Get ready for Ocean Medallion Class™

[caribill]

So how does a cruise card work with the new door locks? The ones shown in the video lack any kind of slot for the card as it is currently used.

 

Only speculation, but they could issue a cruise card like hotels use to place near a door to open it. It would not be the traditional Princess cruise card.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...there are obviously so many who don't want or trust the new system. Time will tell...

 

I think the problem is that Princess announced the "next big thing" without giving enough in the way of hard facts. So people read between the lines and jump to conclusions. But Princess has really brought it on themselves, to some degree.

Edited January 28, 2017 by SoCal Cruiser78
clarity

[Womble99]

I think the problem is that Princess announced the "next big thing" without giving enough in the way of hard facts. So people read between the lines and jump to conclusions. But Princess has really brought it on themselves, to some degree.

I think jumping to conclusions is the only exercise some people get [emoji15]

[latserrof]

Every spoon will have a detector on it, so there is no hiding.

Of course you actually don't have to eat it....or maybe their weighing your bathroom waste also. :rolleyes:

 

Among the "sensors" will be scales hidden in the floor outside dining venues so they will be able to track your weight gain throughout the cruise. This info will be used for your future cruises in a dynamic-pricing algorithm, which may be where this data-mining is headed.

[Loonbeam]

Will be a different style of card most likely with an embedded chip AND magstrip that can be used in traditional POS readers...

 

Honestly I think it will be done as much for passenger perception as anything.

 

So how does a cruise card work with the new door locks? The ones shown in the video lack any kind of slot for the card as it is currently used.

[Nightrythm]

I just don't see the downside to data mining. It helps them see what areas of the ship are used when, what shows are attended etc. Yes, they will use this data to try and improve profits, but how does that hurt me? If I'm not enjoying my cruise experience or if I don't feel I'm getting the value that I want out of a cruise, I'm going elsewhere.

[Thrak]

I just don't see the downside to data mining. It helps them see what areas of the ship are used when, what shows are attended etc. Yes, they will use this data to try and improve profits, but how does that hurt me? If I'm not enjoying my cruise experience or if I don't feel I'm getting the value that I want out of a cruise, I'm going elsewhere.

 

GASP!!! :eek:

 

Where is your sense of outrage? Where is your fear of "big brother" watching what you are doing?? Just because you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean and really have nowhere else to go and nothing other than ship "stuff" to do why aren't you quivering in fear that "they" might "know where you are or what you are doing"???

 

Sorry. There is just such a total lack of anything to fear in this or to be upset about that it just boggles my mind that it's even an issue.

[MrMan]

I just don't see the downside to data mining. It helps them see what areas of the ship are used when, what shows are attended etc. Yes, they will use this data to try and improve profits, but how does that hurt me? If I'm not enjoying my cruise experience or if I don't feel I'm getting the value that I want out of a cruise, I'm going elsewhere.

 

 

Exactly! Same people complain about AD wait, yet when Princess institutes change that could help solve the issue they panic. They don't see where gathering information could for example eliminate areas of the ship that are not popular and replacing with new innovations that are. And if Princess increase profits by doing so bully for them. The issue with the Medallions is not Big Bother, it's the minority that don't like change and want everything static.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sea Hag]

I find it hard to believe that there's a possibility of two things - medallion and cruise card of some kind. Extra expense for Princess. And the posted info from Princess' site that says you must carry the medallion tells me that they mean that you must carry the medallion.

[WupperAV]

I'll just trap a rat and tie mine to it. Bet that will freak them out!

[caribill]

I just don't see the downside to data mining. It helps them see what areas of the ship are used when, what shows are attended etc. Yes, they will use this data to try and improve profits, but how does that hurt me? If I'm not enjoying my cruise experience or if I don't feel I'm getting the value that I want out of a cruise, I'm going elsewhere.

 

There is a downside depending on what they do with the gathered data.

 

Very few people listening to the classical musicians in the atrium? OK, lets no longer have classical music on the ship.

 

Very few people on the jogging track? No need to have one if 90% of the passengers do not use it.

 

etc.

[floridalover5623]

There is a downside depending on what they do with the gathered data.

 

Very few people listening to the classical musicians in the atrium? OK, lets no longer have classical music on the ship.

 

Very few people on the jogging track? No need to have one if 90% of the passengers do not use it.

 

etc.

 

If that's true then I fear they might eliminate afternoon movies at some point. :(

[westendgirl]

If that's true then I fear they might eliminate afternoon movies at some point. :(

 

I'm afraid they're already headed there. On our last 5 cruises, there was a dearth of afternoon movies. Sometimes, there's just no other activity that interests us in the afternoon and we like to catch up on recent movies that we've missed on the big screen. It's a shame, but since revenue is not produced... We also heard from the hotel manager in December that Princess is not planning to add on-demand movies fleet wide. Hope he was misinformed. :(

[floridalover5623]

I'm afraid they're already headed there. On our last 5 cruises, there was a dearth of afternoon movies. Sometimes, there's just no other activity that interests us in the afternoon and we like to catch up on recent movies that we've missed on the big screen. It's a shame, but since revenue is not produced... We also heard from the hotel manager in December that Princess is not planning to add on-demand movies fleet wide. Hope he was misinformed. :(

 

You can see by the number of people attending afternoon movies that it's not a big hit and I can only take so much sun by the pools so it gives me a chance to relax.

Lying in bed to watch a movie on a small screen just isn't the same.

[westendgirl]

You can see by the number of people attending afternoon movies that it's not a big hit and I can only take so much sun by the pools so it gives me a chance to relax.

Lying in bed to watch a movie on a small screen just isn't the same.

