MedallionNet rollout schedule announced

[Ep010835]

4 minutes ago, chinita415 said:

Thanks! Sorry for all the questions. Do you need to pay for wifi to use the apps?

 

If you are talking about the Ocean Medallion aps or the Princess@Sea ap, no you do not have to have the purchased wifi. 

These aps are available via the ship's intrAnet. 

[chinita415]

11 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

If you are talking about the Ocean Medallion aps or the Princess@Sea ap, no you do not have to have the purchased wifi. 

These aps are available via the ship's intrAnet. 

Awesome! We will pay for at least one person to access wifi though because we need to stay in touch with folks back home for emergencies. 

Edited March 9, 2019 by chinita415

[Ep010835]

5 minutes ago, chinita415 said:

Awesome! We will pay for at least one person to access wifi though because we need to stay in touch with folks back home for emergencies. 

 

While you can have only one device logged into the paid WiFi per account, you are free to swap around the device that is logged onto that account. 

If you have two, three, four or however many devices with you, they can all access the paid WiFi, but you will be limited to one logon per account at a time. 

 

[chinita415]

1 minute ago, Ep010835 said:

 

While you can have only one device logged into the paid WiFi per account, you are free to swap around the device that is logged onto that account. 

If you have two, three, four or however many devices with you, they can all access the paid WiFi, but you will be limited to one logon per account at a time. 

 

Yes I figured that. On Royal you can pay for access for 2 devices at a cheaper rate. Guess nothing like that on Princess.

[cr8tiv1]

Not positive about this, but isn't access to internet connected to Princess at Sea App account?  Not sure how that would be swapped around.  Don't have any answers for Ocean Ready Medallion app.

 

[Ep010835]

6 minutes ago, chinita415 said:

Yes I figured that. On Royal you can pay for access for 2 devices at a cheaper rate. Guess nothing like that on Princess.

 

Not that I’m aware of. 

The best bet I have found is to always purchase it pre-cruise. It’s charged at 59.95 per device or 69.95 or 79.95 or whatever dependent on the number of cruise days.

I think you can still get the pre-cruise rate on the first day on board though not 100% sure on this part. Never done anything but pre-cruise.

After that it becomes À la carte at 9.95/day. 

[Ep010835]

1 minute ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Not positive about this, but isn't access to internet connected to Princess at Sea App account?  Not sure how that would be swapped around.  Don't have any answers for Ocean Ready Medallion app.

 

 

Princess@Sea is independent of purchased WiFi. 

You sign on and off of the paid WiFi via Princess@Sea portal yes, but Princess@Sea is there and available to everyone whether or not a WiFi package is purchased.

Princess@Sea is used for such things as checking your onboard account, viewing the daily schedule of activities, ordering breakfast, etc, etc. 

 

[cr8tiv1]

Yes, I understand that Princess at Sea is an INTRAnet connection and WiFi is and INTERnet connection.  But I always had to open my Princess at Sea App to get to the WiFi connection.  

 

If there is another way to log on (without going through my Princess at Sea app), then I am not familiar with it.  

 

All I was referring to: is that if someone is sharing internet packages, wouldn't they have to have access to the Princess at Sea App that is connected to the internet package?  I guess if you open the Princess at Sea app and have the account holder's information, you could open WiFi through their app.  

Seems complicated to me.  I rarely use all of my free elite minutes.  I'm not on the ship to spend hours on the unlimited internet.  

 

Sharing:  will it go the way of free suite unlimited minutes or free coffee/aka coffee cards/or free laundry for Elite/Suites?  Unrelated, chocolate covered strawberries, corsages, individual cheese plates at wine tasting, etc.

Edited March 9, 2019 by cr8tiv1

[caribill]

3 hours ago, chinita415 said:

Thanks! Sorry for all the questions. Do you need to pay for wifi to use the apps?

 

No charge for using the Intranet (which is what all onboard Medallion functions use).

 

There is a charge for anything you do that involves the Internet other than Princess.com which is free to use.

[masterty]

I do enjoy listening to luddites explain wireless technology to other luddites. 🍿🍿

 

[caribill]

3 hours ago, chinita415 said:

We are on the 4/13 Royal Princess sailing when Medallions are supposed to roll out. Will see how that goes. Can we track other shipmates if they don't have a smartphone and just the Medallion? My MIL won't have a smartphone. She doesn't have dementia but we worry she might get lost since she has only been on one cruise and English is not her first language. 

 

 

No smart device is needed to be the person tracked.

