Medallion being used on Holland America yet?

[madaroch]

I understand that Princess has gone to a medallion instead of a key card. Has Oosterdam or Holland gone this route yet?

[Daisyloo]

No. 

Princess is having a difficult time with their implementation of the medallion.  If HAL has any idea of starting a medallion program,  I would think they would wait until Princess gets it working properly. 

[Hlitner]

ROFLMAO!  With HAL, I can imagine they might get to Medallion technology sometime in the 22nd Century.  Princess is having lots of growing pains with their Medallion program...which is essentially a system that will provide the cruise line with all kinds of advanced information which can be used for targeted marketing.  Think of somebody who spends too much time in their cabin bathroom...only to find an ad pushed out to their cabin screen (or Smartphone) for Pepto Bismol!  That is not to say that would be done by the cruise line, but the Ocean Medallion program (with a sensor in every cabin bathroom) would theoretically give the cruise line that ability.  Or course on HAL the marketing would be for items like Ensure :).

 

Hank

[madaroch]

A friend used the Medallion on Princess a few weeks ago and loved it. 

[Aquahound]

With how slow HAL is to catch up to new technologies, I'm surprised they aren't still using metal skeleton keys.  So no, I don't expect that sort of technology any time soon on HAL. 

[TAD2005]

The Princess Medallion (and other similar programs) are advertised to be benefiting the passenger.   Yes, maybe a small part of it does.  But there is no free lunch.   It primarily is a marketing tool to track you all over the ship.   They want to know how much time you spend in the shops, bars, and other places on the ship.   

I have heard that some Princess passengers put their Medallion (an RFID device) into a empty potato chip bag (the foil type) to block the tracking.    

[AmazedByCruising]

1 minute ago, TAD2005 said:

The Princess Medallion (and other similar programs) are advertised to be benefiting the passenger.   Yes, maybe a small part of it does.  But there is no free lunch.   It primarily is a marketing tool to track you all over the ship.   They want to know how much time you spend in the shops, bars, and other places on the ship.   

I have heard that some Princess passengers put their Medallion (an RFID device) into a empty potato chip bag (the foil type) to block the tracking.    

 

You are right.

But, Medallions are an intermediate stage. The ship could already quite easily follow everyone carrying a mobile phone. But the next step is using facial recognition, which is what China is openly pursuing. By that time (3-5 few years or so), people don't care anymore, as every shop will have it. "To prevent shop lifters" at first, but to count, analyze and measure each and every visitor very soon after.

[ger_77]

We just got off the Oosterdam last weekend and still had the key cards.  I think it will be quite some time before a switch is made to the medallion system.

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂 🙂 🙂 

[thinfool]

On 11/14/2018 at 7:08 PM, madaroch said:

I understand that Princess has gone to a medallion instead of a key card. Has Oosterdam or Holland gone this route yet?

Princess has no ship that has a complete medallion system working yet.  Too many bugs.  They will get it eventually, but slowly, very slowly.

HAL has made no announcement that any consideration is being given to a medallion system in the future.

[StLouisCruisers]

3 hours ago, madaroch said:

A friend used the Medallion on Princess a few weeks ago and loved it. 

 

Sister in law was on Princess last week and hated it.  I shall see next week if the Pacific Princess has implemented it yet.  You can opt out of it, except for the door opening part from what I read.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

The Princess Medallion (and other similar programs) are advertised to be benefiting the passenger.   Yes, maybe a small part of it does.  But there is no free lunch.   It primarily is a marketing tool to track you all over the ship.   They want to know how much time you spend in the shops, bars, and other places on the ship.   

I have heard that some Princess passengers put their Medallion (an RFID device) into a empty potato chip bag (the foil type) to block the tracking.    

You have to love the rumors and/or idiots.  Only one Princess ship, the Caribbean Princess, actually has the Medallion up and running although not all the features are functional.  There is no reason to put you Medallion in a bag since you could simply not bother to carry the thing (you still have a cruise card you can use for everything) or you could simply turn it in to Guest Relations and use your cruise card.  As regular Princess cruisers (just off the Regal 10 days ago) we are not impressed by the entire Medallion program.  As you say, it is primarily a marketing tool for Princess that is being pushed out to the passengers as the 2nd coming.  

 

What Princess passengers do not talk about here is that Princess has quietly replaced their old cruise cards with new versions that contain their own chip (you cannot see it inside the card).  The cards also have UPC symbols that can be scanned.  As a CCL stockholder I am tempted to go to the annual meeting and ask for a justification for this huge investment (in Medallions) and what return the Corporation hopes to get on the investment.  

 

Hank

[sail7seas]

17 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

The Princess Medallion (and other similar programs) are advertised to be benefiting the passenger.   Yes, maybe a small part of it does.  But there is no free lunch.   It primarily is a marketing tool to track you all over the ship.   They want to know how much time you spend in the shops, bars, and other places on the ship.   

