My 2nd cruise, at long last!

Well, I did it. I finally booked a cruise. Our first (and only) cruise
was nearly 5 years ago. It was just about the best week of my life, but
other family members were not so enthused. My son was ready to go home
by the 2nd day. No real reason but mostly it was just too much family
time for him. He later refused to go on any vacation with us. We were
kind of vacation hostages because at first he was too young to be left
home alone. Later we just didn't trust him home alone. He's 20 now and
has his own place and pretty much supports himself. He has grown up.
When we started planning this cruise we wanted to include our daughter,
because she loved our last cruise as much as I did. Suddenly our son
wants to go too. (Wish us luck!)

We started browsing the choices. My daughter found the one we settled
on. Carnival Freedom on May 23rd. We all have passports now, since the
one my son recently applied for came on Saturday. We have no local
travel agents within an hour drive of here and reserving the cruise from
the Carnival web site was easy so I just went ahead and did it.

I'll probably have question and I'll mostly check with Carnival for
answers but I may ask here for opinions from all you experienced
cruisers. My first question is this. When I finished the reservation, I
was shown a "My Documents" page. It wants me to choose between "Yes, I
want Electronic Documents" or "No, I want paper cruise documents". I
know the airlines, long ago, went to e-tickets and that has worked out
fine. What about cruises? Should I go for the paper documents? For one
thing, one of Carnival's own web pages warns that you can't even get
into Port Everglades unless you show proof that you will be taking one
of the cruise ships. Wouldn't paper documents kind of help with that?

Steve

"Steve" wrote in message
...


Well, I did it. I finally booked a cruise. Our first (and only) cruise was
nearly 5 years ago. It was just about the best week of my life, but other
family members were not so enthused. My son was ready to go home by the
2nd day. No real reason but mostly it was just too much family time for
him. He later refused to go on any vacation with us. We were kind of
vacation hostages because at first he was too young to be left home alone.
Later we just didn't trust him home alone. He's 20 now and has his own
place and pretty much supports himself. He has grown up. When we started
planning this cruise we wanted to include our daughter, because she loved
our last cruise as much as I did. Suddenly our son wants to go too. (Wish
us luck!)

We started browsing the choices. My daughter found the one we settled on.
Carnival Freedom on May 23rd. We all have passports now, since the one my
son recently applied for came on Saturday. We have no local travel agents
within an hour drive of here and reserving the cruise from the Carnival
web site was easy so I just went ahead and did it.

I'll probably have question and I'll mostly check with Carnival for
answers but I may ask here for opinions from all you experienced cruisers.
My first question is this. When I finished the reservation, I was shown a
"My Documents" page. It wants me to choose between "Yes, I want Electronic
Documents" or "No, I want paper cruise documents". I know the airlines,
long ago, went to e-tickets and that has worked out fine. What about
cruises? Should I go for the paper documents? For one thing, one of
Carnival's own web pages warns that you can't even get into Port
Everglades unless you show proof that you will be taking one of the cruise
ships. Wouldn't paper documents kind of help with that?

Steve

Most people just go with the e-tickets. You'll do an on-line registration
and print out a page.

I don't live near the TA's that I use... I met both here. I deal with them
via e-mail or on the phone. I think it's a good idea to use an agent, since
they have things like price tracking software that alerts them to price
reductions. Wanna bet that you don't get a call from a Carnival agent, or
from the Carnival webpage if there is a price reduction - LOL? And my TA's
will even fight for price reductions or cabin upgrade if there is a price
drops after final payment. Again... good luck getting anything like that
from Carnival or from their webpage. It's always advantageous to use a
knowledgeable agent. And it's not like you get a better price directly from
Carnival. If you book directly with them, they just keep the full
commission. Sometimes TA's will even split the commission with you, getting
you a better price than the cruise line will give. And it's probably not
too late to use an agent. They can most likely pick up the booking from
Carnival. My TA's done that before - when I booked something with limited
availability (last balcony cabin on the ship) directly with the cruise line
to risk not losing it. The TA was able to pick it up later that day.

--Tom

On Jan 27, 11:07*pm, Steve wrote:
one of Carnival's own web pages warns that you can't even get
into Port Everglades unless you show proof that you will be taking one
of the cruise ships.

Not true. You need a government issued photo ID - preferably a
passport but drivers license will do.

If it were true people could not be picked up by local friends/
relatives post cruise. They wouldn't have tickets to show.

