Princess Health Form

[Pierlesscruisers]

As I said before, this is the tale of the Form Ladies of San Pedro.

 

The "Form Ladies of San Pedro!" Sounds like a likely name for a new TV series!! Wonder if the setting will be on a cruise ship (ala The Love Boat) or if it'll be ashore? :confused:

 

Watch closely for the series debut! :D

 

Tom

[scott4020]

Hi All

 

 

The whole point of the form is to provide current and accurate health info.

 

But does it, never seen anyone tick I have noro

 

Have seen a couple pulled out of line because they looked very ill

 

So if folks always say everything is fine, the only purpose can be to protect

 

Princess from lawyers and to make us feel better that they are trying their best to

 

look after us

 

yours Shogun

 

Bingo, this is just a litigious counter measure.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes!! Try not to look ill. :rolleyes:

[Steelers36]

This. It would defeat the whole object if people filled it out weeks in advance.

 

You can fill it out before leaving hotel for the port or on the airplane. Not likely to fall ill in the short time before entering terminal.

 

That said, I could conform to the other as long as I bring my own pen so I don't have to wait for one. But one less thing to be concerned with when have to do the wine inspection plus check-in and get to a seat.

Edited August 4, 2015 by steelers36

[Steelers36]

The "Form Ladies" are scarier than a High School principal. :D

 

Never seen them in Port Everglades. Must be a CA phenomenon.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

IMO, the forms are an exercise in futility. I imagine very few who should check "yes" to answers actually do and risk missing their cruise.

 

The problem with printing them out ahead of time, at least for LA/San Pedro, is that on my most recent cruise the forms were printed on colored paper. Yellow, IIRC. Can anyone recall if they vary the color from one sailing to the next to avoid "pre-printing"?

 

BTW, I love the "Form Ladies of San Pedro" TV show idea. I'm thinking "Golden Girls" meets "Love Boat" :).

Edited August 4, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[Corfe Mixture]

Can't understand why anyone would feel it makes any sense to go to the trouble of:

a) getting the forms early

b) filling them in during time you could be doing something else

c) deciding where to put the completed form so that you can get at it easily when you need it

d) messing around getting it out of your pocket / bag / folder at a time when you are focussed in getting your hand baggage into the scanner etc.

 

WHEN the alternative is to take a form which someone hands to you whilst you are stood in line and simply write your name, cabin number, and tick four boxes before signing your name.

 

Can't see that filling it in before you get to the port saves anything more than 10seconds and it certainly doesn't get you on the ship any quicker.

 

IMHO a complete waste of time making the effort to get hold of copies of the form the forms before you get to the port.

[Corfe Mixture]

Try not to look ill. :rolleyes:

 

 

Anyone who looks like their passport photo is too ill to travel (Will Kommen)

 

(plagerised from the signature of John Bull - a regular contributor of excellent advice on the British Isles/Western Europe destinations forum)

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Can't understand why anyone would feel it makes any sense to go to the trouble of:

a) getting the forms early

b) filling them in during time you could be doing something else

c) deciding where to put the completed form so that you can get at it easily when you need it

d) messing around getting it out of your pocket / bag / folder at a time when you are focussed in getting your hand baggage into the scanner etc.

 

WHEN the alternative is to take a form which someone hands to you whilst you are stood in line and simply write your name, cabin number, and tick four boxes before signing your name.

 

Can't see that filling it in before you get to the port saves anything more than 10seconds and it certainly doesn't get you on the ship any quicker.

 

IMHO a complete waste of time making the effort to get hold of copies of the form the forms before you get to the port.

 

I can't speak for other ports but, on my last cruise out of L.A., there was a LONG line to obtain and fill out a form before one could proceed to the cruise check-in area. Everyone was funneled into a small area at the building entrance for this.

 

If they simply handed out forms while pax were in the check-in line, things would have gone more quickly. But, I suppose, the "form ladies" would not have been able to supervise things as easily :rolleyes:.

[wander]

Reading about the "Forms Ladies of San Pedro" reminds me of the "Babuska Ladies" in the galleries of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg in the "old" days of Russia. They put fear in ones heart that you might do something to earn their wrath. These days they have been replaced by younger women who seem to be "kinder and gentler".

[Pierlesscruisers]

Can't understand why anyone would feel it makes any sense to go to the trouble of:

a) getting the forms early

b) filling them in during time you could be doing something else

c) deciding where to put the completed form so that you can get at it easily when you need it

d) messing around getting it out of your pocket / bag / folder at a time when you are focussed in getting your hand baggage into the scanner etc.

