Medallions to replace cruise cards?

[bUU]

That being said, here is my speculation. There will be issues with the rollout--40 years of professional experience makes that easy to predict. Some people will describe these issues as "annoyances." Some people will describe these issues as "disastrous."

A remarkably secure bet. There will always be people who try to turn any imperfection into justification for their prognostication of Doom and Gloom.

 

 

 

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[pablo222]

Until the actual rollout, everything else is, pretty much, speculative.

 

I think you're right, but apparently some folks know so much that they reply to nearly every post in this thread.

[floridalover5623]

All I know is that if it can help me locate my wife (as they say it will) it'll make me happy. She bounces all around the ship & forgets about time. ;p

[Potstech]

Nonsense. This is straight out of the playbook of 1950s and 1960s Catskills resorts, except instead of sending such notifications in a subtle manner through the Medallion the Catskills resorts would blare such notifications through scratchy loudspeakers, which were generally far louder than reasonable because they couldn't afford enough of them to have them set for a reasonable volume yet still be audible throughout the resort.

 

As a matter of fact, one of the promises of such technology is that they afford us the opportunity to one day be able to do without announcements over the PA system of the ship.

 

And one of my big concerns about naysayers and others who will resist adopting and using new technology like this: That we'll all continue to be subjected to excess beckoning from the PA system, because of the perhaps few passengers who won't move with the rest of us into the 21st century.

 

If it was up to me, I'd say that such new technology is the way. Cruise lines should charge a surcharge for those without a suitable personal device (if necessary) and issue one to such passengers for the duration of the cruise, and have that approach replace all PA announcements not needed for safety. However, of course, the cruise lines are much more passenger-friendly than that, and will accommodate the naysayers and other technology-resisters for a good long time.

 

So glad many things are not up to you. Forcing people to pay to not use new technology soundss little extreme and a good way to tell customers to stay home because we care less what you think. The word "BORG" comes to mind. But you are the expert and all must comply to your way.

[bUU]

So glad many things are not up to you.

It isn't up to you or me. It is up to the marketplace. Right now the marketplace is trending toward what I want (because it's been trending toward progress for about 350 years). I am pleased that it is, but not because otherwise I would begrudge it going your way so I would hope you wouldn't begrudge it going my way.

[Potstech]

It isn't up to you or me. It is up to the marketplace. Right now the marketplace is trending toward what I want (because it's been trending toward progress for about 350 years). I am pleased that it is, but not because otherwise I would begrudge it going your way so I would hope you wouldn't begrudge it going my way.

 

i begrudge you nothing other than you telling others what they should accept or not. True it is up to the marletplacd which consists oc consumets. If the consumets reject it then it fails. Forcine things on the consumer that they do not wants leads to some unwanted consequences.

[bUU]

Accept it or not - how's things change will affect you regardless. :shrug:

 

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[Potstech]

True but if it affects me and others in a negative way then it might mean a loss of revenue for Princess. Then it will not be accepted.

[Thrak]

Reminds me a bit of when we were watching Downton Abbey. There was resistance to electric lighting and then resistance to the telephone. We don't get to decide what Princess will do. They have already started the project and are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to make this happen. They aren't likely to back off now. We can either deal with the changes or go cruise another line. (A large percentage of users here on CC didn't like the change in format. You may have noticed that it didn't change back.)

 

A agree that I've never seen any kind of roll out that didn't have some issues.There are bound to be some. Hopefully they will be quickly identified and corrected.

[bUU]

The Downton Abbey analogy is a good one. The reality is that these kinds of initiatives aren't rolled out wholesale until research shows that they will be successful despite the resistance. Practically all we hear about (with regard to everything in life) is the complaining far out of proportion of the actual level of dissatisfaction. For most things, the primary response is apathy. Consumers accept change as inevitable. That's not the case with this one. This is a change that some passengers are inviting. There's no chance it won't be successful and spread across the fleet and across all mainstream cruise lines. In reality, the only reason why it hasn't happened yet is that the technology has been​ too expensive. As time goes on, this tech becomes more and more affordable. Like electric light, it really was never a matter of 'if' but really was always a matter of when.

 

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[Brisbane41]

I actually like the idea a lot. I think it is totally different and hope it works out well for them.

[SteveH2508]

Just seen this article (Wetherspoons is a pub chain in the UK). No medallion though...

 

http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/drinkers-at-wetherspoons-pubs-can-now-order-booze-on-their-phone-without-going-to-the-bar-1-8437838

[Womble99]

All I know is that if it can help me locate my wife (as they say it will) it'll make me happy. She bounces all around the ship & forgets about time. ;p

 

Downside is she will be able to find me too :halo:

[floridalover5623]

Oh well. There's a good & bad side to the technology. :')

[BarbinMich]

All I know is that if it can help me locate my wife (as they say it will) it'll make me happy. She bounces all around the ship & forgets about time. ;p

 

My husband would agree with you I'm sure! One time when he could not find me, he even checked with the Medical Center! It was a sea day and as there were no activities I was interested in, I was in the Casino, a place he did not check for some reason, even though it's one of my favorite places to be.

