A word of caution about those medallions...

[c25andeb]

A word of caution about those medallions.  We were on the Regal from June 25 - July 7, apparently, all someone has to do to get free drinks is to tell the waiter a cabin number and it gets charged to whoever is in that cabin!  When we got home I saw our credit card statement and knew it was too high.  Someone had charged drinks and bar charges and our cabin got the bill for them.  Princess says it will take 21 days to be resolved, but be advised, it could happen to you too.  A relative of ours ordered a ginger ale and the waiter simply asked "what cabin number?"  Hopefully this keeps someone else from getting charged for drinks they never ordered.

[Scottygirl1]

1 hour ago, c25andeb said:

A word of caution about those medallions.  We were on the Regal from June 25 - July 7, apparently, all someone has to do to get free drinks is to tell the waiter a cabin number and it gets charged to whoever is in that cabin!  When we got home I saw our credit card statement and knew it was too high.  Someone had charged drinks and bar charges and our cabin got the bill for them.  Princess says it will take 21 days to be resolved, but be advised, it could happen to you too.  A relative of ours ordered a ginger ale and the waiter simply asked "what cabin number?"  Hopefully this keeps someone else from getting charged for drinks they never ordered.

It pays to keep an eye on your account while travelling.  I think you can check everyday?  It's sad that someone would do this unless it was a genuine mistake.

[Beav1279]

28 minutes ago, Scottygirl1 said:

It pays to keep an eye on your account while travelling.  I think you can check everyday?  It's sad that someone would do this unless it was a genuine mistake.

Yes! My DH and I check out the account every evening just to make sure everything is good. Most cruise lines now give you that ability on your stateroom TV or on the app.

[Tedferg]

2 hours ago, c25andeb said:

A word of caution about those medallions.  We were on the Regal from June 25 - July 7, apparently, all someone has to do to get free drinks is to tell the waiter a cabin number and it gets charged to whoever is in that cabin!  When we got home I saw our credit card statement and knew it was too high.  Someone had charged drinks and bar charges and our cabin got the bill for them.  Princess says it will take 21 days to be resolved, but be advised, it could happen to you too.  A relative of ours ordered a ginger ale and the waiter simply asked "what cabin number?"  Hopefully this keeps someone else from getting charged for drinks they never ordered.

We did this cruise earlier, June 13, waiters almost always asked for cabin number but always confirmed our name, 'Mr Edward?' I guess a cheat can just say Yes to the name check. Pity the waiter does not also ask for name as well as cabin number.

[c25andeb]

Everyone's name is clearly posted at the door of the cabin, so all you would need to do is go by the cabin, remember a name and number.  This might cause Princess some negative reactions.

[c25andeb]

I checked my account several times during the cruise, the charges were to my wife's account.  She never left the cabin without me, so I didn't check her folio.  We have three more Princess future cruises booked, I guess I'll be more vigilant from now on.

[catgirl411]

14 hours ago, c25andeb said:

A word of caution about those medallions.  We were on the Regal from June 25 - July 7, apparently, all someone has to do to get free drinks is to tell the waiter a cabin number and it gets charged to whoever is in that cabin!  When we got home I saw our credit card statement and knew it was too high.  Someone had charged drinks and bar charges and our cabin got the bill for them.  Princess says it will take 21 days to be resolved, but be advised, it could happen to you too.  A relative of ours ordered a ginger ale and the waiter simply asked "what cabin number?"  Hopefully this keeps someone else from getting charged for drinks they never ordered.

I don’t understand why you think this is a problem related to the medallions. I actually thought they provide better security about charges to your account. Normally when the bar staff come to you for your order, they will see your name and picture on their screen and then confirm it with you. Sometimes the wifi doesn’t always allow them to do that but it normally seems to work quite well. We were on Regal Princess last August and Emerald this December and it worked quite well.

[Yaya_in_Oz]

I've been on 3 cruises this past year, and in this part of the world they swiped my medallion for everything from water to cocktails. I do check my account most days. It seems odd that another passenger on quite a few occasions was able to get away with ordering drinks and not presenting a medallion.

