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#1
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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 |
#2
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My 2nd cruise, at long last!
"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 |
#3
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My 2nd cruise, at long last!
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 |
#4
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My 2nd cruise, at long last!
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 |
#5
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My 2nd cruise, at long last!
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 |
#6
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My 2nd cruise, at long last!
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 |
#7
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My 2nd cruise, at long last!
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? :-) |
#8
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My 2nd cruise, at long last!
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 |
#9
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My 2nd cruise, at long last!
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 |
#10
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My 2nd cruise, at long last!
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 |
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