Medallion re-use

[cr8tiv1]

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

They don’t look at the printed stuff on the medallion just check to make sure the medallion is for that cruise and check your security picture. I regrew my beard awhile ago and they took a new one. We have changed cabins after getting the medallion so the cabin number means nothing to anyone. 

 

Agree, name and ship is for the benefit of the medallion holder.  When I was in isolation, they did not give me a new medallion.  Come to think of it, I don't know if they even added my isolation cabin to the medallion since I did not unlock the door or ever leave the cabin (haha).  But I still could be "found". 

 

On the other hand, on another cruise, my cabin mate needed to have another cabin for a night (long story).  They programmed her medallion to open both cabins.

 

The workings of the Medallion/Medallion Class App is TOP SECRET ... (aka Sheldon Cooper).

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, mrell345 said:

Ok, so they seem to be active, some form of  Bluetooth as opposed to passive RF-ID tech ?

 

Medallion Technology

 

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Near Field Communication (NFC)

 

Tony Roberts, Vice President Princess Cruises UK and Europe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M16oY9DxL0

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I suspect the battery doesn't last that long.  Although you could use the same one for B2B or maybe a longer cruise without swapping out.  

 

We board Grand Princess the end of September for 63 days. Given the reports of short battery life I have to wonder how many Medallions I will have gone through by the end of the cruise. 🙄

[Loveh2ofl]

5 hours ago, chrysalis said:

batteries will run out at any time, and with our experience doing longer cruises, they are pretty well expired after 14 days or so....they just make you a new one in a matter of minutes.

On the last world cruise my husband and I each had at least 2 replacements made.  They only last about a month.  As others have stated, it takes a few short minutes to get it replaced.

[mrell345]

Are they waterproof and when they arrive do they have some kind of tab that pulls out to activate them so as the battery does not run out before you even get on the ship when they send them to you in the mail?

[MissP22]

1 minute ago, mrell345 said:

Are they waterproof and when they arrive do they have some kind of tab that pulls out to activate them so as the battery does not run out before you even get on the ship when they send them to you in the mail?

No, unfortunately not. They're a sealed unit. 

[cr8tiv1]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

We board Grand Princess the end of September for 63 days. Given the reports of short battery life I have to wonder how many Medallions I will have gone through by the end of the cruise. 🙄

 

Your biggest problem will be that your medallion will fail at the worse possible time.  Like when you are rushing back to your cabin for an urgent bathroom break and your door won't open.  

 

Hopefully, you will be with your DW who's medallion will still work.

[beg3yrs]

25 minutes ago, mrell345 said:

Are they waterproof and when they arrive do they have some kind of tab that pulls out to activate them so as the battery does not run out before you even get on the ship when they send them to you in the mail?

 

23 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

No, unfortunately not. They're a sealed unit. 

They're sealed so there's no pull-tab to activate it. They're water-resistant (even the watch makers these days won't say water-proof), I've had mine in the pool and snorkeling too. Seems to be good to at least ten feet (I'm not that great of a snorkeler).

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

We board Grand Princess the end of September for 63 days. Given the reports of short battery life I have to wonder how many Medallions I will have gone through by the end of the cruise. 🙄

We did 25 nights on Regal last Fall and both of our Medallions were good to the end (port pickup in Europe).

[SCX22]

4 hours ago, memoak said:

They don’t look at the printed stuff on the medallion just check to make sure the medallion is for that cruise and check your security picture. I regrew my beard awhile ago and they took a new one. We have changed cabins after getting the medallion so the cabin number means nothing to anyone. 

 

5 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

My Apple Air Tag holder covers my name and ship.  Never had an issue boarding.  Security never asked me to remove my medallion so they could read my name.

 

The info engraved is used depending on the situation in port.  In San Juan and La Rochelle, the port security guards asked to see ID and matched the name to the name engraved on the Medallion before allowing passengers to enter the cruise terminal.  In Santorini, I experienced a day where there were 2 Princess ships anchored and ship security checked the ship name on Medallions to make sure they were in the correct line for the tender ride back to the ship. 

