On Board Caribbean P.-Ocean Medallion observations

Embarked on the CB on Friday, Sep 28 from Port Everglades. Some observations:

Embarkation: No longer an outside line for Priority pax. Everyone gets in one line. We arrived around 9:30 and they let us in about 10-15 mnutes later. Personnel inside were asking to see boarding passes. We were held up until the check-in desks were manned. We were allowed to continue through the line to the security area and held up there a little while.

Pax were directed to Priority line or regular checkin depending on their boarding pass.

At the check in desk, passports were scanned and the customer service agent obtained our Ocean Medallion, as well as a standard cruise card. She explained that the use of the card on board may vary in the different venues. Also, some people preferred the card over the medallion. We were also given a boarding group card.

We were directed to the Elite lounge upstairs. It appears that Platinum pax were also directed there because I’ve never seen that area that full. And they weren’t all Elite pax.

Once boarding the ship they only asked you to put your medallion on a ‘button’ and they took your photo. You no longer have to scan both card and ***** exiting or entering the ship. This was the same while exiting the ship for the tenders at Princess Key.

They gave a card out that said cabins would not be ready until 1pm. We went to the Coral MDR (deck 6) for the lunch (11:30 to 1:00). The card said that the Deck 5 MDR(Island DR) was available for those who wanted to store their carry ons prior to cabins opening up.

We started up to our deck/cabin around 12:30ish and our cabin was ready. AND it recognized me and unlocked the door without having to place either card or medallion!! My DH medallion didn’t seem to recognize him, however. We tried several times. It WOULD work if he held it up to the panel. Also, the mailboxes are gone.

Speaking with our Cabin Steward, he said that they are required to place all paper documents in the cabin on the bed unless the Privacy tag is hanging from the door handle. Then, they would try to slide it under the door or return with it later.

I had read about this on “Deb’s Day” blog (she just spent 31 days on the CB and was full of ***** information- Thanks Deb (if you’re listening!). I brought along a vinyl/plastic style expandable folder, punched 2 holes in the corners and hung it up on our door outside with 2 heavy duty magnets. Oni, our steward, really liked that idea and so far it’s worked very well.

Using the ***** in the gift shops. My medallon worked for purchases in the shop - but it does not yet register our 10% elite discount, so the clerk needed to see my card and swipe that instead. We’ve used it here and there for drinks, but hand them both, so I’m not sure which they need but charges hit our account immediately.

The ***** desk is located aft of the photo galleries. They’ve started to sell some accesories, but not much. Just bracelets, necklaces and some plastic cases to replaced the ones issued (more colorful). These items ran between $10 to $60. We were interested in the ‘clips’ but they did not receive any more stock. They told us probably next turnaround day, they will have more to sell.

The ‘navigators’ were very helpful in explaining how it now works and how it will work as more things go online. We reported to them about DH medallion not opening the door unless manually help up to the screen. They have clipboards to report any issues with the *****. I don’t know what they did, but today DH can get into the cabin automatically.

Oh, and Elite/Platinum pax STILL get the free unlimited wifi (which is phenomenal!) I just watch last nights SNL on my ipad and had no playback issues at all. I asked how much longer the free wifi will last, but they coulldn’t tell us other than once everything is up and running, that would probably be the time.

My ipad is constantly connected to the wife and I continue to receive any notifcations/emails/ etc.

TV’s in cabin (we’re in a midship balcony on Baja), works great. Quite a few on demand movies and TV shows. Live TV are still the standard ones available on all ships.

That’s all I can think about right now. I’m happy to answer any questions if I can.

Barb

I'll be on the CB in 2 weeks, and I very much appreciate all the info you've posted. Makes me more excited about my upcoming trip. I'm interested to read anything else you might want to post about your voyage, ship, ports or anything relating to your trip. Thanks for the information!

Antsp - if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing! CC is a blog that is helpful for many, which is why we are members. If you don't see the point, don't read it. No reason to be rude to the helpful posters that are willing to take time to share there experiences.

Thanks so much for the info, we will be on the 10/18 sailing!

NY Nana,

Thank you for sharing the tip on the “make your own mailbox”. I like that idea!

Thanks so much for the info, we will be on the 10/18 sailing!

We get off on the 8th - hopefully it will be fully implemented for you!

Thank you so much for the update, we board on the 8th. I just turned to Platinum, and this will be our longest cruise yet, so I am looking forward to the free internet.

Thank you NY Nana and many others for taking the time to share information. I realize there are many on CC who are Elite, Platinum, etc. with extensive cruise experience. We however, are inexperienced and greatly appreciate the information you provide. Travelling from Canada in late Nov. to try to get to our cruise in Florida presents a great deal of stress. It requires planning extra time, hotels, weather contingencies and cost. CC provides a platform for us to obtain a great deal of knowledge pre-cruise which in turn will make our trip more enjoyable and lessen our stress levels. Again, thank you to all who for whatever reason offer their assistance.

