Carnival online boarding pass "FunPass" is not impressive. Not yet anyways.

I've sailed Princess in the past and have been quite satisfied with
the way you can pre-register all of your Homeland security stuff on
their website -- passport information and so on. You can also sign up
for *most* of the shore excursions that way on Princess. In keeping
with the times, some cruise lines are starting to allow spa bookings
online as well.

As an on-line kind of guy, I appreciate these touches. It seems
rather uncivilized to fight for reservations right at the begining of
a cruise vacation. I'd rather do it far in advance, from the comfort
of the internet.

So naturally I was thrilled when I discovered that Carnival had just
started a similar service at http://www.carnival.com/mycruise . I'm
participating in a sort of "family reunion" cruise next April, giving
me an opportunity to try the FunPass system. Having some time on my
hands due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to give it a shot.

Not very satisfying....

The system started off by asking for me for my last name, booking
number, ship name, and departure date. Certainly it could figure out
some of these items on its own given the booking number.

After that, the system asked for the passport information. I had to
select "United States" from an exhaustive list of countries. Since
the vast majority of Carnival passengers are from the US, it should
default to the US and still allow other choices. There's also a
wierd bug here -- the page gives an option to select "passport" or
"birth certificate". As soon as I checked "passport", I received an
error message saying that I hadn't filled out the form properly.
Unfortunately, the form didn't even appear until I checked the
passport box, so the error itself is in error. It shouldn't have
complained until I had a chance to fill in the information.

The page is not organized very well -- for instance, the expiration
date is requested before the issue date, and it asks for the issuing
city even though that isn't listed on U.S. Passports. As it turns
out, a quick google search yielded that all U.S. passports are issued
in Portsmouth, NH, so that's what I put.

Moving on to name and address information, the page can't handle some
rather obvious data entry issues -- it didn't like it when I put
parenthesis around my area code, and it didn't like my nine digit zip
code, even though there was room for each on the form.

The final page is the most confusing -- post cruise information. It
asks for plenty of flight data, once again with exhaustive lists of
cities. To make it easier, it could have had the departure city
defaulted to the arrival port. Since I'm taking a cruise that ends up
in Tampa, my guess is that more than 50% of those flying fly out of
Tampa as well. So a default would have been nice.

I then went through the same thing for my wife. Interestingly, it
would conveniently provide an option to copy the my address
information over to my wife's record, it forced me to retype the
airline information for her. My guess is that people with the same
address would also have the same airline information.

When I got done with all of this, it said that my entries were
incomplete but it didn't provide any details. I went to "view
summary" and it appeared that I had entered everything.

So, I decided to call 1-888-Carnival, advertised as the 24-hour a day
link to the Fun Ships. There was a voice message saying that
Carnival was closed for the New Year's holiday and would re-open in
January. The voice response system then read off some kind of error
message to me saying that I had keyed an incorrect option - I had
keyed nothing - then repeated itself over and over again. (Keep in
mind that I was calling on Thanksgiving, not New Year's).

I guess I got what I deserved for trying all of this on a holiday. I
hope they get the bugs worked out, and maybe someday you'll be able to
book shore tours, spa appointments, and restaurant reservations on
Carnival rather than fighting with the mob on embarkation day.

Doesn't seem like rocket science....

For what it's worth, it appears to have been coded in Microsoft .NET
(.aspx)

Guess I'll try again later.

Same story with us, Bob. You fill in all the information, and it comes back
as 'incomplete'. I'm thinking there is a bug in the system. We had
particular trouble with the 'fare basis/ticket designator' question, as we
have e-tickets, and the example it shows has nothing to do with e-tickets,
and the 'help' button isn't any.

But...

The vast majority say that the cruise we chose is great, and if putting up
with some limited BS is the price to pay, oh well.

If you figure it out, let us know, will you? Thanks.


