Ocean Medallion App - Part 4

[IndyKid]

2 hours ago, pompeii said:

Well, never mind, I guess.  We added our address again using the same address but with my husband's name and it took this time.  I guess it just didn't want to recognize our address that was already in there.  Such a fun app!

Fun? Most folks in this forum tend to use other choice adjectives...🙊

[pompeii]

1 hour ago, IndyKid said:

Fun? Most folks in this forum tend to use other choice adjectives...🙊

Sarcasm, my friend 😉

[Princess Cruises Fann]

On 11/21/2023 at 12:01 AM, PrincessBuffy said:

I will give you that - this does appear (at least according to the blogger) to be a new app requiring a separate download not just another update - and since both the old and new apps will be functional for the first month - only time will tell. 

I just got off the Island Princess and some of the photo staff mentioned there will be a new Princess Cruises app that will replace the Medallion app. They mentioned the timeline for the new app is supposed to roll out in January. 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

On 11/23/2023 at 1:34 PM, pompeii said:

Well, never mind, I guess.  We added our address again using the same address but with my husband's name and it took this time.  I guess it just didn't want to recognize our address that was already in there.  Such a fun app!

I had to put the info in multiple times before it took.  Very aggravating.  Even though I have an email acknowledging my order, my check list still shows our medallions not completed.  This is our first fifth PCL cruise, but it’s been 14 years since our last one,  things are so much more confusing than the other lines we sail.  Nothing on the website seems to be intuitive.

[Jimmy 1]

On 11/24/2023 at 8:54 AM, Princess Cruises Fann said:

I just got off the Island Princess and some of the photo staff mentioned there will be a new Princess Cruises app that will replace the Medallion app. They mentioned the timeline for the new app is supposed to roll out in January. 

Can confirm,  on my android phone current app is being updated with the note."last update for current app until new one is launched next year.

Edited November 29, 2023 by Jimmy 1

[boeckli]

43 minutes ago, Jimmy 1 said:

Can confirm,  on my android phone current app is being updated with the note."last update for current app until new one is launched next year.

Full text:

"This will be the last update to the MedallionClass app which includes some enhancements to OceanReady steps. 

Coming Soon:
- The brand new, and entirely separate Princess Cruises® app will be available for download in early December.
- This MedallionClass app will no longer be available for download in the coming weeks. However, if you already have this version downloaded on your device you may continue using it until early 2024."

Edited November 29, 2023 by boeckli

[PurpleHays]

18 minutes ago, boeckli said:

Full text:

"This will be the last update to the MedallionClass app which includes some enhancements to OceanReady steps. 

Coming Soon:
- The brand new, and entirely separate Princess Cruises® app will be available for download in early December.
- This MedallionClass app will no longer be available for download in the coming weeks. However, if you already have this version downloaded on your device you may continue using it until early 2024."

This is a relief since we sail Sunday. I really didn't want to wrestle with a new app while trying to board. Hubby would be turning the air blue trying to figure it out.

[boeckli]

3 hours ago, boeckli said:

Full text:

"This will be the last update to the MedallionClass app which includes some enhancements to OceanReady steps. 

Coming Soon:
- The brand new, and entirely separate Princess Cruises® app will be available for download in early December.
- This MedallionClass app will no longer be available for download in the coming weeks. However, if you already have this version downloaded on your device you may continue using it until early 2024."

 

Found further paragraph on the app's page in the playstore:

 

Both the MedallionClass app and the new Princess Cruises® app can be used interchangeably except for a few features which are not yet available on the new Princess Cruises app until early 2024. 

 

[Thrak]

I just deleted it. The thing worked fin on our recent series of cruises. However, our cruise next April is all borked up. It used to show me and my wife. When I looked at dining it showed me, my wife, our son, his wife, and their daughter. Now the dining only shows me. Sigh... It also says I don't have a package and doesn't give me free Medallion shipping. So weird since the app worked great for setting up our 6 segment cruise(s) we just finished. Hopefully the new app will work better. I'll likely try putting the current app back and see if it fixes anything but I won't hold my breath.

[memoak]

22 minutes ago, Thrak said:

I just deleted it. The thing worked fin on our recent series of cruises. However, our cruise next April is all borked up. It used to show me and my wife. When I looked at dining it showed me, my wife, our son, his wife, and their daughter. Now the dining only shows me. Sigh... It also says I don't have a package and doesn't give me free Medallion shipping. So weird since the app worked great for setting up our 6 segment cruise(s) we just finished. Hopefully the new app will work better. I'll likely try putting the current app back and see if it fixes anything but I won't hold my breath.

