New Edocs & Luggage Tag Program!
Ray Goldenberg
I received this press release from Royal Caribbean, & Azamara.
--
Ray Goldenberg 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
Lighthouse Travel http://www.lighthousetravel.com
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lighthousetravl
Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ray.goldenberg
AZAMARA CRUISES�, CELEBRITY CRUISES� AND ROYAL CARIBBEAN
INTERNATIONAL� ANNOUNCE NEW eDOCS AND LUGGAGE TAG PROGRAM
MIAMI, November 9, 2009 � Azamara Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Royal
Caribbean International believe that their
guests� cruise experience begins before the first suitcase is packed.
Today, the cruise lines announced a new electronic
cruise document, or �eDocs,� and luggage tag program designed to offer
guests a dynamic, one-of-a-kind pre-cruise
documentation experience and simultaneously give travel agents an
opportunity to promote their own business.
A personalized, interactive, visually appealing, web-based format
offers guests all the information they need prior to their
cruise, including travel agency contact details, information on shore
excursion choices and various onboard offerings
available during the guests� particular cruise, travel and
documentation instructions, and much more. Once the booking
has been finalized, eDocs will be issued as early as 49 days prior to
sailing.
In an effort to offer guests more information in a visually appealing
way with less burden on the environment, all Azamara,
Celebrity and Royal Caribbean bookings made on or after December 13,
2009, will generate eDocs as the default format for
guest travel documents. eDocs also will be the default format for any
bookings made before December 13, 2009, that didn�t
include a selection of a hard-copy guest travel documents preference.
Guests will access their eDocs via each cruise line�s
consumer website: www.azamaracruises.com, www.celebritycruises.com and
www.royalcaribbeaninternational.com.
�Our travel partners have told us that now is the time to move to an
electronic option for cruise documents,� said Vicki
Freed, Senior Vice President, Sales, Royal Caribbean International.
�Given that close to half of our guests and travel
partners already select eDocs as their preferred format, the momentum
has been building toward this type of approach
as eDocs have become widely accepted by travel partners and cruise
travelers alike.�
�While most other cruise brands have moved to a purely electronic
format, we wanted to continue to offer a choice by
providing guests the opportunity to purchase a printed document,� said
Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President, Sales,
Celebrity Cruises. �We realize that our travel partners may choose to
print the eDocs� printer-friendly version and give a
hard copy to their clients, but we strongly encourage our partners to
share the eDocs link so their clients can experience
the truly interactive, personalized format.�
The technology behind the eDocs brings with it various conveniences
for the guests and travel partners who use them.
Not only do the eDocs give guests and travel partners around-the-clock
access to important pre-cruise information, they
also offer hyperlinks to all pre-cruise activity reservation
opportunities. Additionally, eDocs offer a table of contents with
hyperlinks that take the guest to the exact page they're interested
in, the ability to email a copy to friends and family, and
the option to print specific pages. As an added bonus, the eDocs that
Azamara, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean will offer
are visually stunning, colorful and easy to read.
Celebrity and Royal Caribbean will offer guests the option of ordering
printed cruise documents, for a fee of $35 per
document. The up-market, smaller-ship brand Azamara, however, will
waive this fee for its guests who order printed cruise
documents.
�We want to offer our guests the same highly personalized service that
is already part of the onboard Azamara experience,
before they even step onboard,� said Edie Bornstein, Vice President,
Sales and Marketing, Azamara Cruises. �We include
butler service, concierge style amenities and complimentary specialty
restaurant dining for every guest, so we wanted to
include the printed cruise document option, too.�
Azamara, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean announce new eDocs and luggage
tags
It is also possible for travel partners and guests to self-print eDocs
at no charge using a printer-friendly format; however,
this version will lack the interactive qualities of the online eDocs.
For all bookings made through travel partners, the Azamara Cruises,
Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International
eDocs will be customized to display the travel agency name and phone
number. Travel partners can access eDocs through
the three lines� travel agent portal, www.cruisingpower.com.
Not only will the new eDocs program help travel partners avoid
shipping costs by eliminating the need to mail printed
documents to their clients, but travel partners also have options
around how their clients receive their eDocs. Agents can
receive eDocs on behalf of a client, they can give the cruise line the
client�s email address or provide the client with the
booking number so that the client can self-manage their eDocs (which
saves the travel partner valuable administrative
time). Alternatively, travel partners can offer their clients the
opportunity to purchase a printed document.
A new eDocs luggage tag system designed to save guests time at the
pier and streamline the onboard luggage sorting
and delivery process is a crucial part of the three cruise lines�
revamped pre-cruise planning and documentation
experience. Qualified guests may request luggage tags to be mailed to
them by completing the request form available on
each brand�s website. With the new program, guests will receive, via
mail, a complimentary set of eight pre-printed, selfadhesive,
color-coded and personalized luggage tags. Luggage tags can be
requested as soon as documents are issued
and must be requested no later than 14 days prior to sailing.
