Princess Medallion use update

[Daniel A]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

More trivia:  My wife's grandmother Lou (actually Lulu but she always went by Lou) was the manager of the Beresford, South Dakota telephone company which was one of the last in the state to get an automated system. When my wife was visiting she could just pick up the phone and ask to speak with grandma. The operator who had answered would give out a shout, "Lou! Your granddaughter's on the line." It's amazing how much things change during a single lifetime. Some folks went from horses being the norm to men landing on the moon. Now my phone has vastly more processing power than the computers that took those first men to the moon. Mind boggling stuff. Kids today can't imagine a life without big screen hi def TV,  computers, cell phones, or even microwaves. There was a woman I worked with who thought I was "telling stories" when I said we used to go to black and white movies in the theater. It just didn't seem possible to her that I could be telling the truth.

I knew a retired telephone operator from Gettysburg, PA.  After President/General Eisenhower retired to Gettysburg, he didn't know how to dial the telephone so he would tap the switch hook until the local operator came on and would ask the operator to get 'so and so' by name only.  The operators needed to keep a sheet with Ike's frequently called numbers because he never did learn how to dial a telephone.

Edited October 16, 2020 by Daniel A

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I knew a retired telephone operator from Gettysburg, PA.  After President/General Eisenhower retired to Gettysburg, he didn't know how to dial the telephone so he would tap the switch hook until the local operator came on and would ask the operator to get 'so and so' by name only.  The operators needed to keep a sheet with Ike's frequently called numbers because he never did learn how to dial a telephone.

 

I used to "hang out" at a house full of folks. The phone was in a certain person's name and, after a large party, he put a lock on the dial. We used to pick up the receiver, quickly tap the button 10 times, and that effectively "dialed" zero. We would tell the operator that we dropped the phone and broke the dial and ask to have whatever number we wanted dialed by the operator. It worked until an idiot told the operator his roommate had put a lock on the dial to keep people from running up long distance bills. D'Oh! After that the trick never worked again.

 

Oh! That reminds me... Remember "long distance" charges? Cell phones put an end to that. Young people wouldn't understand. Kind of like "air mail" postage. 😁

 

I'm not even old - although one of our sons told me that at age 60 one becomes an "official geezer". (I can remember the first time I ever heard a song and said, "I haven't heard that for 20 years!"  At the time I was surprised because, until then, I thought only really old people said that. I think I was maybe 30... Heck, I remember having a party for our 20th anniversary and thinking that was an incredibly long time to be married. Wow. Where did all that time go?

Edited October 17, 2020 by Thrak

[Daniel A]

11 hours ago, Thrak said:

Oh! That reminds me... Remember "long distance" charges? Cell phones put an end to that. Young people wouldn't understand. Kind of like "air mail" postage. 😁

 

My dad worked for Ma Bell and he didn't get billed for telephone charges.  When I was away and needed to call home, I would place a 'person to person' call to my parent's house and ask for my deceased grandmother.  When my mom or dad would say she wasn't there they would call me right back.  In this manner we avoided the long distance charges.  😏 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Daniel A

[isosika]

Sometime ago in my life's 72 year journey I learned that the only thing in life that remains constant is change.  Like it or not, change will occur, change must occur.

 

We have gone from the phone hanging on the wall (Yukon 2-6910) to cell phones, to cell phones with text messaging, to cell phones with cameras.  In all probability, good changes.

 

Along the way we went from young and carefree to being married, with children, then grandchildren, and to a lucky few great-grandchildren or more.  All great changes to our lives.  However, that entailed aging and the problems that come with that change.  A lot of those aging changes are not pleasurable and therefore not a welcome change.

 

All throughout our lives, we all have experienced changes both welcome and unwelcome, but indeed, the changes did occur, with or without our consent.  I doubt that any of us welcomed this pandemic into our lives but nonetheless it has occurred and it has changed us all dramatically. 

