Is the medallion mandatory?

[NMTraveller]

On 6/6/2024 at 2:46 PM, cruisestitch said:

I used to cruise Princess quite often, but that was before the medallion. In fact, I’m one of my last cruises the medallion was supposed to be introduced, but it wasn’t ready yet and we got some onward credit as an apology. Anyway, I am now looking at some interesting Princess itineraries that Celebrity isn’t offering.

Celebrity on their E class ships had facial recognition and cameras.  Not sure if they used it this way but that can be used as a tracking system.  

[paddingtonbear]

8 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Or you can find him in real time with the Medallion. 

Yes that is why I'm looking forward to our first cruise with the Medallion!

[TRLD]

4 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

I think Princess needs to make clearer that the use of the Medallion is voluntary, if they are going to use this argument.  None of their advertising, except for those with pacemakers, make this abundantly clear.  Passengers are supplied with one arbitrarily and told to use it.

 

Makes you wonder what Princess' intent is with the data collected.  Princess has already sold off passenger information to One Network Exchange.  Not implying anything malicious.

 

Even Apple has stated that that the intent of AirTags is"to help people locate their belongings, not to track people."  (2nd paragraph of the PR below.)

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/02/an-update-on-airtag-and-unwanted-tracking/

 

 

 

My point is that some states find fault in tracking people with devices.  This law has been in effect in California for close to 30 years.

Actual the entire booking of a cruise is a voluntary purchase.  Which by doing so you agree to a rather large number of rules, terms and conditions.  So if one can always opt out by not purchasing the cruise.  Once you do purchase you have legally opted in.

 

So far Princess has allowed people to use a card in place of the medallion, in spite of the fact that it adds complexity to the purchase process, leveling and returning to the ship and potentially adding complexity to the door management system.  They could choose to drop that at any time.

 

 

[TheMichael]

I'm pretty sure the "voluntary-ness" of the medallion is limited at best and likely to be phased out - I'm not even sure all venues are "swipe-capable" anymore. Use of a card will limit your experience on the ship for certain.

 

Personally, the difference between cruising on Princess with a medallion and another line that uses old-fashioned "swipe cards" is night and day. (Hell, I don't swipe my credit card anywhere when I can avoid it.) And with most US-centric cruise lines going to a medallion/bracelet system, the day may soon come when cards are an anachronism.

 

You can opt out of the "companions can find you" feature, which essentially is the extent of "tracking."

 

Other than that, IMO system that knows you're in the immediate vicinity to perform a transaction is not really "tracking" any more than, say, a bartender who remembers faces, and a card swipe will just as easily "track" you in that situation.

[Retired-N-Happy]

42 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

And with most US-centric cruise lines going to a medallion/bracelet system, 

Wouldn't use the word most.  MSC has it with their Yacht Club only, not their general population on board.  Disney may use bracelets, never cruised on them.

But, the other US based lines, Royal, Carnival, Celebrity, & NCL are all still using cards.

[TheMichael]

43 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Wouldn't use the word most.  MSC has it with their Yacht Club only, not their general population on board.  Disney may use bracelets, never cruised on them.

But, the other US based lines, Royal, Carnival, Celebrity, & NCL are all still using cards.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-royal-caribbean-wow-bands

 

And John Heald has been mentioning that medallions might be coming to Carnival (Princess has been a test bed for them, and it seems it’s been pretty successful). 

 

[Retired-N-Happy]

42 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-royal-caribbean-wow-bands

 

And John Heald has been mentioning that medallions might be coming to Carnival (Princess has been a test bed for them, and it seems it’s been pretty successful). 

 

The royal thing is a pay for option that only an extremely small number of people would pay for.  In April we were on the Wonder of the Seas for a 14 day B2B and I never saw these bands in play at all.

Once again, you laid the gauntlet down with your comment of most lines, and besides a small percentage on RCI and MSC, with the other lines NCL, X, and Carnival currently not having them available at all, the better word choice would have been some instead of most.

But, having used the medallion on Princess as well as the wristband five years ago on MSC, they are a nice alternative method.

[TheMichael]

13 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Once again, you laid the gauntlet down

This isn’t a “who’s more semantically correct” contest. You know as well as I do which way the wind is blowing. Sorry if I tickled your warrior instinct. 
 

I stand by my statement most major US-focused cruise lines are either using or moving towards RFID solutions. Cruise cards will be an anachronism, whether or not you’re semantically correct at this moment. 
 

 

Edited June 9 by TheMichael

[TRLD]

2 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Wouldn't use the word most.  MSC has it with their Yacht Club only, not their general population on board.  Disney may use bracelets, never cruised on them.

But, the other US based lines, Royal, Carnival, Celebrity, & NCL are all still using cards.

Royal has their WoW bracelet which does some of the same function as medallion, but if memory serves me right you have to buy it. Those not willing to buy still use cards.

[nasa1974]

WOW! 109 posts on this question. 

