Aus Traveller

We have also booked a couple of P&O cruises. Somewhere I saw that we could book our embarkation time 60 days before the cruise.

In the 'old days' embarkation was usually under way by 10.45. Usually I have difficulty getting my husband to be on time, but I was surprised when he said he thought we should go "a bit early". I agreed.

When I click on the order, mine shows the black medallions. I haven't got the app open at the moment to see exactly where I saw the black medallion.

OK. We are in group A, 11-11.30. With everyone in that group also being Elite or in a suite, maybe all the check-in desks will be 'priority'.

... and here was me thinking we got the earliest boarding time because we got in early.

The colour still shows up on the default free medallion with lanyard.

At Portside Princess always had a separate queue for Elite and suite guests. We boarded from there many times. It was further from the door than the general section.

Sorry. I believe your Samsung Galaxy should be compatible with the Medallion app. I have to comment that if your TA can't tell you what time Group B is 🤣 I am not surprised she can't help you load the Medallion app onto your phone. We are in group A which is 11am - 11.30. I can't go into the system now and check, but it is reasonable to suggest that group B is 11.30 to 12noon. I just noticed that Bob (Rkmv) is group B at 11.30.

My guess is that we have to arrive at our designated time and may not be admitted to the terminal until then. Once inside, the priority desks will be available for elite or suite guests. This is just my guess.

You win. 😁 Three aces.

I think CruisecrazyAussie hasn't been able to load the app onto the phone.

I suggest you phone or try the chat line at 9am (or to be more specific, 9.02am). I have got straight through each time I call at that time. We have a Samsung Galaxy phone, an 11 I think. It is a fairly basic model. We were able to add the Medallion app so I don't know why yours won't. I remember going through Play Store. I can't remember the details but if you continue to have trouble loading it, I will ask my son who 'walked' me through the process on the phone.

If the experience of a couple of my family members is any guide, we now have to have a doctor's request to get a PCR test. You can't just rock up unless it is a centre that has a doctor available who will assess your symptoms before ordering the test.

I agree. We shouldn't have to up-load a worthless photo of our negative RATs, but if that is what is required, I will do it. I hope that Princess will realize that they have made an error and change the requirements on their app.

The only refusal to refund that I got was from a hotel in London where I had booked a five-night stay. They simply said that my booking was on a non-refundable basis. Luckily I had booked through QANTAS hotels and they refunded immediately. The same applied to QANTAS airfares I had booked through Princess EZair.

That is your PVP who (sorry to say) didin't know what he/she was talking about🙂. I recall Kylie from P&O 😁. The contradiction I referred to is in the official Princess information. Their website says 'test within 24 hours', but Irene has found that the Medallkion app requires the test to be 'more than 24 hours' before embarkation. I will wait and see how Irene and Frank go with embarkation and what they find they have to do.

We have been treated well by Princess and P&O for cruises that were cancelled. We opted for refunds for the 2020 cruises and didn't have significant delay. For the 2022 cruises booked, we had the option of a refund or shift to another cruise.

This is the problem I mentioned earlier. The proof of the negative test has to be uploaded at least 24 before embarkation, but elsewhere the Princess protocols say that the test has to be taken within 24 hours of embarkation.

I am so sorry to hear that. I have been thinking about you. 💔

I think you could be right with this explanation. I have some spare time to wait on the phone so I might try to get another answer. It doesn't mean it will be the correct one ......😁 Whatever answer I get, we have to enter whatever the app asks for or we can't progress to the next screen on the Medallion app. Then boarding is delayed - not something I want to happen on 26th.

I am still puzzled at the "upload proof more than 24 hours of embarkation" and take the test "within 24 hours of embarkation". Maybe I will phone and see what a different customer service rep says. We could have the old case of asking three different people and get three different answers. Years ago we had a running joke on this forum of "Kylie from P&O". Someone got a silly answer from Kylie, so for years, when someone got a strange answer from a phone rep at P&O, the explanation was that it had to be Kylie.😁

It doesn't sound like she was in Australia because the only Princess 'cruise' we have had was the 24 hour or so activation cruise that has just finished. I don't know that they would have taken customer service agents on it. On the other hand, maybe they did to give them some experience of the ship.

You and Frank are our guinea pigs. 😁

To double check - do we have to up-load the photo no later than 24 hours ahead of embarkation when the previous advise was that we had to take the RAT test within 24 hours of embarkation. I foresee chaos. I am glad we aren't on the first cruise. Oh, no!! You are. 😁

OK. Then that is what we will do. I feel it is ridiculous that Princess is now altering their rules. Thank you for going on the chat line and letting us know the answer to the question.