 

If we want to continue cruising, cruising must change, and thus we must change, if we want to continue to cruise, or quit cruising.  However, quitting cruising is also a change.  Cruising must change to accommodate the thousands of other changes that have occurred throughout the world.  

 

As a result, we might have to:

Use more technology to our advantage or disadvantage, depending on how you view it.  

Carry our phones with us on a cruise.

Wear masks in public areas.

Social distance.

Wash hands and use hand sanitizer frequently.

Use cruise line excursions only.

Eat only with our immediate traveling party.

Consent to medical tests, ad infinitum.

 

However, a simple change like washing your hands seems to cause panic on a cruise ship.  We were on a cruise to the Caribbean which ended on 3/1/20, right before the lockdown.  We did not have coronavirus but did have norovirus aboard.  The cruise line required people to wash their hands before entering the buffet.  You should have seen the number of people that tried everything they could to avoid that.  Some crew members would allow people to pass without washing their hands and some would not.  Today, a simple act of not washing your hands could get you thrown off a cruise ship.

 

Whether or not you view the many changes in life as good or bad, in the end you must accept that change, or change to not accept that change.

 

[caribill]

16 hours ago, isosika said:

 

As a result, we might have to:

 

Carry our phones with us on a cruise.

 

Use cruise line excursions only.

 

 

 

These are the two that bother me.

 

Cell phone: I do not have one.

 

Excursions: In general we do about 1/3 ship excursions, 1/3 private excursions (usually organized on the Cruise Critic roll call), and 1/3 touring on our own. After a 2nd or 3rd time in a port, ship excursions would be just repeats of what we have seen before.

[GonzoWCS]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

These are the two that bother me.

 

Cell phone: I do not have one.

 

Excursions: In general we do about 1/3 ship excursions, 1/3 private excursions (usually organized on the Cruise Critic roll call), and 1/3 touring on our own. After a 2nd or 3rd time in a port, ship excursions would be just repeats of what we have seen before.

Yeah the quandary is at hand. 

 

   As for cell phones, guess you could look at it as a tool of the vacation now.  Is it worth the cost, and potential aggravation to comply with the "new norm"?  We will adapt as typically we turn them off and throw them in a drawer.  We believe we will be able to adapt and try to minimize the usage to mandatory items.

 

  You excursion assessment is spot on!

 

Cheers

Steve & Vicky 

[trbarton]

Interesting to hear from people that typically lock there phone in the safe for the whole cruise. 
 

I was a professional photographer before & have a SLR with lenses & all the bells & whistles. I use to carry it on my cruises but since I have the top of the line Apple Phone the quality & resolution of my photos is as good as my Nikon camera. I have some 11x14 prints that you wouldn’t know were from a cell phone. You will see me around the ship with my phone because I never know when I will see something to photograph. 
 

I usually photographed the various areas of the ship incase someone on Cruise Critic is looking for something. 
 

Now having to scan a bar code on your table may be challenging for some since you have to have the app on your phone first. 
 

Here’s what I loaded. It’s called NeoReader & it’s free to download. Once you place it over the bar code it reads it right away. The challenge may be for people with a small screen. 

Here’s one photo taken in the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco with my IPhone Pro Max. 
 

Tom😀

[phabric]

Thanks.  I don’t use my phone as I find it hard to read too small.  I downloaded it to my IPad 

[voljeep]

i wonder how my 'ole 4S will work ?  ( prolly not needed, wife has an 11 and a mini ipad )

 

stay safe 😷

stay hydrated 🧊

[trbarton]

6 minutes ago, phabric said:

Thanks.  I don’t use my phone as I find it hard to read too small.  I downloaded it to my IPad 

Didn’t think about all of the IPads in the Dinning Room. Now that will be interesting. I bring an IPad on my cruise but only for a large clock on the desk table at night & for emails. 
 

I feel sorry for the people that have a small flip phone, I know some people that have one, don’t think that they could load the app to scan the bar code & even if they could look at to how small the screen is. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

Thanks for all of the phone stories. Sometimes we need a good chuckle. 
 

