RC Docs Received! Is this the new norm?

[PCWalton1]

You may be getting that message if you have not paid in full yet. If you have, then you should be able to check-in. I've never gotten that message when we're all paid up. I'm getting it now because we have a cruise booked on FOS in September and we elected to only pay a deposit this time.

 

Nope, we are paid in full but it still says we have to wait till 90 days out.

[Desert Cruizers]

Bill, last year we had 3 cruises out of Sydney, Australia ( NZ Transpacific & Hawaii to Vancouver ) and I received all our luggage tags & E Docs in plenty of time before we flew to Australia, yet my husbands Sister only received hers for Cruise #1 by the time we left. Since they were not changing rooms, I merely printed out extra tags for them and using address labels typed in the new Dates and cruise and attached to the other Tags. Cruise # 3 was a b2b so didn't need tags.

 

Gay

[Terre]

One more point that I'd like to make about printing your own e-docs is that you're looking at printing 20 pages using tri-color ink. Now if you don't mind using the paper and tri-color ink especially where you may want to have your luggage tags in color then that's the thing to do. But you'll also note that with the e-docs there isn't a separate page that you can check off the individual pages to only print. That was the old e-docs, now you have no choice other than to print all 20 pages. (maybe you can use the computer at work?)

 

If you click on the page you want to print, then click on print, choose current page and that's all you'll get.

[Terre]

We're booked on the Anthem on January 15th 2016 through Costco Travel and hadn't received our e-docs. After two phone calls to Costco who called RCI we were told that RCI doesn't send the e-docs to them anymore. Now, that's not to say that RCI or other Travel Agencies have followed in their steps. I was told it's something that's relatively new. I asked why as we're D+ members and have always received them 30-45 days prior. All that Costco Travel said is that it's a way to save some time to not have to email them to their clients while the "new" norm is to obtain your e-docs by going to the RCI websight and follow these steps: Go to the RC Home screen, scroll to the bottom, look for Countdown to Cruise, then Cruise Documentation, then Guest Vacation Documents, You can either Check Status or Print them.

The other way if you're a Costco member is to pay them $35.00 and they'll do that for you and send them by US mail. (I think not)!

For about the past 10 years now, we've been able to print our own e-docs from the cruise lines' website (Carnival, RCI, Celebrity, Princess). Since the cruise lines started this, the TA doesn't send us anything anymore except an e-mail from them confirming the booking and telling us to go the cruise line's website to get docs, luggage tags, and check-in. I don't think it's new. I do miss going to the mailbox and getting those cruise docs after waiting weeks for them and doing the doc dance back to the house! Some things were better the old way. Now we have them instantly; nice and convenient, but not as exciting.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Terre

[Terre]

Nope, we are paid in full but it still says we have to wait till 90 days out.

 

That is really strange. When we booked our FOS for this past Sept., we paid in full at booking and I had access to docs and tags in two-three days after booking. Now that I think about it, we were within that 90 day time period. I would keep checking back periodically...never know what may happen!

[Coralc]

Approximately 49 days out for documents is the usual time frame. :)

[robtulipe]

From the anecdotal evidence so far, you are the exception as far as timing and your TA is nice to offer such a service.

 

The very large New England located online agency we booked our upcoming Anthem cruise with sent us a PDF of our cruise document attached to an email about a month ago.

I had already downloaded the same PDF from our Countdown To Cruising on the RCI web site and saved it in our travel laptop's cruise travel documents file in case we need it. We haven't needed any yet while on a cruise.

We only print out the pages needed, typically the luggage tag, but the flights and transfers pages could be required by others also.

Edited December 27, 2015 by robtulipe

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Nope, we are paid in full but it still says we have to wait till 90 days out.

 

Ditto. Paid my cruise off a few weeks ago, show a zero balance, and still says 90 days.

[DJLDRUMS]

Well again, I'll mention that Costco is no longer sending out e-docs as they used to.Costco does have a large Travel Agency. As was told to us they stopped two-three months ago, after they receive them from RCI. Now if people would still like to receive them instead of downloading them and printing them there is a $35.00 service fee and they'll do that for you, put it in a Priority Mail envelop ($5.75) and it should be received anywhere in the USA within 5 business days.

When I went to the RCI sight and went through the steps to pick and choose pages I wanted to print out that page was left blank, that page used to be near the end of the e-docs, whereas previously we could check off what we wanted to print. It wasn't there this time and were told from RCI Customer Service that's the new way that e-docs are being done. All 20 pages need to be printed out.

[Clarea]

Well again, I'll mention that Costco is no longer sending out e-docs as they used to.Costco does have a large Travel Agency. As was told to us they stopped two-three months ago, after they receive them from RCI. Now if people would still like to receive them instead of downloading them and printing them there is a $35.00 service fee and they'll do that for you, put it in a Priority Mail envelop ($5.75) and it should be received anywhere in the USA within 5 business days.

When I went to the RCI sight and went through the steps to pick and choose pages I wanted to print out that page was left blank, that page used to be near the end of the e-docs, whereas previously we could check off what we wanted to print. It wasn't there this time and were told from RCI Customer Service that's the new way that e-docs are being done. All 20 pages need to be printed out.

Just download the edocs as a PDF file and then print the pages you want.

[Coralc]

Well again, I'll mention that Costco is no longer sending out e-docs as they used to.Costco does have a large Travel Agency. As was told to us they stopped two-three months ago, after they receive them from RCI. Now if people would still like to receive them instead of downloading them and printing them there is a $35.00 service fee and they'll do that for you, put it in a Priority Mail envelop ($5.75) and it should be received anywhere in the USA within 5 business days.

When I went to the RCI sight and went through the steps to pick and choose pages I wanted to print out that page was left blank, that page used to be near the end of the e-docs, whereas previously we could check off what we wanted to print. It wasn't there this time and were told from RCI Customer Service that's the new way that e-docs are being done. All 20 pages need to be printed out.

 

I still don't really understand. It is very simple to download and print them yourself from the RCI website or from a link provided by your travel provider?

 

I just printed mine today. Go to Print Document. First I printed the e-docs, and then I opened them again and went to the luggage tag page. Selected print, then Current Page and 6 copies.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Coralc

[robtulipe]

Yes, these are regular Adobe PDF so you can select the pages you want to print as part of the print set up. Earlier today I only printed several copies of the luggage tag page and a copy of the summary page for our Anthem cruise this Sunday.

I did this from a saved PDF document file. Just now I went on the RCI site and open the same PDF file from the cruise documentation page of our Countdown To Cruising and had no problem selecting individual pages to print out.

[BillOh]

Nope, we are paid in full but it still says we have to wait till 90 days out.

 

Exact same thing for me.

[PCWalton1]

Exact same thing for me.

 

I guess it gives me something to look forward to. :rolleyes:

[goneclear]

Just to be clear to everyone and to ensure we are not confusing Documents with online check in and printing. I did receive my Documents for my end of April 2016 cruise from my TA. Having received those I tried to see if I can start to enter info for the online check in and that says it cant be done until 90 days from cruise date.