Ocean Medallion on Regal Princess

[ONT-CA]

Definitely installed in Cabin 1984.... But seriously, now that we know how small it is and what it is suppose to do, how does one carry it? Is it worn on a lanyard? Is it reusable, do you turn them in? What if you lose it? What if you find one? What if you carry two together, both yours and another's?

[XBGuy]

Definitely installed in Cabin 1984.... But seriously, now that we know how small it is and what it is suppose to do,

 

how does one carry it? Is it worn on a lanyard?

 

The passenger decides--just like the passenger decides how to carry a cruise card:

-- In a lanyard.

-- In a wristband

-- In a necklace

-- In a pocket (that's where mine will be)

-- In a purse

-- There have been reports that some ladies plan on putting it in their bra

 

Is it reusable, do you turn them in?

 

Nope. Just like with the current cruise card it becomes a souvenir for the passenger.

 

What if you lose it?

 

Same as if you lose a cruise card. Go to the Passenger Services Desk and they will give you a replacement.

 

What if you find one?

 

Same as if you find a cruise card. You can:

-- Leave it and walk away.

-- Pick it up and throw it into the trash.

-- Pick it up and turn it in at the Passenger Services Desk,

-- Pick it up and keep it (although I can't imagine why anybody would do that).

 

What if you carry two together, both yours and another's?

 

OK, that question surpasses my knowledge. I can see where there might be some sort of issue, but I am confident that any problem it might cause is superficial.

 

Many years ago I was ask by my (information technology) company, to accept a new position providing sales support to the company's item processing equipment. This was just as image processing was emerging. So, I went with sales reps and called on check and remittance processing departments. Frankly I was a bit over my head. I had a fundamental understanding of the basic processes, but, of course, these managers, who had spent years if not decades, doing their jobs, were interested in how exception conditions were handled. So, when I really had no idea how to answer a specific question, I learned to ask, "How are you handling that situation, now."

 

Generally, they were OK with spending a couple minutes explaining their current procedures, and that would give me enough information and time to construct a response. More often than not, the response was something like, "Rather than having to move a physical piece of paper to your clerk, an image of the item will be presented on his/her PC."

 

Almost all the exception conditions regarding the medallion will be handled similarly to the way that those conditions are handled in the current environment.

[shof515]

Is it reusable

the big goal of the ocean medallion system is to reuse it on future sailings. you can re-program the medallion for the new sailing. This system is currently not there yet and will most likely take lots of years to implant. With this new system, the cruise line can reduce the cost needed to printing traditional cruise cards which is money they are going to spend mailing the medallions to you before your cruise.

 

 

 

for now, the ***** is a souvenir after your cruise like your cruise card

[Hlitner]

but look how quickly they got the Caribbean set. yes they need to add the other perks and are right now verifying the embarkation/disembarkation with it, but all the cabins have it. They only started in around April/May when the Regal headed over to Europe

 

Yes, and the Empire State Building was put up in about 12 months :). As they say in the investment game. past performance is not to be used a predictor of the future. But we do commend Princess for the amazing internet service they now have on the Regal.

 

Hank

[luckyinpa]

Does anyone else think that the addition of unlimited internet will increase those times?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

does internet work in bathroom? i've found them to be quite signal proof

[Haboob]

Definitely installed in Cabin 1984.... But seriously, now that we know how small it is and what it is suppose to do, how does one carry it? Is it worn on a lanyard? Is it reusable, do you turn them in? What if you lose it? What if you find one? What if you carry two together, both yours and another's?

 

> how does one carry it? Is it worn on a lanyard?

Princess is now issuing a lanyard with them. Reportedly, they were popping out of the original

wristbands. Pockets work fine, too: you don't even have to take them out except for purchases.

 

> Is it reusable, do you turn them in?

 

It could be, but they're too inexpensive to bother with. So they emboss them with your name, ship,

and voyage date to satisfy the folks who complained, "I like to keep my sea card as a souvenir".

