Topic: E-tickets: Carnival forces the issue

Paper tickets are to become a thing of the past, if claims by Carnival Cruises are to be upheld.

Giles Hawke, Carnival UK sales and customer services director, told Travel Daily that e-ticketing is now a primary focus for the industry.

"You don’t need a ticket to travel these days – we are only doing what the airlines are doing – and agents better get used to it because in the next couple of years, the entire cruise industry will be paperless," he stated.

His remarks come after some travel agents reported complaints from customers who were disappointed with the newly launched e-ticketing and booking management solutions for P&O Cruises and Cunard Cruises.

Commenting on the booking system, Mr Hawke added: "We are giving clients the opportunity to manage their own booking online and if they don’t want to do that, the agent can do it for them."

However, he stopped short of denying customers access to hard paper tickets and said that travel agents could always print off a copy of the itinerary for them.

E-ticketing has becoming increasingly prevalent across the travel industry and has been adopted by both rail travel and flight operators.

What is your opinion on e-ticketing? Do you prefer to have the feeling of the crisp and official ticket in your hand? Will lovely leather wallets be a thing of the past?

I seem a bit too opinionated today... but here goes...

As a "30 something"... I should be embracing all this e-ticketing...

I'm NOT!... I hate it... I like something tangible in my hand for when the systems go wrong or someone presses a button deleting my booking.

All this "self check-in" stuff at airports also drives me mad... it generally isn't any quicker... as queues form with people struggling to work out how to use the damned machines... another worry for people... Add to that the requirement to print your own boarding pass - NOT always possible to get to a pc with a printer whilst away on holiday...

The old ways aren't always inferior and PROGRESS isn't always a good thing!

It used to be great for flying. Do everything you can on-line 24 hours before departure - even bagging the exit seats - then turn up at the airport, go to the fast bag drop and miss the big queue.

Now that loads of people have cottoned on it has become the slow bag drop with a huge queue and of course, you still have to answer "have you packed the bag yourself?" - Never answer "no the butler did it" - and all the other questions. Then you find they've changed the aircraft and you're 2 ounces over the allowed baggage weight.....shall I go on?

You can't beat technology when all runs smoothly but when it doesn't, oh dear.

I carry reams of paper which includes everything that I have downloaded about my flights, my hotels, my itinerary, e-mails from people that I will meet up with, in fact three files labelled "Tickets and Official Documents", "Itinerary and Excursions" and " Incidentals" I even number the pages and do an index but that's because I am a stickler for organisation.

I do carry Cruise Information as issued by the cruise line which is generally a small booklet with general notes and Port Agents etc. If they stop producing this I shall just make up my own probably downloaded from the net.

As far as I am concerned I don't need tickets but the thing that worries me, if this is the way that the cruise lines are going, they must make sure that everyone, especially newcomers, knows what is essential and what they must do in order to cruise in a "paperless” fashion.

We have had two examples recently of cruisers who have come unstuck because they, quite honestly, didn't give their cruise and the essentials enough thought and if the cruise lines are to become truly paperless then they must make allowances for this. ....Neil

I don't mind the paperless situation. However it takes some of the excitement out of a holiday.

My first ever cruise was with MSC and the tickets came in a large navy folder with itinery details, postcards of the ship. deck plan leaflets and lots of other information. We got so excited we nearly burst. An e-mail just wouldn't get me to fever pitch;)

Yeeaahh but think of all the money the cruise lines (and the airlines) save
by not having to issue these paper documents.

So much better to have YOU do it, using your paper and ink.
Hell, it probably saves them what? 20 cents per booking?
That money goes to shareholders instead. ;)


Soon, it'll be you bringing your own towels and sheets as more corners are cut
and eventually your own food too!


This cutting corners thing has only just started! :D
.

No, no and a further no.

Give me my folder with all the details and information in it.

Every time we have used this new fangled e-ticket things have gone wrong their end leaving us the customer to fret and then sort out their bloody problems for them.

Fast this, fast that always turn out to be anything but.

IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT.

QUOTE:

No, no and a further no.

Give me my folder with all the details and information in it.

What they'll do is...

* If you want/need paper documentation, you have to specifically request such.
* You'll have to pay for this (now-) extra service, I hope you know
and the charge will be somewhere on the order of 5 -10 Pounds, plus Postage! :D

That ought to wind you up for awhile..
.

Gee thanks Aplmac, you just made my day.

That red faced person having a fit is me now.

QUOTE:

What they'll do is...

* If you want/need paper documentation, you have to specifically request such.
* You'll have to pay for this (now-) extra service, I hope you know
and the charge will be somewhere on the order of 5 -10 Pounds, plus Postage! :D

That ought to wind you up for awhile..
.

Starting to sound awfully like the bargain basement airlines. It would be a shame if cruises went the same way.