Document organization

[duegwb]

What do you use, or how do you keep your documents/paperwork organized for your cruise?

 

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[sid_9169]

I print out everything (cruise docs, hotel reservation, private excursion info, ect) and keep in an 8"X 11" manila envelope...

[jmcancruise]

We keep a whole binder with all of our documents. For us planning for a cruise is really a hobby. When it comes time to leave though, we pare down to the essentials. We like to have duplicates at home in case of emergency and to save as keepsakes after the trip is over. During the actual trip we have a thin binder we keep everything in.

[pcvtmom]

I use a plastic, accordian-style folder, with labeled categories. (Documents, passports, activities, driving directions, hotel reservation, etc.)

[Don Kehote]

Travel Wallet and Documents Case - Love it. It's unobtrusive, carries everything we need in one easy wallet, is water resistant, and RFID shielded.

 

This is a special item only known by RED cruisers, though. Don't let them Platimonium or Dyemundos know about it, or they'll buy them all up.

[duegwb]

I use a plastic, accordian-style folder, with labeled categories. (Documents, passports, activities, driving directions, hotel reservation, etc.)

This is what I am thinking of using. An expandable type file folder.

 

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[Saint Greg]

Just a folder. One side has everything for travel/embarkation. The other side has port stuff.

Edited January 4, 2018 by Saint Greg

[mebjar]

Since we're a family of 6 traveling, I like the Travelon Safe ID Mult-Passport Holder from Amazon. It holds all of our passports, boarding passes, parking reservations, and any other random paperwork. Mine came with a wrist strap which I love.

 

For ports, I use colored plastic snap envelopes that I got at Office Max. Somehow Cozumel always ends up being the red one, lol. It holds all of our excursion paperwork, cash, etc. that we'll need for the day. I organize everything at home so on whatever day it happens to be, I simply toss that day's envelope into my beach bag.

[dmdiver]

We just reserve a section of our backpack for paperwork - boarding passes, hotel confirmations, excursion confirmations. Passports, ids, credit cards, etc. have a smaller, separate section. Once we get on board, it all goes in the safe.

[luvscruising2007]

We have been driving to our embarcation ports. So, I have a folder for the road trip, maps, hotel reservations and other pertinent details.

I have a folder for each port and reservations for excursions, maybe a map of the port area.

I have zip bag that I use for our passports and set sail pass.

It all goes in our carryon or backpack.

[Flatbush Flyer]

What do you use, or how do you keep your documents/paperwork organized for your cruise?

 

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TripIt on 2 iPhone; PDFs on same 2 iPhone and in iCloud; additional copies on USB thumb drive (along with complete medical records.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

I stick everything in an envelope...no organization....but what I need is in the envelope.

[minnesotamamafish]

I use a plastic 7 pocket according binder. The front pocket has my packing list and the don't forget before I leave list. The second, our travel reservations. The third, embarkation day info and boarding passes. The rest are for ports and excursions. The back holds our birth certificates.

During the trip, I also put in the daily planner sheets for souvenirs to bring home.

I hope you find what works best for you. The planning is almost as much fun as the trip!

[teknoge3k]

TripIt on 2 iPhone; PDFs on same 2 iPhone and in iCloud; additional copies on USB thumb drive (along with complete medical records.

 

 

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We use TripIt also for everything. It is a great app that has all of the info we need. Any other documents that's not in TripIt then I save as a PDF on my phone in case I need them.

[PROCRUISE]

I stick everything in an envelope...no organization....but what I need is in the envelope.

 

Yep, very similar operation here. Leaving this Saturday (1/6/18) on 31st cruise and I still do paperwork the same way as my first cruise. Business size envelopes for: airline, pre cruise hotel, ship boarding, and one for private tours. That's it!

[cusoon]

Using my phone is the best, but there are times when service is poor, so I take a simplified accordion style envelope with tabs on the top for labeling. One tab is embarkation paperwork, next one is any amenities on board that I have prepaid, then use the other for excursion receipts and one for copies of medical insurance and RX information that my drug store provides the others for whatever is left. I keep my passports in a separate Wallet.

 

 

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[Philob]

Using my phone is the best, but there are times when service is poor, so I take a simplified accordion style envelope with tabs on the top for labeling. One tab is embarkation paperwork, next one is any amenities on board that I have prepaid, then use the other for excursion receipts and one for copies of medical insurance and RX information that my drug store provides the others for whatever is left. I keep my passports in a separate Wallet.

