Will X ever get wristbands instead of cards??

[tfred]

i have used them at Disney and find them to be very functional.  They can be made to look like anything you want in keeping with the Celebrity "look".  Disney is more than a park as it has 20 hotels that are involved in the wristband.  The hotels are just a stationary cruise ship.  

 

Data is always important with any business these days and these collect a ton.  they also want to have data to support changes with the on board experience.  They are also looking to make the value of that experience better, meaning that you dont mind paying for it and other like experiences.  The mission is to raise PPD revenue and that is a combination of technology and "good ideas"

 

As ships get bigger the need for more sophisticated information is needed.  Pictures on the ship wall were ok until there were so many more pax and photo ops.  ( i used to be involved in that as a vendor).  The technology was never really there (until recently) to use facial recognition and tagging to a room key so it was easy to find.  

[Pier290]

12 hours ago, Nachosdelux said:

 

[Pier290]

If the feeling or sight of a wristband "cheapens" or "commercializes" or "disrupts" your cruise experience, that's pretty sad.🙄

 

And as I recall Disney cruises start at minimum around $10,000/week for a family of 4.....nothing CHEAP about that 😁😎🛳️

[dandee2]

I hope they become optional ONLY. I hate going around town with a sign above my head that say 'Tourist from Celebrity". If they want the publicity I will wear it if they pay me.

Edited February 6, 2019 by dandee2

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

17 minutes ago, dandee2 said:

I hope they become optional ONLY. I hate going around town with a sign above my head that say 'Tourist from Celebrity". If they want the publicity I will wear it if they pay me.

 

They were optional on MSC and only provided free to Yacht Club guests.  You needed to have your seapass card to get on and off the ship, so the wristband didn't work for that.  I would never have worn a wristband off the ship, but I didn't get off the ship.  The exception would be MSC's private island.

[Nachosdelux]

6 hours ago, dkjretired said:

 

E plus, never worn a necklace and see very few on Celebrity. Do you have any proof of your statement.  

 

yes, I have HUNDREDS of photos that provide evidence. 

 

It was tongue-in-cheek.  

[dleighb]

I would love to see something like the Disney Magic Bands implemented on more cruise ships. Fine, make it optional for those who don't want them, but when I went to Disney, I decked mine out with a nice looking rose gold skin, and it just looked like a shiny bracelet. Plus the main RIFD part is removable, so you can opt to wear it on a chain or just put it in your pocket. I could take it off when I slept, or if I just didn't want to wear it. I could swim and shower with it, so I never had to worry about losing it. And it was so much easier than having to dig something keys, phone, wallet, etc  out of my pocket and I never had to worry about the battery dying and not being able to get into my room. I didn't think I would like it. I thought it would be a pain, but it was super convenient. But just like in Disney, they are optional, so no reason that couldn't be the case for a cruise ship.

[h20skibum]

This is what they look like on Royal. They are free for junior suite and above, and $5 if you want one and you are in a standard cabin.

Knowing their limited functionality, I wouldn’t buy one. I would just stick with the seapass card.




Past Reviews post 184

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, h20skibum said:

This is what they look like on Royal. They are free for junior suite and above, and $5 if you want one and you are in a standard cabin.

Knowing their limited functionality, I wouldn’t buy one. I would just stick with the seapass card.
Past Reviews post 184

Looks like something RC would issue to little kids. 

[h20skibum]

Looks like something RC would issue to little kids. 

They were pretty flimsy. I know my wife’s band broke, and so did one of our friends, so they replaced those. That is a 50% replacement rate.


Past Reviews post 184

[hrhdhd]

19 hours ago, Oville said:

Celebrity on Edge has the smartphone cabin entry on the app.  Seriously who wants to wear a wristband?

 

I also don't want to carry my phone around; what's the workaround for that?

[hrhdhd]

5 hours ago, CardRock said:

For Disney, cost was not the consideration for them to implement, it was added data-points for their analysis.  With the wristbands, they can see in real time where everyone is at all times and can see crowd flow and patterns.  It allows them to better plan staffing for rides and restaurants.  I do not think that cruise lines need that same amount of data analysis, but maybe.  I do like the convenience of them as long as they are optional...and waterproof. 

 

It's also much easier to keep buying stuff--without thinking about having to hand over money or a credit card.

[hrhdhd]

4 hours ago, Pier290 said:

And as I recall Disney cruises start at minimum around $10,000/week for a family of 4.....nothing CHEAP about that 😁😎🛳️

 

1. A Disney cruise for 4 can be much cheaper than $10K. Depends on cabin type, number of nights, itinerary, time of year.

2. Disney uses wristbands on cruises only for the kids in the kids' clubs. They do not replace the Key to the World cards.

Edited February 6, 2019 by hrhdhd

[Diamond lover]

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

This is what they look like on Royal. They are free for junior suite and above, and $5 if you want one and you are in a standard cabin.

Knowing their limited functionality, I wouldn’t buy one. I would just stick with the seapass card.




Past Reviews post 184

Wait, on top of being awful, you BUY them?  Like, it is an option for purchase?  Argh!!  

 

Seriously, I keep my seapass in a pocket or in my bag, I would never wear it on a lanyard....dear God what am I getting into lol?  Seriously, do Celebrity pax really wear lanyards?  I am getting nervous now.

[CardRock]

35 minutes ago, Diamond lover said:

Wait, on top of being awful, you BUY them?  Like, it is an option for purchase?  Argh!!  

 

Seriously, I keep my seapass in a pocket or in my bag, I would never wear it on a lanyard....dear God what am I getting into lol?  Seriously, do Celebrity pax really wear lanyards?  I am getting nervous now.

 

Those are awful!  I do like the Disney Magic Bands...but these look like dollar store watches.... or the toys where you try to get the BBs in the holes in the face on the watch!

