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Boarding pass question


PoohUnderstands
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I printed out my boarding pass at the 70 day mark just to make the cruise more real! Grin. I noted it was entitled,

"ETICKET PREFERRED BOARDING PASS."

 

Decided to check it out again for the fun of it and now it is entitled, "ETICKET PRIORITY BOARDING PASS."

 

Is there a difference between preferred and priority; and if so, what is the difference? Thanks.

 

Pooh

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Looks like they have just changed the wording for Platinum & Elite & Suite & Bon Voyage passengers. (lots of "preferred / priority" boarders now! )

 

The e-ticket part baffles me - I did not see a way to save the screen / ticket to a mobile - only option was to print the page - but doesn't printing it no longer make it "e" ? :rolleyes:

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It appears that in the future they might have an e-Boarding pass made available.

Not that I would want one.

Somehow having a paper copy seems more secure for the time being. I don't trust my phone to lose a document along the way or just run out of charge when I need it the most. :rolleyes:

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Just checked mine and it has changed since I printed it out a few weeks ago. They either just made the change for all who get early boarding or they changed it from Preferred to Priority to Elite and those in a suites to make it easier for the agents to give out a boarding number.

 

The E-ticket quote has been on there for a while now. I also wish they would go to an e ticket boarding pass like the airlines.

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There are people who still fill out some paperwork paper and pen. Your pass is to get you to the desk(s) for pax who have registered 100% online. The "higher" your Princess status the faster they try getting you on the ship. As others have stated, semantics with what words being used "now". Once at the cruise center you will be directed to what desk to go to, no matter what is printed on your pass.

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Just checked mine. I printed the passes a few weeks ago and they say "Preferred". Checking now they have changed to say "Priority". No idea why. Probably just new nomenclature. I doubt it makes any difference. However, being a weirdo, I will likely print them again anyway to have the "newest and coolest". What a dork.

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There are people who still fill out some paperwork paper and pen. Your pass is to get you to the desk(s) for pax who have registered 100% online. The "higher" your Princess status the faster they try getting you on the ship. As others have stated, semantics with what words being used "now". Once at the cruise center you will be directed to what desk to go to, no matter what is printed on your pass.

 

OMG someone who talks sense, what are you doing on CC ?

 

Can I fax you my appreciation?

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All part of the BS American marketing to make everyone feel important . In reality Patinum and Elite get directed to a separate express check in queue. All the rest whether Preferential or Preferred it is just marketing BS, you get directed to the normal queue, unless the Elite/Platinum queue is personless !!!

 

Sorta like the airlines frequent flyer con with check in baggage priority, when it all goes into the same conatiners basically first to check in on bottom, so your bags come out later, but still proudly tagged priority . Makes you feel important but just another BS marketing con .

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The e-ticket part baffles me - I did not see a way to save the screen / ticket to a mobile - only option was to print the page - but doesn't printing it no longer make it "e" ? :rolleyes:

 

No, printing it does not make it no longer an e-ticket. E-ticketing refers to where the negotiable coupon is. In the old days, and particularly with airlines, the coupon, taken when you boarded, was a negotiable instrument. Behind the scenes, when airline A issued a ticket for travel on airline B (called interlining - a word that has multiple context-sensitive meanings in the travel industry), after you flew airline B, they had to send the coupon to airline A at which point airline A would pay airline B (much like how bank checks are cleared behind the scenes). With e-ticketing, what you print is just evidence of that ticket. All the processing of that ticket goes on the same same whether you print the boarding pass (and a boarding pass is not a ticket) or just show it on a mobile device.

 

BTW, as a retired airline employee, I have seen the screen representation of an airline e-ticket in the reservations system. They are similar to the old paper tickets and the same clearing and payment process goes on behind the scenes except its all electronic instead of physical. Just like paper tickets, there are a maximum of four segments to an airline e-ticket (if you have more than four segments, then multiple tickets are issued). But considering that interline tickets don't exist in the cruise world (e.g. RCCL doesn't issue tickets for travel on Princess; all tickets for travel on Princess are issued by Princess), the whole concept of tickets for a cruise is rather dated since there is no need for the whole post-travel ticket clearing process as there still is with airlines. I doubt there are actually tickets anymore, at least as we used to think of them (my first cruise in 1990 did have paper tickets which had to be surrendered to receive a boarding pass), but they use the term "e-ticketing" because it's familiar to many people who still expect there to be a ticket of some sort.

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It appears that in the future they might have an e-Boarding pass made available.

Not that I would want one.

Somehow having a paper copy seems more secure for the time being. I don't trust my phone to lose a document along the way or just run out of charge when I need it the most. :rolleyes:

 

I agree...still can't do airlines...I can just see me coming up to the gate and having my screen time out and me fumbling around trying to get it back up....:D

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No, printing it does not make it no longer an e-ticket. E-ticketing refers to where the negotiable coupon is. In the old days, and particularly with airlines, the coupon, taken when you boarded, was a negotiable instrument. Behind the scenes, when airline A issued a ticket for travel on airline B (called interlining - a word that has multiple context-sensitive meanings in the travel industry), after you flew airline B, they had to send the coupon to airline A at which point airline A would pay airline B (much like how bank checks are cleared behind the scenes). With e-ticketing, what you print is just evidence of that ticket. All the processing of that ticket goes on the same same whether you print the boarding pass (and a boarding pass is not a ticket) or just show it on a mobile device.

