Ocean Medallion Question Thread - Part 1

[cruiserdru]

4 hours ago, Ep010835 said:

 

I was told earlier this week by one of the Ocean Navigators that all of this stuff works only on connected phones and tablets. 

Clearly a couple of the group have figured out where the keys to the kingdom are located. 

I understand that the goal of Princess is to eventually migrate all of this to other platforms. 

Hope so! 

Clearly, their definition of works and mine are not in the same universe. My Android/Samsung phone cannot figure from one minute to the next if I have completed something and also does not understand that 9 August is not too soon to be able to send out my medallions, nor has my cruise on  9 August already started, and I certainly do not live in an area where the carrier cannot deliver. Makes it a little difficult to trust what anyone says.

 

This software was first released in 2017 ( per Google) and if my people had had these software problems after all this time, we would have lost our government contract, and probably been sued.

 

Sorry, but real life is real life and there is a problem somewhere, be it the requirements definition, the implementation, or the testing and someone is having pipe dreams. Princess/Carnival, get it together -- you are paying whoever created/maintains this and it does not seem to be coming together and it is more than frustrating for your customers who cannot get a straight answer or directions on what we should be doing. 

 

In addition, I am tired of hearing that I have tried to do this too early when my Personalizer has directed me to do this and I am tired of reading things about this great and wonderful new technology that Carnival has created that is driving us crazy.

[13cheermom]

6 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

Thanks so much for the picture!  Just wanted to compare them to the ones on Amazon.  The price is very close when comparing the two, however Amazon has more colors to choose from.  I wear an apple watch with that type of band everyday, so I think I would prefer the wristband over the clip (afraid I would lose it, lol).  Appreciate the information.  

[Astro Flyer]

2 minutes ago, 13cheermom said:

Thanks so much for the picture!  Just wanted to compare them to the ones on Amazon.  The price is very close when comparing the two, however Amazon has more colors to choose from.  I wear an apple watch with that type of band everyday, so I think I would prefer the wristband over the clip (afraid I would lose it, lol).  Appreciate the information.  

Glad it was useful...the clip would be easier to “misplace” but thankfully that didn’t happen to us. ☺️

[voljeep]

9 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Glad it was useful...the clip would be easier to “misplace” but thankfully that didn’t happen to us. ☺️

we also used the amazon clips ... had to take it out a couple of times for the readers - don't remember the exact times

 

mine was on my shirt some and in my pocket some ... actually being in the clip made it easier for me to handle ...

[lx200gps]

8 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

No problem on my MacBook...

Same here, absolutely no issues accessing our account on Ocean.com with a laptop running Linux, connected via a VPN. Everything seems fine.

[sciteach11]

I just posted this on the Ocean Ready board, but it may be more appropriate here. (Admin, feel free to delete if I'm wrong about that!) I tried to look for a summary of the apps on this thread and couldn't find it, but please direct me if it already exists!

 

I'm trying to understand the differences between them. Would someone please tell me if the below info is correct, and add/correct anything that's missing?

 

Ocean Ready - use at home to essentially "check in" online and order your medallions ahead of time if you choose, not used on the ship

Ocean Now - at home shows countdown to cruise date and itinerary, on ship used to order drinks and view daily patters

Ocean Compass - on ship used to navigate deck plans and find your way to various locations, as well as locate your traveling companions (if they approve), not used at home

Ocean Casino - use to gamble on the ship outside of the casino, not used at home

Ocean View - use at home or on ship to watch episodes of tv shows about various ports and Carnival ships

Play Ocean - use at home or on ship to play games (trivia works at home, not sure what else there is once on board), also use on ship to earn charms/scavenger hunt, can be used to set your avatar on ship or at home

 

Is that all of them? What else should we know about these app?

 

I believe Ocean Concierge is a webpage that loads once you're on the ship.. What is it used for?

 

Which app do you use to send messages to family on the ship? Does it send a notification to your phone or do you have to log in to see them?

 

Thank you!