 

> What if you carry two together, both yours and another's?

Short answer: No problem.

Longer answer: Google "RFID collision".

Caveat: To me it's apparent that the primary purpose of Medallions is to immediately detect a MOB

and get help to the victim rather spend hours in an *expensive* and fruitless search. But if the other

goes overboard and the Medallion is in your pocket... :confused:

 

The hype is to get us to wear the things. But if you don't like the hype, there is a "Safety Only"

option you can set in your ***** Profile.

[cruising deacon]

I hope Princess decides to can the whole idea, they already want to know too much information on me. At least right now I have a little control over it.

[skennedy25]

I hope Princess decides to can the whole idea, they already want to know too much information on me. At least right now I have a little control over it.

 

 

Not really up to Princess. It really falls on Carnival Corp.

[skennedy25]

Anybody hear updates on whether they have been working on the ***** ever since the Regal returned on Sept 22 to the US?

[Haboob]

I hope Princess decides to can the whole idea, they already want to know too much information on me. At least right now I have a little control over it.

 

How many surveillance cameras does an average cruise ship have covering public spaces, including cabin

balconies? Add in even 1990s real-time facial recognition software, and guess what?

[floridalover5623]

the big goal of the ocean medallion system is to reuse it on future sailings. you can re-program the medallion for the new sailing. This system is currently not there yet and will most likely take lots of years to implant. With this new system, the cruise line can reduce the cost needed to printing traditional cruise cards which is money they are going to spend mailing the medallions to you before your cruise.

 

 

 

for now, the ***** is a souvenir after your cruise like your cruise card

It seems a little difficult to reuse if it has my name on it.

Also, how would they plan on getting people to turn them in if it didn't have any name on it?

My wife saves all our old cruise cards & now it'll be the Medallions.

[Haboob]

the big goal of the ocean medallion system is to reuse it on future sailings. you can re-program the medallion for the new sailing. This system is currently not there yet and will most likely take lots of years to implant. With this new system, the cruise line can reduce the cost needed to printing traditional cruise cards which is money they are going to spend mailing the medallions to you before your cruise.

 

for now, the ***** is a souvenir after your cruise like your cruise card

 

Uhh… no.

 

The cost of materials, printing and embossing a no-chip credit card run about 17¢. Take a couple pennies

off for not embossing, and you have a decent estimate of how much a cruise card costs.

 

The cost of the RFID chip inside a Medallion runs about 13¢. Add some pennies for embedding it in plastic

add some more for "engraving" name, ship, and voyage date.

 

They cost the same with maybe the Medallion a tad more. But, even if the Medallion were half the cost of a

cruise card, then 7.5¢ x 3000 passengers = $225, which at Princess' announced shipping cost of $35 per

passenger gets Medallions to 6.4 passengers. :')

 

It's a souvenir. :cool:

[pablo222]

the big goal of the ocean medallion system is to reuse it on future sailings.

 

Not a goal.

 

The medallion contains two radios, an rfid chip, and a battery.

 

I think I read they were supposed to last about a month.

 

Here is some more detail:

 

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/nytec-designed-engineered-technology-that-brings-carnival-corporation-ocean-medallion-2186608.htm

 

It gave me a chuckle reading the post here about how medallions cost less than cards.

[satxdiver]

Not a goal.

 

The medallion contains two radios, an rfid chip, and a battery.

 

I think I read they were supposed to last about a month.

 

Here is some more detail:

 

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/nytec-designed-engineered-technology-that-brings-carnival-corporation-ocean-medallion-2186608.htm

 

It gave me a chuckle reading the post here about how medallions cost less than cards.

 

I noticed the article was released January 5, 2017. It talked about ***** as if it was a done deal when in actuality they were just starting the implementation and has proved to be quite a challenge on an all metal ship. Nytec does not appear to have any experience with cruise ship installations. Perhaps Carnival Corp accepted their grandiose plan and timetable without a lot of questions. The article claims that the Regal will be functional by late 2017 (we are still waiting on the Regal a year later). They imply the ***** had been tested before the article was written which is probably correct but did they do it on a metal ship.

