Cruise Buddy

Add Your First Cruise ​

When Cruise Buddy is empty you'll see a No cruises yet card with an Add a cruise button. Once you have cruises, use the New cruise button on the dashboard instead. Both open the same five-step setup.

Only the first step is required. Everything else can be filled in now or added later with Edit cruise.

📷 Screenshot needed: Add a cruise – Basics step (/images/getting-started/add-cruise-basics.png)

Step 1 — Basics ​

  • Cruise name — what you'll see on the dashboard. Most people use the destination, e.g. "Norway Fjords 2026".
  • Cruise line — suggested from Cruise Buddy's list of cruise lines as you type, or type your own.
  • Ship — suggested from Cruise Buddy's ship catalogue. Picking a listed ship is what unlocks ship details, deck plans and package prices in the Planner.
  • Departs and Returns — the day you board and the day you disembark.
  • From and Back to — the embarkation and disembarkation ports. Leave Back to blank for a round trip.
  • Cruise reference — the cruise line's own reference for the sailing. For P&O Cruises this is what the itinerary lookup uses.
  • Booking reference — the reference from the agent or website you booked with.

Continue stays disabled until the cruise name, cruise line, both dates and the departure port are filled in, and the return date is not before the departure date.

Step 2 — Cabin & party ​

  • Cabin and Deck — your cabin number and its deck. The deck is where the deck plans open.
  • Cabin type — Inside, Balcony, Suite and so on.
  • Number travelling — how many are in your party. To name them, add people in the cruise's People section after saving.
  • Fly cruise — turn on if you're flying to or from the ship.

Step 3 — Money ​

All optional:

  • Cruise price — the total price. This drives Left to pay on the Overview and in Money.
  • Deposit paid — the deposit you've already paid.
  • Final balance due — when the remainder is due.
  • Onboard credit — any credit included with the booking.

Record the deposit as a payment

Left to pay is worked out from the payments in Money. After saving, add your deposit there as a payment so the balance is right.

Step 4 — Itinerary ​

Build the day-by-day plan, or skip this step and add days later from the cruise's Itinerary.

To add days by hand, choose a date, Port day or At sea, and a port name, then tap Add day. Choosing a port from Cruise Buddy's catalogue fills in its country and map position, which is what the forecasts, maps and Places use. Tap Remove to take a day back out.

P&O Cruises itinerary lookup ​

If the cruise line is P&O Cruises and you entered a Cruise reference and a departure date, the Itinerary step offers Lookup P&O itinerary. Cruise Buddy fetches the published itinerary and shows it for you to check. Tap Replace itinerary to use it in place of any days you've added by hand.

The lookup is free.

Step 5 — Review ​

A summary of the cruise — travellers, cabin, price and the number of itinerary days — so you can check it before saving. Tap Add cruise to save it, and Cruise Buddy opens the new cruise.

If you close the setup part way through, Cruise Buddy asks before throwing your changes away.

Two upcoming cruises on the free tier

Without Plus, Cruise Buddy holds two upcoming cruises at a time. If both spaces are taken, the setup tells you when you try to save and links to Plus. See the two-cruise limit.

Editing later ​

Open the cruise and tap Edit cruise in its header. Every field from the setup is there on one form, including the balance due date and onboard credit.