Ocean Medallion App - Part 3

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, ATL_Miami_Cruiser said:

 

iOS Medallion app version 4.8.1 is now available.

4.6 star average review from 37k reviewers! They obviously didn't ask us! 😄

[spersephone]

If you look at recent reviews you’ll see a lot of unimpressed people.

[monty3]

On 12/30/2022 at 4:31 AM, PacnGoNow said:

There’s no longer a boarding pass.  The QR code would be the BP.   But, out of 9 cruises this year, only once did they want to see the QR code.  Bring your medallion, all documents and print your travel summary out and you’re good to go.  Best to have a paper copy, in case of Internet or phone issues on embarkation.

 

I don't see a QR code on my princess app.  Will that appear sometime before our cruise? We are 17 days out.  And will we be selecting a check in time, or told a time frame to show up? 

[PacnGoNow]

18 minutes ago, monty3 said:

I don't see a QR code on my princess app.  Will that appear sometime before our cruise? We are 17 days out.  And will we be selecting a check in time, or told a time frame to show up? 

Go on the App

Click on Personal information and documents 

move down to the gray bar

Suggested

click on arrivals

pick your time

 

Then, if you’re in the green lane and have completed everything else.

You’ll see the QR code on the top ofvthe page.

 

That is…if your arrival groups are open yet.  

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, monty3 said:

I don't see a QR code on my princess app.  Will that appear sometime before our cruise? We are 17 days out.  And will we be selecting a check in time, or told a time frame to show up? 

 

Don't worry about it. If you are Green lane you are good to go. Nobody looks at the QR Code.

[monty3]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Go on the App

Click on Personal information and documents 

move down to the gray bar

Suggested

click on arrivals

pick your time

 

Then, if you’re in the green lane and have completed everything else.

You’ll see the QR code on the top ofvthe page.

 

That is…if your arrival groups are open yet.  

OK thanks, so I wait til it opens up.  Maybe 2 weeks before?

[monty3]

11 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Don't worry about it. If you are Green lane you are good to go. Nobody looks at the QR Code.

OK thanks.  I'd like to choose an arrival time but not available to choose yet. Maybe 2 weeks before?

[PacnGoNow]

9 minutes ago, monty3 said:

OK thanks.  I'd like to choose an arrival time but not available to choose yet. Maybe 2 weeks before?

I’ve seen it open 59 days before to 12 days before sail date.  So, just keep checking.  Maybe someone on your roll call will post when it opens.

Edited January 12, 2023 by PacnGoNow

[PacnGoNow]

23 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Don't worry about it. If you are Green lane you are good to go. Nobody looks at the QR Code.

I go through the motions. 😁

I did have one port agent ask me if I had a QR code!  I think he just wanted to know I was in the green lane, to send me through. Lol

 

Who knows.  I definitely wouldn’t worry about it, but I’m a planner and like to get ready ahead of time.  If it didn’t work, then I’d say, forget it.

[spersephone]

Stupid me was looking ahead at one of our bookings much later this year and found I could make a reservation for Crown Grill. I was testing out the times available. I haven't finished paying for this cruise yet, and didn't think I could do this. I was using the web interface of the app, because I was on my computer. 

Anyway, I managed to put through these three different times. But I wasn't sure if anything had happened, as it showed no prices - that part of the screen was effectively blank. I was also not given any payment page, which I have been in the past. So I gave up. 

I went off to my other cruise booked this year (a 2 day escape) and decided to make some payments. 

Checking my bank account later, I was charged three unknown transactions, which I figured out were the three attempts at making Crown Grill bookings. It turns out the price will have gone up from $40 AUD per person to $52.65 AUD for my upcoming cruise. There was no way I had any idea how much it would cost based on what the screen showed me, and I think that increase is ridiculous. Bearing in mind that on my last cruise prior this most recent one, the specialty dining was around $20 for adults (2019). 

It does show up correctly in the app itself, but as you can see in the web version on the site, it does not. EDIT: I did press a confirm button or similar, but I thought that would take me to a payment page. I can't remember what happened, and I wasn't game to try again to find out, but it wasn't obvious that I had actually booked it. I guess our days of visiting Crown Grill are numbered. I totally understand costs have increased, but that's just too far. 

SO - moral of the story is, don't use the web interface of the app - use the app!

Edited January 12, 2023 by spersephone

[aForestr]

Very interesting, but I think they screwed it up again.  When my wife signs on to the Medallion App a totally different persons information appears.  It also included passport information.  I contacted Princess and was told that Princess takes the protection of personal information seriously and that my wife should simply sign in using her booking number rather than her ID and Password.  Ok, now my wife's information is shown.  But wait, what about our access to the other persons info, "Princess takes the protection of personal information very seriously".  Well that certainly solves the problem.  No fix yet, but I have sent a detailed email to Princess so I'm waiting for a reply.  Anybody else had that issue?

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, aForestr said:

Anybody else had that issue?

 

Haven't had that issue but it makes me wonder if my information is showing up for someone else.

[jsn55]

8 hours ago, aForestr said:

Very interesting, but I think they screwed it up again.  When my wife signs on to the Medallion App a totally different persons information appears.  It also included passport information.  I contacted Princess and was told that Princess takes the protection of personal information seriously and that my wife should simply sign in using her booking number rather than her ID and Password.  Ok, now my wife's information is shown.  But wait, what about our access to the other persons info, "Princess takes the protection of personal information very seriously".  Well that certainly solves the problem.  No fix yet, but I have sent a detailed email to Princess so I'm waiting for a reply.  Anybody else had that issue?

