How do you stand it...

[turtlegirl2]

When you book your cruise a year or more out? What do you do between today, and, say, the next 311 days?!? I'd go crazy!! I think the earliest I've booked a trip is six months out and that seems like an eternity! I'm just curious after looking at some of your cruise countdown tickers, which are very cool BTW. The sad ones, though, are the ones with the negative numbers (you know you need a vacation when you last cruised 700 days ago!!) ;)

 

I know, I know, part of the fun is the planning and anticipation!! Now, maybe if I had vacations booked out every 6 months or so that would be okay...

 

We set sail in 5-1/2 months :eek: on the Majesty of the Seas for a 4-day get-away with scuba as one of the main priorities!! I hope the time flies between now and then!

 

Anyhow, thanks for all the tips and reports! Keep countin' 'em down! :cool:

Jacque (aka turtlegirl2)

[cruzfiend]

I book so far out because, I love to know I have plans to go away. Also, if I don't have any cruise planned, being on CC depresses me : ( I love to plan!!!)

[normaxs]

When you book your cruise a year or more out? What do you do between today, and, say, the next 311 days?!?

Anyhow, thanks for all the tips and reports! Keep countin' 'em down! :cool:

Jacque (aka turtlegirl2)

 

Let me see-what do I do??

Read these boards every evening

Read Cruise Magazines

Read Cruise Newsletters

Think about my next cruise

Think about the clothes I'm taking on that cruise

Think about what cruise to take after that

 

Does that give you an idea what my life centers around???

Norma

[cruzfiend]

Norma, you sound as obsessed as I am :p

[VABeach]

I can't book more than 6 months out. No one would be able to stand me if I did.:p :D

[springtxbill]

I just keep 2 or 3 in the queue. :D

[tribefan]

Wow, how I wish I was in the "lower" 300's. We only have 387 days till the next cruise (March 5, 2006) and we have been booked for over a month!! It just works out best to book that far in advance for us. During the next year, we will have 4 or 5 get togethers with everyone that is cruising with us. The first one being 1 year till sailing. Also during that year included is a trip to Charlotte in May for the races, a trip out to AZ to visit the kids and granddaughter, and they will also be making 2 trips home in the next year. Hopefully that will help in passing the time, otherwise it on CC pretty much everyday to check out what is going on! It is a long year, but we have done it before and made it just fine!!:D

[JerseyGirl23]

We visit the in-laws in Florida for the 2 weeks consisting of Christmas and New Years with a land trip to the Florida Keys for a week (for some real R&R). This year, we decided to book a 4 night cruise instead.

 

I'm ready to plan our December 2006 cruise now. :D

[Rich And Sylvia]

If we waited until 5 - 6 months out, the cabin we want would no longer be available. We have made the choice to vacation less often and book the accomodations we really want - even though they are more expensive. And, as the previous posters have stated, it's fun to have plans and read all about what you want to do.

Our countdown started at 344 days (if I remember right) and next month we'll get to have out Double Digit (99 days) Dinner Celebration. It's small things like this make make it bearable.

[roe2ship]

I LOVE to plan way ahead, the anticipation is fabulous. Another reason is we only want aft cabins plus need a triple inside and we get the exact ones we wanted. It is also very comforting to know that when disembarking the ship you have another cruise booked and start the process all over.:D

[Son of a Cruiser]

We usually book 12 to 18 months ahead of time. It really gives us something to look forward to. We board the Mariner in 114 days and booked it last June:) . I usually put a copy of our reservation confirmation on the bulletin board next to my desk, and when I'm having one of those really bad days, I just glance over at the booking and it always brings a quick daydream and a smile:D . Also I check the RCI website to see how prices are. For this cruise our hump cabin has gone up $250 pp since we booked!! That brings a smile also! With the anticipation and plannig it really makes the time between cruises a lot more fun.

 

The only hard part is keeping the excitement in check and not boring everyone who has yet to become a cruise addict. "Yeah, you DID tell me you were going on another cruise - is that all you do?" LOL.

[TahoeBob]

The sad ones, though, are the ones with the negative numbers (you know you need a vacation when you last cruised 700 days ago!!) ;)

 

 

I am at -60 or something like that, and I have not booked another cruise yet. On our first and only cruise I booked it in May for a Dec cruise, what I am going to do this time is just save money up and when I hit the magic number book a last minute cruise and go, I am luckey that I can get vacation time off at the last minute. so I really can not put a countdown clock on my messages as I really don't know what ship, what port we will leave from, where we will go, or what we will do. but we are going again.

 

 

Bob P.

[CallagDeb]

We are on the Jewell in 15 days....but we already have another one booked for March 2006 Panama Canal....I don't think I could "end" one without having another MAIN one to look forward to...we may have one in between if we really need it, but I could NOT get thru Post Cruise Depression if I was NOT counting down to another one.....

