"Medallion Class" with out a smartphone.

[oskidunker]

So basically you are willing to give up something you love,Cruising, because you refuse to embrace progress? My mother wishes it was 1940 but that is gone.  I don't like some new technology but I am not going to fight it. You know why? The rest of the world doesn't care. You are only hurting yourself. 

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

We wondered how we would do without a smartphone last Summer for our Princess Norwegian Fjords cruise, but of course we never found out.

 

I fear too that we will also have to be done with Princess if the medallion leads to you need a smartphone to make everything work.

Watch the Medallion Monday videos on YouTube (there are 2). They explain that a smartphone is not mandatory.

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

We wondered how we would do without a smartphone last Summer for our Princess Norwegian Fjords cruise, but of course we never found out.

 

I fear too that we will also have to be done with Princess if the medallion leads to you need a smartphone to make everything work.

Double post.

Edited May 12, 2021 by JF - retired RRT

[Paula_MacFan]

2 hours ago, oskidunker said:

So basically you are willing to give up something you love,Cruising, because you refuse to embrace progress? My mother wishes it was 1940 but that is gone.  I don't like some new technology but I am not going to fight it. You know why? The rest of the world doesn't care. You are only hurting yourself. 

 

I have hesitated to respond to this thread with similar comments, because I know some people just won't embrace change/progress.  But I don't understand keeping and paying for a landline and then another flip phone to just use 'for emergencies when driving'.  Why not just transfer your home number to the cell phone and be done with it?  My almost 80-year old mother did that a couple years ago and now she wonders why it took her so long.  She pays $35 a month for unlimited everything with the same landline phone number I grew up with for 40 years.  I think some people have this erroneous perception that if you get a cell phone you have to be on it 'all day long'.  Maybe just look at it as a convenience and not some conspiracy out to ruin your life 🙂

 

[gmjc2]

It is not just a matter of "embracing technology" It is also a matter of convenience.

If all you need is a phone that makes and receives phone calls then an expensive smart phone is not for you. I have a flip phone with large buttons that answers when I open and the screen is protected. No swiping and searching and using small keyboards. No losing the screen when you accidently touch something. 

If you need "APPS" all the time and GPS, selfies and video conferencing then by all means get "hip" with the technology. My husband has a SM phone and by the time  he stops swearing at it we are already at our destination!!!

I just had to online check into another cruise line and they wanted us to use an app! I said no I wanted a printed boarding pass. I do not want to take the cell phone it is just one more item to pack!

Color me " an old lady" but this boomer is fine with her flip phone for emergencies too!!

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, oskidunker said:

So basically you are willing to give up something you love,Cruising, because you refuse to embrace progress? My mother wishes it was 1940 but that is gone.  I don't like some new technology but I am not going to fight it. You know why? The rest of the world doesn't care. You are only hurting yourself. 

I am not going to give up cruising just cruising with Princess. There are many cruise lines out there as good as or better than Princess.

[Orangefan]

I have sailed on the Sky Princess 2 times and without a  smart phone.  Just by wearing the medallion when you arrive at your room it unlocks  automatically. If I want something I walk to the venue to get it. I don't want things brought to me. I am happy to move around the ship.

 

If I go to the gift shop, the clerk has an  IPad  and already knows your name If I want to buy something I just   put the medallion over  something. 

 

So don't feel the pressure to have a smart phone if you don't want one with you.

Sali

[leck57]

3 hours ago, majortom10 said:

I am not going to give up cruising just cruising with Princess. There are many cruise lines out there as good as or better than Princess.

 

I think you need to take a step back. There will be plenty of people that don't want to go down the smartphone route and it will not affect their cruise in the slightest. The last cruise we did was a Medallion cruise and because we don't get the medallions mailed to us in Australia I just checked in as normal with printed boarding passes. Then on the ship I just used the medallion exactly as I would have used my cruise card. Still went to the bars, used the Patter, etc. 

I am pretty with it when it comes to smart phones etc but I only use my phone when away for text messages, nothing else. I don't want to carry it around the ship.

Don't overthink this. Just do what you always did and you will be fine. You'll be looked after and there will be many like you.

[MX-Drew]

I would happily use the app but it just does not work and when phoning and writing to Princess Cruises I get the answer "The app is new to us and we don't know how it works".

If that is a sign of their customer service then I will vote with my wallet and go with other cruise companies. I should add this is my first cruise with Princess and it is looking like the last.

 

As an analogy if you bought a new car and on the second day of ownership there was an issue with it so you contact the dealer and they told you "Oh that is a new model we have no idea what to do" what would you think?

 

I don't care what it is, a new app, a new website etc train your staff so they can have answers but most of all test it properly before releasing it on your customers. 

[leck57]

2 hours ago, MX-Drew said:

I would happily use the app but it just does not work and when phoning and writing to Princess Cruises I get the answer "The app is new to us and we don't know how it works".

