Very mixed message from CCL CEO and two serious reality bites -- WSJ today

[OlsSalt]

2-21-17 Wall Street Journal has an interview with CLL CEO Arnold Donald presenting pretty much the same canned theme he was pushing on the recent Celebrity Apprentice finale - busting the myths about cruising and what he intends to do about it.

 

Recent reality bites however include the stinging admission in a prior thread (Re: NCL Cheerleader**) about the Nieuw Amsterdam Captain, staff and cruise director spending the full week on a recent NA charter allegedly mocking and making fun of HAL regular passengers.

 

Second reality bite is CEO Donald's disingenuous claim past passenger loyalty, word of mouth and exceeding expectations are their best business development tools.

 

This includes listening strongly during the cruise and getting feedback from passengers, which will now include the roll-out of real time feedback using this wearable 'Ocean Medallion" (Regal Princess- Nov 2017) that tracks a passenger's every move and choice made while onboard.

 

His stated intent is this "Ocean Medallion" device allows ships personnel to constantly monitor the passenger anticipating the passenger, while in fact intruding on any privacy expectations by hustling you according what their interpretation is of your needs and wants while onboard. His example is reminding a passenger that a yoga class will be starting soon, if ship's personnel runs into that passenger. (???)

 

Contrast this current canned CEO media marketing hustle with the recent failure to even get the post-cruise survey after our last NA cruise, and now also learning the captain on down made fun of us during that cruise anyway.

 

Bottomline: any built-up HAL loyalty has been seriously shattered and this new direction monitoring, with the hidden attempt to monetize, our every move using electronic wearables that CCL-HAL is now taking totally creeps me out.

 

**Kollegekreed wrote:

As I said the jokes were flyingall week from the captain, cruise director and on down about the normal HAL passengers and how they were looking forward to the complaints resuming on the sailing after ours about scheduling shows“so late, at 8:30 PM”. It seemed to be a nice break for them to have our music piped across the ship, no real limits on language and content, etc.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't like the sounds of this either.

What happens if I throw my Ocean Medallion into the ocean? Will they think I went overboard?

[DeeniEncinitas]

I said it before on another thread on this, and I will say it again "I DO NOT NEED BIG BROTHER WATCHING ME!""

This is my enjoyable cruise and I do not need a monitoring device to be tracked!!!!

4 Star or not I will then leave HAL.

We are doing a WC with Viking Ocean in 2019, and as loyal as we have been our next cruise out of our home town in San Diego next February for the IncanEmpire cruise might be able our last with them!

Sad

Denise:)

[MSUcruisers]

I don't like the sounds of this either.

What happens if I throw my Ocean Medallion into the ocean? Will they think I went overboard?

 

 

We will cruise for the first time with HAL in June. What is an "Ocean Medallion"?

[OlsSalt]

I don't like the sounds of this either.

What happens if I throw my Ocean Medallion into the ocean? Will they think I went overboard?

 

 

Jumping overboard may be the best defense. Jumping ship is certainly on my mind now too.

[avian777]

Unless HAL has plans to implant an "Ocean Medallion" on each passenger (a la pet ID microchips), I don't think you need to worry about HAL invading your privacy for the (shocking) purpose of making money!!! JMO/YMMV

Smooth sailing ...

[OlsSalt]

We will cruise for the first time with HAL in June. What is an "Ocean Medallion"?

 

 

This will be rolled out only on the Regal Princess in Nov, so not yet on HAL ships. Doubt if most HAL ships besides the brand new Konigsdam have the internal capacity to work with this new electronic passenger tracking device.

 

However, according to CCL CEO Donald, this is his vision of cruising's future. As he explains in the WSJ article:

 

Question: What would this medallion enable me to do?

 

CEO Answer: Everything from easier embarkation to real time delivery of service. You can order a drink, and you can walk out to a deck and the drink will find you. You can order a drink at one bar, and you go to another bar, that new bartender recognizes you by name and says "I see you ordered a Tom Collins, would you like another one?"

 

Someone might walk by you and say "Hi, just want to give you a heads-up the yoga class starts in about 10 minutes if you still want to go.".

 

Your medallion is keyless entry to your room, but if you lose it and someone else picks it up they can't get into your room because we have multiple identification techniques."

[OlsSalt]

I said it before on another thread on this, and I will say it again "I DO NOT NEED BIG BROTHER WATCHING ME!""

This is my enjoyable cruise and I do not need a monitoring device to be tracked!!!!

