Do I have to get a Medallion?

[Itchy&Scratchy]

8 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Let's be conservative and go with the figure proposed earlier in this thread that a Medallion has a total cost of $1.25 to Princess.  With all the cost savings maybe Princess can use the money to make Alfredo's free an unlimited to all passengers again.

Are you saying that unlimited meals at Alfredo's costs Princess only $1.25 pp per cruise?

 

 

P.S. I do wish medallions were reusable, since disposing of so many of them after every cruise pollutes the Earth.

Edited February 13 by Itchy&Scratchy

[SCX22]

4 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Are you saying that unlimited meals at Alfredo's costs Princess only $1.25 pp per cruise?

 

 

P.S. I do wish medallions were reusable, since disposing of so many of them after every cruise pollutes the Earth.

 

Nope.  Look at the big picture.  It's kind of like looking at a small investor vs George Soros or Warren Buffet.

 

Taking the figures from my example...If Princess serves 500,000 passengers annually (they probably serve more), they would be saving $500,000 by switching to cruise cards ($1 per passenger savings x 500,000 passengers served).  I think $500,000 would be enough to cover Alfredo's for all with unlimited covers.  The ingredients for what is served at Alfredo's don't cost that much.

[insidecabin]

2 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

Nope.  Look at the big picture.  It's kind of like looking at a small investor vs George Soros or Warren Buffet.

 

Taking the figures from my example...If Princess serves 500,000 passengers annually (they probably serve more), they would be saving $500,000 by switching to cruise cards ($1 per passenger savings x 500,000 passengers served).  I think $500,000 would be enough to cover Alfredo's for all with unlimited covers.  The ingredients for what is served at Alfredo's don't cost that much.

I don't get that unlimited

 

If  they save $1pp per cruise  $1 might just cover the ingredients for one visit to Alfredo's per cruise
(Total food cost for the day is going to be around $15+-   and that feeds your share of the crew) 

(for some passengers that have a habit of losing the cards/medallion it may be more than 1)

[SCX22]

1 minute ago, insidecabin said:

I don't get that unlimited

 

If  they save $1pp per cruise  $1 might just cover the ingredients for one visit to Alfredo's per cruise
(Total food cost for the day is going to be around $15+-   and that feeds your share of the crew) 

(for some passengers that have a habit of losing the cards/medallion it may be more than 1)

 

But not all eat at Alfredo's everyday or for every meal when it was included in the fare (maybe some did).  The ingredients are purchased in bulk flour, water, and cheese which make up the bulk of the ingredients don't cost that much.

 

Regardless, the savings are there when looking at the aggregate are there and given CCL's and Princess book and the massive debt service payments from the pandemic, any savings is good.  I would like them to start investing more in actual passenger experience not related to the Medallion.  Heck, it would be fine with me if Princess allocated any money gained from savings to crew salaries.  Happy crew = happy passengers.

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Makes me wonder how people function off Princess ships.  Are people this helpless?

👍, I think it is telling that no other cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation has substituted the medallion for cruise cards.

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, memoak said:

I have never used delivery or room service on board except for being quarantined for Covid 

 

You are not alone (except we were never quarantined on a ship).

[ldubs]

12 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Makes me wonder how people function off Princess ships.  Are people this helpless?

 

Saying that people who enjoy the conveniences of the Medallion are not able to cope with everyday life is kind of over the top.  We get you don't like the medallion.       

[memoak]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

You are not alone (except we were never quarantined on a ship).

Have had Covid twice on board at least now you can just stay in your cabin for 5 days and then go about your business 

[TheMichael]

16 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Taking the figures from my example...If Princess serves 500,000 passengers annually (they probably serve more), they would be saving $500,000 by switching to cruise cards ($1 per passenger savings x 500,000 passengers served).  I think $500,000 would be enough to cover Alfredo's for all with unlimited covers.  The ingredients for what is served at Alfredo's don't cost that much.

 

You're assuming a cruise card is cheap. Believe it or not, cards with chips have been subject to supply chain issues in recent years (Tokyo had to temporarily stop providing new transit cards to tourists). And that's even before the additional revenue that they can earn from the higher efficiency at bars, and the ability to deliver food/drinks anywhere on the ship, among other things.

