rebeltech8

21 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

I suspect you'd have to REALLY shield it for you to be truly hidden. That being said, if you do manage to find a good shield, please report back.

You know, I think I will go buy one of the Faraday Cages from Amazon just to see what happens.  Similar to what Doug R. mentioned, maybe I can market it as a “Cloak of Invisibility” 😀

Plus they only cost as much as the recent tip increase. So I should be ok (sorry I couldn’t help myself).  I can justify it as a cheap cruise toy.

22 minutes ago, meatloafsfan said:

Why wouldn't I want to provide them with Data that will help enhance my personal experience?

I think that the problem arises when the company collecting the data begins using it for other purposes than just what we have been discussing so far.  For example, how does Facebook make as much money as it does?  By selling its users data to other companies which gets bundled and resold a myriad of times to other companies to do whatever they see fit to do with it.

whats the saying?  If you didn’t buy the product you are using, you are the product.

don’t get me wrong, I love technology and looking forward to playing with the new toy when I am on the ship. But I am going in with my eyes wide open to what that all means.

Oh and one more thing...think I have finally found a way to easily carry my new Medallion around the ship.  Amazon has these amazing pouches for your phone and key fobs that act as a Faraday cage which blocks radio signals to and from the device inside the pouch.  I just need to take it out to unlock the cabin door.

When I showed this great idea to my wife, she asked if it comes in a metallic aluminum  color to match my tinfoil hat.

She knows me too well😀.

3 hours ago, cruisedoctor said:

 And, depending on where you are, they have a pretty good idea as to what you are doing every minute of the day.  

 

I think you are exactly right.  Here’s how I think they could easily monetize their investment.

Since they know where you are and how long you were in a location, they can tell you were in the photo gallery looking at the photos they took of you and your party.  They can also tell that you have not purchased any photos yet.  Later that day, because you purchased MedallionNet, you start getting emails letting you know that there were new photos added to your portfolio. And for a limited time, if you buy four photos, you can get one free by just presenting the attached coupon. 

Then the next day, immediately after the machine beeps when you are returning from your long hot day on the beach, you get another email asking “doesn’t a nice cold beer sound good right now?  Here are three bars that are conveniently located on your walk back to your cabin.”

i hate spam when I am not on vacation and will hate it even more when I am trying to relax on my cruise.  I am wondering, how many times you can get the Medallion to skip across the wake when thrown from the pool at the back of the ship . 😀 

We chose an interior aft Rivera cabin for our cruise in June.  I received an upsell offer for an Ocean View way forward for $99 each.  However, we are sailing with parents and they don’t want to move from their cabin right next door to ours.  

So, I mentioned that while we couldn’t take that offer, if they had a balcony aft Rivera, we would take it.   He didn’t have that type of cabin on his sell sheet so he looked a little deeper and found us what we wanted... He offered us a balcony cabin right across the hall from Mom and Dad for $200 each.

Sometimes all you have to do is ask nicely...

23 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Now how to get 80 year olds to use the app.  

I know right... I have been in IT for 25 years and I had problems trying to get it to work.   Might have more fun just locking the phone up for a week and not even messing with it.  😀

The app I mentioned that has the maps is called OceanCompass.  It is one of the Medallion apps which allows you to locate someone in your party and creates a path for you to get there.

its buggy as heck and won’t allow me to enter my reservation number to be able to use the features. But it does have deck maps for the ships that have converted to the Medallion system.

So many great suggestions.   We are on a Medallion cruise so I will be working to get the apps installed on their phones.  

When end they saw how many apps were available, it about freaked them out. 🙂 Needless to say, we will just be installing the one with the maps for now.

I know there are on-line port webcams where we can watch the comings and goings of cruise ships, but does anyone know of a live webcam so we can watch the Caribbean Princess refurb?

i think it would be interesting to watch the process.  Not everyday you will see a hole cut in the side of a massive ship.

