is it ok to just wing it on a cruise?

[Lisa F]

We are on a 4 night Dream, so not a very long cruise! It's myself and my son (I typically travel solo with him) and my parents are joining us as well (in their own stateroom).

I have an outside shore excursion booked on Nassau day for snorkeling for myself and the kid. It's at noon because I didn't want to be rushing anywhere, kid gets up early so maybe we'll do a light breakfast and maybe the aquaduck won't be so bad in the morning on a port day? then a brunch before we leave or something, not sure yet... but of the available times it was the least rushed. (9am wouldn't work with port arrival time and 2:30 is too late with a 5:45 early dinner seating.)

At CC I was going to hit up the water slide early, snorkel some, do the stingray adventure at 11 (the one thing I have booked), have lunch, maybe kayak in the afternoon... can you just rent a kayak? I don't see any reservations available except as a half day with 45 minute nature walk... kid will not be into that I just want to paddle him around a little bit.

The kid wants to fly the millennium falcon in the kid's clubs and ride the aquaduck with me. We'll do mini golf. He is excited about the themed restaurants. We want to see the shows. We have a date at Vanellope's for ice cream one day. When he's in the kid club I might get myself a massage and am planning on the rainforest 1 day pass for the sea day for myself.

I had bariatric surgery in July so food and booze is not a huge focus for me, I have no plans to do any of the booze/wine tasting or adult restaurants, especially as this is a trip for my son and me, I don't really have any desire for an adult meal (I get the occasional adult only time when he is with Dad, I work a very busy and stressful job so time together is a priority). If he wants to be in the kid club I'll be flexible but he will have dinner and see the show with me (at least the 3 main ones) and we'll do the pirate deck party. My son is not interested in any of the princess stuff and it seems like all of the prebooked stuff is geared toward girls.

I am CC gold but haven't cruised since 2005. This is my first cruise in 13 years and first time on a big ship.

I feel like even though it's a bigger ship, because I've cruised before we can kind of just wing it and do whatever appeals at any given moment... but at the same time I feel woefully unprepared. That is not typically how I roll (like I used to have nightmares that I got on the ship and missed out on all of the Palo reservations, lol). But I think it might be the way to go here. Am I making a huge mistake?

(I plan my parks trips very intensely and we're doing a few days at the park beforehand).

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Seems to me that you've done plenty enough planning. You've identified all of your highlights and left time to do whatever strikes you. To be sure, there will be plenty of events on board once you get there if you find them interesting. Relax and enjoy. It's going to be great!

 

[bumbershoot]

What you’ve already planned is more than what I usually plan for cruises. Might seem like winging it to you but it isn’t for me.

Your plans sound fine.

 

[Dolby1000]

No, I don't think you are making any mistakes here. My wife and I are on the Dream in late April and other than seeing the shows, have no plans at all. Nothing for Nassau or Castaway Key. I bet we have a great time and I bet you will too. To us this is rather amusing, as I am a Project Manager and am notorious for vacation planning, especially cruises, but since the attraction for us is the ship itself, our plan is similar to yours. Other than the kayaking, that is.
Have a great cruise!

OWD

 

[Lisa F]

Seems to me that you've done plenty enough planning. You've identified all of your highlights and left time to do whatever strikes you. To be sure, there will be plenty of events on board once you get there if you find them interesting. Relax and enjoy. It's going to be great!

yes in typing that out I realized there were a couple of things to book so I booked the stingrays at 11am (right before lunch) and a massage for myself on the sea day at 11:45 (it seems like in the navigators there is not much going on in the middle of the day around lunchtime, at least not much I'd be interested in). That lets me figure out if I want to spend more time in the rainforest or do some other activity. I am assuming the kid will be in the club most of that day but if not, that is what meme and poppop are there for

What you’ve already planned is more than what I usually plan for cruises. Might seem like winging it to you but it isn’t for me.

Your plans sound fine.

lol, if you saw my touring plan for our RD to close MK day a couple of days before... ha. I have definitely spent more time on that aspect than the cruise. I haven't cruised in a LONG time so I don't have a "what I do for cruises" and the last time it was without the kid (who was born in 2008) and with the (now) ex husband so I expect it will be quite different! But I would not have passed up a chance at Remy in another life. Maybe I will be able to try it someday when we do a 7 day, but for this trip I want to spend the time with the family.

