Norwegian Cruise Line will join the ranks of
cruise companies converting to electronic documentation, beginning
May 28.
Passengers on NCL and
NCL America cruises with reservations paid in full and finalized
will have e-documents available up to 60 days prior to
sailing.
"E-docs offer
increased flexibility and choice for all of our guests ... in
addition to significantly enhancing reliability and earlier
delivery of cruise documents," Andy Stuart, NCL's executive vice
president of marketing and sales, said in a statement.
Passengers and travel
agents will receive e-mail messages from NCL notifying them when
the electronic documents are ready. They can be accessed via an
imbedded link in the e-mail, NCL said. The documents also will be
accessible by going to a designated section of NCL's Web
site.
The e-documents will
include a welcome-aboard letter; cruise ticket; passenger terms and
conditions; airline e-ticket if air travel arrangements have been
made through NCL; pre- or post-cruise hotel vouchers, if
applicable; pre- or post-cruise transfer vouchers, if applicable;
and electronic luggage tags, all of which are printable.
Among the large
cruise lines, Princess Cruises announced it would be the first line
to go all-electronic last November. Royal Caribbean International
sends guests paper tickets but also allows them to check in online.
Carnival Cruise Lines said it still uses paper documents but is in
the process of testing an e-documents system that will let guests
choose paper or electronic.
To
contact reporter Johanna Jainchill, send e-mail to [email protected].