Cruise Planning Spreadsheets

[OneBadApple]

I am planning our 1st Disney cruise and you can say I am a "planner". I have planning spreadsheets for our Disney World vacations, and am looking to start one for our cruise. Does anyone have one that they would be willing to share?

Thanks.

 

[Jasesmom]

OMGoodness... A fellow planner What all are you wanting to include on your spreadsheet?

 

[CrawfordMomof2]

Are you looking for a budgeting spreadsheet or something else? I have a few that I have made for myself. ( I have OCD, and it helps me feel more secrure when I can put all of the details down on paper/computer screen). Let me know, and I'll see if I have one that will work for you.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

My DD and I are both big planners. It's part of the fun of taking a vacation. This is her first cruise though, and I'm trying to get her to not be so into detailed plans for each day. Even so, she and I did set up a spreadsheet to help keep track of things. It's very basic. The days across the top, times down the side. I list either "At Sea" or what port we will be in for each day. I filled in our dinner times, times for the main shows, the all ashore and all aboard times for port days. Once we did our online check in, I added in the times I booked for Palo, BBB/Pirates League, and port excursions. I'm not planning on bringing my laptop so the spreadsheet will be printed out before the cruise and then we can write in activities from the Navigator each day.

 

[OneBadApple]

I am definitely looking to include budget/expenses, port adventures. Not sure what would be helpful since this is our 1st Disney cruise. We went on a Carnival cruise for our honeymoon, 24 years ago.

 

[AndreAggie]

We cruise in 335 days and I'm already planning! Let's just say my passion/madness for planning drives my husband just a tad bit crazy! I have reminders on my phone for when we can begin booking port adventures and dining reservations. I don't have a spreadsheet (but genius idea!), but I do have lists going on my phone of random things to remember to pack. Packing for a cruise is completely different than a land vacation. And we've never flown to a cruise port either...we usually drive, but Disney is pulling their ship from Galveston, so off to Miami we go!

The one thing I don't bother with is budget. Not like we have money to burn (because we truly don't!), but we have managed to stay within reason when we travel. I give our son a gift card and he can use it on whatever wants, but when it's gone, it's gone. We grab a couple souvenirs here and there, then we make a point to collect a Christmas ornament from each port. Other than that, we pre-pay gratuities and port adventures and just take cash for tips.

Only 335 more days! LOL!

 

[Mrs Green]

I haven't been on a cruise yet, but I am the detailed planner when it comes to vacations especially wdw. To me it seems like a lot less planning is needed for a cruise. I agree that I have a list of port adventures I am researching and things to pack but what else?

 

[bfamily5]

A big part of my planning/spreadsheet is flights and pre cruise stay. We are way up in Eastern Canada and need to fly in a few days early to be sure to make it to the ship.

 

[CrawfordMomof2]

As far as my budget spreadsheet, the categories I have are:

Cruise fare ...
Trip Insurance ...
Passports (If needed) ...
Excursions ...
Parking (We park at the port) ...
Tips for Crew ...
Gas Money (we drive) ...
Spending Money ...
Hotel (the night before) ...
Rental Car ...

I add up all of these categories, and then decide how many weeks we have until we want to cruise which tells me how much we need to save every week. Since we get paid every other week, I have a spreadsheet that has all of our payday dates, and the expected amount we plan to have in savings so that I can see at a glance if we are on track. If this sounds like it would help you out, send me a PM with your e-mail and I'll send you my current copy. You may also want to consider:

- airfare
- cost of drinks ( If you drink alcohol or want specialty drinks i.e. smoothies/special coffee drinks)
- transportation if you're not using a rental car
- a packing list with anything that you may still need to buy (new swimsuit/new clothes or shoes/new luggage, etc.) and if this adds up you may want to add this to your total expenses as well.

I also have a pretty comprehensive packing list spreadsheet if you want that to. We have 2 boys, one of which is Autistic. So a lot of it may not apply to you, but it might help give you a head start.

 

[AndreAggie]

We have the Disney Chase Visa card and I just make a payment each month so we're not surprised come final payment. Little at a time and you hardly notice it. So far we have $135 in onboard credit, so I'm not going to budget for drinks...that'll cover it easily. My husband travels a lot with work, so we're very fortunate that we'll likely use points for a free hotel room the night before our cruise. We'll either fly on airline miles or a mix of miles and purchased tickets depend on the prices. We can't look at airfare yet since we're still too far out.

The biggest expense that always creeps up on me is port adventures...man, those add up fast! We have 3 ports this time and I'm really considering skipping Nassau and having a ship day. If not, we'll do something simple like a harbor tour. I refuse to pay to go to Atlantis. I love the stop at Castaway Cay since all the food is included. We're going to try for a cabana to share with another family traveling with us...fingers crossed!

As for clothes, this will be our 4th cruise and I've learned you can wear similar outfits to dinner each night and nobody notices. Or wear a sundress to dinner one night, then use it the next day as your outfit or for a swim cover-up. However, I don't wash clothes while on a cruise...I'm on vacation!! Our first cruise we WAY over-packed. For you first timers, take out half of the clothes you've packed...you won't need it, except the bare essentials...make sure you have plenty of undies.