Mardi Gras technology

[cwtravel]

Hello-

Any idea if the Mardi Gras will have a “medallion” type system similar to the one used on many of the Princess ships? 

 

Thanks,

Chris

Edited October 12, 2020 by cwtravel

[xDisconnections]

Maybe not initially but we can reasonably expect it to be integrated sometime in the future. As Ocean Medallion continues to expand on Princess, the long-term goal is to include other cruise lines within Carnival Corporation. With Covid, it does increase the chance, however, of seeing it as launch because it provides an interface to minimize face to face interaction while also optimizing revenue. 

[TNcruising02]

I had never heard of this, so I looked it up.  Very cool!  I was on Harmony of the Seas earlier this year and got their WOW band, but the medallion seems to do much more.  I hope I will have the opportunity to try it someday.

[xDisconnections]

45 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

I had never heard of this, so I looked it up.  Very cool!  I was on Harmony of the Seas earlier this year and got their WOW band, but the medallion seems to do much more.  I hope I will have the opportunity to try it someday.

You will — it’s pretty awesome from a business standpoint and allows them to anticipate guest service and provide a personalized experience. The more the service learns about you, the more you will have targeted towards you based on your preferences. The leading engineer behind this platform, John Padgett, brought us revolutionary technology such as MyMagic+ and really seeks for a more technology advanced future.

[RWolver672]

John Heald was asked this question not all that long ago and his response was that there is no plans to add this to Carnival ships at this time.  Take that for what it's worth.  

 

After his response, he asked what people would prefer and most responses were that they would rather have the cards.  

 

Edited October 12, 2020 by RWolver672

[Tjcalley]

Seems pretty cool! Reminds me of the Magic Bands at Disney. I’m not a fan of the cards on the ship. I always feel like I have to take a bag with me for it and I’m always fumbling trying to find it. I’ve seen people complain about not wanting to wear a bracelet type band but they are ok with wearing a giant lanyard around their neck ? 

[xDisconnections]

3 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

John Heald was asked this question not all that long ago and his response was that there is no plans to add this to Carnival ships at this time.  Take that for what it's worth.  

 

After his response, he asked what people would prefer and most responses were that they would rather have the cards.  

 

John Heald is usually the last person to know anything. I’d sooner trust information that came directly from the panel interview between John Padgett, Jan Swartz and Arnold Donald. It’s still being integrated through Princess at the moment but the long term goal is to expand within the other brands. There was a lot of excitement when it was unveiled at CES. 

[crewsweeper]

Is this something like the WOW bands on Royal?  those work great opening your cabin and in some, but not all venues for purchases.  IIRC, still needed the card to get on and off the ship.

[xDisconnections]

44 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

Is this something like the WOW bands on Royal?  those work great opening your cabin and in some, but not all venues for purchases.  IIRC, still needed the card to get on and off the ship.

It’s more of a revenue driven device that learns about you over time to create a personalized experience. The WOW Band on Royal is more of an RFID enabled wristband just used to open a door. There’s a lot more to this: www.ocean.com

[BenjiRodney]

If it is personalized with ship and sail date fine, I will take it, if not, keep the card.  I have them going back to 1995 and keep them as a souvenir.

[xDisconnections]

23 minutes ago, BenjiRodney said:

If it is personalized with ship and sail date fine, I will take it, if not, keep the card.  I have them going back to 1995 and keep them as a souvenir.

They have the ship name and sail date engraved into the Medallion. I prefer the ship cards and still get one when onboard to keep in my collection. 

[PhillyFan33579]

6 hours ago, Tjcalley said:

Seems pretty cool! Reminds me of the Magic Bands at Disney. I’m not a fan of the cards on the ship. I always feel like I have to take a bag with me for it and I’m always fumbling trying to find it. I’ve seen people complain about not wanting to wear a bracelet type band but they are ok with wearing a giant lanyard around their neck ? 

We have been at the same port with a Princess ship countless times. At every port we have seen lots of passengers from Princess wearing the medallion around their neck using a lanyard, so a medallion system would likely appeal to people who like to wear lanyards. 

[PhillyFan33579]

3 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

John Heald is usually the last person to know anything. I’d sooner trust information that came directly from the panel interview between John Padgett, Jan Swartz and Arnold Donald. It’s still being integrated through Princess at the moment but the long term goal is to expand within the other brands. There was a lot of excitement when it was unveiled at CES. 

Come on, I know you have trouble sleeping the night before JH has brilliant news to share. 