The app almost never shows packages. Trust the travel summary 

 

 

[Thrak]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

The app almost never shows packages. Trust the travel summary 

 

 

 

Onboard it shows the package and the number of drinks you have had each day. Sadly, they tended to charge most of my wife's drinks to my account which was annoying. What really surprised me with the current setup is that they don't care at all if you share. You are entitled to 15 drinks per day and if you want to buy drinks for someone else they don't care at all. One guy used all of his drinks and part of his wife's drinks and was also using his wife's package to buy drinks for other people.

[trbarton]

For whatever reason the new app that was supposed to be released on December 1st still isn’t ready yet. Has anyone heard anything?

 

Tom🤔

[IndyKid]

25 minutes ago, trbarton said:

For whatever reason the new app that was supposed to be released on December 1st still isn’t ready yet. Has anyone heard anything?

 

Tom🤔

Don't worry, it will be here soon enough to drive everybody nuts with all its bugs and glitches. You'll be whining and wistfully longing to have the good 'Ole Medallion App back! 😉

Edited December 4, 2023 by IndyKid
Typo

[Steelers36]

14 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Onboard it shows the package and the number of drinks you have had each day. Sadly, they tended to charge most of my wife's drinks to my account which was annoying. What really surprised me with the current setup is that they don't care at all if you share. You are entitled to 15 drinks per day and if you want to buy drinks for someone else they don't care at all. One guy used all of his drinks and part of his wife's drinks and was also using his wife's package to buy drinks for other people.

I can see it for spouses/partners, but anything beyond that, I bet someone in management cares.

[JimmyVWine]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I can see it for spouses/partners, but anything beyond that, I bet someone in management cares.

I suppose it depends on what percentage of people on board have a package, (which the bean counters on the ship know.)  If 80% of 3,000 people have a drink package, that's 36,000 drinks per day that are "allowed".  I suppose they really don't care who is ordering what for whom as long as the day's total stays under 36,000.  If I buy a round for 12 people in a lounge, and then the person next to me does the same thing 15 minutes later, and then the person next to him does the same thing, and so on, such that all 12 people in the bar has had 6 drinks, it comes out the same as if each person ordered their own 6.  The only difference is if one of the 12 people doesn't have a package.  When it is his turn to buy a round, he is going to get a $200 bar tab, and the ship actually comes out ahead.  If the person without a package never buys a round, he ends up with 6 free drinks.  But if 80% of the people have a package, the odds do not favor that.    

[memoak]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

I suppose it depends on what percentage of people on board have a package, (which the bean counters on the ship know.)  If 80% of 3,000 people have a drink package, that's 36,000 drinks per day that are "allowed".  I suppose they really don't care who is ordering what for whom as long as the day's total stays under 36,000.  If I buy a round for 12 people in a lounge, and then the person next to me does the same thing 15 minutes later, and then the person next to him does the same thing, and so on, such that all 12 people in the bar has had 6 drinks, it comes out the same as if each person ordered their own 6.  The only difference is if one of the 12 people doesn't have a package.  When it is his turn to buy a round, he is going to get a $200 bar tab, and the ship actually comes out ahead.  If the person without a package never buys a round, he ends up with 6 free drinks.  But if 80% of the people have a package, the odds do not favor that.    

They know that very few people are going to hit 15 drinks. Most of us do 8-10. If everyone did 15 then I would wager the price would go up. My biggest problem is putting my wife’s drinks on my account come 1am I am over the limit and have to convince a bartender to put drinks on my wife’s tab who may not be with me

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

They know that very few people are going to hit 15 drinks. Most of us do 8-10. If everyone did 15 then I would wager the price would go up. My biggest problem is putting my wife’s drinks on my account come 1am I am over the limit and have to convince a bartender to put drinks on my wife’s tab who may not be with me

I would argue the opposite. They know that few people will hit 15 drinks per day and the majority probably don’t hit half of that. Which is exactly why they don’t care about what goes where or to whom. They don’t need to raise the prices as drink volume increases. A typical bottle of liquor (for example Tito’s vodka) costs them $15-$18 per bottle. That bottle will make 12-13 drinks each with a 2 ounce pour. So essentially a single $15 bottle will supply a heavy-ish drinker with all their alcohol for the day. That guest is paying way more than $15 for their package. It’s not as if people who hit the 15 drink limit are costing the ship money. There is profit all the way from 0 through 15 drinks per day. No need to raise prices, and no reason to gnash teeth over where the drinks go. 
 

