Cruising with friends - ARGGG!!!

[dvcdisney]

This is why I book all of our trips with our friends. I do all the booking, Payments, check in, reservations, etc. I don't trust them to do it the way I want it done, so I do all of it. .

Exactly!! I have control issues when it comes to vacation planning....and all my family and friends know this. They don't even bother with any input (unless I ask them). I've gotten many very grateful "thank you" and sometimes comments about them taking advantage of me. But deep down they know I NEED to do it since I don't trust them with any of it.

However, my only issue with this is, once everything is booked and paid, when I discuss and provide them with a brief (written as well) summary, they seem to be completely useless in execution. For instance, and this has happened many times, a simple check in at the cruise port seems very daunting to them. I, literally, have to guide them everywhere. To be honest, once I do all the pre-planning, I tend to want to just relax (essentially THE REASON for the pre-planning) during the vacation....and sometimes they are wandering around like lost cats.

I can feel the OP's frustration so I'm glad it work out for them.

 

[10SandyToes]

For what it's worth, I've been on two cruises where we were on second seating because we booked late and were joining friends that had booked much earlier and had main seating. Both times, as soon as we were on the ship, they moved us to main to be with our friends. They said they would "almost always" be able to do that for groups travelling together, where one books later and gets assigned second seating.

 

[maryrego]

Having been assigned both early and late dining we really prefer late dining. Our Last Cruise we had a 9mth and a 3.5 year old and late dining wasn't an issue for us. We planned for the 9mth old to be in the Nursery for dinner and the 3.5 year old loved the Dine and Play option. My Husband and I enjoyed dinner nightly. Everyone was happy. On Port days we weren't rushing back for dinner. Most days somewhere between 2-4 one of us would nap with the little one and the other would enjoy some solo time with the toddler. One day we all had a nap lol. However after nap we always ordered a "Room Snack" as my 3.5 yr called it. We would basically order room service and munch on the balcony. The 9mth old loved the tomato soup. I understand this wouldnt work well for everyone but it really worked for us.