Status of Ocean Medallion?

[pablo222]

As a very private person, the scenario that makes me very wary of this is, for example, being greeted by name as you walk into, say, Crooners, and having your picture show up on a waiter's tablet as you walk by

 

Just keep your medallion in an RFID shielding wallet, pouch, etc.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Blocking-Passport-Protectors-Protection-perfectly/dp/B01F1AGD2C/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1530388388&sr=8-6&keywords=rfid+credit+card+holder

 

 

Maybe cruise critic could sell some that say "Cruise Critic" on them...

[satxdiver]

I guess it all comes down to how you define "someone". No, obviously Princess won't have humans sitting at screens watching passenger's every move around the ship, but it is my understanding that if you opt for it, and many will intentionally or otherwise, the "system" can most assuredly know where you are with some accuracy as you move around the ship, and this information CAN impact you directly. As a very private person, the scenario that makes me very wary of this is, for example, being greeted by name as you walk into, say, Crooners, and having your picture show up on a waiter's tablet as you walk by, which I understand is one of the system's capabilities. While some folks seem to be salivating over having this feature, we plan to be among the few that will absolutely refuse this type of real-time monitoring, as I believe we will be able to do. ALL we want to be able to do with the ship's card/Medallion, is to open our door, get on and off the ship, and charge to our account. Of course, we realize that our data is being kept in the computer SOMEWHERE in the system, but the Medallion is far too invasive for us.

 

 

If I was REALLY paranoid, this would remind me of the experience Tom Cruise had as he walked through the shopping mall in Minority Report, with specific targeted adverts screamed in his face as he walked through. After all, Princess isn't doing all this out of the kindness of their heart, one of their targeted goals has to be the collection of mass amounts of passenger analytics. Like many others, I see no benefit in it for us.

 

I assume that you do not have a cell phone or carry it around with you since the cell towers are tracking your moves and it is saved for future reference. I am wondering how you use a computer since everything you put on the internet (email, FB postings etc) are recorded and the location of the computer is known. The government can get access to all this information if the need arises. Everywhere you go today, a security camera is watching your every move and recording it.

 

All large businesses collect customer data putting it into a database and mining that data to tailor their ads to you. Amazon for example doesn't just guess what you might like to buy when you first bring up their website. They track every page you look at recording it for later reference and sales pitch. Princess is no different.

 

If you disable your ***** by putting it in a RFID shielded container, the ship's computer will think you have gone overboard and activate a MOB alarm.

 

So unless you live in a hut in backwoods Montana and never use a cell phone, computer, bank account, etc. you are being tracked.

[satxdiver]

Just keep your medallion in an RFID shielding wallet, pouch, etc.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Blocking-Passport-Protectors-Protection-perfectly/dp/B01F1AGD2C/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1530388388&sr=8-6&keywords=rfid+credit+card+holder

 

 

Maybe cruise critic could sell some that say "Cruise Critic" on them...

 

 

:'):'):')

[floridalover5623]

I often wonder what it is about people who don't want to be tracked?

What could they possible want to hide from everyone? :confused:

It's probably already known by now anyway & there afraid that Princess will know their spending habits or where they go on the ship.;p

[TheRabbit]

Very true, but thatis for a specific purpose. I still feel that the apparent fear that some evidently have that someone is going to constantly be tracking them and watching everywhere they go is not realistic and is paranoid.

 

Tom

You got it so right Tom. There is no way three security personel will want to track everyones movements. They have much bigger problems to take care of.

After reading some of the last few post, makes me wonder how paranoid people are. Sticking your medallion in an rfi poach, system will think you are missing and cause an alert. Then you have to take it out of the poach to get in the room.

All this because you do not want them to know who you are when you walk into a bar. Right now when you use your card, they see your picture on the computer.

[Haboob]

You got it so right Tom. There is no way three security personel will want to track everyones movements. They have much bigger problems to take care of.

After reading some of the last few post, makes me wonder how paranoid people are. Sticking your medallion in an rfi poach, system will think you are missing and cause an alert. Then you have to take it out of the poach to get in the room.

All this because you do not want them to know who you are when you walk into a bar. Right now when you use your card, they see your picture on the computer.

 

Your Medallion profile has a "safety only" option to go low profile.

 

If folks are worried that Princess won't honor it when set, they can comfort themselves by

contemplating the almighty stink that would arise when (not if) Princess were eventually

caught.

[TheRabbit]

I often wonder what it is about people who don't want to be tracked?

What could they possible want to hide from everyone? :confused:

It's probably already known by now anyway & there afraid that Princess will know their spending habits or where they go on the ship.;p

There is a great amount of wasted time and money for false man overboards. Now they will know if and who is missing. I have had to be counted in our rooms while we wait for an all clear.

I would rather have that hour back than worry about someone greeting me with my name.

[latserrof]

Deleted.

Edited June 30, 2018 by latserrof

[TheRabbit]

Even without all the problems Princess has already had in implementing the medallion, I find it hard to believe that the system will ever be able to recognize a medallion overboard or a missing medallion (among several thousand) with sufficient reliability to initiate a ship's MOB procedure.

