Carnival Announces End of Paper Documents

Following in the steps of lines such as Princess, NCL, and Holland America, Carnival announced today they will discontinue issuing paper documents starting with sailings departing on or after August 25. They said, and I agree, that most people are already using online registration and documentation, having been forced to get used to that type of system by the airlines, and it is a huge expense for them.

I do miss the tradition of paper documents and doing the "doc dance" when you received your anticipated package in the mail, but am glad for the efficiencies and savings, not to mention timeliness and environmental sensitivities, of electronic documentation.

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara still do issue paper documentation upon request (as, technically, does Holland America, but not really), but as a company, I am issuing electronic documents for all my clients on these mainstream brands. However, if you should ever need assistance with the online registration or printing of the documents, I'm happy to do that for you and send you the paper backup via regular mail. Electronic documents aren't the end of service, it just changes the dynamics a little.

Most of the Luxury lines and specialty lines, such as river cruises, still have their traditional documentation packets. However, how long until they, too, go the way of the rotary dial telephone?