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Privacy & Cookies

How The Cruise Lab handles data across its free tools. The short version: we collect almost nothing.

Effective 24 October 2026 · Version 2

The short version

The detail

1.Who we are

The Cruise Lab is a collection of free web tools for cruise passengers, published at thecruiselab.com and its associated tool sites (together, the “Sites”). The Sites are built and operated by Stuart Brodie, an independent developer based in Dunfermline, Scotland, United Kingdom.

For the purposes of UK data-protection law, Stuart Brodie is the data controller for the limited personal data described in this policy. You can reach us at hello@thecruiselab.com.

The Cruise Lab is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Princess Cruises, MSC Cruises, or any cruise line.

2.What this policy covers

This policy applies to the public tool sites in The Cruise Lab estate, including Good Cabin Bad Cabin, Sea You Soon, GetMyCruiseWeather, GetMyBarTab, GetMyCruiseConnection, Shore Thing, Ocean View, Grand Voyage, the link hub, and the hub landing page.

3.Information we collect

We've designed the tools to collect as little as possible. In practice that means:

  • No account data. There is no sign-up, login, profile or password anywhere in the estate.
  • Information you enter into a tool — such as your cruise ports, sailing dates, or a drinks-package price — is processed in your browser to produce your result. It is not transmitted to us or stored on our servers. Where a tool remembers your last entry between visits (for example, Shore Thing remembering your itinerary), it does so using your browser's local storage on your own device, which only you can see and clear.
  • Anonymous usage statistics. We collect aggregated, non-identifying data about how the Sites are used — for example, page views and general country-level location — so we can see which tools are useful. See section 4.
  • Technical data that any website receives automatically, such as your IP address and browser type, is processed by our hosting and analytics providers to deliver and secure the Sites. We do not use this to identify you personally.
  • Anything you choose to send us by email, including your email address and whatever you include in your message.

4.Analytics

We're moving the estate onto Cloudflare Web Analytics, a privacy-first analytics service that measures visits without cookies and without collecting personal data or building a profile of you.

One tool, GetMyCruiseWeather, currently also uses Google Analytics, which does set cookies and processes technical data (such as a truncated IP address) to report aggregated usage. Where Google Analytics is in use, you can opt out using Google's browser add-on or by declining analytics cookies where a control is offered.

5.Cookies and similar technologies

A cookie is a small file a website can store in your browser. Most of the estate uses no cookies at all. Where cookies or similar technologies are used, they fall into these groups:

  • Analytics cookies — only on pages that use Google Analytics (see section 4). Cloudflare Web Analytics does not use cookies.
  • Embedded content — some pages (notably Ocean View) embed third-party content such as YouTube videos, Internet Archive players and a ship-tracker map. When that content loads, the provider may set its own cookies. These are governed by the provider's own privacy policy, not ours.
  • Local storage — strictly speaking not a cookie, but worth naming: some tools save your most recent inputs on your device so you don't have to re-enter them. This never leaves your browser and you can clear it at any time via your browser settings.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time. Doing so won't stop the tools working, though embedded videos and similar features may behave differently.

6.No affiliate links or commission

The Cruise Lab tools are free, and we do not carry affiliate links. We earn no commission from anything the tools link to, and no third party pays us to feature, rank or recommend their products.

When a tool points you to something — a cruise line, a connectivity provider, a piece of gear — it's only because we think it's the honest answer to the question the tool is helping you with. Nothing we suggest is influenced by money.

7.Third-party services we rely on

To run the Sites we use a small number of reputable third parties, each of which may process technical data on our behalf or under their own terms:

  • Cloudflare — hosting (Cloudflare Pages), content delivery, security and privacy-first analytics.
  • Open-Meteo — historical weather data, requested directly by your browser when you look up a port. Only the port location and date you choose are sent; no personal data.
  • Google — Google Fonts (typography), YouTube (embedded video on Ocean View), and Google Analytics on GetMyCruiseWeather.
  • Internet Archive and VesselFinder — embedded video and ship-tracking content on Ocean View.

We do not sell your data, and we do not share personal data with third parties for their own marketing.

8.Legal basis for processing

Under UK GDPR we rely on the following legal bases:

  • Legitimate interests — for anonymous, privacy-friendly analytics, for keeping the Sites secure and working, and for responding to any enquiry you send us, where these do not override your rights and freedoms.
  • Consent — where a cookie is not strictly necessary (for example analytics cookies or third-party embeds), we rely on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time through your browser settings.

9.How long we keep data

We keep as little as possible, for as short a time as possible. Aggregated analytics are retained only in summary form. Information you enter into a tool lives on your own device and is cleared by you. Emails you send us are kept only as long as needed to deal with your enquiry, after which they are deleted.

10.International transfers

Some of our providers (such as Cloudflare and Google) operate globally, so limited technical data may be processed on servers outside the UK. Where that happens, those providers operate under recognised safeguards for international data transfers, such as the UK's International Data Transfer Agreement or equivalent standard contractual clauses.

11.Your rights

Because we hold so little personal data, most of these rights will rarely be needed — but under UK GDPR you have the right to:

  • ask what personal data (if any) we hold about you, and get a copy;
  • ask us to correct data that is wrong, or complete data that is incomplete;
  • ask us to delete your data;
  • object to, or ask us to restrict, our processing;
  • ask us to transfer your data to you or another provider, where applicable;
  • withdraw any consent you've given, at any time.

To exercise any of these, email hello@thecruiselab.com. You also have the right to complain to the UK's data-protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), if you think we've mishandled your data — though we'd be grateful for the chance to put things right first.

12.Children

The Sites are aimed at adults planning cruises and are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

13.Links to other sites

The tools link out to cruise lines, connectivity providers and other third parties. Once you follow a link off our Sites, this policy no longer applies — the site you land on has its own privacy policy and terms, which we'd encourage you to read.

14.Changes to this policy

As the estate grows, we'll keep this policy up to date and bump the version and effective date at the top of the page. Material changes will be reflected here; please check back from time to time.

15.Contact

Questions about privacy, cookies or your data? Email hello@thecruiselab.com and we'll come back to you.