The first key to a successful trip is preparing a checklist of the various items that need to be done prior to the start of the trip. This includes a whole array of items such as deciding what items to take on the trip, securing any necessary visas, determining any required or recommended vaccinations, planning how to spend time in each port, making airline reservations and securing hotel accommodations for any pre or post cruise stays, ensuring that everything that is normally taken care of at home such as bill paying can be done remotely along with other related items.
To help facilitate all of this we create a spreadsheet that notes for each day of the adventure key items such as the itinerary, the port of call arrival and departure times, the evening attire, historical temperature averages for each port of call, along with other key information such as plans for each port.
The information from the spreadsheet is used to create packing lists that will list out each and every item that we will take with us for the cruise. The goal is to minimize what we take while ensuring that we have the proper clothing along with enough variety to maximize our enjoyment on board the ship while being dressed properly for a variety of weather conditions while on land.
In addition to the clothing list, we create a list of all toiletry items that we will bring with us. While we realize that some items can be picked up during the course of the voyage we find it easier to have all of them with us from the start so we don’t have to take up precious time in port looking for various items. There are a few items that we are not allowed to take with us on the airplane and we have a list of those items, which we will purchase, in Miami during our stay prior to boarding the ship.
Still another list is prepared that reflects all of the evening items that we will wear during the course of the voyage. The evening clothes that we take with us takes into account the three types of evening attire on the ship; formal, informal and casual.
We also create a list of all items that we plan to wear during our visits to the various ports of call. Again, this is where the historical weather temperature comes into play as this serves as good input to determine the range of warm and/or cold weather clothing that we need to take with us. We also need to factor in what we will wear during the daytime on the ship, particularly on sea days.
Once all of these clothing lists are prepared they will be used as we pull all of the items that we ultimately need to pack. On top of this when we pack we create a list of each and every item that goes into each specific piece of luggage. In addition to being helpful if we need to get into a piece of luggage prior to the cruise to find a specific item should a piece of luggage get lost we will have a precise record of what it contained. We also place a number on each list and a number on the corresponding piece of luggage.
We do a good deal of research to plan what we will do in each port of call. A big help in this process is certainly our familiarity of a port of call from a prior visit. We also read about each shore excursion that is offered by Crystal Cruises. Crystal Cruises provides a nice write-up for each description on their web site along with a book for each voyage describing the shore excursions in detail and we can book all of the shore excursions that we plan to take using a reservation system provided to each passenger via the Crystal Cruises Web Site.
We also take advantage of the Internet to read about each port of call, as there are many excellent Internet sources to use for this planning. All of the excursions that we sign up for in advance are noted on our itinerary spreadsheet including the time and duration of each tour. Once on board the ship, we also speak with one of the very knowledgeable people who work in the shore excursion department where we might revise a planned shore excursion based on additional input that we receive. We also enjoy reading about the history of each place that we will visit, as this is all part of discovery, and will use a variety of resources from books to Internet sites to other sources to learn about the history, culture and customs of a particular land we are visiting.
As we mentioned, part of the preparation includes verifying that all travel documents are in order. Crystal Cruises does an excellent job of communicating any required vaccinations and visas that are required for the voyage. Should visas be required many of them are obtained on board the ship for each guest but there are some that must be obtained ahead of times.
Another part of the preparation is being sure that all of the items that we would normally take care of at home such as bill paying are easily taken care of while we are away.
The planning also takes into account any flights that are required, along with hotels and other transportation.
Finally, we make yet another list which is the catch all list of things to do prior to the cruise.
For us, all of this is a lot of fun and we find that by being organized it takes away any added stress from preparing for the adventure.
TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
“If you miss the first buttonhole, you will not succeed in buttoning up your coat.” Johann von Goethe
Keith and Anne Marie
Keith, bon voyage to you and "Anne Marie. The work you've done on your planing spreadsheet is most impressive, and a little daunting to try to imagine all its categories. Would it be possible to share a blank (planning categories only) version with us readers?
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