How in the world...

[wcw57]

did people ever cruise before the internet?

There were no tips, no "must do" or "must have" lists. No worries about dining rotations, PAT, favorite servers, etc etc

That is not to say that there weren't cruise guides and TAs...

Nor does it mean that there isn't valuable information to be gleaned on these, and other, boards.

I just wonder if the angst levels weren't lower ages ago. You booked your cruise, read a guide, followed directions and enjoyed your vacation as it unfolded.

I see multiple posts about anxiety, am i doing this right, help me decide, which servers do I need, what order do I do things immediately after check-in.......blah blah blah

i dunno

 

[hubbard53]

IMO, there is way too much anxiety over dining rotations, servers, hosts, directors, captains, etc.

Isn't the anticipation of new things, discoveries, unknown, etc. . . (you know, ADVENTURE!) part of the vacation experience?

I am not a planner - I want to just "show up" and see what happens. That way I'm not disappointed if I didn't get "Ricardo the Magician" for my server or my hand-picked dining rotation or don't sit close enough for Crush to ask me where I'm from... learn from your experiences and make it better next time.

 

[ahain]

did people ever cruise before the internet?

There were no tips, no "must do" or "must have" lists. No worries about dining rotations, PAT, favorite servers, etc etc

That is not to say that there weren't cruise guides and TAs...

Nor does it mean that there isn't valuable information to be gleaned on these, and other, boards.

I just wonder if the angst levels weren't lower ages ago. You booked your cruise, read a guide, followed directions and enjoyed your vacation as it unfolded.

I see multiple posts about anxiety, am i doing this right, help me decide, which servers do I need, what order do I do things immediately after check-in.......blah blah blah

i dunno

I agree with your theory that the angst levels were likely lower. People didn't know what they didn't know, and didn't know they were "missing" anything. The old saying, "ignorance is bliss" might even apply. Now that I think about it...it probably applies today as well. Our first cruise, I knew absolutely nothing besides what our TA told us . Yes, I asked the TA questions, but I didn't search for answers on the internet. We were just happy to be cruising - everything was "new" so we just soaked it in. Did we miss some things? -Absolutely. But we had am amazing time nonetheless and, at the time, had no clue that we were missing anything. It was not until AFTER our first cruise that I began searching the internet for more information and found these (and other) boards and blogs. Looking back, I'm actually glad that we didn't know more when we took our first cruise.

 

[hubbard53]

I'm sad for the families who run around trying to JAM every little thing they've read on the net into their vacations. I can spot them - its the mom frantically dragging her crying 'princess' to the next character appearance or the dad arguing at the customer service desk b/c they're sold out of the gingerbread house

 

[jenpink]

My first cruise was in 2001 on Holland America to Alaska. I did no research prior to the cruise and had a wonderful time. I found out later that I missed some "must see" sites, but I enjoyed my chosen excursions so much I am glad I didn't research beforehand
Now, 15 years later I am travelling to Alaska again on Disney and am going to hit those must sees. I doubt it will be any more wonderful than my first cruise except for the fact I, am taking my 14 year old with me

 

[Jess_S]

Even though the ability to research is a double-edged sword, I like that it has created the freedom for me to be more independent when traveling. Without reviews of independent tour operators and information on when and where to take taxis and rental cars to tour on my own, I think I'd pretty much limit myself to ship sponsored excursions. My fear of missing the ship is that strong. (I have a clear memory of a childhood cruise where the women at the table next to ours missed the ship because one of them had gotten an expensive ring stuck on her finger at a shop and couldn't leave without either getting it off or paying for it. They eventually caught up with the ship in another port.)

 

[wcw57]

a thread just popped up about worries regarding tipping.

THIS is my point. Does anybody ever worry about tipping at Applebees?

 

[chik1987]

*raises hand with a guilty look on her face* We are in the process of planning our first cruise. Well it started as planning a wedding and planning a honeymoon/family vacation cruise. Then we figured what the hell and decide to plan a wedding on the disney cruise. It has been at times super overwhelming with the amount of information avaliable. Especially with looking at the navigators of all of the stuff going on. Its been really nice to be able to plan out things I really don't want to miss (treats and coffee at the coffee shop, pirate night buffett) but I just have to remind myself I am there to relax, be on vacation, get married, and have a great time with family. Plus I'm sure I will be cruising again before I know it and can always catch anything I miss the first time.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

The internet just allows those people prone to hyper-planning, or hyper-worrying (or both) to just have a ton more info - mostly opinions - at their fingertips. Before the Internet, the worriers still worried, they just didn't have as large of an audience.
Likewise, the overly-opinionated-lacking-facts folks that post in a myriad of sites any given minute, which just adds to the natural inclination of worriers to worry.

