Princess Removed OM Designation on Website ...

[pms4104]

In light of Todd320's comments, I would jeep an eye on Princess website for Carib Princess ( ***** to start mid-March) and the Island (***** when it starts Alaska 2018). At least this was accurate yesterday ... maybe thise rollouts already rolled back?

[Katie333]

As ***** was getting hyped, I was getting interested in what it had to offer. Then I read the live threads and it was clear, the ships were just not ready.

 

It's great to want to innovate, but innovation without a strong foundation, copious amounts of technology and process support is just bound to fail. The roll out should have been much softer, smaller and selective.

 

Agree with vickie bernie and others, as an investor, this puts a pallor on the overall concept. Very few new technologies work seamlessly and perfectly the first go-round, but Princess seems woefully unprepared for the disaster this has been. :(

[azbirdmom]

I was just looking at the ***** page on the Princess website. https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/

 

In the "DISCOVER OCEAN MEDALLION CLASS DESTINATIONS" section, they show the Regal, Caribbean, Crown, Golden, and Island Princess as having ***** cruises. Click on any of the destinations an you'll find cruises with the banner shown. The Royal is gone completely from the pick list as others have noted but this would imply that it's not going to get ***** in the foreseeable future. I wonder if they learned something on the Regal that proves problematic for that class of ship?

[Katie333]

I was just looking at the ***** page on the Princess website. https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/

 

In the "DISCOVER OCEAN MEDALLION CLASS DESTINATIONS" section, they show the Regal, Caribbean, Crown, Golden, and Island Princess as having ***** cruises. Click on any of the destinations an you'll find cruises with the banner shown. The Royal is gone completely from the pick list as others have noted but this would imply that it's not going to get ***** in the foreseeable future. I wonder if they learned something on the Regal that proves problematic for that class of ship?

 

That's interesting, I would have thought the newest ships would be the best possible shape to take on this new capability. We are sailing the Star next year and while apparently it is getting some pre-***** capability (whatever that means), it's not being listed as a potential future ***** ship ...

[myfuzzy]

We are sailing on the Caribbean in June 2018, so far the banner is still up for the cruise....only time will tell

[pablo222]

In the "DISCOVER OCEAN MEDALLION CLASS DESTINATIONS" section, they show the Regal, Caribbean, Crown, Golden, and Island Princess as having ***** cruises. Click on any of the destinations an you'll find cruises with the banner shown. The Royal is gone completely from the pick list as others have noted but this would imply that it's not going to get ***** in the foreseeable future. I wonder if they learned something on the Regal that proves problematic for that class of ship?

 

Very interesting observation.

 

I disembarked Royal on 11/25, and didn't see any of the new screens.

I wonder if they have been installed on Caribbean, or any other ship?

 

Also, caribbean will be in the caribbean all summer 2018 -- maybe it's easier to

work on a ship that does turn-around in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

The Global Experience Innovators can just drive up I-95 from Miami...

[vickie_bernie]

Very interesting observation.

 

I disembarked Royal on 11/25, and didn't see any of the new screens.

I wonder if they have been installed on Caribbean, or any other ship?

 

Also, caribbean will be in the caribbean all summer 2018 -- maybe it's easier to

work on a ship that does turn-around in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

The Global Experience Innovators can just drive up I-95 from Miami...

 

Royal was the first shipt that was ocean Ready. This happened last fall in Italy. We were on just after drydock. All the new lcd screens at the elevator banks were installed. All the transponders were installed in the cabin.

 

I am guessing they are holding back till it is ready

[pablo222]

Royal was the first shipt that was ocean Ready. This happened last fall in Italy. We were on just after drydock. All the new lcd screens at the elevator banks were installed. All the transponders were installed in the cabin.

y

 

Are you sure you don't mean regal was the fist ship done?

 

Even the noted news source 'cruisecritic' says regal is the first:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7777

 

 

The pictures of regal have a screen outside each cabin door.

 

Nothing like that seen on royal.

[vickie_bernie]

Are you sure you don't mean regal was the fist ship done?

