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Ocean Medallion Question Thread - Part 1


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1 hour ago, cruisinsoooon said:

Is Ocean Medallion on Emerald Princess?  In the News Center article on the Princess website, it says Emerald has it.  When I go to the ship descriptions on Princess, it says Emerald will get it in August 2020.  Unless I’m reading something wrong somewhere.  

 The Emerald Princess has the 'Medallion Net' unlimited, fast internet now, but the 'Medallion Class' cruises will not be implemented until August of 2020.

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On 9/5/2019 at 2:15 AM, Jules59 said:

 

Thank you! I was also wondering if they sold something  you could buy before you got on the ship.

Yes, you can buy before you get on the ship.

Check out informative videos here:

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/

Check out their Frequently Asked Questions here:

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/ocean-faq/

One quote from the FAQ says:

"Is there a way to wear my Medallion other than the lanyard?
Absolutely. You can choose from a variety of accessories, such as sports bands, clips, pendants and bracelets. Order them for yourself and your travel party now through the OceanReady® section of the MedallionClass app, or purchase them on board at OceanFront™."

By The Way - I have read on Ocean Medallion forums that port security people (not Princess security people) have asked cruisers to remove the Ocean Medallion from any accessory that covers up the cruiser's name and ship name/sailing date info. Just saying.....

Edited by OzPilot
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1 hour ago, OzPilot said:

 

By The Way - I have read on Ocean Medallion forums that port security people (not Princess security people) have asked cruisers to remove the Ocean Medallion from any accessory that covers up the cruiser's name and ship name/sailing date info. Just saying.....

Then the Fitbit Zip Holder. You would have to take the Medallion out every time for port security. 😳

Tony

 

 

Edited by Lucky TGO
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32 minutes ago, Lucky TGO said:

Then the Fitbit Zip Holder. You would have to take the Medallion out every time for port security. 😳

Tony

 

 

That’s certainly what I have read - although as you know, procedures can vary from port to port.  A “work around” could be to use a Stanley knife and carve away a bit of the Fitbit so that the words are no longer obscured. I’m only passing on what I have read - I have not seen any of the accessories from any supplier. 

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2 hours ago, OzPilot said:

That’s certainly what I have read - although as you know, procedures can vary from port to port.  A “work around” could be to use a Stanley knife and carve away a bit of the Fitbit so that the words are no longer obscured. 

 

If your going to carve the Fitbit Zip Holder up why bother? Just put the Medallion in your pocket. 

Tony

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Just off 16 days on the Caribbean Princess (CB) which is supposed to be the first completely Medallionized vessel.  As long time Princess cruisers we are familiar with much of what is Princess :).  There are pros and many cons to the entire Medallion project.  Currently, folks need to download 3 different apps (OceanNow, OceanComp, and OceanReady) to access the full power of the Medallion program.  In addition, one would also need to use the onboard Medallion Net which has some of its own functions (such as seeing your onboard account).  To use the full power of the Medallion program you would need to carry both your Medallion and a functioning Smart Phone (with the apps).  So what works and what doesn't?

 

Embarkation (in NYC) was excellent for those who had received their Medallion pre-cruise and completely all the requirements of the OceanNow app.  Our Medallion got us on the ship after being scanned 3 different times and the process was good.   Our Medallions did unlock our cabin door (sometimes with a slight delay) although we witnessed two others who had continuing problems getting in their cabin.  But for the most part the Medallion is fine for unlocking your door :).  Others did point out that the old cruise cards also worked quite well.  

 

Ordering food by using the appropriate app rarely worked as advertised.  In most venues it was not even operating.  We did manage to order a Diet Coke (via the app) while sitting on the pool deck and it was quickly delivered (in about 3 minutes) on a very quiet day.  But the waiter only could find our general area, and despite there only being a few on deck he looked around (trying to match our picture ) with no luck since he was looking in the row of loungers behind our position.  We finally had to signal him over to our location.   The App has plenty of limitations (not all drinks are listed) and can be a pain to use.  

 

There was nearly complete failure of the system inside the vessel when it came to bar waiters and staff.  The waiters had pretty much abandoned the use of their portable devices, telling us they seldom work and the batteries only last for a couple of hours.  The norm on our cruise was that the bar waiters acted like on non-medallion cruises and would ask everyone for their cabin number (which they may or may not have later verified by looking up one's picture).  When sitting right at the bar in the Wheelhouse or Explorers...sometimes the system worked (our picture would immediately pop up on the devices used by bar tenders) and other times it completely failed (the bar tender then would ask for our cabin number).  Since the norm was to ask for cabin numbers it created a huge security issue since passengers were constantly repeating their cabin numbers in public venues.  In theory, anyone else in the area would then have that info.  We heard of numerous cases where folks were charged for drinks they did not purchase and had to later visit Guest Relations (and wait in line) to get the errors corrected.  Whether these were just entry errors on the part of staff, or the result of some passengers using the wrong cabin number is a question.

