Celebrity Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International Introduce Onboard Check-In and Luggage Valet Service

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Celebrity Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International have introduced a new program that allows their passengers to check their luggage, and also to check in for their flight home, before they disembark from the ship! It's expected that this new service will save passengers anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours of airport wait time. Working with the US Customs and Border Patrol, Transportation Security Administration, seaport, airline, and airport security personel the lines are rolling out the new service at ports around the United States and even Canada. Known as "Onboard Check-in and Luggage Valet," Celebrity passengers can take advantage of it in Ft Lauderdale, Miami, San Diego, San Juan Puerto Rico, Seattle and Vancouver British Columbia. Royal Caribbean passengers can take part in the program on cruises that end in San Juan, Seattle and also Vancouver. All passengers need to do to qualify for the program is to fly to a US city on a participating airline on the same day their cruise arrives. Before disembarking the ship, passengers provide their flight information and the number of bags they are checking. That information is electronically forwarded to the airlines, while boarding passes and luggage tags are printed and given to passengers. Passengers can then shop or go site seeing after disembarking while their luggage is securely transferred from the ship directed to their departure flight. Passengers can proceed directly to security when they arrive at the airport. The fee for the service varies depending on the port but it runs between $10 to $20 per passenger.