Carnival Documents

[piratefan]

I can't get in touch with my TA, already gone for the day. This is our 1st cruise (Destiny, 39 days) I was checking on Carnival.com to see if we are being charged for transfers at the airport, I can't remember ever being told, anyway it is asking me if I want electronic documents or paper. And I have to print out luggage tags. What is that all about?? Just print them on regular copy paper?? I watched the Carnival Tutorial on choosing which documents. Which is better?Also it stated that we needed to give the rep.on the ship our guest cruise ticket contract , passport(which we still don't have), completed boarding pass (where do I get that?) and a Sail & Sign credit card. I hope someone here can help cuz I'm getting stressed out.Thanks.

[megr1125]

The paper ones should be coming soon to your TA....i haven't cruised with CCL but RCL has both edocs and regular. some people just prefer the book....

 

with the paper docs ,you would get cardboard (i think) luggage tags, or tags like the airlines use..those peel off things.....

 

if you print them, paper should be fine...you could laminate them if you wanted to make them stronger, or print them on stiffer paper. (kinos laminates, plus you can buy this clear, sticky paper and do it yourself.)

 

all the stuff you have to fill out should be in the on-line documents....as should the cruise ticket contract.....

 

make sure you have a raised-seal official certified copy of your birth certifictes and photo ID in case the passports don't show up....

 

hth-at least it's a start..i am sure a carnival pro will have more specific advice...

[Paleochick]

I can't get in touch with my TA, already gone for the day. This is our 1st cruise (Destiny, 39 days) I was checking on Carnival.com to see if we are being charged for transfers at the airport, I can't remember ever being told, anyway it is asking me if I want electronic documents or paper. And I have to print out luggage tags. What is that all about?? Just print them on regular copy paper?? I watched the Carnival Tutorial on choosing which documents. Which is better?Also it stated that we needed to give the rep.on the ship our guest cruise ticket contract , passport(which we still don't have), completed boarding pass (where do I get that?) and a Sail & Sign credit card. I hope someone here can help cuz I'm getting stressed out.Thanks.

 

I'm no pro...we leave on our first Carnival cruise on 10/21. I've been researching the same things you ask about.

 

Edocs or paper? Be careful online. Once you choose edocs, you can't get paper docs. That being said, we opted for Edocs so that we don't have to stress if our docs aren't here as the vacation approaches. We're actually going to Miami a week early, so we didn't want to possibly miss our docs in the mail. Anyway, we had no probs with edocs...the luggage tags are a little work, though.

 

If you choose edocs, you'll have to fill out page 5 before you board. It includes info for your Sail and Sign card (credit card info) and your cruise contract. You'll also need to print off several pages of page 10...luggage tags. A pp told you all you need to know about that. I took care of mine at Kinkos today. At first, I printed page 10 on my laser printer in black and white. I then copied the luggage tags on card stock (I chose "sun yellow" paper at Kinkos). Then I cut and folded them to luggage tag shape and had them laminated (the instructions say not to cut them, but since I used card stock, I wasn't too worried about their strength). I still need to hole punch them and put cable ties through them to attach to our luggage.

 

You'll also want to fill out your Fun Pass (boarding pass) on the Carnival website. This is to save you oodles of time at check in. You basically give emergency contact info, passport numbers, flight info, etc. Once you enter all of that for each member of your party, you can print your "Fun Pass." You give this to the check in people with page 5 of your cruise docs. The fun pass proves to check in that you've entered all the required info. Page 5 of edocs lets them know your credit card info and that you've read all the legal mumbo jumbo in the contract (all the other pages of edocs).

 

Edocs are actually kind of nice. You can download them to your computer. Print from anywhere. The biggest pain is the luggage tags. It's nice to not have to wait and worry for document delivery. It's your choice.

 

Have a great trip.

[JHCALLAHAN]

Hmmmmm. I didn't know if you did e-docs that you couldn't get paper ones. I guess that's why I never got any in the mail!:p I printed them off so I wouldn't be sweating it out hoping the USPS didn't lose them!

 

JHC

[Meredith22]

We were assigned e-docs because our TA is such a big agency that Carnival doesn't mail out docs to its customers. We printed out the luggage tags (and everything else) on plain paper at home, making sure they were in color. Then for the tags we wrote on our last name and laid a strip of clear plastic packing tape down the middle of the page before folding. Then we attached two tags to each checked bag and sealed off the ends, stapling them for good measure. In the end, every tag came through fine and our luggage was delivered right to our cabin.

 

As for the other parts of the e-docs, just follow directions and you'll be fine. When you check in at the port you'll be asked for the "fun pass," and pages that are appropriate along with your photo ID (passport is easiest.) Eventually, you'll be asked for your credit card, at which point they will issue you a sail and sign card, take your photo and then finally let you on the ship. Once on board they will ask for the new S&S card and your photo ID in order to register your arrival.

 

All this sounds more complicated than it really is. Don't worry about the paper tags or e-docs. Just print them out and follow directions. The luggage tags can be printed separately, allowing for as many copies as you need.

 

Enjoy your cruise!