How to your plan/organize your trips?

[DaisyUK]

What a great post. I don't do any of the things mentioned, but will definitely steal a few ideas. Had a look at Tripit today as a result of this thread, not sure yet whether I'll use it. My email provider isn't compatible with Tripit and so I would have to manually enter everything, which I may do. The 4x6 cards are a great idea. You're all so organised, puts me to shame!!

[Hawaiidan]

I just copy a calendar page and write in with a regular pen notes when necessary.. works well for 30 days...one page folded in my pocket.

I don't use computer stuff at all and don't store anything. Pretty easy At the most I have these cool 2.5 by 1.5 pocket note books that I can just write in... if I need to.... but seldom do.

I enjoy spontaneity and try not to schedule anything as the mood strikes me..

On a up coming 33 day cruise I have 2 tour scheduled with others... and 1 without.

I found for me, the more schedule and plan in detail the more things can go wrong like a domino effect.

 

Here in Hawaii it is funny to see these folks running around with huge binders constantly looking at their watches and leafing through their exact schedules.. Missing everything around them..the schedule...got to keep on it at all costs...

The plans thus can overwhelm the trip... If you have done your research and need a detailed organization to manage, maybe you planned too much?

If there is more than you can remember easily then maybe that's a warning sign......

 

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[buggins0402]

Wow...

 

It's nice to know there are many others out there with OCPD (obsessive cruise planning disorder). Was worried I was the only one.

[potterhill]

Wow!

 

We have done several cruises (8 I think) and some other extended trips. I guess compared to the previous posters, we're flying by the set of our pants! Not sure how we made it there and back. ;-).

 

We just make reservations and I put all emails re trip in its own folder. That's it.

 

Will have to check these methods out, but I am a Luddite in reality and without a doubt would lose everything, as I did with daughter's wedding invite list with all addresses. Only thing that saved the day was that as a paranoid Luddite, I handwrote a list of the Save The Date Cards on my way to the post office. Otherwise some would have doubtless been told to STD, and not received an invite! And yes, I did all the work as she has come down with a chronic illness, and someone had to put it together. With a notebook and a pen.

 

Mo

 

 

 

 

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[kiawahdon]

A couple of computer/iPad app recommendations:

The first is KVS tool. This gem has saved me thousands of dollars and hours of frustration in

trying to plan our airline details. KVS tool will tell you the flight schedules for every airline serving virtually any city in the world. Want to know who flies between Atlanta and Pago Pago? It will give you a complete listing of flights, equipment and schedules. Plus it will tell you the availability of frequent flier awards or upgrades for the flight including number available for each class of service-for each of the 3 major alliances. Can't beat it for snagging those FF awards and finding a routing with available awards. It also has allowed me to tell an airline agent to "look again", because there is availability on a flight.

A couple others are Flight Track Pro and Flight Board. The first one will provide real time information on airline flights in progress or on the ground. For example, tomorrow we are catching a flight from CLT to LAX. This flight/aircraft originates in New York City. Will it be on time into CLT? Flight Track Pro will tell me.

Flight Board has real time arrival and departure boards for all but the world's smallest airports. It is another way to find out who flies into an airport and their destinations.

[burm]

Wow...

 

It's nice to know there are many others out there with OCPD (obsessive cruise planning disorder). Was worried I was the only one.

 

I don't call it OCPD (in most cases), I call it efficiency.

 

While I totally appreciate what Dan is saying about over-organizing vacation time, for some of us it takes the strategic skills of a 5 star general just to get us to the ship (and a lot of praying to the gods of snow and ice). After spending half a day loading all my basic info onto Tripit, I was shocked to see it spelled out- two shuttle services to get to Toronto, a third to get to the hotel, another shuttle to the airport in the morning. 8.5 hr waiting at LAX, taxi to the port in Papeete at 6:ooAM, ferry to Moorea, shuttle to hotel and several hours wait until we can occupy our room, shuttle back to port, ferry to Papeete, then wander around town for a few hours before we can board.

 

Then there is medical and insurance information and contacts.

 

Once all this vital information is organized in a convenient and accessible manner and we safely reach our destination, then it is time to finally relax and take the time to smell the durians.

[Paulchili]

A couple of computer/iPad app recommendations:

The first is KVS tool. This gem has saved me thousands of dollars and hours of frustration in

trying to plan our airline details. KVS tool will tell you the flight schedules for every airline serving virtually any city in the world. Want to know who flies between Atlanta and Pago Pago? It will give you a complete listing of flights, equipment and schedules. Plus it will tell you the availability of frequent flier awards or upgrades for the flight including number available for each class of service-for each of the 3 major alliances. Can't beat it for snagging those FF awards and finding a routing with available awards. It also has allowed me to tell an airline agent to "look again", because there is availability on a flight.

.

 

KVS is great but not free. For simply all of that flight info, except award seats, you can get all that and more on ITA Software for free.

