Why did they stop giving you your S&S when you

[Colorado Beach Bum]

33 minutes ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Well, in theory they could run up charges on the card. But you'd have to look vaguely like the person (not likely) or do something where your picture isn't an issue. Withdraw cash at the Sign and Sail kiosk maybe? Could you use it in the casino? Though the casino wouldn't be open yet.

You have to set a PIN in the casino and enter your birthdate. So in this case, they’d have to know your birthday.  And if they actually got that far they’d have to go to cashier to cash out and your picture would be on their screen. 

[sprint180]

NCL still  give you the card at checkin on my March 22 cruise.  They gave my sister the wrong card and we were on the ship, did muster, and were watching sail away when they called her name over the PA as they showed she wasn't on the ship.  

[Qchell]

We cruised a few months ago and I honestly prefer having the keys in our mailbox.  We finally smartened up during the pandemic and got our passports.  We boarded with nothing more than our boarding pass, passport, and phone (Verifly app) in our hands.  We barely had to stop at each station as we worked our way through the check-in process.  The longest pause (other than security - which was still fairly quick) was at the passport station as we did not realize we had needed to sign our passports. While I never had issues with the amount of time it took before they started leaving your keys with your room, it is even better now. 

I also had no problems purchasing a drink with the boarding pass, a quick scan and I had my drink in hand! It also worked perfectly for the muster drill (which is SOO much nicer now).  They gave us the demo, scanned our boarding pass, and we were back to the fun!

[Earthworm Jim]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Have you heard of a single instance of this happening or are you just spreading FUD?

 

Lighten up Francis. I wasn't saying it happened. Just speculating on possible motivations one might have to swipe your S&S card. You make it sound like I'm a member of the Illuminati trying to intentionally mislead people.

 

I led with "In theory", and had question marks after each of those theories, so I obviously wasn't trying to claim these had definitely occurred.

 

And no. I don't think picking up your card at your cabin is a big deal.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Earthworm Jim

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

This part of it is going over my head. What's the connection between whether you get your S&S card in the terminal or at your cabin and FTTF? If people can get to their cabin earlier than they are supposed to, what's the difference whether they got their card in the terminal or it's waiting for them at their cabin?

The stewards close the cabin door once the room is ready and don't (or at least are not supposed to) put the S&S cards out until the time when rooms are officially ready.

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, Top_of_the_Cube said:

But the thought of starting your cruise in the long lines at the Service desk does not seem appealing, and following up to make sure any unauthorized activity is handled is just extra stress.

The instructions on the envelope are to go the Priority Line at Guest Services, so someone wouldn't be waiting in a massive line. 

 

If your card was tampered with they would give you a new folio number so that any fraudulent charges would be isolated to your old folio and Carnival would not charge those to your account.

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, 1kaper said:

 

 

Sounds like an easy way to get a quick disembarkation before the trip even starts. And fraud charges. 

With all the cameras around it wouldn't be too hard to figure out who used the card unauthorized.  

A slight inconvenience for the victim but a lot of trouble for perpetrator.  I doubt you could get enough to really make it worth it. 

 

Never underestimate the stupidity of some. One or two may have tried it.

[Elaine5715]

If you remember back when cards were handed out in the terminal, you also needed to set up your onboard payment methods.  I used to be next in line to people trying to set up accounts using  cards that didn't work, splitting accounts with multiple  people, fights over how much cash , etc.. entertaining..yes but I needed a FunShip!

[john91498]

Non issue if you're in a suite

[Drew B 58]

9 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

The keys are in a sealed envelope. There is nothing in the rooms until the guests pick up their keys and start moving in. So there is no incentive to steal the keys. The most they'll get away with is a life vest or towel.

Unfortunately, for some people creating mischief IS the incentive.

 

7 hours ago, Top_of_the_Cube said: I know that if you get to your cabin door and either your envelope is missing or tampered with, you go directly to Guest Services and you aren't really going to be out anything.  But the thought of starting your cruise in the long lines at the Service desk does not seem appealing, and following up to make sure any unauthorized activity is handled is just extra stress.

THIS was my concern.  Thank you.  If you take time away from what the clerks checking people in have to do but then ADD it to what the stewards and Guest Services people have to do, is it really more efficient?

[Drew B 58]

4 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

The instructions on the envelope are to go the Priority Line at Guest Services, so someone wouldn't be waiting in a massive line. 

 

If your card was tampered with they would give you a new folio number so that any fraudulent charges would be isolated to your old folio and Carnival would not charge those to your account.

Ah, but in order to know that, you would need the envelope.  If you arrive at your cabin and the envelope simply is not there, chances are you’d wait in the regular line.

[Ilovesailaway]

in other news they have drinking packages now and you no longer need to wear your life vest to your muster drill.... 

lol jk, OP welcome back to cruising

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

The stewards close the cabin door once the room is ready and don't (or at least are not supposed to) put the S&S cards out until the time when rooms are officially ready.