"Bob Davis" wrote in message
om...
I've sailed Princess in the past and have been quite satisfied with
the way you can pre-register all of your Homeland security stuff on
their website -- passport information and so on. You can also sign up
for *most* of the shore excursions that way on Princess. In keeping
with the times, some cruise lines are starting to allow spa bookings
online as well.

As an on-line kind of guy, I appreciate these touches. It seems
rather uncivilized to fight for reservations right at the begining of
a cruise vacation. I'd rather do it far in advance, from the comfort
of the internet.

So naturally I was thrilled when I discovered that Carnival had just
started a similar service at http://www.carnival.com/mycruise . I'm
participating in a sort of "family reunion" cruise next April, giving
me an opportunity to try the FunPass system. Having some time on my
hands due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to give it a shot.

Not very satisfying....

The system started off by asking for me for my last name, booking
number, ship name, and departure date. Certainly it could figure out
some of these items on its own given the booking number.

After that, the system asked for the passport information. I had to
select "United States" from an exhaustive list of countries. Since
the vast majority of Carnival passengers are from the US, it should
default to the US and still allow other choices. There's also a
wierd bug here -- the page gives an option to select "passport" or
"birth certificate". As soon as I checked "passport", I received an
error message saying that I hadn't filled out the form properly.
Unfortunately, the form didn't even appear until I checked the
passport box, so the error itself is in error. It shouldn't have
complained until I had a chance to fill in the information.

The page is not organized very well -- for instance, the expiration
date is requested before the issue date, and it asks for the issuing
city even though that isn't listed on U.S. Passports. As it turns
out, a quick google search yielded that all U.S. passports are issued
in Portsmouth, NH, so that's what I put.

Moving on to name and address information, the page can't handle some
rather obvious data entry issues -- it didn't like it when I put
parenthesis around my area code, and it didn't like my nine digit zip
code, even though there was room for each on the form.

The final page is the most confusing -- post cruise information. It
asks for plenty of flight data, once again with exhaustive lists of
cities. To make it easier, it could have had the departure city
defaulted to the arrival port. Since I'm taking a cruise that ends up
in Tampa, my guess is that more than 50% of those flying fly out of
Tampa as well. So a default would have been nice.

I then went through the same thing for my wife. Interestingly, it
would conveniently provide an option to copy the my address
information over to my wife's record, it forced me to retype the
airline information for her. My guess is that people with the same
address would also have the same airline information.

When I got done with all of this, it said that my entries were
incomplete but it didn't provide any details. I went to "view
summary" and it appeared that I had entered everything.

So, I decided to call 1-888-Carnival, advertised as the 24-hour a day
link to the Fun Ships. There was a voice message saying that
Carnival was closed for the New Year's holiday and would re-open in
January. The voice response system then read off some kind of error
message to me saying that I had keyed an incorrect option - I had
keyed nothing - then repeated itself over and over again. (Keep in
mind that I was calling on Thanksgiving, not New Year's).

I guess I got what I deserved for trying all of this on a holiday. I
hope they get the bugs worked out, and maybe someday you'll be able to
book shore tours, spa appointments, and restaurant reservations on
Carnival rather than fighting with the mob on embarkation day.

Doesn't seem like rocket science....

For what it's worth, it appears to have been coded in Microsoft .NET
(.aspx)

Guess I'll try again later.

On 27 Nov 2003 14:32:44 -0800, (Bob Davis) wrote:

As it turns
out, a quick google search yielded that all U.S. passports are issued
in Portsmouth, NH, so that's what I put.

Hi Bob,

FWIW, all passports are not issued in Portsmouth. Did you get to
where they asked you what car rental company you are using after your
cruise? It is fairly obvious that Carnival is collecting much more
info than is required for TSA security since the other cruise
companies are not collecting anywhere near this much info. What do
you think Carnival is going to use this info for? g

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

(Bob Davis) wrote in
om:


The page is not organized very well -- for instance, the expiration
date is requested before the issue date, and it asks for the issuing
city even though that isn't listed on U.S. Passports. As it turns
out, a quick google search yielded that all U.S. passports are issued
in Portsmouth, NH, so that's what I put.