[BuckeyeMark]

Just got off the CB this morning.  Never did get the Ocean apps to work.  Internet cafe guy couldn't either.  Said thye were having troubles with Apple iphones.  Never worked.

[Ombud]

On 4/16/2019 at 1:19 PM, AF-1 said:

PMGS247,  the profile photo will show up on your screen outside your cabin.  This photo can be anything;  it can be a firetruck 

So it can be my puppy?

[Doug R.]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

So it can be my puppy?

I substituted pictures of two of our dogs for ours during our January cruise on the Regal.

[AF-1]

Ombud. Yes you can have your puppy for profile picture 

[Tinkrbell91]

Hi! We are Ocean Ready for our cruise June 15th. It took awhile for it to recognize us in the system, but at around 30 days out we got an email notifying us it was time to get Ocean Ready. Here is where my confusion lies- We are a group of 8 in 2 staterooms. It seems that to get on the Ocean ready app, the account is associated with the main email address/person for each room. We all have the apps on our phones, etc. When I tried making my own account on the ocean ready app, it automatically reverted to my husband’s. How does it work to get our party all connected so we can find each other on the ship, since my app on my phone still thinks I’m my husband? Is this one of those things that will be ironed out once we are on the ship’s WiFi? We are excited to use the Medallion to find each other and message, etc. 

[steamboats]

On 5/25/2019 at 8:54 PM, sciteach11 said:

I believe Ocean Concierge is a webpage that loads once you're on the ship.. What is it used for?

 

Ocean Concierge has the Princess Pattern and you can book shore excursions.

 

You need Ocean Compass for chat and location.

 

Ocean Now is needed for ordering drinks and other things like bathrobes.

 

steamboats

[richmke]

On 5/27/2019 at 12:06 PM, Tinkrbell91 said:

Hi! We are Ocean Ready for our cruise June 15th. It took awhile for it to recognize us in the system, but at around 30 days out we got an email notifying us it was time to get Ocean Ready. Here is where my confusion lies- We are a group of 8 in 2 staterooms. It seems that to get on the Ocean ready app, the account is associated with the main email address/person for each room. We all have the apps on our phones, etc. When I tried making my own account on the ocean ready app, it automatically reverted to my husband’s. How does it work to get our party all connected so we can find each other on the ship, since my app on my phone still thinks I’m my husband? Is this one of those things that will be ironed out once we are on the ship’s WiFi? We are excited to use the Medallion to find each other and message, etc. 

You may need your own email address to create your own ocean account.

 

When you are on board, you can get the other people's codes to add them to your party so you can use the app to find them.

[jimtjimt]

How is the Medallion used in the Casino? Such as with slot machines, table games, cashier, and drinks while playing? Would appreciate any first hand experience. Thanks

[Shisa383]

Anyone else having a problem with Ocean Ready app after the update?  I have been in the app on my iPhone for over a month and it recognized my reservation.  I went in to order my medallions today and it doesn't recognize my medallion.  There was an update 3 days ago. 

[KG2019]

On 5/24/2019 at 9:34 PM, 13cheermom said:

Thanks so much for the picture!  Just wanted to compare them to the ones on Amazon.  The price is very close when comparing the two, however Amazon has more colors to choose from.  I wear an apple watch with that type of band everyday, so I think I would prefer the wristband over the clip (afraid I would lose it, lol).  Appreciate the information.  

Where are they listed (or what are they called I should ask) on Amazon?   I can't find any that look anything like the picture above

 

[cruiserdru]

Wont' swear to it, but I recall someone saying they are fitbit bands. Sorry about typing, in tornado zone and dogs going ballistic.

[Plant]

1 hour ago, KG2019 said:

Where are they listed (or what are they called I should ask) on Amazon?   I can't find any that look anything like the picture above

 

They're called FitBit Zip.  Here's an example:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072F4MB97/?coliid=I2RI9QN88ME8O0&colid=HT01B6ADV5HJ&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[Ep010835]

9 hours ago, Plant said:

They're called FitBit Zip.  Here's an example:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072F4MB97/?coliid=I2RI9QN88ME8O0&colid=HT01B6ADV5HJ&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

 They appear to be exactly $.01 cent less expensive than the Princess bands purchased on board. 

