A Sixth? Posted January 4, 2017 #1 Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) As seen in the S Florida Business Journal. Almost seems like a joke but it's not April 1st. Carnival Corp. announces wearable tech for cruisers http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2017/01/04/carnival-corp-announces-wearable-tech-for-cruisers.html?ana=yahoo http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2017/01/04/carnival-corp-announces-wearable-tech-for-cruisers.html?ana=yahoo Edited January 4, 2017 by A Sixth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Junky Posted January 4, 2017 #2 Share Posted January 4, 2017 As RCL already has it I'm surprised X didn't get it before Princess. I think It's cool but people around here aren't really up in accepting change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrivesLikeMario Posted January 4, 2017 #3 Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) I saw this on our local news this morning. RCI has had it on some of their ships and I'm really surprised the Regal Princess will be getting it just a few weeks after we're on it. Guess we'll see the changes as they're being made in preparation for the change. I too would've thought Celebrity would do this way before Princess. Edited January 4, 2017 by DrivesLikeMario left out a word Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmaanne7 Posted January 4, 2017 #4 Share Posted January 4, 2017 IT doesn't seem to be Celebrity's strong point. I wouldn't hold my breath. Sent from my SM-G530W using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Sixth? Posted January 4, 2017 Author #5 Share Posted January 4, 2017 IT doesn't seem to be Celebrity's strong point. I wouldn't hold my breath. Sent from my SM-G530W using Tapatalk That was my thought too. When you loose your Key card, they just give you a new one... I wonder what the deal would be when you loose the wearable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspaul Posted January 4, 2017 #6 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Personally I wouldn't be interested in wearing something like that! Only my opinion. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantaCruiser72 Posted January 4, 2017 #7 Share Posted January 4, 2017 While I applaud Princess (Carnival Corp) for being forward thinking and trying to enhance the vacation experience through technology I have to s****** at the fact that the article features the medallions as part of a fashion jewelry/watchband collection. Of course none of this comes for free. RCCL quickly started charging for the wristband option on the Quantum class and Harmony and reports are that the take rate is fairly low. That said the RCCL offering is nothing more than a replacement for the conventional key card, whereas the Princess offering (if it actually works as described) is a much more in depth integration of passenger profiling and key card allowing the cruise line to offer more targeted "personalized interactions" which we all know is marketing speak for trying to sell you stuff based on past buying patterns ...... Imagine it - you're walking by the shops and your medallion sends an alert to a sales clerks handheld that you bought a Breitling watch on your last cruise. The salesman comes up and says to you "Good afternoon Mr. Miller, how is your cruise?" You stop because you are taken aback at being called by name and then they continue with "How have you enjoyed your Breitling watch you purchased with us" .... you can guess how the rest of the sale pitch will follow! If anyone thinks they are doing this for any reason EXCEPT revenue enhancement then they are wearing rose colored glasses AND blinders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkjretired Posted January 4, 2017 #8 Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) That was my thought too. When you loose your Key card, they just give you a new one... I wonder what the deal would be when you loose the wearable? We had one of those devices at a land vacation two weeks ago at Margaritaville in St. Thomas, it was pretty handy. You can open your door, charge at the resort and a couple other things. Their policy was if you lose it, they just give you another one for $10. Not a problem to wear, we wore it outside the resort, snorkeling, etc. There was no identification on it. It was very similar to the wrist bands they give you when you are admitted to a hospital. Edited January 4, 2017 by dkjretired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bEwAbG Posted January 4, 2017 #9 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Celebrity does not yet even have a robust app that would be useful on board (like for communications or activities or reservations), so hopefully they'll focus on that first. Disney World introduced these bands a few years ago, and I found them to be pretty convenient. It's a lot easier to spend more money, though, when you're just tapping the band rather than reaching for your wallet. But, it makes more sense in a theme park setting where you're also using it for access to attractions. Everything this wearable tech provides on a cruise ship could be better provided by an app, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Sixth? Posted January 4, 2017 Author #10 Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) We had one of those devices at a land vacation two weeks ago at Margaritaville in St. Thomas, it was pretty handy. You can open your door, charge at the resort and a couple other things. Their policy was if you lose it, they just give you another one for $10. Not a problem to wear, we wore it outside the resort, snorkeling, etc. There was no identification on it. It was very similar to the wrist bands they give you when you are admitted to a hospital. $ 10.00.... not sure I'd want to lose too many... I'm not giddy about, as AtlantaCruiser72 points out, being "tracked" ... maybe just paranoid. Edited January 4, 2017 by A Sixth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob the Cruiser Posted January 4, 2017 #11 Share Posted January 4, 2017 The 'handing my Seapass card to the salesperson or bartender' app works just fine for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ISABELLA Posted January 4, 2017 #12 Share Posted January 4, 2017 As seen in the S Florida Business Journal. Almost seems like a joke but it's not April 1st. Carnival Corp. announces wearable tech for cruisers http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2017/01/04/carnival-corp-announces-wearable-tech-for-cruisers.html?ana=yahoo http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2017/01/04/carnival-corp-announces-wearable-tech-for-cruisers.html?ana=yahoo I hope not before they make their website work.