Cruise Planning

We are recently retired with plans to cruise regularly until one of us gets too old. Our cruise experience todate, has been confined by our work and family obligations and usually involved a quick week sailing in the Caribbean. They were fun but just the warm up to the retirement travel dreams

As you know Caribbean cruises do not require much planning since the ports are similar and they were very often places we had visited several times anyway.

So... now I'm looking at my 2-week Homelands Cruise with its many exciting ports and cultures and wondering how to organize it all. As some wise person said- you may never pass this way again - and I want to make sure that I've taken full advantage of the experience

Cruise Critic is such a valuable resource and I appreciate all I've been able to gather so far but I was hoping some of you, with more travel experience than I, could share with me your planning process. Once you've decided on a destination are there things that you routinely do as part of your planning Are they other websites that you regularly use too

With thanks and Seas The Day

Congratulations on your retirement! I love planning for a cruise, and I admit to being one of those people that like to have all their ducks in a row, and a trip pretty much planned out. Cruise critic and trip advisor provide such a wealth of information, it's so much easier to plan for a vacation compared to when we just bought travel guides! I always start with my pre and post trip plans - are you planning on arriving early for your cruise? Head over to the ports board, and look at recommendations for hotels and things to do in Stockholm. Head over to trip advisor for things to do, and places to eat. Same for each of the ports while on your cruise. Also, there are trip reports on this board from people that have already done your cruise, just use the search function and look back on what they did. I look at roll calls of those that have returned recently, or are planning the same cruise before mine to see what types of excursions people have arranged privately as well. Also, since there may not be a lot of posts on the Viking boards since they are a fairly new line, check out Celebrity or other cruise lines boards, and again use the search function to enter those ports and get more opinions. There is so much info, its overwhelming sometimes. Have a great cruise!.

Congratulations on your retirement irenedee!

I am by no means an expert planner....but this is part of the travel process that I spend a lot of time on and truly enjoy.

In my opinion, one of the primary first pieces would be how you like to explore ports. Do you prefer ship excursions, private touring, small group touring, or just doing it all on your own.....these styles all have their benefits and drawbacks, but most likely one or two of the various styles will feel more comfortable to you.

We tend to DIY, or small group/private tours. So when looking at a port, I spend time on TripAdvisor and on the ports of call section here to read people's experiences and recommendations. If I determine a port is one we can do on our own, I find what is of most interest to us...I visit those websites, review what people have to say, and write down on a list by port what we think we most want to do.

If it is a port we want to tour, after researching the top tour companies, I decide on 2-3 and engage with them directly - I communicate with them for a few emails and get a feel for who to move forward with, and it isn't always the lowest price. Some ports are more conducive to private ( just the two of us) day tours and some are better to a small group approach? If it is a small group (by that, for me it means 4-8 adults) I spend time on the roll call for my cruise and connect with like minded travelers. I have learned that it is important to determine up front if you all have the same/similar expectations on activity levels.....otherwise it just doesn't flow as well.

Ship excursions....rare for us....because my stomach doesn't do well in busses, and I prefer to move at our pace rather than a large group pace.

It mostly works really well for us.

And if you go the route I tend to, you need to enjoy it and spend a LOT of time on it. If you can't commit that time, find a like minded person on your roll call who is organizing small tours and engage with them privately. You will get a feel it if is a good fit.

When I board the ship, I have a file folder with my notes for each port - that helps me to remember what it is that we want to do, and I have printed out all the tours companies booked with our confirmation.....

Have fun. The itinerary you are taking is fantastic! We had a wonderful time.

As you see many people like to take excursions through private companies or by themselves. I'm the type that likes to take the ship excursions because the ship won't leave without me then, lol. If you are interested in the included or optional excursions, I have a few pointers. The excursions usually show up about a week or two before they become available to your cabin designation. Look on your itinerary for date of when excursions open up. Write up for each port, first, second and third choices. On the specific day that the excursions open, the time to begin booking depends on where in the US you are from. It begins 12am pacific time and east coast is 3 am. My recommendation is to choose before hand the excursion you must book for a port. Book those first and pay for them, just because an excursion is in your cart doesn't mean that it's secured, only after purchase is it secured. Then go back and choose your next group of excursions and check out those. The included excursions have multiple times, so it's important to know the times if you are taking an included excursion on the same day as an optional excursion. Lol, then you have the dinner reservation and to decide if you want the silver spirit beverage package. Enjoy the planning.

As you can see, we all have different ways we plan but we all have Cruise Critic in common.

