Is paying $10 shipping for a medallion worth it?

[mrmarklin]

Totally no way. The medallion can be picked up upon boarding. I would never pay for this “service “. 
 

Caveat:  I’m a Suite passenger. So basically no lines. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by mrmarklin

[beshears]

So does it have to be the Plus Package to get the medallion mailed to us free, or can it be the cheaper package deal ($60, $80), if you know?

[kywildcatfanone]

8 hours ago, Lucky TGO said:

You are right about being Elite it’s not much anymore. I remember getting my black card it was a pretty good benefit not anymore 😢 I’m not sure about paying to get the medallion in the mail. Ok probably not.

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

You can tell with the changes they are making, they are moving away from loyalty, and moving toward revenue based customers and how can they extract more money.  Celebrity is doing this as well, probably all the lines where they can think of it.

[Catchum]

Heck no I can buy two bottles of wine for that. 

[taxmantoo]

Why would anyone pay to have their medallion shipped?  Been cruising for many years and have never heard of anyone ever paying to have a cruise card delivered before !!! 😁

[memoak]

6 minutes ago, taxmantoo said:

Why would anyone pay to have their medallion shipped?  Been cruising for many years and have never heard of anyone ever paying to have a cruise card delivered before !!! 😁

The times they are achanging

[memoak]

7 hours ago, beshears said:

So does it have to be the Plus Package to get the medallion mailed to us free, or can it be the cheaper package deal ($60, $80), if you know?

Plus package is $60 a day and gets you free shipping 

[memoak]

14 hours ago, mrmarklin said:

Totally no way. The medallion can be picked up upon boarding. I would never pay for this “service “. 
 

Caveat:  I’m a Suite passenger. So basically no lines. 

It all depends on the port   In October sailing from Vancouver there was no lines for suites just green or blue line. The line to pick up medallions was at least 5 times the length of the line for those with medallions. Also sailing from Seattle no suite or elite lines

[Mike45LC]

On 11/13/2023 at 1:45 PM, donswife said:

I recently made the same deliberation for our upcoming cruise out of San Pedro.  I decided to pay the $10.  I enjoy the excitement of getting them in the mail,  and in case there is a blue lane back up, I would rather have them in hand.

My thoughts exactly.  My Medallions came in by mail about ten days before the cruise, and getting that package generated at least $10 worth of excitement for me.  

[Skai]

Depends on the port I suppose.

 

Vancouver -

Direct to separate counter for those already with medallions.

Long line(looked to be 30+ minutes) for those w/out.

[jennybenny]

My problem is we are leaving early for our cruise. So, we won't be home 10 days before to get the medallions. Will be picking up in the port. 

[Steelers36]

18 hours ago, Lucky TGO said:

You are right about being Elite it’s not much anymore. I remember getting my black card it was a pretty good benefit not anymore 😢 I’m not sure about paying to get the medallion in the mail. Ok probably not.

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

Yeah, but you will be on the Plus fare and get the Medallion shipping included.

[Steelers36]

On 11/13/2023 at 3:40 PM, Deep68 said:

I am departing from Ft Lauderdale on 17th December on a Christmas cruise on the Caribbean Princess.

I do not have a package so would need to pay $10 to have the medallions shipped ahead of departure and be able to embark via green lane.

Does anyone have any recent experience embarking that could advise if there are any significant delays if you have to collect the medallion in Fort Lauderdale?

 

Just trying to determine if it is worth having the medallions shipped

 

Thanks

 

 

My answer is dependent on the type of cruise we will be taking and the departure port. 

 

If I was on any cruise out of FLL during Winter season to Caribbean - and especially a holiday cruise - I would be making me absolute best and speediest effort to get to the Sanctuary to book loungers.  Because of that - and even though we are Elite - I would want to be through the security and check-in process as quickly as possible and be ready to board as soon as it opens up.  Therefore, I want my Medallion ahead of time and in hand. 

 

If I am sailing from Europe, I don't care so much.