 

[bumbershoot]

I was a kid in the 70s sending away for info on cruises to South America with side trips to macchi picchu and I would read them thoroughly and dream and dream. Kid in an 800 sq ft rented house in San Jose CA, hoping to someday be on the water. I started reading travel guides the moment I started traveling.

Info was out the more to plan like crazy well before the Internet.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

did people ever cruise before the internet?

There were no tips, no "must do" or "must have" lists. No worries about dining rotations, PAT, favorite servers, etc etc

That is not to say that there weren't cruise guides and TAs...

Nor does it mean that there isn't valuable information to be gleaned on these, and other, boards.

I just wonder if the angst levels weren't lower ages ago. You booked your cruise, read a guide, followed directions and enjoyed your vacation as it unfolded.

I see multiple posts about anxiety, am i doing this right, help me decide, which servers do I need, what order do I do things immediately after check-in.......blah blah blah

i dunno

Our first DCL cruise was in 2001. There was internet then, but not like now. Brochures and the free planning video helped. Also, people didn't feel like they needed to plan every single minute of their day beforehand either. The Navigator helps you map out the next day, even if you've made no previous plans. Remember, you're on vacation. So relax don't sweat the small stuff. And for non-cruise vacations, heck, I remember writing to the Chamber of Commerce before traveling to a city to get brochures on what to see and do there and a list of hotels.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

I was a kid in the 70s sending away for info on cruises to South America with side trips to macchi picchu and I would read them thoroughly and dream and dream. Kid in an 800 sq ft rented house in San Jose CA, hoping to someday be on the water. I started reading travel guides the moment I started traveling.

Info was out the more to plan like crazy well before the Internet.

While you were getting travel guides, I was calling or writing to places to get summer camp info when I was a kid. So desperately wanted to go to summer camp!! Anywhere, any topic, any theme -I just wanted to go!! Never did get to go unfortunately, even though I tried all angles with my parents with all kinds of brochures. When I was 16 I applied to a leadership camp about 45 min away and it did not cost anything and I just asked my dad to drop me off for the week -the night before I had to be there. So funny, he just said "OK" and "when do you need to be picked up".

 

[tinkerone]

I was a kid in the 70s sending away for info on cruises to South America with side trips to macchi picchu and I would read them thoroughly and dream and dream. Kid in an 800 sq ft rented house in San Jose CA, hoping to someday be on the water. I started reading travel guides the moment I started traveling.

Info was out the more to plan like crazy well before the Internet.

I think the difference is that while information was always 'out there' you had to do some work to get it. go to a book store, mail off a request, visit your travel agent, etc.. once the internet hit in a big way we were able to make our morning coffee and sit down in our pj's to find out so much more than we ever could. information that would not be in any travel guides.

I went in blind to my first dcl cruise and glad I did. I wasn't worried about missing anything because I didn't know what there was to miss. it was after that cruise (maybe after the second cruise) that I discovered the dis and found out soooo much I would never have known. i'm glad I was late coming to the table. it gave me the opportunity to explore without expectation.

like the opp, I don't understand why anyone would care about what server or room host to get. we each have different tastes and even if you get someone's 'best server ever' they may not be to your taste. I go with the flow and have only once thought that maybe a different serving team would have been nice.
on the other side of the coin, I love finding out other things like being able to have mickey mail signed (even though its gone now). things like that are great treasures to share.

all in all, get some information but don't sweat the small stuff. jmo.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Our first cruise was in 1997, with DMIL who was a well-seasoned cruiser. Any questions, we just asked her and she pretty much had all the answers. It also helped to have a knowledgeable travel agent. We filled out our boarding information when we got to the port. So much easier to do it online ahead of time.

 

[Skiton]

I totally stalked this board before our first cruise, and I'm awfully glad I did. It wasn't a matter of trying to cram in every little thing, it was more about learning what our options were ahead of time. I got so many great tips and learned things about which I'd have had no clue, otherwise. Of course your can just get on the ship and have a wonderful time with no research, but I'm sure glad there are forums like this around for people who like to plan, like me.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I think the difference is that while information was always 'out there' you had to do some work to get it. go to a book store, mail off a request, visit your travel agent, etc.. once the internet hit in a big way we were able to make our morning coffee and sit down in our pj's to find out so much more than we ever could. information that would not be in any travel guides.

I went in blind to my first dcl cruise and glad I did. I wasn't worried about missing anything because I didn't know what there was to miss. it was after that cruise (maybe after the second cruise) that I discovered the dis and found out soooo much I would never have known. i'm glad I was late coming to the table. it gave me the opportunity to explore without expectation.

like the opp, I don't understand why anyone would care about what server or room host to get. we each have different tastes and even if you get someone's 'best server ever' they may not be to your taste. I go with the flow and have only once thought that maybe a different serving team would have been nice.
on the other side of the coin, I love finding out other things like being able to have mickey mail signed (even though its gone now). things like that are great treasures to share.

all in all, get some information but don't sweat the small stuff. jmo.

