Printing Southwest Airline boarding passes on board the ship?

[Paulinda]

We are going on our first Alaska cruise this coming weekend embarking and disembarking in Seattle. We are flying Southwest Airlines and a question on how to print our return flight boarding passes 24 hours prior to our flight just occurred to me. Since we have an early afternoon flight on Sunday we need to print the boarding passes sometime Saturday afternoon.

 

We have the Southwest Air 'app' on our cellphones but since we are not sure where the ship will be we don't know if we will have a connection. What are our options? I'm sure somebody out there has been in the same situation and hoping they can give us a bit of education.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Kathyfromstl]

I have the same issue. I bought SWA's Early Bird check-in so I don't have to login while on the ship. Easy enough to have SWA print your boarding pass when you check your luggage.

 

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[RuthC]

I always fly Southwest when I come home from a cruise domestically. I do check in at the 24-hour mark on the ship, but I always have an Internet package to use.

But print the boarding pass? No. I'll get that at the airport when I check my luggage.

 

If you don't have an Internet package, and need one to check in, then there is usually a 15-minute package (and a 30-minute one) that can be purchased the last day.

[9876]

That is always a trick. I have asked a good friend to check me in and then I print out the boarding passes at the airport.

[Paulinda]

Thanks for the quick response Kathy. I do have the early bird check in package. Are you saying if I have the early bird check-in they will print the boarding passes for me when we check in the luggage? Will I need to visit a kiosk to do this.

 

Ruth , I didn't intend to use the internet while on board. I've heard that connection is very very very slow and just not worth it.

 

Thank you both for your insights.

[Sandtrap328]

I just returned from a cruise on the Zuiderdam and there was a notice in the ship's daily events for the last day. It said that you could buy a 15 minute Internet connection for confirmation of plane tickets and printing boarding passes. The cost was $8.95.

[dchip]

That is always a trick. I have asked a good friend to check me in and then I print out the boarding passes at the airport.

 

We do the same thing. Our son checks in for us. The Early Bird boarding is now $15 pp which is 25% of our ticket price. It doesn't make sense for a quick 90 minute flight.

 

When we fly from FLL to SFO, it's a different story.

 

Cheers, Denise

[RuthC]

Of course you can get your boarding pass at the airport when you check in your luggage.

Better quality stock than printing paper, too. I print my booking confirmation, so they can find the reservation (although Southwest doesn't seem to need it), but I never print a boarding pass.

[Kathyfromstl]

Thanks for the quick response Kathy. I do have the early bird check in package. Are you saying if I have the early bird check-in they will print the boarding passes for me when we check in the luggage? Will I need to visit a kiosk to do this.

 

Ruth , I didn't intend to use the internet while on board. I've heard that connection is very very very slow and just not worth it.

 

Thank you both for your insights.

I don't know how SeaTac is set up but usually when you check your luggage either outside at skycap, inside at kiosk or at counter, you should have the option to print a boarding pass.

 

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[sppunk]

Pay $12.95 for Early Bird, don't worry about checking in on the ship, and print your A group boading pass at a kiosk when you get to the airport.

[DaveOKC]

All good advice so far and if I have Internet minutes left I print off my boarding passes onboard.

 

However, sometimes these printed passes do not work as planned (happened to my daughter just last week and they had to go back to the SW desk and get new tickets printed). So, I use the extra careful step of also getting my boarding passes printed off at the airport if I am checking luggage.

[TheEmerson]

For those that use Southwest and if you use an iPhone, you can checkin with the Southwest app and have a mobile boarding pass. While I do not fly Southwest for various personal reasons I do the mobile boarding pass on other airlines all the time. Far easier than paper and I find quicker when doing the TSA ID/BP check.

[texlar1]

Hi !! Southwest Airlines, don't allow to print the boarding passes, just you can do the check in 24 hr before the flight. or if you bought the Early Bird for $ 15.00 one way p/p is 72 hrs before. Just for domestic flights.. But in both cases the airline is who choose your seat. And when you check in at the counter they'll provide you the Boarding pass.

[RuthC]

Hi !! Southwest Airlines, don't allow to print the boarding passes, just you can do the check in 24 hr before the flight.

No, that's incorrect.

When you check in on line you get your "position number". When you stand in line, that is your boarding pass. There's a scan code which is read by the machine as you pass into the jet way, and board.

You can also get a boarding pass at the airport, but it's a choice.

[texlar1]

Position number....but is your seat number ? When you make the check in process on line you are not allow to see the Map seats like another airlines .

[sppunk]

Position number....but is your seat number ? When you make the check in process on line you are not allow to see the Map seats like another airlines .

 

Southwest is open seating, first-come, first-served (well first A, then B, then C groups). There are no seat reservations.

Edited June 1, 2016 by sppunk

[Adoptionmsw]

If Verizon is your carrier, you can use your cell phone with no extra charge at every port in Alaska. I don't fly Southwest, but most airlines have an app that provides a digital boarding pass. I no longer bother with printing a paper one.

