Why not like the Airlines Boarding Passes?

Why doesn’t Princess have a digital boarding pass like the airlines? Or do they and I’ve missed it?

I may be wrong, but I think the medallion program will completely replace the need for boarding passes.

The airlines have digital boarding passes for domestic flights only.

A cruise consists of international travel to multiple destinations. (Not to mention room and board).

So you really think it is OK to admit passengers onboard with no verification beyond a scan of a QR-code at a kiosk?

The airlines have digital boarding passes for domestic flights only.

 

A cruise consists of international travel to multiple destinations. (Not to mention room and board).

 

So you really think it is OK to admit passengers onboard with no verification beyond a scan of a QR-code at a kiosk?

I’m saying I hate using my printer. Would like to just show them my phone.

I’m saying I hate using my printer. Would like to just show them my phone.

So save the boarding pass to your phone and show it to them.

I’m saying I hate using my printer. Would like to just show them my phone.

Not sure if the others responding here have actually done it or are just offering their opinions. I have shown boarding pass on phone many times when checking in for a Princess cruise. Haven’t had a problem yet.

The boarding pass is just to get you into the terminal. The bar code scan, like you have on your phone for domestic airline travel, comes from the cruise card you receive at the pier which allows you to board the ship once all passports and other required documents are checked. According to Princess information in the future on ships with the medallion technology and at the piers which also have this technology your medallion will allow you to enter the terminal and act as the boarding pass.

I may be wrong, but I think the medallion program will completely replace the need for boarding passes.

If a phone boarding pass becomes required I won't be sailing with Princess anymore. I also won't take their tracking device and be tracked like a doggie. They will need to keep two systems intact, those of us that won't accept their intrusive tech and those who will.

The airlines have digital boarding passes for domestic flights only.

 

A cruise consists of international travel to multiple destinations. (Not to mention room and board).

 

So you really think it is OK to admit passengers onboard with no verification beyond a scan of a QR-code at a kiosk?

I think you are flying the wrong airlines ;) Mobile boarding passes are routinely used for international flights all over the world. The QR codes contain the same secure information as the codes printed on paper boarding pass and passports are always verified as an additional check.

If a phone boarding pass becomes required I won't be sailing with Princess anymore. I also won't take their tracking device and be tracked like a doggie. They will need to keep two systems intact, those of us that won't accept their intrusive tech and those who will.

I really doubt Princess will keep two systems intact for boarding. What they probably will do is go to one system and if you do not like it then you will have to find another line to cruise with. It is not as if they really care about what one or a few individuals will accept or not. As always you can take it or you can leave it. They most likely will not miss your business.

Here's another answer.

You don't really need a boarding pass to board the ship. On my brother's first Princess cruise he did not even try to print his boarding pass until the night before departure.

Uh-oh. Boarding passes are not available from the Princess site the night before departure. I think they actually cut them off four days before departure.

So, on embarcation day he drove to the port, unloaded his luggage, which he gave to a porter (he had printed out luggage tags), filled out the health form swearing that he was not sick, went to check-in, identified himself and his wife and walked away with his cabin key cards.

So, he saved the cost of printing his boarding pass.

I'm sure that people forget their printed boarding passes all the time. It happens.

Of course, if you are one of the exalted passengers at the Platinum or Elite level, and you don't have your boarding pass (or facsimile) that has the works "Preferred Boarding" printed on it, you will have to stand in line with the rest of the steerage passengers. That is going to slow you down by, at least, five or six minutes.

If a phone boarding pass becomes required I won't be sailing with Princess anymore. I also won't take their tracking device and be tiracked like a doggie. They will need to keep two systems intact, those of us that won't accept their intrusive tech and those who will.

Better do your cruising now as the new technology is the way of the future. It will be on all Carnival owned lines, and others will follow suit

And no, they won' be tracking you like a doggie. In this time, you have to be able to adapt. I imagine you wouldn't like Disney World as it has the same technology... might as well stay home!

I think you are flying the wrong airlines ;) Mobile boarding passes are routinely used for international flights all over the world. The QR codes contain the same secure information as the codes printed on paper boarding pass and passports are always verified as an additional check.

They do but for a lot of the international we now do they require you to have a paper copy so the can write "docs ok" or something similiar. Just happened to me twice in the last month. Flying from Seattle to Vancouver and Vancouver to Brisbane. May be because both countries require a ETA

Even with the medallion technology I would expect that you will be required to have place where your passport is required to be shown.

I really doubt Princess will keep two systems intact for boarding. What they probably will do is go to one system and if you do not like it then you will have to find another line to cruise with. It is not as if they really care about what one or a few individuals will accept or not. As always you can take it or you can leave it. They most likely will not miss your business.

Very doubtful that any time soon Princess or any cruise line will require their customers have a smart phone to board. There will always be an alternate method, at least during my lifetime.

If a phone boarding pass becomes required I won't be sailing with Princess anymore. I also won't take their tracking device and be tracked like a doggie. They will need to keep two systems intact, those of us that won't accept their intrusive tech and those who will.

You use the internet -- that is how you got to this site. You are being tracked like a doggie. The internet is very intrusive technology. DUH

Very doubtful that any time soon Princess or any cruise line will require their customers have a smart phone to board. There will always be an alternate method, at least during my lifetime.

I agree, Princess is not going to turn away business in my lifetime because I won't use a smart phone. I've been told by Corporate that I don't have to use a medallion either, a keycard will be issued.