 

The Medallion Net did not work well on our cruise and the Internet was often very slow or not even functioning.  This may have been caused by our far Northern Latitude causing problems with Satellite communications.  I should mention that when on a HAL vessel (without Medallion net) in the same latitudes our Internet service was pretty decent.  We have previously used Medallion Net on the Regal Princess (in northern latitudes) and it functioned near perfectly.

 

This was our 26th Princess cruise and we did not feel there was much advantage to having the Medallion...over the old cruise card.  As to Medallion Net, it is certainly an improvement (when it works) in terms of connectivity and speed.

 

We think Princess can do more with their Medallion program to make life easier.  For example, on our cruise there were over 1100 Elites, quite a few of whom trade their mini-bar for coffee cards (now done without a card).  The staff must stock the mini bars before passengers board.  But once an Elite gets through to room service (not easy on embarkation days) and asks to trade their mini-bar a crew member must go to each cabin and remove all the products in the mini-bar.  This is a time consuming process which involves hundreds of cabins (and thousands of items) and completely unnecessary.  It could all be handled by adding a function to the OceanReady app that would allow Elites to make the trade-out request prior to embarkation.  Staff could then avoid stocking all those mini-bars and the coffee-card could be added to accounts prior to embarkation. There are quite a few other things that could be added to OceanNow to make life easier for staff such as being able to pre-order a bottle of booze to be waiting in one's cabin.

 

Hank

 

 

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Hank,  I love the mini bar suggestion.  That would work and make life easier for not only the elites; but for suite guests too.  I was on CB in Feb in Caribbean.  The medallion net was blazing fast;  although after watching the video explaining how the northern tier affects service; I can understand why you may have had limited service.  Which cruise port did you sail out of Brooklyn or Manhattan?  I sail Sky next fall on New England Cruise; and will be out of Brooklyn.  Thank for the great suggestion

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1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

This is a time consuming process which involves hundreds of cabins (and thousands of items) and completely unnecessary.  It could all be handled by adding a function to the OceanReady app that would allow Elites to make the trade-out request prior to embarkation.  Staff could then avoid stocking all those mini-bars and the coffee-card could be added to accounts prior to embarkation.

I will second, third and fourth that motion!!!

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38 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

I will second, third and fourth that motion!!!

And I’ll fifth and sixth that motion. On our last cruise it was crazy just trying to get a call through. So many people wanted to change their mini bars. They were so busy we couldn’t get ours switched out until the third day.  Even without Medallion, perhaps a way to order the change similar to how you can order a case of water, fresh fruit, etc, when checking in online. 

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I was on the same cruise; never had any Medallion problem.  I also did not download and receive the Medallion prior and was still on board quickly. Only problem I had was suitcase wasn't delivered until 7:30PM, but that's most likely a NY problem. 

 

As for mini bar change, I just called their direct line instead of pressing the room service button on the phone.  They answered immediately and said change could not take place until the next morning.  OK.  No biggie.   Hank said it was his 26th Princess cruise.  It was my 81st.

 

Medallion worked perfectly opening door and amazingly at coffee bar.  Even wearing a zippered jacket, it knows who you are.  It also shows the server your photo; same as when getting on or off the ship.  I still had the old coffee card, which should have expired on 8/31, but they allowed us to use it for the duration of the cruise.

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10 minutes ago, sfoak said:

Two updates in two days and the MedallionClass app still locks up when opened on my Galaxy S10 running Android 9. Any chance this is going to be addressed?

Perhaps by the next century :).  But seriously, we have iPhones and had no problems downloading, installing and using the apps.  But some other onboard friends mentioned they had some "lock ups" on their Android-based phones.  I did learn to rely on my phone to pull up the current activity/entertainment schedule.  This function generally worked well although DW said she still finds it more convenient to carry the hard copy "Pity Pat" (our pet name for the daily schedule).  We met a few folks at dinner (we share larger tables at Anytime dining) who said they actually went to Guest Services and requested regular cruise cards (you can get them and they have a chip which works with a few of the OM functions).