 

Even the noted news source 'cruisecritic' says regal is the first:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7777

 

 

The pictures of regal have a screen outside each cabin door.

 

Nothing like that seen on royal.

 

Nope I meant the Royal. The Royal was the First ship to go into drydock (|Fall of 2017) and get the infrastructure for Ocean Medallion. But I can see how my post was confusing I should of written dry dock ocean medallion installed, not ocean ready.

 

 

But Regal was the first ship to launch it. (I believe it went into drydock in Germany this year).

 

The Royal also got the screens installed outside each cabin during that dry dock too. A gold plate covered it up, and it is still a gold plate.

 

here is a blog I wrote when we just boarded the Royal right after drydock http://vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.ca/2016/11/boarding-royal-sideways-inside-cabin.html

[jrzebird]

Nope I meant the Royal. The Royal was the First ship to go into drydock (|Fall of 2017) and get the infrastructure for Ocean Medallion. But I can see how my post was confusing I should of written dry dock ocean medallion installed, not ocean ready.

 

 

But Regal was the first ship to launch it. (I believe it went into drydock in Germany this year).

 

The Royal also got the screens installed outside each cabin during that dry dock too. A gold plate covered it up, and it is still a gold plate.

 

here is a blog I wrote when we just boarded the Royal right after drydock http://vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.ca/2016/11/boarding-royal-sideways-inside-cabin.html

 

I disembarked the Regal on November 5th and there were a few hiccups. We completely lost our TV for 3 days in the forward section of the ship. I didn't get OBC, but we did get cash. I just received my check, which was the promised amount, less the very small balance I had.

 

The GOOD NEWS, for those who don't know, is that my cruise personalizer for the November 1, 2018, Regal sailing advises that the cost of Internet is currently $9.99 per day, with unlimited use. And, if you are Platinum or Elite, it is free. Hopefully, this will remain and isn't just for the introductory period.

 

As for expecting OBC because a cruise that was originally advertised as ***** isn't, through no fault of Princess, I think that's a bit unrealistic. Those who said they can't cancel because it's past final payment, don't you have insurance? If yes, you can cancel for any reason. If not, it's a lesson well learned. Just my opinion.

 

Maureen

[pablo222]

The Royal also got the screens installed outside each cabin during that dry dock too. A gold plate covered it up, and it is still a gold plate.

 

I didn't see this in november, but I will have another look in a couple weeks.

[Grego]

Still a lot of speculation and making up stuff based on guesses. It certainly is a major concern at this time that the total system isn't online. There are certain areas of integration that are working, but I'm sure there is a lot of head scratching as to why it is taking so long.

While all this is going on, there is a certain amount of revenue loss from cancellations, OBC handouts to quiet the masses and the fact that for every contractor aboard there is a loss of space for paying customers. Sure that was probably factored into the original plan, but not to the extent we are seeing.

We are disappointed that we will not be in the group using the medallion on our Feb 25 voyage on the Regal. It was our plan that by then the experience would be available, and maybe it could be but they won't implement until March. Oh well, at least we get to sail into Falmouth!

[voljeep]

not sure if this is related or not, but I am tracking a cruise on the Caribbean Princess for 4/20/19, yep 2019, and it is now being shown as sold out - a 7 day eastern carib sold out over a year ahead of time?

 

When is/was CB going *****?

[Todd320]

 

The Royal also got the screens installed outside each cabin during that dry dock too. A gold plate covered it up, and it is still a gold plate.

 

l

 

This statement got my curiosity up. While there is a hole behind the gold plate with the wiring, the monitor/display is not installed on the Royal. I did pull back the gold plate to check. When on the Regal we did observe the installation process of installing the display into a precut hole and changing out the door handle hardware.

[goldie099]

I disembarked the Regal on November 5th and there were a few hiccups. We completely lost our TV for 3 days in the forward section of the ship. I didn't get OBC, but we did get cash. I just received my check, which was the promised amount, less the very small balance I had.

 

The GOOD NEWS, for those who don't know, is that my cruise personalizer for the November 1, 2018, Regal sailing advises that the cost of Internet is currently $9.99 per day, with unlimited use. And, if you are Platinum or Elite, it is free. Hopefully, this will remain and isn't just for the introductory period.