 

A smart device, be it your own or one of the many public terminals around the ship, is used by the person doing the tracking.

 

Of course it is the Medallion itself that is being tracked, not the person. If the person leaves the cabin without the Medallion, the person will not be tracked and anyone trying to track the person will be told where the Medallion is.

 

By the way, if you lose your Medallion on the ship, you do not need a replacement. The Pursor's Desk can tell you exactly where it is on the ship.

[Ep010835]

9 hours ago, caribill said:

By the way, if you lose your Medallion on the ship, you do not need a replacement. The Pursor's Desk can tell you exactly where it is on the ship.

 

Therein lies the security issue that has existed since rollout and that has, to my knowledge, not yet been addressed. 

You are correct that the OM device can be located easily if lost or misplaced. In the case of the owner of the OM device, this is a good thing. 

 

Now think about the lost/misplaced device that falls into the wrong hands. A evildoer can take said device to any Ocean Compass screen, hold the device up to the reader and poof.........it not only identifies the owner of the device (with photo), it will provide the bad guy/gal with an illustrated path via green dots on the screen directly to your cabin. Once there he/she will find the door unlocked when they approach it. All courtesy of the Ocean Medallion system. As far as the system is concerned, whomever has the device in their hands at the moment is YOU.

 

When on the CB last Nov/Dec I asked one of the OM staff about this security vulnerability. Her title was Lead Navigator. I was told that PCL is aware of the problem and is taking steps to remedy it. It has been discussed that the problem could be solved by adding a challenge (password, thumbprint ID, facial recognition, etc. etc.) between presenting the OM device to the reader and the system providing the personal information. 

 

To my knowledge this has not yet been resolved. 

 

So for the present, it is in your best interest to make the folks at the purser's desk aware immediately if you lose/misplace your OM device. Otherwise you may return home and find all of your dirty socks gone!

[Daniel A]

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 1:12 PM, Thrak said:

Do the free minutes connect via Medallion Net or do they have a funky connection you are limited to with the free minutes? From an IT standpoint it would seem to me that all connections would be the same and maintaining two separate systems would be bizarre but, with Princess, who knows what they will do for more cash.

I think this may answer your question, from the Princess web page explaining MedallionNet  "Platinum and Elite guests can use MedallionNet with their Captain’s Circle minutes or, better yet, choose an exclusive embarkation day discount on an unlimited package once on board."

[Daniel A]

18 hours ago, Ep010835 said:

 

Not that I’m aware of. 

The best bet I have found is to always purchase it pre-cruise. It’s charged at 59.95 per device or 69.95 or 79.95 or whatever dependent on the number of cruise days.

I think you can still get the pre-cruise rate on the first day on board though not 100% sure on this part. Never done anything but pre-cruise.

After that it becomes À la carte at 9.95/day. 

From what I saw reading up on MedallionNet, it's like the Beverage Packages.  You can either buy it on board the first day or pre-cruise or not have internet.  (Unless using free Platinum/Elite minutes.)  I don't think you can buy by the minute with MedallionNet.  Every package is unlimited and they differ from each other by the speeds offered.

Edited March 9, 2019 by Daniel A

[Daniel A]

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 12:50 PM, dides said:

Princess have announced a rollout schedule for more of their ships, which is now separated out from the full Ocean Medallion activation schedule.

According to their press release, Regal Princess, Caribbean Princess, Royal Princess and Ruby Princess already have it and the following ships will be rolled out:

 

• Coral Princess – from 5th April 2019
• Island Princess – from 15th May 2019
• Crown Princess – from 30th June 2019
• Emerald Princess – from 3rd August 2019
• Sky Princess – from 20th October 2019
• Golden Princess – from 20th December 2019

 

Ocean Medallion full activation is still scheduled for Royal Princess on 13th April, Crown Princess on 24th July and Sky Princess when it launches on 20th October.
 

 

 

 

Princess' web page explaining MedallionNet has a slightly different rollout schedule.  I wonder which one is correct?

 

Where to experience it for yourself

MedallionNet is currently available on Caribbean Princess®, Regal Princess®, Ruby Princess® and Royal Princess® ships.

 

Princess will continue its expansion of MedallionNet to additional ships throughout 2019: Coral Princess® by April 2, Island Princess® by May 15, Crown Princess® by July 12, Emerald Princess® by August 3, Sky Princess® by October 27, Golden Princess® by December 20 and Enchanted Princess® by June 19, 2020.

