What if we do not want Medallion Class on PCL ?

[skidroe]

We are old cruisers, we do not have a "smart phone" for Medallion class.

We just want to open our cabin door and do not want PCL 'tracking us" wherever on the ship.

Time to cancel PCL cruises, as they are getting to obtrusive in our lives ? 

Edited December 5, 2020 by skidroe

[mevs904]

We are in our late 60’s and early 70’s and have been on three Medallion cruises so far and have enjoyed them.  I rarely use the phone functions associated with the Medallion, but I do enjoy using it to open our cabin door, pay for purchases, and when we leave and reboard the ship at port stops.  It has also come in handy for locating my “better half” from time to time.  For these purposes I do not need my phone.  I really like the idea of not having to pull out a cruise card for these functions.  We do not have a problem with Princess being able to track our location.  I consider it a safety feature and I like the idea that it may help them to gauge the activities that passengers like rather than assuming that everyone likes to shop and go to the casino.  You may want to try a Medallion cruise to experience it before you jump ship to another cruise line.  Chances are that other lines will be moving in this direction also.  Who knows what we may find when the cruise industry begins operating again.  Yes, times are changing and change isn’t always easy as you age.  Good luck with your future cruises.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, skidroe said:

 

We just want to open our cabin door and do not want PCL 'tracking us" wherever on the ship.

 

 

And you can use the Medallion to unlock (but not open) your cabin door.

 

As far as tracking you, all cruise lines are moving in that direction. But you do not need to allow any passengers to use the tracking feature to locate you.

[Lucky TGO]

2 hours ago, skidroe said:

We are old cruisers, we do not have a "smart phone" for Medallion class.

We just want to open our cabin door and do not want PCL 'tracking us" wherever on the ship.

Time to cancel PCL cruises, as they are getting to obtrusive in our lives ? 

I don’t think you will be alone on your way of thanking. 
Tony

[Geoffa30]

Cannot believe we are still getting posts like this about being tracked on the ship. What on earth are people doing on a cruise that they’re so concerned about being tracked?

[EatonDoolittle]

1 hour ago, Geoffa30 said:

Cannot believe we are still getting posts like this about being tracked on the ship. What on earth are people doing on a cruise that they’re so concerned about being tracked?

 

Agree.

It reminds me of the meme of the grumpy old man behind the wheel of a car saying "He** no, I won't use my blinker. It's nobody's business where I'm going !!" 

 

 

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, skidroe said:

We are old cruisers, we do not have a "smart phone" for Medallion class.

We just want to open our cabin door and do not want PCL 'tracking us" wherever on the ship.

Time to cancel PCL cruises, as they are getting to obtrusive in our lives ? 

You are not alone. We were supposed to be on a Medallion cruise this past July and were wondering how we would be affected by not having smart phones.

[skynight]

Agree with everything mevs904 said.

A cruise on a medallion ship is really no different than a cruise on a non-medallion ship. Think of the medallion as just another cruise card in a different form. It is used in the same manner and provides some things easier than before. A few examples are unlocking your cabin door as you approach,  not having to actually present the medallion to purchase a beverage, something in the gift shop, etc. Crew can identify you when they are near you. Tracking by others, don't worry about this. It's not like other passengers can track you on the ship. They can't. You can locate your travel mate(s) location on the ship by just going to one of the large screens. Assuming it is possible for a limited number of ship's officers to locate passengers in case of an emergency. This is a plus. We have been on  a few medallion cruises. We did not use all the stuff in the medallion app. and did not carry our cell phone around with us. One of us has vision issues, can't even see a cell phone screen.  We did not load all the personal information into the app. We did as in the past load all the immigration information into the cruise personlizer. Our medallion was waiting at the pier. Took less than 5 minutes to get it.

If you sail while the pandemic is still active, there most likely will be advantages for using the medallion app. as a method of controlling and limiting access to certain events. We are not sailing during these times, so are not concerned.

[1965]

Mevs904 & skylight are 100% spot on. I didn't need my phone on our medallion cruise. I like the convenience of our cabin door unlocking for me, of being able to find my DH on the ship, boarding & exiting the ship were done more efficiently as were the few onboard purchases I made. Btw DH & I are in our 70s. 

[Potstech]

What are people going to do when all the ships use some sort of Medallion class type app.  You are tracked by many entities everyday of your life. Unless of course you hide out in your home and never use any electronics at all.

[SinbadThePorter]

2 hours ago, Geoffa30 said:

What on earth are people doing on a cruise that they’re so concerned about being tracked?

 

Not that I've had the opportunity or the inclination, but surely there is some level of surreptitious bonking going on during every cruise. 🥰

 

How surreptitious is it going to be if Medallion is tracking everyone? Surely that kills half the fun, but at least Princess will be able to gather statistics on the subject.

Edited December 5, 2020 by SinbadThePorter

[love to cruz]

For business reasons I must leave my phone at home. What will happen when I cruise Medallion?

 

[susancruzs]

Thanks for these posts, as I haven't taken a medallion cruise yet.  I will be when cruising starts up again and I don't have a smart phone.  I do use the Internet Cafe.  I don't have concerns about tracking at all, never crossed my mind.  I was wondering how it would work with not signing up on an app ahead of time.  

[PrincessLuver]

8 hours ago, skidroe said:

We are old cruisers, we do not have a "smart phone" for Medallion class.

We just want to open our cabin door and do not want PCL 'tracking us" wherever on the ship.

Time to cancel PCL cruises, as they are getting to obtrusive in our lives ? 

 

Then obviously you do not worry about all of the cameras on the ship tracking you either.....

[RLK33853]

Not sure what will happen once we get back to cruising, but on our last Medallion cruise another couple didn't have a smartphone, nor did they want to use their Medallion.  They just went to Passenger Services and were given the old style cruise cards.