[xDisconnections]

5 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Come on, I know you have trouble sleeping the night before JH has brilliant news to share. 

Totally.

 

What was the phrase he used? News is so exciting that you would be dancing down 5th Ave in your underwear? 

Edited October 12, 2020 by xDisconnections

[xDisconnections]

18 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

We have been at the same port with a Princess ship countless times. At every port we have seen lots of passengers from Princess wearing the medallion around their neck using a lanyard, so a medallion system would likely appeal to people who like to wear lanyards. 

Yup, there are many accessories such as bracelets, lanyards and even necklaces that you can insert the Medallion into. Third parties sell customized Apple Watch bands that you can attack the Medallion to as well. You can even keep it on it’s own and leave it in a pocket or wallet as the door unlocks through a contactless method when you approach.

 

Accessories are also customized by your loyalty level if you choose to do so.

[CoasterGuy]

I think it would make more sense for Carnival Corp to keep that exclusive to Princess. Princess costs more money. gotta have things that justify the extra cost.

[xDisconnections]

11 minutes ago, CoasterGuy said:

I think it would make more sense for Carnival Corp to keep that exclusive to Princess. Princess costs more money. gotta have things that justify the extra cost.

When unveiled at CES, it was described as being planned for implementation among all Carnival Corporation brands. The engineers behind it work for Carnival Corporation for overall Guest Experience and not Princess Cruises or The Holland America Group. It manages crowd flow, assists with guest satisfaction, optimizes revenue, paves the way for a more technologically advanced future and is an incredible data miner which captures the preferences among the passengers. The data mining is the most valuable aspect and will help to capture and protect future revenue, growth and engagement.

 

Too much is invested in this valuable piece of technology to keep it on Princess. When introduced, Princess was only supposed to be the test candidate.

Edited October 12, 2020 by xDisconnections

[Saint Greg]

I would rather see them do something where I can use the hub app for purchases and opening my room door. Have a medallion for people who don't want to carry their phones around. Sell souvenir cards for people to keep up their collection.

[cwtravel]

Thanks for the great responses.

I am a bit surprised it is not being implemented since the Mardi Gras is a new ship and I would assume the wifi/internet capability is pretty robust given the size of the ship.

 

I was a bit hesitant with the Medallion last year when sailing on the Caribbean Princess but it worked out great. 

 

Chris 

[TNcruising02]

2 hours ago, cwtravel said:

Thanks for the great responses.

I am a bit surprised it is not being implemented since the Mardi Gras is a new ship and I would assume the wifi/internet capability is pretty robust given the size of the ship.

 

I was a bit hesitant with the Medallion last year when sailing on the Caribbean Princess but it worked out great. 

 

Chris 

I was reading something about being able to locate traveling companions on the ship with the medallion.  Was that possible with yours?  I am not sure I was reading accurate information.  What did you like about the medallion and can you say what you used it for?  Thanks!

[xDisconnections]

3 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I would rather see them do something where I can use the hub app for purchases and opening my room door. Have a medallion for people who don't want to carry their phones around. Sell souvenir cards for people to keep up their collection.

That is all done using the app on Princess. The Medallion just allows servers, etc. to find you after placing an order on the app and for everything to be completed contactless. You just approach the door and it unlocks -- no need to open an app.

[xDisconnections]

2 hours ago, cwtravel said:

Thanks for the great responses.

I am a bit surprised it is not being implemented since the Mardi Gras is a new ship and I would assume the wifi/internet capability is pretty robust given the size of the ship.

 

I was a bit hesitant with the Medallion last year when sailing on the Caribbean Princess but it worked out great. 

 

Chris 

Nearly everything with Ocean Medallion is completed locally through the intranet. No need to connect to a WAN.

[TNcruising02]

2 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

That is all done using the app on Princess. The Medallion just allows servers, etc. to find you after placing an order on the app and for everything to be completed contactless. You just approach the door and it unlocks -- no need to open an app.

Thanks.  I like the idea of contactless opening of the cabin door.  Sometimes I bring coffee and other items back to the cabin and it would be nice not to have to deal with the key card.

[Saint Greg]

4 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

That is all done using the app on Princess. The Medallion just allows servers, etc. to find you after placing an order on the app and for everything to be completed contactless. You just approach the door and it unlocks -- no need to open an app.

 

If you can do that on the app great. I'd be leaving the medallion in the safe in that case.

[BlerkOne]

Isn't Princess behind schedule for rolling this gee whiz gadget out?

 

It does allow them to track you and your purchases and all kinds of big brother activities.