Our house phone also had a party line but everyone on the line knew my father was an FBI agent so if he needed the phone they would end their call. 

I’ve heard some stories about having to order your food before to arrive in the dinning room. Hope that doesn’t happen. 

Tom😀

 

Edited October 18, 2020 by trbarton

[LawDog61]

Talk about thread drift!

[cruzsnooze]

I have a smart phone and won't use it on a cruise PERIOD. If it means booking with other cruise lines I will. I like Azamara and Lindblad and Viking so there are options. I seriously doubt a phone will ever be required and there won't be other options like a paper menu. 

 It would be almost impossible for me to order before arriving in the dining room I need to be asking the waiter questions about ingredients and advise.

Edited October 18, 2020 by cruzsnooze

[XBGuy]

55 minutes ago, trbarton said:

I’ve heard some stories about having to order your food before to arrive in the dinning room. Hope that doesn’t happen. 

 

 

I suggested that in my post very early in this conversation.  It is not clear to me that this has actually been proposed as a function of the Princess@Sea or Medallion or anything like that.  I do know that there are chain restaurants in the U.S. who are having diners order on their smartphone.

 

I, like you, am not really crazy about the idea.  When my wife and I go to dinner, we do not go to just eat.  We like to linger over our meal.  When we sit down, we like to peruse the menu at our own speed with our first glass of wine.  We also like to banter, a bit, with the servers.  

 

The other objection that I see, and I mentioned this in my post above, is the dispostion of special requests.  When a steak is ordered, it would be easy for the software to then have the diner specify the desired preparation,  My wife often orders a second appetizer in place of an entree.  That kind of exception probably occurs often enough that it could be accommodated.  However, there are so many requests that just don't regularly come up.     If I want to have my salad served after my entree, I can ask the server, but, since salads are more commonly served before the entree (at least, in America) I would be surprised if that kind of exception would be coded into the software.

 

That being said, I can certainly understand a restaurant's (cruise line's) enthusiasm about this use of technology.  It seems to be a way to improve efficiency.  I really think that people who want to use the dining rooms for their Anywhere Dining, but don't want to stand at the greeter's desk or be handed a pager while they wait for a two-top table at peak periods, might like being able to submit their order from their cabin, and wait for a text message that their table is ready.

 

If this does come to pass, I believe that the dining rooms and restaurants will continue to have menus available for diners and servers will continue to take orders.  Besides all the exception handling that occupies my mind there are still a lot of people who do not own a smartphone or just do not care to carry one with them.  There is nothing unreasonable about either of these two realities.  The cruise lines will not turn them away.

 

I was one of the people who would always leave my cell phone in the cabin vault.  However, then I discovered the "Health" function on my iPhone.  I love to walk laps around the ship.  At the end of the day I get a kick out of checking out my Total Steps, Total Miles and Total Flights for the day.  It may be silly, but it keeps me amused.

[LawDog61]

If it allows the cruise lines to reduce wait staff (which I think it will) count on seeing it.

[trbarton]

8 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

I have a smart phone and won't use it on a cruise PERIOD. If it means booking with other cruise lines I will. I like Azamara and Lindblad and Viking so there are options. I seriously doubt a phone will ever be required and there won't be other options like a paper menu. 

 It would be almost impossible for me to order before arriving in the dining room I need to be asking the waiter questions about ingredients and advise.

FYI...From all that I have heard & seen on YouTube a phone won’t be required as the wait staff will have menus if necessary.  No need for anyone to worry or jump ship to another cruise line.  
 

Tom😀

[Roberto256]

On 10/17/2020 at 10:52 AM, isosika said:

We have gone from the phone hanging on the wall (Yukon 2-6910) to cell phones, to cell phones with text messaging, to cell phones with cameras.  In all probability, good changes.

 

 

My formative years were long before cell phone, and high school kids sending naughty selphies...

 

This was probably for the best, as our only phone was on the wall in the kitchen.

