Medallions to replace cruise cards?

[Thrak]

If it works the way I want it to work I will love it. Of course, in the real world, most things don't work the way I want them to but I will wait to pass judgement until next March when I experience it myself. I'm (obviously) one of those looking forward to the new tech. Hopefully I won't be disappointed.

[latserrof]

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.

 

"Hundred of millions of dollars" could be as little as $200,000,000, but let's say it's $300,000,000. According to CCL's annual report, CCL carried 11,500,000 passengers in 2016. If my abacus is right, that comes out to about $26/passenger -- maybe a couple of cocktails or a single specialty-dining upcharge.

Toshiba lost almost $1 billion before abandoning HD-DVD in 2008.

[latserrof]

This is old news, but since I've been trying to maintain a news blackout since my birthday (Nov. 8), I just ran across it, so if you're interested in cruise tech you might enjoy this gimmick:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7621

[caribill]

 

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.

 

 

With the medallions Princess can easily tell how many passengers are in the Curtis Stone restaurant at any given point in time.

[caribill]

Not knowing what the medallions are made of, I wonder if Princess will want to reuse them.

 

They will have your name and sailing date imprinted on them, so they are not likely to be reusable.

[caribill]

The medallion system uses a combination of two different types of technology - neither of which pose a problem for people with a pacemaker.

 

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

 

Near Field Communication (NFC)

 

 

Also using NFC

 

https://futurism.com/real-life-cyborgs-a-company-is-implanting-its-employees-with-microchips/

[floridalover5623]

They will have your name and sailing date imprinted on them, so they are not likely to be reusable.

I suspect that if you go to the PSD to get a replacement, the ones they hand out won't have a name on them.

[Thrak]

I suspect that if you go to the PSD to get a replacement, the ones they hand out won't have a name on them.

 

That is one of those "remains to be seen" things. Laser etching of the name and voyage isn't really a huge deal these days. Machines for laser etching metal aren't really very expensive.

[skrodle]

The best thing I think with the Medallion is you can scan your passport at home, take your picture, and just walk on the ship when you get to the dock. No need to check in and get your keys or have your passport scanned. There are some really amazing things you can do and some of the videos have been great talking about how you can use all of it, or none of it.

[Thrak]

The best thing I think with the Medallion is you can scan your passport at home, take your picture, and just walk on the ship when you get to the dock. No need to check in and get your keys or have your passport scanned. There are some really amazing things you can do and some of the videos have been great talking about how you can use all of it, or none of it.

 

You will still need to go through security. Where the "just walk aboard" deal comes into play is they don't have to stop everybody to take their picture and such. With you medallion in hand your picture should automagically show up on their tablet so they can just smile and wave you aboard. Immigration is still going to want to physically check your passport. There is no way in the world they will let you bypass that process.

[floridalover5623]

You will still need to go through security. Where the "just walk aboard" deal comes into play is they don't have to stop everybody to take their picture and such. With you medallion in hand your picture should automagically show up on their tablet so they can just smile and wave you aboard. Immigration is still going to want to physically check your passport. There is no way in the world they will let you bypass that process.

I suspect they'll still be shooting a photo as you enter the ship. I can believe the photo's that some people will take at home will show sufficient detail.

[bUU]

Seems sufficient for passport renewals. [shrug]

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[skrodle]

Immigration never checks your passport when you board the ship from the US, shore side services scans it into the computer. Whats the difference if they scan it or you scan it? and I never said you wouldnt have to go through security, I said you wouldnt have to check in with shore side services. You would be registered and then can just walk on... skipping the check it at the pier.

 

You will still need to go through security. Where the "just walk aboard" deal comes into play is they don't have to stop everybody to take their picture and such. With you medallion in hand your picture should automagically show up on their tablet so they can just smile and wave you aboard. Immigration is still going to want to physically check your passport. There is no way in the world they will let you bypass that process.

[skrodle]

All the training is showing that you will submit your own photo. I would assume that someone reviews that it is a picture of you and not of like your cat... but you submit your picture (again if you want to... but you can still do the old fashioned way)

 

I suspect they'll still be shooting a photo as you enter the ship. I can believe the photo's that some people will take at home will show sufficient detail.

[trbarton]

While on the CB in Jan., I happened to talk to a casino employee about CB's upcoming drydock in March. Other than the usual maintenance things like carpet replacement, etc., he said they would be installing the necessary technology to implement the use of the medallion system. He said the medallion would be used to open cabin doors, pay for drinks, etc. In other words, it would replace the cruise card. Anyone else heard about this?

 

I've read that you can still request the traditional cruise card if you prefer one.

Tom😎

[caribill]

The best thing I think with the Medallion is you can scan your passport at home, take your picture, and just walk on the ship when you get to the dock. No need to check in and get your keys or have your passport scanned. There are some really amazing things you can do and some of the videos have been great talking about how you can use all of it, or none of it.

 

Will never happen.

 

The check-in time will be reduced, but you still have to prove you are the person who is supposed to be on the cruise.

[caribill]

I've read that you can still request the traditional cruise card if you prefer one.

 

Where have you read that? (Other than posts by those on Cruise Critic who are speculating.)

[DreamflightPat]

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.

 

Yes, it will be optional and you can use the traditional card if you want to. I was at the Carnival shareholders meeting yesterday in London and it was confirmed.

[bUU]

Based on what I know about how such systems work, I suspect that what appears to be a regular card will end up being functionally identical to a medallion simply in card form.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[skrodle]

Not according to all the training that they have sent out. You will scan your passport and submit photo from home. When you arrive at the pier, security will verify its you by the photo you have submitted and you will walk on.

Will never happen.

 

The check-in time will be reduced, but you still have to prove you are the person who is supposed to be on the cruise.

[floridalover5623]

Not according to all the training that they have sent out. You will scan your passport and submit photo from home. When you arrive at the pier, security will verify its you by the photo you have submitted and you will walk on.

Seeing the way some people shoot photo's I suspect they'll be a lot of redo's. Camera resolution, lighting, glare, etc.

[skrodle]

Seeing the way some people shoot photo's I suspect they'll be a lot of redo's. Camera resolution, lighting, glare, etc.

Which can all be done before the cruise. Someone at Princess will review what you submit (photos, passport scans, etc) and if it is not acceptable, they will have you redo it before the cruise.

Edited April 7, 2017 by skrodle
hit enter to soon

[floridalover5623]

Which can all be done before the cruise. Someone at Princess will review what you submit (photos, passport scans, etc) and if it is not acceptable, they will have you redo it before the cruise.

So you think after you take your own photo at home (like they show in their video) that people will check each photo prior to boarding? Possibly, but they'll still have to check each person as you enter the ship & cull out the people who need to have it redone.

While in theory it sounds plausible, the checking will & reviewing will probably take longer than the old way of doing things.

I'll just have to see in one of the coming cruises for myself.

[bUU]

So you think after you take your own photo at home (like they show in their video) that people will check each photo prior to boarding?

Having someone at corporate do this, in an office with fewer distractions than at embarkation, has got to be more efficient than trying to do it in real time at embarkation.

 

Possibly, but they'll still have to check each person as you enter the ship & cull out the people who need to have it redone.

The advantage of having it work for a large percentage of passengers would make it more than worth it, just from an OR standpoint.

[caribill]

Having someone at corporate do this, in an office with fewer distractions than at embarkation, has got to be more efficient than trying to do it in real time at embarkation.

 

The advantage of having it work for a large percentage of passengers would make it more than worth it, just from an OR standpoint.

 

With over 43,000 berths to fill (most each week), how many HQ people do you think it would take to properly examine and decide if the uploaded photos are of sufficient quality?