I've tried private tours and I've tried tour-shares and have since backed off from either. I thought about them for our last cruise and in the end decided that I am not really interested in cramming into one day as much as I can see and that I want to be the one determining the pace without having to negotiate with another couple or two about the plan or the pace of the day (besides I drive my husband crazy with my photography as it is, so image how others might react!!). So, we will either wander around on our own, take one of the ship's excursions or find a bus tour locally. I don't mind bus tours and have at times taken a bus just to see the countryside (like on our Midnight Sun adventure). I also don't mind the slower pace or having to wait for people or any of the other complaints I have heard about bus tours. However, I do read the descriptions very carefully and try to avoid those tours that are mostly drive-by bus rides.

DH is still working and so this is his vacation and his chance to step off the roller coaster and relax, so our approach to vacation touring is low-keyed. We know that we can't see everything and we don't even try. When we are in a city, we pick two destinations/activities per day and we do a lot of walking. True, we might not get back here again but we can't see everything and would rather have time to enjoy what we do see. Not overbooking gives us plenty of time to see what we want to see and to enjoy just meandering from place to place, stop for a snack or a meal, do some shopping even if it is just window-shopping. One of our "rules" of travel is: every now and then, you have to turn around and look at where you have been. Surprising the number of times we have done this and seen what we had just walked from a completely different perspective or seen something we hadn't noticed before. Also, we don't rent cars to get around. Besides the fact that neither of us can drive stick-shift, DH puts on enough miles and hours in the car for work that he has no interest in driving on his vacation.

In planning a cruise, I start with the shore excursions, just to give me a general idea of what is out there. My next stop is Trip Advisor to learn more about the ports of call, what are the top tourist attractions, what art museums are there, what are architectural gems, etc. I check out Google maps to get a feel for how close things are and, since Google also does trip planning, I learn about public transportation to the places I want to see. Sometimes, I will consult Cruise Critics "Ports of Call" forum. The forum is very helpful for learning about the various tour providers and about port facilities (shuttle buses, how close to town, nearest train station and how to get there, etc).

I also join the roll call for my sailing and at least subscribe to other roll calls for the same itinerary, because so much information can be learned from a chatty roll call.

This forum can also be very helpful and I bookmark any thread that discusses anything having to do with my itinerary (actually, I post it to the roll call so I know where to find it when I want it). Threads come and go very quickly and I may have forgotten about them by the time I get to planning in earnest.

When I board the ship, I have a file folder with my notes for each port - that helps me to remember what it is that we want to do, and I have printed out all the tours companies booked with our confirmation.....

 

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I am learning to put more and more paperwork on my mobile device (and also on a USB drive for back up), to save space and weight in the suitcases. Less paper means more room for the important stuff --like my camera gear;) and souvenirs. I have even taken to tearing apart one of the cruise doc booklets so that I take only the informational pages that I might want to consult during the cruise.

Anything you print on your computer can be printed to a PDF document and then transferred to your phone via BlueTooth. There are free PDF writer programs available on the internet (I use Cute PDF Writer).

I also use TripIt to consolidate my plans. One account can be used via cell phone app or desktop browser. I manage it online via my browser while planning and then consult it via the app while traveling.

Peregrina you just described what are our perfect DIY days! That is what we do in the majority of ports. Dinking I call it. Finding a square or harborside place to relax with a bite to eat and people watch, soak up the scenery. Wander to a couple sites,find local treasures...all at our pace. Your suggestion on finding the treasures that are in ports by looking at excursions works extremely well for those days.

The tours days are much lesser in number than the DIY days for us. This next trip for us includes a Catamaran day in Barbados, a boat/land/sea day in St Lucia, and then a small group (possibly two) in the Amazon. The rest of the port days (22 day trip) are our Dinking days!!

I was not aware of the bookmark feature on CC......thank you for that tip. I think it will be really helpful in the planning process

 

I was not aware of the bookmark feature on CC......thank you for that tip. I think it will be really helpful in the planning process

No, it's not a CC feature. It's a browser feature--and I have so many unorganized bookmarks as it is, that I have taken to using my roll call for bookmarking. I just post a link to the roll call telling everyone that I'm sharing helpful information. :D

Got it. Thanks for clarification Peregrina.

