fshagan

On 4/16/2022 at 7:32 PM, brisalta said:

Actually you set up the ability to purchase items onshore via the Medallion in the Medallion App, MedallionPay.  You are required to provide a credit card in MedallionPay for on board use but the defaut behavior is to also make it available for onshore use via the Medallion. You have to explicitly go into the onshore section of MedallionPay and delete the reference to the credit card there if you do not want it available onshore via the Medallion.

 

Thanks for clarifying this. I went in and my credit card had already been added to "On shore" purchases in MedallionPay in the app as you indicated. On that screen for "On shore" purchases you can safely delete the card listed and it does NOT delete the card for on-board purchases.

On 4/13/2022 at 5:27 PM, haolenate said:

Not asking to boycott the line, just don't use it when in port.  The perk of putting SOME money back in your pocket is coming directly from the pocket of the *local* business owners here in Juneau and other ports.  FWIW, every shop along South Franklin in Juneau is locally owned.

Thanks for letting us know this. We won't be using it on-shore at all. You already pay 3% or so on all of our "affinity cards" that have points, etc., but you've probably built that into your prices already. Adding another 15% on top of that means you'll have to raise your prices by much more.

On 2/5/2022 at 6:41 PM, riffatsea said:

I am not sure I understand the need for any straw?

Why can't n you just drink from a glass??

1. Frozen drinks, and less often ice cubes, can launch a mini-landslide toward your face at unpredictable times.
2. Lipstick smears on glasses when you drink and mars not only the unfortunate glass and the beautiful lipstick, but also irritates the lipstick wearer.
3. Sensitive teeth are aggravated by very cold liquids, and straws are able to deposit the refreshing cold drink past them.
4. Some disabilities are helped by straws including some common ones like essential tremors that tend to show up only when you try to actually do something with your hands.

On 1/30/2022 at 11:05 AM, gardenbunny said:

She said the steroids in Flonase are the issue.  Said 2-3 days before testing.

Side note:  just saying with all these variables, makes you wonder how many tests are really false - for either positive and negative.

It's actually in the package insert. At least it is for the Binax rapid tests. It's up to 2% false positive, and about double that for false negative.

On 1/26/2022 at 2:01 PM, Steelers36 said:

The rollout of the MC App for pre-cruise purposes was nothing more than an unmitigated disaster, while they simultaneously erased online functionality that every travel organization I can think of has as standard functionality.  Sure, Princess has promised a web-based version after realizing their mistake.  First it was October, then November, then Q1 2022.  We are on the threshold of turning the calendar to FEB and no sign in sight for those that need it or would prefer it. 

 

Doing data entry on a cell phone is horrible. So even if it worked flawlessly it would be sub-par. Inputting credit cards, passport info, etc. is much easier on a full sized keyboard. And it doesn't work flawlessly. My favorite bug is that on my Android phone, they will only use the front facing camera to "scan" your passport, and the text is backwards in the image. I had to input the passport info manually, on the phone, because you can't do it on the web.

The physical medallion will probably work fine on the ship. It seems to for most people. But your point is exactly right: using the app for pre-cruise stuff seems to be a disaster.

You can update the passport data, but not update the image of the passport you initially uploaded? That doesn't matter. The data is what matters, not the image.

After initial scanning, the image serves no purpose, except perhaps to show you what you uploaded.

22 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

Good suggestion to check out the reviews.......

 

App is rated 4.7 out of 5 yet 99% of the reviews are negative.  Very strange. The only redeeming benefit of checking the ratings out is to realize, just like on here... "it's not just me".  LOL>

The feedback in negative reviews is very useful to the developers. I go through the reviews for our app at the company I work for each week, and negative comments are sent to management.

Most people who rate an app with five stars don't leave a comment. They just rate the app and get back to work. People who are ticked off will be more vocal about it. And to be honest, that's what I prefer when looking at my company's reviews. I don't need another "you guys rock" statement as much as I need info I can hand to our developers to get fixed.

6 hours ago, Grego said:

For those of us that had no problems entering information into the upcoming 5 bookings as well as the two voyages we have had since November, we find the registration and check in process a breeze and a great improvement over the past procedure.  Once on board we have used the app very frequently during the day to check on activities, dining menus, chatting with our travel companions and locating them if necessary, ordering drinks to be delivered, checking port guides, our shipboard account, deck plans and make any changes to our dining plans.

A great tool if you want to use it.  If not, that's OK too.  After all, it would be cruising like we did in the past which I loved as well.