 

Medallions may not be what older cruisers are used to, and change is sometimes hard, but for many (especially the younger people they're hoping to hook on cruising) the only question is "why don't ALL cruise lines do that?"

[New2cruise2022]

This is more than a marketing initiative to lure younger passengers with tech. Data is the new gold. The medallion is always collecting data on passengers. It is catalogued and analyzed. Decisions to introduce casual dining were most likely conceived from data analytics.
 

Different than cruise cards that just track when something is swiped, the medallion can track the entire movement before and after a decision. The data collected by the medallion can tell where individuals (and cumulative cross sections of age, gender, etc) move on the ship before a meal, where they end up eating or not eating. The medallion no doubt showed not only the popularity of Alfredo’s, but also the trends. What time do passengers prefer to eat at Alfredo’s, was Alfredo’s the first choice or a backup after they tried the MDR or buffet? Passenger flow can be tracked to figure out where the ship is most crowded (and most empty) throughout a day or an entire cruise. The medallion provides data to support optimization across the ship and the fleet. 

[SCX22]

6 hours ago, TheMichael said:

And that's even before the additional revenue that they can earn from the higher efficiency at bars, and the ability to deliver food/drinks anywhere on the ship, among other things.

 

I think extra revenue from the Medallion never panned out as planned because now Princess' focus is selling packages.

 

6 hours ago, TheMichael said:

You're assuming a cruise card is cheap. Believe it or not, cards with chips have been subject to supply chain issues in recent years (Tokyo had to temporarily stop providing new transit cards to tourists).

 

Other cruise lines have no problem sourcing them.  The NFID cards that cruise lines use are the same simple ones that credit cards use.  The most expensive part about them is the personalization.

 

6 hours ago, TheMichael said:

Medallions may not be what older cruisers are used to, and change is sometimes hard, but for many (especially the younger people they're hoping to hook on cruising) the only question is "why don't ALL cruise lines do that?"

 

As I stated, Disney tried the this technology and it flopped.  The young ones really don't care for it.  I was in my 20s when Disney started with the MagicBands and I really wasn't that impressed.   Wasn't impressed by the MagicBands and not impressed by the Medallions.

 

1 hour ago, New2cruise2022 said:

This is more than a marketing initiative to lure younger passengers with tech. Data is the new gold. The medallion is always collecting data on passengers. It is catalogued and analyzed. Decisions to introduce casual dining were most likely conceived from data analytics.
 

Different than cruise cards that just track when something is swiped, the medallion can track the entire movement before and after a decision. The data collected by the medallion can tell where individuals (and cumulative cross sections of age, gender, etc) move on the ship before a meal, where they end up eating or not eating. The medallion no doubt showed not only the popularity of Alfredo’s, but also the trends. What time do passengers prefer to eat at Alfredo’s, was Alfredo’s the first choice or a backup after they tried the MDR or buffet? Passenger flow can be tracked to figure out where the ship is most crowded (and most empty) throughout a day or an entire cruise. The medallion provides data to support optimization across the ship and the fleet. 

 

Disney has proven that this information isn't as valuable as they initially thought with the MagicBands.  Can it be useful yes, but not at the exponential costs of deploying the technology to capture the data.

[isosika]

Princess is our preferred cruise line but in January we took a 21-day cruise on Holland America (our first), who uses a cruise card.  It's amazing what you miss once you no longer have it.  I really wanted my medallion back.  The card is a PITA compared to the medallion.  

[PacnGoNow]

On 2/13/2024 at 9:09 AM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

P.S. I do wish medallions were reusable, since disposing of so many of them after every cruise pollutes the Earth.