I am (finally) at the end of my research for our Homelands cruise for next month. I bought Rick Steve's Northern European Cruse Ports book. It is a wealth info. My plan of attack was to take one port at a time and research it and then move on. I asked many, many questions here and on Trip Advisor. From day one, I started a word document for each port and when I found pertinent information I would copy and paste it in. After doing all that research, I then decided what is most important to us and decide the plan of attack as to do it on our own, private tour or ship's excursions. Now that it is coming soon, I have been going through my notes and deleting some, keeping some and just plain organizing. I am not a phone wiz like Peregrina so I plan to print plus, I am old school and like paper form. I will take that port's info with me each day. I study up on each port the night before so it is all fresh in my mind. On our River Cruise we met a great couple that we clicked with right away at the airport in Amsterdam. At every meal we would compare notes at dinner for the next days port. We toured together in every port.

I tend to do lots of planning, maybe too much.

BUT - with Viking, things change a bit. I barely did any for the actual cruise. Just the 2-3 days before and after. I figure the included tour, or maybe taking one of their add on/paid tours will cover most of the ports.

As another poster said, I keep a list of web sites I have found and then post a list on the Roll Call for others. I keep a note file open on my computer and copy and paste links, notes, things to do, and things done as I work through it. Not unusual that I book one hotel, then change it - LOL.

Not unusual that I book one hotel, then change it - LOL.

Considering how rates change, it is not surprising. Just this morning I made a new reservation for the hotel we are staying at on Friday night just to take advantage of a cheaper rate that was available when I checked. When we go home at Thanksgiving. I make a reservation over the summer to be sure we have rooms and then rebook as it gets closer--and I have always gotten significant savings on the rebook.

I second the Rick Steves Northern European Cruise Ports book along with all of the Cruise Critic resources Peregrina mentioned. I did a little of everything on my Homelands trip--included & optional excursions, private, and DIY. I did some general research on each of the ports to know what there was to do and see and then based on our interests made decisions about how to spend our time. I take into consideration how much time we have in port, pricing of excursions, options outside of Viking offerings and ease of transportation. I like to plan so I don't miss out on my "must sees" but I like to leave a little room for something spontaneous or unexpected!

I have an approach to planning in the very early stages that no one else has mentioned. When I consider an itinerary, there will obviously be ports we have all heard of and seen in movies and on television. If I encounter a port name that I don't recognize (for example, before my recent round of planning I had never heard of Valetta, Malta or Taormina, Sicily), I go to pinterest. Type in the destinations and do a search. If you are a visual learner, like I am, you will then have hundreds of photos of the highlights from the destination. Should the pictures pique my interest, then I start the online research that others have mentioned. The only drawback is that my must-see list keeps growing exponentially!

Pinterest? Wow, I would never think of that. Thanks for the tip!

I like it. Pinterest. Never even considered that:D

These boards are just so helpful. Thanks for the idea!

I use all the various planning tools that have been mention.Great posts.

In the beginning,at least a year in advance I read the countries own tourist web sites. Lot of good info. I go to the library and check out travel books with maps. I love history so I read some good books on the history of the country, place etc.

Then I make my must see list of things to see and do at each port of call. I too keep it to two or three things each day.

I lalso fly in at least a couple days before cruise and stay at least one or two days post cruise. So the city and the local area are very important in deciding which cruise itineary I book too.

I have an approach to planning in the very early stages that no one else has mentioned. When I consider an itinerary, there will obviously be ports we have all heard of and seen in movies and on television. If I encounter a port name that I don't recognize (for example, before my recent round of planning I had never heard of Valetta, Malta or Taormina, Sicily), I go to pinterest. Type in the destinations and do a search. If you are a visual learner, like I am, you will then have hundreds of photos of the highlights from the destination. Should the pictures pique my interest, then I start the online research that others have mentioned. The only drawback is that my must-see list keeps growing exponentially!

I just went over to Pinterest. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your tip. I will certainly be spending a lot of time on there before we leave. Thanks so much!

Thank you all - I knew I'd get a lot of tips and inspiration. You really are a wonderful helpful resource

I like to plan (I was a financial planner in my former career) and I'm going to have lots of fun researching for the Homelands. I can't imagine arriving at a port totally unprepared. Standing in front of something important and not being aware of its significance

I notice that many of you recommend a pre/post add to the cruise. Does that really add value to the experience? I can appreciate a pre cruise arrival, time to adjust to the time change etc but I would imagine that I would be ready to head home after the cruise. Can you elaborate on your pre/post cruise experience

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I just went over to Pinterest. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your tip. I will certainly be spending a lot of time on there before we leave. Thanks so much!