Android or iOS phone?

If I had to venture a guess, I'll bet you are using an iPhone instead of an Android phone.

19 hours ago, Shelly97060 said:

 Have you tried just entering first and last name ( delete the middle name)? I recently helped 4 travelers get their medallions set up and that was the only way I could get it to accept the passports. 
 

Also I had the same issue with the camera on their android phones that you mentioned. I ended up using my iPhone to scan their passports in.  

I tried all sorts of things. It did accept our first names and last names (alone, without the middle name) after deleting the app, rebooting the phone, and reinstalling. It's also marginally faster. I left a review on the Play store with my phone model, Android version and build number in case they go through the reviews (the Play store administration gives them several tools to look at to see how well the app is doing among all users).

21 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Make sure to give feedback at the app store about what a piece of junk software the Medallion app is.

Thanks for reminding me to do this! Just left a one-star review with a brief explanation of the issues I've faced so far.

I hope our time on the ship isn't compromised by this app. If it is, I suspect we'll take another hiatus from Princess until it's fixed.

5 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Have you tried an update on your phone?

Yep, my phone is up to date. Reinstalling MA helped quite a bit. It's still probably the worst app I've had on my phone in quite a while.

I work for a software company and we just developed an iOS and Android app for our own application, and even our little app cost over a quarter million to implement. So I understand the complexity of getting an app to work on multiple OS versions, and the reluctance Princess has to just scrap it after spending (probably) over a million dollars on it. It's especially hard on Android, since on most Android phones you are dependent on the OEM (Samsung, etc.) to update the OS, so you have to make it backward compatible.

2 hours ago, CruisinFinsUp said:

Lots and lots of threads here on the medallion app for registration. 
 

Princess disabled the website registration. 
The medallion app doesn't work for everyone. Rarely works well. 
Princess promised to open a new registration portal on the website in fall of 2021.  Never happened. Still waiting.  
 

The workaround is to print everything you need and goto the pier early embarkation day and checkin like its 2002.  That still works fine and they will give you your new round room key (now called medallion) at the pier.  
 

Its nuts.   Then Princess promoted the guy behind the medallion rollout to President of Princess. 

Thanks. I did get the passport numbers into the app for each of us finally. Removed several other apps including the Medallion app, rebooted the phone, and then reinstalled the Medallion app. It then would recognize our first names and I could enter the passport info. So slow that it took about 20 minutes each, but I got it done.

I'll probably wait until we get to the pier to finish all of the check in items.

Just reserved our first Princess cruise in 10+ years, and we're looking forward to cruising with them. But I have to admit the Medallion app isn't giving me the warm fuzzies this morning.

• It is slow on my fairly new Moto G+ phone. Really slow. As in 15 seconds to change screens.
• Data entry is slow. It can take 3 - 4 seconds for a keypress to react and fill in the text boxes.
• Cannot scan our passports, as it insists on using the front camera on the phone (and overrides the usual icon that changes it to the rear camera).
• It won't accept manual entry of our passport information as it rejects our first name as not matching our profile, even if we combine it with middle name as it appears on our passports.
• Even the "Tell us how we're doing" screen cannot be filled in as the keyboard covers it.

Is there a secret way to fill this information in on the website instead of this app? I'm sure it cost them multi-millions to develop, and I can appreciate the beauty of it when it finally paints the screen, but it really is very clunky.

The Epic has some "labor problems" right now, but that should be resolved soon (they aren't letting nay of the crew off the ship at all, in any port, prompting at least three "letters of protest" being sent to HQ). The crew on NCL has always had fantastic customer service and attention to detail, so I wonder if the recent issues have had any impact on that. Other ships in the fleet are not restricting the crew as much, so I expect it to be resolved soon (if it hasn't been already).

The bathroom set up is mostly a problem for non-family traveling together, or shy people (I read one account where a teen was very put off by it as he was shy). But for a married couple it usually is not a deal breaker.

The Epic has a problem that only a few of us notice, so it's not a big problem in the overall scheme of things. There aren't a lot of places where you can see the ocean except from your balcony. The promenade deck has most of the view obscured by the lifeboats hanging off the side of the ship. It has the feel of a inward focused resort rather than a ship at sea, but many like that aspect of it. 

Covid "waves" look to be about two months in length in the past, so the current wave that might be starting could be done by the time you sail in February. Or you could face some port restrictions if the islands are having outbreaks.

The Epic is the only ship in NCL's fleet with that cabin layout; all the other ships have a traditional bathroom as a separate room inside the cabin.

