Xpress Pass

[marienbad]

I read that there is an Xpress Pass to facilitate early boarding of the ship. What is it? Does it really help. We are in Concierge class on the Feb. 12th Summit, and that usually goes pretty quickl.

[canderson]

I read that there is an Xpress Pass to facilitate early boarding of the ship. What is it? Does it really help. We are in Concierge class on the Feb. 12th Summit, and that usually goes pretty quickl.

We're just about to use our first one. I can think of only one time where it might have beeh helpful, although even then --- we got a total rookie at the desk we approached, and it took him nearly 30 minutes to sort out our reservation and find our cards. Apart from that one instance, it'd be hard to imagine the process being much quicker than it's been on other cruises. After all, how long does it take them to punch in your booking number and make sure that you've filled out the 1 page of hardcopy correctly?

 

Will report back after the 5 Dec trip. Have the Xpress passes (two of them, in our case -- and I understand it's down to one per cabin now) printed and ready to go.

[CruisinDoug]

It's not so much to facilitate early boarding, but to make the process easier since all of the required info (including credit card) will have been entered online and hidden in the bar code on the Xpress pass.

[canderson]

It's not so much to facilitate early boarding, but to make the process easier since all of the required info (including credit card) will have been entered online and hidden in the bar code on the Xpress pass.

The bar code is far too small for that. The bar code is really just a link to the booking number. The required information is already held online and associated with the booking number.

 

Before the "Xpress Pass", we were able to enter all of this information online in advance as well, and it was really only a matter of having the desk clerk punch in the booking number and bringing up the screen to indicate whether any information was missing. They'll still want the signatures for the folio, and they've always gotten that from the signature page of the hardcopy docs. Now you sign the Xpress Pass.

 

Compared to just entering the data online as we did prior to the Xpress Pass, all the Xpress Pass does is assure that all of the required information WAS entered online and that there isn't anything missing (the system won't let you print one until it has everything it wants from you). As a result, I doubt there will be any significant time savings compared to the time of those people who have fully completed the online docs as we could do before, but who have not printed the passes.

[Luckyroot]

Just got off the Zenith 11/5/05 and I have to say.....EXPRESS PASS is the way to go! They scan your express pass sheet (that you printed out at home), run your credit card thru the machine and hand you your boarding cards. Max 5 minutes. We left our hotel at 11:00am (near the airport) and were onboard by 11:20. Not bad!

 

Would have been even less than 5 minutes but we A) had a new employee who didn't know the computer system and had to get help from a supervisor and B) we didn't have the credit card for my daughter's best friend so we had to switch it over to my CC.

 

What I wondered is how do they find your sign and sail cards so quickly? When they punch in your info, do the cards come around on some sort of carousel? They can't possibly be looking thru stacks (even if they're alphabetically sorted). Or does a machine print them out as you check in? anyone know?

[canderson]

Just got off the Zenith 11/5/05 and I have to say.....EXPRESS PASS is the way to go! They scan your express pass sheet (that you printed out at home), run your credit card thru the machine and hand you your boarding cards. Max 5 minutes. We left our hotel at 11:00am (near the airport) and were onboard by 11:20. Not bad!

Prior to the Xpress Pass, this has been our experience IF we fully filled out the online documentation beforehand, too. Have you also done that in prior times, and did you notice any real improvement?

 

Would have been even less than 5 minutes but we A) had a new employee who didn't know the computer system and had to get help from a supervisor

Ouch -- we got bit by one of those last December!

 

What I wondered is how do they find your sign and sail cards so quickly? When they punch in your info, do the cards come around on some sort of carousel? They can't possibly be looking thru stacks (even if they're alphabetically sorted). Or does a machine print them out as you check in? anyone know?

Our check-in clerk has always just gone over to the big stack where they file these and pulled them. They're sorted according to cabin number.

[norbert]

Hi,

we are from Europe, and can say that with the ExpressPass it goes really faster. There are more information to enter now as before you could enter online (immigration). So for us it's better now than before. And for them it's more easy to scan a barcode than to search on a list or to search on their computer.

[Luckyroot]

Prior to the Xpress Pass, this has been our experience IF we fully filled out the online documentation beforehand, too. Have you also done that in prior times, and did you notice any real improvement?