If you are looking for FF awards, Expert Flyer (fee service) will give you that info but more importantly, you can also set up alerts on awards you are looking for (so that won't have to check for them every day). When awards become available, you get an e mail. If you don't want to spend the money on services like that, you can use BA/CX/QF websites for all award availabilities on OneWorld and UA/ANA for *A awards.

Don't know (or care anything) about Sky Pesos.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Paulchili

[cbb]

If I had visited Hawaii and missed seeing the Missouri because I didn't do my research I'd be pretty unhappy. My binder isn't a schedule but rather a "don't miss this, dummy" for myself!

[caviargal]

I used Tripcase for the first time in October for our two week Italy trip. We had three hotels, multiple trains, private drivers, a Med cruise, multiple dinner reservations, etc. It worked very well and I will use it again.

[CruiserFromMaine]

As others have said, I too am a TripIt fan. It's not perfect, but it's very handy and covers most reservations. They have a web site and iPad/iPhone apps and probably Android too. I use the free version.

 

I also scanned my passports, credit cards, etc. and emailed it to my email provider, so I can access them with a computer if I ever need to.

 

I used to keep a binder but I travel light (carry on only) so ditching the binder was a plus.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

I do the schedule of appointments in Excel or in my Google Calendar depending on how complex I need to track information.

I save all the emails for flights/tours in Google Drive and create a label by trip. I can access that from my phone or any desktop computer and I can share it as well.

I print what is most important and I have a small expanding folder that is plastic; It has tabs for Air/Hotel/Cruise Info/Ports/Tours/Insurance/Passport copies/ I fold the documents in half or in thirds and it fits in one of my carryons perfectly; I have original correspondence that way and it never fails me.

[H20mac3]

I too love my spreadsheets for traveling as I am probably a little OCD when it comes to planning trips. When we are ready to go I print off the first page (yes there are many) so I have a hard copy of all our travel info, notes and to do's. The rest of the pages are price comparisons, shopping lists, packing lists, etc.

 

I love reading all the wonderful tips on this thread. I notice no one has mentioned seatguru.com. It's a wonderful site that shows you how the seats are configured on your flight. You just input your airline and flight number and a diagram of your plan will come up. Click on a seat and it will tell you the good or bad about that seat i.e. doesn't recline, no storage under the seat in front of you, extra leg room, etc. We use it all the time as my DH is quite tall and leg room is important! I am definitely going to "borrow" some of the wonderful ideas you all have shared! The card idea is very cool . . .

[lilybug]

I type notes on computer and also make notes in a little copybook. I would love to have all the detail some folks use here, but I want someone else to do it for me. Wish my hubby were a detail guy, but he's not - it falls on me to read and plan and I'm just not that good at it.

[potterhill]

A couple of computer/iPad app recommendations:

The first is KVS tool. This gem has saved me thousands of dollars and hours of frustration in

trying to plan our airline details. KVS tool will tell you the flight schedules for every airline serving virtually any city in the world. Want to know who flies between Atlanta and Pago Pago? It will give you a complete listing of flights, equipment and schedules. Plus it will tell you the availability of frequent flier awards or upgrades for the flight including number available for each class of service-for each of the 3 major alliances. Can't beat it for snagging those FF awards and finding a routing with available awards. It also has allowed me to tell an airline agent to "look again", because there is availability on a flight.

A couple others are Flight Track Pro and Flight Board. The first one will provide real time information on airline flights in progress or on the ground. For example, tomorrow we are catching a flight from CLT to LAX. This flight/aircraft originates in New York City. Will it be on time into CLT? Flight Track Pro will tell me.

Flight Board has real time arrival and departure boards for all but the world's smallest airports. It is another way to find out who flies into an airport and their destinations.

 

I was unable to find KVS in the App Store. I tried several variations on the theme with no luck. Not surprising as I am not great on the computer but most times I can manage.

 

What am I missing?

 

Mo

 

 

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[cpinstein]

I also use a 3 ring binder. I know it's cumbersome, but I just can't wean myself off. Plus I love all the articles I've cut out of magazines. We usually "study" the night before the port to review. i take stuff out the binder to take with me, and then pitch it. The whole binder lives in the cabin. By the end of the cruise, I have nothing, and throw the binder away.

[azevedan]

I was unable to find KVS in the App Store. I tried several variations on the theme with no luck. Not surprising as I am not great on the computer but most times I can manage.

What am I missing?

 

I found something on the web:

 

http://www.kvstool.com/

[binkysmom]

I use a duotang with plastic "pouches" to separate. One for all flights, one for hotels, then by port. My first page is a word doc summary with flight and hotel info and on the back is a printed calendar with hand written notes, usually just on the days we have a tour scheduled so there's not a lot on that sheet. I post the calendar in the cabin so I can see what's coming up (and keep track of days).