Many of the newer ships stress being on the water, with the "Waterfront" on the newer NCL ships. I felt like it was a chore to see the water from Epic. We found the entertainment and the food top notch.

1 hour ago, NW Pacific said:

Had a long talk with Travel Insurance Agent-  Got recommended two policies that cover Covid virus as a covered condition for cancellation, disruption of cruise, etc.  BUT, it has to be diagnosed by a medical provider, NOT just a positive test at the Pier. If you test positive at the Pier, you will need to get a diagnosis before insurance will kick in.  Hopefully NCL will reimburse , but dont count on insurance unless you get a diagnosis.  Just sharing what I was told

I was going to mention this. It came up in an insurance agent's blog that I follow. None of the standard policies will cover you unless you're able to get a doctor's recommendation that you not go on the cruise. The recommendation has to be obtained on the same day you are refused at the pier. The other problem is that most "cancel for any reason" policies require you to cancel two days before the cruise, not the day of the cruise when you are denied boarding.

3 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm guessing that if the fees are paid to NCL, they are taxed as revenue and then passed on as taxable wages to the employees.  If they are paid as they are now, they are likely only taxed once.

Shipboard revenue is not taxed by the US Federal government. But the accounting for a pass-through like this is probably handled by allocating it to crew incentives and credited back when given to the crew. Net result: no tax implication to NCL at all, even without the special carve out for shipboard revenue in the tax code. $1 - $1 = $0.

It's interesting that Virgin Voyages is including the DSC-style thing in their fares (no extra daily charges). We'll see how they do. I suspect its like the airlines charging baggage fees; they will follow suit because as much as we complain, we "vote with our dollars" for a base price with numerous extra charges.

On 10/8/2021 at 5:37 PM, phillygwm said:

It's no different than a U.S. land-based restaurant.  I'm expected to tip my server (we can argue whether that's a good model but it isn't changing anytime soon.)  On the other hand, I'm not expected to tip the back-of-house staff; it's assumed they're compensated commensurate with whatever they're doing.  And that's a good thing because few people WOULD go back in the kitchen to tip the dishwasher. 

I did bookkeeping for several restaurants and the servers would split their tips with the host, bussers and barkeeper (who in turn split his tips with the bar back and other people under him). The tip out amounts to these people were deducted from their tips on the books so they didn't pay taxes on them (but those other employees did pay the taxes on the amount they got). So your tip in the restaurant is a kind of "tip pool" in practice, just like the DSC.

On 8/14/2021 at 12:20 PM, surf4style said:

We booked a family cruise for December 2021 way before NCL stated requiring vaccinations for all customers.  I contacted customer service and they stated that they are only requiring vaccinations for all guests through October.  However, they have no idea if that will be extended.  We would hate to cancel, but there are some children in our party that will not be vaccinated.  I believe we have until the middle of October to cancel.  Does anyone know if the cancelation policies will further be relaxed if NCL extends their vaccination requirements or should we go ahead an just cancel now?    

I believe you should cancel and focus on other things to do on that vacation. The current situation is so in flux that I wouldn't risk it.

23 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

A lot of time is spent on here correcting duff info that people have been given by NCL staff. This one reminds me of the time that someone came on here to say that they had been told that the only ship NCL would have in Europe the following year was the Epic. At the time that was the only ship announced, so the staff member had obviously assumed that was it, despite the fact that there were a group of ships not yet announced for that year.

 

I assume this is a similar case. No MDRs have been announced and the staff member has noticed this but hasn’t realised that there are lots of venues not yet announced.

Another common problem in customer service is simple miscommunication.

What the rep says: "I don't know if the Prima will have free meals in the main dining rooms."

What the customer hears: "Once again, NCL has a cut back and this time it's taking away free meals in the MDR."

The rep says it because they haven't seen it specifically mentioned, and the rep doesn't have enough knowledge about the company to realize that of course, they always have free meals in the MDR. The rep is a minimum wage, call center employee who just started working at NCL and doesn't know that free meals have been a thing for the last 50 to 75 years.

The customer hears the more stringent version because of their frustration with the company over the years in chipping away at things included in the fare (like room service).

2 hours ago, victory2020 said:

I have every intention of getting insurance but this seems too good of a price to offer coverage, I don't want cancel for any reason, just insurance case the plane is canceled or delayed (I'm getting NCL air), or I get sick or hurt & need emergency care. I think I spent over $100 last time for a cheaper cruise & it appeared to be more than that if I had bought insurance when I booked. If this is basic coverage, that's all I need.

