Ocean Medallions: Is Princess Ending the Program before it began.

[caribill]

If ALL the drink runners are now wired, I stand corrected. If folios were correct, I take it there was no lines of upset pax at the purser's desk the final morning.

 

Usually errors in accounts are due to incorrect inputting of information when the purchase is initially made, not due to paper receipts being processed later. Waitstaff, for example, could accidentally type in an incorrect folio number when getting your beverage.

 

Also, often charges passengers question are legit, but the posting information may not be what the passenger expected. If you purchase a drink from a roving waiter during a party, the charge may show up as being from a bar you never were near. Not recognizing the true source of the charge may result in a trup to the purser's desk.

[Times Prince]

We have been reading a lot about the Ocean Medallion Program on Princess. Personally it may have some positives, but again some negatives in that Princess will be able to track what you are doing and where you are on the cruise.

 

With that being said, we keep seeing that its implementation is constantly being pushed back. I am getting the impression, that if possible, Princess would like to do away with this program entirely, in that it is proving to be a costly mistake.

 

We are booked on the Regal Princess, the end of July, and I am beginning to doubt that we will see it in use.

 

Personally, this wouldn't bother me. Just curious to do if Princess is planning to shelve this program.

Just got the Carnival Corporation Annual Report which contained the following quote:

 

In November, we debuted the OCEAN experience platform on Regal Princess, ushering in a new era of highly

personalized travel at scale. We are fine tuning and enhancing the platform based on real-time learning as we

prepare for a full rollout aboard Regal Princess in 2018.

Arnold W. Donald

President and Chief Executive Officer

January 29, 2018

[Thrak]

At Happy Hour on the Coral, in February, our drinks were showing on the account before we received them. We don't need the medallion to track people. I can track my wife by checking her account.

 

Interesting fact: If you have the beverage package there are no bar entries on your folio to track. However, my wife and I know each other quite well after all these years so we each know the other's habits anyway. It's much better that way. :D

[pablo222]

Meanwhile, heads should roll, starting with those who drank the ***** koolaid and made the decision to spend how much $ to market and roll out the ***** wsy before it eas ready for prime time.

 

Personally, I'm waiting for the curtis stone signature medallion.

[pablo222]

The issue is you might be unaware just how arcane the old system is. What Princess wants is a more efficient way to get money out of your pocket in a quick and accurate method. The shops are independent and may swipe you cruise card for THEIR book keeping, but it's the duplicate paper receipt that tracks your money. Those copies and all those handwritten bar slips are entered by hand each night into the accounting program. /quote]

 

I don't think so.

 

When I have ordered a drink, and checked my folio using princess@sea, the charge

appears before the drink is delivered.

 

The only place I have seen a stack of paper receipts being entered is after princess cay.

And, I don't know if even that is still true.

[Ole Faithful]

Was a tester on the Regal Princess in FEB. Only a hundred cabins were in the testing area. You can ID them because they don't have a name plate on the cabin entrance, just the electronics. It opens the cabin door, usually .We were given a cruise card as well, so that we were not inconvenienced by a system glitch.

 

Some non electronic changes. No communications basket. Correspondence is either left on your bed or slipped under the door. Pick up the Patter off of the floor?

[jb008]

Stacked metal boxes may be easier to triangulate signals on that the more wide open park format for Disney as you'll get more signal attenuation.

 

Think of it as it's easier to gauge distance and precise location when you have smaller grids versus larger grids... depending on how they wire the ship it could be an ideal setting for this type of tech.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Was a tester on the Regal Princess in FEB. Only a hundred cabins were in the testing area. You can ID them because they don't have a name plate on the cabin entrance, just the electronics. It opens the cabin door, usually .We were given a cruise card as well, so that we were not inconvenienced by a system glitch.

 

Some non electronic changes. No communications basket. Correspondence is either left on your bed or slipped under the door. Pick up the Patter off of the floor?

 

Ours was left folded in the door handle or on our bed.

[moki'smommy]

Just got the Carnival Corporation Annual Report which contained the following quote:

 

In November, we debuted the OCEAN experience platform on Regal Princess, ushering in a new era of highly

personalized travel at scale. We are fine tuning and enhancing the platform based on real-time learning as we

prepare for a full rollout aboard Regal Princess in 2018.

Arnold W. Donald

President and Chief Executive Officer

January 29, 2018

Well, he can't be accused of lying. It WILL be rolled out in 2018, just not when scheduled. And "enhancing and fine tuning" is corporate double speak for "it was an incredible disaster and needs a lot of work."

[Yukonjake]

Not sure why they can't fix it.

 

I think the flakiness of their website explains that question. :D:D:D:D

[azbirdmom]

I just got home from the Seatrade Cruise Global conference and since they had a conference on "Preparing to Deliver Ocean Medallion Class Guest Experience Maximization" with John Padgett speaking, I don't think it's going anywhere.

 

Cruise Critic hosted a Consumer Centric Panel, what Cruisers want. What an absolute honor to be one of the panelists along with 3 other members of CC.

 

So what did JP say? Did he own up to causes for the delayed implementation in that forum? He was very forthcoming when I met him on our December cruise on the Regal (with *****) but I am curious what he is saying these days.

[Host CJSKIDS]

So what did JP say? Did he own up to causes for the delayed implementation in that forum? He was very forthcoming when I met him on our December cruise on the Regal (with *****) but I am curious what he is saying these days.

 

He had spoken on our sailing as well in December. He said he lives in Fort Lauderdale so I guess it's easy for him to drop by for a bit.

 

I didn't actually go up on Tuesday which is when he spoke. I spent all day yesterday there.