 

NFS and BLE are certainly not new technologies as they have been around decades and in widespread use. The biggest challenge of several is implementing this on an all metal ship that very effectively shields electrical communication. However now they have experience in making it work (partially?) on one cruise ship namely the CB.

 

I do believe though that this is the wave of the future. As it becomes effective on the Princess ships, ***** will be ported to all the other Carnival ships which number over 100. We will be on the CB next month and will be able to see how well ***** is working.

[Hlitner]

Many hear on CC choose to believe their own fiction and ignore the real reason behind the *****. Not surprised it is the third item listed on the NYTEC info which is:

• An Ocean Medallion based payment POS system with Medallion Pay -- Guests easily pay for merchandise or services through the touch of their Ocean Medallion
  

 

Essentially this is a very high tech marketing item. The stuff like opening a cabin door is superfluous but seems to impress some. I still remember when ships changed from real metal Keys to cards and how it impressed many cruisers.

But we are talking about a device that gives a cruise line amazing marketing opportunities. They are able to monitor the movement patterns of each cruiser and determine traffic flow ("where should we set up tables for sales?"). It will allow cruisers to gamble without even going to the Casino (I wonder who benefits). I assume that eventually one will be able to play BINGO anywhere on the ship and charge their BINGO cards....all via the *****.

What we find fascinating is the privacy issue. Many folks are very paranoid about protecting their privacy (with good cause) and have learned to carefully use the web. But many of these same folks are actually excited about wearing a device that will allow others to easily monitor many of their habits such as how long they spend in a dining room, how much time you spend in your bathroom, cabin, etc.\

Personally we have no issue with the ***** and will play their game when it truly starts. But we will not be gambling any more then usual (which is zero), playing BINGO (we gave this up in Middle School), and not getting sucked in by onboard shop sales. In fact, on our recent Regal cruise (2 weeks ago) we noticed that Cognac cost more money in the "duty free" shops of Princess then it does in our own State's Liquor Control Board Operated stores. And our State has some of the highest booze taxes in the USA.

DW went into the Princess onboard shop and noticed that had some cute Chico stuff. She then asked the clerk if it was possible to return an item to a land-based Chico store...in the event that it did not fit (she wanted to buy items for DD). The answer was NO! You cannot return those items anywhere! The ***** will not change that simple fact.

Hank

[jwattle]

Many hear on CC choose to believe their own fiction and ignore the real reason behind the *****. Not surprised it is the third item listed on the NYTEC info which is:

• An Ocean Medallion based payment POS system with Medallion Pay -- Guests easily pay for merchandise or services through the touch of their Ocean Medallion
  

Essentially this is a very high tech marketing item. The stuff like opening a cabin door is superfluous but seems to impress some. I still remember when ships changed from real metal Keys to cards and how it impressed many cruisers.

But we are talking about a device that gives a cruise line amazing marketing opportunities. They are able to monitor the movement patterns of each cruiser and determine traffic flow ("where should we set up tables for sales?"). It will allow cruisers to gamble without even going to the Casino (I wonder who benefits). I assume that eventually one will be able to play BINGO anywhere on the ship and charge their BINGO cards....all via the *****.

What we find fascinating is the privacy issue. Many folks are very paranoid about protecting their privacy (with good cause) and have learned to carefully use the web. But many of these same folks are actually excited about wearing a device that will allow others to easily monitor many of their habits such as how long they spend in a dining room, how much time you spend in your bathroom, cabin, etc.\

Personally we have no issue with the ***** and will play their game when it truly starts. But we will not be gambling any more then usual (which is zero), playing BINGO (we gave this up in Middle School), and not getting sucked in by onboard shop sales. In fact, on our recent Regal cruise (2 weeks ago) we noticed that Cognac cost more money in the "duty free" shops of Princess then it does in our own State's Liquor Control Board Operated stores. And our State has some of the highest booze taxes in the USA.

