Carnival Cruise Line won’t make exceptions to this vital rule
Carnival won’t budge on this rule no matter how much it bothers some passengers, but there is a silver lining.
Carnival Cruise Line’s onboard Sail & Sign cards often draw a lot of attention among passengers.
These onboard cards are issued to each passenger upon boarding their cruise and are used for onboard payments, as a room key, and for passenger identification when getting off and back on the ship in a port of call.
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Their colors also denote passengers’ levels in the cruise line’s VIFP Club loyalty program, which is usually what sparks discussion around them.
Recently, a different feature of the Sail & Sign card became a discussion topic on the popular Facebook page run by Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald, however.
Each Sail & Sign card includes a vital detail that creates a problem for certain passengers, and one cruiser demanded an explanation for why it can’t be altered.
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“Why can’t Carnival let me have a name other than my first name on my Sail & Sign card? I have gone by my middle name my entire life, but my Sail & Sign card always has my first name. It’s just a card,” an unidentified passenger wrote to Heald.
The passenger didn’t understand why the onboard card couldn’t reflect their preferred first name, since they already presented travel documents with their legal name at check-in.
“The legal bit has been done at check-in. What is the big deal if I want my middle name on my card instead of my first name on the card? I am 47 years old. My first name is a name nobody in my life knows me for. You should show some sympathy not just say no,” the passenger insisted.
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Carnival’s brand ambassador shared the passenger’s message in a post on his Facebook page to clarify for passengers that since the card is used for passenger identification during the cruise, the name listed on it must match their travel documents. It’s important to keep in mind that Sail & Sign cards must be presented to get off and back on the ship in a port of call.
“Thank you and I do have sympathy. Firstly, though let me explain that you have to legally have the same name on your card as the documents used to check in with. Middle names or nicknames are not allowed,” Heald explained.
Cruise crew will remember your preferred name, if you tell them
Heald also clarified that crew members can absolutely call passengers by their preferred names, however.
“Secondly, if you prefer to be called by your middle name, please tell your cabin attendant, waiter or any of the crew and they will of course make it so,” Heald noted.
And in the comments on the post, passengers confirmed that crew members truly will make that so.
“I understand this gripe. I absolutely hate my legal name. So yes, I'd like to have my ‘known as’ name on there,” Ellie Kirchner wrote. “But as suggested, I've never had an issue with asking my room attendant to call me ‘Ellie’ and they've always obliged.”
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For many passengers, one of the most impressive things about cruise ship crew members is their ability to remember so many passengers’ names, especially when they meet a different group of passengers each and every week.
“It blows me away that the crew remember mine and thousands of other names. Considering there is a turnaround of 3 days on some cruises that's crazy. They can call me whatever they want, as long as I'm on a cruise, the name printed on a plastic card is the absolute least of my worries,” Alina Milne Gilbert pointed out.
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