JimmyVWine

Late adopters. Yes, there are workarounds that allow one to avoid using the Medallion. But you don't see anyone posting that the card does things better. Sometimes they say the card is "just as good". Sometimes they say that it is "not as good, but it is what I am used to." But no one says the card is "better." There appear to be people who don't like the tracking aspect of the system. But unless one lives completely off the grid, it is impossible to avoid being tracked.

And even if one strains to find a "good" reason to be tracked, there is never a "bad" reason. I don't think that Princess has any hitmen on the payroll who are coming for you. In what circumstance could you fill in the blank in the following sentence such that there would be any negative ramifications, assuming that what you are doing is not legally, ethically or morally wrong: "OMG. I can't believe that I am being tracked and the Security Team knows that I am in ___________!!!"

Our first Princess cruise was on Crown many years ago and we noticed significant vibration in the aft areas, even after being assured by many (including frequent posters here) that we would never hear/feel it. Still unsure if it was our imagination, on our last night we had dinner in Sabatini's which as you know is all the way aft on Crown. There was no mistaking the intense vibration in our water glasses. They looked like a scene from Jurassic Park where they show a shaking glass of liquid to foreshadow some huge dinosaur approaching. After that cruise my wife has forbidden me from ever booking an aft-facing cabin.

Eat donuts at the IC! 😁

I think it depends on how you are using the term "traveling with us." My wife and I are Platinum. Our daughter won't be until she completes her next cruise. But we are all booked in the same cabin under the same cruise booking number. We will all check in together using the Platinum line. But if we were traveling on the same cruise as our BFFs who have their own cabin and own booking number, we would not expect them to be able to pull the "We're with them" card. Otherwise an entire Roll Call could try that, claiming that they are all traveling together.

Under the scenario you present, walking past your own cabin would trigger the system to unlock your door, and someone lurking close by would have a few seconds to slip in and open the door. But just think about all the variables that would have to occur to allow this to happen. It really sets up a level of paranoia that doesn't need to be addressed. A person would have to know that you are likely to roam around like Mr. Magoo, passing your cabin without opening your door with enough frequency such that staking out your cabin would be worthwhile, and would have to lurk in close enough proximity to you while you roam about, and would have to dart in to your doorway within seconds of you passing by, all without you noticing that person. You are talking about an "Oceans 11" level of synchronization all to gain access to your cabin, and for what? Does this person suspect that you have a Picasso hidden in your cabin? To think that this is a flaw or glitch in the system that needs to be fixed or addressed is beyond comprehension. The easier fix would be for the cabin occupant to take two seconds to consult a deck plan to know whether they need to turn left or right when they exit their cabin. Or perhaps always book cabins as far as possible to the bow or stern such that there is really only one way to go when one exits the cabin. Those are better fixes than to try to "fix" a multi-million dollar system or eschew the complete use of the Medallion which has many other wonderful functions.

The scenario you posited would entail the liquor being in contact with ice, (assuming it was poured over ice to begin with) for less than 10 seconds. No one would ever detect that.

But is it ever really wasted? And what is the cost of the waste? Pennies? The "cool factor" of the crew knowing who you are and what you like from 10 feet away far outweighs the premature pour that the bartender is sure to find another use for. If I opened a bottle of wine for a table and the customer said that it wasn't to their liking (and assuming that the bottle was not "off, but it was my job to ensure that before even allowing them to taste it), that bottle became a "special wines by the glass" selection for the evening and it was my job to get the servers to find a good home for those 5 glasses of wine. Really easy. So nothing ever got wasted. If a bottle was truly "off", it would be returned to the distributor for credit. A good bartender can make sure that nothing is ever wasted. I suppose if your favorite drink is Jack Daniels and carrot juice and he started mixing those before you arrived and you didn't want it, there might be a problem. But otherwise, he'll figure it out.