[cr8tiv1]

Thanks @SCX22. I would be holding up a long line if they asked me to show them my entire Medallion since it is inside a silicon holder slipped over my watch band.  Imagine trying to do this with arthritic fingers and balance issues.  Ha Ha.  Maybe I just have an honest face?  (aka Sheldon Cooper)

[Thrak]

3 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Your biggest problem will be that your medallion will fail at the worse possible time.  Like when you are rushing back to your cabin for an urgent bathroom break and your door won't open.  

 

Hopefully, you will be with your DW who's medallion will still work.

 

We once rushed back from Aruba to our cabin to get ready for dinner only to find that neither of our cruise cards would unlock the door. We ate elsewhere that night. At least one can use a public restroom if necessary.

 

Of course there was the time when I tried over and over to get my card to unlock the door before finally realizing I was on the wrong deck and it wasn't my cabin... I was so glad nobody was "at home" in the cabin.

Edited August 26, 2023 by Thrak

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Thanks @SCX22. I would be holding up a long line if they asked me to show them my entire Medallion since it is inside a silicon holder slipped over my watch band.  Imagine trying to do this with arthritic fingers and balance issues.  Ha Ha.  Maybe I just have an honest face?  (aka Sheldon Cooper)

 

Our holders also cover the info on the rim of the Medallions. That's the only down side to them and, so far, it hasn't been an issue. I too have fingers that no longer work like they use to and also, due to a botched epidural injection a couple of years ago, have balance issues as my lower legs are somewhat "wooden" and my feet are about half numb. Sometimes it seems that getting older isn't always a non-stop fun fest. Ah, well. We're still alive and kicking and able to cruise. I'm pretty stoked that I'll be making my next cruises without a cane. (Due to back and pelvic issues there was a time when I was trying to decide on a snazzy high-end walker as we thought I would be using one for the rest of my life. At that time, even with a walker, it was a huge chore to get out of bed and go to the living room or the bathroom. Fortunately, that is no longer the case.) It's always good to reflect that, whatever issues I may have, there are always those who are unfortunate enough to have issues that make mine look trivial.

 

To quote Monty Python, "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life". That's why, no matter how my day is going, when I'm asked in the store or elsewhere, "How are you today?" I usually reply with something like, "Fantastic!". Bitching and moaning accomplishes nothing and not only brings one down but has the same effect on others around you.

[LittleFish1976]

12 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

For me, the Medallions become garbage after a cruise.  I know some people like to save them as a memento.  Since there's a battery inside, are we allowed to toss them in the trash?  In some states, that's prohibited.  Being able to reuse/reactivate them would be a nice eco friendly feature.  Never had this problem with a cruise card because it's one trip though the shredder.

They should go into the electronic waste recycling through your local council facility.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, Thrak said:

Of course there was the time when I tried over and over to get my card to unlock the door before finally realizing I was on the wrong deck and it wasn't my cabin... I was so glad nobody was "at home" in the cabin.

Or, has anyone ever headed to the cabin they were in on the last cruise a few months ago?

 

[Steelers36]

7 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

They should go into the electronic waste recycling through your local council facility.

I wish Princess would collect them in drop bins as guests depart the ship.  They could recycle them en masse and gain a few environmental brownie points.

[LittleFish1976]

Just now, Steelers36 said:

I wish Princess would collect them in drop bins as guests depart the ship.  They could recycle them en masse and gain a few environmental brownie points.

I think it's a shame they don't use better batteries so they can be re-used from one passenger to the next. Airtags last much longer than the 2-4 weeks being quoted for the medallion battery life so it must be achievable. Also, why don't they have the pull-out bit of plastic to activate them like airtags do so they're only being 'used' from the time the passenger checks in on the ship. Otherwise the batteries must be wearing out from the time they leave the factory in China.

 

And yes, Princess should be collecting them for efficient recycling. Great idea.

