What happens if you don't own a printer?

[hllwdcruiser]

Our printer recently broke - can you still get luggage tags at the Port?

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

The Porters/Longshoremen who take your luggage usually have them.  At least at Pier 91 in Seattle, there is a small outdoor desk set up with longshoremen with a copy of the manifest.  I imagine other port have a similar set-up.

[riffatsea]

We have never had a working printer

We have friends and neighbors who help out with that when needed

Of course you can also get tags at the port just like at an airport

Edited February 21, 2022 by riffatsea

[Lady Arwen]

Our local library does printing 25cents per sheet.  I assume most libraries have public computers free to patrons.  We had to this once when our printer died and we needed to print luggage tags and airline boarding passes.  Easy peasy and cheap.

[FlaMariner]

no printer, no problem......

 

We send what's needed to the local mail store (similar to UPS store) and they print it for pennies. 

 

(BTW, the business case for not having a printer is very positive.....only print what is important and no more ink cartridges $$$$...it's a good decision for us)

[Marelaine]

We have the same luck. My printer broke a week before the cruise. I showed the longshoreman my medallion and he wrote our cabin number on tags and tagged our luggage.  There is nothing that has to be printed for your cruise. But I'm an over thinker so I  took screenshots of my included perks. Sure enough, our casino credit was lost with the cabin change. I was able to show the casino host my credit on my phone and it was restored within hours.

[Shelly97060]

Yes you can get luggage tags at the port.  
 

Also, if you are flying in the day ahead many hotels will print documents for you for a small fee or as others have mentioned the local library or places like Office Depot or Office Max will print for you.  A helpful neighbor or friend is also a great option.  If you used a TA you can also ask them to print the tags and mail them to you. 

[Ombud]

I haven't had a printer for 2 decades. 

Hotels: no charge

UPS: 15c

STAPLES: 19c

Testing & vax: screenshots

 

But then I only have my purse, a carryon, my favorite bottle of wine in its side pocket, and recently flowers as I'm never sure if I can get them onboard (tried reserving but no luck)

[hllwdcruiser]

Thanks everyone!

I think we will also live without a printer for as long as possible. The ink costs were getting ridiculous and that's why we aren't replacing it. I do still use the scan feature but I guess screen shots will work just as well.

I will probably ask a family member to print the tags for us - our daughter printed our summary and perks at her office - I just don't like to ask her too often. It's good to know the option to get the tags at the pier will work just fine though.

[CruzeQueen2]

5 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Our local library does printing 25cents per sheet.  I assume most libraries have public computers free to patrons.  We had to this once when our printer died and we needed to print luggage tags and airline boarding passes.  Easy peasy and cheap.

Canada, eh? Here in Vancouver too! Well, they had the printers.in 2019 when I cruised last 

[hllwdcruiser]

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

But then I only have my purse, a carryon, my favorite bottle of wine in its side pocket, and recently flowers as I'm never sure if I can get them onboard (tried reserving but no luck)

How on earth do you manage with just one carryon? I've always admired those who can do it on a cruise.

When I was a road warrior, visiting many different locations in one week, I was able to do so with duplicating the same outfits. 

Do you just wear different tops with the the same bottoms for dinner each night and do the same for your day wear? 

Please share! I'm packing for our 10 day Enchanted and I'm already looking at probably using 2 suitcases plus a carryon for DH and me.....

[Ombud]

Its not 'legally' a carry on anymore as 22" with wheels. 4 bottoms inc 1 skirt, 5 tops, 1 pair shoes, 1 pr sandals, use ship robe as swimsuit cover up, underwear in suitcase. Leaves room for dress & chiffon shrug if necessary. Will onit on TA as I'm shopping there. I wear tinted moisturizer so don't wear makeup.  It's all there and all there about mix and match.

[hllwdcruiser]

4 hours ago, Ombud said:

Its not 'legally' a carry on anymore as 22" with wheels. 4 bottoms inc 1 skirt, 5 tops, 1 pair shoes, 1 pr sandals, use ship robe as swimsuit cover up, underwear in suitcase. Leaves room for dress & chiffon shrug if necessary. Will onit on TA as I'm shopping there. I wear tinted moisturizer so don't wear makeup.  It's all there and all there about mix and match.

Amazing - and I'm sure you are on for a lot longer than our 10 day. DH just complained to me that he doesn't need a different shirt for every night....I may have to reassess. 

[riffatsea]

We also travel,with one carryon each and I take an extra back pack

Clothes go in the carryon

Electronics meds etc go I the backpackor large tote bag

The trick is to color coordinate so you do not need too many shoes

We have not checked luggage in many years

We can do 2 weeks that way

You definitely don't need 14 day time and 14 nightime outfits

[caribill]

7 hours ago, hllwdcruiser said:

 DH just complained to me that he doesn't need a different shirt for every night....I may have to reassess. 

 

No other passenger will care if you wear the same outfit more than once or even every day.

[ontheweb]

This has really strayed far off the topic of what if you do not have a printer.🤣🤣

[hllwdcruiser]

9 hours ago, riffatsea said:

We also travel,with one carryon each and I take an extra back pack

Clothes go in the carryon

Electronics meds etc go I the backpackor large tote bag

The trick is to color coordinate so you do not need too many shoes

We have not checked luggage in many years

We can do 2 weeks that way

You definitely don't need 14 day time and 14 nightime outfits

 

We do that for our daytime wear - When we go on these Caribbean cruises we spend most of the time in our swimsuits and coverups. We really take these trips to get away from it all and rarely do an excursion on the islands. We'll get off the ship, walk around a bit and get right back on. We do bring some day wear for that or the occasional excursion.

it's for the evening wear for the MDR that I bring summer dresses for me for each night and different shirts for him that go with two or three dressier trousers. This is what I definitely need to reassess.

 

Do you all wear the same clothes every night in the MDR or the same clothes going from day into night?

 

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

No other passenger will care if you wear the same outfit more than once or even every day.

 

Very true. The problem is DH can rarely eat a meal without spilling something greasy on his shirt or trousers....on these short cruises I really don't want to spend one minute doing laundry. Although he would be very happy wearing the same thing day in and day out! 

 

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

This has really strayed far off the topic of what if you do not have a printer.🤣🤣

 

It has! But I started the thread so I guess it's okay?🤷‍♀️🤣

 

I'm absolutely fascinated in @Ombud @riffatsea and @caribilltechniques. I think it's so much more interesting than printers!

 

I honestly think the moderators should encourage them to start their own sticky thread on the subject. 😀

[rj59]

Before the cruise, your public library will have printers, or Kinkos/Fedex stores. If you stay overnight before your cruise, your hotel should have a business center with a printer and will be well used to luggage tag/boarding pass printing requests. While porters will write out tags, there can be a line sometimes and I don't like adding to embarkation stress/excitement that way. I usually take a dollar store stapler with me also, but then a hotel would have a stapler to use. I prefer the greater confidence of printing out two luggage tags for each bag, in case one comes off, particularly if I'm dropping off my bag at LAX for a Princess transfer and won't see my bag until it's on the ship (hopefully). You could also try just doing what porters do, and get some blank paper bags with attachment strings from an office supply store and writing down the info from a luggage tag. Finally, my elderly parents made the mistake of having a fancy color printer that constantly requires various expensive inks, but I got them a simple $50 laser printer that prints quickly in b/w and has enough ink for hundreds of sheets, with $20 generic ink cartridge replacements on Amazon, and it prints over wifi from a tablet or computer.

[JF - retired RRT]

18 hours ago, hllwdcruiser said:

How on earth do you manage with just one carryon? I've always admired those who can do it on a cruise.

When I was a road warrior, visiting many different locations in one week, I was able to do so with duplicating the same outfits. 

Do you just wear different tops with the the same bottoms for dinner each night and do the same for your day wear? 

Yes!! Everything is color co-ordinated. 4 or 5 tops, 2-3 pants, 1pair sandals, wear one pair shoes to board, some undies (enough for 5 days, Elite free laundry). Done

[Ombud]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

This has really strayed far off the topic of what if you do not have a printer.🤣🤣

Not that far IMHO. As boarding pass and travel summary can be a screenshot now, I'll venture to say most only need a printer IF they check luggage. But if you pack light with just 1 carry on then you don't even need a luggage tag. So if there's a line at the porter and I've not got a tag (which is almost always) then just hoof it & drop it in the room myself. Explain to steward that what's happening.  Then off to IC or the MDR & unpack later

[MissP22]

The library in Florida charges 10 cents per page.

If you carry your luggage onboard with you no luggage tags are needed. 

 

[FlaMariner]

and you do not have to tip the longshoreman either!

[hllwdcruiser]

6 hours ago, rj59 said:

Finally, my elderly parents made the mistake of having a fancy color printer that constantly requires various expensive inks, but I got them a simple $50 laser printer that prints quickly in b/w and has enough ink for hundreds of sheets, with $20 generic ink cartridge replacements on Amazon, and it prints over wifi from a tablet or computer.

I think that is what I might do. I have an old Brother laser up in our house in NY that uses one cartridge about every 2-3 years and works perfectly.

What brand did you get them for $50? 

As much as I think I can live without a printer, there are just too many times where one would come in handy.