Thanks for all the information that is being shared in this thread I am an Elite but scan the threads daily and always find interesting information Will be on the CB in January and have been following the Medallion implementation . As an aside , I agree don't see much need it.

Thank you for posting about the ***** progress on the CB. We will be on the CB in November and are very interested in how the ***** is and how it will impact our cruise aboard the CB. I took particular note of your DH's issue with the ***** and how it was resolved. The hint about the impromptu "mail box" is an excellent one and now I have some shopping to do. If you have any more observations to make about the CB, please do as many of us are interested. The new internet access is a real positive move.

We always arrive early (~11:00 or earlier) for the cruise as we are anxious to get on the ship and start the vacation. I was concerned about the one line to enter the terminal and no priority line as well as the joint waiting area for platinum/elite and how that impacted boarding the ship.

The point of ***** is to computerize the experience for the pax. It is much faster to simply hold the ***** to a reader than to have the crewmember scan in the card. Departing the ship and later returning should go faster but alas the scanning of personal items will still be a long line when returning to the ship. Onboard sales of drinks and other purchases will be faster and more accurate than a crewmember entering your information by hand.

I went to a local merchant to buy some things and at the cash register to pay all I had to do was lay my CC on the scanner while holding the card. I no longer needed to insert the card into the hole. At some restaurants the waitstaff gives us a printed copy of our bill and then had a handheld device to read our CC at the table completing the charge. This is the way the world is going to an automated collection which is faster and error free.

We get off on the 8th - hopefully it will be fully implemented for you!

That's when we get on! Unfortunately our boarding doesn't start for anyone until 1:30 as there is a coast guard ship inspection.

 

 

 

 

We started up to our deck/cabin around 12:30ish and our cabin was ready.

 

 

Barb

Was there an announcement about the cabins being ready or did you just take a chance & go there?

What do they give you to hold the Medallion?

Are all the Medallions blue or are different colors with your level of Captain Circle?

Thanks for the information. Question, how did you know you had the. Unlimited Wi-Fi, did they inform you at the time? Thanks!

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Forums mobile app

What do they give you to hold the Medallion?

 

Are all the Medallions blue or are different colors with your level of Captain Circle?

Same color for everyone. You still needed to carry your card with you as sometimes they wanted the card (in the bar if you have the drink package) and sometimes the button. They provided us with a lanyard with a plastic holder. People didn't seem to be shy about wearing them like I have seen in the past when you just had your card on a lanyard you brought from home..

Thank you NY Nana and many others for taking the time to share information. I realize there are many on CC who are Elite, Platinum, etc. with extensive cruise experience. We however, are inexperienced and greatly appreciate the information you provide. Travelling from Canada in late Nov. to try to get to our cruise in Florida presents a great deal of stress. It requires planning extra time, hotels, weather contingencies and cost. CC provides a platform for us to obtain a great deal of knowledge pre-cruise which in turn will make our trip more enjoyable and lessen our stress levels. Again, thank you to all who for whatever reason offer their assistance.

You’re welcome! I have gained so much knowledge preparing for our cruises from CC. I like to return the favor!

Same color for everyone. You still needed to carry your card with you as sometimes they wanted the card (in the bar if you have the drink package) and sometimes the button. They provided us with a lanyard with a plastic holder. People didn't seem to be shy about wearing them like I have seen in the past when you just had your card on a lanyard you brought from home..

I second this motion! I found in the shops that I needed to show my card in order to get the 10% discount. Otherwise, I believe a standard purchase can be done with just the medallion. And EVERYONE is wearing them on landyards. The ***** itself is all the same color of blue. In their ***** shop, they show the medallions in the loyalty level colors but they are not available next. I believe they expect to implement that when they activate the process to register at home on line and they will be mailing the *****’s to pax prior to embarking.

Thanks for the information. Question, how did you know you had the. Unlimited Wi-Fi, did they inform you at the time? Thanks!

 

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Forums mobile app

When I initially opened the *****-net site you fill in name, cabin and birthdate. It then went to a welcome screen thanking me for my loyalty and saying I was eligible for unlimited free wifi.

If you are neither platinum nor elite, I would expect the screen to pop up with purchase options. I also saw people at the ***** desk requesting to purchase it. I saw in my personalizer prior to coming they were offering unlimited for $6.99 per day - I think that price on board goes up to $9.99 per day.

Was there an announcement about the cabins being ready or did you just take a chance & go there?

