Travel Docs! Where are they?

OK. Humor aside. I've lost count of the times I've read where folks are wondering what happened to their travel docs. And after some expressions of sheer angst, learning they weren't lost; they were delivered to their travel agent. This even tho the email they'd received made it appear that the docs were being delivered to them - at home.

Yesterday I decided to write our friends at TellUs to find out what the industry practice is regarding the delivery of travel docs. Below is their very helpful and thorough reply:

"In accordance with standard industry practice, travel documents are always shipped to the travel agency, unless the travel agent contacts the cruise line to make alternate arrangements. By default, Viking Cruises follows the same practice; however, travel agents can request that we send travel documents to an alternate address, including directly to the passengers. Should the travel agent and guest agree to this, they should make this request known to us as soon as possible in the booking process to ensure the documents are sent to the preferred address."

I also offered a suggestion how they might improve the email containing the happy news that travel docs are on the way. Which I'm told was forwarded to the appropriate office. But... it occurred to me later that a better solution would be to add the above (condensed maybe) to their FAQ page. Perhaps expand the existing travel doc FAQ to answer more than just when they're sent but where. Viking??

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OK. Humor aside. I've lost count of the times I've read where folks are wondering what happened to their travel docs. And after some expressions of sheer angst, learning they weren't lost; they were delivered to their travel agent. This even tho the email they'd received made it appear that the docs were being delivered to them - at home.

 

Yesterday I decided to write our friends at TellUs to find out what the industry practice is regarding the delivery of travel docs. Below is their very helpful and thorough reply:

 

"In accordance with standard industry practice, travel documents are always shipped to the travel agency, unless the travel agent contacts the cruise line to make alternate arrangements. By default, Viking Cruises follows the same practice; however, travel agents can request that we send travel documents to an alternate address, including directly to the passengers. Should the travel agent and guest agree to this, they should make this request known to us as soon as possible in the booking process to ensure the documents are sent to the preferred address."

 

I also offered a suggestion how they might improve the email containing the happy news that travel docs are on the way. Which I'm told was forwarded to the appropriate office. But... it occurred to me later that a better solution would be to add the above (condensed maybe) to their FAQ page. Perhaps expand the existing travel doc FAQ to answer more than just when they're sent but where. Viking??

 

 

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Nice suggestion. On my previous Viking Riverboat cruise and my upcoming Viking Ocean cruise, my TA had Viking send everything directly to me via USPS and I was notified of the tracking number. For my 1/6/18 ocean cruise, everything was delivered to me two days ago.

There are still kinks in the docs delivery process. We booked our upcoming cruise as a B2B and therefore received two sets of documents. Very early on in the process--like while we were booking--the TA indicated that the docs should be shipped directly to us. Our first set of docs were shipped directly to us and contained the normal assortment --one booklet for the two of us, red luggage tags, pre-printed delivery tags with our cabin number and the bright red transfer sticker (even though we don't have Viking transfers) all in one felt zippered envelope.

The docs for the second cruise were shipped in two packages (with a booklet for each of us as opposed to one booklet for both) and sent to the TA, who then had to send us the booklets. I told her to keep the rest as we don't need yet another set of red luggage tags (this is our sixth Viking adventure) or the luggage deliver tags and I already have two felt zippered cases--I don't want/need another--so why bother paying to ship them to me. Just send me the booklets.

So, go figure!

Since most cruise companies these days do NOT send any docs - you print them from your computer - I’m wondering if Viking’s procedure isn’t throwing them a bit. I would think this is especially true of those who do not deal with Viking on a regular basis and the online booking sites that deal with thousands of bookings. The Viking docs may just get set aside and forgotten.

I booked my first 2 Viking cruises direct, but I have booked the third through a friend of a friend who is a TA. I will have to make sure to mention it. I don’t think she’d want to bother with the added expense and trip to the PO/UPS/FedEx. I love getting that package!

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Since most cruise companies these days do NOT send any docs - you print them from your computer - I’m wondering if Viking’s procedure isn’t throwing them a bit.

The docs are handled by an outside contractor from information gathered by Viking. While our docs might not have gone exactly the same route for both legs of our journey at least they arrived earlier than the three weeks or less before sailing that I have experienced in the past.

I think it's great that Viking sends out travel docs, but there should be consistency in what and how those docs are delivered. There are six of us travelling together, everything was booked and paid for together, but we got five sets of documents, the fifth set of documents went to our TA instead of to the address we provided. That set included a booklet with both names on it, 2 luggage tags, 2 sets of delivery tags and 2 transfer stickers; in 1 zippered pouch as opposed to the individual set of docs that everyone else received. Whilst this is ultimately a non-issue for us, at the same time I feel that little things like this slightly devalue the quality of the overall experience.

I think it's great that Viking sends out travel docs, but there should be consistency in what and how those docs are delivered. There are six of us travelling together, everything was booked and paid for together, but we got five sets of documents, the fifth set of documents went to our TA instead of to the address we provided. That set included a booklet with both names on it, 2 luggage tags, 2 sets of delivery tags and 2 transfer stickers; in 1 zippered pouch as opposed to the individual set of docs that everyone else received. Whilst this is ultimately a non-issue for us, at the same time I feel that little things like this slightly devalue the quality of the overall experience.

Agreed. How an organization handles the details says a lot about the organization.