mcrcruiser Posted October 8, 2022 #1 Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) We have $934 in FCC which had ti be used on a cruise in 2022 or loose it ,Well we booked a cruise into a handicap balcony cabin .when I tried for over 6 hours to get help on how to down load "Ocean Ready " on to my I Phone there was No help . what I came to understand is that Princess hired a lot og new & untrained in this matter people .Thwen I cam across some one at their corporate headquarters who directed me to the online unfo where I could down load my passports emergency contacts ie .BUT ,when I came to the last step of placing our pictures on their wen=b site I gave up Summation ,I am 83 & many cruisers are older generation who have the time & money to cruise . however ,this technology is way over our heads & with no knowledgeable people y Princess do they really expect the older generation ro want to sail with them vas the others with the on line pre boarding methods ;especially as inflation eats into the publics ability to spend these sums vs other necessities of living Bottom line We threw away the $934 of FCC & booked with Holland America using the standard on line pre boarding web site info . when any one arrives at any cruise terminal the security people will not let a person into the building unless they can present a boarding pass & pass port We have done 87 cruise pre pandemic & never had this many problems with any cruise line .Princess is now on my no cruise list of cruise lines Edited October 8, 2022 by mcrcruiser 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted October 8, 2022 #2 Share Posted October 8, 2022 I agree there should be an alternative method. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CineGraphic Posted October 8, 2022 #3 Share Posted October 8, 2022 It's a shame that they've made the pre-cruise experience difficult for those who have cruised for decades without any such difficulties. Enjoy your cruise with HAL! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrcruiser Posted October 8, 2022 Author #4 Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) 16 minutes ago, CineGraphic said: It's a shame that they've made the pre-cruise experience difficult for those who have cruised for decades without any such difficulties. Enjoy your cruise with HAL! Thanks for your good wishes imo with inflation raging les c& less people will be able to afford this type of vacation .My logical question for Princess management why did you introduce such a hard method to do pre boarding & then have no one qualified to explain it to your customers .just doesn't make any sense to me .All I can wish for is a relaxing time we have left in life Edited October 8, 2022 by mcrcruiser 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare azbirdmom Posted October 8, 2022 #5 Share Posted October 8, 2022 27 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said: when any one arrives at any cruise terminal the security people will not let a person into the building unless they can present a boarding pass & pass port The latter is true. However, you no longer need a boarding pass. If you haven't been able to complete the process on the app you can do so at the terminal. Sorry this wasn't explained to you but I hope you have a nice cruise on HAL. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted October 8, 2022 #6 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Unfortunately no one at Princess told you that you do not have to do anything in advance. Just turn up at the port with your passport and vaccination/test documents if required, and you are good to go. Everything such as emergency conracts, photographs etc can be done by the check in staff at the pier. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PacnGoNow Posted October 8, 2022 #7 Share Posted October 8, 2022 24 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said: We have $934 in FCC which had ti be used on a cruise in 2022 or loose it ,Well we booked a cruise into a handicap balcony cabin .when I tried for over 6 hours to get help on how to down load "Ocean Ready " on to my I Phone there was No help . what I came to understand is that Princess hired a lot og new & untrained in this matter people .Thwen I cam across some one at their corporate headquarters who directed me to the online unfo where I could down load my passports emergency contacts ie .BUT ,when I came to the last step of placing our pictures on their wen=b site I gave up Summation ,I am 83 & many cruisers are older generation who have the time & money to cruise . however ,this technology is way over our heads & with no knowledgeable people y Princess do they really expect the older generation ro want to sail with them vas the others with the on line pre boarding methods ;especially as inflation eats into the publics ability to spend these sums vs other necessities of living Bottom line We threw away the $934 of FCC & booked with Holland America using the standard on line pre boarding web site info . when any one arrives at any cruise terminal the security people will not let a person into the building unless they can present a boarding pass & pass port We have done 87 cruise pre pandemic & never had this many problems with any cruise line .Princess is now on my no cruise list of cruise lines So sorry for your troubles. I wish they had directed you to the website version of the App or checkin. You could have used that and brought all your other documents with you to the port. They do have a checkin area ready to help those who could not checkin on the App on their phone. You can just print online, your travel summary and bring your passport, vax card and whatever documents you need and it only takes a few minutes to chevk you in. Maybe too late now. I wish you the best and a great cruise on HAL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrcruiser Posted October 8, 2022 Author #8 Share Posted October 8, 2022 1 minute ago, azbirdmom said: The latter is true. However, you no longer need a boarding pass. If you haven't been able to complete the process on the app you can do so at the terminal. Sorry this wasn't explained to you but I hope you have a nice cruise on HAL. Thanks for your best wishes .Yes no one at Princess that we talked with had any clue , I think that is a sad commentary about Princess management abilities in