Royal Carib & Celebrity's Introduce Remote Airline

[Jason]

A NEW First-in-the-Industry Program Lets Guests Avoid Long Lines, Wait Times at Airport

MIAMI, Dec. 28 -- Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises' guests can now complete the dreaded airline and luggage check-in process for their flights home even before they step off the ship.

The new service enables guests to bypass the traditional airport check-in process, adding convenience and reducing wait time by an estimated 45 minutes to two hours. The service is being rolled out at ports across the United States, based on approval by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Patrol, as well as seaport, airport and airline security personnel.

Called "Onboard Check-in and Luggage Valet," the service is now available to Celebrity Cruises' guests whose cruises conclude in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Miami; San Diego; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Seattle. The service is available for Royal Caribbean guests whose cruises end in San Juan and Seattle. Both brands also offer the service for arrivals in Vancouver, British Columbia. To qualify, guests must fly to a U.S. city on an expanding list of airlines on the same day their cruise ends.

Before leaving the ship, guests confirm with cruise staff their flight information and the number of bags to be checked. Based on that information -- which also is electronically forwarded to the airlines -- boarding passes, luggage tags and claim checks are printed and given to guests. Guests with afternoon flights can take advantage of shopping or city tours before going to the airport directly to security checkpoints and on to their gates and flights. While guests take in the sites, their luggage is securely transported to the airport, processed and moved directly to their aircraft. There is a nominal fee for the service, ranging from $10 to $20 per guest, which varies by port and service offering.

The service was first piloted at the port of Vancouver during the 2003 Alaska cruise season. The 10-week test program involved two airlines and approximately 2,000 guests. In 2004 and 2005, the Vancouver service was expanded to include eight airlines and about 52,000 guests. Up to 75 percent of eligible guests used the service, averaging more than 500 guests per sailing and nearly 65,000 pieces of luggage this year.

"The luggage valet service makes returning home easier than ever," said Nick Hafner, vice president of Air, Sea and Hotel for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. "Our guests don't have to locate their luggage, transport it to the airport or stand in long lines, waiting to check in. Our goal is to provide an improved guest experience and an enhanced security process. We have accomplished both."

"This service brings innovation to the travel industry by dealing with check-in formalities and luggage before going to the airport, all at a very reasonable cost," said Alexander Gerdts, project manager. "We are adding more airlines and ports with the vision of offering this great service to all of our guests."

Source: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

[JoeyandDavid]

Bravo!! sounds as if RCCL and X are leading the way once again!

[jbond]

Yes right. I'm a big RCI fan, but after my last cruise, do you know what RCCL stands for? Really Convincing Conniving Liars.

$10 to $20, I'll believe it after someone on this site has experienced it.

Yes, I'm upset with RCI and it's almost two months since we got back from our last cruise.

[Shari2]

This sounds wonderful, Jason! I hope it works as well as it sounds. It would have been nice to have this on our last cruise after Hawaii. We got to the airport in San Diego at 10:30 A.M., and our flight out wasn't until around 4:30 P.M. We couldn't check our bags until around 2 hours before the flight, so we couldn't really go over to Seaport Village like we wanted to. I did hear of one woman who recently used this, and it worked well for her.

[JoeyandDavid]

but isn’t that the initials for most American businesses? :huh:

[JACKEL1618]

I'm a big RCI fan, but after my last cruise, do you know what RCCL stands for?  Really Convincing Conniving Liars.

but isn’t that the initials for most American businesses? :huh:

Yeah thats the TICKEt about anything lately even the goverment

[Mebert]

This sounds like a great idea. With all of the check points one has to go through before boarding the ship it makes sense to be able to check in from the ship.

jbond,

Can you remind us about your RCI experience?

[Suzila]

It sounds good...we may just try it this summer when we cruise on RCI up to Alaska. We're launching from Seattle and do intend to return hom on the same day as our cruise ends.

I'd like to hear about your RCI experience too, jbond...I must have missed it.

[jsme]

Sounds like this is similar to what DCL started doing about a year ago.