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Cruise Plan like a Pro in 7 Key Steps!

Go Travel Life

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Cruise Plan Like A Pro in 7 Steps

Attention Planners!! Ready to plan your next cruise like a seasoned traveler? In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of our full cruise planning process- from choosing the perfect itinerary to tracking flight prices, booking hotels and diving deep into excursion research. Whether it's your first cruise or your tenth, we are here to help. No fluff, just strategy and DETAILS.

Whether you’re a first time cruiser or a frequent sailor, these tools and tips will help you save time, avoid stress and make the most of your adventure.

We cover:
Cruise itinerary selection strategies
How we monitor flight prices and schedules
Hotel research tools and booking tips
Excursion planning and research tools
Specialty Dining Advice and a few more odds and ends
Smart document strategies
This is the planning episode we wish we had when we started cruising.

Link to Template (download and customize):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

We’d love your feedback, so please drop YOUR tips and tricks in the comments!

Facebook: /GoTravelLife
Instagram: /GoTravelLife65

#CruiseTips #CrusingTips #CruisePlanning

0:00 - Introduction
1:10 – Step 1: Finding a Cruise
7:31 – Step 2: Flight Alerts
9:58 – Step 3: Hotels for Pre and Post Cruise
13:18 – Step 4: Port Transfers
14:13 – Step 5: Excursions
22:15– Step 6: Specialty Dining
24;37 – Step 7: Documents
30:07 – TripIt Review

#GoTravelLife #CruisePlanning #TravelSmart #FirstCruise #TripIt #CruiseTipsandTricks

Master your cruise planning with these essential organization tips. If you are the designated trip planner, learn how to manage the complex details of your next vacation.

Planning a cruise can feel overwhelming when you are responsible for every moving part. This guide is specifically designed for the organized traveler who takes charge of family itineraries and wants to ensure every detail is accounted for before departure. If you prefer someone else to handle the logistics, this content is not for you.

We focus on practical strategies to simplify your cruise planning process so you can focus on enjoying the journey. By breaking down the essential cruise trip details, you will have a clearer roadmap for your next voyage. Proper cruise planning requires attention to logistics, and this video provides the structure you need to manage your next cruise itinerary help efficiently.

Subscribe for weekly travel planning tips to keep your trips organized, and let me know in the comments: what is the hardest part of coordinating your family vacations?

11 Comments

@Leesasu 1 month ago

My husband and I came across your videos quite some time ago, and love how you present information, the research you put into your videos is much appreciated! I just happened to come across this one, and had to laugh a little, my excel sheet that I use looks much like yours! I also have the days prior and post with what hotels, tours, flights, etc info. I have yet to try TripIt but I did download a long long time ago and wasn't impressed back then, but I see many comments about it so maybe it has gotten better. Just wanted to say, thank you, and I hope some day we run into you and your husband on a cruise somewhere!

@nikkiyam1339 13 days ago

My husband walked out exactly at the same moment Doug did, to do fun stuff and me cover the boring 😂

@kelleypie 6 months ago

We have just discovered your YouTube Channel Go Travel Life while sorting through looking for Japan information. You guys are great and great together. Will be anxiously awaiting further videos of your travel and cruising!

@RuthL-g1q 2 months ago

Great info, thanks for sharing!

@Sandy-ff8mu 1 year ago

Thanks for this! It's always interesting to see how other people do things. I've been using TripIt Pro for years, and for me it's very helpful. I can easily share itineraries with my emergency contact, either by adding him as a "planner" or by emailing him a PDF of my plan. Manual entry is only occasionally required (probably more often for cruises / sea days), but every year more and more things do auto-populate. I have recently started adding notes to each day within TripIt with expected weather, key reminders, etc. and I'm finding it helpful when I look at the app. I also like the statistics section, which shows my lifetime (withing TripIt) miles traveled, countries visited, etc.

@angeonaplane 1 year ago

Such detailed planning! Love the dynamic between you two.

@winniea5115 3 months ago

Thank you so much for your videos. They are helpful, informative, full of details, and well organized. Look forward to more videos from your channel. Happy travel and cruising!

@waltbobby2893 1 month ago

Wow. Just found your videos and I have been watching many of them....Amazing. I love the detail and your presentation. I am the planner at my house and I use google keep notes. I currently have 8 trips in notes along with alot of other things. I have pinned the trips coming up (so they are on top). I include much of the info you do in your spreadsheet, but I also use my google drive to store larger items, then include links in the note. I also include a travel folder in my backpack for printed items, similar to yours. We have picked up many pointers from you all and will be getting better as we go. Thanks. We have done 6 cruises so far, 1 river, 4 Disney and one long Viking Med. We might be a couple years ahead in age from you all and feel the clock ticking. Trying to find another cruise line to try, but don't want to give up the things we like. Should we look at the lines you all use? Keep those videos coming!

@sonyarobinson2184 8 months ago

This helps so much! Thanks

@jeffreywagner5234 10 months ago

Thank you for this video! My wife is the planner. She used to use Excel but since we retired she loves TRIPIT and paid for the Pro Version!!!! So handy and we don’t double-book anything now.

@cruisingforone 1 month ago

I am definitely a planner. I really enjoy doing all the research. I find out and take advantage of things that I would never have known about had I not done the research and planning in advance. I use Google Docs (not sheets) for my plan and set it to paperless and set the width so it displays easily on my phone.