As for the problem with placing your wife’s drinks on your account, when she turns in for the night and you are ordering more at 1am, can’t you just swap medallions?

[jennybenny]

9 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

….
 

As for the problem with placing your wife’s drinks on your account, when she turns in for the night and you are ordering more at 1am, can’t you just swap medallions?

It’s not as easy as swapping medallions. Your face is attached to the medallion and my husband and I look completely different. ☺️

While it is easier for the bar tender to double up on once person, it could be a problem later. If one person is charged both drinks when we order together, then one of us goes to bed, we could be at an inaccurate imbalance of drinks per person. If the person with less drinks on their account goes to bed the person left up could be charged “in excess of 15” inaccurately.  
it’s happened to us and wasn’t worth the trouble of trying to get credit but I’d rather they just charge properly to begin with 

 

 

[memoak]

5 hours ago, jennybenny said:

It’s not as easy as swapping medallions. Your face is attached to the medallion and my husband and I look completely different. ☺️

While it is easier for the bar tender to double up on once person, it could be a problem later. If one person is charged both drinks when we order together, then one of us goes to bed, we could be at an inaccurate imbalance of drinks per person. If the person with less drinks on their account goes to bed the person left up could be charged “in excess of 15” inaccurately.  
it’s happened to us and wasn’t worth the trouble of trying to get credit but I’d rather they just charge properly to begin with 

 

 

I have had bartenders say we will just put the next ones on hers but we may only have one round at that bar. It is a real problem. Even better one was a few months ago when I awoke to see I had been charged for drinks while sleeping. Turns out their systems broke and every drink after 10 pm was put on the next day. That took awhile to sort out

Edited December 5, 2023 by memoak

[jennybenny]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have had bartenders say we will just put the next ones on hers but we may only have one round at that bar

Therein lies the problem. 

[memoak]

15 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

I would argue the opposite. They know that few people will hit 15 drinks per day and the majority probably don’t hit half of that. Which is exactly why they don’t care about what goes where or to whom. They don’t need to raise the prices as drink volume increases. A typical bottle of liquor (for example Tito’s vodka) costs them $15-$18 per bottle. That bottle will make 12-13 drinks each with a 2 ounce pour. So essentially a single $15 bottle will supply a heavy-ish drinker with all their alcohol for the day. That guest is paying way more than $15 for their package. It’s not as if people who hit the 15 drink limit are costing the ship money. There is profit all the way from 0 through 15 drinks per day. No need to raise prices, and no reason to gnash teeth over where the drinks go. 
 

As for the problem with placing your wife’s drinks on your account, when she turns in for the night and you are ordering more at 1am, can’t you just swap medallions?

Like you really think she is going to let me charge casino chips to her account ?  If the line really wanted to make money they would go back to the days when there were no packages and we still drank 10+ drinks a day

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have had bartenders say we will just put the next ones on hers but we may only have one round at that bar. It is a real problem. Even better one was a few months ago when I awoke to see I had been charged for drinks while sleeping. Turns out their systems broke and every drink after 10 pm was put on the next day. That took awhile to sort out

I imagine it would.  I reflexively smiled at this post, realizing I would not hit 15 bar drinks for a whole voyage.

[Steelers36]

Just now, memoak said:

Like you really think she is going to let me charge casino chips to her account ?  If the line really wanted to make money they would go back to the days when there were no packages and we still drank 10+ drinks a day

Maybe they didn't have enough guests doing that 

[Roberto256]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

If the line really wanted to make money they would go back to the days when there were no packages and we still drank 10+ drinks a day

I think carnival has enough bean counters...

...that they have priced all the packages to be a win for the company.

 

Pretty much like the casino.

[Stosh68]

For those not aware, there are tablets at bars, dining rooms etc., that use the medallion to automatically put your picture and names on a screen after you've been in the area for a few seconds.  If the area is crowded, there might be several pages of names and photos, and that is why you will get asked for your cabin #, since it will be easier for them to just punch in your number, than scroll through several pages of people to find you.   If you have a low battery in your medallion, or the system is slow or whatever reason, they will also ask for room #s.  

 

The way my wife and I normally handle the "issue" of splitting drinks between accounts is that she orders all the drinks on her account at dinner, lunch or at trivia etc. when ordering via the app, and I order drinks in person at the bar on my account.   If the bars are not crowded and the bartender has time, asking them to split or swap back and forth between accounts usually works for me too.