DW went into the Princess onboard shop and noticed that had some cute Chico stuff. She then asked the clerk if it was possible to return an item to a land-based Chico store...in the event that it did not fit (she wanted to buy items for DD). The answer was NO! You cannot return those items anywhere! The ***** will not change that simple fact.

Hank

 

They can already track long you spend in your cabin and your spending habits, among others, without *****.

[caribill]

They can already track long you spend in your cabin and your spending habits, among others, without *****.

 

They may be able to track when you enter your cabin, but they cannot track when you leave it if you have a cruise card.

[pablo222]

Essentially this is a very high tech marketing item.

 

Lots of the other background material talk about monetizing behaviour.

 

You haven't had a drink in a while. How 'bout now?

 

You've been in our jewelery shop. In five minutes, there will be a jewelery 'talk' you might be interested in...

 

You played poker. In five minutes, a tournament will be starting...

 

You're not in your cabin? We'll turn off the lights and A/C to save energy.

We'll flip them on when we sniff you in the hallway, and you will never know

that it happened.

[pablo222]

Nytec does not appear to have any experience with cruise ship installations. Perhaps Carnival Corp accepted their grandiose plan and timetable without a lot of questions.

 

Were you expecting a press release that said this is going to be really challenging, and

we'll probably be a year late delivering it?

 

I don't think press releases are intended to be objective.

 

 

Also, I don't think this is correct:

 

• A Smart Display System inside every stateroom -- Guests have personalized concierge experience, easily manage their stateroom and daily itineraries, and can keep up with the latest on-cruise activities from the personalized 55" touch display.
  

There might be 55" touch screen displays in elevator lobbies, but not in every stateroom.

[floridalover5623]

 

You're not in your cabin? We'll turn off the lights and A/C to save energy.

We'll flip them on when we sniff you in the hallway, and you will never know

that it happened.

They could just turn on the lights automatically as the door unlocks for that matter but if they insisted on shutting off my AC when I'm out of the cabin, my Medallion would stay permanently in the cabin.

[pablo222]

They could just turn on the lights automatically as the door unlocks for that matter but if they insisted on shutting off my AC when I'm out of the cabin, my Medallion would stay permanently in the cabin.

 

If mrs. floridalover is asleep in the cabin, she might not put great value on

the medallion turning on the lights for you as you enter.

[Haboob]

If mrs. floridalover is asleep in the cabin, she might not put great value on

the medallion turning on the lights for you as you enter.

 

Methinks you're imputing more precision than was intended by the comment. The industry already figured that

issue out with the cruise-card-in-the-slot system: The card only enables the lights, they don't go on unless the

light switch that Mrs FloridaLover turned off (so they weren't on because of her Medallion) gets turned back on.

 

On the other hand, if the A/C has been off for 6 hours in Panama while I was on an excursion and only turned

back on when I was 5 seconds down the alleyway, somehow I suspect I'd know it. ;)

[Pierlesscruisers]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=54982054&postcount=9

 

YMMV

 

There is a small error in that listing. The last Baja stateroom is B337 not B336.

 

Tom

[caribill]

They could just turn on the lights automatically as the door unlocks for that matter but if they insisted on shutting off my AC when I'm out of the cabin, my Medallion would stay permanently in the cabin.

 

So if one person takes two Medallions in order to get two coffees at the IC, then the person remaining in the cabin can be left in the dark in the shower with no AC.

[caribill]

Methinks you're imputing more precision than was intended by the comment. The industry already figured that issue out with the cruise-card-in-the-slot system: The card only enables the lights, they don't go on unless the light switch that Mrs FloridaLover turned off (so they weren't on because of her Medallion) gets turned back on.

 

 

I was in one hotel in China that not only turned off the lights when the card was removed from the slot, it also turned off all electrical outlets including the one the room refrigerator was plugged into.