No, I don't think you are making any mistakes here. My wife and I are on the Dream in late April and other than seeing the shows, have no plans at all. Nothing for Nassau or Castaway Key. I bet we have a great time and I bet you will too. To us this is rather amusing, as I am a Project Manager and am notorious for vacation planning, especially cruises, but since the attraction for us is the ship itself, our plan is similar to yours. Other than the kayaking, that is.
Have a great cruise!

OWD

I love planning vacations but I have not been able to wrap my head around scheduling for this part of the trip. But it sounds like my basic outline of stuff should work. yay

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

There really isn't as much to plan on a cruise. If you want, you can spend time familiarizing yourself with the activities and things that may be on board. (Look at past Navigators), and the other activities that are on the ship (Mid-ship Detective Agency, etc.) But for the most part, it is SUPPOSED to be less planning and more spontaneous.

 

[Lisa F]

There really isn't as much to plan on a cruise. If you want, you can spend time familiarizing yourself with the activities and things that may be on board. (Look at past Navigators), and the other activities that are on the ship (Mid-ship Detective Agency, etc.) But for the most part, it is SUPPOSED to be less planning and more spontaneous.

I was just feeling REALLY unprepared. I feel a lot better now. Booked a massage on the sea day. Booked the stingray thing at CC. Booked the snorkel thing in Nassau. The rest we'll play by ear!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The one warning I'd have is a lot of people stay on board on Nassau day, so Aquaduck may still be crowded.

I think winging it is dandy, and, honestly, you've booked what you'll need and want to have.

 

[Lisa F]

The one warning I'd have is a lot of people stay on board on Nassau day, so Aquaduck may still be crowded.

I think winging it is dandy, and, honestly, you've booked what you'll need and want to have.

The kid is up EARLY so I figured he'll get my lazy butt out of bed and we'll have breakfast and get there right at 9 when it opens for an hour maybe. Then maybe get room service "lunch" at around 10:15 (if I am reading it right it is available after 10 when breakfast service stops), leave the ship at 11 for our noon excursion (need to be there at 11:30). Done with snorkeling at 2, a little straw market shopping, back on board and shower and change and then whatever until dinner. Dinner, show, deck party. I guess I have way more of a plan than I thought. Not sure how crowded it is first thing but in my experience most things in most places are less crowded right at opening than later in the day.

I guess I have more of a plan than I thought except that most of it has been formed right this second talking to you lovely people!

 

[SteveMP]

Winging it on vacation is the way to go. Some of our favorite things to do on CC is yo just chill on the beach with a cold drink for a bit, them rent bikes and ride up to the lookout tower, go back to the beach to chill or ride the slides. You can rent kayaks there or snorkeling gear etc when there ,no problem, we have done that too. You can get cool pocs of the ship kayaking. You can even rent pedal boats(they are exhausting though), and even hobie cats, etc. enjoy!

 

[phinz]

I wouldn't know what to do if I scheduled every waking moment on a cruise. I have been winging it since the first time I ever cruised. This is the way I lead my life in general (I loathe schedules and never feel like I have to do it all. I don't even like having to make reservations, FastPasses, etc.) so it works just fine for me.

 

[Lisa F]

I wouldn't know what to do if I scheduled every waking moment on a cruise. I have been winging it since the first time I ever cruised. This is the way I lead my life in general (I loathe schedules and never feel like I have to do it all. I don't even like having to make reservations, FastPasses, etc.) so it works just fine for me.

I'm guessing you are not the parent of a child on the spectrum for whom the unknown (good or bad) creates major anxiety

Winging it on vacation is the way to go. Some of our favorite things to do on CC is yo just chill on the beach with a cold drink for a bit, them rent bikes and ride up to the lookout tower, go back to the beach to chill or ride the slides. You can rent kayaks there or snorkeling gear etc when there ,no problem, we have done that too. You can get cool pocs of the ship kayaking. You can even rent pedal boats(they are exhausting though), and even hobie cats, etc. enjoy!

Yeah I did plan the stingray thing because i had to prebook but whatever else we'll just do what we feel like at the moment!