[KKB]

19 hours ago, c25andeb said:

A word of caution about those medallions.  We were on the Regal from June 25 - July 7, apparently, all someone has to do to get free drinks is to tell the waiter a cabin number and it gets charged to whoever is in that cabin!  When we got home I saw our credit card statement and knew it was too high.  Someone had charged drinks and bar charges and our cabin got the bill for them.  Princess says it will take 21 days to be resolved, but be advised, it could happen to you too.  A relative of ours ordered a ginger ale and the waiter simply asked "what cabin number?"  Hopefully this keeps someone else from getting charged for drinks they never ordered.

THIS is why we always take a look at that bill a couple times during the week.

We discovered this a few days in last summer. 

Went straight to guest services, showed we had Princess Plus & all was resolved immediately.

[KKB]

4 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

I've been on 3 cruises this past year, and in this part of the world they swiped my medallion for everything from water to cocktails. I do check my account most days. It seems odd that another passenger on quite a few occasions was able to get away with ordering drinks and not presenting a medallion.

When ordering at the bar, all the nearby Medallion accounts pop up with pictures.

If you look similar to someone at the bar, the busy servers may accidentally put it on the wrong account.

It seems the majority of passengers get Princess Plus so it isn't a huge issue generally.

[capriccio]

We were on our 4th post covid cruise with Princess Plus last week and ran into an issue that, in retrospect, should not have been surprising. 

 

When checking our folio on two separate days, my DH had bar charges for the full price (plus gratuity) of a couple of drinks.  Guest Services staff looked up the record and said that was because he exceeded the 15 drink allowance on those days.  I looked very surprised and before I could say anything, he said "but you didn't drink hardly anything."  Now I knew that was wrong too.  When ordering drinks through room service or even at a bar and in the MDR as a couple, the wait staff wasn't assigning the drinks to each individual.  Whoever gives the staff the cabin number gets recorded as ordering both drinks.

 

So keep a close eye on your folios!

[Guest ldtr]

On 7/12/2023 at 1:24 PM, c25andeb said:

A word of caution about those medallions.  We were on the Regal from June 25 - July 7, apparently, all someone has to do to get free drinks is to tell the waiter a cabin number and it gets charged to whoever is in that cabin!  When we got home I saw our credit card statement and knew it was too high.  Someone had charged drinks and bar charges and our cabin got the bill for them.  Princess says it will take 21 days to be resolved, but be advised, it could happen to you too.  A relative of ours ordered a ginger ale and the waiter simply asked "what cabin number?"  Hopefully this keeps someone else from getting charged for drinks they never ordered.

A good reason to check your bill before leaving ship. Same problem used to occur with the old cards. Now you can easily check your bill using the App.

[Steelers36]

15 hours ago, catgirl411 said:

I don’t understand why you think this is a problem related to the medallions. I actually thought they provide better security about charges to your account. Normally when the bar staff come to you for your order, they will see your name and picture on their screen and then confirm it with you. Sometimes the wifi doesn’t always allow them to do that but it normally seems to work quite well. We were on Regal Princess last August and Emerald this December and it worked quite well.

Same thing could have been possible with a cruise card - if waiter just asked for cabin number.  The old cruise cards had an account number on them which was not cabin number and that number was used to record charges, so perhaps it was more secure???  I am not sure.  Not advocating for cards again, but guests have reported waiters picking up their medallion by mistake to charge a drink - perhaps just tapping the wrong one of multiple images on a tablet screen.

 

[Thrak]

What is your cabin number? C222, D222, E222 B222, etc. all sound the same in a crowded environment. I check my folio on my phone ever day of the cruise. I've had a number of bogus charges (which is especially weird when I have the Plus fare and shouldn't be charged for any drinks under the limit of 15 per day) and I always get them removed at the Purser's Desk. (I don't understand why that became Customer Service...) Keeping track of one's account is a personal responsibility. Blaming charges on the Medallion is just silly.