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopsailor Posted January 4, 2017 #13 Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) While I applaud Princess (Carnival Corp) for being forward thinking and trying to enhance the vacation experience through technology I have to s****** at the fact that the article features the medallions as part of a fashion jewelry/watchband collection. Of course none of this comes for free. RCCL quickly started charging for the wristband option on the Quantum class and Harmony and reports are that the take rate is fairly low. That said the RCCL offering is nothing more than a replacement for the conventional key card, whereas the Princess offering (if it actually works as described) is a much more in depth integration of passenger profiling and key card allowing the cruise line to offer more targeted "personalized interactions" which we all know is marketing speak for trying to sell you stuff based on past buying patterns ...... Imagine it - you're walking by the shops and your medallion sends an alert to a sales clerks handheld that you bought a Breitling watch on your last cruise. The salesman comes up and says to you "Good afternoon Mr. Miller, how is your cruise?" You stop because you are taken aback at being called by name and then they continue with "How have you enjoyed your Breitling watch you purchased with us" .... you can guess how the rest of the sale pitch will follow! If anyone thinks they are doing this for any reason EXCEPT revenue enhancement then they are wearing rose colored glasses AND blinders. Reminds me of the scene in Minority Report where the Tom Cruise character walks into a mall with a pair of eyes implanted from a deceased person to hide his true identity, only to have the wall sized displays along the way come alive and welcome the deceased person by playing advertising aimed at the dead person's buying habits. With new technology comes new opportunities for businesses to maximize intrusion into our lives. We have seen that with smart phones, web browsers, social media, and any number of technological advances. Change is not always for the better. I have no problems with the current card system. Don't need the cruise line to develop so-called enhancements to "anticipate" my every move or desire. I prefer to do that for myself. Edited January 4, 2017 by sloopsailor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4774Papa Posted January 4, 2017 #14 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I would prefer my key card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mom says Posted January 4, 2017 #15 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I hope it's not coming anytime soon. We've gone on a few WDW visits since they started their My Disney Experience/Magic Band system, and it hasn't been exactly magical for us. Glitchy? At various times it has lost reservations, denied access at park gates, wouldn't open room doors, And their WiFi, which is essential to run the system, can be slow to the point of useless at times. The fact that the Disney ships don't use MBs says a lot. Given that this system needs a powerful, complex, and glitch free program to run properly, and a very strong WiFi system for proper, dependable use, I think Celebrity would do well to steer clear for now. They can't even get their own website to operate acceptably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDawg Posted January 4, 2017 #16 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Imagine it - you're walking by the shops and your medallion sends an alert to a sales clerks handheld that you bought a Breitling watch on your last cruise. The salesman comes up and says to you "Good afternoon Mr. Miller, how is your cruise?" You stop because you are taken aback at being called by name and then they continue with "How have you enjoyed your Breitling watch you purchased with us" .... With X's IT department the pitch to Mr. Smith would more likely be; "Good morning Mrs. Brown..... how have you enjoyed your the Breitbart news subscrition you purchased.....hey Lucy, since when did we start selling internet news subsscritions in the watch store?" :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baron Barracuda Posted January 4, 2017 #17 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Used the WOW band on Royal's Quantum when it debuted and wasn't very impressed. It did open the door fine, and it was nice not having to remember your card. At bars though the scanner was located behind the bar so we had to remove the band and hand it over to bartender when ordering a drink. Bartenders would have a pile of them there while they made drinks and since they only came in two colors they were all pretty much identical. Always worried that I'd get the right band back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisestitch Posted January 4, 2017 #18 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Not sure why the OP gave this thread a "thumbs down". Are you wanting Celebrity to adopt this or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Sixth? Posted January 4, 2017 Author #19 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Not sure why the OP gave this thread a "thumbs down". Are you wantingCelebrity to adopt this or not? Because I don't think Celebrity is anywhere near ready for it AND I am not a fan of tracking. Some don't care and offer-up everything about them all the time. I don't :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare markeb Posted January 4, 2017 #20 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Based on the comments on the "losing its way" thread, I'd say shortly after a very warm place freezes over! And, honestly, I don't get this on a ship the size of Celebrity's fleet. Or with the demographics (there's a great thread going on using wifi calling right now). I consider myself pretty tech savvy, but I still came that close today to closing the trunk on my car with the key fob in my backpack (proximity key). Somehow, wearable tech just doesn't fit the image of the population! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkjretired Posted January 5, 2017 #21 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Because I don't think Celebrity is anywhere near ready for it AND I am not a fan of tracking. Some don't care and offer-up everything about them all the time. I don't :cool: I would expect to see them on the edge ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare hcat Posted January 5, 2017 #22 Share Posted January 5, 2017 As shown, they appear to be ugly and cumbersome...do not want to wear a wi fi device.., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Sixth? Posted January 5, 2017 Author #23 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I would expect to see them on the edge ships. While I would not want one, if it was an "option" for those who want it I'd have no problem... Just don't think as some have said, it's really tuned to Celebrity's client base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted January 5, 2017 #24 Share Posted January 5, 2017 While I applaud Princess (Carnival Corp) for being forward thinking and trying to enhance the vacation experience through technology I have to s****** at the fact that the article features the medallions as part of a fashion jewelry/watchband collection. Of course none of this comes for free. RCCL quickly started charging for the wristband option on the Quantum class and Harmony and reports are that the take rate is fairly low. That said the RCCL offering is nothing more than a replacement for the conventional key card, whereas the Princess offering (if it actually works as described) is a much more in depth integration of passenger profiling and key card allowing the cruise line to offer more targeted "personalized interactions" which we all know is marketing speak for trying to sell you stuff based on past buying patterns ...... With upward of 4000 sensors around the ship, Princess will know the exact location of every passenger with a Medallion all of the time. I am not so sure I want a cruise company to be tracking my every movement all day long on the ship. One example given in one of the articles about it says if you turn on your TV to watch a live performance of an entertainer, the entertainer can know which passengers are watching him/her from their cabins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Big_M Posted January 5, 2017 #25 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Not sure why the OP gave this thread a "thumbs down". Are you wantingCelebrity to adopt this or not? Same, don't see this as neg-worthy. Just because another cruise line has something doesn't mean it's a necessity for this cruise line. Especially in this case where the RCL Wow-bands are more of a gimmick, with limited take up and hence now aren't given to all but only on purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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