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

I am assuming that this will be your son's first cruise, so I wouldn't schedule too much. You won't know how much he likes or dislikes the kids clubs until you're there. Most likely, he will love it. I would just check the navigator each evening for the next day and decide together if there is anything that you both would like to do together or with the grandparents. It is a shorter cruise, so the time will go by really fast. Before you know it, you will be disembarking. I would just wing it and see how it goes. It's not work, it's a vacation!

 

[Sytrace]

We are on a 4 night Dream, so not a very long cruise! It's myself and my son (I typically travel solo with him) and my parents are joining us as well (in their own stateroom).

I have an outside shore excursion booked on Nassau day for snorkeling for myself and the kid. It's at noon because I didn't want to be rushing anywhere, kid gets up early so maybe we'll do a light breakfast and maybe the aquaduck won't be so bad in the morning on a port day? then a brunch before we leave or something, not sure yet... but of the available times it was the least rushed. (9am wouldn't work with port arrival time and 2:30 is too late with a 5:45 early dinner seating.)

At CC I was going to hit up the water slide early, snorkel some, do the stingray adventure at 11 (the one thing I have booked), have lunch, maybe kayak in the afternoon... can you just rent a kayak? I don't see any reservations available except as a half day with 45 minute nature walk... kid will not be into that I just want to paddle him around a little bit.

The kid wants to fly the millennium falcon in the kid's clubs and ride the aquaduck with me. We'll do mini golf. He is excited about the themed restaurants. We want to see the shows. We have a date at Vanellope's for ice cream one day. When he's in the kid club I might get myself a massage and am planning on the rainforest 1 day pass for the sea day for myself.

I had bariatric surgery in July so food and booze is not a huge focus for me, I have no plans to do any of the booze/wine tasting or adult restaurants, especially as this is a trip for my son and me, I don't really have any desire for an adult meal (I get the occasional adult only time when he is with Dad, I work a very busy and stressful job so time together is a priority). If he wants to be in the kid club I'll be flexible but he will have dinner and see the show with me (at least the 3 main ones) and we'll do the pirate deck party. My son is not interested in any of the princess stuff and it seems like all of the prebooked stuff is geared toward girls.

I am CC gold but haven't cruised since 2005. This is my first cruise in 13 years and first time on a big ship.

I feel like even though it's a bigger ship, because I've cruised before we can kind of just wing it and do whatever appeals at any given moment... but at the same time I feel woefully unprepared. That is not typically how I roll (like I used to have nightmares that I got on the ship and missed out on all of the Palo reservations, lol). But I think it might be the way to go here. Am I making a huge mistake?

(I plan my parks trips very intensely and we're doing a few days at the park beforehand).

You have quite enough planned already and I think you will have a wonderful time. Cruises are different when it comes to planning and pace...no need for fast passes, ADR's and trying to figure out where you are going to eat 180 days in advance in order to get a "good reservation" This is why I love cruises so much.
You can do as little as you want and lay around and relax or you can go fast paced all day everyday of your cruise. Or you can find a nice happy medium...which it seems you have.
Have a fantastic cruise!

 

[bumbershoot]

I haven't cruised in a LONG time so I don't have a "what I do for cruises" and the last time it was without the kid (who was born in 2008) and with the (now) ex husband so I expect it will be quite different! But I would not have passed up a chance at Remy in another life.

That’s a lot of changes! And you said you’d had gastric bypass? Many differences.

My cruise plans now have the only absolutely of one hour a day in the sun. Sunscreen up, get a drink and a book, find a spot. 15 minutes back then front then back then front. Then go indoors. Read more. Lol.

Ds threw me with the last cruise as we were on Royal and they start their teen club at 12. And despite being friends with many kids older than him, he disliked it. So I had a tag-along for a lot more of the cruise than I figured. I have no recall of what Dh was doing.

Last cruise we booked one excursion total.

I am assuming that this will be your son's first cruise, so I wouldn't schedule too much. You won't know how much he likes or dislikes the kids clubs until you're there

Good point, especially given what seems to be the info that ds is on the spectrum. Our first cruise was with family with a 9 year old son on the spectrum, and he hated the club. He spent an hour waiting for his mom, dad, or grandma to retrieve him (we stupidly hadn’t had them put us on the list to get him), just standing at the gate at the club/lab. It was too chaotic. Going at open house times would have been great for him but no one thought of that. They just thought he would love it.