You use the internet -- that is how you got to this site. You are being tracked like a doggie. The internet is very intrusive technology. DUH

The internet doesn't know my every move outside of my home or what I'm doing every minute of the day. It is intrusive but nothing compared to a tracking device.

The medallion system does not require that the passenger use a smartphone (or a tablet, or a PC). All those accessories can be left home or stowed in the cabin safe, and the passenger will enjoy a great cruise. Instead of having a key card in your pocket, or in your purse, or on a lanyard, you will have a medallion. The medallion just functionally replaces the key card. Crew personnel will scan it when you board or leave the ship. The clerk in the store will scan it when you buy a T-shirt, The bartender will scan it when you order a drink. From what I understand, this scan process can occur without your having to present the medallion. Conceptually, it is similar to the key fobs on modern cars. You can walk up to your locked car and open the door without reaching into your pocket/purse for the key. You can start the engine without inserting the key.

Now, yes, there are new features available with the medallion system that require interfacing with an intelligent device such as a smart phone. These features are completely optional and, if the passenger feels that they will not enhance his cruise experience, they are not necessary.

If you have a flip phone, you will be fine.

I do have a smart phone. When I take my first medallion cruise, and I see none on the horizon, but it will come, my personal plan is to leave my smart phone in the cabin safe just like I do now.

The medallion system does not require that the passenger use a smartphone (or a tablet, or a PC). All those accessories can be left home or stowed in the cabin safe, and the passenger will enjoy a great cruise. Instead of having a key card in your pocket, or in your purse, or on a lanyard, you will have a medallion. The medallion just functionally replaces the key card. Crew personnel will scan it when you board or leave the ship. The clerk in the store will scan it when you buy a T-shirt, The bartender will scan it when you order a drink. From what I understand, this scan process can occur without your having to present the medallion. Conceptually, it is similar to the key fobs on modern cars. You can walk up to your locked car and open the door without reaching into your pocket/purse for the key. You can start the engine without inserting the key.

 

Now, yes, there are new features available with the medallion system that require interfacing with an intelligent device such as a smart phone. These features are completely optional and, if the passenger feels that they will not enhance his cruise experience, they are not necessary.

 

If you have a flip phone, you will be fine.

 

I do have a smart phone. When I take my first medallion cruise, and I see none on the horizon, but it will come, my personal plan is to leave my smart phone in the cabin safe just like I do now.

The only thing you must have to check in for your cruise is your health form and the proper ID (birth certificate & gov't issued ID, passport card or passport, which ever is proper for your cruise. You don't even need a copy of your eboarding pass, either hardcopy or on your phone. The vast majority of times when a passenger checks in everything is already entered into the computer.Sometimes if a person has not entered a credit card or wishes to change to a different card, that new info will be entered on the printed eboarding pass and the person signs the boarding pass. If no boarding pass is present, there is another form that can be used and that form is used instead of a printed eboarding pass. At the end of the day, all the collected eboarding passes, health forms and all other paperss are sent on board the ship. What the ship does with them after that, I do not know.

Tom

The Medallion will track your every move and I don't feel comfortable with that so I personally won't carry one, it can stay in the safe with my smart phone and I'll get an old style key card for my door. IF and Only IF it is required for disembarking in ports I will use my RFID wallet it's home other then that one scan. I have been looking to book on more upscale smaller cruise lines so this may never be an issue for me after my next few cruises with Princess anyway.

I read some other CC posters mentioning that an RFID key card will be issued to those who don't want to use the medallion. If the cards are RFID based, are they essentially being tracked the same way?

The Medallion will track your every move and I don't feel comfortable with that so I personally won't carry one, it can stay in the safe with my smart phone and I'll get an old style key card for my door. IF and Only IF it is required for disembarking in ports I will use my RFID wallet it's home other then that one scan. I have been looking to book on more upscale smaller cruise lines so this may never be an issue for me after my next few cruises with Princess anyway.

I am with you... don't much care this... I will be cruising on the Grand, understand it is not going to the medallion for awhile....I don't need anyone tracking me or anticipating my needs, it is just a money matter...

Unlike airlines, they want to swipe a credit card. They also need to verify travel documentation. Airlines check travel docs at the gate. That isn't feasible at a hatch when boarding 2,500+.

The Medallion will track your every move and I don't feel comfortable with that so I personally won't carry one, it can stay in the safe with my smart phone and I'll get an old style key card for my door. IF and Only IF it is required for disembarking in ports I will use my RFID wallet it's home other then that one scan. I have been looking to book on more upscale smaller cruise lines so this may never be an issue for me after my next few cruises with Princess anyway.

I totally understand your concerns about privacy. But you are probably being tracked way more in your every day life than you realize. Your cell phone (doesn’t matter if it’s a smart phone or not) tracks your location. If you use a debit or credit card retailers use those to track spending habits. Do you use a grocery club program? Not designed to let you save money but for them to track your spending. Everything you search on the internet is tracked and ads target you based on your searches, even if you disable every setting in your browser your ISP still tracks everywhere you go and sells all that information.

It’s truly unfortunate but it’s the reality of the world we live in these days. I would like to think I’m pretty conscious of protecting my privacy, but I really don’t see what the downside is to Princess knowing if I spend a lot of time in my cabin or not, they already track all my spending via the cruise card so where I spend my day onboard is really the only new thing for them to digest.