Do You Pre Plan Your Cruise or Take Each Day as it Comes?

[LuCruise]

So I know part of the fun is getting that cruise compass each day and seeing what the ship offers. And with my past cruises on Grandeur and Voyager, the only thing I needed to pre-plan was early or late seating and what clothes you needed to take.

 

But I feel like on the Allure type ship, that it's better to plan. I guess it's because there isn't a set static show time each night (e.g. show at 8pm every evening) and we're theatre people. Also, we'll be coming with our kids and there are so many cool activities and events for them that I want to be sure we can make it (e.g. How to Train your Dragon ice show, DreamWorks parades, etc.).

 

So I feel like I should be getting hold of an Allure Eastern compass (have yet to see one) and figuring out all the show time and activities. We will be My Time Dining - or Dynamic if implemented by then - and thus will book dinner accordingly.

 

Do you pre-plan (either basic by just booking shows and/or dinner - or more detailed) or do you take each day as it comes? I suppose too, this probably depends on which RCL ship you'll be sailing on.

 

PS - I am a planner...plus as you can see we have a long wait for our cruise...so it gives me something to do in the meantime (meaning I'm kind of happy to look at things now)

[dschultz56]

We did more pre-planning on our Allure cruise than others...too many activities going on and if you want to see it all, a plan is the best way to make sure you are able to.

[OCruisers]

Unfortunately, some RCCL ships (especially Oasis/Allure) force you to have a plan because shows, etc. need to be booked in advance. :o

LuLu

[sassy0930]

We pre-plan to be flexible! LOL We will figure out what we want to do in ports pretty specifically so that we can make arrangements ahead of time, and on the ship we will look for things we want to try, but won't hold ourselves to some kind of schedule to get stressed about.

[cb at sea]

We plan the important stuff...like flights, hotels, etc....the rest...we sort of wing it. It's a vacation...not a marathon! I don't want to have to WORK at my "off" time!

Edited February 10, 2015 by cb at sea

[Cruzin RN]

Yes, I am a detailed planner at home...so that is why I DO NOT plan onboard...very relaxing for me to go with the flow!,,

[laurenpie]

I'm a bit of a planner...

I don't really like to stick 100% to a plan, I figure its always good going in with a plan, but if things need to change it's ok.

 

Normally, I probably wouldn't bother with planning on a ship, but Oasis has SO much I figure I would be best to try all that we can.

I've so far made dinner reservations at a couple of places, and booked all our shows.

I just have to book cupcake decorating class for me, character breakfast for 2 of us and a shore excursion.

 

I've checked our activities, signed all our waivers, checked out food menus, drinks menus and prices.

 

I feel like I am good to go!

I am sure things will change though when I read the daily times that come out

[Dunfer]

I can honestly say, I will never book a cruise where I have to book anything in advance to enjoy my cruise. I love the Cruise Compass that lists everything, and when I read it, that is when I decide what I'm going to do.

[maryjaden]

We are sailing on the Oasis is March. We have planned dinner, shows and excursions. However, we also plan to be flexible......it is a vacation and if something comes up, we wing it.

[reney313]

When we went on Allure, I had a spreadsheet and planned it all out for the main shows (the ones you reserve) and dinner each night. I referenced the show schedule online as well as viewing copies of recent compasses. Onboard, we mostly stuck to it..I felt best to reserve ahead of time so it was "available" but knew we would still do a little "winging" it. i'm happy to report it all worked out very well.

 

If I recall correctly, we didn't end up sticking with the MTD reservation 100% (we opted for buffet a few times or other snacks). We also ended up skipping a show, but for the most part, we made the show reservations. I think I would have been frustrated waiting until onboard and worried about how to schedule. I'm very happy I had that worked out ahead of time!

 

On other ships, I definitely would not pre-book dining or shows (excluding Quantum as it looks like that might be another where it is best to pre-book).

[Ashland]

We plan the important stuff...like flights, hotels, etc....the rest...we sort of wing it. It's a vacation...not a marathon! I don't want to have to WORK at my "off" time!

I'm with you on this...only on Oasis did I feel the need to book shows...otherwise the whole "spread sheet" type of cruising some people feel the need to do ..who's the cruise director, I need to see the Cruise Compass before I sail, and know the menu's etc. etc.....:eek:

[cruiseguy1016]

We've never been on an Oasis class ship so we've never had to worry about pre-booking the shows. The only thing we pre-plan are shore excursions. If it's a tour with a private company or an RCI sponsored tour that we REALLY want to do, we'll book it in advance. The rest we book after we get on the ship. As for the rest of our activities, we play it by ear. We'll check the Compass to see what is happening and then decide what we want to do.

[Cruise a holic]

So I know part of the fun is getting that cruise compass each day and seeing what the ship offers. And with my past cruises on Grandeur and Voyager, the only thing I needed to pre-plan was early or late seating and what clothes you needed to take.

 

But I feel like on the Allure type ship, that it's better to plan. I guess it's because there isn't a set static show time each night (e.g. show at 8pm every evening) and we're theatre people. Also, we'll be coming with our kids and there are so many cool activities and events for them that I want to be sure we can make it (e.g. How to Train your Dragon ice show, DreamWorks parades, etc.).

 

So I feel like I should be getting hold of an Allure Eastern compass (have yet to see one) and figuring out all the show time and activities. We will be My Time Dining - or Dynamic if implemented by then - and thus will book dinner accordingly.

 

Do you pre-plan (either basic by just booking shows and/or dinner - or more detailed) or do you take each day as it comes? I suppose too, this probably depends on which RCL ship you'll be sailing on.