From what I was told, this is one thing the system should be good at.

I should add an alert goes to the bridge very quickly, but security has to let them know who. I think I heard they also know where they went over. Not having taken notes, not 100% sure on this one point.

[Haboob]

From what I was told, this is one thing the system should be good at.

I should add an alert goes to the bridge very quickly, but security has to let them know who. I think I heard they also know where they went over. Not having taken notes, not 100% sure on this one point.

 

Morbid point. If someone goes "overboard" on Crown class ship, they are much more likely to end

up on someone's balcony than in the water.

[lx200gps]

I assume that you do not have a cell phone or carry it around with you since the cell towers are tracking your moves and it is saved for future reference. I am wondering how you use a computer since everything you put on the internet (email, FB postings etc) are recorded and the location of the computer is known. The government can get access to all this information if the need arises. Everywhere you go today, a security camera is watching your every move and recording it.

 

All large businesses collect customer data putting it into a database and mining that data to tailor their ads to you. Amazon for example doesn't just guess what you might like to buy when you first bring up their website. They track every page you look at recording it for later reference and sales pitch. Princess is no different.

 

If you disable your ***** by putting it in a RFID shielded container, the ship's computer will think you have gone overboard and activate a MOB alarm.

 

So unless you live in a hut in backwoods Montana and never use a cell phone, computer, bank account, etc. you are being tracked.

 

Of course we are all being tracked, but there is a big difference between the impersonal collection of data by a cell phone company or Google, and having your private space invaded by Princess employees using said technology multiple times a day to identify you and "greet" you as you walk around the ship.

 

 

I'll assume you are attempting humor when you say that RFID blocking a Medallion will cause a Man Overboard alert.

[TheRabbit]

I'll assume you are attempting humor when you say that RFID blocking a Medallion will cause a Man Overboard alert.

This may not be humor. If the medallion is not detected, an alert may very well go out. It was not clear from the update I received exactly how a missing person is detected, but having no indication of where the medallion is at least part of this. Everything else is speculation unless you know all the ins and outs of the software/hardware.

[lx200gps]

This may not be humor. If the medallion is not detected, an alert may very well go out. It was not clear from the update I received exactly how a missing person is detected, but having no indication of where the medallion is at least part of this. Everything else is speculation unless you know all the ins and outs of the software/hardware.

 

With all the myriad ways a Medallion could "go offline" during a cruise, there's no way that Princess could allow a Man Overboard alert each time it happens.

[Host CJSKIDS]

TheRabbit, thanks for posting the updates of the Ocean Medallion.

 

Hoping my time on the Regal the medallion finally does more than it did for our 12/3/17 sailing.

[Pierlesscruisers]

If you disable your ***** by putting it in a RFID shielded container, the ship's computer will think you have gone overboard and activate a MOB alarm.

 

I suspect that that is an assumption you are making. While that might be a possibility, I would doubt it as there are so many other possibilities, e.g. malfunctioning medallion, damaged medallion, sensor malfunction in the area where the person is present, etc. While your scenario is, of course, possible, I would suspect that that there would probably be some facet of the medallion operations manual (for lack of a better term) that would have a number checks prior to automatically assuming that the person with that medallion had gone overboard. Heck, if that were the case, some wise guy (or gal, I don't want to be sexist here :D) would probably go and throw a medallion off the ship just to see what would happen. If that were to occur, the word would probably get around pretty quickly and it would happen much more often.

 

 

But I think we're all putting too much time and effort into this line of thought, myself included. So...on to dreaming about my next cruise, with or without a medallion!

 

Tom

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

Sure they are trying to anticipate all the possible scenarios to work out. I guess it's not as simple as they originally forecast. Doesn't bother me in any case.

[Thrak]

I had to laugh at some of the real problems they ran into. Some of these the engineers had not anticipated in how users would do things.

 

When I was taking some programming classes about a zillion years ago (C++) I would get my program to function and think things were going fairly well and then ask my wife to check it out. She would end up pressing some bizarre combination of keys or something and break the code. It is not good enough to "think" you have things working properly as there will always be some bozo who will do something you never would have thought anybody would conceivably do.

[TheRabbit]

When I was taking some programming classes about a zillion years ago (C++) I would get my program to function and think things were going fairly well and then ask my wife to check it out. She would end up pressing some bizarre combination of keys or something and break the code. It is not good enough to "think" you have things working properly as there will always be some bozo who will do something you never would have thought anybody would conceivably do.

So true

I spent a lot of effort teaching engineers under me to test the edges and test to fail. We Software Engineers KNOW how it works and as such, most test it that way. LOL Did you see the post about the balls below?

[megs1954]

I read the Rabbits report and have one question on the Regal, you mentioned that there might be five phases. Are they planning to start adding cabins right away to this ocean medallion?

 

Thank you for the updates.

[Thrak]

There is a great amount of wasted time and money for false man overboards. Now they will know if and who is missing. I have had to be counted in our rooms while we wait for an all clear.

I would rather have that hour back than worry about someone greeting me with my name.

 

I have never sailed on an ***** voyage but... We took a 28 day cruise on Emerald last year. On day two I was being greeted by name in both Wheelhouse and Skywalker's. I think it might have been day three when both of those venues stopped asking for my card as they knew the number. We did a Panama Canal cruise on CB back in 2015 and on day two as I walked past IC one of the baristas greeted me by name. I wasn't stopping there but merely walking past. I had purchased a coffee there the first day of the cruise. I really have no concerns at all about them knowing who I am due to the medallion. They seem to do an amazing job of that already without the tech to help them out. I also love the idea that they could eliminate searching for the clowns who don't show up for disembarkation when doing a B2B. There seem to be some who are "too important" to gather as requested so they can be escorted off and on so as to empty the ship so new folks can board. With the medallion Princess could simply have security locate these folks and then "suggest" that they get their act together so others aren't adversely impacted.

 

As for tracking -- I have zero issue with my wife being able to find out where I am and I would love to be able to tell if my wife was still at the Knitters and Natters meeting or if she had left before I set out to traverse half the ship to meet up with her. I would also like to order a drink such as a Gin and Tonic while in my cabin and have it ready for me when I meet up with her at Crooner's where she is with the Knitters and Natters group. I would know she was there and order the drink so it was ready when I got there. They would also, in theory at least, know that I want the drink made with Tanqueray rather than Hendrick's. If it was an order for a Bloody Mary instead they would, again in theory, know that I want it made extra spicy. I have zero paranoia about the medallion and was one of those disappointed that it wasn't working out as planned. It was supposed to have been implemented on CB with the first ***** cruise being the one we took in March. Obviously it didn't happen. We still had a great cruise using the "traditional" methods of doing things. (When it was announced that the medallion wouldn't be available for our March 18 cruise on CB I called Princess and they gave us $50 OBC each as compensation. I thought that was very nice of them as they didn't have to do anything.)

 

I would really like the door function to work and wouldn't like to have to do a double tap of the screen to open the door as that would defeat the ability to open the door with both hands full of coffee or whatever. I was somewhat of a "fanboi" for the medallion so it was somewhat embarrassing for me when it didn't work. I will continue to be a proponent of the tech but will just have to wait "patiently" for them to work out the bugs in the system. I would rather wait than be their beta (or maybe alpha!) tester. We certainly won't predicate which cruises we take based on the presence or lack of ***** technology but I certainly don't fear it or worry about the tracking aspect. Sheesh... People who have a FB account and then worry about Princess tracking them on a ship. :rolleyes:

[TheRabbit]

I read the Rabbits report and have one question on the Regal, you mentioned that there might be five phases. Are they planning to start adding cabins right away to this ocean medallion?

 

Thank you for the updates.

This is a fuzzy area. The person I talked to thought they were going to phase it in in steps, IE if everything worked for the first group, they would add more in the next phase. Not sure this was actually presented to him or his input. I was only going by what he said in this case and I did not ask any qualifying questions.

[Thrak]

So true

I spent a lot of effort teaching engineers under me to test the edges and test to fail. We Software Engineers KNOW how it works and as such, most test it that way. LOL Did you see the post about the balls below?

 

Yep. Loved the post about the balls.

 

Usually it's not the software engineers who cause the majority of the problems. It's the marketing people who have zero understanding of how things work or the problems encountered in making them work properly but go ahead and make extravagant claims anyway.

[TheRabbit]

Yep. Loved the post about the balls.

 

Usually it's not the software engineers who cause the majority of the problems. It's the marketing people who have zero understanding of how things work or the problems encountered in making them work properly but go ahead and make extravagant claims anyway.

Been there done that. Had a system engineer develop a slide showing we would be able to do some miraculous things. Despite my arguments against putting up the slide, management made the decision to present it. Contractual requirement was almost 2 magnitudes less strict.

The outside test group and the customer used this against us 2 years later when on paper we didn't meet the what the system engineer promised (he was off the project by then). I knew we had met the promise, but I had to prove it. Spent two 60 hour weeks going through the test group's data and data analysis to disprove their reported errors. In the end, I found multiple errors in the data collection and analysis, along with user input, and we had indeed met the stricter requirement. Management sold me down the river when they initially believe the test report, and then I had to save their a....!:eek:

[megs1954]

This is a fuzzy area. The person I talked to thought they were going to phase it in in steps, IE if everything worked for the first group, they would add more in the next phase. Not sure this was actually presented to him or his input. I was only going by what he said in this case and I did not ask any qualifying questions.

 

 

 

Thanks. We have ***** for our upcoming Regal, we had a guarantee cabin and were assigned to it just after final payment. We are the only cabin in our group of six cabins with it. I hope more get into the program by this potential phase stuff.

[TheRabbit]

Thanks. We have ***** for our upcoming Regal, we had a guarantee cabin and were assigned to it just after final payment. We are the only cabin in our group of six cabins with it. I hope more get into the program by this potential phase stuff.

Let us know how it goes!:o