 

Bob ... it's for you!

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

At home we use a dedicated flip phone connected to the Dock N' Talk. It is a devise that connects all the land line phones in your home to your cell phone. So we still use our home phones as if they were connected to a land line service. We have T-Mobile which for us is only $70 a month includes all fees tax etc. for two phones unlimited. Including sending texts from most ports of call and countries included. So we text and send pictures when we get to different ports.

[cruzsnooze]

13 hours ago, trbarton said:

FYI...From all that I have heard & seen on YouTube a phone won’t be required as the wait staff will have menus if necessary.  No need for anyone to worry or jump ship to another cruise line.  
 

Tom😀

I am reasonably sure a smart phone would NOT be required but I can see it as an option. Just like using the medallion it is an option most people use but not required. I still get a cruise card and have been assured they will always be available because of the warning/liability of using the medallion with any magnetic implant. Besides pacemakers there are other magnetic implants. In addition people heavily tattooed should take warning. 

  While red causes the most problems, most other colors of standard tattoo ink are also derived from heavy metals (including lead, antimony, beryllium, chromium, cobalt nickel and arsenic) and can cause skin reactions in some people.

Edited October 19, 2020 by cruzsnooze

[greenie082756]

On 10/17/2020 at 6:54 AM, Daniel A said:

My dad worked for Ma Bell and he didn't get billed for telephone charges.  When I was away and needed to call home, I would place a 'person to person' call to my parent's house and ask for my deceased grandmother.  When my mom or dad would say she wasn't there they would call me right back.  In this manner we avoided the long distance charges.  😏 

When I would travel from home to college I would do the same type of call to my Mom so that she would know I got

to my destination safely. She would then call me later to chat. 

[voljeep]

this I know, growing up - we would get a "dime" to use in the payphone when we were ready to get picked up from the pool 

(VFW) or LL ballpark - let it ring once, hang up, and get the dime back ... the one ring was the signal

 

'seems like' when our kids were in college, we added a 1-800 # to our landline, so they could call without it being charged to them, but we would have to pay - seemed reasonable at the time ...

[Thrak]

49 minutes ago, voljeep said:

this I know, growing up - we would get a "dime" to use in the payphone when we were ready to get picked up from the pool 

(VFW) or LL ballpark - let it ring once, hang up, and get the dime back ... the one ring was the signal

 

'seems like' when our kids were in college, we added a 1-800 # to our landline, so they could call without it being charged to them, but we would have to pay - seemed reasonable at the time ...

 

When our oldest son went into the Army we briefly had an 800 number he could call. I had totally forgotten about that.

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

this I know, growing up - we would get a "dime" to use in the payphone when we were ready to get picked up from the pool 

 

Thus the expression 'To drop a dime on someone..' 😳

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Thus the expression 'To drop a dime on someone..' 😳

 

But that already shows inflation, because British pay phones required you to insert a Penny and it was only when the other party picked up that you pushed the button at which point 'the Penny dropped' and the call was connected.

[Thrak]

Didn't know about the penny - although I was, of course, familiar with the phrase. Calls were a dime when I was a kid. Candy bars were a nickel. I could ride my bike around, scrounge a few soda (pop for those in the midwest) bottles, turn them in at the store for 3 cents each, and buy candy. (Actually we didn't say "soda" either. We called everything "Coke". Can I get a coke? Okay, what kind do you want? Ummm...  A Creme Soda. Of course everything was in a bottle. It was sooooooooooooo much better.) There were a few "higher end" candy bars that cost a dime but I rarely purchased those. 50 cents ($0.50) would by 10 candy bars. Wow. Compared to today things were cheap. Of course, compared to today, wages were low. If I had my current (not real big) retirement pay in those days I would have been really well off. My wife remembers her dad talking about "if he had a ton of money" buying a $50k house. These days that's not even a luxury car, let alone a luxury house.

 

Sigh... Sidetracked again.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Thrak