They said these were recycled. At least the ones you turn in, because they are inoperable after 30 days or so.  They give you a new one.  This was GS on Sapphire.  They weren’t so sure if that was really true. Hmmm

IMO, they should have a bucket to drop them, after you scan them to leave the ship.  Of course, that opens a whole new can of worms. 
🥴

 

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

They said these were recycled. At least the ones you turn in, because they are inoperable after 30 days or so.  They give you a new one.  This was GS on Sapphire.  They weren’t so sure if that was really true. Hmmm

IMO, they should have a bucket to drop them, after you scan them to leave the ship.  Of course, that opens a whole new can of worms. 
🥴

 

Since there is no recycle bin in the terminal and you need the medallion to get off the ship how do you reuse them ?  We just recycle them with other batteries 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

Since there is no recycle bin in the terminal and you need the medallion to get off the ship how do you reuse them ?  We just recycle them with other batteries 

they could literally put a recycle bin right next to every disembarkation station. Scan and throw it in. I would.

[memoak]

5 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

they could literally put a recycle bin right next to every disembarkation station. Scan and throw it in. I would.

Same here

[TheMichael]

2 hours ago, SCX22 said:

I think extra revenue from the Medallion never panned out as planned because now Princess' focus is selling packages.

 

"Focus on packages" ≠ everyone buying packages or everything being included in packages, but that should be obvious, right? 

 

2 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Other cruise lines have no problem sourcing them.  The NFID cards that cruise lines use are the same simple ones that credit cards use.  The most expensive part about them is the personalization.

 

Japan's cards also use the technology, and no, cruise cards are not just credit cards with different printing. If you have an industry source for the cost per card, please link it and we can end the conjecture on this.

 

2 hours ago, SCX22 said:

As I stated, Disney tried the this technology and it flopped.  The young ones really don't care for it.  I was in my 20s when Disney started with the MagicBands and I really wasn't that impressed.   Wasn't impressed by the MagicBands and not impressed by the Medallions.

 

This is no more than an opinion. "Tried?" Disney not only still uses MagicBands, in 2022 they finally started using them in Disneyland as well as WDW - in fact, they even added an enhanced MagicBand+ option. So much for the "flop."

 

The fact is that the Medallion isn't just a different form factor, it's an infrastructure change. Princess isn't alone - Virgin has used a wearable from the jump, and MSC has been rolling one out as well. Cards may be the "old familiar," but the world is advancing, and the toothpaste ain't going back into the tube.

[warthog2608]

For half a dozen medallion cruises I used to go get a cruise card. Not to use, just to fit my wall display. I have a frame, which I think was made for baseball cards, to display my cruise cards. For the first few medallion cruises it was no problem, GS just issued me a cruise card so I could put it in my display. Then things started getting complicated. The cruise card de-activated my medallion so I had to go back to GS and get a new medallion. I gave up after that. My cruise card collection has now become a medallion collection on the fridge.

[TheMichael]

21 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

they could literally put a recycle bin right next to every disembarkation station. Scan and throw it in. I would.

 

I think Princess thought that people would view them as keepsakes, since their names and sailing info are printed on them. Etsy does have some "plaques" for storing Medallions. But a lot of people don't need the clutter, and it would be great to have that option.

[PacnGoNow]

56 minutes ago, memoak said:

Since there is no recycle bin in the terminal and you need the medallion to get off the ship how do you reuse them ?  We just recycle them with other batteries 

This was PCL who would recycle, IF they had a box to dump them, right after scanning to disembark.

 

They don’t do that now.  Just an idea.  
 

GS told me they recycle the ones turned in, when they no longer work.  They stay charged about 30 Days.

 

Longer cruises, we have to get a new one at GS. 

GS agent rolled her eyes, so not

so sure they do recycle. 🥴

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

This was PCL who would recycle, IF they had a box to dump them, right after scanning to disembark.

 

They don’t do that now.  Just an idea.  
 

GS told me they recycle the ones turned in, when they no longer work.  They stay charged about 30 Days.

 

Longer cruises, we have to get a new one at GS. 

GS agent rolled her eyes, so not

so sure they do recycle. 🥴

Mine have worked throughout 21 day cruises but they do tend to get a little tired towards the end

Edited February 14 by memoak

[Wonders By Wallis]

I'm a retired Chief Information Security Officer and can understand the various reasons some people don't like the Medallion. The foremost being that if you walk past your room, someone immediately behind you can walk in. This is highly unlikely and avoidable (if someone is walking behind you just duck into your room for a few seconds and then leave). 