I could have written this.

I'm so glad I knew nothing about cruise forums (any cruise forums) before our first cruise, or I'd have been a basket case! Since I had already cruised before finding them, I knew it was not life or death to get the "perfect" server; to be in a specific dining room for (Pirate/formal) night; that I "had" to dine in the extra pay dining venues; fly in 3 days before my cruise; what the "best" excursions were in each port; that I had to get a cabana (but probably wouldn't); and, most important, I had to plan every waking second onboard if I wanted to truly enjoy my cruise.

 

[ZerasPride]

I agree with Skiton! I have been coming to this board for Disney info for over a decade and knew when I went on my first Disney cruise the DIS would have all the details I was looking for. Now I will admit that I was selective. There were just some things I wanted to find out for or experience myself but I was so grateful to know DH and I didn't have to eat at Cabanas upon arrival, how to download the Disney app, how to take advantage of the 50 mb free internet the first night, we sat on our balcony and watch the fireworks, ordered room service for free and watched the sail away party away from the crowds at the front of the ship thanks to info gleaned from this site and others.

Our first Disney cruise was wonderful and we took things at a leisurely pace because I planned ahead but I also planned ahead for spontaneity - if that makes any sense. For instance, we only saw one show of the three and stayed on a pretty much empty ship on Castaway Cay morning enjoying a lovely breakfast in Royal Palace instead of rushing off the ship. No angst over servers, rotations (loved both by the way!) how much to tip, etc. I consider our 3 night Disney cruise a big success because my DH who was very doubtful about cruising in general and cruising Disney specifically is a convert. We are booking a 7 night on the Fantasy as soon as the new booking window opens!

 

[Pens Fan]

Travel has always been and hopefully always will be an important part of my family's life. I too remember the days of writing to the chamber of commerce, stalking the guide book section of the local book store, etc. to "plan" our vacations - but in reality it wasn't really planning compared to what is available today. So much of it was just a leap of faith. And oddly enough, I honestly can't say we ever had a vacation that was a complete (or even partial) bust. We've had our "adventures" along the way, (thank you to the bikers who alerted us to sparks flying off of our trailer's broken leaf springs into the brush during one of Colorado's worst draughts in years or the guy in Jackson Hole, Wyoming who fixed our broken trailer hitch for practically nothing so that we didn't have to continue on with the trailer chained and duct taped to the back of the truck) a few hotels from H E double hockey sticks, but that's all been a part of the travel experience. I, for one, think the "perfect" vacation is a total bore. So much of the fun is the unknown, the excitement of what is around the corner, the learning experience and growth from dealing with a less than desirable occurrence.

The only "research" we did for our first two Disney cruises was on DCL's own website. Both were fabulous vacations. I've said this before on other threads that I am very, very glad I did not know this site existed then. I think it would have been so easy to have gotten caught up in all of the "must dos!" and not just relax and have a great time - which is what we did. Looking back there isn't one single thing I would do differently on those cruises knowing what I know now. Well, maybe not eat in the MDR for breakfast on debarkation day, but I digress!

All that being said, I do enjoy reading and occasionally posting on these boards - obviously. At this point, I know what advice to take to heart and which to ignore as it isn't something that applies to or interests us. But to be perfectly honest, the real reason I participate in these discussions is that it gives me a sense of reliving past trips and looking forward to our next adventure. It's a way to extend a bit of the travel magic to my every day ho hum life.

 

[mevelandry]

I strongly believe that forums are filled with anxious/control freaks like me, afraid of missing out/making a bad choice.

Also, not gonna lie, a Disney cruise (or a Disney vacation) is quite an investment... I like to leave no room for disappointment.

 

[tinydancr06]

I've always been a planner when it comes to vacations. It's a huge part of the fun for me. I remember making a planning binder for my parents when we were planning my high school graduation trip where we stayed at AKL! Our first DCL cruise was our honeymoon on the Fantasy and while I did try to do my research I was mostly just too distracted with wedding planning. We also booked that cruise when the Fantasy wasn't even sailing yet so there just wasn't a lot of specific information available. I was glad in the end that I wasn't able to obsess too much over it as the only expectation we really went in with was that we were going to have a wonderful time! I will say that I did read that Palo brunch was a "must do" and proceeded to check the DCL website EVERYDAY for availability which never came up. Luckily I also read that you could book it first thing on board so we ended up getting it (and LOVING it) but I know I would have been very disappointed if we hadn't. All of this to say that I agree with some other posters that all of this available info is a double edged sword. I wouldn't give it up if I had the choice but I definitely think that ignorance can be bliss in certain situations.