 

For a penny it seems to me the better choice would be to have one that is specifically designed for the OM device. 

 

Am I missing something?

[cruiserdru]

A lot of people have been turned off by the $6 shipping charge for the Princess band. Given the size and style of the packaging for the Medallion itself, it seems a little much to charge that rather than add the band to the box for free. 

 

That said, I will wait and get one on the ship. Mine will come with the free lanyard. (She says that hopefully.) With all the hassle of even ordering the medallion that some of us have been through, I would hate to buy something not designed for the medallion and end up losing it.

 

Although, ordering something from Amazon with Prime shipping would mean maybe this would finally be done. 

 

 

[13cheermom]

3 hours ago, Ep010835 said:

 

 They appear to be exactly $.01 cent less expensive than the Princess bands purchased on board. 

 

For a penny it seems to me the better choice would be to have one that is specifically designed for the OM device. 

 

Am I missing something?

That was why I asked for someone to show me a picture of the "Princess" ones they sell onboard, so I could compare the 2.  Guess the only difference really is the color choices, they even have patterned ones on Amazon, it's just personal preference.  You could always order amazon ones as a back-up plan if you don't like the ones onboard, either way they're relatively cheap to begin with.  Princess should allow you to choose what you prefer when ordering the Medallions to be shipped together as others have suggested.

[PMGS247]

Just got off the CB a week ago and really enjoyed the OM.  Question for those who use the watch band or make it work with a fitbit band....how did you handle the times where you needed to hand your medallion to someone?  Primarily thinking drink orders when one of the little scanning stations was not within reach and you had to hand it to the bartender.

 

Going into the week I thought I was going to be looking to upgrade my lanyard to a wristband but once I discovered how often I had to hand over my medallion, I grew to appreciate the easy disconnect/re-connect of the lanyard and didn't like the idea of having to remove & replace a watchband every time.  May just be that I had the PBP and took full advantage LOL so the number of occurrences to physically hand the medallion over was much higher for me, but I'm curious if maybe there was an easy way to get the medallion out and back in with the band other than fully removing the band every time.

Edited May 31, 2019 by PMGS247

[cruiserdru]

Thanks PMGS247 for the insight about having the PBP with the Medallion. We also have the sip n sail on our upcoming cruise and I think I might find it annoying to be constantly taking the wristband on and off. I can just see my DH leaving his behind somewhere. At least, we would be able to locate it by looking for shipmate.😁 

 

I am assuming that the Princess wristband is a buckle type of closure vice a stretch piece in the back.

[SargassoPirate]

Has anyone done a cost/benefit analysis of the medallion for us passengers? How much time and aggravation has one encountered getting Ocean Ready and how much of a benefit did one realize once on board? Was the extra time worth it?

 

Following this thread has me thinking not to bother with all the technology ahead of time and instead just head to the ocean when I'm ready. 

 

What's the worst that can happen, other than a slower check in at the pier?

Edited May 31, 2019 by SargassoPirate

[Ep010835]

3 hours ago, cruiserdru said:

A lot of people have been turned off by the $6 shipping charge for the Princess band. Given the size and style of the packaging for the Medallion itself, it seems a little much to charge that rather than add the band to the box for free. 

 

That said, I will wait and get one on the ship. Mine will come with the free lanyard. (She says that hopefully.) With all the hassle of even ordering the medallion that some of us have been through, I would hate to buy something not designed for the medallion and end up losing it.

 

Although, ordering something from Amazon with Prime shipping would mean maybe this would finally be done. 

 

 

Ahhhhhh. Now I understand. I neglected to consider the 50% shipping charge. That’s the part I was missing. I’ll just wait until boarding to buy ours. 

Thanks!!