Cruise document notebooks & organization

[jothrasher]

Does anyone ever put together a notebook to keep all their travel / flight / cruise / excursion / insurance documents in? If so, how do you organize your notebooks. I'm looking to put one together for our cruise but am not sure the easiest way to organize it. Any helpful hint would be appreciated.

[Scrapnana]

I have a plastic binder with pockets that I put all my information in. The first picture shows it closed and the second open. I liked this one because it has small pockets at the bottom (lavender part) to hold small items.

 

 

I bought it at either Walmart or Office Max.

[donaldsc]

I use Evernote on my tablet. Saves paper and weighs less.

 

DON

[CapeCodCruiser]

I put all of my bookings into my Google calendar and keep a copy of my confirmation emails on my phone. I travel with carry-on only and do not need to any extra stuff that can be done electronically.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have leather cases that we got on the Concord where I keep everything.

[WatchHill]

I have a dark green leatherette case that I got with my docs from Seabourn and now use it for my cruises. I also have a nice doc holder from AMA, Villas of Distinction and one from my TA that I use alternately, especially when I need something to hold a few things when I go ashore.

 

Darcy

[Debbdo]

I have a 1/2" binder type notebook (which I may have to change to a 1" soon) that I use that is working out great (for me). It may not work for everyone. I have it divided into 5 sections: General, Pre cruise, Flight info, Onboard info and Notes. I do A LOT of research and reading before we vacation and have discovered as I get older, I am unable to relocate stuff I wanted to remember. I print it out (old school I know but I am not as tech savy as others), insert it in a sheet protector and put it in the binder for use later. I get a lot of very useful info from CC and keep a word document open when reading to cut and paste info in. I have found so many helpful hints here and don't want to forget them as we get closer to cruise date.

 

My DH laughs at me because he is a geek and doesn't get my system at all but it works for me.

[paul929207]

I keep it all on my computer until it is time to leave than I print what I need.

[sparky-elpaso]

I have a 1/2" binder type notebook (which I may have to change to a 1" soon) that I use that is working out great (for me). It may not work for everyone. I have it divided into 5 sections: General, Pre cruise, Flight info, Onboard info and Notes. I do A LOT of research and reading before we vacation and have discovered as I get older, I am unable to relocate stuff I wanted to remember. I print it out (old school I know but I am not as tech savy as others), insert it in a sheet protector and put it in the binder for use later. I get a lot of very useful info from CC and keep a word document open when reading to cut and paste info in. I have found so many helpful hints here and don't want to forget them as we get closer to cruise date.

 

My DH laughs at me because he is a geek and doesn't get my system at all but it works for me.

 

I'm a bit of a geek too :) (love my new tablet) but I still have a binder like yours with printouts of tickets, e-mails, etc. Paper doesn't crash and is a lot easier to get to in a hurry (like at the airport going thru customs and immigration).

[gubby]

I have a 1/2" binder type notebook (which I may have to change to a 1" soon) that I use that is working out great (for me). It may not work for everyone. I have it divided into 5 sections: General, Pre cruise, Flight info, Onboard info and Notes. I do A LOT of research and reading before we vacation and have discovered as I get older, I am unable to relocate stuff I wanted to remember. I print it out (old school I know but I am not as tech savy as others), insert it in a sheet protector and put it in the binder for use later. I get a lot of very useful info from CC and keep a word document open when reading to cut and paste info in. I have found so many helpful hints here and don't want to forget them as we get closer to cruise date.

 

My DH laughs at me because he is a geek and doesn't get my system at all but it works for me.

 

I use the exact same system. I find the word document especially helpful and try to keep the port tips in the order we will be cruising. In addition, DH keeps all the travel documents in a folder in his e-mail section of his Ipad.

[dorisis]

I keep it all on my computer until it is time to leave than I print what I need.

 

I print it out as I go along then eliminate anything that isn't necessary right before we leave.

[cb at sea]

I use an envelope!

[FoghornLeghorn]

I used to use a binder (softside)

Sections for

Airline

Cruise Documents & special requests to Cruiseline

Port info

Excursion confirmations/info

Pre-Post-Cruise Hotel

Notes

 

Now I just print out the boarding pass for the ship.

Everything else is on my Kindle Fire and can be accessed with or without internet connection.

[Gunner22aa]

I use a soft sided folder often called a Duo Tang that has three of the foldover fasteners in it. I go soft sided so it fits better in my carryon which is always a day pack.

