When will HAL go to E Tickets like airlines?

[Pudgesmom]

There's another thread out there now with another passenger worried about document delivery.

 

Why, oh why, can't we receive virtual tickets? Are they working towards this? Just the savings in mailing, printing, and folders would buy a few drinks onboard!:p

 

Beth

[Grumpy1]

I suspect the day is approaching. It will probably be offered first as an option, then after that is running smoothly, there will be a "small service charge plus shipping" for sending out paper docs. Now if we just knew who makes the pleather document pouches for HAL and could find out when the order drops, we would know it was imminent.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I do not want to see e-tickets from HAL. I know there will come a time when we may still be cruisig but probably won't have a computer anymore.

[Bramcruiser]

Oh I realize it will be a reality some day. I'm not a fool that the sheer convenience and less cost to the cruise industry will make it so.

 

However, that being said I still cherish the actual receipt of a wallet and paper tickets as it makes a statement - you're going somewhere buddy! It was only a formality but one I enjoy! I am the first one to e-ticket airline travel but I must admit I even bemoaned the loss of airline paper tickets when that happened.

[GMoney]

RCI has it with the Sign and Sail program and it is the best thing ever. So quick and simple - for both the passenger and the associate who checks you in...

[RevNeal]

Having physical documentation arrive in the mail, with the leather travel portfolio and the information that comes with it, is such a nice touch that HAL has maintained. I'm not looking forward to the day when it ceases. Document "Dancing" is fun. It's just not the same when all you get is an e-mail. :(

[zaandam_2]

i love getting my documents, but the last pleather folder had a very strong and unpleasent odor. i tossed it and dug out an old one.

[peaches from georgia]

If HAL went to e-tkts there would have to still be a choice as there never will be the day that everyone has a working computer. But the majority would select e-tkts, I'm sure. It would be fair to charge a nominal fee for those that still wished paper docs and the folder mailed since there is an additional cost to do this.

 

However, look how many posters here spend so much time upset because their docs are late, or worse. E-tkts are easy and more reliable than going from HAL to TA to pax. :)

[sail7seas]

I do not want to see e-tickets from HAL. I know there will come a time when we may still be cruisig but probably won't have a computer anymore.

 

:confused: I'm confused, KK. If you are still well enough, hale and hearty to travel, why would you no longer have your computer?

 

I'm sure as some folks get older and perhaps confused, they may stop using electronics and computers in their everyday lives but if we're well enough and lucid enough to travel, I wouldn't dream of (voluntarily) not having a computer in our home.

[sail7seas]

I imagine the choice for e-tickets is on the horizon. I do not welcome the day they make e-tickets the norm and paper tickets by special request (and additional cost) the only way to have them delivered.

 

I doubt it is far off though.

 

[lougee1043]

actually e tix are here on some lines ---got e tix from celebrity for a march 05 cruise ------------printed them out and put them in my hal folder ---- the folder didnt know they werent hal tix

 

its a matter of time and not in the far distant future either --- remember how you groaned and moaned when you first found out that your airline tix would now be e tix-----worked out ok after the initial shock

[shipcafe]

HAL does use e-tickets for airline flights. It's just that the air schedule is included with documents and THAT is what holds up the documents. It is not the cruise documents themselves. PLUS, I think that if HAL went completely "electronic" on documentation there would be a lot more shouting on here that "HAL is cutting back" than those who realize the convenience of electronic ticketing . . . . . .

[Tricia724]

I was one of those people who was unhappy when the airlines went to e-tickets. I envisioned arriving at the airport and having them tell me they had no record of my reservation. I printed pages and pages of confirmations and carried them with me to defend myself.

 

Truth is, I don't think I have ever had to show that confirmation to anyone. When we arrived at the airport and were asked to show our ID, the airline people looked at our passports, pulled up their reservation list, and printed out our baggage tags and boarding passes. Today we can even print out boarding passes online on some occasions.

 

Once I realized that the e-tickets worked, I loved the idea....so much so that on our last cruise I was annoyed when the airline sent me paper tickets for our return flight home! I called the airline and asked them why I couldn't get an e-ticket. The agent explained that we were using a small commuter airline for one leg of the flight which doesn't do e-tickets. So I grumbled about having to lug around paper tickets....who would have thought it a few years ago!:rolleyes:

 

So....if I get e-tickets for a cruise, it's OK with me.

[noblepa]

HAL doesn't use E-tickets for air travel; the airlines, that HAL buys the seat from, use E-tickets.

 

If they went to e-tickets exclusively, how would they send us luggage tags and Mariner pins? :)

 

Paul Noble

[lvtotrvl1]

The luggage tags are available at the pier. If you use a TA they can actually print the luggage tags on their printer for you. E tickets are just around the corner...I imagine that is the system HAL has been working on. The other cruiselines have already started it. I don't think they will be cut out completley, but there will be an additional charge for paper docs, just as the airlines charge.