training personnel 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrcruiser Posted October 8, 2022 Author #9 Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) Here is the problem .How do you get into the building to see the cruise line personnel . Every cruise terminal that we have been to required a boarding pass & pass port in hand to enter past the independent security company outside the cruise terminal . No boarding pass & no pass port = no entry has been our experience in 87 past cruises Edited October 8, 2022 by mcrcruiser 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted October 8, 2022 #10 Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) 7 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said: Here is the problem .How do you get into the building to see the cruise line personnel . Every cruise terminal that we have been yo required a boarding pass & pass port in hand to enter past the independent security company outside the cruise terminal . No boarding pass & no pass port = no entry has been our experience in 87 past cruises As has been said, boarding passes are not issued any more. When you enter the terminal, your name is checked against the passenger manifest, and you are then directed to the check in area. This is where your passport is checked. Edited October 8, 2022 by wowzz 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted October 8, 2022 #11 Share Posted October 8, 2022 I think most of us agree that the medallion was poorly implemented and did leave some behind. They should make it clear that all are welcome, regardless of completing the online information on the app. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loge23 Posted October 8, 2022 #12 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Take a look at the marketing, including the ridiculous dating contest show; Princess wants a younger demographic and they are not shy about letting their former demographic know that. They will find that their longer cruises, a Princess main draw for many seniors, will go wanting for bookings if they alienate the senior crowd. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike07 Posted October 8, 2022 #13 Share Posted October 8, 2022 1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said: Summation ,I am 83 & many cruisers are older generation who have the time & money to cruise . however ,this technology is way over our heads & with no knowledgeable people y Princess do they really expect the older generation ro want to sail with them vas the others with the on line pre boarding methods ;especially as inflation eats into the publics ability to spend these sums vs other necessities of living I'm more than half your age, and I 100,000% agree with you. Princess caters to an older demographic which is cool --- but I was absolutely floored/shocked/dismayed when they expected older generations to exclusively use the app to check-in for a cruise. Absolutely shocked. For the record, I have one of the fastest smartphones on the market. It has one of the fastest Snapdragon processors they have. I think Gen 2 is being released about now with improved battery efficiency... I have Gen 1. The app is STILL clunky and hard to use. Though, it has gotten better and overall flows easier from when the app was first released when Princess resumed post-COVID cruising. For background the app was outsourced to Accenture that does IT development in parts of its practice. It's a multi-billion dollar global conglomerate than has around 200k-300k employees globally. That being said, a bulk of them are in southeast Asia where they can pay app developers pennies on the dollar. So, you have a bunch of IT programmers in SEA that have probably never seen a cruise ship in their life, have no idea how the cruise industry works, writing code directed by project managers in their 20s over here in America with a 12 hour time zone difference and language barrier. The app is embarrassing and Princess should be ashamed of itself. You get what you pay for. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike07 Posted October 8, 2022 #14 Share Posted October 8, 2022 1 hour ago, wowzz said: As has been said, boarding passes are not issued any more. When you enter the terminal, your name is checked against the passenger manifest, and you are then directed to the check in area. This is where your passport is checked. Truth be told, I don't know if that was ever a "thing". I mean, for Celebrity and Princess... I always have everything printed up and in my suitcase and backup (multiple copies), and more often than not, they just ask for my name or stateroom number and never scan the boarding pass. That's been my experience tho. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pklein9747 Posted October 8, 2022 #15 Share Posted October 8, 2022 I find it interesting that you came on Cruise Critic to complain but didn't come here for help. You are a seasoned traveler and a seasoned Cruise Critic user. These forums are ALWAYS the first place I go to seek information or assistance. You should have asked for assistance here and would have realized that you didn't need to use the app. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted October 8, 2022 #16 Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) 20 minutes ago, Mike07 said: but I was absolutely floored/shocked/dismayed when they expected older generations to exclusively use the app to check-in for a cruise But they don't ! You do not need to even download the app if you don't want to. You are making an issue out of nothing. Just turn up with your passport. Not exactly difficult! Edited October 8, 2022 by wowzz 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike07 Posted October 8, 2022 #17 Share Posted October 8, 2022 6 minutes ago, wowzz said: But they don't ! You do not need to even download the app if you don't want to. You are making an issue out of nothing. Just turn up with your passport. Not exactly difficult! I agree, but did you miss all the threads and confusion here when cruising resumed post-COVID wrt the Medallion app? A lot of people were under the false assumption that you needed the app to check-in and get your boarding pass, and the way Princess marketed it, it sure seemed like you did. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzyed Posted October 8, 2022 #18 Share Posted October 8, 2022 2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said: We have $934 in FCC which had ti be used on a cruise in 2022 or loose it ,Well we booked a cruise into a handicap balcony cabin .when I tried for over 6 hours to get help on how to down load "Ocean Ready " on to my I Phone there was No help . what I came to understand is that Princess hired a lot og new & untrained in this matter people .Thwen I cam across some one at their corporate headquarters who directed me to the online unfo where I could down load my passports emergency contacts ie .BUT ,when I came to the last step of placing our pictures on their wen=b site I gave up Summation ,I am 83 & many cruisers are older generation who have the time & money to cruise . however ,this technology is way over our heads & with no knowledgeable people y Princess do they really expect the older generation ro want to sail with them vas the others with the on line pre boarding methods ;especially as inflation eats into the publics ability to spend these sums vs other necessities of living Bottom line We threw away the $934 of FCC & booked with Holland America using the standard on line pre boarding web site info . when any one arrives at any cruise terminal the security people will not let a person into the building unless they can present a boarding pass & pass port We have done 87 cruise pre pandemic & never had this many problems with any cruise line .Princess is now on my no cruise list of cruise lines Have you checked the dates on your Future Cruise Credits? They have extended the expiration date on most of them. You may still be able to use them. You don't have a passport? How on earth did you travel so many times? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted October 8, 2022 #19 Share Posted October 8, 2022 12 minutes ago, suzyed said: You don't have a passport? I think the OP does have a passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog Posted October 8, 2022 #20 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Sorry to hear this again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lady Arwen Posted October 8, 2022 #21 Share Posted October 8, 2022 19 minutes ago, suzyed said: Have you checked the dates on your Future Cruise Credits? They have extended the expiration date on most of them. You may still be able to use them. You don't have a passport? How on earth did you travel so many times? They have a passport but no boarding pass and that’s what concerned the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ldtr Posted October 8, 2022 #22 Share Posted October 8, 2022 3 hours ago, mcrcruiser said: We have $934 in FCC which had ti be used on a cruise in 2022 or loose it ,Well we booked a cruise into a handicap balcony cabin .when I tried for over 6 hours to get help on how to down load "Ocean Ready " on to my I Phone there was No help . what I came to understand is that Princess hired a lot og new & untrained in this matter people .Thwen I cam across some one at their corporate headquarters who directed me to the online unfo where I could down load my passports emergency contacts ie .BUT ,when I came to the last step of placing our pictures on their wen=b site I gave up Summation ,I am 83 & many cruisers are older generation who have the time & money to cruise . however ,this technology is way over our heads & with no knowledgeable people y Princess do they really expect the older generation ro want to sail with them vas the others with the on line pre boarding methods ;especially as inflation eats into the publics ability to spend these sums vs other necessities of living Bottom line We threw away the $934 of FCC & booked with Holland America using the standard on line pre boarding web site info . when any one arrives at any cruise terminal the security people will not let a person into the building unless they can present a boarding pass & pass port We have done 87 cruise pre pandemic & never had this many problems with any cruise line .Princess is now on my no cruise list of cruise lines I seem to recall that you already posted about this in another stream. Good there are enough curmudgeons on Princess, maybe HAL needs a few more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
san diego sue Posted October 8, 2022 #23 Share Posted October 8, 2022 And HAL has a Application for your phone too. I recently booked a HAL cruise. Dealing with their website and cell phone application, Navigator, wished it were Princess' website and the now familiar to me Medallion Appl. Believe me, Princess' website still the easiest to use.On HAL, trying to find anything near impossible. No where does it even list your OBC (maybe it does, but not apparent). MCRcruiser, perhaps you should deal with a travel agent that can help you through the process.I live not far from you, not an agent, but could help you download the information. I am sure there are others in your area that would also be willing to help you. Call Princess and get your FCC extended then give Princess another try. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog Posted October 8, 2022 #24 Share Posted October 8, 2022 18 minutes ago, san diego sue said: And HAL has a Application for your phone too. I recently booked a HAL cruise. Dealing with their website and cell phone application, Navigator, wished it were Princess' website and the now familiar to me Medallion Appl. Believe me, Princess' website still the easiest to use.On HAL, trying to find anything near impossible. No where does it even list your OBC (maybe it does, but not apparent). MCRcruiser, perhaps you should deal with a travel agent that can help you through the process.I live not far from you, not an agent, but could help you download the information. I am sure there are others in your area that would also be willing to help you. Call Princess and get your FCC extended then give Princess another try. Agree. I am feeling the same HAL. got use to Princess app now that I’ve used it once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memoak Posted October 8, 2022 #25 Share Posted October 8, 2022 1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said: They have a passport but no boarding pass and that’s what concerned the OP. There is no need for a boarding pass. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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