 

As for expecting OBC because a cruise that was originally advertised as ***** isn't, through no fault of Princess, I think that's a bit unrealistic. Those who said they can't cancel because it's past final payment, don't you have insurance? If yes, you can cancel for any reason. If not, it's a lesson well learned. Just my opinion.

 

Maureen

 

I disagree with your last point - I booked a cruise AFTER final payment, but at least two weeks before Princess notified us that it would be an ***** "preview" and then about a week until we were told we weren't in a preview cabin. Because I booked past final payment, "cancel for any reason" insurance WASN'T available to me through providers in Canada. So that point is not valid, at least for a portion of the cruising population. Furthermore, for Princess to have advertised it and hyped it up, and for them to be having SUCH issues, I think speaks to the fact that they way under-estimated the possible glitches. I understand that some things may take time to iron out, but for the medallion to open the door...sorry, that doesn't seem like it should be rocket science, once the panels are properly installed and the appropriate software is up-and-running. And Princess telling me that I'll still enjoy the benefits of an ***** vacation sans medallion? Faster wifi (I unplug on vacation, it's one of the only remaining places in the world I can vacation to without feeling the need to be stuck to my phone!), a new terminal, and a sail away party that, to be frank, after watching the video looks like a downgrade.

 

Does anyone know if Disney experienced these same glitches to this extent when it started using Magic Bands at Disney World? My understanding was a member of that Disney team was brought in by Princess to rollout the ***** program.

[pablo222]

This statement got my curiosity up. While there is a hole behind the gold plate with the wiring, the monitor/display is not installed on the Royal. I did pull back the gold plate to check. When on the Regal we did observe the installation process of installing the display into a precut hole and changing out the door handle hardware.

 

Todd -- thank you for checking.

[satxdiver]

As for expecting OBC because a cruise that was originally advertised as ***** isn't, through no fault of Princess, I think that's a bit unrealistic. Those who said they can't cancel because it's past final payment, don't you have insurance? If yes, you can cancel for any reason. If not, it's a lesson well learned. Just my opinion.

 

Maureen

 

I disagree with Princess not having fault with the *****. It was heavily hyped getting pax's hopes up and then they had to back down after many had booked their cruises because they wanted to by the first to use *****. Princess does share responsibility in the mess they created. The introduction of ***** was over sold and under implemented. They have egg all over their faces.

 

I did book our cruise on the CB because I wanted to experience ***** but I decided to wait until November in hopes that the most serious problems would be solved by then. I am not sure I am waiting long enough. Whether it is functional when I board or not, it will not in any way ruin my cruise and simply cause me to try again later. As a retired computer engineer, none of this is a surprise.

 

When is/was CB going *****?

 

Originally planed for March 2018. We are on the CB in November 2018 so we will see if they can get it done.

[Todd320]

Todd -- thank you for checking.

 

Your welcome, easy to check when your on the ship. It’s always beneficial when you can correct misinformation even though in the end it won’t make much deference.

[Jimorel]

Still a lot of speculation and making up stuff based on guesses. It certainly is a major concern at this time that the total system isn't online. There are certain areas of integration that are working, but I'm sure there is a lot of head scratching as to why it is taking so long.

While all this is going on, there is a certain amount of revenue loss from cancellations, OBC handouts to quiet the masses and the fact that for every contractor aboard there is a loss of space for paying customers. Sure that was probably factored into the original plan, but not to the extent we are seeing.

We are disappointed that we will not be in the group using the medallion on our Feb 25 voyage on the Regal. It was our plan that by then the experience would be available, and maybe it could be but they won't implement until March. Oh well, at least we get to sail into Falmouth!

HI,

I am also on the Feb.25 sailing. I was excited and curious after reading about *****. Then saw all the problems and delays so far. Just my luck!! To top it off I have been reading on CC about so many cruisers getting $100 OBC for not having the ***** and called Princess, basically I feel they just said too bad and so sad. OK, so we are not getting to be part of the new tech adventure that will revolutionize cruising, but treat all non-elite customers the same.

