Lscruiser

Hey all.   I found a solution!   Get a Visa Gift card for maybe $20 and use that information.   It works!   I tried it yesterday.   You can use the gift card for whatever you want and there is no risk of exposure of your credit card information to some gaming company.  

Thank you all for your responses.  I have not ordered medallions to be shipped as it seems a huge waste.  I use them for refrigerator magnets and I have more than 25 Princess Cruises under my belt.  My concern was that door guards at the port have wanted to see a boarding pass.  I guess I will just take my booking confirmation and hope for the best.  Wish I could get the old app.  

On 4/5/2022 at 1:05 AM, Caribensun said:

Thanks for starting this thread.  I was going to post, but thought I would come across as paranoid.  I too am not pleased with the fact there is not an opt out of this.  Maybe I agreed to this pre-pandemic when sailed using medallion?  If anyone finds a way to opt out please share.

Princess says (as of this morning - 1/29/2024) that the only alternative is to check in at the port.  

Amazed that these posts go back so far as I just ran into this problem.   I cannot get a boarding pass unless I agree to let Radiqual Gaming, LLC. store my credit card info.  A call to Princess says the only alternative is to check in at the port.  

I booked directly with Princess in May.  There was no requirement that children under 12 be vaccinated.  The CDC guideline was that 95% of the guests needed to be vaccinated so that no more than 5% could be children under 12.   Princess did not inform me of this new rule for children until today.   Their website says: "As the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to children 5-11 years old, following the CDC's recommendation, we look forward to welcoming vaccinated guests of all ages."  As of right now, it is not available through their doctor.   I don't know what the CDC is currently recommending.  

Princess called me today, two weeks to the day before my scheduled family cruise, and told me my two 9 year old grandchildren cannot cruise because they have not been vaccinated.   Seriously?   They were not eligible until last week and their pediatrician says it does not have pediatric vaccines yet.   

I am booked on a Crystal cruise in December.   I did one in July and it was really wonderful.   This cruise line administers the COVID test when you get to the port and it worked seamlessly.   As passengers arrived, they sent them to a table (there were many, so no long waits) for a nasal swab, then passengers sat for about 20 minutes.   The cruise line then emailed the results and we took our email to a door where they checked it and let us into the boarding area.   They issued us a tracking device to wear on the wrist.  2 days before we returned to port, they administered another COVID test onboard.  If anyone tested positive (and 2 people did) they then contacted passengers who were in close proximity to them for secondary testing.   All of them cleared.   The cost for the second test was minimal and there was no charge for the pre-boarding test.  I'm not sure if you still need a negative COVID test to re-enter the US but I went on two trips this year where it was required and the Crystal method was by far the easiest.  

I am quite familiar with all of the ports Princess cruises out of to go to Mexico and all of them could easily accommodate a system like the one Crystal used.   No masks were required aboard the ship.  Temps were taken at the entrance to each public area and hand sanitizer was required.  It was safe and comfortable.  Perhaps it works better on Crystal because it is smaller - less than 1000 passengers.  

Still no luck with the app and we (all six of us) are prepared to just show up.  

I am simply unable to check in for my November 22nd cruise on the Ruby because I cannot get the app to work and check in is no longer possible through the website.  I have called and “chatted” with no luck.   For the first time in 20 years, I will have to show up at the pier with only a booking number.  I am a long time Cruise Critic and a Captain’s Circle member in Princess.   

I have been scheduled and rescheduled on the Victory I cruise from the East Coast to Niagara Falls 3 times now.  May 2020 and May 2021 cancelled.   The September 19 sailing is still scheduled BUT it starts in Ontario where tourists are still not allowed so hotel and flights reservations cannot be made.  Eventually, I cancelled it with much difficulty and within the full refund period.   Today I received a refund for about half of the amount I paid.  I have been getting a complete run around.   Victory doesn't respond to emails, call-back requests take more than a day, and the hold time for calls is about 45 minutes.   I am a long time cruiser with more than 45 cruises under my belt and I have never, ever had such poor customer service.  

Thank you for this information!  I won't worry about disposal anymore.  

I've run into this problem on the "second passenger sails free" promos.  When I have tried to get the rate for one passenger, I was told it wasn't available.   I have never run into it when booking a regular double occupancy cabin for one by paying the single supplement.  

The only benefit I can think of is the advantage of knowing others on the ship.  I cruise solo a lot.  Some ships have solo cabins that cost a bit less than the double occupancy fare - Holland and Norwegian in particular - but they are scarce.  Some cruise lines offer no single supplement on some cruises but you have to hunt for them.  *****.com has a feature that lets you look for single passenger prices and cruises with reduced single supplements, but that is the only one I know of other than calling the cruise lines directly.   Though I know of no benefits, I also know of no detriments other than the higher cost.  Cruise lines will often have a table with several solo diners if you opt for main dining room at a regular time and I've met life long friends that way.   I have never been turned down for a reservation or a table because I was a solo.  

I don't like the medallion.   I don't like the fact that a LOT of personal information is available to any crew member on the ship.  I sat down at a bar on the Royal and the bartender told me my name, birthdate, where I lived, and what my loyalty status was.  It opened my cabin door before I even got around the corner to see it (at least 10 feet away) so who knows who might have been in that hallway just outside the door?   And, how do you dispose of it when you get home?  Like any electronic device that contains personal information, I didn't want to throw it away.  I eventually soaked it in water and then attached a strong magnet to it.  It did not seem crushable.   I would much prefer at least the option of a ship card.  

An increasing number of shore excursions I have booked through the cruise line have been cancelled at the last minute - two out of three on my last Mexican Riviera cruise in April.  The reason for both was insufficient numbers of passengers signing up.   The result has been that other shore excursions were already full and it was too late to book private tours so I spent days on my own.  

I have used other avenues for local excursions including Viator, Tours by Locals, and now my travel agency is offering their own.   I know that the one advantage to cruise ship sponsored excursions is a guarantee that the ship won't leave without you if the excursion is delayed.  I can't see any other advantage and private companies tend to provide more notice if an excursion is cancelled.  

I'm interested in the experience of other cruisers.   I have 35+ cruises, mostly on major cruise lines including Princess, Holland, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.   I have three more scheduled for this year and am struggling with planning.

Linda