Edited July 14, 2023 by Thrak

[ldubs]

17 hours ago, c25andeb said:

Everyone's name is clearly posted at the door of the cabin, so all you would need to do is go by the cabin, remember a name and number.  This might cause Princess some negative reactions.

 

But would you not also need that person's medallion to be in proximity along with the name and number?  

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Same thing could have been possible with a cruise card - if waiter just asked for cabin number.  The old cruise cards had an account number on them which was not cabin number and that number was used to record charges, so perhaps it was more secure???  I am not sure.  Not advocating for cards again, but guests have reported waiters picking up their medallion by mistake to charge a drink - perhaps just tapping the wrong one of multiple images on a tablet screen.

 

Early on after the restart I would have several billing errors pop up. Often it would be from a bar I was in but did not order from. Once i walked through deck 7 on my way to my room. Soon after I got there there was a knock on my door and there was a waiter from the Crown Grill bar with a beer that the system said I had ordered apparently as I walked by. I do not even drink beer.

 

 However those problems seem to be greatly reduced. Have not had any billing issues on my last 6 cruises or so this year. 

 

Under the old system they could also bill by room number just as they could by account code. I used to find more problems under the old system because they kept paper copies getting them corrected often ment them pulling the paper copies before canceling the charge.

Edited July 14, 2023 by ldtr

[ldubs]

24 minutes ago, Thrak said:

What is your cabin number? C222, D222, E222 B222, etc. all sound the same in a crowded environment. I check my folio on my phone ever day of the cruise. I've had a number of bogus charges (which is especially weird when I have the Plus fare and shouldn't be charged for any drinks under the limit of 15 per day) and I always get them removed at the Purser's Desk. (I don't understand why that became Customer Service...) Keeping track of one's account is a personal responsibility. Blaming charges on the Medallion is just silly.

 

I don't think I agree with your last sentence.  If the medallion process has flaws, as it apparently does, then folks should be aware.  Catching errors by checking one's account is a best practice but it doesn't change what is causing the problem.   

   

[Thrak]

I "somewhat" agree with you but, for the most part, I still hold with the "check your folio daily" approach. Bogus charges vastly outdate the introduction of the Medallion. Bogus charges have always been an issue. I learned very early on to check my folio frequently. Since the advent of the Medallion and the much maligned app I have been able to easily check my folio daily using my phone. Many hate the Medallion app but, for the most part, I'm a fan.

[Stokie33]

I learnt off here when researching for out first cruise to always check your folio, and yes I’ve had a few erroneous charges.

 

On Sky we link our account and as I’m the lead passenger both my own and my husbands folio show on the app on the same page so easy to check

[SCX22]

I wish Princess allow guests to program a PIN to go along with the Medallion.  The guest would have to enter their PIN as a verification layer when ever an order or purchase is made.

 

In case you have a lot of time on your hands, here's the link to the patent Carnival filed for the Medallion:

 

https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/10037642

 

Low and behold, John Padgett is first on the list for the inventor. On PDF page 47, Column 33, it basically says the only form of verification for the Medallion is the crew matching the photograph on file with the face of the guest ordering.

[walkingsoon]

1- keep your medallion in a faraday pouch

2- remove your name from your cabin door

3- check your account

 

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by walkingsoon

[Lady Meer]

21 minutes ago, walkingsoon said:

1- keep your medallion in a faraday pouch

2- remove your name from your cabin door

3- check your account

 

 

Will guest services remove your name?

[walkingsoon]

"Will guest services remove your name?"

Yes. Easily and quickly done with a phone call.

[antsp]

21 hours ago, c25andeb said:

Everyone's name is clearly posted at the door of the cabin, so all you would need to do is go by the cabin, remember a name and number.  This might cause Princess some negative reactions.

That and a bit of plastic surgery so you look the same 

[MissP22]

Unfortunately with all the drinks being ordered at busy times, mistakes will sometimes occur. It's so easy to check your account every so often and have it corrected while on the ship, there's no reason to wait until you get home to resolve the problem.