[no fuss travel]

We start with a 3 ring binder where we keep all communication regarding the cruise, private tours, etc. Closer to sailing time, my husband then prepares an excel spread sheet which lists our flights, times, hotels, private tours, sea days, dinner reservations. On the spread sheet we also include the name of the tour guide, time we are to meet and where we are to meet. He also highlights in blue sea days, so we know when we are going to get a break. We then print off the excel spreadsheet and include a copy in each suitcase that we are taking with us regardless if it is a carryon or a checked piece of luggage. He also keeps a copy in his wallet and I usually carry a copy in my purse as well. It worked really well for our last 30 day cruise. Each time we use it, he refines it so that it works even better.

[Twocoasts]

I use a MS Word table as my itinerary. It's a template one of my assistants designed for me for business travel years ago but it works great for personal trips. I often travel with friends and family and I've found that putting everything on one sheet is a huge help--for ME! I no longer have to answer 1,000 questions about where people need to be when, whose flight is arriving at what airport, etc. No binder necessary.

 

I also print out copies of confirmations. Everything gets stuffed in a handy 5x7 envelope (where I also keep receipts). I only take the page of the itinerary I need for a given day so not lugging around a lot of paper. I've had too many issues not being able to get cell service or data to rely 100% on my smart phone for itinerary storage.

[travelglobetrotter]

I use a combination of several things discussed already, but still manage to confuse myself when I'm juggling 3 or 4 trips. I use a 3 ring binder for the closest trip, with tabs for my at a glance calendar, tours in each port and docs for cruise, any hotels, air etc. My calendar lists whatever I know about that day. Port and time in port, any other ships in port that day, tours I've booked, dinner reservations, etc. I transfer all my info to a flat 3 ring folder, then purge as we go along. I have colored folders for the other trips, and just stuff them with papers as I go along, transferring the next trip to my 3 ring binder.

 

I also have folders in my Favorites for on line materials that I can access on my netbook, but I just like having hard copies. I haven't figured out how to use Excel or Word templates for this process.

Marlene

[yorkiemomjn]

I used Tripcase for the first time in October for our two week Italy trip. We had three hotels, multiple trains, private drivers, a Med cruise, multiple dinner reservations, etc. It worked very well and I will use it again.

 

I read a Tech Review article about this and tried it. It is great! Love it!! :D

[Hawaiidan]

I use a duotang with plastic "pouches" to separate. One for all flights, one for hotels, then by port. My first page is a word doc summary with flight and hotel info and on the back is a printed calendar with hand written notes, usually just on the days we have a tour scheduled so there's not a lot on that sheet. I post the calendar in the cabin so I can see what's coming up (and keep track of days).

 

 

A simple calendar page....one 2 if over 30 days.. Is all I take. And a little 1 1/2" x 2" green 50 page note book fits in a shirt pocket ( us Govt federal supply-7503-01-060-7511. ) No batteries, no weight, no worries.. great for notes with ball point pen... you can tear out pages and make notes. Simple not complicated

[corpkid]

Here is my format for planning. This was a pretty basic trip to the Baltics last year (and our intro to the awesomeness that is cruising with O):

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aj4lUhrU0DCodHRFa25MU1NLRVJwVzlaSHN4a3FKSXc&usp=sharing

 

In the midst of planning a REALLY complicated trip down under next Feb. 30 days (goodbye vacation time in one fell swoop!). LOL The sheet is about 3x as long for that one. :)

[roothy123]

I'm a mix of cbb and Andee. Already have an inch binder for the 8 ports on our August cruise. I search the net, library books, books at Barnes & Noble, tourism offices, Google Earth for pictures, maps and street views, etc. I use a Word document. Then I pare it down, mark major places on maps, and use a tab divider with pocket for each port. I send the narrative to my Kindle just in case I leave it at home by mistake. Was actually embarrassed when my husband came upon me with my one inch binder last week. I know I am a nutcase, but it's nice to know I'm not alone. I have probably spent at least 100 hours on this project by now.

 

I might look into Tripit and tripcase, and also try a little automation like making a map with a walking route. However, with all the research and planning I do, I often just wing it or change things once I get into a port. At least, however, all this planning helps me to figure out what I most want to see and how I can do it. Obviously, the researching and planning is only part of the fun!

 

By the way, if you guys don't already use these sites, here are some good ones:

-tomsportguides.com - wonderful guides by Tom Sheridan of many ports, done specifically for cruisers

-Google Earth (not regular Google, or Google street view, but Google Earth - check boxes for photos to see where many people find great things to photograph. Also pull yellow man down onto a street to get a view of a location (similar to Google streetview but more comprehensive)

-marinas.com or marinetraffic.com - can find info on where docks are, etc.

-inyourpocket.com - very detailed guides for many Euro ports, especially Baltic

-Google maps - can figure out how long it takes to walk between 2 points if you select the "man" rather than "car" option.

 

OK, off I go to look at tripit, and then to get my voluminous Lisbon notes in better order.....good thing I'm retired and have some time, otherwise I wouldn't get much else done!

Edited April 7, 2014 by roothy123

[Flatbush Flyer]

TripIt should be plenty. Forward confirmations to "plans" as they arrive and print the final itinerary as a PDF just in case data retrieval is problematic while out and about.

 

 

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