Is it worth getting Medallion Mailed?

[artvlay]

Is it worth it to pay $10 to have the medallion mailed to our house? Is it $10'for both medallions or $10 each?

How much time does it save going in the Green Line vs. the Blue Line?

 

[lx200gps]

5 minutes ago, artvlay said:

Is it worth it to pay $10 to have the medallion mailed to our house? Is it $10'for both medallions or $10 each?

How much time does it save going in the Green Line vs. the Blue Line?

 

We're Canadian, so we only started to receive our Medallions by mail a few months ago. It really makes very little difference to the check-in time, maybe two or three minutes, the length of time it takes to walk over to the big table, give them your cabin # then wait while they find your Medallions.

[TM]

I might have had a one-off scenario.  We were doing an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver.  I didn't want to pay to have the Medallion to be shipped so opted to pick it up during check-in at the pier.  Big mistake!  We waited in line for close to an hour just to get our medallion.  Never will I do that again.  Although I must say that on a previous British Isles cruise we also picked it up at the port and it only added about 5 minutes.

[Arizona Wildcat]

In San Pedro (LA) about 1 minute.  In Texas about 2 minutes.

IMO - do not understand why anyone would stress over getting them mailed on time.

[Shelly97060]

It depends on when you arrive at the terminal.  If you arrive at a busy time then it will add more time to your boarding due to more people checking in. If you plan to arrive later in the boarding process (after noon for example) then it likely won’t add more than 5 minutes.

 

The $10 shipping covers shipping for both medallions. 

Edited April 20 by Shelly97060
Added info

[skynight]

1 hour ago, artvlay said:

Is it worth it to pay $10 to have the medallion mailed to our house? Is it $10'for both medallions or $10 each?

How much time does it save going in the Green Line vs. the Blue Line?

 

Less than 5 minutes on February 28th at pier two in Ft. Lauderdale to pick up the medallion. You pick it up after going through security. Security is the slower process and it does not matter if you have or don't have your medallion.

[karatemom2]

Your mileage may vary depending on how busy your particular cruise is, when you arrive, how many fellow passengers fall into each category, port of departure, etc. 

 

We have picked up at port when we have had minimal wait time. On our Southampton departure last year it was pretty easy. 
 

However, we waited in a very long line in San Pedro for our NYE cruise while my daughter and her husband who had their medallions shipped walked right onboard. We spent over an hour in line and missed out on lunch in the MDR which we always enjoy as a way to begin our cruise. 
 

That was enough to convince us to have our medallions shipped from now on. They are already ordered for our two upcoming cruises this year. It’s a small price to pay for the potential of making our boarding process quick and easy. 

[Coral]

1 hour ago, TM said:

I might have had a one-off scenario.  We were doing an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver.  I didn't want to pay to have the Medallion to be shipped so opted to pick it up during check-in at the pier.  Big mistake!  We waited in line for close to an hour just to get our medallion.  Never will I do that again.  Although I must say that on a previous British Isles cruise we also picked it up at the port and it only added about 5 minutes.

It took me 1 minute in Vancouver for my Alaskan cruise last year.

[Ken the cruiser]

We have always picked up our medallions at the cruise terminal as part of the check-in process and have never had to wait any noticeable extra time because of it. For us it’s just one less thing to worry about when we’re getting ready to go on a cruise.

[Mishkin]

My wife and I did our first cruise out of Vancouver and we opted to pick them up as we were spending the week before exploring Seattle and Vancouver and they couldn't guarantee they would be there in time. We were one of the first people at the cruise terminal and getting the medallion probably added about 30-45 minutes. We still were there early enough to have lunch at the MDR but it definitely added time. To me it's like TSA Pre-check, sometimes it doesn't make much of a difference but when the line is long you'll wish you had it already.

[CenTexan]

Does having your medallion before getting to the terminal allow you to completely bypass the check-in line (where they run your credit card, etc)?

 

We're doing Plus in May (out of FLL) and have never had them mailed. But it's free with Plus, so just wondering . . .

 

Also concerned about having to remember to bring it with us from home (getting old stinks!).

Edited April 20 by CenTexan
add airport

[Arizona Wildcat]

45 minutes ago, CenTexan said:

Does having your medallion before getting to the terminal allow you to completely bypass the check-in line (where they run your credit card, etc)?

 

We're doing Plus in May (out of FLL) and have never had them mailed. But it's free with Plus, so just wondering . . .

 

Also concerned about having to remember to bring it with us from home (getting old stinks!).

All we have needed to do is show our phone at the check in counter.  Card info is already there.  They grabbed our medallions and we were off.