We have cruised with Princess several times and have another scheduled for June.  This time, my parents are joining us and will be their first cruise.

i remember our.first time cruise with Princess and how magical it seemed. However, we would often take off walking to our cabin only to realize we were on the wrong side of the ship.  It was a huge discovery for us when we noticed one hallway had carpet trimmed in blue and the other trimmed in red.

We are trying to help my parents get ready for their cruise by giving them tips we have learned.  Does anyone know if the color of the carpets in the hallway are still different? Or do we rely on even and odd room numbers?

Thanks guys

We took this same cruise in June. It was a beautiful day when we left, but by the time we went under the bridge, the fog had come in and couldn't see the whole bridge. The fog came up fast.

When we came back to San Francisco on the last day of the voyage, we got up early and took pictures of the sun coming up under the bridge... it was beautiful.

Have a good trip...

Is there a long walk from the ship to the port in Vancouver. Princess is selling a $9.95 shuttle pass there.

Glad to help Rhea58.

Since we left from San Francisco, we didn't stop in Vancouver. I have never been there so I can't comment.

However, you mentioned earlier that you were taking this same cruise, so perhaps you meant Victoria B.C. When we stopped in Victoria, we chose to go to Butchart Gardens and caught a bus right there at the port. Thinking about our bus ride out of the port area, I don't remember there being very much within walking distance from the port and since the ship is there only a few hours (7am-2pm), 10 bucks seems like a bargain.

Butchart Gardens was beautiful and we took tons of photos and videos. Even though it rained nearly the entire day at the Gardens, we powered through and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I would recommend this tour if you have not been there before.

We will be going on the Grand later this year, been going annually since she came to San Francisco.

One highlight of the trip was sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge. This photo is coming back into the bay on the last day first thing in the morning.

What about the overall condition of the ship? I understand it was in dry dock in December. We are going July 17th

The beds were comfortable... probably the best we ever slept on during a cruise. Between running around all day at ports, it didn't take much to fall asleep.

They were working during port days removing old caulk and rust from around the windows around the pool area. To do so, they were using a hydraulic tool of some sort that made a racket. We griped about it amongst ourselves, but it never rose to the level of making a call. Although our next door neighbor called and had an officer come to his room to hear the noise that was being made. We looked at it as a necessary evil. You going to put up with a bit of noise for an hour or so after getting back on board after a port day, or are you going to worry about all the rust and corrosion? We chose to put up with it, and not let it ruin our trip.

That's all about we noticed. Like I said earlier, we are easy to please. A bad day cruising is miles ahead of a good day at work.

Taking this cruise in 2 wks. Did you tender in any of the ports?

thanks

Hi Rhea58... We docked and were able to walk off the ship at all the ports. No tendering at all.

One advantage of this is that we got to see quite a few Bald Eagles. Before leaving port, in Ketchikan, look down the edge of the docks towards town where the fishing boats are docked. Some of these boats are back from their fishing trips and off loading their catch. If you look through your binoculars towards the communication tower, you will see several Eagles flying around looking for a meal. We saw a half dozen or more soaring around that area. It was fun to watch.

Have a great time.

We just got home from our Alaska cruise on the Grand Princess. Alaska is was beautiful and we saw plenty of wildlife... Bears, whales, eagles, seals. So glad we went.

Our only complaint was the food. This was our fifth Princess cruise, and there was a notable difference since our last cruise about three years ago. For example, one night we ate in the dining room when they served rib eye. Now I know that a rib eye is best when it is well marbled, but my steak was half well marbled and the other half a slab of fat with no lean at all. I called it to the server's attention, and he agreed that it should not have been served.

In the buffet, it seemed that most everything was served just kind of luke warm. We are easily pleased when we are on a cruise, but we were a bit let down regarding the food.

Otherwise, we had a great time.

We are sailing on the Grand on June 7th, 2017 and got an email from Captain Diego Perra just the other day...

I am sure it was a personal email directly from him...:D

Recieved a Pre-cruise letter the other day...Mariano Manfuso is captain on the Caribbean Princess.