My general attitude is that EVERYONE who chooses to cruise for their vacation and get out of their own little orbit and see other parts of the world and interact with other people from all over the world, (crew, passengers and locals in port alike) is already presumptively an interesting person**. So if you put 3,000 interesting people and 1,200 interesting crew members in one place at the same time, you have to go out of your way not to have fun, fit in, or be disinterested. So as long as you have any inclination whatsoever to interact with other people, you are assured of finding people who are interesting and fun, and they in turn will find you to be interesting and fun. So yes, you will fit in. Not because you are "just like everyone else." But because of the exact opposite--because you are you. **Yes, I have run into people who are exceptions to this general rule, but I am pretty adept at avoiding them.

Stop using the name of the package and instead refer to it as the features that you got, and say it out loud and see if you think you are being cheated or "bait and switched." It would sound something like this: "I think that I am being cheated. A year ago I bought the Package that includes all drinks $12 and under, specialty coffees, brewed coffee and water, and also included prepaid wifi and crew appreciation. Now, when I look at my booking, I see that I have a package that includes all drinks $12 and under, specialty coffees, brewed coffee and water, and also provides prepaid wifi and crew appreciation. How dare they! I am trying to contact someone at Princess who can help me and no one seems to be able to do anything for me!" When viewed like this, you will see that you aren't being cheated at all. (At least, I hope that you can see this.)

There are a lot of operational uses that benefit the cruise line and the company. They might not benefit you, but they don't harm you either. I don't know if PCL is utilizing all of these benefits, but it could if it wanted to: Track the amount of time you spent in the casino to determine if you are someone they should contact regarding a discounted casino package for a future cruise. Track the specific shops that you went into and how much time you spent in each one. If they detected that you were a fan of a particular shop, they could target market you with a 25% off coupon at that shop on your next cruise to entice you to book again. Track which dining venues you went to and how long you took on average to finish your meal. That would help the cruise line better judge predicted arrival time and table turnover on a particular cruise. (Of course, they can't derive this information from only tracking you, but tracking everyone in the aggregate would allow them to make better predictions.) Track how many people are at a particular pool at any given time. That would help them understand how many servers/attendants are needed in that area at any given time, and how many towels might be needed. The people responsible for staffing can move employees around in real time to adjust to crowd levels in specific areas. That saves in staffing costs as you don't need 100% staffing in all areas at all times when you can hire 90% of that number and move them around when and where they are most needed. Track how many people are in the theater at any given time, and what the drink ordering history is of those people to better predict staffing and bartender needs in real time. ("There are 700 people in the theater and past history shows that these 700 people are likely to order 1,300 drinks, 300 of which will be Coors Lites. Make sure the bar in that area has enough Coors!") This is where the world is headed. Big data in real time. Businesses are just beginning to scratch the surface of this technology, but rest assured, they are working on it. Does it help you? Well, if you are one of the Coors Lite drinkers in the theater and you can't get your beer because the bar ran out, it would have been nicer for you if Princess knew that you were in the theater, knew that you typically order Coors Lite while you watch the show, and that there was a short supply in the bar. As it is now, there are bartenders that will have your favorite drink already started as you approach the bar and greet you by name. That is big data (on a micro scale) at work in real time. For most people, it makes their vacation more enjoyable.

These are either the ones I bought or are eerily similar. Around $8 for the pack of 5.

THIS! There really is no other explanation as to why Princess has gone from the cruise line in its price class that actually took wine service most seriously to a cruise line that thinks selling plonk for $10 is good for business. It is only good for business if it frustrates customers to pay more for Premier or walk off the ship with a bill totaling $250 in wine overage charges.

They definitely do. I bought a pack of 4 rubberized wristbands of varying colors for a few bucks off of Amazon and the medallions fit perfectly.

On the Medallion App, under “My Preferences”, there is a toggle on/off option in the “Rooms” section for an Energy Saver choice. The “learn more” link tells you nothing and the Princess website provides only slightly more insight. “Additionally, several energy-saving features have been built in to the staterooms, including a card reader that activates the room’s lighting, plus low-energy LED lighting fixtures.” The default in my settings is set to activate this feature. Does anyone know what you are opting into if you leave the Energy Saver option activated? Different water temperature? Lower lighting wattage? Dimmer TV screen? Not exactly sure what they can change on a room-by-room basis. And if you opt in and want to change during the cruise, is that possible?