When do cruise docs arrive?

[GeezerCouple]

This is our first HAL cruise.

 

Approximately when should we be receiving some sort of packet with docs or luggage tags, etc.

We are using a TA, so that might also add a few days.

 

Thanks.

GC

[Gigi1977]

Mine arrived 7 days ago announced via email.  So, 45 days from cruise date.   It seems that is about when all arrive - 40 to 50 days from embarking.  

[GeezerCouple]

13 minutes ago, Gigi1977 said:

Mine arrived 7 days ago announced via email.  So, 45 days from cruise date.   It seems that is about when all arrive - 40 to 50 days from embarking.  

 

Thanks.

We are one month out, so I'd better double check.

GC

[Gigi1977]

4 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Thanks.

We are one month out, so I'd better double check.

GC

I would definitely be checking!   Think you should have them by now!  Happy sailing! 

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, Gigi1977 said:

I would definitely be checking!   Think you should have them by now!  Happy sailing! 

 

Yup, and glad I asked.

We'll be leaving home almost a week in advance, given the distance we need to go, etc.

 

I've just sent an email to our agent.
The cruise docs usually come from his HQ/main office in a different city, but they've always arrived in the past.

 

We are really looking forward to this particular trip 🙂

Thanks again.

 

GC

[kazu]

4 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

The cruise docs usually come from his HQ/main office in a different city, but they've always arrived in the past.

 

Just to clarify, as long as you did your on line registration (passport, credit card info, etc.), just log into the HAL site for your booking and it should show that your docs are ready to print.

 

Normally an email comes to you advising that they are ready to print (doesn’t matter if you booked with a TA or not) if you completed the on line registration.  If that still needs to be done or is incomplete, once it is finished, they will be available to print.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am not one of those people who fills out all that information until I get the e-mail from HAL that our e-docs are ready to print.  We do book through a TA.  

 

Once I get that e-mail (50 days from cruise), I fill out the information and then print our e-docs and luggage tags about a week before we leave. 

[regnig]

And, just so you are not checking you real "snail mail" mailbox daily, be aware HAL does not actually "mail" documents.  HAL expects you to use your electronic equipment to access them and then your printer and paper to print them.  BUT, since you said you were using a TA they themselves might print them out and mail them to you once you have completed all the necessary on-line registration.  Mine does just that along with more baggage tag holders.  I have enough of those that I could start a tag holder shop! 😮

[GeezerCouple]

Ah... so no luggage tags either? 

The same for suites? (Some other lines have regular luggage tags for suites, put others are supposed to print out paper versions.)

 

Again, this is our first HAL trip.

So there is *nothing* that we should receive from HAL about our trip?

 

Thanks... just want to understand the process (NOT asking for any "special handling"!).

 

GC

[CruiserBruce]

The luggage tags print off the HAL website, if you have done on line check in. You WILL NOT receive anything from HAL, except via the HAL website or e mail.

[kazu]

19 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

So there is *nothing* that we should receive from HAL about our trip?

 

There is nothing they mail you.  It is provided electronically.

 

You can print off your luggage tags (and yes, they will be marked priority) and you should definitely print page 1 of your document.  It is your boarding pass and helps get you in the suite lineup to check in.  Some ports require that you have it to let you in the building.

[GeezerCouple]

Okay - got it!

 

Thanks all!

 

GC

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

I am not one of those people who fills out all that information until I get the e-mail from HAL that our e-docs are ready to print.  We do book through a TA.  

 

Once I get that e-mail (50 days from cruise), I fill out the information and then print our e-docs and luggage tags about a week before we leave. 

 

I fill out all the info as soon as I do the booking. For one thing, it reminds me to check the expiration date on my passport. 

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

36 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

There is nothing they mail you.  It is provided electronically.

 

You can print off your luggage tags (and yes, they will be marked priority) and you should definitely print page 1 of your document.  It is your boarding pass and helps get you in the suite lineup to check in.  Some ports require that you have it to let you in the building.

 

I've seen that at Port Everglades. A group ahead of us didn't have passports and boarding passes out when they got off their bus and went to the doorway. Instead of getting out of the way, they stood there asking each other "what do we need?" and "Do you have that or do I?" Fortunately, whoever was escorting them pulled them aside and helped them search for their documents. 

 

Some ports want to see a boarding pass at the gate to enter the port area, so I always make sure my documents are ready to take out and show.

 

[kazu]

13 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Some ports want to see a boarding pass at the gate to enter the port area, so I always make sure my documents are ready to take out and show.

 

 

I’ve seen that too.  And, like you, I have my stuff readily available to produce.  

Makes things so much easier and smoother 😄 

[daisy-mae]

Just a tip for those who are arriving by air and cannot put the tags on their luggage until just before the cruise. I always carry a mini stapler (and cello tape as a back-up) to help secure the tags. I also have spare copies in case the first ones are damaged.

 

Besides having multiple paper copies of our boarding passes (my DH and I each have a set) we also download everything onto our iPads. It may sound like overkill but we leave nothing to chance.