Have had lines, but they seemed to do with people not in the correct line - Green vs. Blue and not getting our medallions. 

Check in seems to vary from port to port and month to month.

Southampton was maybe 10 minutes in total.  Few fully checked in and fewer with their medallions in the UK.

Has taken an hour in LA and 5 minutes the next time.  No idea why.

[Josie201]

We haven’t sailed Princess in a few years.  We have the Premier package.  Am I correct in thinking that includes automatic mailing of our medallions to us pre cruise, and some kind of holder ?  

[Mississippian]

YES! On my last cruise it took me 15 or 20 minutes to go from my taxi to being on Deck 7 swilling a mimosa. It would have been a good bit longer if I had not been Green Line.

[mevs904]

At one point when medallions first came out we did have ours mailed to us.  Since then we have picked our medallions up at the port and have waited no longer than 5 minutes, if that.  That includes departures from Port Everglades and Europe.  We often leave home a week or two before our cruise and don’t want to worry about not getting our medallions before we leave.  We’re usually onboard between 11 and noon.

Edited April 21 by mevs904

[DougH]

I always pick up at the pier and doubt it adds more than a couple minutes. The only time I had it mailed they sent it late and because I arrived in the city a couple of days before the cruise it arrived after I left home. That caused a mess at check in, took them a while to issue a temporary boarding card and once on board I had to have the pursers desk issue a medallion. Never mail again, I always pick up at the pier

[BamaVol]

3 hours ago, Josie201 said:

We haven’t sailed Princess in a few years.  We have the Premier package.  Am I correct in thinking that includes automatic mailing of our medallions to us pre cruise, and some kind of holder ?  

It means you’ve paid for those things.  It isn’t automatic. You will still need to select the holder and request delivery.

Edited April 21 by BamaVol

[SCX22]

Another way for Princess to pinch a penny out of customers and justify their package fares.  Remember when Princess had cruise cards and there was no choice but to pick up at the port?  It wasn't a big deal then, not sure why it would be a big deal now.

[Mississippian]

3 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

Another way for Princess to pinch a penny out of customers and justify their package fares.  Remember when Princess had cruise cards and there was no choice but to pick up at the port?  It wasn't a big deal then, not sure why it would be a big deal now.

I really like the medallion.

[Honolulu Blue]

17 hours ago, TM said:

I might have had a one-off scenario.  We were doing an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver.  I didn't want to pay to have the Medallion to be shipped so opted to pick it up during check-in at the pier.  Big mistake!  We waited in line for close to an hour just to get our medallion.  Never will I do that again.  Although I must say that on a previous British Isles cruise we also picked it up at the port and it only added about 5 minutes.

 

16 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

In San Pedro (LA) about 1 minute.  In Texas about 2 minutes.

IMO - do not understand why anyone would stress over getting them mailed on time.

 

Let me briefly tell you all about my experiences with the medallion:

 

Regal, November '21 - Fort Lauderdale.  Medallion was mailed to me (it was before Princess decided to charge for this privilege).

Majestic, April '22 - San Pedro.  I picked up the medallion.  Delay was a minute or two.

Ruby, April '23 - Galveston.  I tried to pick it up.  Big mistake!  Because almost everyone else needed to pick up their medallions also, I had to go in a separate (long) line to do that.  It delayed me about half an hour, which I didn't like very much. 🤬

 

The lesson I took from this is to not bother with delivery for cruises except for those out of Galveston.  My next Princess cruise is in August out of Boston, so we'll see what happens.  My medallion is currently set to be picked up.

[Torfamm]

21 hours ago, artvlay said:

Is it worth it to pay $10 to have the medallion mailed to our house? Is it $10'for both medallions or $10 each?

How much time does it save going in the Green Line vs. the Blue Line?

 

I have often not wanted them mailed because we won’t be home to receive them. The wait has never been more than a few minutes, even in places like Australia where the majority of passengers pick them up.

 

The only time it’s been an advantage is when there were dedicated check-in lines for platinum and elites. Showing it was a quick way to breeze through. Not sure it’s worth paying for though.

[Kat915]

I ordered the medallion to be mailed and I don't remember being charged. 

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, Kat915 said:

I ordered the medallion to be mailed and I don't remember being charged. 

Do you have the Plus or Premier package?  If so, there should be no charge.

[Kat915]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

Do you have the Plus or Premier package?  If so, there should be no charge.

No. I don't have plus or Premier.

 

I just looked on the app and it said the medallion was complimentary. 

Edited April 22 by Kat915

[555]

Not having a medallion might take 10 minutes extra or a little more depending on how many people you encounter standing on line.

I still wouldn't spend the money to have them mailed when it's just not worth it to me.