For months now we have seen the trend of cruise lines “going green,” eliminating paper documents and going to E-docs only. Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean were the latest to announce the change.
I certainly don’t have an issue with going green, but some of our local clients do not have access to computers. What then? The cruise lines want between $25 and $35 to print and ship documents. Clients are upset and I don’t blame them. Why not include the documents in the price? What about luggage tags? Clients are supposed to print them out on a sheet of paper, cut it to size and tape the ends together until they get to the pier. Really?
Clearly clients should be given a choice. If they have cruised often and only want their boarding passing, then let them elect E-docs, but for clients that have no computer, printer or prefer written materials, there should be no additional charge.
When asked for comments at the end of your next cruise, make sure and mention this document issue, or if you have time, write a letter to the cruise lines you frequent, as this policy will not change unless they are aware how unhappy the public is about it.
Perhaps a better way to go green is for cruise lines not to print so many cruise brochures. You can always visit a travel agent or even a library to obtain inital cruise information online, but once booked, you should receive detailed documents from the cruise line.
