OCEAN MEDALLION - want it - need it?

There's a lot of posts on this new technology call the Ocean Medallion; what if you're simply not interested? Most important to us on a cruise is the service, food and great weather. Being able to make all connections, having a great staff, maybe some excursions but, as for new technology--nice, but can do without it. What's your opinion?

As I understand it the ***** is optional.

So, if you don't wish to partake in the new technology just look the other way & you'll never know the difference.

They're not forcing anyone to use the new system.

I'll bet you fought getting a credit card years ago & still use checks to pay for groceries. :rolleyes:;);)

I want what was offered when I booked, certainly not watered down version, or no version at all. Use, evaluate , decide for future use.

As I understand the *****, you can 'turn everything off' EXCEPT the safety feature used by Princess ... Tracking? :cool:

I would only use it to do what the normal key card would have done:

open my door, pay for things on board the ship

That's about it. Not interested in any other features it may offer.

OCEAN MEDALLION - want it - need it?

NO

So, if you don't wish to partake in the new technology just look the other way & you'll never know the difference.

They're not forcing anyone to use the new system.

 

I'll bet you fought getting a credit card years ago & still use checks to pay for groceries. :rolleyes:;);)

Brother, just ask a simple question and you get a comment like floridalover's, give me a break!

Brother, just ask a simple question and you get a comment like floridalover's, give me a break!

You must be one of those types who fight the system.

I'd even bet you use a check to pay for groceries. :rolleyes:

There's a lot of posts on this new technology call the Ocean Medallion; what if you're simply not interested? Most important to us on a cruise is the service, food and great weather. Being able to make all connections, having a great staff, maybe some excursions but, as for new technology--nice, but can do without it. What's your opinion?

You have a valid opinion and one that more than one person has expressed.

Personally I love new toys and tech but am one of the least techno people around.

I do have a smart phone (traded in the flip phone last year) but only use it for calls, texting and the occasional picture.

I was one of the beta users for the Fitbit but keep forgetting to charge it and the one with the watch battery is waiting for a new battery.

I have a programmable thermostat but haven't sync'd it to my cell phone yet.

I could go on and on. I think you get the picture.

With the ***** just use it for your door key and to charge purchases like the keycard. Turn it to private or whatever they are calling the basic use, toss it in your pocket and forget about it until you need to open your door or get off the ship at port.

I think that is the good part about the *****. You will be able to use it as much or as little as you want. Just like our cell phones.

And maybe down the line you might find something that it does that you are okay using.

You must be one of those types who fight the system.

I'd even bet you use a check to pay for groceries. :rolleyes:

Never have, never will. Tell me, if you stay out in the Florida sun too long, does it affect your thinking and reasoning; the original question was is the Ocean Medallion optional. A simple question requiring a simple answer. Some responses were quick and to the point; didn't have to go off on a useless tangent.

There's a lot of posts on this new technology call the Ocean Medallion; what if you're simply not interested? Most important to us on a cruise is the service, food and great weather. Being able to make all connections, having a great staff, maybe some excursions but, as for new technology--nice, but can do without it. What's your opinion?

If you are on a cruise where the medallion is actually working, you should rush to the rail...

...to check for flying pigs.

But, seriously, just opt-out?

Privacy Concerns?

All information provided before and during your cruise will be encrypted and is not stored on your Ocean Medallion. The most advanced software security models, tools, and methods are fundamental to Ocean Medallion. However, any guest is also welcome to opt out of all services at any time.

From this page:

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/ocean-faq/

It has also been posted that you can get an rfid-enabled card, rather than using the medallion at all.

P.S. Don't pick on Floridalover. We have dedicated elf for that.

Never have, never will. Tell me, if you stay out in the Florida sun too long, does it affect your thinking and reasoning; the original question was is the Ocean Medallion optional. A simple question requiring a simple answer. Some responses were quick and to the point; didn't have to go off on a useless tangent.

I love tangents and as long as they're about ***** they should be considered on topic.