I find it helpful both in the broad sense of "do I want to go to Taormina or Erice?", but also in deciding about shore excursions. I had seen so many pictures of the Achilleion Palace in Corfu before I arrived that the place felt familiar already. However, seeing the places in person that I have previewed at home has never been a disappointment!

Happy that my suggestion may prove useful.

It would never have occurred to me to use Pinterest (I use it for recipes). I just had a quick look - used Bergen as a search and wow what an easy way to collect information and of course store it on a board. I think you just made my day

BTW - you certainly don't "lackcreativity" - lol

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Flying to Europe or even Florida for my cruises from MN , I need to arrive at least a day early. Never want to miss a cruise. I need to make connections when flying to and from Europe . I am also over any jet lag coming in early.

I decided I would never fly directly home the day the cruise ended, after I finished a 15 day cruise through the Panama Canal many years ago. I was so depressed and it was so abrupt to leave the ship, sit in a airport and fly home to more winter all in 8 hours.

Next cruise was Eastern Med. We stayed in Istanbul for three days after our cruise. It gave us time to explore and have guided tours for two of us to the sites I wanted to see at a slow pace. Last year, we stayed again in Barcelona for two nights pre cruise and one night post cruise. I had organized a private tour for 8 of us to be picked up from the ship and we went to Monsterrat for half a day and then dropped off at our hotels for another great evening enjoying our last meal in Spain after our 14 day cruise around the Iberian Pennisula. it is also easier to find better departure times for air when not leaving the day the cruise ends.

There's lots of good planning information here. So I'll add a post trip idea that compliments my planning..

I love spending time planning our adventures. I started doing a word document itinerary years ago which I transfer to my tablet as well now but I also take the paper print out to make notes on during our travels - I guess a journal of sorts.

When I get home I add notes and memories and tweak my original itinerary into a wonderful travel story. My husband and l have really begun to value these stories. They are a great compliment to the "movies" he makes of his wonderful photos.

My planning becomes part of our memories and doesn't just end up in a box or drawer.

When friends are planning trips to an area we have visited I also am able to send them my document!

Thank you all - I knew I'd get a lot of tips and inspiration. You really are a wonderful helpful resource

 

I like to plan (I was a financial planner in my former career) and I'm going to have lots of fun researching for the Homelands. I can't imagine arriving at a port totally unprepared. Standing in front of something important and not being aware of its significance

 

I notice that many of you recommend a pre/post add to the cruise. Does that really add value to the experience? I can appreciate a pre cruise arrival, time to adjust to the time change etc but I would imagine that I would be ready to head home after the cruise. Can you elaborate on your pre/post cruise experience

 

 

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Especially when the airfare is so expensive, since I am there already, I want to get the best bang for my buck and see as much as possible. Sometimes, on a cruise, you don't get much time in the arrival and departure cities (just long enough to go from airport to ship or vice versa) but many times they are the most cultural dense ports of the cruise and take more than a couple of hours to experience to any satisfaction. Sometimes we do the cruise line pre- or post-extension and sometimes we do it on our own.

Cruising from Buenos Aires to Santiago, we added a week in Buenos Aires including an overnight jaunt to Iguazu Falls. We stayed at a cool little B&B and had a wonderful time seeing the sights of the city. The falls were worth every penny that we spent including the most money I have ever paid for a hotel room because we were right at the falls and it was new years eve. See here for pictures. I could happily do this cruise again (once I have seen all the other places I want to see!)

We did a Baltic cruise in and out of Amsterdam and we added two days on either end so that we could see the Rijksmuseum, the Rembrandt House and the Van Gogh and the Mauritshuis and the Esher in The Hague. Pictures.

For our Budapest to Bucharest Danube river cruise with Viking, we added the pre-cruise extension to Prague and for our Viking river cruise on the Dnieper River in Ukraine, we did a post-cruise extension in Kiev to see the city of my grandmother's childhood. On our most recent cruise, Barcelona to Barcelona, we added a week in Granada to visit with friends.

Such a great thread.

The only time I journal is when we travel. And I have found it a great set of 'memory books' to bring it all back. As I write this it makes me think I might want to expand that a bit.....immediate thought, time with our grandkids. Hmmmm.....

We also ALWAYS go in early....always enjoy our time pre-cruise exploring and adjusting g to whatever time zone we might be in.

Post cruise....we also ALWAYS stay over. For the same reasons, bit as has also been mentioned to decompress and reduce the adjustment of a trip planned so far in advance.

It is easier to do this now that we are no longer working, but even when we were, we always tried to bank a day or two on both ends.....but in those days, that didn't always work.