 

Agreed floridalover5623! But we've seen the Princess Theater/Vista Lounge/Explorers full at times for afternoon movies. Guess it just depends on the film. We're just not MUTS fans due to the sound quality, both on the screen and from the viewers around us. ;)

[WupperAV]

We quit MUTS at night because they promised cookies and milk and then said we could go to Horizon and get them. Sound quality was very poor, wind was very strong off Chile, blowing chairs around. Data mining is IMHO a way of giving them more to advertise to you. I know computer companies do it. If you look at something on a computer, you are inundated with ads for related items and some not so related. Now, they will have a medallion which tracked you and says you spent 2 hr at dinner, 20 min in whatever junk store aboard and bought a coffee cup so you must drink coffee, etc etc etc.:mad:

[Loonbeam]

See my post above. Both will not be in play indefinitely, just during the transition period both for passenger familiarity and in case of unforseen issues. As soon as they are comfortable and stable, the cards will go poof. Basically the cards are the only way of still having a magstrip for POS issues, which are far more probable than door issues.

 

It's very obvious someone from Disney is in charge of this (as noted above) they are almost exactly mirroring the way Magic Bands were developed and deployed.

 

I find it hard to believe that there's a possibility of two things - medallion and cruise card of some kind. Extra expense for Princess. And the posted info from Princess' site that says you must carry the medallion tells me that they mean that you must carry the medallion.

[Loonbeam]

As noted, they already have a lot of this data - for example, they know when you were seated at dinner now, when the final check was printed, what you ordered etc. So it may be more precise but nothing new.

 

Data mining can be a good or bad thing - it can also be combined wiht other data, for example, in your MUTS example I would use attendance but also track type of film, film rating, outside temp, wind speed, humidity, other activities at same time, etc.

 

And with near real time data they can do things like "Well we made them go inside for cookies and attendance dropped 30 percent. Ooops." as opposed to relying on rough head counts from CDs who don't want their activities to look bad or may up the count for their favorite movies. Or find things like 'movies that appear to older audiences do better in the theater venue'.

 

And to a point earlier, yes its entirely possible that they will notice classical music is not drawing a lot of people in the atrium, but perhaps jazz is, and have less of the former and more of the latter. Now, if you are a classical music fan, this stinks, but from a business standpoint and customer satisfaction standpoint it makes a great deal of sense. Same with the jogging track, if only 20 people are using it a day, there are better uses for the space. But they can also look at say, usage of the crappy track on Royal versus the Coral and go "Hmmm. Well that design didn't work" There are some potential downsides to this (the big one is a self-reinforcing loop that you have to be careful to break) but there are a lot of potential upsides.

 

Now, if they start sending texts that say 'Time for your next coffee' via Princess@Sea? They've gone too far and its time to push back.

 

 

We quit MUTS at night because they promised cookies and milk and then said we could go to Horizon and get them. Sound quality was very poor, wind was very strong off Chile, blowing chairs around. Data mining is IMHO a way of giving them more to advertise to you. I know computer companies do it. If you look at something on a computer, you are inundated with ads for related items and some not so related. Now, they will have a medallion which tracked you and says you spent 2 hr at dinner, 20 min in whatever junk store aboard and bought a coffee cup so you must drink coffee, etc etc etc.:mad:

[cruzrbachoua]

Ever since they offered the cookies and milk we have always gotten them at muts. They don't come around right away...but it seemed midway through the movie.

[floridalover5623]

Agreed floridalover5623! But we've seen the Princess Theater/Vista Lounge/Explorers full at times for afternoon movies. Guess it just depends on the film. We're just not MUTS fans due to the sound quality, both on the screen and from the viewers around us. ;)

 

The lounges on the deck aren't the most comfortable for my back. I can only sit there for so long.

 

We quit MUTS at night because they promised cookies and milk and then said we could go to Horizon and get them.

 

I've seen the popcorn even time we've been past the MUTS area and cookies occasionally until they run out.

[easyboy]

Ever since they offered the cookies and milk we have always gotten them at muts. They don't come around right away...but it seemed midway through the movie.

Am not as lucky in having the cookies and milk. May have to be alert when it will become available while watching MUTS.

[Thrak]

We have only had the cookies and milk at MUTS during the afternoon. Never at night. We have often had to go get our own popcorn at night. No big deal. My wife doesn't have a problem sending me to get the popcorn. :D

Edited January 31, 2017 by Thrak

[cruzrbachoua]

Popcorn yup we have had to get ourselves. But the milk and cookies are during it so they dont broadcast it loud. ..we happened to see them walking on the side if the deck so when they came around our way we waved the server down. We got the last ones then they told the people next to us she would be right back with more. ..sure enough did. She gave us more and both times they were ooey gooey warm...just keep and eye out for waiters walking around

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Forums mobile app

[caribill]

As noted, they already have a lot of this data - for example, they know when you were seated at dinner now, when the final check was printed, what you ordered etc. So it may be more precise but nothing new.

 

 

No.

 

All they know now is that you were assigned to a dining room time or anytime.

 

They have no idea if you actually went into any dining room unless you ordered a beverage that required a charge.

 

Your server may know you are there if in traditional, but that is not recorded anywhere.

 

With the medallion they can tell (and record if they wish) exactly when you went to which dining room and when you left.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...Very few people listening to the classical musicians in the atrium? OK, lets no longer have classical music on the ship.

 

Very few people on the jogging track? No need to have one if 90% of the passengers do not use it...

 

I have no doubt that will be at least a part of how they will use this technology. They wouldn't be investing $$$$ in it if there weren't a profit motive for Princess. They will determine underutilized and/or undermonetized areas and make them more profitable.