If that is a sign of their customer service then I will vote with my wallet and go with other cruise companies. I should add this is my first cruise with Princess and it is looking like the last.

 

 

 

The App is such a small part of the overall cruise experience, I don't know why you would let it influence your cruise line of choice. It is just an option, not necessary or mandatory by any means.

Once you get your medallion and board the ship, if you don't use the App, you will notice no difference to your cruising enjoyment at all. There are other options to the App, such as printing your boarding pass, actually using your feet to walk to a bar and order, using the TV for your onboard account, and the daily info sheet in hard copy.

Really is a non issue to me. Just enjoy your cruise.

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, Orangefan said:

I have sailed on the Sky Princess 2 times and without a  smart phone.  Just by wearing the medallion when you arrive at your room it unlocks  automatically. If I want something I walk to the venue to get it. I don't want things brought to me. I am happy to move around the ship.

 

If I go to the gift shop, the clerk has an  IPad  and already knows your name If I want to buy something I just   put the medallion over  something. 

 

So don't feel the pressure to have a smart phone if you don't want one with you.

Sali

Thank you, I feel better about booking Princess (our favorite cruise line ) again.😊

 

OTOH, I feel even worse that our Princess sailing to the Norwegian Fjords last summer did not happen.😢

[majortom10]

12 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

I think you need to take a step back. There will be plenty of people that don't want to go down the smartphone route and it will not affect their cruise in the slightest. The last cruise we did was a Medallion cruise and because we don't get the medallions mailed to us in Australia I just checked in as normal with printed boarding passes. Then on the ship I just used the medallion exactly as I would have used my cruise card. Still went to the bars, used the Patter, etc. 

I am pretty with it when it comes to smart phones etc but I only use my phone when away for text messages, nothing else. I don't want to carry it around the ship.

Don't overthink this. Just do what you always did and you will be fine. You'll be looked after and there will be many like you.

I agree I have used Medallion in the past and like you in UK we dont get Medallions in advance so checked in as normal and just used Medallion for opening cabin door and purchasing items on the ship. But latest publicity from Princess it has been extended further and there are rumours that Princess Patter will no longer be delivered to your cabin in paper form only available online and also booking facilities around the ship i.e. theatre, speakers, speciality restaurants will be only available either on your smartphone or at the screens around the ship. So if that is the way Princess are going my only option is to be wandering around the ship with no Patter to refer to only to find screens and then book from there I will be taking a step back and not cruise with Princess and cruise elsewhere.

[majortom10]

13 hours ago, Orangefan said:

I have sailed on the Sky Princess 2 times and without a  smart phone.  Just by wearing the medallion when you arrive at your room it unlocks  automatically. If I want something I walk to the venue to get it. I don't want things brought to me. I am happy to move around the ship.

 

If I go to the gift shop, the clerk has an  IPad  and already knows your name If I want to buy something I just   put the medallion over  something. 

 

So don't feel the pressure to have a smart phone if you don't want one with you.

Sali

But Princess have recently announced further advances in Medallion and smartphone will become more and more needed unless you use screens around ship. What you did pre covid on Sky we did exactly the same on Crown but medallion is going to be used even more and IMO those without smartphone will be at a disadvantage.

Edited May 13, 2021 by majortom10

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, MX-Drew said:

As an analogy if you bought a new car and on the second day of ownership there was an issue with it so you contact the dealer and they told you "Oh that is a new model we have no idea what to do" what would you think?

You've bought a Seat as well then! Basically that is what  the Seat dealers are saying!

[MX-Drew]

3 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

The App is such a small part of the overall cruise experience, I don't know why you would let it influence your cruise line of choice. It is just an option, not necessary or mandatory by any means.

Once you get your medallion and board the ship, if you don't use the App, you will notice no difference to your cruising enjoyment at all. There are other options to the App, such as printing your boarding pass, actually using your feet to walk to a bar and order, using the TV for your onboard account, and the daily info sheet in hard copy.

Really is a non issue to me. Just enjoy your cruise.

You don't get it, Princess market their cruises with the Medallion and its app as a selling point with is one of many reasons why we thought we would give them a go. 

Also I'm not so sure about "once onboard you don't use the app". Have you seen the MedallionClass Monday videos and how much the app is taking over?

Granted you can use touch screens etc but why when I should be able to sit in a nice spot and order a drink or food?

Would you be happy if you bought a new car and found out the indicators didn't work to be told "don't worry you don't need to use them you can use hand signals"? Get my point?

[MX-Drew]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

You've bought a Seat as well then! Basically that is what  the Seat dealers are saying!

No, I bought a Mercedes and they bend over backwards to fix the smallest of niggles. 😉

[Ombud]

I find this conversation quite interesting. Not just that it's only $30 to buy a smartphone without a plan but that people are willing to pack a lot of crap but find it too difficult to pack a 2×3.5×1/8" phone plus 1 cord. As everything is available on your TV in your personal stateroom, you don't need to crowd around a screen in a hallway. Pre-pandemic people could avoid this by asking for a card and going paper. But all lines are stating that they are going to a "touchless cruising experience." So once again people need to decide whether or not cruising is something that they are emotionally capable of doing.