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I use an accordion file with the phone as a backup. Last non-US airport I was in had free WiFi, but you needed a local telephone number to sign on. I have T-Mobile and the best mobile data signal I could get at the airport was "E", plus China blocks all things Google so I couldn't get into my G-Drive. I had M$ OneDrive as back-up but the "E" was too slow.

[MicCanberra]

We keep electronic copies of everything on the phone, and some hard copies of the important documents, emails and E-tickets in a flexi-folder. Passports, visa's and Credit cards in a special holder kept on our person.

[jlb91454]

I like several other posters use a plastic accordorian folder with different colored tabs as dividers. Have flight info in one tab, hotel info another tab, embarking paperwork another tab, etc. and it is in my backpack that I carry on the ship

[Pudgesmom]

Using my phone is the best, but there are times when service is poor, so I take a simplified accordion style envelope with tabs on the top for labeling. One tab is embarkation paperwork, next one is any amenities on board that I have prepaid, then use the other for excursion receipts and one for copies of medical insurance and RX information that my drug store provides the others for whatever is left. I keep my passports in a separate Wallet.

 

 

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You don’t need service if you store the documents on your phone, like in an app. I usually just take a photo of important reservation info and carry passports. Easy and saves lots of paper so it’s also good for the environment.

[Keith1010]

I keep a set of file folders for anything important we need to take with us:

 

copy of insurance

documents

spreadsheet/calendar of what we have booked

details on tours

airline related info.

hotel reservations

private cars

 

These are examples. Some go in their own folder and others are combined.

 

For a few items I scan them and they are on my phone and also computer.

 

Keith

[capriccio]

I keep a set of file folders for anything important we need to take with us:

 

copy of insurance

documents

spreadsheet/calendar of what we have booked

details on tours

airline related info.

hotel reservations

private cars

 

These are examples. Some go in their own folder and others are combined.

 

For a few items I scan them and they are on my phone and also computer.

 

Keith

 

We tend to take longer cruises with many private tours so I too keep all that info organized in an accordion folder in date order. That makes it much easier to pull out the appropriate info the night before. I also bring along a business size envelope for each tour with the day, date, company name, time, meeting place, amount due including tip, etc. (just cut the appropriate line from my excursion worksheet) taped to the front. When we get to the ship I fill each envelop with the appropriate amount and put the stack (held together with a rubber band) in the safe in date order. Then all I have to do is grab the envelop on the day of the tour.

[Markanddonna]

Everything depends on how complicated the trip is:

 

Short- electronic backups, but still carry the critical paperwork (flights, hotels, etc.) in a paper folder.

 

Long trip (4weeks +): I use plastic sleeves for my critical items in a 1/2 inch binder. I usually have info on specific destinations, museums, and categorize the printouts. I also have a lot of back up and extra info on my phone and Kindle. I still like summaries of paper copies, but condense them down and dispose of them when we finish that part of the journey. There have been times where my technology failed me in Europe, so I'm not ready to go all electronic.

[navybankerteacher]

We just reserve a section of our backpack for paperwork - boarding passes, hotel confirmations, excursion confirmations. Passports, ids, credit cards, etc. have a smaller, separate section. Once we get on board, it all goes in the safe.

 

When it comes to actually traveling, passports, ID's, boarding passes (essential docs) do not go in back pack or anywhere not on my person. That is why I always wear a blazer when traveling: not only have I a jacket to wear when indicated on a cruise, I have pockets to carry the essentials - and not risk losing them in a carry-on.

[ger_77]

I went to the dollar store, purchased a 7" x 4" coupon booklet and use that for all of our travels. There are several dividers that I've labelled "Flight", "Hotel Pre-Cruise", "Cruise Docs", "Excursions", "Hotel Post Cruise", "Flight Home", "Insurance" and for our European and Asian travels "Embassy Info". I print off just what I need (you really don't need all 12 pages of your cruise contract), fold them up and slip them into the appropriate slot. The folder sits nicely in my travel purse and has all the info we need. If DH wants to know anything (never does!), I just hand him the folder. We each carry our own passports, that way we can go through different security lines if required.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)