 

This was our first time doing express pass, and yes I would have to say it was quicker than our last 2 times. As far as I'm concerned, anything that speeds up the process of getting onboard is a good thing! :D :p

[DancerOT]

We used the Express Pass in August on the Infinity to Alaska. It took 5 minutes total to check in 2 cabins for 4 people. Very fast, very easy, and very convenient! I would recommend it to everyone!:)

[morriscats]

We did Xpress Pass on Infinity this October. We always get to the pier as early as we can and it was a race between who got on first - the regular line or the Xpress Pass. Be aware that most people don't know what Xpress Pass is - the 2 couples in front of us were asked for theirs and they handed them their online documentation instead. The staff processed them through saying "of course we will help you here". The lines should be marked better.

[cruznon]

This is our first Celebrity cruise. I entered all our info yesterday and printed our Express Pass. Is this our ticket? Do we get tickets and documents like other cruiselines or is this the way Celebrity does it?

Just curious and don't know quite what to expect. Thanks.

[canderson]

This is our first Celebrity cruise. I entered all our info yesterday and printed our Express Pass. Is this our ticket? Do we get tickets and documents like other cruiselines or is this the way Celebrity does it?

Just curious and don't know quite what to expect. Thanks.

In essence, the Xpress Pass is your "ticket" since the "contract" is to be read online before you are able to print.

 

However, you should ALSO be receiving either hardcopy or electronic docs for the full cruise with information about ports, dress codes, and a host of other topics. You should see your docs within about 30 days of departure. If it gets down to 3 weeks, contact either Celebrity (if you booked direct) or your travel agent to find out what happened to them.

[psantho]

I'm sailing with a friend, and we would each like to use our own credit cards for our individual expenses. Is it possible to list two credit cards when you use online check in? I'm hesitant to go in and check it out in case only one can be used.

 

Pam

[wieslaw]

Hi, I used the Express Pass Dec. 10th, 2005 and.........it was not a big deal............there was one line for the Express Pass and there were about 10 - 12 people ahead of us........the other lines had less 'quests' in them, so it seems some people went through the other lines quicker than we did......no big deal one way or the other......it took about 15 minutes.

 

Wes

[tadjr]

You can do two different cards in the Xpresspass online. You click on each name individually to do the card numbers. I did the same card on both of ours and my partner ended up wanting to use his own so he just filled out a new CC form before boarding, no problem doing that either.

They still have to run your card thru the machine at checkin.

[canderson]

For the 2nd time in as many cruises (last one was 04/05 Constellation from FLL, this one was 12/05 Galaxy from Galveston) they didn't have the network connections between those notebooks they use at each position at check-in and the Celebrity system in time for the start of check-in. Took them about 15 minutes before things were connected, and since we were there in time for the start, they wound up recording our information on the hardcopy form from our docs book. Guess it's a good thing I brought it along. So much for Xpress...:mad:

[Lois R]

You can do two different cards in the Xpresspass online. You click on each name individually to do the card numbers. I did the same card on both of ours and my partner ended up wanting to use his own so he just filled out a new CC form before boarding, no problem doing that either.

They still have to run your card thru the machine at checkin.

 

When I sailed SUMMIT in October we had 2 separate

accounts. Mari had hers.....I had mine. It was no problem at all.

The X-press pass worked great.

[kryos]

Just got off the Zenith 11/5/05 and I have to say.....EXPRESS PASS is the way to go! They scan your express pass sheet (that you printed out at home), run your credit card thru the machine and hand you your boarding cards. Max 5 minutes. We left our hotel at 11:00am (near the airport) and were onboard by 11:20. Not bad!

Same here. From the time I entered the terminal, to the time I was handing my duffle bag over to the steward who was escorting me to my stateroom ... about maybe ten minutes tops. There was an entirely separate line that people who had printed Xpress Passes at home were directed to. That line moved lightning quick.

 

It was just a matter of handing the Xpress Pass to the agent, along with a credit card. Wala ... SeaPass card and onward to the security screeners for processing onto the ship.

 

Wish all the lines would start letting people do this paperwork from home before the cruise.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita