the Seas ~ 1/30/05

[lvcruiser]

Your sister is correct in wanting to book excursions well in advance since many of them will book up prior to the cruise. If you wait until you're onboard, it may be too late. For example, the BOB excursion in St. Thomas almost always books up 60-120 days out.

 

However, I must agree with you on the idea of limiting the excursions. The Southern itinerary is port intensive and if you book an excursion for every port, you're going to need a vacation from your vacation. When I went on the Southern two years ago, I chose three excursions out of the five ports we visited and found that to be just enough. My only regret was not choosing the best three.

 

Until NOS Sailing 10/23/04

 

Several cruises, but why list them when no one cares?

[syndyj]

I like planning ahead, even for the days when we are going to do nothing but laze about.When I am going on vacation I am a research nut,I get my brochures, travel guides and tourist information and put them in a little file. There are some things I know I absolutely MUST do, and other things pop up that are spontaneous and add to the vacation. My last long vacation was a week in Antigua and the things I really wanted to do were Eli's Tour,Shirely's Heights, a trip to town and a Catamaran tour.

 

Well, we did Eli's tour as well as the trip to town however, I also ended up going on a (free)dinner cruise on the Jolly Roger,going to a Calypso show with the Minister of Culture and doing an island tour with the taxi driver that took us home from that Calypso show, all of which were unplanned.

 

Four our upcoming cruise, with time so limited in each port I think it is essential to have an idea of what you would like to do in each port, how long it takes to get from one place to the next, how much things cost and what excursion best suits you.

 

If it was not for this board I would have never booked Godfrey's Tour, which comes with excellent reviews, and is exactly what we were looking for.

[Lemanja']

My opinion is to do 50-50, meaning plan for excursions 1/2 of the time and go-with-the-island-flow the other half. I usually research the port (check out ports-of-call section on cruisecritic). I book excursions in ports that I would not want to be "stuck" in...when you book with the cruiseline, they will not leave without you. I also like getting off the ship and finding something to do with a local company for 1/2 the ship price! You also mention "with the nightlife on the ship..." If you know you stay out late-night dancing or gambling, and so on, then re-think those early tours! Lastly, the beauty of cruising is that your family member can book her own tour and you can do your own thing. I see many people doing ship tours solo (while other family members are shopping or sleeping late)...so it is not at all uncomfortable. Oh, your chances of getting a tour in October are much better than getting a tour in February. Your ship may not be full. Good luck!

Lemanja'

 

"Oh, when my baby, when my baby smiles at me I go to Rio...de Janeiro!"

[MGilly]

We've done cruises both ways - planning several excursions for one cruise and then not planning any for the next. The one we planned excursions for was sort of disappointing - it rained on the day we were supposed to go parasailing in St. Thomas, so we ended up having to wait on the dock for over an hour until the rain let up enough to parasail. They would not refund our money, hoping that the weather would clear. The waste of time did not make for a good impression of the cruise line OR the island! We were also doing the snuba excursion in St. Maarten, and there was a lot of time wasted waiting for the snorkelers to return to the boat - they were sharing our boat. The excursions seem to cost an awful lot more through the cruise line than they would if you got off the ship and negotiated with the dealers at each port, too. The next time we cruised, we decided to just see what each port would bring. There were taxis waiting at each port with offers to take visitors for island tours, at a cost of about $10 per person. Each time we did this, we had a blast! We learned so much about each port, and we enjoyed the personal treatment we got. We're doing an Alaska cruise next month, and we've decided that NOT planning excursions is DEFINITELY the way to go!

[amaddog10]

i agree that you may want to review the excursions ahead of time..to see if there are any "have-to's"....but...remember...its a vacation....no one is going to give you a test when you get home...and tell you you flunked if you didn't do x or y...planing excursions might be more important on either an alaskan or mediterranean cruise...where the sights are possibly the major reason to go...but ...hey...its a vacation...

[Kmay104692]

We see the planning process as an extension of our vacation and so we tend to map this stuff out. I'm all for spontaneity as long as I have plenty of time to plan it out in advance!! LOL.

