Regal Princess - Change of Ocean Medallion Status

[Grego]

We just noticed on the Princess website that the status of Ocean Medallion has been changed from "Ocean Medallion Preview" to "Ocean Medallion Vacation" on the Regal Princess for voyages from December 30th, 2018 through 2019.  I haven't seen confirmation of this change, however, we have heard that this might happen and it seems that it has.

 

For us, we are happy as we are booked on the 30th New Year's Eve B2B voyages.  We did the rollout voyage to Bermuda on the Regal a year ago November when they had all the corporate people onboard and presenting this new technology that was introduced on the Regal.  They didn't know at the time that she wouldn't be the first Princess ship to have the Medallion, but they were betting on it.

 

It will be interesting to see what this system will do to enhance the cruise experience.  Even if it doesn't, we'll still have a good time one of our favorite ships.

[xavier]

We had it on our 12/2 cruise.  We could open our doors and buy drinks with it.

[Grego]

We checked with our Princess rep and she checked our cabin to see if we made the cut......and we didn't.  I don't understand why Princess would announce this as a "Vacation" status when it doesn't apply to all the cabins.  Yeah, I know they want to promote this feature and get interested in booking this ship, but it's virtually sold out anyway.

Maybe starting out the new year with the "Vacation" status handle will sound more positive, but when folks like us get on board and don't have the medallion, there will be even more negative blowback.

We booked this voyage because we love the ship and being on her for New Year's celebration.  The Medallion was a hopeful plus,  be we are happy without it.  And........we still enjoy the perks of the other "Ocean Medallion" features without needing it to open our door or buy a drink - we are very capable of doing that ourselves.

 

 

 

[CanICruiseSoonPlease]

1 hour ago, Grego said:

We checked with our Princess rep and she checked our cabin to see if we made the cut......and we didn't.  I don't understand why Princess would announce this as a "Vacation" status when it doesn't apply to all the cabins.  Yeah, I know they want to promote this feature and get interested in booking this ship, but it's virtually sold out anyway.

Maybe starting out the new year with the "Vacation" status handle will sound more positive, but when folks like us get on board and don't have the medallion, there will be even more negative blowback.

We booked this voyage because we love the ship and being on her for New Year's celebration.  The Medallion was a hopeful plus,  be we are happy without it.  And........we still enjoy the perks of the other "Ocean Medallion" features without needing it to open our door or buy a drink - we are very capable of doing that ourselves.

The entire ship has the medallion. Tell your rep to read up on it.

1 hour ago, Grego said:

 

 

 

 

[Grego]

On 12/18/2018 at 7:08 AM, CanICruiseSoonPlease said:

The entire ship has the medallion. Tell your rep to read up on it.

 

Excuse me?  Our rep checked our cabin and it's not ready.  The website is showing that the ship is not Medallion Vacation but back to Preview and that's for all voyages in January 2019. 

Why would Princess have on their site indication that medallion is not on the entire ship for those looking to book a cruise? You would think they would like to promote the availability of the medallion everywhere, but they might be erring on the side of caution. The problem is that the coordination is lacking on what the status is. 

We are still boarding her on the 30th and we'll see what is then.

[hbrote]

Yesterday the Princess site had my 13 Jan 2019 departure as Medallion Cruise but today it is back to Preview.  I did read on another post that the entire ship had been done.  I guess the only way to find out will be when we walk into the terminal. 

Have a great cruise and let us know  about the Medallion status, it would be appreciated.

[Andrew J. Cat]

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!  Our Jan 6 Regal cruise now shows "preview" rather than "vacation".

I don't care.....just get me on the ship.  We're ready for our cruise!  

[Host CJSKIDS]

I was on with the ocean ready team the other day to find out why my medallion was sent and then returned to sender once it reached Hong Kong.  I do have an ocean medallion cabin as it was one of the original 110 cabins.  

They told me that they are not mailing any medallions for the Regal now and that within a few days the entire ship would be medallion ready, at least that was their hope. 

 

I do see that they switched the 1/13/19 Regal sailing back to preview.  

[MrBill64]

I will be boarding the Regal this Sunday, December 23rd.  I will try to remember to report back and let everyone know the latest on medallion status. 

 

I was not even offered the option to have my medallion mailed after filling out the info in my Ocean Ready app.  I could only have it picked up at the port.  Time will tell.

 

Bill

[infoteknerd]

Yea OM status info from Princess regarding the Regal has been pretty unreliable. I was also told earlier that my upcoming cabin was not OM even though there were reviews on it mentioning it’s use. 

 

While we can not expect anything with a sense of entitlement, I am looking forward to getting to experience the new technology. 

[FLCruise7]

We had the OM on our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess.  Opening the door was nice (without having to dig out a room key).  Could also use it to buy beverages & play slots.  And find members of your sailing party.  I'm not sure what else it was supposed to do!

[Grego]

7 hours ago, FLCruise7 said:

We had the OM on our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess.  Opening the door was nice (without having to dig out a room key).  Could also use it to buy beverages & play slots.  And find members of your sailing party.  I'm not sure what else it was supposed to do!

I'm glad you had a "medallion" experience.  There is a lot more that can be done with this technology that will be rolled out later.  Features from quicker embarkation and the whole journey to disembarkation.  Hopefully, we will see this working on all ships sometime soon.