 

WHEN the alternative is to take a form which someone hands to you whilst you are stood in line and simply write your name, cabin number, and tick four boxes before signing your name.

 

Can't see that filling it in before you get to the port saves anything more than 10seconds and it certainly doesn't get you on the ship any quicker.

 

IMHO a complete waste of time making the effort to get hold of copies of the form the forms before you get to the port.

 

Some people like to get things done ahead of time. Some people, myself included, prefer not to try and write while standing in line or to stand at a table writing when I could be moving forward in a moving line and would rather write down the date, ship name, port, name and sign the form ahead of time to get it out of the way. Then I can put my eBoarding pass and health form on the photo page of my passport and all my documentation is in one place and all I have to do is hand the passport to the security person and the check-in person and they've got everything they need. To me, that is easier and quicker for all involved.

 

That's why I do it the way I do, because it works for me. That you disagree and believe it's a waste of time is fine. Everybody does things in their own way and at the end of the day, everybody goes on their cruise happy. Hopefully, anyway! :)

 

Tom

Edited August 4, 2015 by Pierlesscruisers

[tml1230]

Some people like to get things done ahead of time. Some people, myself included, prefer not to try and write while standing in line or to stand at a table writing when I could be moving forward in a moving line and would rather write down the date, ship name, port, name and sign the form ahead of time to get it out of the way. Then I can put my eBoarding pass and health form on the photo page of my passport and all my documentation is in one place and all I have to do is hand the passport to the security person and the check-in person and they've got everything they need. To me, that is easier and quicker for all involved.

 

That's why I do it the way I do, because it works for me. That you disagree and believe it's a waste of time is fine. Everybody does things in their own way and at the end of the day, everybody goes on their cruise happy. Hopefully, anyway! :)

 

Tom

 

Tom, your response makes perfect sense to me…i just printed some out for next US departure, but probably be a different form when we embark in Southampton next month…thanks!

[Steelers36]

Some people like to get things done ahead of time. Some people, myself included, prefer not to try and write while standing in line or to stand at a table writing when I could be moving forward in a moving line and would rather write down the date, ship name, port, name and sign the form ahead of time to get it out of the way. Then I can put my eBoarding pass and health form on the photo page of my passport and all my documentation is in one place and all I have to do is hand the passport to the security person and the check-in person and they've got everything they need. To me, that is easier and quicker for all involved.

 

That's why I do it the way I do, because it works for me. That you disagree and believe it's a waste of time is fine. Everybody does things in their own way and at the end of the day, everybody goes on their cruise happy. Hopefully, anyway! :)

 

Tom

 

AGREE!!

 

BTW, to answer one earlier concern, I made a master copy with blank ship name so I can fill in the correct ship. If the form changes, well I guess I can always get some new blanks and live with filling a new one out on the spot.

[hrhdhd]

Never seen them in Port Everglades. Must be a CA phenomenon.

 

Agreed. I have used the form provided by PierlessCruisers in FLL and no one batted an eye.

[hrhdhd]

Can't understand why anyone would feel it makes any sense to go to the trouble of:

a) getting the forms early

b) filling them in during time you could be doing something else

c) deciding where to put the completed form so that you can get at it easily when you need it

d) messing around getting it out of your pocket / bag / folder at a time when you are focussed in getting your hand baggage into the scanner etc.

 

a) the PDF file is on my computer

b) given that earlier in this thread people argue that it takes only seconds to fill out, what do you propose I do with all of that extra time?

c) er, with my boarding pass and passport?

d) see above

 

You're really overthinking this.

Edited August 5, 2015 by hrhdhd

[peety3]

It's really simple, folks. If you don't want to fill it out early, don't fill it out. If you want to fill it out early, fill it out but don't check the boxes until you get there. Or do what I've done, which is to fill it out completely, but make a deal with myself that I'll fill out a fresh one IF I DECIDE I SHOULD CHANGE MY ANSWERS ON SUNDAY WHEN I BOARD.

 

It's the same as any other contract - if I submit a form that I know is wrong, I'm liable for the consequences. I fully accept that if I were to do that, I risk getting booted mid-cruise. Therefore, I won't do that to myself or to my fellow passengers. However, if I can save myself the headache of hunching over at the table, hunting for a writing utensil, etc., I'm going to skip it by doing it early.

[ar1950]

Can't understand why anyone would feel it makes any sense to go to the trouble of:

................

b) filling them in during time you could be doing something else

................................

 

Can't see that filling it in before you get to the port saves anything more than 10seconds and it certainly doesn't get you on the ship any quicker.

...................................

 

Just a couple of observations.