 

Recently, I read a report where they let all the Medallion guests into T2 at Port Everglades before letting anyone in without a Medallion.  This is unfair as anyone Elite or Suite without Medallion is stuck waiting.  That means you may not be given the first boarding group card for those who wait in the priority lounge.  Big deal?  Perhaps not, but if you want any chance to get Sanctuary loungers on a Caribbean sector voyage, you better be among the very first to board and have a good pair of running shoes and be in good shape.

[MISTER 67]

18 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

Took me less then  5 minutes at the pier in San Pedro.I refuse to pay for something I am entitled to! Yes entitled to my cabin door key.

This.

[c-boy]

2 hours ago, jennybenny said:

My problem is we are leaving early for our cruise. So, we won't be home 10 days before to get the medallions. Will be picking up in the port. 

This

[MissP22]

Normally it doesn't take very long to get the Medallions in Ft Lauderdale but last check in the agent was training a new employee and it took us 15 minutes while she explained every step to him.

Frustrating to say the least.😔

[SCX22]

This is Princess' current e-mail spiel about having Medallions pre-shipped.  Pretty desperate for $10, in my opinion.  We didn't "trust" Princess and picking up the Medallions in Civitavecchia added a minute to our check-in.  There were no lines at check-in for any color lane at 11:00 am.

 

[kywildcatfanone]

33 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

This is Princess' current e-mail spiel about having Medallions pre-shipped.  Pretty desperate for $10, in my opinion. 

They want revenue wherever they can get it.  Waiting on package pricing increases.  Speaking of that, I was logged in looking at stuff on my upcoming cruise, and saw that drink package prices are higher than plus and premier.  Do people buy those?  

[MissP22]

8 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

They want revenue wherever they can get it.  Waiting on package pricing increases.  Speaking of that, I was logged in looking at stuff on my upcoming cruise, and saw that drink package prices are higher than plus and premier.  Do people buy those?  

On our current cruise I was surprised the number of people who didn't buy the packages.  

[Therese S.]

I'm one of those people that hates to pay for things I used to get for free.  But in the case of paying $10 for the medallion we went the easy route this time and paid for shipping.  Carrying on two bottles of wine, a six pack of sodas, husband carrying on his Cpap and diet tonic water it was worth it to us to breeze though the line and straight to our cabin to unload.  I was really surprised at how long the lines were for those picking up their medallions at the port.  Reminded me of the old days of waiting for your cruise card.   After security screening and because we were green lane with our medallion we were onboard very quickly.  If Princess raises the shipping fee in the future I will have to rethink it. 

[fpsphil]

I've paid the 10 to get them shipped for 2 of my recent cruises. Well worth it IMO to be able to just walk right on pretty much

[Deep68]

Thanks everyone for the comments we decided to purchase the medallions .

I would kick myself if there was a long line.

[Guest Michael4650]

On 11/16/2023 at 6:53 AM, kywildcatfanone said:

They want revenue wherever they can get it.  Waiting on package pricing increases.  Speaking of that, I was logged in looking at stuff on my upcoming cruise, and saw that drink package prices are higher than plus and premier.  Do people buy those?  

The drink packages by themselves than the package that combines drinks, WiFi and crew appreciation. The only reason someone would buy it is if they are cruising with someone who doesn’t want any packages 

[rj59]

The couple minutes of waiting at the port outweighs the minor chance you'll forget the medallion at home, or it will get lost in the mail or misdelivered. If I remember right, they also attach your lanyard at the port, which I always have trouble with when it was shipped to home. So now I'm happy to pick up at the terminal, although it was fun watching the shipping progress from Singapore. Another way to avoid a hassle with a lanyard is to hang it on the door latch when you enter the room, since it will magnetically attach to the door and keep you from forgetting it when leaving the room. 

[kywildcatfanone]

I guess I hadn't thought about this, but now I guess there is no priority check in for loyalty anymore, it's whether or not you pay extra or buy packages.  Another benefit lost it seems.  Is that true?