I have heard that some Princess passengers put their Medallion (an RFID device) into a empty potato chip bag (the foil type) to block the tracking.    

Great idea.  🙂 

 

What other places are using this medallion  thing?  hotel s?    Malls ?

 

 

What is Princess saying is the benefit  to the guests  ?

Edited November 17, 2018 by sail7seas

[boards]

I just asked the Mariner Society in regards to the Medallion programme and will report back with the answer they give me.  I hope it remains as is.  We used an old card (old dated credit card) in the light fixture and it worked fine.  I carried it in the card holder given us at check in.

[Hlitner]

I think some here have no clue about the Medallion and the expensive ship mods necessary   The ship must first be wired with new cable (fiber optics is best) to support the system.  Then sensors much be put all over the ship spaced every few feet in all public areas, corridors, etc.  They also must install 2 sensors in each passenger cabin including one in the bathroom (they can then keep track of how much time you spend in the bathroom).  That takes lots of person hours and months of work.   Once you have the sensors installed (and there are more then a thousand on each ship) then they must install new cabin door locks on each and every passenger cabin (the medallions automatically unlock your cabin door).  Consider that the Regal Princess has more than 1800 cabins...each of which need 2 hard wired sensors, a new lock, and a new video screen.  Then they must install a video screen (on Princess they are a medium size tablet screen) outside each and every passenger cabin.  The cruise line then needs to buy new equipment for all the points of sale, bar waiters, dining room waiters, and train all the staff on how the equipment works.  Meanwhile, new hardware and software must be installed and tested to make all this stuff work together.

 

Once all this accomplished and activated you (the passenger) will be able to unlock your cabin door by just being in the vicinity.  But the big question is how does this really help the passenger?  And then we must consider that HAL seems to be a cruise line that is technologically challenged (they cannot even get their own web site working properly).   Also keep in mind that to take full advantage to all the Medallion and related Medallion-net have to offer, each passenger must carry their own Smart Phone (which they need to synch to the Medallion system).  So, for example, lets say you spend too much time in your cabin bathroom.  An ad might pop up on your phone for Pepto Bismol.....which is for sale in a designated shop.  Or perhaps, as you approach your cabin the screen outside your door will have a reminder to wash your hands (because you are spending too much time in the bathroom).  

 

The Medallion will even be able to tell HAL what time each passenger goes into their cabin at night, leaves in the morning, etc.  If you browse in the Art Gallery you might get extra ads trying to entice you to an Art Auction.  This is all seen as progress.   But the system has its problems.   For example,  one Princess cruiser complained that whenever they moved around in their cabin they could hear their cabin lock recycling as the lock sensed the moving Medallion.

 

Last year we talked to one of the contractors who was wiring the Regal Princess for the Medallion.  He told me that the system made a lot of sense for new-builds since it could easily be built into a ship during construction.  But he wondered about the cost of retrofitting ships....but then mentioned that he was well paid so was not complaining.  But a year later they still have not finished the installation on the the Regal!

 

Hank

[Sonora5]

So they can do all this but they can't speed up the internet?

[caribill]

12 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 Also keep in mind that to take full advantage to all the Medallion and related Medallion-net have to offer, each passenger must carry their own Smart Phone (which they need to synch to the Medallion system). 

 

Not true.

 

Yes, if you carry a smart phone with you you can take advantage of the Medallion features. But if you do not carry a smart phone there are numerous stations around the ship that you can use to accomplish the same things you can do with a smart phone.

[Krazy Kruizers]

WOW -- this just sounds like a waste of money -- JMO -- to fix up the old ships.

[Krazy Kruizers]

17 hours ago, Sonora5 said:

So they can do all this but they can't speed up the internet?

 

 

I was thinking the same thing.

[Hlitner]

Ahhh, but they have truly speeded up the Internet (on only some ships) and it is wonderful.  As part of their Ocean Medallion upgrade, they also implemented something they call "Medallion Net."  With all the rewiring and fiber optics, things really improved.  And now, there is a satellite option for cruise lines (if they are willing to spend the money) that gives the ships much more bandwidth.  We think that RCI was the first to upgrade their service on their Oasis Class ships.  Princess has gradually been doing it with their fleet and we just experienced the result on our 2 Regal cruises (both within the past 2 months).  Because it was still a work in progress, Princess gave those in the Elite (and we think Platinum) categories unlimited internet on a single device.  Since DW and I are both Elite we both got this freebee (which has previously been limited to a few hundred free minutes per cruise).  The Internet was fast, very fast for a ship but not up to land based standards.  I was able to easily browse the web, stream videos, stream Sirius XM music all day, etc.  We did daily facetime with our grandchild and it worked just like on land.  My e-mails would update and d/l in seconds rather then in minutes or longer like on HAL.

 

So, much faster Internet is here and available for the cruise lines willing to spend the money.  But those of us that know and love HAL are also cognizant that HAL is traditionally very slow to move forward in many areas with technology being a real big problem.  It is also the only cruise line among the many we cruise, that does not give lots of free Internet time to their frequent cruisers :(.  And some lines do not try to rip-off their cruisers with ridiculous Internet pricing.  MSC (a line that is quickly growing and will soon have about 29 ships) sells Internet based on data amounts (gigabytes) for very reasonable prices (they do not allow video streaming from sites such as Netflix).  Less then $10 per day can get you nearly unlimited Internet and apparently its pretty fast (we shall soon find out as our first MSC cruise is coming up).  Consider that on HAL a $10 investment in Internet will get you less then a half hour....and it can take 5 minutes to just connect to a web site or your e-mail account :(.

 

Hank

 

 

[whogo]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Consider that on HAL a $10 investment in Internet will get you less then a half hour....and it can take 5 minutes to just connect to a web site or your e-mail account :(.

 

Hank

Don't know if you can still buy internet by the minute on Holland America. The unlimited (no streaming) plan on our 38 day Noordam cruise was about $9 per day, usually worked well for web browsing.

[sail7seas]

5 hours ago, whogo said:

Don't know if you can still buy internet by the minute on Holland America. The unlimited (no streaming) plan on our 38 day Noordam cruise was about $9 per day, usually worked well for web browsing.

   Great information  here, I appreciate all who contributed.  I still do not have a smargt phone and have no plan to get anyhing more advanced than my  'stupid phone'...     Considering all the changes to  'my'   world,  I have no need or use for more.  (I have my handy dandy 10 year old  flip phone, in case of emergency.  )

If   they switch  to Meda llions and cannot or will not provide key cards to those who  request that,  I'll have to wave good bye when they sail away without me.  😞

 

 

 

  I'll not buy one just to use on a HAL ship  😞       

Edited November 19, 2018 by sail7seas

[sail7seas]

Is  there anyone who wants a company   (a hogtel or cruise ship)  tracking how long you spend in your bathroom?  What time  you get out of bed and start moving around in the morning?    IMO,  there is way too much snooping into our private lives now and we don't need to cede  more privacy so they can 'market more'   to us.  They now  know what time we enter our cabin and  by which key card  the door was   opened.  They don't need  to know if  I chose to spend a long  time soaking in my tub reading a magazine or two...........  Why not just install cameras all around ghe cabins and be done with it?

 

 They know just what time we left   the ship in port and what time we returned. 

Edited November 19, 2018 by sail7seas

[drowelf]

On 11/18/2018 at 4:30 AM, caribill said:

 

Not true.

 

Yes, if you carry a smart phone with you you can take advantage of the Medallion features. But if you do not carry a smart phone there are numerous stations around the ship that you can use to accomplish the same things you can do with a smart phone.

 

While on the ship, my smart phones, (yes phones) spends most of their time in the bedside dresser drawer. It generally only comes out when its time to go ashore. 

[Hlitner]

On 11/18/2018 at 4:30 AM, caribill said:

 

Not true.

 

Yes, if you carry a smart phone with you you can take advantage of the Medallion features. But if you do not carry a smart phone there are numerous stations around the ship that you can use to accomplish the same things you can do with a smart phone.

Actually, there are Medallion features for which you do need your own Smart Phone.  As a simple example, the cruise line can "push" custom advertising to your phone (or cabin screen).  You need your phone for internal messaging options.  And you can even use your phone for gambling...for those who are in need of a pocket gambling device.  On our recent Regal cruise we were also given unlimited Internet that was pretty high speed (for a ship).  For the first time in our 45+ years of cruising we actually felt the desire to have at least one phone (either DW or me) since we were receiving text phone calls, face time, etc. just like at home.  And we got all this for free because of a special perk given to "Elites" and Platinums on our cruise.  As a football fan it was nice to be able to check scores at any time.

 

Regarding Sail7Seas comment about smart phones that did make me laugh and read the message to DW  Up until about 18 months ago DW carried an old flip phone.  One day, while she was at lunch with a g/f she pulled out her flip phone to answer a call.  Her friend later told her to never do that again since having a flip phone or being with somebody with a flig phone is embarassing :).  Shortly after that lunch we had a grandchild.  Suddenly DW wanted her own Smartphone so she could "facetime" with the new baby several times a day :).  It is because of "Facetime" that DW is now hooked on her phone.

 

Hank

[caribill]

13 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Actually, there are Medallion features for which you do need your own Smart Phone.  As a simple example, the cruise line can "push" custom advertising to your phone (or cabin screen).  You need your phone for internal messaging options.  And you can even use your phone for gambling...for those who are in need of a pocket gambling device. 

You are certainly correct. You do need the cell phone or other digital device to gamble outside of the casino. And although you do need your cell phone for the advertising, I do not consider that a benefit. I consider it a reason not to use a cell phone.

 

The internal message capability existed before the Medallion upgrades. And, yes, you always needed a cell phone for that.