[kryos]

I do not want to see e-tickets from HAL. I know there will come a time when we may still be cruisig but probably won't have a computer anymore.

I'm sure there will be a viable option for people who do not have a computer, and thus can't print the documents out themselves. Perhaps their TA will print and mail them out.

 

E-tickets will surely come ... and probably in the next couple of years at the latest. For what it's worth, Celebrity is using them now and I had e-tickets on my one cruise with them last December. Seamless! It was probably the quickest check-in I've experienced. The e-tickets print with a bar code on them ... the person at embarkation just scans the bar code and hands you your room card. In my case, since I only had one large duffle bag for luggage, I was even offered the option of running it through the security screener and then just carrying it onboard with me. Never was offered that option on any other cruise.

 

E-tickets are both cheaper for the cruise line and easier for the passengers. When the cruise line ships your documents to your TA ... and your TA ships them to you via DHL or FedEx ... who do you think actually pays for that? You'd better believe that cost is passed down to you ... the passenger. E-tickets save your TA some money ... money she can use for that nice bottle of wine she has waiting for you in your stateroom upon embarkation.

 

And, hey ... who says you can't dance with the e-tickets you print on your own printer just as well as with the cruise line-printed ones?

 

Blue skies!

 

--rita

[boomerSexyK]

I agree that E-tickets are the way of the future. No more worry about not having your travel docs arrive in time. A simple scan of the bar code on your E-ticket will provide quicker embarkation, no more lost tickets, credit checks for your onboard account will already be approved, special requests for dining & service will be noted from your "online" documentation. Everything will be tied in to the E-ticket barcodes.

People are talking about the savings for the cruiselines, somebody even mentioned that could cover a couple of drinks onboard. Does anybody really think that the $10-$20 bucks the cruiseline saves will be passed onto them? There will be an announcemnt along the lines of "Due to ever increasing costs, your XXX cruiseline will no longer be issuing "paper" documents. Another way the XXX cruises is working towards giving our travellers the best cruise experience for the least amount of money. for our previous guests who enjoyed receiving the leather portfolio, these will still be available onboard for a nominal fee":rolleyes:

[Grumpy1]

your E-ticket will provide quicker embarkation, no more lost tickets, credit checks for your onboard account will already be approved, special requests for dining & service will be noted from your "online" documentation. Everything will be tied in to the E-ticket barcodes.

Why did the vision of a sign that was in my office just pop into my head when I read this? The sign said "To err is human, but to really foul things up takes a computer."

 

When it works, everything will be great, but when it doesn't.... :eek:

[Randyk47]

As Lougee posted above in this thread we were on the same Celebrity Galaxy cruise and also got e-docs. I remember initially he and I were a bit concerned about how that would work and were also a bit put off by not having the pleather (sometimes slightly smelly) folder delivered by UPS, FedEx, or whoever. Then came the day that we got an email that said we could download our documents. OK....we did it....and, believe it or not, it felt good to have them in hand and still available through the download site. Downloaded a set for me, downloaded a set for my wife, downloaded a set for the luggage, downloaded a set for the cats....well....not quite....:rolleyes: Turned out to be easy and convenient and really removed some concern about not being home when the delivery service came by (sometimes they leave stuff, sometimes not). Guess I'm getting jaded but I don't need any more pleather folder, got enough. Get me the documents anyway you can, the fastest way you can and get me on the ship. That's what really makes me smile. :) Oh...by the way....turned out Celebrity never looked at the documents. Asked us our name and it was all in the computer and we were on the ship in 15 minutes tops....that made me smile.

[jnh]

We are there already,almost. A couple in front of us showed up with no tix(lost them somewhere in the trip).With their passports they were of course allowed on the ship. The tickets are usueless today. The could just stop them and all would be fine.

The airline analogy that will be interesting to watch is when they start giving us the "real " price direct and stop protecting the TA"s. How many of us book air thru an agent now adays. Not many, because the airline gives us the "Real" price direct. That should happen more and more with cruises.

[bookworm0911]

I can't imagine not wanting e tickets. There is little reason to not use the quickest and most convenient way for all concerned. I will bet that is what HAL is working on with their computer system.

[ger_77]

I know that e-tickets are the way of the future, but there's nothing quite like arriving home after work - usually in a raging blizzard - to see the big envelope sticking out of the mailbox. The Document Dance is just that much sweeter with the pleather folder stuffed with information, clutched in my mittened hands, rather than opening an email giving us the details. Just my humble opinion.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[cruisequeen10]

If we don't get the wonderful tickets with all the information on them, then what am I going to put in my photo album. Just a ticket stub. I don't think so.

[Randyk47]

All you do is print out the e-docs....they even come in color if you have a color printer. :) You can dance with them and put them in the scrap book too.....at least that works for us.

[lougee1043]

memo to self---------get a scrap book