Alternatively, travel partners can request that a client�s
luggage tags be mailed either to the client or the travel agency by
providing a mailing address at the time of booking; these
will be mailed 13 days prior to sailing.
The new eDocs luggage tag program is already available for Royal
Caribbean International�s guests, and will become
available for Azamara Cruises� and Celebrity Cruises� guests beginning
November 16, 2009.
About Azamara Cruises
Azamara Cruises unlocks the hidden corners of the world for those who
desire to immerse themselves in the rich details
of every voyage. The up-market ships � Azamara Journey and Azamara
Quest � offer an intimate experience, while
allowing access to exotic destinations experienced travelers long to
reach. For the 694 guests on each Azamara Cruises
ship, every moment at sea embodies the pinnacle of luxury, and each
footstep on shore accentuates the difference
between visiting a place and getting a true sense of place. This year,
Azamara Cruises presents the best of enchanting
Europe, elite Asia, and the most captivating Caribbean and the Panama
Canal. The line also offers unique cruisetours in
Europe and Asia. For more information, contact your travel agent.
About Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises offers comfortably sophisticated, upscale vacation
experiences with highly personalized service,
exceptional dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Celebrity
sails in Alaska, Bermuda, California, Canada/New
England, the Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, the Pacific
Coast, Panama Canal and South America. The
line also offers unique cruisetour vacations in Alaska, Canada, Europe
and South America. Noted for four of the top 10
"Top Cruise Ships in the World" in the large-ship category, as voted
by the readers of Cond� Nast Traveler (February 2009
readers� poll), Celebrity�s fleet � including the new Celebrity
Solstice and Celebrity Equinox, will be joined by Celebrity
Eclipse in 2010, a fourth Solstice-class ship in 2011, and a fifth in
2012. For more information, call your travel agent.
About Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand with 20 ships
currently in service and two under construction. The line
also offers unique cruise tour land packages in Alaska, Canada, Dubai,
Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. For additional
information or to make reservations, call your travel agent.
Mary Graves
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I received this press release from Royal Caribbean, & Azamara.
>
> --
> Ray Goldenberg 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
> Lighthouse Travel http://www.lighthousetravel.com
> Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lighthousetravl
> Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ray.goldenberg
>
> AZAMARA CRUISES®, CELEBRITY CRUISES® AND ROYAL CARIBBEAN
>
> MIAMI, November 9, 2009 – Azamara Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Royal
> Caribbean International believe that their
> guests’ cruise experience begins before the first suitcase is packed.
> Today, the cruise lines announced a new electronic
> guests a dynamic, one-of-a-kind pre-cruise
> documentation experience and simultaneously give travel agents an
> opportunity to promote their own business.
> A personalized, interactive, visually appealing, web-based format
> offers guests all the information they need prior to their
> cruise, including travel agency contact details, information on shore
> excursion choices and various onboard offerings
> available during the guests’ particular cruise, travel and
> documentation instructions, and much more. Once the booking
> has been finalized, eDocs will be issued as early as 49 days prior to
> sailing.
> In an effort to offer guests more information in a visually appealing
> way with less burden on the environment, all Azamara,
> Celebrity and Royal Caribbean bookings made on or after December 13,
> 2009, will generate eDocs as the default format for
> guest travel documents. eDocs also will be the default format for any
> bookings made before December 13, 2009, that didn’t
> include a selection of a hard-copy guest travel documents preference.
> Guests will access their eDocs via each cruise line’s
> consumer website:www.azamaracruises.com,www.celebritycruises.comandwww.royalcaribbeaninternational.com.
> pier and streamline the onboardluggagesorting
> and delivery process is a crucial part of the three cruise lines’
> revamped pre-cruise planning and documentation
> them by completing the request form available on
> each brand’s website. With the new program, guests will receive, via
> mail, a complimentary set of eight pre-printed, selfadhesive,
> requested as soon as documents are issued
> and must be requested no later than 14 days prior to sailing.
> providing a mailing address at the time of booking; these
> will be mailed 13 days prior to sailing.
> readers’ poll), Celebrity’s fleet – including the new Celebrity
> Solstice and Celebrity Equinox, will be joined by Celebrity
> Eclipse in 2010, a fourth Solstice-class ship in 2011, and a fifth in
> 2012. For more information, call your travel agent.
> About Royal Caribbean International
> Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand with 20 ships
> currently in service and two under construction. The line
> also offers unique cruise tour land packages in Alaska, Canada, Dubai,
> Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. For additional
> information or to make reservations, call your travel agent.
Since most cruise lines no longer mail luggage tags and I find that
the paper ones are not reliable, there is a GREAT website that
personalizes the tags and they are quite reasonably priced. Check it
out: http://cruiseluggagetags.com