It’s good to be flexible for the first cruise.

 

[phinz]

I'm guessing you are not the parent of a child on the spectrum for whom the unknown (good or bad) creates major anxiety

You asked a question as to whether or not it was OK to wing it on a cruise. I answered it. Major anxiety? I live with crippling anxiety every day, and have been prescribed so many meds over the years for it that I've had to learn to just deal with the anxiety in my own way rather than deal with the side effects that the meds caused for the past 25 years. Much of that way of dealing with things is just winging it, which means doing what I want to do, when I want to do it, without having to conform to some kind of schedule. I do my research, I figure out what I would like to do and I do it if I feel like it at the time, which oftentimes means I don't want to due to anxiety issues at that moment. This is one of the primary reasons I don't do excursions with other people to places I'm unfamiliar with. It causes too much anxiety. Doing it at my own pace? Sure. I get past the anxiety oftentimes and manage to do it. On a schedule that requires me to be at a certain place at a certain time? Nope. I don't like it. Not one bit.

So yeah, I wing it. I don't often do a schedule, which for me means I do what I'm comfortable with at that very moment. If I'm comfortable with going outside my comfort zone at the moment then I do it. If I'm not, then I'd rather not have to cancel a $300 excursion at the last minute or let down others because of their expectations.

 

[darnheather]

I was just feeling REALLY unprepared. I feel a lot better now. Booked a massage on the sea day. Booked the stingray thing at CC. Booked the snorkel thing in Nassau. The rest we'll play by ear!

After spending more than 6 months planning a DW vacation I felt the same way about the cruise. In the end it was amazing! Take a day to do nothing much but relax. So worth it.

 

[cruiser21]

You asked if it was ok to just wing it, but it sounds like you have everything planned down to the last minute. To answer your question the answer is yes. I think the majority of people just go with the flow. Other then what I'm going to do in port I don't plan anything.

 

[kiford]

I don't think it sounds like a mistake at all. For a 4-day cruise, we'd probably hardly even book anything. We've been to Nassau a couple of times so rarely even bother to get off. Castaway Cay we usually just get off for lunch and go back to the ship. We do like to do the alcohol tastings and now that they're offered online and sell out quickly we might book that. If I was just doing a 4-day, I probably wouldn't book the adult restaurants except maybe Remy for brunch just so that I wouldn't miss out on the MDRs but also wouldn't miss out on Remy. So your plan to me doesn't even sound like "winging" it in my universe. It sounds like a moderate level of planning to me. If you're happy with what you've decided you want to do, I think you're totally good to go. It sounds like a happy medium being winging and planning. There's also going to be stuff in the Navigator you'll see that you might be interested in and the mid-ship detective game. We spent one entire afternoon playing that.

 

[Lisa F]

I am assuming that this will be your son's first cruise, so I wouldn't schedule too much. You won't know how much he likes or dislikes the kids clubs until you're there. Most likely, he will love it. I would just check the navigator each evening for the next day and decide together if there is anything that you both would like to do together or with the grandparents. It is a shorter cruise, so the time will go by really fast. Before you know it, you will be disembarking. I would just wing it and see how it goes. It's not work, it's a vacation!

Yeah I have zero expectations about what he will end up liking... he is very socially inclined but it really depends on the other kids there. If they are mean he won't want to spend any time there. We live on a small island where everyone has known him since he was in Kindergarten and I don't in general have any "mean kid" issues here in camp or school or after school or any other activities but when he has gone to NY with his father we do have a few incidents of teasing which he is pretty sensitive to because he is unaccustomed to it at home. I'm hoping everyone will just be having so much fun that it won't be an issue in the kid clubs, but I have mixed feelings about him spending a lot of time in there anyway. We are obviously not the "traditional family dynamic" with mom and dad trying to carve out some alone time as is so important in a marriage. It's just me and it's our big vacation and he values my attention highly and has said in the past that what he loves most about vacations is that I put away my work phone and it's all about us. So we'll see. But the kid club activities do look like a lot of fun too and we'll have to balance that with mommy time I'm kind of hoping it just works out the way it's supposed to!

