Booked cruise for April 2018 now what?

I just booked a 20 day cruise but it is not until April 2018. It is all I can think about and I have already started looking at clothes to buy which is crazy because I could be 10 pounds more or less by then.

Does anybody else have this problem and how do I wait 18 months?

There was a time when we booked cruises 2 years in advance.

Just spend the time checking out the ports and deciding what you want to do in them.

It's never too early to start checking out private tours. Good ones go quickly ;)

You'll have a bit of a wait for the specialty dining and HAL tours, etc. To appear but research can take time. And can be fun :)

Enjoy it - It adds to the anticipation :)

I just booked a 20 day cruise but it is not until April 2018. It is all I can think about and I have already started looking at clothes to buy which is crazy because I could be 10 pounds more or less by then.

 

Does anybody else have this problem and how do I wait 18 months?

Start a thread on Cruise Critic for the cruise!

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Start a thread on Cruise Critic for the cruise![/url]

Second that, either start the Roll Call for that cruise or go join it...

We did the same thing for our November 2017 cruise. Getting excited that we are coming up on just 1 year away.

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Mine is Jan 14 2017...and I soooo excited....just gave my TA the last payment this week! Woot woot!

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You could try and squeeze in a shorter cruise before that?

We try to have two booked while we wait. 19 days to our next one - and will probably visit with the FCC on board for another.

You could hang out at a bookstore or library, looking at guide books for your ports. Look the ports up here on Cruise Critic and see what people like to do on shore, then check out travel sites for ideas. Daydream. Smile. Start looking for cool travel stuff. Check Cruise Critic again... If you like to read, find some good books, fiction or non, about your destinations (I'm reading Michener's "Caribbean" right now, guess where I'm headed next).

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Have yourself frozen now... and thawed in March 2018.

We also have a cruise booked for April, 2018 and routinely book our cruises about 18 months out. Aside from being able to select the cabin and dining option we want, I find that planning is half the fun.

When I first book a cruise I start a "to do" list for that particular cruise and add things as they occur to me. That way nothing gets forgotten----at least not yet.

I kind of like my countdown clocks as it is surprising how fast they tick away at time---especially if you don't check into CC every day.

Booking way ahead allows lots of time to research ports, check on possible excursions and decide what you want to do ashore. I like to read about the experience of others on similar cruises here on CC and have gathered some very good tips over the years.

My husband loves it that he doesn't have to give planning a second thought and has learned to trust my judgement in making plans and arrangements. He hates doing it and I really enjoy it.

Baja mama, there is nothing quite like the feeling when the big day finally arrives and you step aboard the ship. Happy planning:)

We always book our cruises when they first come out to get the best price and the room we want. Then, once booked, the fun begins, especially if you count pennies like I do. We monitor the cruise on the website to catch any promotions or price drops that come along. If a better deal comes along, we call our HAL PCC and rebook it if it's worth it. Sometimes, it's not. But, rest assured, the deals will come and don't sit back and expect your TA to catch them for you. Some deals only last a month or two and then disappear.

I second the idea of keep checking for a price drop. On our up coming cruise there have been two price drops and when I checked later the price for our cabin has gone up, so it's up to you to keep on checking the HAL web site for the price drops.

Allan

What I enjoy is to start researching and making lists as soon as I do the initial booking for what to do in ports which can take a lot of time as there are so many places to look included the HAL shore ex section on their website, find average temps in each port which makes it easier to decide what to pack, find out what ports will accept US$ and if any require their own currency, i.e. Croatia pretty much only accepts kunas, etc.

And mentally 'pace' a lot.....

Anticipation is part the fun

Have yourself frozen now... and thawed in March 2018.

Ooooh, I like your answer much better than mine.

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I just booked a 20 day cruise but it is not until April 2018. It is all I can think about and I have already started looking at clothes to buy which is crazy because I could be 10 pounds more or less by then.

Does anybody else have this problem and how do I wait 18 months?

In July 2015 we booked a 28 day SE Asia cruise for Feb. 2017. It seemed like it was a million years away. After a few months I started a roll call thinking it would take a while for people to show up. All of a sudden everyone was coming out of the woodwork. We all started working on tours and getting to know each other online. I knew that we would never be able to make it that long without a cruise so we did an 11 day partial Panama Canal cruise and we're going to the Caribbean over Thanksgiving. But we are now only 4 months away from our big cruise. It has been so much fun booking all of our excursions. And during that time we had 2 price drops which made it even better.

Start your roll call, start your planning and watch the prices. Mentally you will start your vacation way ahead of everyone else.

Enjoy!!

Helen

All good suggestions thanks so much. Bill B I love your comment it made me laugh.

I just booked a 20 day cruise but it is not until April 2018. It is all I can think about and I have already started looking at clothes to buy which is crazy because I could be 10 pounds more or less by then.

Does anybody else have this problem and how do I wait 18 months?

I like to track the ship as it goes on it's journeys and watch as it gets closer to my departure port.

Of course it usually makes sense to book cruises 18 or more months out, and then monitor to take advantage of price drops. But that is only part of the procedure - to do it right, you should book one every six months of so - that way you will always have a couple to look forward to and enjoy while waiting for each particular year-and-a-half waiting period to crawl by.