Ocean Medallion App - Part 3

[capriccio]

10 minutes ago, Userclown said:

Everything I have read indicates that a passport card is sufficient for travel so long as we do not fly internationally. Princess seems to be demanding a passport book. Any opinions?

It depends on where you are traveling.  Check out the State Department's website (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/card.html) for details. Cruise lines can set their own requirements, as long as they equal or exceed those set by the State Department and the countries being visited. 

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

39 minutes ago, Userclown said:

Everything I have read indicates that a passport card is sufficient for travel so long as we do not fly internationally. Princess seems to be demanding a passport book. Any opinions?

It greatly depends on the itinerary. The passport card is limited for travel to/from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and “Caribbean countries”. There are some ports in the Caribbean and Central America Caribbean countries that will only accept passport books. Cruise lines like Carnival do accept the passport card for the majority of their itineraries, but they mainly visit Caribbean ports that don’t have passport restrictions. It’s all up to the cruise line.

[gmcwalker]

2 hours ago, Userclown said:

Everything I have read indicates that a passport card is sufficient for travel so long as we do not fly internationally. Princess seems to be demanding a passport book. Any opinions?

I have used my passport card for Princess on several cruises recently from LA and it was fine. However I also bring my passport in case there is a problem while ashore in Mexico.

[ShoMeChiefsFan]

How are you suppose to choose your boarding group if there are no spots available in any boarding groups.

[devonuk]

4 hours ago, KcFanNindy said:

How are you suppose to choose your boarding group if there are no spots available in any boarding groups.

There are no boarding times anymore. 

[topconker]

14 hours ago, gmcwalker said:

Personal Information - Login (ocean.com)                                                             This is not the total app but an alternative way to enter your pre cruise information (Ocean Ready).

Thank you that works, appreciate your help have a great day

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, KcFanNindy said:

How are you suppose to choose your boarding group if there are no spots available in any boarding groups.

 

Surprised somewhat that you can still see this screen as I was under impression from other posts that is was gone by now.  Certainly no more arrival groups/times - just come to check-in when convenient for you, but don't arrive later than Travel Summary indicates.

 

You should check if you are running the most current version of the App or clear App cache.

[HiCCCs]

9 hours ago, KcFanNindy said:

How are you suppose to choose your boarding group if there are no spots available in any boarding groups.

Just show up when it's convenient for you. They aren't looking at that any longer. We always arrive early and dump our personal affects in the room if it's ready and then immediately start making "nice-nice" with the bar tenders!!!!

[Ombud]

Great news!! Yeah that's totally weird when talking about the app. But I just found out that my port guides are up for all of my 2023 & 2024 cruises. Really important (to me) as I'm primarily a DIYer! 

[HiCCCs]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

Great news!! Yeah that's totally weird when talking about the app. But I just found out that my port guides are up for all of my 2023 & 2024 cruises. Really important (to me) as I'm primarily a DIYer! 

It's fun to DIY!  Enjoy!!!

[txauntiemame]

6 hours ago, Ombud said:

Great news!! Yeah that's totally weird when talking about the app. But I just found out that my port guides are up for all of my 2023 & 2024 cruises. Really important (to me) as I'm primarily a DIYer! 

> my port guides are up
What do you mean by a Port Guide, please?  
Maybe.... what the Port of Galveston publishes for which ship docks where? 

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, txauntiemame said:

> my port guides are up
What do you mean by a Port Guide, please?  
Maybe.... what the Port of Galveston publishes for which ship docks where? 

"Port Guides" have nothing to do with a home port (ie: Galveston) or port where a cruise starts. It's what Princess publishes as a guide to each port in the itinerary 

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Ombud

[txauntiemame]

27 minutes ago, Ombud said:

"Port Guides" have nothing to do with a home port (ie: Galveston) or port where a cruise starts. It's what Princess publishes as a guide to each port in the itinerary 

 

Thank you for this; very helpful!

[Thrak]

12 hours ago, txauntiemame said:

Thank you for this; very helpful!

 

Of course the port guides are really small when viewed on a phone. It would be nice if they were available in the web version.

[kluv2cruz]

50 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Of course the port guides are really small when viewed on a phone. It would be nice if they were available in the web version.

I REALLY miss the paper! I find them too small to be logical to read. I get that ,any probably were tossed. Oh well.

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, kluv2cruz said:

I REALLY miss the paper! I find them too small to be logical to read. I get that ,any probably were tossed. Oh well.

You can get hardcopy daily from GS or Excursion Desk.

[jsn55]

18 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Of course the port guides are really small when viewed on a phone. It would be nice if they were available in the web version.