[Murphy]

Yep, it's depressing to see I have 232 days till I leave and I don't do a "daily" count down until we are sub-100 days. I have to have "something" to look forward too, however, and knowing a cruise is already booked calms my adventure side. If something isn't in the works, even if its more than 250 days away, now that's when I stress. I tend to plan a lot of the cruise stuff right away (airfare, hotel, etc.) and then chill for a while and re-engage a few months out.

 

What do I do to pass the days?

-Check in here almost daily.

-Check my cruise price and cheer every time it goes up. (current cruise has gone up more that $500 p/p since we booked. A JS is now going for almost the same price as our booked OS! Yippee for me!)

-Try to get a roll-call going and get excited every time someone else joins in.

-Research pre and post cruise destinations

-Research excursion options

 

Gee, at this rate, I've got so much to do the cruise will be here any day now!

[Heidict]

Just knowing that I have this cruise to look forward to, even if it is a year away, helps me to get through the winter.

 

Then I get to spend the time planning my vacation. Checking out the departure city, all the stops we are making. Figure out what we are going to do. What we want to see, what excursions we want to take.

 

Just about anything to keep my mind off the fact that we still have over 300 days to go.:(

[TAG2424]

We visit the in-laws in Florida for the 2 weeks consisting of Christmas and New Years with a land trip to the Florida Keys for a week (for some real R&R). This year, we decided to book a 4 night cruise instead.

 

I'm ready to plan our December 2006 cruise now. :D

 

Jerseygirl.......where did you get your counter?

 

Terry

R.I.

[Philly Steve]

The downside to booking well in advance is wondering whether your airline will still be in business!

[colette5479]

I book about a year in advance for a few reasons:

 

If I am taking the family, this will give me extra time to pay on a cruise. Then I can pay it early and start saving some spending money.

 

You can get some really great prices by booking early. I booked our December cruise last month and I am already seeing a $75.00 pp increase. I will watch this carefully just in case it drops and I can get a credit.

 

It's hard for me to take off work with a few months notice because of my work schedule. If I put a week down very far in advance I am guaranteed I will get that week off.

 

Because it gives me something to look forward to:D In the meantime, I am like the rest of you. I 'm on here at leat 4 times a week and I look at all the reviews I can. I also do a little homework about future cruises I am interested in.

[chauffeurboy]

:D The best prices come from booking so far in advance. We booked our cruise last January.

 

More importantly booking this cruise far in advance gives me the will to live for another year.:D :D :D :D

 

Roy

[Yvonne]

It seemed like forever before our first cruise got here, but really the time does pass quite quickly. The cruise gets here and it's over before we know it. This time, booking the Mariner of the Seas, I wish I would have booked MORE than a year in advance as we weren't able to get the midship balcony rooms on deck 8 that we wanted, we had to go further forward than we really wanted to as the ones we wanted were already booked. Juan (my RCI agent) said more and more people are booking more than a year in advance. If we like the Mariner I am hoping to book an inside promenade room for the following year. If they are already taken by the time we cruise, I will book one for the NEXT year.

[Nessa1dc]

I'm going crazy awaiting my cruise. I do it so far in advance for:

 

1. Budget. It gives me alot of time to save.

 

2. Getting the rooms I want. I like having open choices and not being told what's left

 

3. Work schedule. Earnin that Leave.

 

I check this website almost daily. I'm going to Vegas in June, but, all I keep thinking about is the cruise in December 05. I need serious psychiatric treatment.

[WJ228]

I booked a cruise for March 2006. Im surprising my family with a 5 day cruise out of Galveston TX. Im checking these boards everyday. Something to do to keep me occupied.

[mtd716]

We booked in December 2004 for a March 2006 cruise for a few reasons:

 

1. Guarantees the best possible price -- we can get a price reduction if price goes down, or feel smug for planning ahead if the price increases.

 

2. Cabins that accommodate a family of 4 aren't so plentiful. There are only 6 in the category we chose. Of those 6, we ruled out 4 as undesirable. Of the 2 that remained, we booked one and my sister booked the other for her family.

 

3. By having committed to a specific cruise, we know what the exact cost will be and can include that in our savings budget for the next year. Cruise and some of the extras will be fully paid for before we ever set foot on the ship.

 

4. I can't get my husband on a cruise as often as I'd like (he's not the fanatic that I am), but at least having one booked makes me happy and gives me something to look forward to!

[Florida_cruisers]

Our next cruise we booked 16 months in advance. This gives me time to plan our excursions and the rest of the details for our trip.

In the mean time, I also try to plan for other land vacations in between to apeace me while I wait for the big annual vacation.

[JerseyGirl23]

Last month, after I booked the cruise, I reserved a rental car.

 

Just now, I purchased air tickets.

 

Next stop, pre-cruise hotel. After that, a quick look at shore excursions. Then payment of the final bill.

 

Before I know it, we'll be on our way. :)