 

Another poster mentioned their OM functioned fine at the IC.  Ours worked OK at that venue and sometimes the order taker simply pulled up our picture without us having to do anything and other times we had to physically put our Medallion on the reader that sits in front of the ordering position.   But if you ordered a coffee drink anywhere in the Atrium the servers would always ask for the cabin number and we never saw any of them use their portable devices (which most had on their waist).  We assumed that there are just a few bugs to be worked out, but then we started hearing stories from various bar waiters about battery hassles with their portable devices.  In Crooners none of the wait staff ever used (or even showed) one their portable devices (like large cell phones) but simply relied on folks giving them cabin number (which they often wrote down with a pen like in the pre Medallion days.  

 

DW is used to carrying her cruise card in her Kindle case (she always has her Kindle) but found that the Medallion would not fit (too thick) in that case.  On many evenings she would give me her Medallion to carry since they look silly hanging on a lanyard when one is dressed nicely for dinner.  I thought the watch-like wrist gadget (which holds a Medallion) made a lot of sense but Princess gives you a free lanyard and you must purchase the wrist watch carrier.    We have an upcoming cruise (next month) on the Emerald and will admit to being happy with the knowledge that there are currently no medallions on that ship :). 

 

Hank

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1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Perhaps by the next century :).  But seriously, we have iPhones and had no problems downloading, installing and using the apps.  But some other onboard friends mentioned they had some "lock ups" on their Android-based phones.  I did learn to rely on my phone to pull up the current activity/entertainment schedule.  This function generally worked well although DW said she still finds it more convenient to carry the hard copy "Pity Pat" (our pet name for the daily schedule).  We met a few folks at dinner (we share larger tables at Anytime dining) who said they actually went to Guest Services and requested regular cruise cards (you can get them and they have a chip which works with a few of the OM functions).

 

Another poster mentioned their OM functioned fine at the IC.  Ours worked OK at that venue and sometimes the order taker simply pulled up our picture without us having to do anything and other times we had to physically put our Medallion on the reader that sits in front of the ordering position.   But if you ordered a coffee drink anywhere in the Atrium the servers would always ask for the cabin number and we never saw any of them use their portable devices (which most had on their waist).  We assumed that there are just a few bugs to be worked out, but then we started hearing stories from various bar waiters about battery hassles with their portable devices.  In Crooners none of the wait staff ever used (or even showed) one their portable devices (like large cell phones) but simply relied on folks giving them cabin number (which they often wrote down with a pen like in the pre Medallion days.  

 

DW is used to carrying her cruise card in her Kindle case (she always has her Kindle) but found that the Medallion would not fit (too thick) in that case.  On many evenings she would give me her Medallion to carry since they look silly hanging on a lanyard when one is dressed nicely for dinner.  I thought the watch-like wrist gadget (which holds a Medallion) made a lot of sense but Princess gives you a free lanyard and you must purchase the wrist watch carrier.    We have an upcoming cruise (next month) on the Emerald and will admit to being happy with the knowledge that there are currently no medallions on that ship :). 

 

Hank

Are you on the Emerald with me again?   I know we've been on the same cruises, but have we ever met? Getting on in Barcelona for three B2B's on the 13th.  I don't care about the Medallion one way or another.  But I do like the speedy internet.

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1 hour ago, Pia1913 said:

Are you on the Emerald with me again?   I know we've been on the same cruises, but have we ever met? Getting on in Barcelona for three B2B's on the 13th.  I don't care about the Medallion one way or another.  But I do like the speedy internet.

Agree that faster Internet (Medallion Net) is an improvement (when it works).  But that fast Internet really has nothing to do with the Medallion.  Having now experienced the Medallion (for 16 days) we are unimpressed.  As a stockholder I am puzzled as to why Princess has spent so much money refitting their older ships with this new technology.  While it makes sense to install it on a new-build, it seems like a large amount of investment with little return on existing ships.  The money could have been better used returning steak to the MDR anytime menu...instead of the very sad hamburger!  Speaking of the MDR, there seemed to be universal agreement at our tables about the absurdity of the new menu inserts in the MDR that lists all kinds of steaks for about $18 extra.  One wonders if Princess replaced the Anytime menu steak item (I think it was sirloin) with a hamburger so they could possibly sell more of their extra price steaks.  That being said, we never saw anyone order one of those steaks.

 

Sounds like we will be on the same ship although we are not boarding until the 24th for a B2B.  This gives us a chance to spend a few days (pre cruise) driving around Italy which is one of our favorite European countries.

 

Hank

 

 

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