4 Star or not I will then leave HAL.

We are doing a WC with Viking Ocean in 2019, and as loyal as we have been our next cruise out of our home town in San Diego next February for the IncanEmpire cruise might be able our last with them!

Sad

Denise:)

 

 

But... but .... CEO Donald said "The Ocean Medallion is a way for us to give a highly personalized travel experience."

 

(Agree 100% with your sentiments - HAL presently leaves us alone which has been its strongest virtue. Lose that and HAL is lost to us too.)

[avian777]

Jumping overboard may be the best defense. Jumping ship is certainly on my mind now too.

 

Huh????????????

[OlsSalt]

CEO Donald also curiously described HAL passengers as "Midwestern, even though they might not live there".

 

What part of Mid-western US values includes the love of 24/7 electronic monitoring?

[kazu]

My two cents. (Remember a penny is useless in Canada).

 

The Ocean Medallion is being started on Princess (if it happens). So, it will be while coming to HAL IF it comes to HAL some time away. How many activities does HAL have that one needs to be reminded of? LOL.

 

Secondly, just because one person reported that everyone was making fun of regular HAL cruisers, we weren't there. It is the report of ONE person who may have heard what they wanted or may have interpreted something said to suit them.

 

For example, I remember being on a charter years ago on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Yes, the crew said they enjoyed the charter as the group was much younger and doing more things. But, they never made fun of regular HAL cruisers. Just said it was a "change of pace".

 

No need to hit the panic button (or medallion). Let's wait and see how it unfolds.

[taxmantoo]

Recent reality bites however include the stinging admission in a prior thread (Re: NCL Cheerleader**) about the Nieuw Amsterdam Captain, staff and cruise director spending the full week on a recent NA charter allegedly mocking and making fun of HAL regular passengers.

 

 

Anyone who has been to any comedian's show in the theater or been to a Mariner Reception handing out medallions or been to a Mariner's Luncheon or had the opportunity to dine with the Captain or high-ranking officer has heard all these jokes and more.

 

In fact, we often do them ourselves here on CC.

 

Someone needs to switch to decaf :D

[OlsSalt]

Trying to remember if prior passenger feed-back forms even asked us if we would prefer 24/7 electronic monitoring and turning staff into 24/7 baby sittters. We couldn't even get action after years filling out the ubiquitous smoking survey.

 

Just thinking what pressures this "Medallion" would now put on staff to monitor 2000 passengers and give us "individualized" canned phony interactions creeps me out too. Since I don't drink at least I won't have to worry about Tom Collins chasing me around from deck to deck, with mournful eyes demanding I take him in my arms even more.

 

If I want "individual service" I will pay more and go on a smaller, premium line. We personally pick a mass market cruise line like HAL because we become part of the anonymous mass and can enjoy ourselves with a relative degree of privacy, and at the level of current personal attention that HAL already does provide through their staff selection and training.

[bUU]

No need to hit the panic button (or medallion).

No need to do so anyway. Disney has been doing similar tracking of its guests for years, including by way of wearable tech, and we haven't suffered any physical or emotional maladies as a result.

[OlsSalt]

No need to do so anyway. Disney has been doing similar tracking of its guests for years, including by way of wearable tech, and we haven't suffered any physical or emotional maladies as a result.

 

 

Might make more sense on a Disney cruise where parents and their children go separate ways. And Disney is a more premium priced cruise line than HAL. Maybe this is part of the price differential since they offer "more individualized" services.

 

How do you "wear" your Medallion? Put it in a pocket, pin it on your clothes, use a wrist coil, around your neck on a lanyard?

 

Irony is we fled Crystal mainly because we did not like the level of "personalized" service (aka canned intrusiveness) they offered. The contrast on our first HAL cruise with the more genuine sense of hospitality and detached professionalism was a breath of fresh air.

[Tampa Girl]

2-21-17 Wall Street Journal has an interview with CLL CEO Arnold Donald presenting pretty much the same canned theme he was pushing on the recent Celebrity Apprentice finale - busting the myths about cruising and what he intends to do about it.

 

Recent reality bites however include the stinging admission in a prior thread (Re: NCL Cheerleader**) about the Nieuw Amsterdam Captain, staff and cruise director spending the full week on a recent NA charter allegedly mocking and making fun of HAL regular passengers.