 

PS - I am a planner...plus as you can see we have a long wait for our cruise...so it gives me something to do in the meantime (meaning I'm kind of happy to look at things now)

 

On the RC ships we pre plan our activities and dining prior to boarding. In fact I try to do it as soon as they are able to be booked on line or via a call. I do not want to have a conflict with available show times and dinner. We typically enjoy dining around the same time daily, even in specialty restaurants. We do not want to be closed out of the shows.

 

I also like to pre book my dining on other cruise lines. Many times, we also book shore excursions in advance if we want something special. We also try to book any drink packages and photo packages prior to the sail date. Helps to minimize the on board charges and waiting on line to book. Works for us.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Cruise a holic

[Paulette3028]

We are sailing on the Oasis is March. We have planned dinner, shows and excursions. However, we also plan to be flexible......it is a vacation and if something comes up, we wing it.

 

 

When we sailed on Allure, we did as you....planned dinner, shows and excursions....left plenty of opportunity to do things that appeared on the Cruise Compass to do, without pre-planning. We only planned on one specialty dinner, Izumi. It was wonderful. We had no interest in the other specialty dining options, so early traditional for us was fine.

 

For me that was enough....we have cruised enough to know what to look for on the compass that we like to do, and enjoy the rest.

[LilBlackDress]

I am the planner in our family, regardless what the trip may be. For cruises, I normally plan the transportation, the hotel, the transportation to the port. On the cruise I plan dinner and 1 excursion, the rest I try and pass it to my DH or my stepson HA!! They always pass it back and we wing it.

 

I have avoided Oasis/Allure because as much as I do enjoy the planning I also want to be able and kick it. On Oasis/Allure I dont see myself being able to enjoy it unless we can get the time to do a b2b...

 

Road Trips require spreadsheets and charts!

[LuCruise]

Thanks for all the great replies! I feel like I'll be cheating but still feel like I'll want to look at a cruise compass closer to our cruise date to be sure I also book our dinner and shows around the important daily to us (e.g. parades). I guess its hard not to plan on Oasis or Quantum class since then you'll be risking not seeing any shows (if these are important to you). I actually don't get how traditional dining even works with these kind of ships...or maybe its just because we're coming with kids so are more restricted in that late shows won't work for us every night?

[Paulette3028]

Thanks for all the great replies! I feel like I'll be cheating but still feel like I'll want to look at a cruise compass closer to our cruise date to be sure I also book our dinner and shows around the important daily to us (e.g. parades). I guess its hard not to plan on Oasis or Quantum class since then you'll be risking not seeing any shows (if these are important to you). I actually don't get how traditional dining even works with these kind of ships...or maybe its just because we're coming with kids so are more restricted in that late shows won't work for us every night?

 

The planning is some of the fun.....but I don't want to 'overplan' either.

[Sherri914]

I love the pre-planning, especially on Oasis class. It helps me get an idea of when I want to reserve dinners, shows, etc. Shortly before the cruise, I try to snag copies of the cruise compass's for our itinerary and we make notes of some "not-to-be-missed" activities. Planning, for me, is half the fun. But we don't hold ourselves to the 'plan'. It just helps us get familiar with the ship and its many offerings.

[sjb317]

We plan the important stuff...like flights, hotels, etc....the rest...we sort of wing it. It's a vacation...not a marathon! I don't want to have to WORK at my "off" time!

 

I agree! One of the reasons we have not tried Oasis/Allure is I do not want to have to pre book anything, we are very much "go with the flow" people. I like being able to decide that day what I want to do or eat, not months in advance.

 

Sherri:)

[griffy116]

On our last cruise, we were in the Med. We made flight, hotel and excursions with a private company prior to the cruise for every single day, that included early wake up calls and a hectic pace. We had to plan almost every minute from the time we left for the airport until we arrived home. We are going on a Caribbean cruise on FOS in June. We took this cruise specifically because we've been on this ship twice before and we've previously been to the ports on previous cruises. We are driving to the port. I have our hotel reservations and that's it. We're winging it all the way so it just depends on the ship, who is going with us (we have two 21 year olds, who I'm sure will be winging it) and what our goal is for the cruise. We might decide to do the spa. We might decide to take a taxi to the beach. We might stroll off the sihp to do some shopping. We might do nothing but sip a frozen drink out by the pool. This one is relax and unwind while someone pampers and takes care of us.

[LuCruise]

I love the pre-planning, especially on Oasis class. It helps me get an idea of when I want to reserve dinners, shows, etc. Shortly before the cruise, I try to snag copies of the cruise compass's for our itinerary and we make notes of some "not-to-be-missed" activities. Planning, for me, is half the fun. But we don't hold ourselves to the 'plan'. It just helps us get familiar with the ship and its many offerings.

 

This is what I'm thinking and so totally aree with everything you said. :D

[jules815]

Yes, I am a detailed planner at home...so that is why I DO NOT plan onboard...very relaxing for me to go with the flow!,,

 

Same here. And I love all the pre-cruise planning for flights, hotels, etc., but once I'm on board, we totally go with the flow.

[ckrobyn]

I pre-plan until I hear the first "ding" of my sea pass!

The research that goes into planning a cruise (including all pre and post cruise activities) is what I really love. Once I am on the ship, I have absolutely NO plans......:D

[Husney]

We preplan the shows and dinner but do whatever moves us at the time. The best part of the bigger ships is that there always seems to be room to do what you want when you want. We have yet to be disappointed. Now if it could just stop snowing here in Boston!

[bigque]

We plan excursions on some of the islands if we see one that we would really like to do. On the ship we have nothing planned out other than doing early dinner because that is when we like to eat. If we want to go to a show we do, if we change our mind then cool. We don't plan on eating lunch at a certain time or at a certain place, like on one sea day we were walking around and decided to do Johnny Rockets for lunch when we were actually headed to the Windjammer. In other words on board the ship we just basicaly just wing it unless we see something in the compass that we really want to do or participate in. :cool: