Medallion cruise

[blbailey]

Has any cruised with the new medallion cruises. What do you think of them?

[Ep010835]

I have and I LOVED it!!

[tillys mom]

Your door is unlocked when you get to your cabin, and you can find your cabin mate on a ship’s map. That’s all I used it for. First time I was on a cruise where everyone wore a lanyard.

[satxdiver]

We were on the CB in November and had the OM which was provided on a lanyard.  I quickly removed it from the lanyard and kept it in my pocket without any problems.  Unlocking the cabin door when I approached was a nice touch.  I bought a few inexpensive items in the ship's stores and all I had to do was place my OM on the small reader.  The same for when we left the ship at a port and returned.  It was so much easier to simply place the OM on the reader without worrying if it was aligned correctly like when using the card.  When you put the OM on the reader, it would change colors signifying that the OM had been read.  Bars on board also had the readers to pay for your libations.  I never used it to find my DW so I do not know how that worked.  I liked it and cannot wait until other ships have it.

[1965]

Our next cruise will be our first OM cruise. Regarding my husband & I finding each other on the ship-my DH is not at all tech savvy, hates reading instructions, is easily frustrated. Can such a person EASILY use it to find me? Thanx! 

[tillys mom]

Yes, you find one of the big maps of the ship- usually near the elevators- place your medallion on the circle reader in the bottom right quadrant and your picture will show up when the circle turns green. There are various choices, but click on “shipmate” and the other person in your cabin will show up on the map. You can even ask the map how to get there. I was told that eventually you will be able to find others that you link to your medallion.

It was just a little creepy knowing Princess knew exactly where I was the entire time.

[1965]

29 minutes ago, tillys mom said:

Yes, you find one of the big maps of the ship- usually near the elevators- place your medallion on the circle reader in the bottom right quadrant and your picture will show up when the circle turns green. There are various choices, but click on “shipmate” and the other person in your cabin will show up on the map. You can even ask the map how to get there. I was told that eventually you will be able to find others that you link to your medallion.

It was just a little creepy knowing Princess knew exactly where I was the entire time.

Wow. I think I love this! It really does sound like my DH can use. I'm taking a screen shot of your comment to show him now again over the next few months. Thanks!

Edited February 1, 2019 by 1965

[Georgie562]

Is it true that you can order drinks with the Medallion App and the bar waiters just bring them to you?

[fishnchips]

Hi

And are Medallions membership colour coded yet ?

[OCruisers]

1 hour ago, Georgie562 said:

Is it true that you can order drinks with the Medallion App and the bar waiters just bring them to you?

 

Yes!  We didn't but a guy sitting with us wanted to test it out so ordered a drink which was brought to him fairly quickly.  It took him a while to figure out how to use it.    

[Georgie562]

3 minutes ago, OCruisers said:

 

Yes!  We didn't but a guy sitting with us wanted to test it out so ordered a drink which was brought to him fairly quickly.  It took him a while to figure out how to use it.    

Sweet! Sure beats the line and crowd at the bars. I guess if you are patient enough to learn how to use the Medallion App it's worth it. I wonder how the drink package comes to play when you order a drink through the app.

[OCruisers]

Recently off Caribbean Princess (January 16 -26).  

 

We were given the Medallion and a cruise card.

The cruise card, not the OM, had to be used to get off and on the ship at port stops. 

 

 My husband always left his OM in the cabin and just used his cruise card.  I carried my OM in my cruise purse because I liked for it to open the cabin door for me.  

[1965]

I like the hands free opening of the door. I sometimes have a snack & beverage for the cabin so both hands are full. Will I be able to push the door open with my body, or will I still need a hand to turn the door handle?

[tillys mom]

We were on the Regal in January and the medallion was used getting on and off the ship. 

[Ep010835]

1 hour ago, OCruisers said:

The cruise card, not the OM, had to be used to get off and on the ship at port stops. 

 

Not our experience at all on the CB. When we placed our OM device on the reader, it turned green and off (or on) the ship we went. 

 

Maybe a short term glitch?

Edited February 1, 2019 by Ep010835

[Ep010835]

2 hours ago, fishnchips said:

Hi

And are Medallions membership colour coded yet ?

 

Yes. The OM devices are color code by status but the insert cards which holds the OM device in the plastic holder are all blue. 

[Sea Gypsy 2]

I have read several conflicting posts on the Medallion.  We are sailing on the Regal on March 17 and wonder if it is worth it to go through the app or just pick the medallions up at the port.  I have read that having them does not save time and also read that you can by pass the regular check in line if you have them.  We are Elite passengers so I'm confused on whether or not it is better to have the medallions before boarding. 

[satxdiver]

You can buy different colored cards to insert into your plastic holder that holds the small OM.  The OM will unlock the cabin door but you have to open it just like in the past.  It is nice not to have to fumble with a sea card and reader.  The readers are small and slightly larger than the OM.  They are blue until you place your OM over the reader and it turns green.  We were on the CB in November and used the OM to exit and return to the ship by placing our OM over the reader.  It is much faster than using the sea card.  

 

Because we were on the CB the first of November, we picked our OM and sea card up at the registration desk.  Since we had installed the ap on our cellphone and had filled in the required data, all we had to do was show our passports for a quick verification, pick up our OM and sea card and proceed to the ship.  The ship shore people have to see your passport before being allowed to board the ship. 

 

We did have to show our sea card to enter the port area on port calls and show them to the ship security before getting on the gangplank to the ship.  We used our OM at the safety briefing instead of the sea card like it used to be.  They had not initialized the ordering drinks yet on our ship and halfway through the cruise the bar waiters started carrying small iPads but not using them.  

 

In the MDR all the waiters had iPads to order the food but some like our waiter was still writing it on paper and taking it to the galley.  An adjacent waiter who was decidedly younger was using the iPad to order food from the galley.  It will take some time before the older waiters get used to using them. 

[OCruisers]

8 hours ago, 1965 said:

I like the hands free opening of the door. I sometimes have a snack & beverage for the cabin so both hands are full. Will I be able to push the door open with my body, or will I still need a hand to turn the door handle?

 

While you'll still need to push the handle down to actually open the door, it's very easy to do with your arm/elbow and then no problem just pushing it open .... did it with ease with both hands full many times.  

[Coffeeluvr05]

Are accessories like the wrist band or necklace holders purchased through the Ocean Ready app and shipped to you with your medallion pre-cruise?  Trying to figure that part out.  Gonna order so many drinks with my medallion in Nov!  😁

[outdoormomma]

I was not able to purchase accessories through the app and am currently looking for the wristband and necklace holder for my group. Does anyone know where we can get them?

 

Also, I haven’t received my medallion yet, so I’m wondering if they are the same size as the AA/Sobriety Medallions or Military Challenge Coins, because there are a ton of options (key chains, necklaces, bracelets, etc) online that would fit if they were. Thanks!

[jeanandjim]

On 2/1/2019 at 11:19 AM, OCruisers said:

Recently off Caribbean Princess (January 16 -26).  

The cruise card, not the OM, had to be used to get off and on the ship at port stops. 

 I carried my OM in my cruise purse because I liked for it to open the cabin door for me.  

We were on the CB Jan12-26, used the OM to get on/off the ship. Also used the OM thru security coming back to the ship. The official asked for my cruise card, when I showed her my name and cruise date, she said, oh that's what I was looking for, thnx.

Jim

[WisCruiser2]

We were on the Regal, 2/3-10, and while we received cards did not use them at all, the Medallion was enough even going through security at the ports. The staff seemed to still be getting used to them, e.g., when used to pay for drinks. We got our Medalions ahead of time without any problem, zipped through boarding (on the ship within 30 minutes of being dropped off, including waiting about 10 minutes in Platinum Lounge). The app to order drinks, etc. was still not functional on Regal, used the Ocean Compass app and Concierge (which replaces the Princess@Sea). The folks in the Ocean Front (area on Deck 6 next to photos) were very helpful! 

[Ep010835]

43 minutes ago, jeanandjim said:

We were on the CB Jan12-26, used the OM to get on/off the ship. Also used the OM thru security coming back to the ship. The official asked for my cruise card, when I showed her my name and cruise date, she said, oh that's what I was looking for, thnx.

Jim

 

Excellent. It has been my hope that a flattening learning curve on the part of the port side security folks would solve the problem. 

It appears that is exactly what has happened.  

[Idratherbeatsea]

We are on the 4/13 sailing of the Royal. This is supposed to me her first OM sailing. Fingers are crossed.