 

 

now taking totally creeps me out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Kollegekreed wrote:

As I said the jokes were flyingall week from the captain, cruise director and on down about the normal HAL passengers and how they were looking forward to the complaints resuming on the sailing after ours about scheduling shows“so late, at 8:30 PM”. It seemed to be a nice break for them to have our music piped across the ship, no real limits on language and content, etc.

 

I believe that Kollekreed was talking about the Koningsdam, not the NA.

[OlsSalt]

I believe that Kollekreed was talking about the Koningsdam, not the NA.

Thank you for the correction, indeed it was the Konigsdam.

 

Now I can wipe out the picture of our last cruise staff laughing behind our backs. (Which they probably do already, I know. I worked in summer camps and the hospitality industry and we had out own version of our customers too.)

[Sequim88]

Your medallion is keyless entry to your room, but if you lose it and someone else picks it up they can't get into your room because we have multiple identification techniques."

 

 

Ingenious move - guarantees you must take it with you and not leave it in the cabin - unless you leave someone in the cabin to let you back in anyway.

 

 

The new HAL:

[OlsSalt]

Ingenious move - guarantees you must take it with you and not leave it in the cabin - unless you leave someone in the cabin to let you back in anyway.

 

 

The new HAL:

 

 

Good one, Sequim! Just found the most recent interview with CCL CEO and passenger Dave:

[take us away]

No need to do so anyway. Disney has been doing similar tracking of its guests for years, including by way of wearable tech, and we haven't suffered any physical or emotional maladies as a result.

 

 

for a cruise that is something like 70% children, makes a lot more sense

[dogo88]

I said it before on another thread on this, and I will say it again "I DO NOT NEED BIG BROTHER WATCHING ME!""

This is my enjoyable cruise and I do not need a monitoring device to be tracked!!!!

4 Star or not I will then leave HAL.

We are doing a WC with Viking Ocean in 2019, and as loyal as we have been our next cruise out of our home town in San Diego next February for the IncanEmpire cruise might be able our last with them!

Sad

Denise:)

 

 

Got a cell phone? Go online and shop and buy things via a non vpn connection or other method of masking your identity? Facebook? Twitter? Snapchat?

 

Too late. Big Brother is tracking you.

[3rdGenCunarder]

If HAL wants to use the medallions to "personalize" your cruise experience, then they should make it programmable, with one of the options being "leave me ALONE!!!!!!!!"

 

Brilliant photo, Sequim88. But that isn't the "new" HAL. That one is almost 50 years old. ;)Maybe if enough passengers smash their medallions, the captain will sing "Bicycle Built for Two."

[OlsSalt]

If HAL wants to use the medallions to "personalize" your cruise experience, then they should make it programmable, with one of the options being "leave me ALONE!!!!!!!!"

 

Brilliant photo, Sequim88. But that isn't the "new" HAL. That one is almost 50 years old. ;)Maybe if enough passengers smash their medallions, the captain will sing "Bicycle Built for Two."

 

 

HAL just banned bringing onboard bicycles built for two, or even one. Crazy, crazy ....

[OlsSalt]

Got a cell phone? Go online and shop and buy things via a non vpn connection or other method of masking your identity? Facebook? Twitter? Snapchat?

 

Too late. Big Brother is tracking you.

 

Nope, no cell phone, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. Imagine that. Online shopping and online email etc, yes. That is a personal choice; not one inflicted on me by the price of a cruise ticket while merely being onboard.

 

However, I am also a big fan of increased operational efficiencies which onboard tracking will certainly provide. I suggest they even put sensors on the toilet paper roll and set of alarms with mechanized scolding voices if we exceed our daily allotment.

 

My biggest problem right now is the mixed message of the CEO who is talking out of both sides of his mouth about passenger "feedback" and using perfectly awful examples (in my mind) why we will love being tracked 24/7 by wearable Ocean Medallions.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Nope, no cell phone, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. Imagine that. Online shopping and online email etc, yes. That is a personal choice; not one inflicted on me by the price of a cruise ticket while merely being onboard.

 

However, I am also a big fan of increased operational efficiencies which onboard tracking will certainly provide. I suggest they even put sensors on the toilet paper roll and set of alarms with mechanized scolding voices if we exceed our daily allotment.

 

My biggest problem right now is the mixed message of the CEO who is talking out of both sides of his mouth about passenger "feedback" and using perfectly awful examples (in my mind) why we will love being tracked 24/7 by wearable Ocean Medallions.

I use a cell phone have no twitter, Facebook, nor Snapchat. I do not buy online. I am not in to bells and whistles. OlsSalt I'm with you! Denise:)