What is the Sail and Sign card?
So this is a plastic card with a magnetic strip that has your name on the front, as
well as something called a folio number.
This is like you account number.
This card serves a couple of purposes.
They take your picture when you check in and they associate that electronically with the
card.
Your picture does not appear on the card but whenever they swipe your card on their computer
terminal your picture will come up so they can make sure the right person is using the
card.
And this is important for a couple of reasons.
The card is used for gaining access on and off the ship.
Both initially when you get on the ship and at port.
And when you leave on the last day.
You do not want to lose this card.
If you do it can be replaced at Guest Services but it's a process.
It's your access on and off the ship.
That's important.
It is also your access to your room, it is your room key much like in a hotel these days
where you have the credit card looking thing gets you in and out.
On certain ships like the Breeze you also put that card in a slot to turn the lights
on in your cabin.
It's only a few small handful of ships and honestly you take a piece of paper fold it
the right way and put it in there like a business card, that'll work too, it doesn't have to
be your card.
Any card in that slot gets the job done.
But that's just one of it's various functions.
And then we get to one of the most important functions on top of all of that is it's connected
to either a cash deposit or your credit card so that you can make purchases on the ship.
So this is why for example there's no cabin number on your card.
It has your muster station, not your room number so that if you lose it, if you drop
it someone can't use it to get into your cabin or potentially try and access your funds.
Now it is tied to your picture though so that should help prevent that as well.
So if you want to get a drink, you present that card.
You want to book an excursion, at the desk, you present that card.
By and large you pay everything using your Sail and Sign card.
Please, please don't take your credit card anywhere on the ship.
The first thing I do when I get on the ship, I get into my cabin and I take the credit
card, well actually I put my whole wallet in lock - in somewhere that's locked.
I might put it in the safe or I could put it in my locked luggage but walking around
the ship, you only need your Sign and Sail card, maybe your cell phone, and maybe a couple
of single dollar bills or 5s, maybe 10s, nothing much more than that.
Maybe a $20 because if you go, when you go up to the bar and you bust out your credit
card they can do nothing with it.
They can only charge things to your Sail and Sign card.
And you're gonna look a little foolish so I don't want to you go through that, I see
it happen and I just I empathize, I cringe and I'm like "oh no!" and so really don't don't take out
your credit card on the ship ever.
It- no one can use it.
And my recommendation for the Sail and Sign card is to not use a cash deposit but tie
it to your credit card.
If you do the cash deposit and you need to add more you have to go wait in line at Guest
Services to do that.
To get money off of the account at the end that you haven't spent you have to again wait
in line at Guest Services.
That's time you should be enjoying your trip, not waiting in a line to handle cash.
It's much more stress free if you use your credit card.
Yes, they will put a hold, a preauthorized claim on your card of $100 or $200 or however
much depending on how long your sail is.
So account for that.
But anything you don't spend, those available funds will be freed up within a few business
days after the sailing.
So as far as I'm concerned it makes way more sense to use the credit card.
Why do you carry some cash though?
You might want to carry some cash for tipping purposes.
For example if, and we've said this before, but if you're in the piano bar and
they play the song you like and they do a good job, throw a dollar or two in to the
jar.
If you're in the atrium and the guitarist plays your song or does a good job a little
tip in cash, those are places where cash is appropriate.
Why would we go up to a $20?
Well, you can be generous for tipping, that's cool, no problem there but the reason you
might want to go all the way up to say like a $20 is that if you're at the comedy show and the comedian
afterwards is selling their own CD, DVD, merchandise of some kind they only would take cash, they
don't have an electronic way of charging it because that's just something they brought
with them, they're selling privately.
Similarly if you're in the piano bar and they're selling their own CD or something like that
you're gonna need to pay cash for the exact same reason.
That's not something I do very often but I did buy Natalie Carboni's CD when we had her
in the piano bar on the Sensation and that's some of the best money I've spent on a cruise
ship.
So that's the only time you should bust out the cash, never ever bust out the credit card
and hopefully that kind of gives you an idea what the Sail and Sign card is.
In hotel parlance or resort parlance you charge to the room, on the cruise you charge on your
Sail and Sign card so that's what that very core function is.
The colour of the card indicates your loyalty.
Your first time is blue, your second time is red, 25 days sailing you get the gold,
and on from there.
I really don't want to be one of those guys that asks you to subscribe so...can you, you
know?
That way I don't have to ask.
Everybody asks, I don't want to ask.