Cruise Planner Spreadsheet

Cruise planner spreadsheet for your next sailing: a countdown to embarkation, a day-by-day itinerary with sea days, port days and all-aboard times, a cruise budget with planned vs spent for every cost, a drink package calculator that tells you if the package pays off, a shore excursion comparison, a bookings list that flags deadlines, an onboard account and expense log, a cruise packing list and a dashboard.

WHAT IT DOES

• Setup tab: cruise name, embarkation and disembarkation dates (nights worked out), ports, cabin, number of travellers, home currency, total budget and the gratuity per person per night. Gratuities for the cruise are worked out as rate x nights x travellers. Every drop-down list (budget categories, booking types, packing categories, your names) is yours to rename
• Itinerary tab: one row per day, made from your dates (up to 30 days), with the date and weekday filled in. Pick the day type (Embarkation, Sea day, Port day, Disembarkation) and add the port, arrive, depart and all-aboard times and your plans. It shows whether an excursion is booked that day and counts your sea days and port days
• Drink Package tab: type the package price per person per day, the service charge, your drinks a day and the average drink price. It works out the package and pay-as-you-go cost for the whole cruise and gives a plain verdict ("Package saves 201.60" or "Pay as you go saves ...") plus the break-even drinks a day. The same check for wifi: package for every day vs day passes for the days you need
• Excursions tab: compare ship-run and independent excursions port by port: price per person, total for your group, the time you get back to the pier and the all-aboard time (taken from the itinerary). Less than 60 minutes to spare is flagged in red. Booked and paid excursions go into the budget
• Budget tab: planned vs spent for each cost cruisers pay: cruise fare, taxes and port fees, gratuities, drink package, wifi package, specialty dining, shore excursions, flights, pre-cruise hotel, parking or transfers, travel insurance, onboard spending and other. Type your plan, or leave it blank to use the worked-out cost. Remaining, percent used, still to pay, and a status that shows Over budget, or Will go over when unpaid items would take a category past its plan. Plus whole-cruise totals: projected cruise cost and cost per person per night
• Bookings tab: cruise fare, packages, flights, hotel, transfers and insurance with provider, confirmation code, date and time, cost, paid yes or no and a deadline (final payment, pre-cruise price or free cancellation). Deadlines within 7 days are flagged Due soon (change the 7 on the Setup tab)
• Onboard account and expenses tab: date, category, description, charged to (onboard account, card or cash), the currency and amount you paid, the exchange rate and the amount in your home currency (worked out for you), and who paid. Totals by category, by person and for the onboard account
• Packing list tab: item, category, for whom, quantity and a Y/N packed column, with progress overall and by category. The blank file starts with 42 cruise items (documents, formal night, swim and sun, excursion day bag, cabin organisation, medicine and more) you can change or delete
• Dashboard: days to embarkation, cruise status, sea and port days, total budget, spent so far, remaining, still to pay, projected cruise cost, gratuities, the drink package and wifi verdicts, excursions booked and tight returns, the next 3 booking deadlines, packing progress, and planned vs spent by category with a chart
• Room for 300 expenses, 40 bookings, 40 excursions and 150 packing items. The tabs are protected without a password, so formulas don't get typed over by accident (you can unprotect them any time)

WHAT YOU GET

• Cruise-Planner-Spreadsheet.xlsx (blank, with a starter cruise packing list)
• Cruise-Planner-Spreadsheet-with-Sample-Data.xlsx (a filled-in example: a made-up 7-night Western Caribbean cruise for 2, with 9 bookings, 5 excursions, 6 expenses and a 42-item packing list)
• Quick-start guide (PDF)

HOW YOU GET IT

Digital download. After checkout you get a download page right away, plus a receipt by email. Nothing is shipped.

COMPATIBILITY

• Microsoft Excel 2016 or newer (Windows or Mac) and Excel for the web
• Google Sheets: upload the .xlsx to Google Drive, open it, then File > Save as Google Sheets
• Needs a computer or tablet with a spreadsheet app. This is not an app or a printable planner. It does not book anything, connect to any cruise line or look up prices or exchange rates: you type your bookings, prices and rates

GOOD FOR

Anyone with a cruise booked: first-time cruisers deciding on the drink package and excursions, repeat cruisers who want every cost in one place, families and groups sharing a cabin, and a bon voyage gift (it is an instant digital file).

PLEASE NOTE

• This planner is built on our Travel Planner spreadsheet, with cruise tabs (drink package calculator, shore excursions, sea and port days), cruise wording and a cruise sample. If you only need a general trip planner, our Travel Planner is enough; please don't buy both by mistake
• Package rules, service charges and prices differ by cruise line and change often. The calculator works with the prices you type
• Days to go and the deadline flags use today's date unless you type a date on the Setup tab, so they change from day to day
• For your own personal use; please don't resell or share the files

DISCLAIMER

This template is a planning tool and does not replace advice from a qualified or licensed professional (such as a travel agent). Check the results, and the prices, times, deadlines and terms of every real booking with your cruise line, before you rely on them.

HOW IT WAS MADE

Designed by VARS Digital with AI-assisted tools. Every formula is checked before release, and the sample file shows each tab working.

QUESTIONS

Email varsdigitals@gmail.com and we'll help you get set up.