Royal Caribbean & Celebrity's new online check-in

[Jason]

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises Introduce Online Check-In

Two Brands Establish Industry First to Dramatically Accelerate Guest Check-In

MIAMI, July 20 -- Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises have established another industry first: Both lines are simultaneously launching online check-in for their guests, reducing the check- in process at the pier from minutes to seconds.

Titled "SetSail" for Royal Caribbean International and "Xpress Pass" for Celebrity Cruises, online check-in is now available for guests booked on Royal Caribbean's "Navigator of the Seas" and for those on Celebrity's "Zenith." The company expects online check-in to be available for both brands' entire fleets by September.

The new online check-in process allows guests to fill out all pertinent cruise documents before arriving at the pier. Boarding documents, immigration forms, onboard accounts and ticket contracts can be completed with just a click of the mouse.

"This is a truly innovative development, basically making the web our 'virtual check-in agent,'" said Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Associate Vice President Guest Port Services Juan Trescastro. "By averting the need to complete paperwork at the pier or while in line, we're reducing the time involved at the pier from an average of three to four minutes to an average of 30 seconds per guest."

To check in online, guests are asked to visit the pertinent line's web site ( http://www.celebrity.com/ or [url=http://www.royalcaribbean.com/]http://www.royalcaribbean.com/ ), then click "Before You Cruise" on Celebrity's site, and "Before You Board" on Royal Caribbean's site, followed by "Online Documentation." There, guests will be asked to provide their booking number, ship and sail date, and to follow four easy steps to complete the process. Guests then will receive an e-mail confirmation stating that their documents have been processed. They can print the confirmation and provide it, along with identification, to agents at a special express counter at the pier.

[schatje]

Great! anything to speed up the process so we can get on with our cruise is great.

[jbond]

It's pretty slick, I used it over the weekend for our Brilliance cruise. The only drawback is that I have dial up and RCI's website seems to take for ever.

[JoeyandDavid]

Hi JBond

Oh tell me more .. what information did they ask for? They already have you fill out your embarkation forms on line ahead of time .. I dont quite understand what more they are requiring you to do ahead of time. Also how far ahead of time will they accept information?

thanks

[jbond]

If you've filled out the guest information forms on line, that information will automatically go onto the embarkation forms. You additionally electronically sign the cruise ticket agreement forms and set up your sign and sail charge.

For some reason I had a problem with my wife's forms, but eventually got it straightened out.

The press release said it was available for Navigator, but I did it for a Brilliance October cruise.

[JoeyandDavid]

So to be clear.. You set up everything this past weekend for your cruise to happen in October of this year?

[cruisinmama]

I'm confused..How diff. is this then the stuff you can fill out now? or is this all the Sign & Sail card info??

Thanks :smiley:

[JoeyandDavid]

I just did the same thing for our February 06 Cruise .. it is really cool makes sense too.

Ann It allows you to do everything on line from securing passport information to setting up those S&S cards that you had all those questions about when you frist joined us..

Carnival Corporation no doubt will fall in right behind...That of course is just my opinion. :rolleyes:

[jbond]

Correct. As I said my computer connection is slow, otherwise I would have tried to set up our Adventure cruise for next month.

Ann, I guess Joey answered your question.

[Bodger]

Did I miss something or is this just the spinmeisters at work?

It strikes me that I did at least 90% of this online a year and a half ago when we sailed on the Zenith. At the port (Jacksonville) all we had to do was fill out a Bahamas immigration form (missing in the mailed package), provide a credit card, turn in our cruise tickets and pickup our boarding cards. The process went fairly quickly. As I recall it was much the same on this years Princess cruise. So apart from adding online credit card registration to the process, I don't think much has changed.

Mind you, a good ad man won't miss an opportunity to make something old look like a big new deal.

Now if they wouldn't force us to stand in line to have our picture taken, the boarding process would be fairly fast and painless.

Bodger