 

Everything goes in it under separate tabs. Air, cruise, excursion info if booked, copy of travel insurance, pre cruise emails from the line, proof of onboard credits I'm entitled to, hotel, transfers etc. Whatever I think I need. Each has a separate tab and the least important/used are at the bottom and everything else is in the order I will need it. When you open the folder the first thing you always find is our airline boarding passes and e tickets. Next tab is always the hotel reservation with any transport arrangements to the hotel from the airport. Next is the cruise luggage tags and boarding passes. Don't affix cruise luggage tags to your luggage until just prior to boarding the ship. They can get ripped off by the airlines or worse yet the airline scanner scans the bar code on the cruise tag and not the airline one and your bags end up in "no where land" From there on I put the rest of the stuff in the book. Works well for us and I only have to worry about one document not several

[navybankerteacher]

Because we plan a year or so in advance and take three or four trips/cruises, we just open a file on email account for each trip

[Ehpride]

I use a plastic accordian folder and sort by time period. I have a section for flights, hotels, ports and cruise. Then the remaining section holds insurance documents, a copy of our overall itinerary, packing lists and anything else miscellaneous. I use tripit on my ipod as an electronic back up and have it in my e-mail as well. I work up an overall itinerary including booking numbers and phone numbers. I leave a copy at home for my family and bring along a copy in case of emergency.

 

I always bring that because my brother was on a cruise once that was late getting back to port. He was going to miss his flight and only had his booking numbers in his e-mail. He couldn't get into his e-mail and had to call us to get phone numbers for the airline and booking number. I can get to mine in seconds even without a signal!

 

Plus, I can use the folder to store any receipts that I pick up.

[CrabbyQ]

I use a folder, the kind with a flap and elastic to keep it closed. Everything goes in there: boarding passes, cruise docs, excursion reservations, passports. I carry it in my purse--doesn't take up much room--then it goes in the safe once on the ship.

 

But I'm thinking now we can use the ipad, so my folder might be staying home next cruise :)

[Philob]

I too use a plastic binder with dividers and pockets. Much quicker to pull out the paper than waiting for the laptop/tablet to power up or connect. Some hotels we end up in have no internet or no WiFi and is plug in only.

 

I print out our emails to TAs and confirmations, especially acknowledgments of changes we made after the initial booking and put it in the binder. We started doing this when my Father locked away an upgrade confirmation in his checked luggage. They literally had their stuff all over the floor at the airline counter looking for that upgrade slip. Difference was coach vs 1st class on trans Pacific flight on a Pan Am 707.

[2ndhoney]

I use a folder for air/cruise/hotel/tour confirmations and a spreadsheet of the entire trip, but also create pdfs of each document and put in my Dropbox account so I can have that information on my phone is the hard copies get lost.;)

[sjcruiser]

I have a plastic binder with pockets that I put all my information in. The first picture shows it closed and the second open. I liked this one because it has small pockets at the bottom (lavender part) to hold small items.

 

 

I bought it at either Walmart or Office Max.

 

I use something similar to this, and keep it in the front panel/pocket of my carry on for easy retrieval. As noted, they're only a dollar or so at WalMart, Target, or a little more at Staples and Office Max or Depot.

[wwcruisers]

We also use a plastic accordion-type folder,AKA, "THE BLUE FOLDER" -- everything goes in there. I have the tabs labeled for cruise, air, and hotel docs. I have a pocket for our passports and one for all our receipts. It also has a small net pouch that holds a couple of pens, markers, and some small sticky notes. I call it my traveling desk. :cool:

[Steviewonder1]

I use a manila folder that fits in the front pouch of our carry-on luggage. On the outside is the Cruise info, Confirmation number, Suite number, Cruise line 800 number, dates of travel in one block, airline information, flight confirmation numbers, flight numbers and times, insurance numbers and 800 number. On the back is our daily schedule of what, when and where. In the folder are printouts of everything that arrived by email, confirmations, insurance papers, any side items that were received, and a copy of our own spreadsheet in Excel of who, what, when, where. Back up copies of these are on both of our iPhones. Color copies of our Passports front page for back up just in case.

[terri-eddie]

I keep it all on my computer until it is time to leave than I print what I need.

 

That's what I do, too. I have all the info in categories with big headings, so I can add info where it's needed. All phone numbers, confirmation numbers, flight numbers, ideas for excursions, packing list, fun things to do on the ship.

 

This year, I'm adding a section with info on hotels in our flight layover city. Last year, we got storm-stayed in New York, and I had to book a hotel for three days without any idea where they were, what was nearby, amenities, etc. This time, I will know more, just in case!

 

Just before we depart for our trip, I print out the document and file it with my passports, paper documentation of flights, hotels, etc in a 5x7 zipper case that goes in my purse/carry-on bag.

[klepton]

I use TripIt to store my entire itinerary with addresses, dates/times, confirmation numbers, notes, etc. Right before my trip I'll print that out and put it in one side of a regular folder.

 

The other side gets any paper printouts I'll need, cruise boarding pass, airline boarding passes (some airlines I use a phone app and don't need to print), cruise luggage tags, etc. In this side, I put everything in the order I'll need to take it out.

 

Passports I carry separately in a smaller travel binder.

 

I once tried using evernote on my ipad for everything, until DD used up the battery and didn't charge it again, and left me without the address I needed to where we were going. :D

[DrumenaghBrae]

For all our holidays I use a flexible folder for displaying certificates. The individual pockets allow for information and leaflets to be easily viewed, and slid easily in and out. I can buy them cheaply in Tesco for a couple of quid. It's reusable too!

 

We like road trips and its a great way of having a print out off all the places we are staying, with addresses for the sat nav etc as Internet is not guaranteed.