One of the things I looked forward to when booking our Princess cruise was the challenge of learning how to use my phone.  In the middle of arguing with medallion for months, I was delighted to access those port guides.  Aha! I thought, something really useful for my phone.  I literally laughed out loud when presented with the first one ... such a perfect example of Princess' disinterest in their pax.  What good could it possibly do if you can't read it?  And of course I couldn't access them on my computer.

Edited August 26, 2023 by jsn55

[kamelia]

22 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Of course the port guides are really small when viewed on a phone. It would be nice if they were available in the web version.

 

21 hours ago, kluv2cruz said:

I REALLY miss the paper! I find them too small to be logical to read. I get that ,any probably were tossed. Oh well.

Actually, you can look at a full(er)-sized version on your larger device through Ocean Concierge while you’re onboard.  Open Ocean Concierge either from the app or using your preferred browser and using shipname.princess.com and choose More in the bottom right corner.  From there, choose Itinerary, which then shows the list of your ports of call, and when you click on the individual port names, that brings up the link to download a PDF version of the port guides. Voila!  HTH!

Edited August 26, 2023 by kamelia

[WAvoyager]

23 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Of course the port guides are really small when viewed on a phone. It would be nice if they were available in the web version.

Did you try zooming on your phone?  Even with my aging eyes, it’s not bad even when keeping to a full column size.  I do wish they had used some scalable display option which could’ve resized the columns even when zoomed, but PDF is kind of the easy standard.

 

 

[txauntiemame]

4 hours ago, jsn55 said:

One of the things I looked forward to when booking our Princess cruise was the challenge of learning how to use my phone.  In the middle of arguing with medallion for months, I was delighted to access those port guides.  Aha! I thought, something really useful for my phone.  I literally laughed out loud when presented with the first one ... such a perfect example of Princess' disinterest in their pax.  What good could it possibly do if you can't read it?  And of course I couldn't access them on my computer.

> the challenge of learning how to use my phone
I would send this offline, but that feature is disabled.  I offer this in case it's helpful. 
Most phones will allow you to enlarge images and documents.  Hold your thumb and forefinger together, like you just took a pinch of salt.  Place on screen, slowly open.  That should enlarge the image so you can read it.  You can also move it around: scroll side to side, up-down, etc. 
My apologies if you already know this!  I mean well. 

[txauntiemame]

1 hour ago, kamelia said:

 

Actually, you can look at a full(er)-sized version on your larger device through Ocean Concierge while you’re onboard.  Open Ocean Concierge either from the app or using your preferred browser and using shipname.princess.com and choose More in the bottom right corner.  From there, choose Itinerary, which then shows the list of your ports of call, and when you click on the individual port names, that brings up the link to download a PDF version of the port guides. Voila!  HTH!

> using your preferred browser and using shipname.princess.com
This is so helpful!  I doubt if I would have known that without your post.  Thank you so much! 
I'm definitely bringing a small laptop. 

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, txauntiemame said:

> using your preferred browser and using shipname.princess.com
This is so helpful!  I doubt if I would have known that without your post.  Thank you so much! 
I'm definitely bringing a small laptop. 

Yup, but not ideal IMO for viewing a document like a port guide.  If they cared to, there is software to make documents more presentable and workable on smartphones.  IDK what it is, etc, but I know it exists because I have seen it work comparing a website on laptop versus smartphone.  PCL is just not bothering to optimize these for smartphones.

[Tedferg]

On 8/21/2023 at 9:42 AM, donswife said:

When I added my credit card there was a box to check for authorization of travel companion.

I have done that previously but could not see it on recent British Isles cruise.

[jsn55]

7 hours ago, txauntiemame said:

> the challenge of learning how to use my phone
I would send this offline, but that feature is disabled.  I offer this in case it's helpful. 
Most phones will allow you to enlarge images and documents.  Hold your thumb and forefinger together, like you just took a pinch of salt.  Place on screen, slowly open.  That should enlarge the image so you can read it.  You can also move it around: scroll side to side, up-down, etc. 
My apologies if you already know this!  I mean well. 

Very nice of you to explain this.  I do use that feature, but others might not know about it.  However, I see no reason that I should have to diddle with my phone forever in order to read the information.  It's just lazy on Princess' part to not offer it in a readable format.  As far as being able to access the info once on board, it's a little late to be doing ports research at that point.  It's my expectation that 'everyone' will do the best job they can at whatever they do, and I don't put up with disinterest or incompetence.  I think many of us were raised like that and the work ethic is strong in us.  

Edited August 27, 2023 by jsn55

[julie3fan]

2 hours ago, jsn55 said:

As far as being able to access the info once on board, it's a little late to be doing ports research at that point.

 

There are so many other different ways to research ports independent of info that Princess will provide.  I feel their offerings are skewed to point you in the direction of their ship's excursions.