[imlulu]

Spontaneity...It is a vacation. The 1st time I went to Disney with my oldest son(he was 4). I read everything and planned, planned,planned...we needed a vacation after the vacation.

 

Now we just relax and see how we feel. Also we bring our kids so many excursions are not for young kids. Plus many times the weather doesn't agree on the day you get there. On our last cruise the only thing we planned was a day at the beach in Cozumel. It ended up raining after about 1 1/2 hours at the beach. We came back to the ship and had a great day. MY dh slept. My kids went to the kids' program. I did some shopping at the pier and then the sun came out. I sat by the pool relaxing and my older son joined me after awhile. It was a great day.

It really has to do with why you chose the cruise in the 1st place. If you chose a certain ship because of the ports then obviously you want to do certain things on those islands. I chose my next cruise because of price, week, and my kids wanted to cruise vs Orlando. I booked it and I couldnt tell my dh what ports we are going too when he asked. He just wanted a new ship and 7 days so he really didnt care. It all depends on you. Have a great time.

 

No longer cruiseless...donations still accepted! Miracle 2/2005

 

Last cruise

Sensation 2/17/03

[Lemanja']

MerrylG, I recommend doing as many tours possible on Alaskan cruises. Ports do not offer a lot and one really needs to venture into the interior. You pay more, but it is well worth the money in my opinion. My port experience is with Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Haynes. Have a great trip whatever you decide!

Lemanja'

 

"Oh, when my baby, when my baby smiles at me I go to Rio...de Janeiro!"

[FOXTROT]

We like to plan ahead also. But, have found if at all possible book thru a private company. Or, if possible grab a taxi & do it on your own. The ships excursions are too crowded & structured. The latest example, last week booked with NativeWay at Grand Cayman. We were the only 2 to show up. The ship's tour would have cancelled. Not a private co. we had a tour of a lifetime! We have seen ship tours stop 1 mile short of fantastic places. Don't be afraid to go away from the ship's tours. These people are also in the tourism trade. They know satisfied customers are the way to build. You can also save a bunch of money.

 

Sovereign 598

Sovereign 599

Sovereign 500

Voyager 1100

Explorer 501

Radiance 1101

Majesty 302

Adventure 402

Enchantment 1102

Monarch 103

Legend 403

Navigator 1103

Mariner 304

Grandeur 404

Sovereign 504

Serenade 1104

[judyf]

I like to plan each island ahead also. I like to have an idea of what we want to do. You can plan an easy day go with the flow on one of the islands.

 

Judy

CCL Inspiration 4/4-4/11/04

NCL Sea 4/14-4/27/03

Wonder 5/16-5/19/02

Wonder 5/3-5/8/01

Fantasy 2/15-2/18/01

 

[Seagarr]

There are very few Shore Excursions that you can not arrange on your own after you arrive. Personally we like to relax and wait for the first wave of passengers to get off the ship. We get a taxi and go to the beach or make arrangements ourselves if we want to snorkel or take a Catamaran trip. Shpping tours hae got to be the biggest waste of money for a shore Excursion I have ever seen. That being said... I realize some people or not comfortable with traveling alone and making there own plans. I would also say that Jamaica is an exception... stick to the tours.

 

Seagarr

[masterbaker]

Five port days in a row can leave anyone worn out and needing another vacation unless you plan something relaxing for a couple of them. I would advise alternating relaxing days and active days. Keep in mind there will be evening activities aboard ship you may not want to miss on those port days too leaving little time for sleep before starting ALL over again the next morning.

 

 

Panama Canal Transit 4-16-05

[TexasTwoSteps]

I will vote for spontenaity. Having been to many of the ports many times before, we just do the exploring when we get there. We normally pick a new beach on each island and blend it with a visit to the city to shop.

 

 

[ShawninFL]

I usually research what I want to do at each port of call; however, I only really pre-book the things I definitely want to do. This gives me the knowledge so I don't waste time trying to decide what to do once I arrive, but also gives me the flexibility to do something spontaniously. We meet new friends many times and end up doing an excursion with them.

 

12/95 Big Red Boat

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