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Check In and Purchases


jc foster
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Hi, we are new to river cruises and and have two booked (Uniworld s.s.Antoinette and Vantage River Splender. I know that each line may operate differently, but how do they handle check in? Do you meet in a check in area at the port or simply walk on the ship and check in? Are you given a cruise card to make shipboard purchase similar to Celebrity and RCCL? Are you issued an I.D. card? One poster mentioned that Uniworld uses the old style steel or brass door keys. Thanks Clark

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We were on a Greece cruise and had big bulky room keys. We left them on a peg board in the lounge area!!! Never had any problems( but then again, we don't sail with anything expensive either)!!

 

Expenses were made to our rooms with a signature. The boat is small enough that they know who you are!

Edited by CaroleSS
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I went with Vantage to Russia last year. They used real keys. When you left the ship, you handed the keys to reception and when you returned, you picked up your keys. This was how the ship knew who was on the boat and who wasn't. Also, no one loses their key!

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If you are used to ocean cruises, river cruises are amazingly simple. We've only been picked up at the airport and driven to the ship. There's not a port terminal, just a gangplank where you walk on the ship. If you're on a bus, there's generally someone at the shore side of the gangplank to greet you, if not, just walk onto the ship and there's a reception desk. I really don't remember the process once we arrived on board.

On the Uniworld River Ambassador, we received key cards that you swipe. These are strictly key cards and not the all-inclusive id, charge-card, etc. There are shipboard charges, but with almost everything inclusive, you'll actually be charging very little. The bar probably had you sign a ticket or just indicate your room. There's so few passengers (compared to an ocean cruise), if you're someone who regularly charges, they'll know you.

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If you book your transfers via the ship, someone will most likely meet you at the airport. In some instances, the lines give passengers the option to meet at a local hotel, then take a bus to the ship. It all depends on if the ship is leaving from the same city the airport is in. You will also have the option of getting yourself directly to the ship and then walking aboard. Check in is very simple, painless, and very fast.

 

As others have mentioned, there is little to charge to the room: drinks purchased in the bar, possible optional excursions, stamps. You actually sign a form for all purchases.

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jc foster ~ Great question, really! - wish I had asked it last year before our first RC!!!!! I was SO in the "big ship routine" that I contacted our TA about a week before our cruise since I realized that I still didn't have the check-in barcode ID info we always got from Celebrity/RCCL!!! I gues she thought I was nuts but nicely told me that the Viking package (name cards, itinerary booklets, luggage tags, etc) was all I needed!!!

 

When we got to the ship I was shocked that she was correct - they took our luggage, greeted us, gave us our room keys and that was it - faster then checking in at a hotel!!! Bar expenses were handled just as expalined - by signing a slip for them - passengers then received the pink copy - found them in all my DH's pockets!!!!

 

On Viking - at least our cruise - we left our room card at the desk when we left the ship - for a tour or on our own - thus letting them know who was off the ship! And only took a few minutes to get card back as we entered.

 

Yes, river cruising is different from ocean cruising!!!! (and we really enjoy it!!!)

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Just returned from Avalon trip and we rec'd our two door key cards in exchange for passports which we got back a couple days later. We never surrendered the cards when we left the ship but rec'd two shore pass cards (same size as key card) with our room # on them. when returning from shore you handed them back in. One time one card disappeared between handing them to the receptionist and getting into our slot. Rec'd a call shortly before sailing again asking if we were both on board. We could view on our tv in the room all charges we'd made on board, other than optional cruises. There was an error with a bar charge which we mentioned and the charge was quickly reversed. The excursion charges were handled by the Cruise Director and charged separately to our cc rather than reception.

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Check in is so easy, however, please note you may not be able to get into your cabin until sometime in the afternoon. Remember earlier on the day of your arrival was the morning of departure of the previous cruise. The cabin crew have to clean all cabins and get them ready for you in a very short turnaround time.

Not to worry though. Your luggage will be stored and you can explore the ship, or your surroundings and you will be fed. Time to start decompressing. !

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On our recent Viking cruise, we never touched our luggage once the official cruise portion started. We had arrived on our own a day earlier, but once we were on "cruise time" we never touched our luggage.

 

We left it in our hotel room the morning we departed for the ship and it was brought to our ship cabin shortly following check in.

 

At check in we were given one room key, an electronic swipe card. When we left the ship for excursions, we were given shore pass cards which we handed in upon our return so they knew who was/wasn't on the ship. We once forgot to hand them in and they called our cabin to ensure we were on board.

 

For debarkation, we left our bags outisde our cabin door at the designated time and it was brought to the lobby and placed in the taxi by the porter.

 

All on board expenses were charged to the cabin. If we bought a drink at the bar, you signed a chit and were given a copy. Same with items at the gift boutique. We then settled our tab the night prior to debarkation.

 

A very simple, well organized process.

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  • 4 months later...

Anyone out there going on this cruise??? Viking "Torgil".

We've used Cruise Critic in planning for ocean cruises, but not river cruises. However, we are planning on going to Santiago de Compostela, Spain from Porto, after the cruise. Anyone else doing this? We are looking at booking a car and driver for us, or to share. Interested in chatting?

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Anyone out there going on this cruise??? Viking "Torgil".

We've used Cruise Critic in planning for ocean cruises, but not river cruises. However, we are planning on going to Santiago de Compostela, Spain from Porto, after the cruise. Anyone else doing this? We are looking at booking a car and driver for us, or to share. Interested in chatting?

 

You might find more information going to the cruise ports board and looking for 1. your particular cruise and/or 2. the port itself. Another option would be the roll call boards, where you are most likely to find someone going on the same trip as you and looking to share a car and driver. Good luck.:)

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Check in was easy on Viking. We knew our cabin number in advance and on sailing day we were taken to the ship and the doors to the cabins were open - you went to your cabin and your keys and information were there for you. About 15 minutes later our bags were brought to us. They use the credit card style of keys, and we just carried ours with us. Check out night there was a short line but it moved along as guests paid for their extras. I was expecting the long nightmarish check in lines like on an ocean cruise, but there were none! When we were picked up at the airport, the Viking rep was there as we exited baggage claim and asked our names - that was the extent of check in! They did not take any credit card info in advance and we just signed a slip each time we made a purchase - bar/stamps/extra excursion, etc. Enjoy your cruise!

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Just got back from the SS Antoinette on Uniworld. For check-in, you just hand over your passports as ID and they issue you a room key card. You also use this same keycard to scan when you leave/board the ship, so that they know how many passengers are on shore or not. For charging, they simply ask what your room number is - we never had to present the room key or anything.

 

On the River Beatrice, which we sailed earlier this year, Uniworld was still using old keys with large keychain "things" attached, which was very annoying. I much prefer the key card system!

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Just got back from the SS Antoinette on Uniworld. For check-in, you just hand over your passports as ID and they issue you a room key card. You also use this same keycard to scan when you leave/board the ship, so that they know how many passengers are on shore or not. For charging, they simply ask what your room number is - we never had to present the room key or anything.

 

On the River Beatrice, which we sailed earlier this year, Uniworld was still using old keys with large keychain "things" attached, which was very annoying. I much prefer the key card system!

 

It seems better in every way. I hope all river cruise lines will adopt this.

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