Dear Princess: With 30 days before we sail, I am done trying to use your Medallion App.

[ontheweb]

34 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

I disagree with you on this.  I am a planner and for the amount we pay for the cruise I should be able to have my information entered and have peace of mind that I am not missing something especially now with the COVID test, vaccine card etc.  For Princess to just say be patient is a joke.  Get the thing working for everyone. Also they should have a troubleshooting page and bring back the direct line. 
 

I am happy to report that after at least 10 hours calling and chatting at this moment my January cruise now shows on my medallion app. YAY!

Question---how much is 10 hours of your time worth when you are told that you instead could just show up at the dock and have everything taken care of? Or on the old personalizer have it take only a matter of minutes?

[Dar & Bob]

6 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Question---how much is 10 hours of your time worth when you are told that you instead could just show up at the dock and have everything taken care of? Or on the old personalizer have it take only a matter of minutes?

My time is worth a lot, which is why Princess needs to get their act together.  On the personalizer I do not see a checklist of what is required it refers you to the non functioning app.  How much is it worth if I drive 4 hours to the port and lack a document that could have been uploaded moths prior.  
Sorry but NOPE this would not fly in other businesses. The poor Ocean Navigators have said they can not even contact the IT people, yet they get to take the flack. Note that the booking and payment systems on the website work 🤣. They don’t mess with their cash flow!
As I said mine is finally working after sending an email that if it wasn’t working that I needed an extension of time to pay my balance due.  

[Dave from Ont]

2 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

My time is worth a lot, which is why Princess needs to get their act together.  On the personalizer I do not see a checklist of what is required it refers you to the non functioning app.  How much is it worth if I drive 4 hours to the port and lack a document that could have been uploaded moths prior.  
Sorry but NOPE this would not fly in other businesses. The poor Ocean Navigators have said they can not even contact the IT people, yet they get to take the flack. Note that the booking and payment systems on the website work 🤣. They don’t mess with their cash flow!
As I said mine is finally working after sending an email that if it wasn’t working that I needed an extension of time to pay my balance due.  

I mentioned the cash flow factor many weeks ago on one of the other 40 page Medallion Class app threads. I think I said wasn't it interesting that you were still able to book the cruise, pay the deposit, buy shore excursions etc. online. however you couldn't check-in online. It truly is all about the cash flow. LOL.

[barrykel]

6 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

This was a really, really stupid decision.

What was an even stupider decision was failing to mention anywhere in the published documentation that the "show up at the pier with your docs" option was a perfectly acceptable one. 

[barrykel]

1 hour ago, Dave from Ont said:

It truly is all about the cash flow. LOL.

I believe the appropriate phrase is "penny-wise and pound-foolish". This has got to hurt Princess significantly in the long run - I'm booked on the Majestic in December, but they've certainly lost my business for any future cruises.

[Roberto256]

3 hours ago, Dave from Ont said:

 It truly is all about the cash flow. LOL.

 

You mean where they watch the cash from their customers flow to other cruise lines?

[Roberto256]

On 10/6/2021 at 3:18 PM, CineGraphic said:

How many times must one try to input their credit card info into your app before it's accepted?

I've probably entered my credit card (a Princess Visa no less) over 60 times with no luck.

 

That is about 58 times more than I would have tried.

 

I think you will be on board with the poster who called princess 47 times to try and get the app working for her.

 

I think folks will need a vacation to recover from their princess vacation.

 

 

[PescadoAmarillo]

4 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

As I told a frustrated friend the other day, I feel like we allow ourselves to go through this idiocy created by corporate because the onboard experience is so wonderful.  I just don't know how much longer we can do this though, especially when there are alternatives out there that may not be as stressful pre-cruise.

Exactly. I have long said that the weakest link in Princess was in Santa Clarita. Now I need to amend that to include wherever it is in Florida that they’re working on the Medallion app. Every time I wait on hold for two hours, I swear I’m done with Princess. Certainly I wouldn’t put myself through so much for any other business with which I was trying to spend $1000s. 
 

Then I step foot on one of their ships and I’m again won over. But I’m sure other cruise companies, ones that didn’t require me to run through a gauntlet, wait on hold for hours, and keep my money long after refunds were promised, could also win me over. 
 

Throw in a couple of benefit cutbacks and what more do we need to consider other options?

[barrykel]

2 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

But I’m sure other cruise companies, ones that didn’t require me to run through a gauntlet, wait on hold for hours, and keep my money long after refunds were promised, could also win me over. 
 

Throw in a couple of benefit cutbacks and what more do we need to consider other options?

Which other lines have you been on, and how would you compare them to Princess? As you can see from my sig, DW and I have been on NCL a lot more than Princess, and the onboard experience was great on both. We really didn't have a strong preference either way - until now.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 10/8/2021 at 3:30 PM, CineGraphic said:

I feel sorry for the cruisers who are having problems that are not part of an online community like Cruise Critic. For all they know, they are the only person having problems.

