Not making plans!

Hello!

My husband and I are going on our first ever cruise for our honeymoon in March on an 11 night Southern Caribbean on Serenade of the Seas.

We were initially going to pre-book excursions but have now decided to play it by ear. We understand this may limit what is still available.

How easy is it to make decisions as you go?

E.g. If we woke up and fancied an excursion or wanted a day at a local beach or market?

Equally, we may decide to have a wander on our own then spend the majority of the day on the ship.

Thank you :)

Congats on your wedding and your up and coming honeymoon.

What you have stated is exactly what we do. We NEVER make plans or book excursions and always have a great time.

There are some downfalls to this however....especially if you have never cruised before.

There are people at every port wanting to take you to the beach or on tours. There are usually information stands with maps too. It's not difficult to play it by ear.

Congats on your wedding and your up and coming honeymoon.

 

What you have stated is exactly what we do. We NEVER make plans or book excursions and always have a great time.

 

There are some downfalls to this however....especially if you have never cruised before.

Thank you both!

What are the downfalls?

Not doing research is one. Research the Islands you are visiting. You can also go to the section here on Cruise Critic called "PORT OF CALLS" and see the popular and best places to go "on your own".

Keep in mind......if you go off on your own....you are responsible for getting back to the ship on time. If you book excursions via the ship, they HAVE to wait for you.

If you go to You Tube and type in "Cozumel Pier Runners" you will see what I mean. The ship will NOT wait for you. We just always make sure we get a taxi or shuttle back to the ship an hour before necessary.

Lots of people play it by ear and have great success

The downfalls are if you don't research what the Island has to offer, you may miss some best parts of a port - you have limited time in each port.

The other downfall may be if there is something that you really want to do and its a popular excursion, it may sell out.......

Personally, I enjoy the planning prior to the trip - but that's just me, it keeps me busy ;)

Enjoy your cruise - and Congrats on the wedding

Thank you all!

I have done some research on the islands so I will know things that we wont want to miss out on...

I just don't want us to have paid out for an excursion that we may not fancy and may want to do something else.

I will make sure we see the best we can but our main aims are to relax, enjoy some beautiful sights and enjoy each others company.

xx

Research is key to having a good time ashore....especially if you are going to DIY! So, pick up a guidebook at your library...then you'll know what is in each place! And, what kind of transportation there is...how far things are....food/drink, bathrooms, etc....

Beaches and shopping almost NEVER require an excursion at all. Things like snorkeling (by boat) or going to see stingrays or dolphins usually will require someone to take you there...

The key is KNOWING in advance what is available!

We never do excursions anymore...we "wing" it...and have a blast!

Research is key to having a good time ashore....especially if you are going to DIY! So, pick up a guidebook at your library...then you'll know what is in each place! And, what kind of transportation there is...how far things are....food/drink, bathrooms, etc....

 

Beaches and shopping almost NEVER require an excursion at all. Things like snorkeling (by boat) or going to see stingrays or dolphins usually will require someone to take you there...

The key is KNOWING in advance what is available!

 

We never do excursions anymore...we "wing" it...and have a blast!

Thank you!!

We will do atleast one excursion I think, but we will mainly want to access beaches/markets.

I definitely recommend doing some research on the islands you will be visiting so you have an idea of what is available but there is no need to commit yourself to anything ahead of time. However, you don't want to be in a position of getting home and finding out about somethng that you would have liked to do and then wishing you had known about it at the time.

When we took our first several cruises I learned as much as I could about the ships and the ports. We went with a plan but everything was subject to change depending on how we felt once we got there. Now that we have been to most ports several times we do next to no planning and cruising has become very relaxing!

Hello!

 

My husband and I are going on our first ever cruise for our honeymoon in March on an 11 night Southern Caribbean on Serenade of the Seas.

 

We were initially going to pre-book excursions but have now decided to play it by ear. We understand this may limit what is still available.

 

How easy is it to make decisions as you go?

