Topic: Just the e-ticket?! Fred goes online-only this week

It's official! Fred Olsen have abandoned old fashioned paper tickets in wallets, in favour of the online alternative...



From now on, travel agents will be able to choose whether to email e-tickets on to passengers or print them out and post them. The e-tickets will be issued about seven weeks before departure.

From September, a new A4 Cruise Book will be sent with baggage tags. The book will contain confirmation of shore excursion choices and will be sent directly to guests around eight weeks before departure, so agents will not have to handle baggage labelling.

Lol Nichols, Fred. Olsen's general sales manager said: “More and more of our business is conducted electronically these days, and e-ticketing provides agents and customers with a quicker, more streamlined system, helping to save time and money, as well as reducing the over-use of paper.”

Kind of a mixed bag of improvements from my view as experienced on Princess and Holland American
If its E-Ticket then I use an online personalized access to provide all my passport / credit card and contact details plus in most cases I can choose excursions prior and other onboard items. I cannot produce my E-Ticket nor luggage tags until my cruise is paid in full and with 75 / 60 days.
The cruise-line leaves the whole responsibility with myself and my travel agent to produce the required papers and send me emails on a regular basis reminding me to do so. Nothing is sent at all from them to be in a nice paper booklet .
In my case and most here the TA will ensure you are provided with all the E=paper required prior and is to ensure you have filled out or they have the information.
The big difference I see here is Fred is still giving you the information in full or part with the agent but the only drawback is if I've left the country earlier for a land based vacation prior to the cruise I have no access but when its fully in my control I left the country with all my papers. Agree , not everybody would have left earlier but we have at times.

Example: As Princess now requires you to print your luggage tags on a 8 1/2 x 11 paper where you fold to go on your handles I've bought special plastic / vinyl type tag holders of that size. yes, you can still get the porter to give you a tag at the dock but this is smooth and you can place prior to leaving the hotel.

Received an E Book yesterday, 25th July! They are quite cumbersom to take on board, contain luggage tags and all the info that is already in the brochure, plus details of excursions and prices. Has passenger name printed on the front, not really impressed seems like a waste of money to me.

It was rather nice to recieve the wallet from Fred when we last cruised,now with Princess its I.T. and paper, including the very fragile looking tags. I cannt see some Senior Citizens with no interest or ability in I.T. liking this trend,let alone the agents who will have to fill out personalisers (in the case of Princess )etc