[DaCruiseBug]

Never thought having optional wrist bands would cause such an uproar. Just goes to show how resistant some people are to change.

[hcat]

2 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

 

I also don't want to carry my phone around; what's the workaround for that?

 

Yiu can just use your cards, read the dailies and TV info..we did not miss out or feel cheated by having our phones in the safe,.  Saw many down at GR with glitch issues or fumbling heads down with their phones

 

We kept looking for the ship officer bios  which were not inserted in the daily as usually done, but dh  eventually found them all on the tv,.Would have preferred the printed verision  because I save them for future reference., very interesting people and  career paths!

[hcat]

7 hours ago, tfred said:

i have used them at Disney and find them to be very functional.  They can be made to look like anything you want in keeping with the Celebrity "look".  Disney is more than a park as it has 20 hotels that are involved in the wristband.  The hotels are just a stationary cruise ship.  

 

Data is always important with any business these days and these collect a ton.  they also want to have data to support changes with the on board experience.  They are also looking to make the value of that experience better, meaning that you dont mind paying for it and other like experiences.  The mission is to raise PPD revenue and that is a combination of technology and "good ideas"

 

As ships get bigger the need for more sophisticated information is needed.  Pictures on the ship wall were ok until there were so many more pax and photo ops.  ( i used to be involved in that as a vendor).  The technology was never really there (until recently) to use facial recognition and tagging to a room key so it was easy to find.  

 

We will reject bands of any kind, esp the tacky , crappy looking plastic.

We  prefer to  be guests  or customers rather than  a data collection  unit.

 

 RESIST THE  CYBORG!

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, DaCruiseBug said:

Never thought having optional wrist bands would cause such an uproar. Just goes to show how resistant some people are to change.

Wrist bands and a Sea Pass card for the same cruise. Dumb. And you have to pay for it. We don't need both. 

Edited February 7, 2019 by davekathy

[hrhdhd]

1 hour ago, Diamond lover said:

Seriously, do Celebrity pax really wear lanyards?  I am getting nervous now.

 

I wear my card on a lanyard. Don't be nervous; I won't put one on you.

[hcat]

We were not given little sleeves for our cards..but used the old blue ones we always bring with us... 

 

Last cruise before EDGE they had the gray ones with a snap and ability to stick it on someplace.

 

Easy to carry in a pocket or small tote..

[txflood33]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

 

We will reject bands of any kind, esp the tacky , crappy looking plastic.

We  prefer to  be guests  or customers rather than  a data collection  unit.

 

 RESIST THE  CYBORG!

 

you have 22k+ posts on a public internet message board that caters to an entertainment industry where industry staff frequent

 

You are fooling yourself if you believe nobody is collecting data on you

[DaCruiseBug]

57 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Wrist bands and a Sea Pass card for the same cruise. Dumb. And you have to pay for it. We don't need both. 

 

You may not but others may prefer that. If it was an option I’d pay $5 for it. It’s much more convenient and I don’t have to worry about losing my card. You can keep your card and others who was a wristband can go ahead and get that...freedom of choice.

[davekathy]

10 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

You may not but others may prefer that. If it was an option I’d pay $5 for it. It’s much more convenient and I don’t have to worry about losing my card. You can keep your card and others who was a wristband can go ahead and get that...freedom of choice.

If it's an option. Which it isn't fleetwide on Celebrity and RC. I don't see it being more convenient. No value or benefit added. You still need to remove it to make most purchases. You still need your Sea Pass card to leave and renter the ship. I don't worry about losing my Sea Pass card. We haven't ever lost or misplaced any of them on any of our cruises, yet. 

Edited February 7, 2019 by davekathy

[txflood33]

reading through this thread reminds me of when hotels had actual keys...then they had cards you has to insert into the slot...then they had cards you just place up by the doorknob.

 

All businesses make changes to improve the customer experience. Customer service isn't necessarily what the customer prefers or finds more convenient. If the overall switch can be proven to save the company money, they could do it. If the overall switch can be proven to improve efficiency at bars/shops/getting on and off the ship, they could do it. 

 

For example, let's say your favorite restaurant invests in changing all of their plates to a different style. They switch because they want to get rid of the serving trays to carry out orders for tables. they would rather have servers stack the plates up their arm because it's a better look, surveys show the customers think it's more impressive, and it stops blocking the aisles with the trays and tray jacks. The new plateware is not 100% flat in the design. There is a slight pitch in the plate that would cause liquid to run to the center of the plate. To some, this might be a big inconvenience. The restaurant won't care. They have set a goal with reasons behind it. The plates will stay. Many times the changes made are for a bigger goal. On the surface it looks like they just want you to look dumb with a sill bracelet. Behind the scenes they might be saving $5k in a resource per cruise and that money can be reinvested or used to help maintain prices.

 

Personally, I would try one....with some improvements. It needs to be a 100% substitute for the card. I should not need to remove it to make purchases. I should have the ability to take on/off easily if I choose. 

 

These are just some things that would make me have no issues with it. I can't say that I would be a fan of wearing a rubber/plastic/neoprene strap for 10+ days while showering/sweating/swimming/hot tubbing/saunaing/etc and then wear it with my suit on formal night. There are certainly some kinks that need to be worked out, but as said earlier in this thread, the technology is coming. The ones that don't embrace and accept new things, will be left behind.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if in the not too distant future there are iPads(or some other tablet) mounted in the rooms. These will replace your daily newsletter to save on paper and printing costs. Maybe you'll be able to order room service through it...one less person that needs to answer a phone and take an order. Maybe you'll be able to book excursions through it. Maybe they will have white noise apps on it so there's one less thing you need to bring...for those that use white noise.