I took a look at the standard BookSafe policy on the NCL website. It includes $20k medical, $25k medical evacuation, and $5k for repatriation of remains if you die while traveling.

I usually buy much more medical than that. Foreign hospital bills for Americans are expensive (since we're not a citizen of those countries their national health insurance plans don't cover us). Daily rates for Americans in a Vancouver BC ICU unit is over $14k CAN according to the linked source. It will vary from place to place, of course. A heart attack is a very expensive thing no matter where you are. I usually look for $50k or more of medical coverage.

The medical evacuation is to the nearest facility, so the amount is probably OK, but you're still left with the cost to transfer to a hospital closer to home if needed. Air ambulance service can be many tens of thousands more than that.

Repatriation of remains runs from about $5k to $10k or more, so your heirs could have some out of pocket costs there if you die while on the trip.

Like many policies, if you miss the sail away the policy doesn't give you a refund on the trip cost. It gives you $500 as a stipend to "catch up" to the cruise at the next port stop. That $500 has to pay for any hotels, the last minute one-way flight to that next port, and your meals until you catch up. If you choose not to do that you don't get any refund on the rest of the cruise because you could have caught up to the ship. This isn't uncommon in travel insurance, but the amount might be a little on the low side depending on where you are and where the ship docks next. 

So my verdict would be the coverage is OK if you're under 50 or so. That's my "risk dividing line" for higher medical, medical evac and repatriation of remains costs. Over 50 and you have an increased risk of things like strokes and heart attacks which can be very expensive. I'm in my mid-60s so we usually go with much higher coverage, but it's all up to you and your tolerance for risk. "Self insuring" is also a thing many people do if losing the $50k isn't that big of a deal.

On 5/29/2021 at 5:40 AM, jcu1210 said:

That segregation comment is extreme. People have their reasons for not getting vaccinated for covid like other vaccines, It really isn't a new phenomenon, just more visible now due to covid. While I disagree with many of the reasons that fall on the conspiracy side, everyone has a right to do what they want. So does NCL and the cruise lines. If they require vaccinations, so be it. All these cruise lines are itching to make a profit again, and no one wants to be the cruise line who has another outbreak that suits down the industry again. I personally will only travel on a fully or 95% vaccinated ship, but that is my choice. We all have a right to make them, both the individual and company.

People should be free to choose, and we'll all hope they don't get sick.

The difference on a cruise is that passengers with symptomatic COVID-19 might get the entire ship quarantined for two weeks. Even though I am fully vaccinated and would not get a serious case of COVID-19, the anti-vax or vax hesitant person CAN cause me hardship.

So I'm with you; I'll only cruise with a "all eligible passengers must be vaccinated" rule or until we've had a few months of sailings without a single quarantine taking place on any cruise ship.

I'm in the "least favorite" camp with the Epic. The bathroom situation is one issue that I think is more of a problem with a family with shy teens or unrelated people, but for a couple it was tolerable. Still, seeing your partner sit on the toilet is not typically on your vacation short list of great things to do. They did do a good job of ventilation of the little transporter tube that has the toilet, so while you can see the outline of the person, and hear the grunts, at least you can't smell it too.

My other problem with the ship is that it is almost entirely inward focused. It's hard to see the ocean, even from the small promenade decks on either side. The lifeboats, instead of being over your head, are positioned at eye level beside you, so you have to peak between them to see the ocean. You can get a better view at the fore and aft ends of the promenade deck. The more open design with the newer ships, where you can see the ocean easily from the promenade deck and even eat outside on them, shows how much of a mistake this was in the original design. At least for us ocean lovers.

But, we enjoyed the cruise overall. I don't recall problems with getting off the ship for excursions, or embarkation and dis-embarkation. We did run into crowding "pinch points" from time to time, but not as much as I expected. The staff was wonderful, and the dining options, etc. were all up to snuff, and the shows were great.  I probably wouldn't sail the Epic again, but I can see that it could easily be people's favorite ship that have different priorities than I do.

I applied for his job, but they didn't give it to me. I think I am worth every penny, but I'm not sure about him.

The most disastrous thing for a cruise line would be for one of the "start up" cruises to be quarantined due to covid-19 cases on board. I think, at this time, RCL is going to accept children with vaccinated adults, banking that no child will have a symptomatic case of Covid-19 while on board.

NCL is hoping that the vaccine is as effective as has been reported, and that no cases will arise on their start up cruises. That will pave the way for more cruises with less restrictions in the future.