As for crew interaction, I was on the same ship (Discovery Princess) on two different itineraries (one in October the other last month). Several of the crew recognized and chatted with me without ever referencing my Medallion (in hallways or walking around where there was no Medallion station). I became actual friends with two of them (i.e., we exchanged contact info). 

I also love sitting at trivia and ordering Champagne and sushi and having it delivered. But that's just me. 🙂 

[d9704011]

2 minutes ago, Wonders By Wallis said:

The foremost being that if you walk past your room, someone immediately behind you can walk in.

Sure, but what if they have a sap, club you unconscious, take your medallion and enter your cabin to steal your polident?

[SCX22]

1 hour ago, TheMichael said:

"Focus on packages" ≠ everyone buying packages or everything being included in packages, but that should be obvious, right? 

 

 

Don't follow.  I get not everyone buys the package and there's more to buy on board but you don't even need a Medallion for that, you can just give your cabin number.

 

1 hour ago, TheMichael said:

Japan's cards also use the technology, and no, cruise cards are not just credit cards with different printing. If you have an industry source for the cost per card, please link it and we can end the conjecture on this.

 

You can purchase the RFID cards off of Amazon.  The cruise lines would get them at an even bigger discount because they are buying in bulk.  The ones used on cruise lines aren't as complicated or as expensive as you make them seem.  The luggage tags some airports attach to your checked bags have RFID chips and UPS attaches RIFD routing labels to your packages.  There isn't a uniform industry cost to them because they are a volume based purchase.  The most important thing is that cards don't have a battery, a lanyard, or a clear holder, which all cost extra money.

 

RFID is cheap, but when you add in the FAR field component, it adds to the cost.  Just like the toll tags that some states have.

 

1 hour ago, TheMichael said:

This is no more than an opinion. "Tried?" Disney not only still uses MagicBands, in 2022 they finally started using them in Disneyland as well as WDW - in fact, they even added an enhanced MagicBand+ option. So much for the "flop."

 

Disney removed some portals from World and transferred them to Land.  Not to say that new portals were not added.  The MagicBands only allow for extra ride interaction in the park.   The + option, which was the original MagicBand, acts as a park ticket and at World opens hotel room doors.  Didn't install the door unlocking feature at Land because it would cost a lot of money to change door locks.  The + was free to all at one point, but is now the more expensive of the two.  It's main function has switched from an all in one tracking device to extra ride/park interaction and for those that want to spend extra ride interaction.  At this point, Disney is trying to recuperate their losses in rolling the technology out. 

 

I've stated before that I think Princess should allow for those that will not use the Medallion functionality to have cruise cards at no charge and start charging those that want to have Medallions and use it's functionality.

 

2 hours ago, TheMichael said:

The fact is that the Medallion isn't just a different form factor, it's an infrastructure change. Princess isn't alone - Virgin has used a wearable from the jump, and MSC has been rolling one out as well. Cards may be the "old familiar," but the world is advancing, and the toothpaste ain't going back into the tube.

 

Yes but these are only cruise cards disguised in different housing.  They don't contain a battery and don't have a tracking component. 

 

Royal Caribbean started with the WOW Bands in the 2010s but gave up on the technology.  The cost vs extra revenue brought in didn't work out.

[TheMichael]

  

14 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

Yes but these are only cruise cards disguised in different housing.  They don't contain a battery and don't have a tracking component. 

 

At this point, your guesses are just plain provably wrong. (Maybe "half-remembered" might be kinder?) There have been literal teardowns of the medallion that showed they have a battery.

 

I'm not even sure what "a tracking component" is - the "tracking components" are the often visible devices all around the ship that interact with the Medallion. That's infrastructure and doesn't work with cards.

 

Y'know, just saying "I just like cards, they fit nice in my pocket, I hate dangly stuff" would come off a lot better than trying to justify it as somehow a failure of the cruise line (or in this case, wider society, including everyone who uses wearables). 

 

Edited February 14 by TheMichael