 

We always seem to have a 10 to 30 minute taxi, shuttle or whatever ride to the port so I'm not sure what else I can be doing with my, so called, "valuable" time. Maybe filling out the form during that time is the best use of that time.

 

As far as saving time at the port, not really the point. Just one less line that we need to stand and wait in. No worries about getting on the ship any sooner.

 

And, for all concerned about filling the form out in advance, I doubt that our health is going to change during the 15 to 45 minutes from filling out the form to giving it to the "health form ladies".

 

YMMV :cool:

[shredie]

And, for all concerned about filling the form out in advance, I doubt that our health is going to change during the 15 to 45 minutes from filling out the form to giving it to the "health form ladies".

 

YMMV :cool:

 

Tell the ladies that in San Pedro. ;):D They have some kind of system where they know if the form was filled out before you got there, codes or preprinted forms for that voyage or certain colored paper, etc. The Form Ladies are pretty sure your health might deteriorate between the time you fill out the form in front of them and the short walk to the escalator. :p (BTW, there is an elevator in San Pedro in the main terminal for those who can't use the escalator, and the last time I was there, it was guarded by two form ladies!) I'll bet the San Pedro people would be appalled at the apparent lack of standards at some of the ports mentioned here. :):rolleyes:

[ar1950]

Tell the ladies that in San Pedro. ;):D They have some kind of system where they know if the form was filled out before you got there, codes or preprinted forms for that voyage or certain colored paper, etc. The Form Ladies are pretty sure your health might deteriorate between the time you fill out the form in front of them and the short walk to the escalator. :p (BTW, there is an elevator in San Pedro in the main terminal for those who can't use the escalator, and the last time I was there, it was guarded by two form ladies!) I'll bet the San Pedro people would be appalled at the apparent lack of standards at some of the ports mentioned here. :):rolleyes:

 

We've seen those ladies (our last cruise). Glad that I had a pen and we were in the port early. Things started backing up before we were even able to get to the escalator. We will see how it goes in November when we are there again. :cool:

Edited August 5, 2015 by ar1950

[OCruisers]

Don't mess around with the "Health Card Ladies" because they know and SEE all. :rolleyes:

:D On our last Princess cruise I filled out both my and for my DH because I had the pen.

The "Heath Card Lady" was not happy.

She questioned him to make sure the info I'd filled out for him was true before giving her approval.

Bottom Line: Don't mess with the "Health Card Ladies". ;) ..:D

 

LuLu

[crochetcruise]

Don't mess around with the "Health Card Ladies" because they know and SEE all. :rolleyes:

:D On our last Princess cruise I filled out both my and for my DH because I had the pen.

The "Heath Card Lady" was not happy.

She questioned him to make sure the info I'd filled out for him was true before giving her approval.

Bottom Line: Don't mess with the "Health Card Ladies". ;) ..:D

 

LuLu

 

Thanks for the "Heads Up." If I'm ever lucky enough to win Lotto and be able to treat a friend to a cruise-we'd prefer Alaska to see the Polar Bears, but I will suggest 1 out of San Pedro as well, I shall be careful to let them know I have a sight problem and she's my Carer, acting under my instructions.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...If I'm ever lucky enough to win Lotto and be able to treat a friend to a cruise-we'd prefer Alaska to see the Polar Bears, but I will suggest 1 out of San Pedro as well, I shall be careful to let them know I have a sight problem and she's my Carer, acting under my instructions.

 

Once you've won the Lotto, you might want to consider an LA/San Pedro to Vancouver repo cruise at the start of the season, then change ships for an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver :).

[Pierlesscruisers]

a) the PDF file is on my computer

b) given that earlier in this thread people argue that it takes only seconds to fill out, what do you propose I do with all of that extra time?

c) er, with my boarding pass and passport?

d) see above

 

You're really overthinking this.

 

:D:D:D

 

Tom

[shredie]

Thanks for the "Heads Up." If I'm ever lucky enough to win Lotto and be able to treat a friend to a cruise-we'd prefer Alaska to see the Polar Bears, but I will suggest 1 out of San Pedro as well, I shall be careful to let them know I have a sight problem and she's my Carer, acting under my instructions.

 

We would be delighted to welcome you to California! :D

[caribill]

 

As far as saving time at the port, not really the point. Just one less line that we need to stand and wait in.

 

Not sure what line you eliminate.

 

We are given the form while waiting in the line to enter the terminal and go through security. Can't bypass that line.

 

We have to give the filled out form to the person checking to make sure it is filled out, and that person initials the form. Can't bypass that line.

 

If taking an escalator, must show the form to the person guarding the escalator. Can't bypass that line.

 

And then must hand it in when at the check-in counter. Can't bypass that line either.