You have quite enough planned already and I think you will have a wonderful time. Cruises are different when it comes to planning and pace...no need for fast passes, ADR's and trying to figure out where you are going to eat 180 days in advance in order to get a "good reservation" This is why I love cruises so much.
You can do as little as you want and lay around and relax or you can go fast paced all day everyday of your cruise. Or you can find a nice happy medium...which it seems you have.
Have a fantastic cruise!

Thanks! Yeah, since I decided not to do any of the specialty adult meals that I suppose took the pressure off of the hot stuff to book. Also all of the kid stuff that you can prebook is girl oriented, which I guess helps (but also makes me a little sad! why are there no special things for boys? )

That’s a lot of changes! And you said you’d had gastric bypass? Many differences.

My cruise plans now have the only absolutely of one hour a day in the sun. Sunscreen up, get a drink and a book, find a spot. 15 minutes back then front then back then front. Then go indoors. Read more. Lol.

Ds threw me with the last cruise as we were on Royal and they start their teen club at 12. And despite being friends with many kids older than him, he disliked it. So I had a tag-along for a lot more of the cruise than I figured. I have no recall of what Dh was doing.

Last cruise we booked one excursion total.

Good point, especially given what seems to be the info that ds is on the spectrum. Our first cruise was with family with a 9 year old son on the spectrum, and he hated the club. He spent an hour waiting for his mom, dad, or grandma to retrieve him (we stupidly hadn’t had them put us on the list to get him), just standing at the gate at the club/lab. It was too chaotic. Going at open house times would have been great for him but no one thought of that. They just thought he would love it.

It’s good to be flexible for the first cruise.

Well I had the sleeve which is similar, and at this stage in the game probably not all that different as far as living with it. No specific food bothers me to eat it so I don't have to worry about dumping or any of that kind of stuff. It's less stressful on a cruise because I am not getting a bill at the end of each meal to compare with how much food I am leaving behind! (sharing with the kid is not an option as he is picky and I'm not wanting to eat what he eats).

Yeah as I said above, I would not mind if he wants to stick with me for the cruise. I have major mixed feelings on the kid club, but I also do not want him to miss out on some fun activities... so really whatever he wants is OK by me. I'll pull him out for family dinner and show every night and we have excursions planned for shore days (nassau and CC). He is on the swim team and we spend a ton of time at the beach in the summer. So I REALLY wanted to take him snorkeling... he loves his cheap little snorkel and will float around the water for hours looking at god knows what, because the water here is murky new england water and there's not a whole lot in it besides crabs and some ugly little fish.

Interesting about the open house times... I should look more into that. Is that when parents can be there WITH the kids? i see that is mostly what is going on on embarkation day so I'll definitely spend some time with him there to see how he feels about it. Again it will depends on the other kids or whether he hits it off with and gets attached to an adult (which happens often with him too). I have no assumptions about how he will feel about the whole thing and it won't blow a hole in my good time if he is not interested in the clubs, although he has a hard time being flexible I don't so whatever he wants is ok by me. And as I said for the massage, at the very least he can spend the time with his grandparents! it's the one thing I am doing for me! But thanks for mentioning that, I think I may have done that anyway but I feel better for having thought about it/processed it beforehand.

You asked a question as to whether or not it was OK to wing it on a cruise. I answered it. Major anxiety? I live with crippling anxiety every day, and have been prescribed so many meds over the years for it that I've had to learn to just deal with the anxiety in my own way rather than deal with the side effects that the meds caused for the past 25 years. Much of that way of dealing with things is just winging it, which means doing what I want to do, when I want to do it, without having to conform to some kind of schedule. I do my research, I figure out what I would like to do and I do it if I feel like it at the time, which oftentimes means I don't want to due to anxiety issues at that moment. This is one of the primary reasons I don't do excursions with other people to places I'm unfamiliar with. It causes too much anxiety. Doing it at my own pace? Sure. I get past the anxiety oftentimes and manage to do it. On a schedule that requires me to be at a certain place at a certain time? Nope. I don't like it. Not one bit.

