OMG..How do you do it?

[hansolosmom]

Usually I plan a year or more out. Although I can't do it for next summer due to several factors and we're going to have to wing it and I'll book less than 30 days out.:eek:

[gymbomb]

On several occasions I have booked a cruise 8-16 months out, decided after a while it was too far away, and ended up booking an additional cruise in between :)

 

 

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[qoap24]

 

I love the pic, those were my thoughts exactly! No matter what someone has to be negative. Oh well....I guess I'm a kid because I cannot wait!

[missdixie]

I think the anticipation and planning is a big part of the fun. My December 5th cruise on the Escape is 97 days to go on all my countdowns. And her picture is on all my devices. This has been planned for a year. Then I hate to think how quick a cruise is over so the next cruise is in my thoughts.

I try to not bring up cruising with family and friends. But usually they ask when the next cruise is. So that gets me started.

I'm an adult and I look forward to cruising. I guess I am obsessed. :D

[GrooveInWhichWeMove]

Look at it this way: the only thing worse than a long countdown to a cruise is to have a long countdown with NO cruise at the end of it! Spare a thought for us pour souls who have nothing booked in the future! :D

[NMLady]

I am 28 days away until I leave for Vancouver to sail on the Jewel and I cannot wait any longer!

 

Normally when I book a cruise it is only 60 days out. This time we planned it out longer and it is driving me crazy. I cannot wait!

 

I was telling my daughter that I cannot plan a cruise this far out in advance again. I was thinking we started planning 6 months ago, and she replied, "Mom, we only started planning for this in JUNE." :eek: It feels like forever ago.

 

I know part of the fun for cruising is the planning, but how do you book so far in advance and not drive everyone around you crazy? I'm making myself nuts, I can't imagine what I'm doing to everyone else around me.

 

Because we need an accessible cabin we booked last May for a cruise next April.

Reading CC forums helps. So does tweaking a packing list and periodically pricing airfare. But you're right, it's hard not to drive others crazy.

[3kidsncats]

I've always booked way in advance --and love the planning and anticipation. My upcoming January cruise was booked 11 months out, and now I have a second booked 15 months out, and am already thinking of 2018 (big anniversary).

 

We have never been able to plan a yearly vacation -- mostly we do a big one every 5-8 years and small ones in between, so I guess knowing it's less than a year away doesn't seem too bad to me.

 

I have noticed, maybe because this past year was SO difficult (elder parent with severe, aggressive dementia lived with us for months) I'm ready for our upcoming cruise to be here already. I have been occupying myself with youtube videos of the ports we are visiting -- Mexican Riviera, about which I wasn't the least bit interested until I started doing the research. Now I'm getting enthused and glad I have time to figure out what we will want to see while there.

[perditax]

I booked my first cruise about 8 months in advance. The wait did me in and I ended up going on my actual first cruise about three months into the wait for what will now be my second cruise, and I booked it with five days' notice. I'm reasonably good at delayed gratification ... But not *that* good.

 

14 days out from cruise #2 and even though I have misgivings about this cruise now (being wiser in the ways of cruising), I can't think or read about anything else and it's making me CRAZY.

[momckb]

We don't cruise that often and on our last cruise we introduced my MIL to cruising. She enjoyed it more than she thought she would. Probably due to the relaxed atmosphere of NCL and Freestyle. On that cruise (in 2012) we started talking about some other cruises we might like to do. My DW and I started down our bucket list of places we would like to see from a cruise ship. Canada and New England was one that piqued her interest. So we determined our next cruise destination. I was out of work at the time so we could not do anything until I found work. In 2013 I found suitable employment and we started looking at a cruise vacation and set sights on 2016 I would have enough vacation time built up and have enough in savings to handle the trip.

 

So in essence we have been talking about this cruise and doing some sort of planning since 2012 - 4 yrs from when we are doing the cruise :D :eek:

 

The cruise itself has been booked since Dec of 14. And it is a good thing we did because as of now, all the cabins in our category are sold out. We had our choice. We also wanted an SC suite (only 10 on the Dawn) for the added bedroom for the MIL. She felt a bit self conscious getting dressed in the SF suite we had in AK.

 

I have been in pseudo planning mode - taking a big picture look at all 10 ports. Now with a little over a year to go I am starting to pin things down. I am just putting together ideas for Boston now (I think I have the flights and hotel down).

 

We will need to sit down with the high level views and hone in on what we really want to see. I have learned that trying to cram in too much does not make for a good vacation. :cool:

 

Planning is half the fun :D[/quote

 

I'm from Boston.....Take a Duck Tour. Really fun and you get to see a lot on land and the water.

[detroitlions]

I wont book more than 6 months in advance because I do not know what I will have going on past 6 months cause I am not retired I have to work kid in school and dw who works too. But this cruise I am going on in oct seems to be taking forever and I booked in July I believe

[kayjaypea42]

OP, your post made me laugh! I'm in the same boat. We booked in April 15 for a May 16 sailing on the Escape. So far, I've exhausted the videos on YouTube for the BA and GA, looked into all of the excursions, read all the posts and built a website. And there's still 36 weeks left! I try to limit my discussions / YouTube-surfing to the weekends only, so I don't over-do it, but that doesn't always happen. But anticipation is more than half the fun! (I just hope that after all this buildup the actual vacation won't be a disappointment!)

 

That said, my cousin is getting married on that sailing, and if it's hard for us to wait just for a cruise, I can't imagine how hard waiting is for her!

[cruise9876kend]

Oh it easy I've just booked p&o next oct transatlantic seems ages away I'm sure it will fly by but in the mean time I got a 10 night Canary cruise in nov on epic and 7 night med in April on epic

Happy sailing everyone

[Rhea98]

I am 28 days away until I leave for Vancouver to sail on the Jewel and I cannot wait any longer!

 

We've only taken a few cruises (5), and until a year ago, booked within full payment time. Last July, we booked a transatlantic scheduled for April. We had another cruise in between. By March, I swore I'd never book so far out again! And, yes, when if does come, it goes so fast.

A week ago I saw the Epic scheduled in 2016 for a return transatlantic. Dang! Booked over a year in advance this time. We even booked the same cabin. As we traded a cruise for a month back in Iceland this fall, I probably won't get a "tweener" to ease me through the long wait. The good news is, we do make it! CC forum helps.

 

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[Freespir8]

Book another cruise further in the future as a destraction to the next one. That's what we do. :rolleyes:

 

This is totally what we do...the only problem with that is that we already have 4 booked through 2016 and now I am starting to feel a little piglish :). Then again...nahh.....you can't have too many cruises booked...it's so fun anticipating the trip. We also like to cruise in suite's but don't have a huge budget. So booking earlier gives us the best price and still gets us in a suite. I do find though that the closer it gets, I can't think about anything else! :cool:

[Barb Nahoumi]

Ours is 7 1/2 months out. It will give us something to look forward to, through the long dreary winter.

[rydan]

 

 

Maybe, but your uncanny ability to sum up someone you don't know us mind blowing. You swafadel.

[solorizor]

We were originally sailing in December 2016 and had to rebook due to the cancellations for February 2016... 167 days to wait! I have to keep reminding myself that it used to be a lot more lol

 

 

What ship and what date?

[solorizor]

I can relate. We booked our September cruise last year in November. The closer it gets, the more excited I get. To contain myself, I obsess over every detail, check cruise critic several times a day and overdose on YouTube videos. In other words, I drive myself and everyone around me crazy.

 

 

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