 

E.g. If we woke up and fancied an excursion or wanted a day at a local beach or market?

 

Equally, we may decide to have a wander on our own then spend the majority of the day on the ship.

 

Thank you :)

If this is what you want, this will probably work out for you just fine. There is a tip I give to first time cruisers.

Don't worry about seeing or doing everything, they let you come back.

While its may not be related to your situation, it goes along the same train of thought for future parents, but it can apply here as well.

When it comes to childbirth everyone is an expert and will tell you exactly how its going to be! The same goes for cruising at times.

Brilliant.

This is likely to be our last holiday before we have children, so our main priority is relaxing while seeing some beautiful places in lovely weather!

We have an app that gives details of each port with reviews. I know, EG that Bonaire is the best for snorkelling, so we will probably do that.

I don't want to stress too much about research but equally need to do enough to make the most of it.

If this is what you want, this will probably work out for you just fine. There is a tip I give to first time cruisers.

 

Don't worry about seeing or doing everything, they let you come back.

 

While its may not be related to your situation, it goes along the same train of thought for future parents, but it can apply here as well.

 

When it comes to childbirth everyone is an expert and will tell you exactly how its going to be! The same goes for cruising at times.

Thanks so much. That is so true.

Everyone has said what we should or shouldn't do, and I don't want to ignore any advise.

As long as we can have a holiday tailored to what WE want to do fairly easily, we will be happy x

In my opinion, a Southern Caribbean cruise is perfect for this type of cruise. I am myself an obsessive cruise planner and usually do the exact opposite of what you are doing.

However, I had back surgery in Jan of 2014 so our southern cruise that May was very low key and we had a great time.

As others have said, easy to do your own thing, or do a more structured excursion.

One thing, be aware of ship's time versus island time. Highly recommend using a watch rather than phone. Phone may automatically adjust to local time. Check ship's time and your cruise compass daily - you don't want to be left behind.

In my opinion, a Southern Caribbean cruise is perfect for this type of cruise. I am myself an obsessive cruise planner and usually do the exact opposite of what you are doing.

 

However, I had back surgery in Jan of 2014 so our southern cruise that May was very low key and we had a great time.

Funnily enough, I plan EVERYTHING... and was initially doing that for the cruise. However, I keep seeing things that change my mind and I don't want to be limited. If we miss out then it'll be too late and we can just choose second best... by then i'll just be happy to be on holiday.

As others have said, easy to do your own thing, or do a more structured excursion.

 

One thing, be aware of ship's time versus island time. Highly recommend using a watch rather than phone. Phone may automatically adjust to local time. Check ship's time and your cruise compass daily - you don't want to be left behind.

I would most definitely head back minimum 1-2 hours early.

I think, unless we are doing a planned excursion, we will probably only head off for a couple of hours and head back to enjoy the sun on the ship.

If we cruise in the future then we will probably plan more, but neither of us have been somewhere like the Caribbean before so are happy to enjoy it for what it is.

We live on the rainy Isle of Wight in England so it'll just be lovely for sunshine!

Almost every port has TONS of on-the-pier excursions you can purchase. Advance research will tell you if there are any areas that are unsafe or without lots of available excursion options on the pier -- for example, Falmouth (Jamaica) doesn't have much of a developed port beyond the gated vendor area that the cruise companies maintain.

Just be aware of the be-back-on-board time which will be posted in your daily Compass, and make sure your tour will be back well in advance.

If getting a taxi, make sure you get a quote for the price in advance, and if necessary, make arrangements to be picked up for a return.

Take the daily Compass with you, or snap a photo of it, so you have the cruise line's port agent information -- if you have any problems ashore, that is who you should contact.

And always remember to take a photo ID (driver license is fine) in addition to your ship key-card -- some ports require you to show ID in order to enter the port area.

Enjoy!

When my partner and I went on our very first cruise back in 2008 (Mariner of the seas out of LA) we were very overwhelmed by the pre planning. So we said since this is our first cruise we will focus on just learning the layout of the boat and what cruising is like. We didn't want to spend hours pre planning if we ended up hating cruises and never wanting to sail again.