I sent mine to renew to Pittsburgh. It now says National Passport Center
that is what I would put on the form. My old one was issued in Seattle

Moving on to name and address information, the page can't handle some
rather obvious data entry issues -- it didn't like it when I put
parenthesis around my area code, and it didn't like my nine digit zip
code, even though there was room for each on the form.

Balky telephone formats are not restricted to Carnival. get Microsoft
Outlook and have fun! An insurance website I frequent is extremely fussy
about its own perculiar and particular manner of putting in numbers. NO
parens, no spaces but hyphens are mandatory.

jcoulter wrote in message .204.17...
(Bob Davis) wrote in
om:


The page is not organized very well -- for instance, the expiration
date is requested before the issue date, and it asks for the issuing
city even though that isn't listed on U.S. Passports. As it turns
out, a quick google search yielded that all U.S. passports are issued
in Portsmouth, NH, so that's what I put.

I sent mine to renew to Pittsburgh. It now says National Passport Center
that is what I would put on the form. My old one was issued in Seattle

Moving on to name and address information, the page can't handle some
rather obvious data entry issues -- it didn't like it when I put
parenthesis around my area code, and it didn't like my nine digit zip
code, even though there was room for each on the form.

I successfully completed the Carnival Fun Pass for my upcoming cruise
in February on the Spirit. I am Canadian and selecting my country from
the menu was not a problem. Regarding citizenship information I had to
attempt this page twice I eventually checked both passport and birth
certificate then was successful. I printed the summary for both my
husband and I so we are all set! I found it simpler than the Princess
on-line registration. I am all for expediating the embarkation
process!

Balky telephone formats are not restricted to Carnival. get Microsoft
Outlook and have fun! An insurance website I frequent is extremely fussy
about its own perculiar and particular manner of putting in numbers. NO
parens, no spaces but hyphens are mandatory.

Bob,

I had the same problem but eventually figured out that entering flight
information was not enough, they also want to know how you're getting
to the airport. When I checked the Taxi box in addition to the Flight
box I finally got a COMPLETE status from the system.

I hope this helps,

Mark R.




"Amused" wrote in message thlink.net...
Same story with us, Bob. You fill in all the information, and it comes back
as 'incomplete'. I'm thinking there is a bug in the system. We had
particular trouble with the 'fare basis/ticket designator' question, as we
have e-tickets, and the example it shows has nothing to do with e-tickets,
and the 'help' button isn't any.

But...

The vast majority say that the cruise we chose is great, and if putting up
with some limited BS is the price to pay, oh well.

If you figure it out, let us know, will you? Thanks.


"Bob Davis" wrote in message
om...
I've sailed Princess in the past and have been quite satisfied with
the way you can pre-register all of your Homeland security stuff on
their website -- passport information and so on. You can also sign up
for *most* of the shore excursions that way on Princess. In keeping
with the times, some cruise lines are starting to allow spa bookings
online as well.

As an on-line kind of guy, I appreciate these touches. It seems
rather uncivilized to fight for reservations right at the begining of
a cruise vacation. I'd rather do it far in advance, from the comfort
of the internet.

So naturally I was thrilled when I discovered that Carnival had just
started a similar service at http://www.carnival.com/mycruise . I'm
participating in a sort of "family reunion" cruise next April, giving
me an opportunity to try the FunPass system. Having some time on my
hands due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to give it a shot.

Not very satisfying....

The system started off by asking for me for my last name, booking
number, ship name, and departure date. Certainly it could figure out
some of these items on its own given the booking number.

After that, the system asked for the passport information. I had to
select "United States" from an exhaustive list of countries. Since
the vast majority of Carnival passengers are from the US, it should
default to the US and still allow other choices. There's also a
wierd bug here -- the page gives an option to select "passport" or
"birth certificate". As soon as I checked "passport", I received an
error message saying that I hadn't filled out the form properly.
Unfortunately, the form didn't even appear until I checked the
passport box, so the error itself is in error. It shouldn't have
complained until I had a chance to fill in the information.

