Cruise Planning Guide & Budget Workbook: Travel Rich. Spend Smart.

Where to Splurge, Where to Save & How to Get More Vacation for Your Money

By Elizabeth Shirey Travel

You want the vacation. You also want to feel good about what you spend.

The balcony looks beautiful. The drink package sounds convenient. The sale says you are saving. But which choices will actually make your cruise better for you?

I created Travel Rich. Spend Smart. to help you answer that question before you give every upgrade a place in your budget.

This guide gives you a practical way to decide where a splurge is worth considering, where a simpler choice still gives you what you want, and which details deserve a closer look.

Maybe your luxury is coffee with a private view. Maybe it is an extraordinary shore experience. Maybe it is arriving without feeling rushed, having one lovely dinner, and coming home comfortable with the bill. You get to decide. These tools help you see the trade-offs.

INSIDE THE BUNDLE

The 28-page Cruise Edition guide

Illustrated advice on complete vacation costs, sale headlines, cabin choices, drink packages, bundled fares, shore days, transportation, and the little choices that can make a realistic budget feel special. Includes my personal cruise observations and worked examples you can apply to a real quote.

The nine-tab Cruise Money Toolkit

Seven practical decision tools: True Vacation Cost, Cabin Upgrade, Drink Package, Bundle Value, Promotion Compare, Excursion Compare, and Splurge vs Save. A Start Here tab and Value Test card complete the workbook. Enter your numbers in the cream cells and use the calculations to make the costs visible.

Four printable planning worksheets

The five-question Value Test, a one-page travel brief, a Splurge / Save plan, and a complete-offer comparison sheet.

50 Questions Worth Asking

An advisor’s question list for promotions, packages, cabins, shore days, documents, logistics, and personal value. Mark the questions that apply to your trip and check the answers before making a decision.

Quick-start instructions with worked examples

Start using the files without building your own spreadsheet or figuring out where to begin.

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH IT

Compare the fare with the cost of the whole vacation. Translate a cabin upgrade into its nightly cost. Compare a package with the drinks you would realistically buy. Value included benefits by what you would actually use. Look at the complete shore day instead of its headline price. Put your priorities into a brief you can use before booking.

The goal is a vacation that reflects what you notice, use, and remember.

IS THIS FOR YOU?

This bundle is for cruise travelers who want practical guidance before paying for extras, and for travelers comparing cruise options who want a clearer view of the complete budget. You can use it for your first cruise or return to it as your preferences change.

THE DETAILS

This is a digital download. No physical book is shipped. The ZIP bundle contains four PDF files, one Excel workbook (.xlsx), and a short personal-use text file. Use Excel for the workbook. It can also be imported into Google Sheets; formatting may differ. No macros are required. A computer is more comfortable for editing the workbook. The PDFs can be read on a phone or tablet.

The guide contains illustrative prices, not live supplier quotes. Availability, policies, and promotions change. Savings are not guaranteed. The purchase is for the files; personalized travel planning and bookings are separate.

You may print and reuse the files for your own planning and your traveling household. Please do not redistribute or resell the bundle. Keep the original files and save a new workbook copy for each trip.

For travel planning inquiries, visit https://elizabethshireytravel.com and choose Start Planning.

REFUND POLICY

All sales are final for this digital download, except where refunds are required by law. For file-access problems or accidental duplicate purchases, contact Elizabeth Shirey Travel through Start Planning at https://elizabethshireytravel.com for help and review.

Ready for more confident cruise decisions?

Get the Cruise Edition bundle and start with the five-question Value Test.

Elizabeth Shirey Travel

Let’s write your next chapter.