[floridalover5623]

My husband would agree with you I'm sure! One time when he could not find me, he even checked with the Medical Center! It was a sea day and as there were no activities I was interested in, I was in the Casino, a place he did not check for some reason, even though it's one of my favorite places to be.

I always highlight the days activities on the patter that she keeps with her so she'll know where I'm going to be but she never takes the time to even look at it.

I give up. :(

[latserrof]

Reminds me a bit of when we were watching Downton Abbey. There was resistance to electric lighting and then resistance to the telephone. We don't get to decide what Princess will do. They have already started the project and are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to make this happen. They aren't likely to back off now. We can either deal with the changes or go cruise another line.

 

From an AP story at the time of the Big Announcement:

 

Whether anticipating guests' needs will feel useful or creepy remains to be seen. Those who might be spooked don't have to use the medallion or can limit how much they want to participate, Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said. "In the end, the guests will tell us," Donald told The Associated Press. "If it doesn't (resonate), it's back to the drawing board."

[OCruisers]

Form what's I read since this thread first began seems it's optional.

Is that still the case? :confused:

[latserrof]

The cognoscenti say nay.

[caribill]

Form what's I read since this thread first began seems it's optional.

Is that still the case? :confused:

 

Having the Medallion does not appear to be optional.

 

There is an option to limiting its purpose to opening the cabin door, charging purchases, signing you off and then back onto the ship, and allowing Princess to locate you on the ship.

[cruiselvr1]

I use business card sheets in a three ring binder. I think the medallions will fit in the slips:)

Not knowing what the medallions are made of, I wonder if Princess will want to reuse them. In the old days you were required to turn in our cruise cards. I wonder if Princess will require staggered boarding, like they attempt to do now. We have a Panama Canal March 1 on the CB, so we will miss it by a couple of weeks.

[Astro Flyer]

From an AP story at the time of the Big Announcement:

 

Whether anticipating guests' needs will feel useful or creepy remains to be seen. Those who might be spooked don't have to use the medallion or can limit how much they want to participate, Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said. "In the end, the guests will tell us," Donald told The Associated Press. "If it doesn't (resonate), it's back to the drawing board."

I've been reading threads about Ocean Medallions to gain knowledge about the system before commenting on it. Princess is spending a significant amount of money on this system expecting to offset that cost with even greater onboard spending. Nothing I've read will improve my cruise experience, be a reason to book a cruise nor will it entice me to spend more money which appears to be the primary reason for this system.

 

It doesn't appear to be much more than Princess@Sea with more ways to promote sales. Promises such as providing better food & drink service cannot happen with current staffing levels. And receiving suggestions on what we might want to do (purchase) sounds like nothing more than e-advertisements. It won't significantly streamline check in because we'll still need to have our passport checked whether with a medallion or a boarding pass. Not sure how messaging will be done but it appears that we'll need to use our mobile device, cabin TV or a monitor around the ship.

 

I'm for technological improvements however I just don't see this as a big improvement for my cruise experience & instead it's primarily a tool to increase sales.

 

Caribill posted that we'll have the option to only use it like the current cruise card plus them being able to track our location. And based on CEO Arnold's quote it may not resonate with passengers like me & Princess will be back to the drawing board.

[Thrak]

From an AP story at the time of the Big Announcement:

 

Whether anticipating guests' needs will feel useful or creepy remains to be seen. Those who might be spooked don't have to use the medallion or can limit how much they want to participate, Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said. "In the end, the guests will tell us," Donald told The Associated Press. "If it doesn't (resonate), it's back to the drawing board."

 

They are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on this. Do you really think they are going to back off? No matter what happens the ships they fit with this technology will retain the technology. No company can spend that kind of money and then just say "oh well" and dump it.

[Astro Flyer]

They are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on this. Do you really think they are going to back off? No matter what happens the ships they fit with this technology will retain the technology. No company can spend that kind of money and then just say "oh well" and dump it.

 

Yep...that's not going to happen & they're committed to this system.

 

Only time will tell if it was a wise decision and increases bookings & onboard spending to offset their investment. I'm skeptical if it will be cost effective & there's nothing that will greatly improve my cruise experience. Hopefully the system will be more successful than their Curtis Stone experiment.

 

Although I'm already hooked on Princess cruises so I'm not the demographic they're seeking to attract. Having the great cabin entertainment system like on the Royal would be a great addition however since that doesn't generate any income it's not going fleetwide.

[latserrof]

If it doesn't "resonate", maybe CCL could double-down with a partnership with Segway -- possibly the optimum win-win value-added synergy of two cutting-edge technologies. The medallion could have stuff brought to you, but if you had to actually move (e.g, bathroom, buffet), you wouldn't have to walk, just Segway.