[SCX22]

No doubt cruise lines are switching to RFID.  The new door locks on most other cruise lines use an RFID tap function to unlock.  The difference is the tracking function.  Just because RFID is used doesn't mean tracking is involved.  As far as I know, other cruise lines haven't installed sensors around the ship to where crew and other passengers can pick up another passenger's location.

 

Not sure about the argument about cruise cards complicating boarding and door functions.  The crew still use cards to embark/disembark the ship and to open their doors.  I don't ever see this going away, unless some sort of facial recognition aspect is introduced because crew cruise cards, have card validity dates and photos imprinted, similar to medical ID badges for hospital staff.  Also, the current Princess' onboard Medallion POS system allows for a passenger to give their cabin number in order to make a purchase in the event that they forgot their Medallion or the reader fails to pick up a signal.  

[Retired-N-Happy]

2 hours ago, TheMichael said:

This isn’t a “who’s more semantically correct” contest. You know as well as I do which way the wind is blowing. Sorry if I tickled your warrior instinct. 
 

I stand by my statement most major US-focused cruise lines are either using or moving towards RFID solutions. Cruise cards will be an anachronism, whether or not you’re semantically correct at this moment. 
 

 

I guess we will just agree to disagree, but you using the word most, which implies a majority, is in fact incorrect.  Your hypothesis could be true 5 years down the road, but it's purely speculative. Right now it's used by Princess as a whole and a minority use with Royal and MSC.  The overwhelming majority of cruisers still use cards on board.

[BamaVol]

6 hours ago, SCX22 said:

No doubt cruise lines are switching to RFID.  The new door locks on most other cruise lines use an RFID tap function to unlock.  The difference is the tracking function.  Just because RFID is used doesn't mean tracking is involved.  As far as I know, other cruise lines haven't installed sensors around the ship to where crew and other passengers can pick up another passenger's location.

 

Not sure about the argument about cruise cards complicating boarding and door functions.  The crew still use cards to embark/disembark the ship and to open their doors.  I don't ever see this going away, unless some sort of facial recognition aspect is introduced because crew cruise cards, have card validity dates and photos imprinted, similar to medical ID badges for hospital staff.  Also, the current Princess' onboard Medallion POS system allows for a passenger to give their cabin number in order to make a purchase in the event that they forgot their Medallion or the reader fails to pick up a signal.  

If Princess gives medallions to the crew, they will need to improve battery life.

Edited June 9 by BamaVol

[insidecabin]

14 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Celebrity on their E class ships had facial recognition and cameras.  Not sure if they used it this way but that can be used as a tracking system.  

Princess also uses face recognition.

(Most lines do now)

 

Once you authorize its use by the photo team they attach your photos to your account having never told them who you are.

[insidecabin]

54 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

If Princess gives medallions to the crew, they will need to improve battery life.

Just make rechargeable ones, easy to add a charging loop and circuit in the sealed unit.

 

You see plenty of crew wearing medallion in the nice $15 clip.

[wcook]

7 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

WOW! 109 posts on this question. 

Two or three posts on the question. 100+ posts sharing their thoughts on tracking, technology, etc. 

[kdr69]

On 6/6/2024 at 11:42 AM, cruisestitch said:

Hmmm I get that they know about activity and purchases whether with a card or with the medallion. But with the medallion, they also know your location, or at least the location of the medallion. And I do find that a little disturbing.

Planning on being somewhere you shouldnt be??

[broadwaybaby123]

I don't understand what the issue is with using a card vs a medallion.  Both can be used to track your activity and whereabouts.  Besides, if the card is left somewhere, someone could lift it and steal from your cabin, so if anything, it poses more of a danger to have a card rather than a medallion.

[startedwithamouse]

4 hours ago, BamaVol said:

If Princess gives medallions to the crew, they will need to improve battery life.

All the crew we see are wearing a medallion. 

[startedwithamouse]

Face recognition has been used for a long time on Princess. Just look at the photo center. 

[donaldsc]

You might be able to able to get a key card so you are not being tracked on the ship.  However do you have a computer or a cell phone.  If you do you are being tracked everywhere else in your life so was I do not see why being tracked on the ship is so awful.

 

DON

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 hours ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

I don't understand what the issue is with using a card vs a medallion.  Both can be used to track your activity and whereabouts.  Besides, if the card is left somewhere, someone could lift it and steal from your cabin, so if anything, it poses more of a danger to have a card rather than a medallion.

No...cards do not have your cabin number on them.

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

All the crew we see are wearing a medallion. 

How interesting!  Do they look like a passenger medallion?  What color(s) are they?  What’s printed on them?  I will be onboard Enchanted in 6 days.  I will be looking closely.

[Kay S]

Just now, Rick&Jeannie said:

No...cards do not have your cabin number on them.

That's right.  The thief would have to know the cabin number.  The same problem would exist with the medallion.  If a thief knew your cabin number and you accidently dropped your medallion, well...

[startedwithamouse]

11 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

How interesting!  Do they look like a passenger medallion?  What color(s) are they?  What’s printed on them?  I will be onboard Enchanted in 6 days.  I will be looking closely.

Yes, it's the Princess logo, like passengers have.

 

Management can know where each crew member is.