So for that 7 day trip we just took each day as it came. For us this was perfect, as it was very low stress and very relaxing.

Now that I've cruised more often, we do pre plan excursions, dinner, shows, etc.

I would most definitely head back minimum 1-2 hours early.

 

I think, unless we are doing a planned excursion, we will probably only head off for a couple of hours and head back to enjoy the sun on the ship.

 

If we cruise in the future then we will probably plan more, but neither of us have been somewhere like the Caribbean before so are happy to enjoy it for what it is.

 

We live on the rainy Isle of Wight in England so it'll just be lovely for sunshine!

My biggest fear is missing the ship, my parents taught us on our first cruise that you get back way before the identified time to be on the ship, because you never know what could happen....and even though your in paradise, missing your transportation home would be a huge damper on the vacation.

We are taking our two children (3 and 5) with us in April for their first cruise, so far we do not have any excursions planned either. We will be the ones that try to be off the ship as early as possible, enjoy the islands and then head back to the ship for lunch and then naps or swimming....if we are at the port longer through the day then I may venture off just around the port but that's it...

you will have lots of fun!

When my partner and I went on our very first cruise back in 2008 (Mariner of the seas out of LA) we were very overwhelmed by the pre planning. So we said since this is our first cruise we will focus on just learning the layout of the boat and what cruising is like. We didn't want to spend hours pre planning if we ended up hating cruises and never wanting to sail again.

So for that 7 day trip we just took each day as it came. For us this was perfect, as it was very low stress and very relaxing.

 

Now that I've cruised more often, we do pre plan excursions, dinner, shows, etc.

Thanks so much - makes me feel better.

I have been stressing so much and just want to enjoy it!

What are the downfalls?

One would be if you took a non-cruise-line tour to "the middle of nowhere" far from the port & had a breakdown.

You might not want to book a tour like this, especially an all-day that is scheduled to get back just before ship's sailing.

OTOH...we took an unofficial spice tour in a truck thru Grenada and had a great day.

We sometimes do not book any tours at all and find what we find in the ports of call. These can be very enjoyable, leaving you to do or not as you please.

We were thinking once of cruising with two good friends but decided against because one of the couple is a bit too much of a control freak, having every minute scheduled and God help those daring enough to deviate for more than five seconds.

Steve

My biggest fear is missing the ship, my parents taught us on our first cruise that you get back way before the identified time to be on the ship, because you never know what could happen....and even though your in paradise, missing your transportation home would be a huge damper on the vacation.

We are taking our two children (3 and 5) with us in April for their first cruise, so far we do not have any excursions planned either. We will be the ones that try to be off the ship as early as possible, enjoy the islands and then head back to the ship for lunch and then naps or swimming....if we are at the port longer through the day then I may venture off just around the port but that's it...

you will have lots of fun!

Thank you!

Absolutely how I feel.

If we don't do any excursion then we will be out and back early.

I think I will aim for 90 minutes to 2 hours MINIMUM!

To be honest... I am happy enough with the ship... But also want to appreciate the islands! x

First of all, I usually dislike organized tours and have never been a pre planner or done much research in advance of a cruise. My husband and I usually prefer to wing it and we've always had a great cruise. I'm sure we've probably missed some things, but we've had some fantastic adventures in ports and have seen & done stuff that the ordinary tourist may miss. :D.

And hearing about something we may have missed has given us a reason to go back!

Sherri:)

First of all, I usually dislike organized tours and have never been a pre planner or done much research in advance of a cruise. My husband and I usually prefer to wing it and we've always had a great cruise. I'm sure we've probably missed some things, but we've had some fantastic adventures in ports and have seen & done stuff that the ordinary tourist may miss. :D.

 

And hearing about something we may have missed has given us a reason to go back!

 

Sherri:)

Hi Sherri!

Absolutely! And surely you could say that about anything in life... you cant do EVERYTHING! xx