 

 

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[Paulinda]

Thanks for all the advice. I guess if I have the early-bird check in and the Southwest app on my I-phone all I need to do is use the app on disembarking day to get my boarding pass. Is that correct?

[TheEmerson]

Thanks for all the advice. I guess if I have the early-bird check in and the Southwest app on my I-phone all I need to do is use the app on disembarking day to get my boarding pass. Is that correct?

 

Yes that will work. But even without Early-Bird you can still do the checkin and get the mobile boarding pass.

[DaveOKC]

I have been flying SW for almost 40 years and really like it. They are very customer friendly, are more flexible than the other airlines (in most things) and have free bags.

 

However, you really do have to understand their programs. First, you can cancel your flight (regardless of fare category) at any time, but you only get credit back that must be used within a year.

 

Second, they do not offer seat assignments, but rather an open seating arrangement (first on, first choice). There is no first class of course. They board in order of your seat boarding order (A1-60, B1-60, C1-60). Of course they have a pre-board option for those needing it and families with small children board between the A and B groups. You line up in order of your number and board in order.

 

Third, to get your boarding number one of two ways. You can purchase an automatic assignment for about $12.50 (each way) at the time you purchase your ticket (or later if you wish as this fee is non refundable). This gives you priority when the numbers are assigned 24 hours before your flight (starting with A-15). A1-A15 are reserved for full fare passengers and very frequent flyers.

 

The other boarding number assignment option is to get online and request a boarding pass/number beginning at 24 hours EXACTLY before your flight. DO THIS ASAP as the numbers go VERY quickly - in minutes you could be well back in the pack. You shoul be able to get a good number if you are sitting on your computer right at the 24 hour mark, but if you cannot do this, I would pay the $12.50 for the Early Bird fee (especially when you are travelling on your way home).

 

As I mentioned, the first two bags are free and generally SW is very good at getting the baggage off and to you quickly (better than most other airlines).

 

Hope this helps.

[2ptu/000]

I always fly Southwest when I can. When on a cruise, I go to the internet area and log into their website. Bring your flight information with you as you will need your confirmation codes. I try to log in as soon as my 24 hr window is due. After I log in, I print the passes just like I do at home. They will pop out of a printer near the big desk. Look around a find this printer before you go to a computer as it is just a small printer. There is a small charge for this but I don't think I have ever been charged. This is cost effective if you are checking in for more than one person. To pay to have the Early Bird for more than one person would be expensive. Of course, you need to buy the internet package offered at the end of the cruise too. You can figure out what is convenient and cost effective.

[DaveOKC]

I always fly Southwest when I can. When on a cruise, I go to the internet area and log into their website. Bring your flight information with you as you will need your confirmation codes. I try to log in as soon as my 24 hr window is due. After I log in, I print the passes just like I do at home. They will pop out of a printer near the big desk. Look around a find this printer before you go to a computer as it is just a small printer. There is a small charge for this but I don't think I have ever been charged. This is cost effective if you are checking in for more than one person. To pay to have the Early Bird for more than one person would be expensive. Of course, you need to buy the internet package offered at the end of the cruise too. You can figure out what is convenient and cost effective.

 

Yes, it is more cost effective to do it this way, however I do not want to have to worry about it during my last cruise day, so I opt for the Early Bird checkin on the way home. Going out I generally am home, so I do it myself at the 24 hour mark.

[kevingastreich]

All good advice so far and if I have Internet minutes left I print off my boarding passes onboard.

 

However, sometimes these printed passes do not work as planned (happened to my daughter just last week and they had to go back to the SW desk and get new tickets printed).

 

Yep! It happened to us with Alaska Air in FLL. Believe it or not, the passes that were printed AT THE COUNTER wouldn't work at the TSA checkpoint and we had to go all the way back up and print them at a kiosk and hope. That's when we said "We're getting the App". We've never looked back.

[mudscraper]

United Air Lines has a nice feature regarding the 24 hour check in procedure. When you check in online for your originating flight (to the cruiseport) UAL asks you if you wish to be automatically checked in for your return flight home. It's voluntary, you just check a box. UAL will email your boarding passes or send the check in info to the app on your phone. I still use a fossilized flip phone (no camera,no texting, just talking:)) but at least I'm checked in for my flight home. Maybe other airlines will follow suit.

[Hlitner]

We often use SWA to an from cruises and follow a simple rule of thumb. When going to a cruise we do our check-in exactly 24 hours prior to the flight and usually get a high A or low B number. But on cruises, the internet if very slow (if it works at all) and the ability to print is iffy! So for our return we "splurge" and spend the $15 for Early Bird. To me, just not having to deal with the hassle of spending my last sea day waiting in the internet room, fighting with many others to get online and hopefully be able to print a pass...and knowing that the delays of cruise line internet often mean a much lower boarding number...is just not worth it. For the lousy $30 we can enjoy our last day and have piece of mind. As to the actual boarding pass, we simply print it out at a Kiosk once we get to the airport.

 

Hank