Ocean Medallion - What's the Deal?

[raz455]

Summer is winding down, students are back in school (I work in one), nights finally have a slight chill in the air, and I am now under 100 days until our next cruise! I have not been on this board for most of the summer so I am not sure if this has been covered - so I apologize ahead of time (I tried a search for it, but came up empty . . .but I really didn't try that hard). My question has to do with the Medallion thingy. On the Princess site, it states that it can be worn as a necklace, bracelet, or kept in your pocket. My question is: Does Princess supply the wristband and/or necklace? Do you need to buy that? Also, while I am at it . .what's up with now charging ahead of time for excursions? I just loved to sign up for everything and then cancel most of them after I was on board (ok, ok . . .just kidding - but I was surprised when I tried to sign up).

 

Happy Cruising!

[satxdiver]

Several questions here. I am glad to hear that you will be boarding a Princess cruise soon if less than 100 days is soon. The medallion has been cussed and discussed a lot on here. What it is is a small round object (aka medallion) that one has to have on their person that allows the ship sensors to record your presence. It is used to open your cabin, charge drinks at the bar, buy things in the shops etc. It replaces the cruise card with the coding on the back. The medallion is simply an RFID device with a code on it that the ship sensors picks up and matches to a database so that they can get your information. It is a passive device. RFID has been in use for decades and is starting to be used by theme parks (Disney et al) and cruise ships (again Disney et al). As with all new things some are comfortable with it and others hate change for any reason. Only certain ships will have it at first but will spread throughout the fleet later. It has as yet to be used so there are a lot of questions about wristbands/necklaces etc. Stay tuned for when it actually is being used later.

 

Princess decided for whatever reason to join the other cruise lines and charge for excursions and specialty dinner reservations when they are made and not wait until pax board the ship. Most of us liked the older method but perhaps too many were taking advantage of it and canceling once on the ship. They do allow you to use OBC to make the purchase however. You only have to give them a CC number when you have exceeded your allotted OBC.

 

Hope this helps.

[dreaminofcruisin]

Much Discussion on the Ocean Medallion here....even though much is still speculation since there hasn't been a cruise to include it yet:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2438338

 

 

Much discussion on prepay of excursions here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2437436&highlight=excursion

 

Happy Reading! :cool:

[raz455]

Thank you for the super quick responses. I guess I also forgot that the Medallions are not being used just yet . . .seems like I have been away from this site for way too long! Time to get to reading . . . .thanks again -

 

 

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[Mud_Shark]

Haven't read the Ocean Medallion thread - it is just way too long. My question may have been answered, or may not be known yet but since a new thread has begun, I will ask it.

 

Are the medallions waterproof? That is, if you buy one of the wristbands, can you take it in the pools and ocean?

 

Don

[Pam in CA]

Are the medallions waterproof? That is, if you buy one of the wristbands, can you take it in the pools and ocean?

I'm assuming so. It appears to be one solid disk. IMHO, it would be silly to replace a key card that can be demagnetized with a fob that's not waterproof.

[satxdiver]

Haven't read the Ocean Medallion thread - it is just way too long. My question may have been answered, or may not be known yet but since a new thread has begun, I will ask it.

 

Are the medallions waterproof? That is, if you buy one of the wristbands, can you take it in the pools and ocean?

 

Don

 

After working with RFID devices, I would expect it to be waterproof and very durable. Remember it is a passive device.

[caribill]

Are the medallions waterproof? That is, if you buy one of the wristbands, can you take it in the pools and ocean?

 

Princess has said yes.

[Thrak]

According to Princess there are two technologies involved with the Medallion. Just posting in the interest of "full disclosure". As noted, it is a totally passive device that's detected by sensors throughout the ship and it contains zero personal information. It only has a unique identifier that ls linked to your information and preferences on a secure server. If you lose it onboard staff can find it. They can also disable the link to your info and issue a new Medallion. Very secure sounding to me.

 

The tech involved with the Medallion is:

 

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

 

Near Field Communication (NFC)

[lola2013]

Summer is winding down, students are back in school (I work in one), nights finally have a slight chill in the air, and I am now under 100 days until our next cruise! I have not been on this board for most of the summer so I am not sure if this has been covered - so I apologize ahead of time (I tried a search for it, but came up empty . . .but I really didn't try that hard). My question has to do with the Medallion thingy. On the Princess site, it states that it can be worn as a necklace, bracelet, or kept in your pocket. My question is: Does Princess supply the wristband and/or necklace? Do you need to buy that? Also, while I am at it . .what's up with now charging ahead of time for excursions? I just loved to sign up for everything and then cancel most of them after I was on board (ok, ok . . .just kidding - but I was surprised when I tried to sign up).

 

Happy Cruising!

 

Regarding pre-pay excursions, I have booked excursions for my upcoming March cruise and was able to use my OBC. I've heard comments about the policy switching back & forth, but as of a couple of months ago, no pre-pay required.

Good luck.

[AF-1]

In my opinion the medallion program will be a winner. Sure a few tweaks to make sure it works properly; but there will be some hiccups at the beginning; but am looking forward to using it

[sunneesmile]

The excursion issue, while frustrating, is understandable. So many people would reserve excursions, then just cancel them, which in popular ports with popular excursions, put some people at a disadvantage....not getting the excursion they wanted because it was full and then booking a less desirable shore trip. But, some people have little to no regard for others.

 

The issue I had is my husbands OBC is quite a bit more than mine due to the military and shareholders credit on a longer cruise and those items are in his name. I booked a couple of excursions and the system does not allow you to choose whose OBC will be used which means I would have to prepay with a credit card to book my part of the fun while his OBC will take care of his part. Our TA OBC does not show up yet, which would take care of the issue, but oh well! I called Princess and spent some time with them and they were able to correct the issue and get the excursions booked for me. But seriously, that is just an IT issue and should be corrected.

[fishywood]

 

The issue I had is my husbands OBC is quite a bit more than mine due to the military and shareholders credit on a longer cruise and those items are in his name. I booked a couple of excursions and the system does not allow you to choose whose OBC will be used which means I would have to prepay with a credit card to book my part of the fun while his OBC will take care of his part. Our TA OBC does not show up yet, which would take care of the issue, but oh well! I called Princess and spent some time with them and they were able to correct the issue and get the excursions booked for me. But seriously, that is just an IT issue and should be corrected.

 

Are you booking one or more excursions just for you, not both you and your husband? That is the only scenario I see where this would be an problem. Otherwise just log into his cruise personalizer to book them.

 

Or am I so oversimplifying that I don't see the real issue here?