Cruise Buddy

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Local Backup ​

Cruise Buddy stores all of your cruise data in a local database on your device. There's no cloud account and no automatic sync. The Export local backup action in Settings is how you take a copy you can keep elsewhere.

📷 Screenshot needed: Export local backup (/images/settings/backup.png)

What gets exported ​

The backup is a single JSON file that includes:

  • Every cruise, with all its fields.
  • All travellers.
  • All itinerary days and excursions.
  • All travel items — hotels, flights, parking, car hire, additions.
  • All packing items, to-dos, notes, reminders.
  • All payments and spend items.
  • App settings (theme, daily tips toggle, etc.).

Document files (PDFs and images attached to cruises and itinerary days) are referenced by name but not embedded in the backup — they remain in the app's data folder.

Creating a backup ​

Tap Export local backup. Cruise Buddy generates the JSON file and opens the system share sheet, so you can:

  • Save the file to Files, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
  • Email it to yourself.
  • Send it via any other share-supporting app.

The file is named with the export date so it's easy to find later.

Restoring a backup ​

Restoring isn't a one-click action today. The exported JSON is intended as a human-readable archive — the format is documented and stable, so you can reconstruct cruises from it manually, but there's no in-app "import this backup" flow. For sharing a single cruise to another device, use the encrypted share link flow instead.

A proper import-backup feature is on the roadmap; if you'd like to vote it up, send feedback.

When to back up ​

Good times to take a backup:

  • After any big planning session — adding all the day-by-day excursions, building the packing list, etc.
  • Before changing devices — you'll want a copy of every cruise to re-create on the new phone.
  • End of a cruise — once everything's logged, take a snapshot of the trip as it actually happened.

Privacy ​

The backup file contains the raw contents of your cruises in plain text. Treat it as you would any document with personal data — store it somewhere you control, and don't post it publicly.