[Judyrem]

8 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

Just a tip for those who are arriving by air and cannot put the tags on their luggage until just before the cruise. I always carry a mini stapler (and cello tape as a back-up) to help secure the tags. I also have spare copies in case the first ones are damaged.

 

Besides having multiple paper copies of our boarding passes (my DH and I each have a set) we also download everything onto our iPads. It may sound like overkill but we leave nothing to chance.

I bought the real sturdy cruise luggage tags from Amazon and use them.  They have a metal wire with a secure closure.

[daisy-mae]

38 minutes ago, Judyrem said:

I bought the real sturdy cruise luggage tags from Amazon and use them.  They have a metal wire with a secure closure.

 

I have been tempted to order them; however the shipping charges to Canada are usually outrageous (considering the size and weight of the items).

[GeezerCouple]

UPDATE:

 

We have just received an email from HAL about printing our cruise documents.

It is just past one month til our sailing date.

 

I was pretty sure we had not received anything, and this is definitely not something either of us have seen before.

 

So... in case others "ask" about this, it isn't always that far in advance.

And for newbies, I'm not aware of how we would otherwise have known to expect this, or when...

(Did we miss something somewhere so that we "should have known"?)

 

Thanks once again!

 

GC

[CruiserBruce]

You might have gotten this recent e mail because you had not previously printed your documents.

 

The whole on line check in, bag tags etc thing is discussed here frequently.

[sevenseasnomad]

2 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

UPDATE:

 

We have just received an email from HAL about printing our cruise documents.

It is just past one month til our sailing date.

 

I was pretty sure we had not received anything, and this is definitely not something either of us have seen before.

 

So... in case others "ask" about this, it isn't always that far in advance.

And for newbies, I'm not aware of how we would otherwise have known to expect this, or when...

(Did we miss something somewhere so that we "should have known"?)

 

Thanks once again!

 

GC

Please make sure any ad block program on your computer is turned OFF before you begin the check-in process.  With ad block on, none of the docs/luggage tags will print.  You only need to print your boarding passes.  If you print the entire file, you'll waste a lot of paper, as it is the complete cruise contract.  Some CC members have reported that no one checks for their boarding passes.  We've always needed ours at Port Everglades (not sure where you're sailing from, did I miss that information??) as we go into the port and again to get into the building.  After that, no one has ever asked us to see them.  At that point, they want our passports.

 

For the luggage tags, fold them as instructed; then, either use clear packing tape to cover or have them laminated.  If you don't have use of a laminator, this can be expensive.  Covering the luggage tags with the tape works really well to strengthen them and to waterproof them in case of rain.  If you're driving to the port without a stay in a hotel prior to the cruise, secure the tags with staples to the luggage handle before leaving home.  If staying in a hotel, especially if you fly to the port, ask to borrow the stapler at the front desk.  Many Ft. Lauderdale hotels now have multiple staplers on a table near the front desk for their guests to use prior to leaving for the port.

 

Yes, you should absolutely ask questions here.  How else would you learn the information?  What a HAL newbie may not know could come back to bite them.  So, ask away.  At one point, all of us were new to this line too.  Some CC members have answered the same questions for years and sometimes don't realize that people who are new to HAL may not know all the ins and outs of searching for these topics on this site or whom to call in Seattle.

[GeezerCouple]

24 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

You might have gotten this recent e mail because you had not previously printed your documents.

 

The whole on line check in, bag tags etc thing is discussed here frequently.

 

First, we saw no need to print things out far in advance.  And we didn't know yet that we would not be receiving anything by snail mail.  (This is the first cruise line where this is the case.  No problem with that, but we just didn't realize that.)

 

And only a tiny proportion of cruisers are here on CruiseCritic....

 

GC

[GeezerCouple]

One other question I forgot to ask before.

Why does HAL *require* that one include the flight dates/times/number?

For those flying in/out long before/after the cruise, what does it matter.  And even if one IS flying in, say, the "morning of", which a surprising number of people do, is HAL really going  to start checking if the flights are late if the passenger hasn't boarded?  And if so, then what is HAL going to do?

(In our case, it is exceedingly likely that the flight info will change, and likely *not* far in advance.  That's another advantage of awards travel, at least for us.)

 

The only way "out" of inserting flight info that is very likely to end up being incorrect is to say we aren't flying.  Given that we live in the USA, and our cruise is NZ/Australia, unless we are taking some other cruise-line's cruise... are we swimming? 

 

Requiring this info is definitely a first for us (first cruise in 1974, five different lines I think).

 

Seriously, what does HAL do with the detailed flight information?

"Inquiring minds want to know..."

Thanks!

 

GC

[CruiserBruce]

They don't "require it". You can answer you don't your flights, for example. Like you, we almost always fly in several days in advance.

[oakridger]

GeezerCouple - I have been using tags like this - they have a zip lock to keep out rain and are reusable:

 

Highwind Cruise Luggage Tags Etag Holders Zip Seal & Steel Loops Thick PVC

 

Amazon carries them for less than the manufacturer's website.

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by oakridger
fixed