The page is not organized very well -- for instance, the expiration
date is requested before the issue date, and it asks for the issuing
city even though that isn't listed on U.S. Passports. As it turns
out, a quick google search yielded that all U.S. passports are issued
in Portsmouth, NH, so that's what I put.

Moving on to name and address information, the page can't handle some
rather obvious data entry issues -- it didn't like it when I put
parenthesis around my area code, and it didn't like my nine digit zip
code, even though there was room for each on the form.

The final page is the most confusing -- post cruise information. It
asks for plenty of flight data, once again with exhaustive lists of
cities. To make it easier, it could have had the departure city
defaulted to the arrival port. Since I'm taking a cruise that ends up
in Tampa, my guess is that more than 50% of those flying fly out of
Tampa as well. So a default would have been nice.

I then went through the same thing for my wife. Interestingly, it
would conveniently provide an option to copy the my address
information over to my wife's record, it forced me to retype the
airline information for her. My guess is that people with the same
address would also have the same airline information.

When I got done with all of this, it said that my entries were
incomplete but it didn't provide any details. I went to "view
summary" and it appeared that I had entered everything.

So, I decided to call 1-888-Carnival, advertised as the 24-hour a day
link to the Fun Ships. There was a voice message saying that
Carnival was closed for the New Year's holiday and would re-open in
January. The voice response system then read off some kind of error
message to me saying that I had keyed an incorrect option - I had
keyed nothing - then repeated itself over and over again. (Keep in
mind that I was calling on Thanksgiving, not New Year's).

I guess I got what I deserved for trying all of this on a holiday. I
hope they get the bugs worked out, and maybe someday you'll be able to
book shore tours, spa appointments, and restaurant reservations on
Carnival rather than fighting with the mob on embarkation day.

Doesn't seem like rocket science....

For what it's worth, it appears to have been coded in Microsoft .NET
(.aspx)

Guess I'll try again later.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, there *is* a way through the
unimpressive FunPass system.

Under the "post cruise plans" tab, there is a column of checkboxes for
car, flight, shuttle, and so on. I had just checked "flight" and
supplied my flight information.

It seems that you also have to tell Carnival how you will get to the
airport. I checked "car" and then "taxi" and eventually received a
confirmation that my FunPass was complete.

Seems unnecessarily difficult, and I'm not sure how security is
improved by the obscure error message they gave me. If it had just
said "tell us more about how you plan to get from the ship to the
airport..." I would have been able to figure it out.

Not sure why they need my SSN, but I guess I could have just filled
out a paper form if I was really worried.

As to Ray's comment that no other cruise line asks for as much
information as Carnival under the guise of "Homeland Security", I can
only direct people to the Carnival Privacy Policy "Carnival may use
the information it gathers for its own internal purposes."

Hmmmm.

On 1 Dec 2003 12:43:52 -0800, (Bob Davis) wrote:

As to Ray's comment that no other cruise line asks for as much
information as Carnival under the guise of "Homeland Security", I can
only direct people to the Carnival Privacy Policy "Carnival may use
the information it gathers for its own internal purposes."

Hmmmm.

Hi Bob,

Double Hmmmm. ;=)

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

As to Ray's comment that no other cruise line asks for as much
information as Carnival under the guise of "Homeland Security"

I have seen a little too much of the marketing departments crawling into the
online passenger registration forms. Honestly, it ticks me off. If the lines
want passengers to take this seriously, they need to stick to the required
questions ONLY. I have had quite a few clients call me wondering why I told
them to take a marketing survey! It is also a bit insulting to the passenger,
stating that it is a legal requirement for security and safety, then piling on
the "where can we take you to next time?" questions.

My 2 cents.

Regards, Keith