[Grego]

The website is now showing that the status of Ocean Medallion Vacation begins with the first of the March voyages.  I know that they are bringing on-line cabins all the time, so it appears that they feel that it will take another couple of months to complete the task and have good final testing before they can say it's good to go.

[CanICruiseSoonPlease]

On 12/20/2018 at 7:52 AM, Grego said:

Excuse me?  Our rep checked our cabin and it's not ready.  The website is showing that the ship is not Medallion Vacation but back to Preview and that's for all voyages in January 2019. 

Why would Princess have on their site indication that medallion is not on the entire ship for those looking to book a cruise? You would think they would like to promote the availability of the medallion everywhere, but they might be erring on the side of caution. The problem is that the coordination is lacking on what the status is. 

We are still boarding her on the 30th and we'll see what is then.

Whoopsie...I guess the excuse me? was in reference to my comment about your TA.  I didnt mean for it to come out that way. I guess I just typed it fast and didnt look back.   But my friend is sailing now and he said the entire ship has the Medallion.  All decks, all cabins.  Thanks.  Will advise more on Sunday to see if he says anything changed thru the cruise. Happy Holidays

[emmak8]

I don't understand the excitement over Medallion. I was in a cabin that had OM on the Regal. Sorry. But nothing special in my book!

[MrBill64]

1 hour ago, emmak8 said:

I don't understand the excitement over Medallion. I was in a cabin that had OM on the Regal. Sorry. But nothing special in my book!

 

From what I have read about the Medallion is not so much what the actual Medallion can do but what the app on your phone Ocean Now/Ready can do in conjunction with the Medallion.  Such as being able to order food and drinks anywhere on the ship using the app.  Say you find a nice quiet spot on the ship that is not near a bar or place to grab a bite to eat.   You can open up your app and order something from room service and or a beverage to be delivered right to your location if you have your medallion with you.  

 

Another nice option is your DW is somewhere on the ship and you would like to find her to see if she would like to accompany you to trivia or a show.  I believe the app will allow you to locate her.  Or maybe she is looking for you to see if you would like to attend ball room dancing lessons (ok, so not all the functions of this app are good 😉 ) And finally, you should be able to set up the app to remind you of an upcoming activity that you would like to take part in.  There are dozens of other possibilities that I am sure Princess is exploring.

 

I am with you on the actual Medallion not being able to do much more than your original key card but using it with the associated app opens up a lot more options while on board the ship.  Like I said earlier in the thread, I will be boarding the Regal this Sunday so I will find out first hand if what I have described as my understanding what the app can do is possible or not.  Maybe these functions were not up and running on your cruise but hopefully they will be on mine.

 

Bill

[CanICruiseSoonPlease]

5 hours ago, emmak8 said:

I don't understand the excitement over Medallion. I was in a cabin that had OM on the Regal. Sorry. But nothing special in my book!

Agreed.  I had it on the caribbean princess. No biggie.   I rather have the keycard in my pocket.  I hate the lanyard and med around my neck.  

[firecrewcapt]

Personally I could care less about OM, never hard a problem with the card. The purpose of a cruise is to relax and have fun while seeing new sights and countries, just my opinion.

[TracieABD]

3 minutes ago, firecrewcapt said:

Personally I could care less about OM, never hard a problem with the card. The purpose of a cruise is to relax and have fun while seeing new sights and countries, just my opinion.

I am with the others on the thread... This just seems like one more potential headache. Of course, I have used it yet- but honestly, I am skeptical. 

[beauty1492]

I'm so excited about OM this is our 3rd time looking for it. we always book same cabin so If anyone is out there could yu check and see if B234 have OM and let me know????????

 

I love all the new screen but could access since we didn't have OM

[metairiegal]

We're sailing 12/23 on the Regal.  Where on the website do you find this information about whether it is Medallion or not?

[beauty1492]

The way I found it was I didn't sign in and do find a cruise-it was in the banner

[Colo Cruiser]

4 hours ago, metairiegal said:

We're sailing 12/23 on the Regal.  Where on the website do you find this information about whether it is Medallion or not?

Look up a specific cruise as if you are looking to book and it should have a banner saying preview or Medallion.

[metairiegal]

On ‎12‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 4:47 PM, beauty1492 said:

The way I found it was I didn't sign in and do find a cruise-it was in the banner

 

20 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Look up a specific cruise as if you are looking to book and it should have a banner saying preview or Medallion.

Thanks for that info!  I just checked and it says OM Preview.  We sail tomorrow! 

 

We were on the Caribbean Princess last month and it was in full OM mode.  I really don't see anything in it, except for opening the door.  I also don't like wearing the lanyard, but it still worked if it was in my purse or pocket.

Edited December 22, 2018 by metairiegal

[CanICruiseSoonPlease]

3 hours ago, metairiegal said:

 

Thanks for that info!  I just checked and it says OM Preview.  We sail tomorrow! 

 

We were on the Caribbean Princess last month and it was in full OM mode.  I really don't see anything in it, except for opening the door.  I also don't like wearing the lanyard, but it still worked if it was in my purse or pocket.

glad to know I can keep it in my purse and it will work.  Thanks for that