 

Changes that upset people the most:

1. Touchless cruising

2. "Dine Your Way"

3. Vaccination required

4. Mask inside - outside masking no longer required if vaccinated (and 95%+ will be)

 

Updates: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24986-cdc-lightens-up-on-cruise-mask-and-shore-ex-rules.html

 

FWIW: even my vision impaired dad and hard headed mom were capable of using a smartphone into their 90s

 

[stevea20]

6 minutes ago, Ombud said:

 

 

Changes that upset people the most:

1. Touchless cruising

2. "Dine Your Way"

3. Vaccination required

4. Mask inside - outside masking no longer required if vaccinated (and 95%+ will be)

 

 

 

1. I'll get used to it

2. Not sure about this.  Sound like "Anytime" will just become "Traditional"

3. I'm OK with this

4. I'll live with this IF the ridiculous restriction of always wearing it in the Dining Room is dropped.

 

It also sounds from these "Medallion Mondays" like it won't be very spontaneous if you have to sign up for events.  I just want to go to the "Yes/No Game", not reserve it.

[voljeep]

1) Can I do "everything" from my desktop - pre-cruise - that you can do from you 'smart' device ?

 

2) If I can't - do we just get the 'leftovers' - boarding times, prime dining location and time, show times, if it comes to that also ?

[Ombud]

8 minutes ago, voljeep said:

1) Can I do "everything" from my desktop - pre-cruise - that you can do from you 'smart' device ?

 

2) If I can't - do we just get the 'leftovers' - boarding times, prime dining location and time, show times, if it comes to that also ?

1. Yes. Then if you are in the USA, you would just do everything onboard from your stateroom TV

2. Put it on the app pre-cruise. Get the medallion at home and you're set to cruise. Easy peasy

[Ombud]

20 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said:

I don't understand keeping and paying for a landline and then another flip phone to just use 'for emergencies when driving'. 

Yeah. Kept the landline for the fax machine until that became obsolete 

[stevea20]

Well right after I posted that I saw a YouTube video from a cruise vlogger that showed an amendment to the CDC order about masks.  If you are vaccinated it will be up to the cruise line to allow no masks in the Dining Room or going on your own excursions.  That's a step in the right direction.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

Yeah. Kept the landline for the fax machine until that became obsolete 

I think the last time I set a fax was back in 2019 and it was to send in a request for CCL Shareholder OBC.  I do still have the landline as it would cost me more to get rid of it (bundled package and also is used to ring the alarm company in an emergency or breach situation.  Yes, there is a wireless solution for that, but cost it nuts here relative to the landline.

 

[leck57]

11 hours ago, MX-Drew said:

You don't get it, Princess market their cruises with the Medallion and its app as a selling point with is one of many reasons why we thought we would give them a go. 

Also I'm not so sure about "once onboard you don't use the app". Have you seen the MedallionClass Monday videos and how much the app is taking over?

Granted you can use touch screens etc but why when I should be able to sit in a nice spot and order a drink or food?

Would you be happy if you bought a new car and found out the indicators didn't work to be told "don't worry you don't need to use them you can use hand signals"? Get my point?

 

I do get it actually. I have cruised both with Medallion cruises and non Medallion cruises.

Of course Princess market the Medallion as it makes them appear to be market leaders but I can take it or leave it. I have just used the Medallion as I have the cruise card in the past and not for much extra.

They will still have people walking around serving you. The flashy videos show what the Medallion can do, but there is no way they will put a large number of people offside that don't use all the bells and whistles.

[Torfamm]

On 5/12/2021 at 3:49 PM, gmjc2 said:

It is not just a matter of "embracing technology" It is also a matter of convenience.

If all you need is a phone that makes and receives phone calls then an expensive smart phone is not for you. I have a flip phone with large buttons that answers when I open and the screen is protected. No swiping and searching and using small keyboards. No losing the screen when you accidently touch something. 

If you need "APPS" all the time and GPS, selfies and video conferencing then by all means get "hip" with the technology. My husband has a SM phone and by the time  he stops swearing at it we are already at our destination!!!

I just had to online check into another cruise line and they wanted us to use an app! I said no I wanted a printed boarding pass. I do not want to take the cell phone it is just one more item to pack!

Color me " an old lady" but this boomer is fine with her flip phone for emergencies too!!

These are all personal choices. It seems we are at a point with smart phones similar to where we were with computers not so very long ago. Today, it seems completely normal to be expected to book a cruise, check in, get boarding passes, book excursions, or even discuss cruises online but there were plenty of people who said “Never” and meant it. I’m sure a percentage of cruisers still feel they have no need for a computer or access to the internet and are perfectly content even though many of us wouldn’t be able to function without them.

Edited May 14, 2021 by Torfamm
Last sentence was dropped.