Only one out of 7 cruises since the restart did that. But then, I am VIFP of the Highest Order.

[Guest BasicSailor]

This one is gonna bomb into the thirty-minute pizza thread without the sauce added 

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, Drew B 58 said:

If you take time away from what the clerks checking people in have to do but then ADD it to what the stewards and Guest Services people have to do, is it really more efficient?

Possibly not, but Carnival doesn't care.  Room stewards and guest services are essentially fixed costs.  I believe they are salaried for base pay, so give the room stewards more workload and let them figure out how to deal with it.  Make passengers wait longer in line longer at guest services if people with tampered envelopes/missing S&S cards are prioritized, because every position at guest services is usually open at embarkation anyway.

 

But the check-in agents are outside contractors, so reducing the number of them needed to check in a sailing is an increase to Carnival's bottom line.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Drew B 58 said:

THIS was my concern.  Thank you.  If you take time away from what the clerks checking people in have to do but then ADD it to what the stewards and Guest Services people have to do, is it really more efficient?

You add nothing to the stewards workload. They are already going to their cabins multiple times on embarkation day. Guest services really isn't involved, but it would give them a diversion from the chronic complainers lining up to whine.

[notplatinum]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

You add nothing to the stewards workload. They are already going to their cabins multiple times on embarkation day. Guest services really isn't involved, but it would give them a diversion from the chronic complainers lining up to whine.

And you do their job?  You just added another task for them.  Ever think about that? If it doesn't add to their workload, the same can be applied to the  check in🤔

[BlerkOne]

2 minutes ago, notplatinum said:

And you do their job?  You just added another task for them.  Ever think about that? If it doesn't add to their workload, the same can be applied to the  check in🤔

The point is check in is faster now. Faster checkin = Faster to the Food and faster to spend money on the ship. 

[notplatinum]

2 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

The point is check in is faster now. Faster checkin = Faster to the Food and faster to spend money on the ship. 

Not true. Just because you checked in 10 seconds faster doesn't automatically allow you to board until your boarding time now does it,?

[BlerkOne]

12 minutes ago, notplatinum said:

Not true. Just because you checked in 10 seconds faster doesn't automatically allow you to board until your boarding time now does it,?

It pretty much does. Boarding starts before most people have checked in. FYI - there is no such thing as "your boarding time."

[notplatinum]

21 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

It pretty much does. Boarding starts before most people have checked in. FYI - there is no such thing as "your boarding time."

Ok based on your antedoctal experience. Ok

[Jamman54]

The system as it now exists works very well. Having done many cruises before and after,  we can attest to that. Why there has been two threads in the past week implying otherwise seems fishy to me. Laid off shore staff maybe?.....😎

[sparks1093]

This system has been in place now for years (and as mentioned it is in place on other cruise lines as well) and if it weren't working Carnival would have changed it. It has made the check in process more efficient for the contracted staff in the port. It has cut down on the number of people trying to get into their cabin before they are ready. The passenger loses nothing in the process and enjoys less time at check in (and while each passenger may only save a couple of minutes if you have 100 people in front of you in line that couple of minutes per passenger adds up to get you through the line quicker as well). I can't say that no sail and sign card has ever been tampered with, but I have seen no reports of it on CC, so even with all of the doomsday scenarios that were rolled out when this was implemented have not come to pass. I believe that it is time to accept it as it is and move on to another topic. 

[1kaper]

15 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Never underestimate the stupidity of some. One or two may have tried it.

 

I spent years in law enforcement.  I'm well aware.  
But overall, I believe the vast majority who have paid to get on a cruise ship and have to remain in a relatively small areas for a period of time would realize that the likelihood of getting away with it would be small.  And at the very least you risk losing your own money by getting kicked off.  
People who often do these stupid crimes of opportunity are also usually very desperate for one reason or another.  

 

Maybe one or two have tried but with how many sail, I still think it is a non-issue. 

Edited August 19, 2022 by 1kaper

[2wheelin]

9 hours ago, notplatinum said:

And you do their job?  You just added another task for them.  Ever think about that? If it doesn't add to their workload, the same can be applied to the  check in🤔

Say they have 20 cabins (or whatever number you want to make up) and all the envelopes are on their cart. As they finish each room and walk out, they place the envelope in the mailbox. Ten seconds per room. Or say they wait till all rooms are finished and make one sweeping pass down the hall placing envelopes in boxes. About 1-2 minutes total. Now compare that to the dockside scenario where each time a passenger steps up to check in, the worker needs to step away from their desk, walk a fair distance to the central location for cards, locate the correct ones and walk back, ensure the passenger is receiving the correct card, and then answer questions about said card. See the difference? And virtually two minutes added to the cabin attendants week.