Personally I was really looking forward to the Medallion on our March 18 cruise on Caribbean Princess. I'm bummed it's been pulled.

Error

As I understand it the ***** is optional.

Optional for now but will eventually have to be used on the ship. Technology marches on.

I'll use it if it's there but I'm not going to waste my cruise trying to figure out all the ins-and-outs of the system. I'm on vacation to get away from technology!

There's a lot of posts on this new technology call the Ocean Medallion; what if you're simply not interested? Most important to us on a cruise is the service, food and great weather. Being able to make all connections, having a great staff, maybe some excursions but, as for new technology--nice, but can do without it. What's your opinion?

I like all of the same things you mentioned about cruising. As for *****, I was really interested in trying it out just to see what it was like. Am disappointed it was pulled from our Royal sailing.

At some point when all the bugs are ironed out I don't think there will be a choice. The biggest mistake Princess made in the roll out was to advertise cruises implementing the new tech, when it wasn't fully functional, leaving those who were looking forward to it disappointed . It's like any new tech, some people just don't want to have to bother with it. Remember how many threads were started when this forum (Cruise Critic) changed format? People have adjusted and accepted the change and life goes on. And if you're worried about being tracked, that is a reality of today. Do you realize that just being on this forum my tracking blocker (Ghostery) is now blocking 9 trackers from Cruise Critics? It's very hard to get away from these days.

I guess I am another one of them that just doesn't get the hype of *****.

Ok - it can open your cabin door (when it works). Not really interested

It can sell you targeted things - definitely not interested.

It can track your location -- hmm - do you need a cell phone for this to display on? We only bring one phone with us on cruises - and we travel as a couple - so what will this do for us?

Maybe it speeds up embarkation or debarkation (have no clue if it does this). Ok - I guess that's good, but we have never been disappointed with embarkation or debarkation waits except when things like customs inspections cause delays - and I seriously doubt ***** can change that.

Maybe there are other things it does - but so far, I have not heard of them.

I am not against ***** - and would likely give it a try, but it would not in any way affect my decision on which cruise to book - an ***** cruise or a cruise card cruise. It just seems that Princess is marketing this as some fantastic revolution in cruise experience, but doesn't tell us anything fantastic or revolutionary about it.

Don

***** is not and will not be one of the criteria we use to book a cruise. The more important considerations are itinerary and ship. If ***** is there or not makes very little difference to us. There will be one big advantage, locating missing passengers on turn around day b2b's.

***** is not and will not be one of the criteria we use to book a cruise. The more important considerations are itinerary and ship. If ***** is there or not makes very little difference to us. There will be one big advantage, locating missing passengers on turn around day b2b's.

Now that's one big advantage that no one can argue with......they can find you hiding on the balcony or sitting on the throne.:D:cool:

On a 28 day cruise in October my wife and I needed to get our magnetic strip card keys reprogrammed a total of about 10 times between the two of us. iPads and their covers have magnets and we also used magnets for holding things on the cabin walls. The tech in the medallion isn’t a magnetic strip so if it works, there won’t be the problem with magnets erasing them.

As for the other uses it will be interesting to see if there will be real benefit or just social awkwardness as someone you’ve never met calls you by name or someone tries to bring you your favorite drink before you’re ready.

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Not at all excited about it ... but, seems we'll need to get use to using it. :rolleyes:

Personally I was really looking forward to the Medallion on our March 18 cruise on Caribbean Princess. I'm bummed it's been pulled.

It was offered on our cruise for May 2019 and they just pulled it from ours as well. Looks like the don't even think it could be fixed in a year and a half.

I guess they are minimizing the effects of offering OBC to those that were promised this technology and not being able to provide it.

We are on the last day of our ***** cruise and I can honestly say that I am more impressed with the other technology they have implemented for everyone. Medallion Net is amazingly fast. Everyone can send / receive iMessages and use FB Messenger. The ***** itself opens the door and allows bartenders and shop employees to know who you are. It’s usable in the casino too. More features will be added later but after having experienced it I would have been happy to get the rest of the perks without the *****.

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