[Host CJSKIDS]

So what did JP say? Did he own up to causes for the delayed implementation in that forum? He was very forthcoming when I met him on our December cruise on the Regal (with *****) but I am curious what he is saying these days.

 

Also wanted to add that I'm sure there will be quite a few articles coming out from Cruise Critic about everything they all learned while there. They had staff going to everything lots of things!

[pablo222]

I just got home from the Seatrade Cruise Global conference and since they had a conference on "Preparing to Deliver Ocean Medallion Class Guest Experience Maximization" with John Padgett speaking, I don't think it's going anywhere.

 

Shouldn't that have been the presentation a year ago?

...when they were preparing for a November 2017 rollout on Regal.

 

This year's presentation should have been about how successful it has been.

 

BTW, I read your comment: "I don't think it's going anywhere."

 

I wasn't sure if that meant -- here to stay, or not making any progress.

 

Then, I realized, both.

[satxdiver]

All this opposition reminds me of all technological advances. I remember my grandmother refusing to buy a car with automatic transmissions because they would always fail. Then there was the introduction of credit cards and those who refused and only paid cash because then they (??) could track you. I remember a friend complaining about the scanners at the grocery store. I am surprised that people are not claiming ***** will cause cancer in our children or something even worse.

 

***** is here to stay and the wave of the future. It is difficult to implement on existing ships that were built 15 or more years ago but it can be done. The only complaint I have about it is that Princess allowed marketing determine the publicity instead of allowing IT to do it. This way too many times is how businesses do it and it always ends with egg on their faces.

[kywildcatfanone]

They have the little beacons everywhere. One in your bathroom and one in the ceiling over your bed. I wonder how they work in a crowded area like by the pool where there are likely 20 people at any given time in range, how does the steward determine who is asking for a drink. I guess he will need the cruise card.

[beauty1492]

We booked the Regal just for ***** and disappointing it was up and running yet. I love my tech. Conversions never go smoothly. ***** will be great when it is up and running and we will wonder how we did without it. Instance access to folio and more importantly drinks! I will wear mine proudly-- But just in case I will bring my tin hat LOL

[Woobstr112G]

Now with Princess@Sea I can watch my folio on a minute by minute basis. As soon as I order and receive a drink, I look on my folio and it is always there. Since Princess went to a computerized ordering system, updates are instantaneous. Princess@Sea has a lot of good features and I use my smart phone all the time as it is so convenient.

 

***** is here to stay despite all the naysayers. Princess oversold the concept initially and ended up with a huge PR problem. After spending years as an IT consultant, I have seen this played out over and over again. The sales department wants it now while the IT group wants to do it right. Sales always seems to win. ***** will be good for the pax and for Princess. With data collected on pax movements they can better plan the ships to cut down on congestion and better determine what pax want and what they do not want. For those who believe Princess is going to monitor all 3000+ pax on a ship minute by minute, I suggest you first turn off your cell phones as they are being tracked and recorded every minute and then put on your tin foil hat to stop the radiation.

 

 

I'm ready to make mine.....:D:D:D

Bob

[beauty1492]

OOOOO they could have a craft hour making tin hats on the first sea day!

[pablo222]

All this opposition reminds me of all technological advances. I remember my grandmother refusing to buy a car with automatic transmissions because they would always fail.

 

I think for many years, the reliability of an automatic transmission was lower, and the cost

of ownership higher, as well as worse gas mileage.

 

 

***** is here to stay and the wave of the future.

 

Many hotels let me open my room with my cellphone.

 

My neighbor has a bluetooth garage door opener that is paired with his phone.

 

Having to carry some medallion around seems less advanced.

[WillieC]

We are booked on Regal Princess April 29 out of Copenhagen. Received an email couple of days ago informing us that our cabin will not be part of the ***** program - only will be in select cabins. My impression that this would have been finished by now (wasn't Regal the first ship to have *****?). I wonder if they are implementing this deck by deck perhaps, or cabin by cabin with upper level suites first then work down to the insides? Regardless we were looking forward to seeing how it worked and are somewhat disappointed that it will not be for us. Maybe they should have kept the hype to a lower level...

[WillieC]

Princess forgot the Golden Rule of Technology.

 

UNDER promise & OVER deliver!

MMMMM in all my years in IT it seemed more the opposite: OVER promise and UNDER deliver - so Princess is right on track! :D

[Cruzer1001]

We are booked on Regal Princess April 29 out of Copenhagen. Received an email couple of days ago informing us that our cabin will not be part of the ***** program - only will be in select cabins. My impression that this would have been finished by now (wasn't Regal the first ship to have *****?). I wonder if they are implementing this deck by deck perhaps, or cabin by cabin with upper level suites first then work down to the insides? Regardless we were looking forward to seeing how it worked and are somewhat disappointed that it will not be for us. Maybe they should have kept the hype to a lower level...

 

 

I believe the Regal is the ONLY ship to have *****. It is stalled at about 100 staterooms and it would seem no further installations are happening. Since Princess has received the benefit from many months of advertising this “great advancement” and has now eliminated any obligation to its paying customers they would no doubt see no need to hurry. As the software companies would say, you have been sold “vapourware” — something which does not exist. But since Princess has your money and a cruise contract which protects them from you, they don’t see it as a pressing issue.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[pablo222]

OOOOO they could have a craft hour making tin hats on the first sea day!

[REA1948]

We're booked on the Regal Princess in October 2018. I'm wondering if the Ocean Medallion has been implemented. We don't have a smart phone and won't be getting one before the cruise. How does it work for those without the smart phone?