 

BTW, as a retired airline employee, I have seen the screen representation of an airline e-ticket in the reservations system. They are similar to the old paper tickets and the same clearing and payment process goes on behind the scenes except its all electronic instead of physical. Just like paper tickets, there are a maximum of four segments to an airline e-ticket (if you have more than four segments, then multiple tickets are issued). But considering that interline tickets don't exist in the cruise world (e.g. RCCL doesn't issue tickets for travel on Princess; all tickets for travel on Princess are issued by Princess), the whole concept of tickets for a cruise is rather dated since there is no need for the whole post-travel ticket clearing process as there still is with airlines. I doubt there are actually tickets anymore, at least as we used to think of them (my first cruise in 1990 did have paper tickets which had to be surrendered to receive a boarding pass), but they use the term "e-ticketing" because it's familiar to many people who still expect there to be a ticket of some sort.

 

Interesting.....thanks for the info..

 

To follow along with your info...I recently misplaced our boarding pass for a cruise last month so at the terminal entrance I was instructed to go to a desk inside...There they had the manifest...rep. found our names wrote them with our cabin number on the health forms and we were off......at check in just told them I was priority..no worries....

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All part of the BS American marketing to make everyone feel important . In reality Patinum and Elite get directed to a separate express check in queue. All the rest whether Preferential or Preferred it is just marketing BS, you get directed to the normal queue, unless the Elite/Platinum queue is personless !!!

 

Sorta like the airlines frequent flyer con with check in baggage priority, when it all goes into the same conatiners basically first to check in on bottom, so your bags come out later, but still proudly tagged priority . Makes you feel important but just another BS marketing con .

 

Sometimes with airlines you have a priority tag because your connecting flight for the baggage handlers.....at least that has been my experience...I really don't know what or care what princess is doing because often going to a non-priority line is faster.

 

BTW...awhile back they took off info(like elite) on luggage tags...

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Just checked mine. I printed the passes a few weeks ago and they say "Preferred". Checking now they have changed to say "Priority". No idea why. Probably just new nomenclature. I doubt it makes any difference. However, being a weirdo, I will likely print them again anyway to have the "newest and coolest". What a dork.

 

 

Then here's hiya from another dork! ;p

 

Pooh

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Just checked mine. I printed the passes a few weeks ago and they say "Preferred". Checking now they have changed to say "Priority". No idea why. Probably just new nomenclature. I doubt it makes any difference. However, being a weirdo, I will likely print them again anyway to have the "newest and coolest". What a dork.

 

Don't do it!!! Stand up to oppression by the man. :)

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All part of the BS American marketing to make everyone feel important . In reality Patinum and Elite get directed to a separate express check in queue. All the rest whether Preferential or Preferred it is just marketing BS, you get directed to the normal queue, unless the Elite/Platinum queue is personless !!!

 

Sorta like the airlines frequent flyer con with check in baggage priority, when it all goes into the same conatiners basically first to check in on bottom, so your bags come out later, but still proudly tagged priority . Makes you feel important but just another BS marketing con .

 

Sort of like some hotels that email you 24 hours in advance of your reservation to check in on your phone to get to your room faster. W#F you still have to check in at the desk for the room key and hand over your credit card

 

Howard

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  • 2 months later...

Just printing off stuff for our cruise on the Royal. We are Elite. but there is no reference to Preferred check in, just says ETicket Boarding Pass in a sort of turquoise blue. Have they changed the system, does everyone get the same with no reference at all to priority?

 

Not being snobbish (well a little), but to get to elite we spent 151 days and a lot of money on cruises.

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Just printing off stuff for our cruise on the Royal. We are Elite. but there is no reference to Preferred check in, just says ETicket Boarding Pass in a sort of turquoise blue. Have they changed the system, does everyone get the same with no reference at all to priority?

 

Not being snobbish (well a little), but to get to elite we spent 151 days and a lot of money on cruises.

 

You will wind up in a section reserved for Platinum and Elite members.

Elite members are called to board prior to our lower Platinum members on the Princess food chain.

 

Relax and enjoy your cruise

 

 

Howard

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As for printing boarding passes in advance, it's best to check all the details close to boarding time. On one of our cruises, Princess upgraded a couple's cabin without notifying them, and they didn't find that out until they checked in. By that time, their bags were gone with the wrong cabin number on the tags. That evening, they had to go to another deck to find their bags.

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Just checked mine. I printed the passes a few weeks ago and they say "Preferred". Checking now they have changed to say "Priority". No idea why. Probably just new nomenclature. I doubt it makes any difference. However, being a weirdo, I will likely print them again anyway to have the "newest and coolest". What a dork.

 

Princess is testing selling "priority" boarding to passengers who would not otherwise have it.

 

So I suspect the change from "preferred" to "priority" is to match this new sales effort.

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Does Princess upgrade without letting you know often?

 

Supposedly you will be notified with an E-mail from Princess. But if you booked with a TA, then the notification goes to the TA, it is up to the TA to notice the e-mail in a timely fashion and then forward it on to you.

 

 

Many experienced travelers just check the personalizer the night before a cruise to see if there is any surprise change of cabin.

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In January this year, in San Antonio, Chile, we made our way to the Preferred boarding area and were just told to go ahead..no one wanted to see our paperwork. At check in, all they wanted was passports..tried to hand over Set Sail paperwork, but clerk didn't want it!

 

Understand Princess are trying to sell Priority Boarding...another chance at Nickel and Diming ? Removing the few 'perks' earned by loyal passengers!

A disappointing change, in my opinion.

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In January this year, in San Antonio, Chile, we made our way to the Preferred boarding area and were just told to go ahead..no one wanted to see our paperwork. At check in, all they wanted was passports..tried to hand over Set Sail paperwork, but clerk didn't want it!

 

Understand Princess are trying to sell Priority Boarding...another chance at Nickel and Diming ? Removing the few 'perks' earned by loyal passengers!

A disappointing change, in my opinion.

It's the same thing in Ft Lauderdale.

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