Boarding Pass, Lugage Tags - New Policy?

Although I am aware that I do not really need to register my credit card until I get to the check-in desk, in the past I have always pre-registered on line.

I am however, not sure whether or not, on previous occasions, I have ever tried to print my cruise documentation before registering my credit card, but I do not recall any problem printing my boarding pass and luggage tags.

This morning I went to print the boarding pass and luggage tags for our forthcoming cruise, but have not yet pre-registered my credit card.

Much to my surprise, the system has refused to print either my boarding pass or my luggage tags until I have entered my credit card details and completed an ESign Authorisation.

This is what I see when I went into Cruise Personaliser this morning and tried to print my paperwork:

"TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

Below are links to Boarding Passes and Luggage Tags for each guest on your booking. If a Boarding Pass is not yet available, please provide the noted missing information.

BOARDING PASSES & LUGGAGE TAGS:

Print a Boarding Pass for each guest, and a Luggage Tag for each piece of luggage you will bring

My Name:

•Credit Card information incomplete Complete it now

•ESign Authorization required for credit card Complete it now

Boarding Pass and Luggage Tags cannot be issued. In lieu of the Boarding Pass, please print and bring a copy of your Travel Summary.

You will be able to complete your missing information at cruise check-in.

Generic luggage tags will be available at the pier."

Strange, I was always under the impression that quite a fair number of passengers, and perhaps even the majority of those who rely on their TA doing all the work for them do not register their credit card until they arrive at check-in, but that most passengers seem to arrive at the cruise terminal with luggage tags attached and a printed boarding pass.

So, is this policy of refusing to print baggage tags and boarding passes until you have entered your credit card details and ESign Authorisation into cruise personaliser something new, or is it just that it has always been that way but that I have not noticed?

Seems to me that if it is new, and is intended to 'encourage' folks to pre-register their credit card on pain of inconvenience if you don't, it will cause lots of problems

I would have thought that it is in Princess' own interest to have everyone arriving with pre-printed baggage tags, if for no reason other than it dramatically reduces the risk of mislabelling of bags. I would also think that from a logistical point of view, it is more important to have folks arriving with printed boarding passes and bags all tagged than to have them pre-register their credit card.

Certainly I can imagine it will be quite chaotic if it results in loads of passengers now arriving without pre-labelled luggage, with no Boarding Pass, and relying entirely on their Travel Summary.

Rather implies a boarding pass is not necessary.

I have always been under the impression that one must enter a credit card in the system and provide passport info etc., before printing boarding pass and luggage tags. One needs to pay for the cruise too . This changed after Princess stopped sending luggage tags and boarding passes in the mail.

I have been doing this as long as it could be done on line. So does not seem like a new policy me.

We cruise HAL, Cunard, Celebrity... same on those lines.

Nothing new. This has been the case for many years. You can't print your boarding pass or luggage tags without completing pre-registration.

I think we've been doing this since Princess did away with sending cruise docs/luggage tags and we've had to do it ourselves on line. I've always entered a card. I can't recall if they need it again when you check in.

Then if we want to pay cash we go the second to the last night and pay if known expenses (if we are doing specialty dining, spa services, etc) and end up with maybe $50 charged on a new card, switch to ATM at the end.

I don't think it's a new policy but because a debit card has a lock on it we usually register a credit card and switch to our debit

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I don't think it's a new policy but because a debit card has a lock on it we usually register a credit card and switch to our debit

Thanks for that everyone.

Obviously I was aware of the need to enter emergency contacts, insurance details, passport data before being able to print one's boarding pass, but clearly I have never before tried to print my boarding pass until after I have entered my credit card information.

Won't be a problem for me as I always pre-enter my details. We actually pay up over here at day 90, meaning my cruise balance has been fully paid for some time So, when I noticed we were at day 75 and having already entered what I thought was essential data, as opposed to data which could be entered at check-in, I decided to check to see if the boarding passes were available and I was surprised to discover that I could not print them.

You would think that, as an Elite member, I would have noticed but clearly I have never before tried to print them before supplying my credit card data but clearly, "You live and learn."

:D

Is the policy different for European passengers?

never noticed, but i always input and pay for everything possible before sailing.

Well, I went and entered the credit card information and, as you would expect, it all got sorted, but something strange did happen.

We have two cruises B2B booked separately with individual booking references, but staying in the same stateroom and when I went to enter the credit card information for the second cruise, I discovered that it had automatically picked up and registered the data from the first cruise, which is interesting as it had not automatically transferred across the emergency contacts, passports, insurance etc.

Out of curiosity, I then went and checked on another, later, cruise we have booked, but it had not transferred the data over to that cruise.

Yes waltd, lots of our terms and conditions are different. We have different cancellation terms and payment dates and, because our contracts are made in the UK, we get some additional statutory protections. Also, depending on nationality, one gets different options in the pull down menu for travel documentation etc., but we all end up with the same style boarding pass and luggage labels.

Nothing new. This has been the case for many years. You can't print your boarding pass or luggage tags without completing pre-registration.

Here is a post from 2006 saying the same:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=7809947&postcount=5

I think on cruise critic, everything is new!

You can always change cards when you check in, we have done that before and it just takes a minute for them to run thru the authorization:)

You can always change cards when you check in, we have done that before and it just takes a minute for them to run thru the authorization:)

Yep, or even go to the Purser's desk later on.