Handoff performance with Mobile IPv6 Route Optimization strongly depends on the efficiency of IP-layer auto-configuration mechanisms as well as the flexibility of mobile nodes to schedule and parallelize their signaling. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the handoff performance with the standard IPv6 protocol suite and Mobile IPv6, and it identifies several sources for delay. While some of the delays are already well known, an optimized and widely applicable handoff approach is yet to be found. The paper hence proceeds to discuss existing and new optimization proposals, some of which are currently under standardization within the IETF, and elaborates how a combination of those can significantly improve handoff experience.