The phones and chat lines must be ringing off the hook.

The best advice Princess can tell folks is to just show up.

If Princess even attempts to start running ships at 100% while this nonsense is rampant, they are crazier than I originally thought.

I don’t know if this is true or not but I was told by someone on the 800 number that only two people work in the medallion area. She told me that after I told her that the number I used to call has been disconnected.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 10/9/2021 at 3:22 AM, chsalas said:

Is the App a requirement?  I tend not to load apps and I also throw my phone in the safe on embarkation day and never look at it until the last day.   I also tend to not take my tablet or laptop with me as I "disconnect" from the world on holiday. 

It’s not a requirement from what I’ve read but I really do like to use it when I’m on the ship. It’s great to have the door open when I walk up to it. It’s great when I want to find where the rest of my party is hanging out. I like to order Room Service from the app.  I also like to check the activity schedule.  The last time I used the app onboard was on the Royal Princess, February 2020, cruise so if we can get past this horrible part then hopefully things will be OK once were on the ship???

[barrykel]

15 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

It’s great to have the door open when I walk up to it. It’s great when I want to find where the rest of my party is hanging out. I like to order Room Service from the app.  I also like to check the activity schedule.  The last time I used the app onboard was on the Royal Princess, February 2020, cruise so if we can get past this horrible part then hopefully things will be OK once were on the ship???

Well, opening the door can't have anything to do with the app (if it did, folks without smartphones couldn't get into their cabins). And IIRC all of the other stuff can also be done from your cabin TV or the big public displays, as well as the app, right?
Based on the posts here, tho, it does sound like you're right that the onboard functionality of the app is working a lot better than the pre-cruise data entry. 

[CineGraphic]

2 minutes ago, barrykel said:

all of the other stuff can also be done from your cabin TV or the big public displays,

 

Those big displays are touched by everyone. I'll stick with my phone. (if they can get it to work)

[CineGraphic]

45 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I was told by someone on the 800 number that only two people work in the medallion area.

 

The one old guy I spoke with said that they called him out of retirement to help out.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I don’t know if this is true or not but I was told by someone on the 800 number that only two people work in the medallion area. She told me that after I told her that the number I used to call has been disconnected.

I wonder what medications have been subscribed for them in order to do that job.

 

[Steelers36]

34 minutes ago, barrykel said:

Based on the posts here, tho, it does sound like you're right that the onboard functionality of the app is working a lot better than the pre-cruise data entry. 

True, but most of that on-board functionality was in-place prior to Covid-19 pauses.  Main exception is the new DMW.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

1 hour ago, barrykel said:

Well, opening the door can't have anything to do with the app (if it did, folks without smartphones couldn't get into their cabins). And IIRC all of the other stuff can also be done from your cabin TV or the big public displays, as well as the app, right?
Based on the posts here, tho, it does sound like you're right that the onboard functionality of the app is working a lot better than the pre-cruise data entry. 

Correct. The medallion opens the door. And yes, you can do everything from your stateroom TV. I was just trying to think of something positive in a negative situation.

Edited October 11, 2021 by MsSoCalCruiser

[MsSoCalCruiser]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

 

The one old guy I spoke with said that they called him out of retirement to help out….. Nope, lol.

Edited October 11, 2021 by MsSoCalCruiser

[CineGraphic]

1 minute ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Did he do it?

 

Yes, he was helping out by answering the phones.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

I wonder what medications have been subscribed for them in order to do that job.

 

I can only imagine? But whatever it is I’m sure that they have to take lots and lots of them.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

2 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Yes, he was helping out by answering the phones.

I edited my comment. It dawned on me after I wrote that, ha ha.

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

 

You mean where they watch the cash from their customers flow to other cruise lines?

They did seem to be careful not to mess with their cash flow while nothing else mattered to them. That kind of attitude in a service industry has to be detrimental in the long run to their cash flow. I would guess that is why they are intending to restore the functionality to the personalizer.

[bjkTX]

8 hours ago, barrykel said:

What was an even stupider decision was failing to mention anywhere in the published documentation that the "show up at the pier with your docs" option was a perfectly acceptable one. 

Somehow flying to England to see if I can get on the ship doesn't appeal to me either...

[caribill]

16 hours ago, Dar & Bob said:

 

I am happy to report that after at least 10 hours calling and chatting at this moment my January cruise now shows on my medallion app. YAY!

 

Consider yourself a winner if you spend more time on the cruise itself than on the phone with Princess pre-cruise.

[Ombud]

On 10/9/2021 at 3:22 AM, chsalas said:

Is the App a requirement?  I tend not to load apps and I also throw my phone in the safe on embarkation day and never look at it until the last day.   I also tend to not take my tablet or laptop with me as I "disconnect" from the world on holiday. 

No