[JF - retired RRT]

16 minutes ago, love to cruz said:

For business reasons I must leave my phone at home. What will happen when I cruise Medallion?

 

You'll have a Medallion for unlocking your door, getting on/off the ship and making purchases.

The app on the phone isn't needed for those things. Phone is an addition to functionality but not required.

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

You are not alone. We were supposed to be on a Medallion cruise this past July and were wondering how we would be affected by not having smart phones.

 

43 minutes ago, susancruzs said:

Thanks for these posts, as I haven't taken a medallion cruise yet.  I will be when cruising starts up again and I don't have a smart phone.  I do use the Internet Cafe.  I don't have concerns about tracking at all, never crossed my mind.  I was wondering how it would work with not signing up on an app ahead of time.  

I did my first Medallion cruise in February.  Although I enjoyed using it, using the medallion wasn't mandatory.  If you don't want to use the app to get your medallion(s) in advance of the cruise, you could still check in the old fashioned way once you arrived at the pier.  You will be issued a medallion at the check in desk in order to initially board the ship, but once on board, you can go to passenger services and get a legacy cruise card and use that instead of a medallion and you can just put the medallion in the cabin safe for the rest of the cruise.

 

A smart phone or tablet is not required for your cruise.  The medallion and MedallionClass App is just an option for those who want to take advantage of the newer technology.

 

My suggestion for those who are leery of the Medallion Class cruises is just book and enjoy the cruise in the manner with which you are familiar.  I'm sure you'll find that it won't be a problem for you at all.  Enjoy!

[cruzsnooze]

9 hours ago, skidroe said:

We are old cruisers, we do not have a "smart phone" for Medallion class.

We just want to open our cabin door and do not want PCL 'tracking us" wherever on the ship.

Time to cancel PCL cruises, as they are getting to obtrusive in our lives ? 

At check in I tell them I want a regular ole cruise card and they give it to me. Medallion is an option not mandatory. There is a warning in the medallion instruction booklet to NOT use it because it has a magnet that may interfer with implants such as pacemakers. For that reason there will never be a regired use of medallions.

  As to tracking , I hate the idea that the tracking is used to bombard me with opportunities to relieve me of my money. Cameras on board do not track you and are only viewed if an event occurs and no date is collected. 

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by cruzsnooze
typo

[skynight]

1 hour ago, love to cruz said:

For business reasons I must leave my phone at home. What will happen when I cruise Medallion?

 

Nothing. Enter all the immigration in the cruise personlizer as you have in the past. Check in at the pier and you will be provided with a medallion. If you don't like the medallion once on board visit passenger services and they will issue you an RFD cruise card. Both are basically the same, but in different forms. The medallion is quarter sized, easy to carry. The medallion will unlock your cabin door as you approach. Believe the RFD card requires that you place or waive it against the door screen to unlock. 

[voljeep]

11 minutes ago, skynight said:

Nothing. Enter all the immigration in the cruise personlizer as you have in the past. Check in at the pier and you will be provided with a medallion. If you don't like the medallion once on board visit passenger services and they will issue you an RFD cruise card. Both are basically the same, but in different forms. The medallion is quarter sized, easy to carry. The medallion will unlock your cabin door as you approach. Believe the RFD card requires that you place or waive it against the door screen to unlock. 

who knows at this point, with contactless cruising, if an RFD card will be available ??

 

Is Princess "REQUIRED" by ADA or others to make that happen, or do 'those' cruisers have a "RIGHT" to cruise on Princess ??

[Iamcruzin]

If you are opposed to being tracked I suggest you don’t book any cruises in the near future. Tracking is the new normal for cruises. Royal Caribbean is doing a 4 day cruise out of Singapore and everyone is carrying a tracking device similar to the Medallion. I wouldn’t be surprised if they kept it on even after Covid. 

[Daniel A]

Many credit and debit cards now have an RFID chip as well as your passport even my driver license now has a RFID chip.  The RFID is designed so it provides contactless transactions.  I have to laugh when I use a RFID credit card at checkout and then they still require me to answer questions and sign by using the touch screen.

 

The medallion wasn't even completely touchless when I sailed in February.  Often, I had to hand over the medallion to a worker to charge a purchase.

[AF-1]

Most likely there will be major changes to how all the Cruise Lines operate;  Covid19 has changed the way we live our daily lives and the ships will implement some sort of contactless movement while onboard the ship.  I suspect different lines will come up with different ways to accomplish this;  the medallion net program is a step toward contactless movement on the ship.  I assume the OP does not shop online or use a credit card;  because both of these track your online movement and shopping habits.  Have a great weekend

[Iamcruzin]

4 hours ago, Geoffa30 said:

Cannot believe we are still getting posts like this about being tracked on the ship. What on earth are people doing on a cruise that they’re so concerned about being tracked?

Only criminals should be concerned. To be honest the older I get  the more I want to be tracked. You never know when something can happen. I just got My elderly 88yr old father an iPhone. The first thing I did was set up find my iPhone so I can find him should something happen. I told him if he misplaces his phone I can find it.

[Daniel A]

2 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Most likely there will be major changes to how all the Cruise Lines operate;  Covid19 has changed the way we live our daily lives and the ships will implement some sort of contactless movement while onboard the ship.  I suspect different lines will come up with different ways to accomplish this;  the medallion net program is a step toward contactless movement on the ship.  I assume the OP does not shop online or use a credit card;  because both of these track your online movement and shopping habits.  Have a great weekend

Cruise ships can never be totally contactless.  Silverware and plates need to be handled, stairways and passageways need to have handrails, elevators need buttons to press, door handles still need to be turned etc.  Claiming contactless cruising is just window dressing to make people feel better.