Warren

Steve wrote:
snip

We used the electronic documents for RCI. All we needed to the Caribbean
was a photo ID drivers license and the ship's "Sail Pass." Only checked
by customs when we returned to U.S. Needed the passport only when
checking in to cruise and receiving the Sail Pass.
Marv


I'll probably have question and I'll mostly check with Carnival for
answers but I may ask here for opinions from all you experienced
cruisers. My first question is this. When I finished the reservation, I
was shown a "My Documents" page. It wants me to choose between "Yes, I
want Electronic Documents" or "No, I want paper cruise documents". I
know the airlines, long ago, went to e-tickets and that has worked out
fine. What about cruises? Should I go for the paper documents? For one
thing, one of Carnival's own web pages warns that you can't even get
into Port Everglades unless you show proof that you will be taking one
of the cruise ships. Wouldn't paper documents kind of help with that?

Steve

fine. What about cruises? Should I go for the paper documents? For one

Hi, Steve,

Congrats on taking the plunge on #2! I loved your story about the
kids' reactions, especially the transformation of your son's feelings
from teen to 20-something--so typical. Y'all should have a blast on
the Freedom. If you haven't discovered the Roll Call for that sailing
on the Cruise Critic discussion boards, check it out, as well as the
passenger reviews of the Freedom plus the Ports of Call forums, for
lots of helpful planning info and tips.

E-docs are perfect. When we cruised Carnival in December, you could
revise your online docs and print out up to midnight before cruise
date. I probably wouldn't recommend cutting it that close, but at
least you know you can get that online documentation completed now and
then make any close-to-time tweaks that may become necessary. Maybe
two weeks before, just go in, do your final proof and print out the
final docs, including handy dandy Boarding Pass to go with your
passports, and you will be good to go. Note, also, I thought their
software directions where to find them were a little confusing,
but the printable luggage tags are there, too.

Let us know any other questions you have as you get ready!

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

Tom K wrote:
.........................
I don't live near the TA's that I use... I met both here. I deal with them
via e-mail or on the phone. I think it's a good idea to use an agent, since
they have things like price tracking software that alerts them to price
reductions. Wanna bet that you don't get a call from a Carnival agent, or
from the Carnival webpage if there is a price reduction - LOL? And my TA's
will even fight for price reductions or cabin upgrade if there is a price
drops after final payment. Again... good luck getting anything like that
from Carnival or from their webpage. It's always advantageous to use a
knowledgeable agent. .............................
...............................
--Tom


Thanks Tom. I knew in the back of my mind that a TA would be a good
idea. We used a TA 5 years ago on our first cruise and we were pleased.
A couple of the TA offices that were fairly close have closed now. I'll
be sure and contact a travel agent next time. I expect next time to be
no where near 5 years away this time!

Thanks also to Warren, Marv, and Diana for their replies. Something
useful from each of you.

Steve

Tom K wrote:
...............
Most people just go with the e-tickets. You'll do an on-line registration
and print out a page.
.............................


I'm back.
Wouldn't choosing e-tickets disqualify me from doing the "Doc Dance"
that I keep reading about here? :-)

Steve wrote:


Tom K wrote:
.........................
I don't live near the TA's that I use... I met both here. I deal with
them via e-mail or on the phone. I think it's a good idea to use an
agent, since they have things like price tracking software that alerts
them to price reductions. Wanna bet that you don't get a call from a
Carnival agent, or from the Carnival webpage if there is a price
reduction - LOL? And my TA's will even fight for price reductions or
cabin upgrade if there is a price drops after final payment. Again...
good luck getting anything like that from Carnival or from their
webpage. It's always advantageous to use a knowledgeable agent.
.............................
...............................
--Tom


Thanks Tom. I knew in the back of my mind that a TA would be a good
idea. We used a TA 5 years ago on our first cruise and we were pleased.
A couple of the TA offices that were fairly close have closed now. I'll
be sure and contact a travel agent next time. I expect next time to be
no where near 5 years away this time!

Steve, if you find a TA you want to use you can have your booking
switched over to them.

sue

Steve wrote:


Tom K wrote:
...............
Most people just go with the e-tickets. You'll do an on-line
registration and print out a page.
.............................


I'm back.
Wouldn't choosing e-tickets disqualify me from doing the "Doc Dance"
that I keep reading about here? :-)


You can do the doc dance as soon as you print out your docs.lol

sue

Sue Mullen wrote:


Steve wrote:


Tom K wrote:
...............
Most people just go with the e-tickets. You'll do an on-line
registration and print out a page.
.............................


I'm back.
Wouldn't choosing e-tickets disqualify me from doing the "Doc Dance"
that I keep reading about here? :-)


You can do the doc dance as soon as you print out your docs.lol

sue

OK, if I print my own, I'll do it, but I might feel like I'm cheating
just a bit. :-)

Steve