 

I haven't seen you on the roll call for this sailing. Will this be your first time to Falmouth? It will be my first for all the ports and I am looking for what to do in both Falmouth and Grand Cayman. Getting away from Feb in Wisconsin, is almost enough reason to cruise just by itself.

[vclst]

Our 4/27/19 cruise on the Royal was advertised as an Ocean Medallion cruise when we booked it but now that designation is gone when you search for it under Plan a Cruise. It sounds like they don’t think they’ll have all the bugs worked out by even then!

 

I am also on this cruise...I called Princess yesterday to inquire, but the young lady that answered never answered my direct question. She hemmed and hawed, and then put me on hold to call the OCEAN concierge. When she returned, the answer was the same...don't know why it was removed, but it SHOULD be an ***** cruise.

[greenie082756]

When this was first introduced - *****, my DH and I both said "give it a year to work out the kinks".

 

Anyone (such as myself) who has worked for a large company that has decided to change their electronic system must know that it takes months to work out the issues. Once they fixed one issue, another one pops up that they didn't think would be affected.

 

Ocean Medallion is going to IMHO take at least a year to get it in prime working condition.

 

I look forward to experiencing it in 2019. :D

[vclst]

I am also on this cruise...I called Princess yesterday to inquire, but the young lady that answered never answered my direct question. She hemmed and hawed, and then put me on hold to call the OCEAN concierge. When she returned, the answer was the same...don't know why it was removed, but it SHOULD be an ***** cruise.

Hi all...just a further update...I spoke with someone in Customer Relations, and it was explained to me in a way that made sense, that the Royal was the next one due for the roll out, so all dates were pulled. This was done so as not to create some of the disappointment that has been caused by the technical difficulties with rollout. If the next ship in line is not ready...then they may pull it's dates as well.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

[azbirdmom]

Hi all...just a further update...I spoke with someone in Customer Relations, and it was explained to me in a way that made sense, that the Royal was the next one due for the roll out, so all dates were pulled. This was done so as not to create some of the disappointment that has been caused by the technical difficulties with rollout. If the next ship in line is not ready...then they may pull it's dates as well.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

 

That definitely makes sense and is a better strategy than creating more frustration and feelings of bait and switch for those who book future cruises. But they should also have a strategy for dealing with those who already booked in anticipation of experiencing *****.

[shepp]

OK, maybe I'm just plain obtuse, but I still don't understand the appeal of the *****. Sure, maybe you won't have to tell the bartender you want a G&T, but is still having to do that a reason to cancel a cruise? Really?

 

The RFID bands at Walt Disney World made sense because they kept track of Fastpasses and restaurant reservations. But what beyond the ***** hype is everyone specifically looking forward to?

Edited December 6, 2017 by shepp

[Thrak]

OK, maybe I'm just plain obtuse, but I still don't understand the appeal of the *****. Sure, maybe you won't have to tell the bartender you want a G&T, but is stil having to do that a reason to cancel a cruise? Really?

 

The RFID bands at Walt Disney World made sense because they kept track of Fastpasses and restaurant reservations. But what beyond the ***** hype is eveyone looking forward to?

 

This is a small example of the things I look forward to with the Medallion. On a recent 28 day cruise there were several times when I went up to Adagio to find my wife. She had gone to the Knitters and Natters meeting. As I was heading up there she was on her way back to the cabin. With the Medallion I wouldn't have wasted my time checking the place she had recently vacated. I also went to find her at the aft pool and she had just left so, again, we crossed paths. It's not a huge deal but there would have been no issue at all had I been able to check if she was still in a certain location or had already left.

 

Several times in the Princess Theater we were waiting for the show while reading. I tried (and only sometimes succeeded) to flag down a waiter for a drink. The few times I was successful I ended up having to go to passenger services to have the charge remove as I had the beverage package and shouldn't have been charged. In theory, with the Medallion I could have simply ordered the drink from my seat without having to stand up and wildly wave my arms in an attempt to attract the attention of the wait staff. Also, theoretically, I wouldn't have been charged which would have avoided the trips to passenger services to have the improper charge removed.