We didn’t hear an announcement, we just took our chances. We’ve found in the past for delayed cabin access that our cabin was always ready by 12:30 if not sooner.

They may have made an announcement, but we were already in our cabin at 1:00 and our luggage had arrived already so we were busy organizing.

(she just spent 31 days on the CB and was full of ***** information- Thanks Deb (if you’re listening!)

I am listening. :D You are most certainly welcome.

I'm enjoying reading your reports and responses. Keep up the good work!

We got off the CB Sept 18, and we had received the lanyard, medallion and card as well on the 8th. It was nice not having to fumble for you card to insert into the door to enter. Now I'm spoiled and want one for home. The only downfall I found was the lacking of the "mailbox". I don't find it necessary for anyone to enter the cabin outside of the morning and evening cabin service. Entering my cabin just to drop a flyer from the spa or art auction on my bed is not necessary, as for sliding them under the door, we had nothing left that way. Actually, doing away with that advertising stuff would be my vote. As for improvising on a mailbox..mine would be a paper shredder.

We didn’t hear an announcement, we just took our chances. We’ve found in the past for delayed cabin access that our cabin was always ready by 12:30 if not sooner.

 

They may have made an announcement, but we were already in our cabin at 1:00 and our luggage had arrived already so we were busy organizing.

Unless the deck is blocked off completely we'll be checking as soon as we board.

If it's done, great, if not we'll drop our luggage & leave.

I am listening. :D You are most certainly welcome.

 

I'm enjoying reading your reports and responses. Keep up the good work!

Oh I am blushing! Thanks for all the pre-cruise info. I can’t measure up, but will give it my best!

Well, we are in St Kitts today. Yesterday was St Thomas, tomorrow St Lucia.

The medaliion works very well and fast upon exiting or entering the ship. Also, have no issues for cabin access.

Your photo shows up on the screen and you are welcomed back as it shows the handle being unlocked. I am guessing here, but the door pads show 2 different comments (“Locked” and “approach with medallion”.) I want to say that when there are no medallions in the room (along with a pax) it shows ‘approach’ on the pad. When both (or all) medallions are inside the cabin, it shows ‘locked’. I think is a way that stewards can see if the cabin is vacant or not

In both ports you needed a photo ID and either medallion or cruise card to re-enter the port area.

Both days we had someone ahead of us who had not brought a photo ID and they had to stand to the side and were not immediately passed through. Not sure what was done for them.

For the 1st time in a long time, we had lunch in the World Market (fomerly known as Horizon court). It seemed to have a wide variety of items to choose from and DH enjoyed the pre-made deli sandwiches.

Deb from Deb’s Days had commented that the drink service in the buffett was sub-par, so either her comments made the difference or there are new staff/officers running thiings because we’ve found almost instantaneous service in drink orders and table clearing. We get breakfast there every morning and sit back in the Planks dining area.

The TV has been out all day. When we turned it on around 6:30 this morning it was all snow. I called the front desk and asked if it was ship wide or just our TV. She told me it was ship wide. I just called again and she said they would send someone up to reset the TV. Didn’t even wait 5 minutes! He reset it and it works fine.

We had dinner in the Crown Grill last night and thoroughly enjoyed our filet mignons. DH is a black & blue onion soup lover so he was happy. Service was extremely efficient.

FYI-St Thomas is a longer stay port. We arrived around 1pm and departed around 10pm. All dining rooms were ‘open seating’.

That’s it for now - we had a lovely day in St Kitts and are looking forward to St Lucia tomorrow!

Barb

...had commented that the drink service in the buffett was sub-par, so either her comments made the difference or there are new staff/officers running thiings because we’ve found almost instantaneous service in drink orders and table clearing.

Barb

That is awesome! So happy to hear that things are running more smoothly now.

quote=New York Nana;57179207]

Your photo shows up on the screen and you are welcomed back as it shows the handle being unlocked. I am guessing here, but the door pads show 2 different comments (“Locked” and “approach with medallion”.) I want to say that when there are no medallions in the room (along with a pax) it shows ‘approach’ on the pad. When both (or all) medallions are inside the cabin, it shows ‘locked’. I think is a way that stewards can see if the cabin is vacant or not.

Barb

So is it now not possible to have an empty cabin (no pax and no medallions) AND have the cabin as ‘do not disturb’? For example: we may get up, get ready, then go to breakfast with the intention of returning to the cabin to collect our things for a shore excursion (and I’ll want to make sure our clothes.toiletries are put away) before wanting our steward to take care of the rest. So previously we’d just put the DND card into the lock and run to breakfast. Will we now be required to leave a medallion in the room so that the steward won’t think s/he the cabin is ready for her/him? I can think of several other times we may be out of the cabin yet want DND in place.

Thank you for your help with this!