 

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

 

 

[Ep010835]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

From what I saw reading up on MedallionNet, it's like the Beverage Packages.  You can either buy it on board the first day or pre-cruise or not have internet.  (Unless using free Platinum/Elite minutes.)  I don't think you can buy by the minute with MedallionNet.  Every package is unlimited and they differ from each other by the speeds offered.

 

Pre-cruise or first day without doubt represent the best deal. 

However, you can buy internet À la carte anytime during a cruise albeit at a higher cost. 

Edited March 10, 2019 by Ep010835

[oskidunker]

What about The Sapphire?

[Thrak]

18 hours ago, masterty said:

I do enjoy listening to luddites explain wireless technology to other luddites. 🍿🍿

 

 

Luddites are opposed to, or fear, technology. They are not people who simply don't understand or don't use technology. The original Luddites destroyed machinery that they felt was threatening their jobs.

Edited March 10, 2019 by Thrak

[jlp20]

11 hours ago, Ep010835 said:

 

Therein lies the security issue that has existed since rollout and that has, to my knowledge, not yet been addressed.............................................

How many thousands so far using the OM and not one reported issue. So you are complaining about a potential problem.

[pris993]

On 3/4/2019 at 9:50 AM, dides said:

Princess have announced a rollout schedule for more of their ships, which is now separated out from the full Ocean Medallion activation schedule.

According to their press release, Regal Princess, Caribbean Princess, Royal Princess and Ruby Princess already have it and the following ships will be rolled out:

 

• Coral Princess – from 5th April 2019
• Island Princess – from 15th May 2019
• Crown Princess – from 30th June 2019
• Emerald Princess – from 3rd August 2019
• Sky Princess – from 20th October 2019
• Golden Princess – from 20th December 2019

 

Ocean Medallion full activation is still scheduled for Royal Princess on 13th April, Crown Princess on 24th July and Sky Princess when it launches on 20th October.
 

 

 

 

They can roll out all the want I have no plans to use it... will be on the Coral in November, see the Grand not listed good, on it this March 30.  Just another way to nickle and dime passengers... I am very satisfied with their current program.  

[trbarton]

Anyone know why their is no schedule for one of its newest ships, the Majestic?

 

Tom🤔

[caribill]

7 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I think this may answer your question, from the Princess web page explaining MedallionNet  "Platinum and Elite guests can use MedallionNet with their Captain’s Circle minutes or, better yet, choose an exclusive embarkation day discount on an unlimited package once on board."

 

However, the "exclusive embarkation day discount on an unlimited package once on board" makes it sound as if this a benefit.  However, this discount price is about the same price that anybody, platinum/elite or not, can pay pre-cruise.

 

More accurate wording would be ""Platinum and Elite guests can use MedallionNet with their Captain’s Circle minutes or, better yet, choose a discount unlimited package pre-cruise at the same price as everybody else."

 

Basically, if you are platinum/elite and purchasing an unlimited plan, you are losing the Internet benefit that you had.

 

To keep that benefit meaningful, Princess needs to apply the value of the Captain's Circle minutes towards the cost of the selected unlimited plan.

[Daniel A]

8 hours ago, jlp20 said:

How many thousands so far using the OM and not one reported issue. So you are complaining about a potential problem.

If you rented an apartment and the front door didn't lock and the landlord wouldn't repair the lock would you say you have a potential problem or would you say you have a problem?

[Daniel A]

20 hours ago, Ep010835 said:

Now think about the lost/misplaced device that falls into the wrong hands. A evildoer can take said device to any Ocean Compass screen, hold the device up to the reader and poof.........it not only identifies the owner of the device (with photo), it will provide the bad guy/gal with an illustrated path via green dots on the screen directly to your cabin. Once there he/she will find the door unlocked when they approach it. All courtesy of the Ocean Medallion system. As far as the system is concerned, whomever has the device in their hands at the moment is YOU.

 

 

If I misplace my ATM card, I can log in to my online bank account and put a temporary hold on that card.  The technology is there, Princess could have a separate app for cabin entry that one could turn on and off at will.  I know I would feel much more comfortable being off the ship all day knowing that the medallion couldn't open my door.

 

The app could also put a hold on the medallion's ability to charge items to one's account as well.

 

Just a thought.

Edited March 10, 2019 by Daniel A

[Ep010835]

12 hours ago, pris993 said:

Just another way to nickle and dime passengers... I am very satisfied with their current program.  

 

Doesnt cost a nickel......or a dime. 😃

Ocean Medallion IS their current program. 

Edited March 10, 2019 by Ep010835