This past spring my husband and I booked a cruise, along with friends of ours, for this December. Then, it felt like we had all kinds of time to make our plans and work out the details. Choosing the cruise line (Princess Cruises),

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the destination (Australia and New Zealand) and the sailing date (early December) was just the start of our planning. Of course, we had to book our flights, and we knew we wanted to use our bank of miles with United, so that narrowed the options considerably. We also decided that we wanted to arrive several days ahead of our embarkation but also had to maneuver around the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel weekend. Once the transportation was nailed down, we could turn our attention to all the other aspects of the trip.

Our friends live in a different state, so we scheduled several video chats to discuss our preferences and options. We started with what we wanted to see and do during our five days in Sydney, using suggestions from friends and family members who had visited there recently. We agreed on a tour of the Sydney Opera House,

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a visit to the Taronga Zoo

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and the aquarium, walking around The Rocks district

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and Bondi Beach, and some cultural and shopping highlights. We’ve looked into the Sydney Go City passes, which offer access to a wide range of attractions at reduced fares when purchased in bundles of three or more. We also looked into organized tours with a variety of tour operators, but we ultimately decided we’d play it by ear, much depending on the weather, how jet lagged we would be the first few days, and suggestions we might pick up from the locals once we arrived.

We also spent a lot of time looking at the shore excursions Princess offers for each of the ports we’d visit in New Zealand (Auckland,

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Wellington,

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Dunedin,

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Christchurch,

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Tauranga). There were a few that had us interested, but as we researched a little more, we decided there were several places that we wanted to explore on our own and hit the highlights we were most interested. With good public transportation options in most of the cities we’d visit and language not being an issue, we feel confident we can get to where we want to go without difficulty. We also looked at tours operated by other companies in a few ports and found some by Viator that seemed to fit our interests better than those offered by the cruise line . . . and cost less, to boot! We noted that they offered pick up and drop off at the pier and also guaranteed to have us back to the ship on time — kinda important!

Finally, we discussed making reservations for a few meals at some of the specialty restaurants on board and purchasing package deals which cover items such as onboard WiFi, beverage packages, crew appreciation fees and such. (These prove to be worth the cost, and then some.) I also went ahead and booked a massage at the spa on one of our at sea days, knowing these book up very quickly.

So we got a lot squared away, and then came the busy end of summer with lots of travel, and then fall was quickly here, and now it’s almost gone and our trip is just a few weeks away! Suddenly I feel as though there is still far too much to do in far too little time. Some of it is directly trip-related (finding a new comfortable pair of walking shoes and other clothing items, for instance), but others involve the usual fall gardening chores (so many leaves!) and getting my Christmas shopping and wrapping done; at least I don’t have to worry about decorating or baking this year. Argghhh! As usual, I will stress and fuss right up until I get on the plane, and then I’ll finally relax and enjoy my vacation.

How about you? Do you find that no amount of planning frees you from that last-minute scurry to get things done? Wish me well as I prepare for my next adventure. I look forward to sharing it with you in upcoming blogs!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor