Sign & Sail cards to the cabin

[Drew B 58]

I haven’t been on a cruise since 2016 but I have my next cruise planned for September.  I’ve sailed on Carnival ten times previously plus two cruises on a different line (Celebrity).  On every single cruise I’ve ever taken, the Sign & Sail cards were handed to us when we checked in for embarkation.  Watching vlogs now, I see that they have changed that and now deliver them in an envelope outside your stateroom.

 

My question is WHY do you suppose they made this change?  It doesn’t make any sense!  It seems to me like it would be so much more work for them to have to deliver them to thousands of cabins.  Moreover, it’s less convenient for the passenger.  And I imagine it invites tons of problems when the envelopes with the cards get lost/stolen, which would then result in lines of people at Guest Services trying to get new cards.

 

I don’t get it.  Does anyone have thoughts that may not have occurred to me?

[BlerkOne]

It speeds up embarkation and cabin stewards have to visit all the staterooms anyway. I have not heard of theft and there are cameras everywhere should someone try to use a stolen card.

[lizord]

It probably reduces people trying to get in their cabin early, just don't put cabin keys out till 1:30. Nobody steals them, there's no reason to. My only problem with the system is on MG where they have the lido soda machines, you cant use them without a card. 

Edit: in some embark. ports they have you check in when you do the  vaccine card check and don't have to visit check in at all. This is how it was in Galveston before 2020, straight from security to ship, now you have to get someone to check your passports.

Edited August 9, 2022 by lizord

[Essiesmom]

Don’t you remember all the walking the checkin clerk had to do?  Check your paperwork, then go and retrieve your cards?  It saves time.  EM

[Lee Cruiser]

Two big reasons:  As Blerk mentioned, it speeds up the embarkation process.  That's probably the biggest reason.  Second, it also cuts down on people trying to go to their rooms before time.  Lots of people had been doing that.

 

It's really not making more work since the cabin stewards are already going to all the rooms anyway.

If someone were to steal your card, your picture is attached to the account.  If they try to use the card, it would be pretty obvious that they are using someone else's card.

[BlerkOne]

• You can open the fire doors and go to your cabin anyway. If the steward is still working on it, the door will be open. If not, the S&S card may already be waiting.

[Drew B 58]

I don’t get the idea of speeding up the embarkation process.  I don’t think it ever took more than a minute or two from when we walked up to the desk till we were all checked in (this was pre-Covid, of course).  How much faster could it realistically be?

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Drew B 58 said:

I don’t get the idea of speeding up the embarkation process.  I don’t think it ever took more than a minute or two from when we walked up to the desk till we were all checked in (this was pre-Covid, of course).  How much faster could it realistically be?

It could take a lot of minutes if the SS cards were in the wrong spot and the had to go look for them. They also had to take your picture but now pick it off of your passport, if available 

[Drew B 58]

They always took your picture right before you stepped out onto the gangway…

[BlerkOne]

1 minute ago, Drew B 58 said:

They always took your picture right before you stepped out onto the gangway…

They used to take them when you checked in 

[6aces]

25 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

It could take a lot of minutes if the SS cards were in the wrong spot and the had to go look for them. They also had to take your picture but now pick it off of your passport, if available 

It takes two minutes to produce the cards. Then you have to wait until you can board. It's no big deal

[mondello]

They check in thousands of guests for each cruise. They can do this faster by shaving those 2 minutes for every check in.

[6aces]

5 minutes ago, mondello said:

They check in thousands of guests for each cruise. They can do this faster by shaving those 2 minutes for every check in.

They are cards. They can print them while they process your documents.  You then must sit and wait to board. It's not complicated nor time consuming

[mondello]

I don’t sit and wait. Time is money. Afternoon check in, board, cabin is ready and cards are there. System works.

 

[Schoifmom]

Ok, folks.  As much as I often do not agree with @BlerkOne, he is right in this instance.  They did not print the cards when you checked in, they were in boxes behind the check-in desk and they did take your photo at check-in.  If you will recall, it sometimes took as much as 5-10 minutes for them to find your cards if you have an unusual name or if it was housed at the far end of the desk (think ADA check-in which is often at one end, and it seemed that our cards were at the other end).  

 

I'm not sure what the big deal is here, the cards have been at the rooms for a few years now.  There have been very few instances of cards not being available and I have not heard of anyone complaining that their cards were stolen and used.  The process is working well.

 

Prior to retrieving your cards, you can use the barcode on your boarding pass to purchase whatever you need.  Once your room is ready, just head that way and get your cards.  

[Old Fart Cruisers]

What difference does it make?   Carnival does what works best for them.   Their boat - their rules 🤔

[SeaShark]

10 hours ago, Drew B 58 said:

I don’t get the idea of speeding up the embarkation process.  I don’t think it ever took more than a minute or two from when we walked up to the desk till we were all checked in (this was pre-Covid, of course).  How much faster could it realistically be?

 

Those minutes might seem small when looked at from a personal viewpoint, but you have to consider the total. If they have to give out 2000 cards, and each takes just one minute (the lesser of "a minute or two"), those 2000 minutes equates to over 33 hours of saved time in the overall boarding process.

[ultrafighter]

This is worded exactly like most of the complaints that John Heald puts up for a vote.  I thought he was just making those up.  😆

[wemjam]

11 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

• You can open the fire doors and go to your cabin anyway. If the steward is still working on it, the door will be open. If not, the S&S card may already be waiting.

Please note:  This is only for Platinum and higher guests, and only to drop luggage and leave prior to 1:30.  They do not want everyone trying to get into their room while the Stewards are still trying to clean and prep them.

[mz-s]

It has definitely helped check-in times I would say.

 

The concern of theft just doesn't happen. The room is empty because the cards are still outside of it, so what does the thief have to gain if they steal your card?

 

Try the new system before you get all up in arms. You will agree it works better.

[Velvetwater]

Costa have done this for a while....seems to work ok.

[Drew B 58]

1 hour ago, SeaShark said:

 

Those minutes might seem small when looked at from a personal viewpoint, but you have to consider the total. If they have to give out 2000 cards, and each takes just one minute (the lesser of "a minute or two"), those 2000 minutes equates to over 33 hours of saved time in the overall boarding process.

Sh, but I’m saying that the WHOLE check-in process once you reached the desk took 1-2 minutes.  The ADDITIONAL time it took to grab the cards was more like seconds.  Or perhaps even ZERO if they were grabbing them while they were waiting for you to do something else.  
 

Meanwhile, they have added work for the room stewards on their busiest day.  Perhaps it only takes “a minute or two” for the stewards to find the cards and deliver them to each stateroom, but cumulatively, that adds up.  And there is also behind-the-scenes time being wasted for some personnel that has to sort all of the cards and deliver them to each room steward’s prep area.  It doesn’t seem efficient to me, but I’m admittedly not there watching it be done…

[Drew B 58]

38 minutes ago, mz-s said:

It has definitely helped check-in times I would say.

 

The concern of theft just doesn't happen. The room is empty because the cards are still outside of it, so what does the thief have to gain if they steal your card?

 

Try the new system before you get all up in arms. You will agree it works better.

I’m not remotely “up in arms”!  I just find it curious.  If it is better/faster/more efficient for Carnival to do it this way, they ABSOLUTELY should.  It just seems counterintuitive to me that it WOULD be better/faster/more efficient.  Just the opposite!  And that’s why I asked the question - to see if there is a logical reason I hadn’t considered.

[6aces]

2 minutes ago, Drew B 58 said:

Sh, but I’m saying that the WHOLE check-in process once you reached the desk took 1-2 minutes.  The ADDITIONAL time it took to grab the cards was more like seconds.  Or perhaps even ZERO if they were grabbing them while they were waiting for you to do something else.  
 

Meanwhile, they have added work for the room stewards on their busiest day.  Perhaps it only takes “a minute or two” for the stewards to find the cards and deliver them to each stateroom, but cumulatively, that adds up.  And there is also behind-the-scenes time being wasted for some personnel that has to sort all of the cards and deliver them to each room steward’s prep area.  It doesn’t seem efficient to me, but I’m admittedly not there watching it be done…

This was my point also. Those 4-8000 room keyes, depending on ship size, still have to get made. Then someone has to deliver them to each deck. Then the have to get distributed to the cabin stewards, who then have to assign them to the rooms.. Someone has to place them in their card holders. There are more potential for mistakes when handled by so many people

[SeaShark]

4 minutes ago, Drew B 58 said:

Sh, but I’m saying that the WHOLE check-in process once you reached the desk took 1-2 minutes.  The ADDITIONAL time it took to grab the cards was more like seconds.  Or perhaps even ZERO if they were grabbing them while they were waiting for you to do something else.  
 

Meanwhile, they have added work for the room stewards on their busiest day.  Perhaps it only takes “a minute or two” for the stewards to find the cards and deliver them to each stateroom, but cumulatively, that adds up.  And there is also behind-the-scenes time being wasted for some personnel that has to sort all of the cards and deliver them to each room steward’s prep area.  It doesn’t seem efficient to me, but I’m admittedly not there watching it be done…

 

But even when you capitalize WHOLE, you're still referring to the check in process for one/two guests...I'm referring to the ENTIRE process. Saving one minute while boarding you or me adds up to a savings of hours when they have to board an entire ship full of guests.