[Steelers36]

4 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

Also, why don't they have the pull-out bit of plastic to activate them like airtags do so they're only being 'used' from the time the passenger checks in on the ship.

My first thought was good idea there.  Then I designed them to be waterproof.  If there was a plastic strip to pull in order to allow the battery contacts to work, then there would be an entrance place for water.

[AZjohn]

5 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Thanks @SCX22. I would be holding up a long line if they asked me to show them my entire Medallion since it is inside a silicon holder slipped over my watch band.  Imagine trying to do this with arthritic fingers and balance issues.  Ha Ha.  Maybe I just have an honest face?  (aka Sheldon Cooper)

I can’t  remember the exact Canadian port it was last year but, when we returned to the building at the doc a security person (not a Princess employee) asked to see our medallions before allowing us forward through security.

 

She was a nice woman and talked to her a little bit and asked why they need to look at them. Her reply was to make sure people were going to their correct ship (I think there was 4 ships at dock that day).She then explained the ship name and sail date are on the medallions (which I didn’t even noticed before).

 

So I’m squinting trying to read mine after she looked at it and I asked how could she even read that small of print without readers. Her reply was she couldn’t and she can’t find her readers so she is just going through the motion of pretending to read everyone’s medallions that afternoon. We all just started laughing together and then told our own personal experiences of loosing our readers at the worst times 🤣.

 

Guess you had to be there but it was really funny experience between this security person and my wife and I because we all had hilarious stories of loosing so many of our readers the older we got🤣🤣

[Thrak]

17 minutes ago, AZjohn said:

So I’m squinting trying to read mine after she looked at it and I asked how could she even read that small of print without readers. Her reply was she couldn’t and she can’t find her readers so she is just going through the motion of pretending to read everyone’s medallions that afternoon. We all just started laughing together and then told our own personal experiences of loosing our readers at the worst times 🤣.

 

Funny but also a bit mind boggling. Having to fake a security measure is pretty stupid. I will gladly remove my medallion from the air tag holder I use (see below) if necessary but if it's just so somebody can fake doing their job it's pretty dang pointless and, at that point, annoying to boot. The Air Tag holders we use hold the Medallions very securely. Fortunately, if we do end up being required to remove them from the holders, the things are quite pliable.

 

Air Tag holders with Medallion in place:

 

 

[SCX22]

5 hours ago, Thrak said:

Of course there was the time when I tried over and over to get my card to unlock the door before finally realizing I was on the wrong deck and it wasn't my cabin... I was so glad nobody was "at home" in the cabin.

 

Been on the receiving end of this when Princess still used cruise cards.  I was inside my cabin and I heard the cabin door knob trying to be turned.  I looked through the peephole and saw a woman using a walker trying to intrude.  Mind you, I don't have anyone that uses a walker in my travel party.  I didn't call security because didn't think she was enough of a threat.  I did, however, open the door and the woman turned beet red and looked mortified.  She profusely apologized and explained that she must've gotten her cabin confused from the last cruise she was on.  She recognized me on a sea day  and introduced me to her husband to which he replied, "so you're the one my wife's trying to have an affair with!" in jest.

Edited August 27, 2023 by SCX22

[antsp]

16 hours ago, MissP22 said:

The crew get theirs's replaced every month.  

The crew ones don't work

[2 cruises a year]

8 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

We once rushed back from Aruba to our cabin to get ready for dinner only to find that neither of our cruise cards would unlock the door. We ate elsewhere that night. At least one can use a public restroom if necessary.

 

Of course there was the time when I tried over and over to get my card to unlock the door before finally realizing I was on the wrong deck and it wasn't my cabin... I was so glad nobody was "at home" in the cabin.

Yep, I've done that myself. Boy did I feel silly.

[Pine Man]

Done the same except that when I got to the door it wasn't shut properly so, when I tried to put the card in, the door opened and I walked in to find two people sitting on 'my' bed!!.

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, antsp said:

The crew ones don't work

They don't?