So yeah, I wing it. I don't often do a schedule, which for me means I do what I'm comfortable with at that very moment. If I'm comfortable with going outside my comfort zone at the moment then I do it. If I'm not, then I'd rather not have to cancel a $300 excursion at the last minute or let down others because of their expectations.

Sorry, I was not looking to get into a contest. Just saying that my inability to just "go with the flow" most of the time on vacation (which, in spite of it being something "good" still creates anxiety for my son because it is "different." good different and bad different, it doesn't matter... different provokes anxiety) is related to having a child that can't go with days that are completely unscheduled. I'm trying to find the balance as I always do with him between scheduling what I need to behind the scenes so we don't hit any major snags in the moment. I do schedule our park time pretty aggressively because it makes a much smoother flowing day for him but I honestly just felt like I had no sense of what any of the days were really going to be like on this cruise. So, you have your things that provoke anxiety... he is 9 so he is not really concerned about the adult things you are concerned about that scheduling creates anxiety for. he has autism so the unknown and out of his routine is what causes anxiety. I am happy to push him out of his comfort zone at home to help him grow but when we are on vacation I tend to smooth the way as much as possible so that we both have a good time. Also he's a child and I do think planning with kids is a bit of a different beast (special needs or not) than planning for adults only... having done both kinds of a trip I was definitely more easy going about plans before I had my son than now.

After spending more than 6 months planning a DW vacation I felt the same way about the cruise. In the end it was amazing! Take a day to do nothing much but relax. So worth it.

Thanks, lol. I think you get exactly how I am feeling. I am doing parks for the thursday - sunday before and I have my ADRs, I'm planning to make my FPs, I have my dessert party booked, and a HEA fireworks cruise booked for when my parents arrive... and then for the cruise... nothing. Now I have a couple of excursions and a massage so I guess that is super overscheduled in cruise world

You asked if it was ok to just wing it, but it sounds like you have everything planned down to the last minute. To answer your question the answer is yes. I think the majority of people just go with the flow. Other then what I'm going to do in port I don't plan anything.

I have a couple of anchor things booked and an idea of how the day could potentially go but am willing to change on the fly. And I kind of filled other activities around the couple of things I have booked while having this conversation but it's more me getting a grip on what I need to plan for and what I can just see what we feel like doing in the moment.

I don't think it sounds like a mistake at all. For a 4-day cruise, we'd probably hardly even book anything. We've been to Nassau a couple of times so rarely even bother to get off. Castaway Cay we usually just get off for lunch and go back to the ship. We do like to do the alcohol tastings and now that they're offered online and sell out quickly we might book that. If I was just doing a 4-day, I probably wouldn't book the adult restaurants except maybe Remy for brunch just so that I wouldn't miss out on the MDRs but also wouldn't miss out on Remy. So your plan to me doesn't even sound like "winging" it in my universe. It sounds like a moderate level of planning to me. If you're happy with what you've decided you want to do, I think you're totally good to go. It sounds like a happy medium being winging and planning. There's also going to be stuff in the Navigator you'll see that you might be interested in and the mid-ship detective game. We spent one entire afternoon playing that.

i would have been happy to not get off in Nassau and just enjoy the ship but the kid is so over the moon excited to be in a foreign country that's not Canada that we'll be getting off the ship there, lol. that was originally my plan but he was not into that. Also see above about snorkeling, I've booked a small private snorkel tour for us that is well reviewed on trip advisor and the guy running it seems to know where to go for best snorkeling on any given day (and is flexible). I think snorkeling at CC is more hit or miss, though he is going to love the Disney surprises as much as the fish. I didn't even realize they did the stingray thing at CC until just how either but I think he will like that too. That kind of stuff is harder to plan day of. I don't even know how fast some of it books honestly but I hate leaving that stuff to chance.

I wish I could try out Remy but I plan to rebook a 7 day on board with OBD, probably during star wars day at sea time and probably for 2020 (so will have to carry the placeholder forward). My parents did not want to do more than 4 nights and it was important to me that we take this trip with them vs. what we did. I will probably dine solo at Remy on that trip one time just to experience it. I like that, "moderate level of planning" makes me feel better even though to me having one anchor thing per full day is not really much planning at all. But calling it that is comforting! Just want the kiddo to have a good time... if he has a good time, I'll have a good time!