I can't tell y'all how good it felt to delete the Princess app from my phone this morning.  Our next cruise is Avalon and I know we'll have no issues ... NCL coming up in the fall and hopefully they'll not be dictating our every move as Princess does.  

[spersephone]

Thankfully the payments I made for specialty dining for my cruise much later this year have been refunded, as I went in and cancelled them. I'm not ready to sort them out yet.

However, I also have a mini cruise later this year (2 days), and I upgraded to the premium package for my husband and I because the drinks package alone makes it worthwhile (more for him than me). So it includes 2 specialty dining for each of us, in other words, both nights. 

But I cannot seem to book these in advance without paying, rather than using the included credits. I have now paid the mini-cruise off in full. For our most recent cruise, I was able to reserve our dining using the credit. Looking at the terms and conditions, it says I will receive a voucher, and the time and restaurant will be organised by Princess Cruises. I don't think this is correct.

 

Because we're only there for the two nights, I do want to ensure I am able to reserve us our spot. The app just doesn't help much. There is nothing to say that on a short cruise, this part of the package is not included, so fingers crossed it is. The website forces you to go to the app to book, but it only offers the option to pay upfront (which normally I do, but with the price rises, I'm only going to use the credits from the package from now on).

[weatherman46]

If you live in the UK and are starting a cruise in Australia then the app will not accept +44 for our country code. I have spoken to Princess who tell me this is a known problem. Therefore at present my contact number has +1 in the country code box, and the number +44 followed by my number in the box for the actual number. Even so I have been given green lane status.

[sambamama]

Once your cruise is approaching, you can't make any reservations-you must be on Princess wifi. It also won't let you view your tours or contact anyone. This is the stupidest app in the world except for my banking app which won't let me make mobile deposits! 

[susymahmud]

The medallion app is one of the worst I have ever encountered! I have over 20+ years of experience working in IT and can tell the system is absolutely asinine. Spent over one hour trying to enter items via my phone, then moved to ipad then ultimately called customer service and was on hold for 30 minutes only to have them on the phone with me for over 1 hour simply to have my credit card entered to apply to all family members including my daughter who is in another room. Customer service is overseas, and they have no idea what they are doing.  Person on other line kept saying the system was going through an upgrade and that is why it wasn't working. I called him out and said I could hear his background that other folks were booking dinner reservations, excursions etc., so if there was an upgrade, they couldn't do their job either. He argued that I couldn't get the medallions delivered because they wouldn't arrive in time. Once again pointed out we are 60 days away from our cruise, this is my 10th cruise and that is absolutely not true. Miraculously he then said he fixed it, and they would be mailed. Now I only have one item pending on my daughter's reservation...what a surprise it is entering her credit card information which somehow was not updated from my original request. I then tried to select a dinner reservation at the steakhouse. Was able to secure time/date, credit card information displayed but would error out and could not select. This was another 1-hour call with the person arguing that since I was not the one with the credit card I couldn't proceed. Once again, I pointed out the credit card is under my husband's name and has been tied to myself and our children so that in itself is contradictory. Only after pointing out their excuse, he 'miraculously' was able to finalize the reservation. There is no reason a system that should be so straightforward doesn't work.  Princess is simply not truly working through its systems errors. If you can't get things through the app, simply call customer service, but expect a long wait!

[Don9992]

15 minutes ago, susymahmud said:

The medallion app is one of the worst I have ever encountered! I have over 20+ years of experience working in IT and can tell the system is absolutely asinine. Spent over one hour trying to enter items via my phone, then moved to ipad then ultimately called customer service and was on hold for 30 minutes only to have them on the phone with me for over 1 hour simply to have my credit card entered to apply to all family members including my daughter who is in another room. Customer service is overseas, and they have no idea what they are doing.  Person on other line kept saying the system was going through an upgrade and that is why it wasn't working. I called him out and said I could hear his background that other folks were booking dinner reservations, excursions etc., so if there was an upgrade, they couldn't do their job either. He argued that I couldn't get the medallions delivered because they wouldn't arrive in time. Once again pointed out we are 60 days away from our cruise, this is my 10th cruise and that is absolutely not true. Miraculously he then said he fixed it, and they would be mailed. Now I only have one item pending on my daughter's reservation...what a surprise it is entering her credit card information which somehow was not updated from my original request. I then tried to select a dinner reservation at the steakhouse. Was able to secure time/date, credit card information displayed but would error out and could not select. This was another 1-hour call with the person arguing that since I was not the one with the credit card I couldn't proceed. Once again, I pointed out the credit card is under my husband's name and has been tied to myself and our children so that in itself is contradictory. Only after pointing out their excuse, he 'miraculously' was able to finalize the reservation. There is no reason a system that should be so straightforward doesn't work.  Princess is simply not truly working through its systems errors. If you can't get things through the app, simply call customer service, but expect a long wait!

The really sad part is that it's actually better than it was a year ago.   I don't know who Princess hired to write this train wreck but whoever it was appears to completely unfamiliar with the notion that customers are not the appropriate parties for alpha and beta testing.

[capriccio]

9 minutes ago, Don9992 said:

The really sad part is that it's actually better than it was a year ago.   I don't know who Princess hired to write this train wreck but whoever it was appears to completely unfamiliar with the notion that customers are not the appropriate parties for alpha and beta testing.

I agree with your first sentence from personal experience.  Accenture was the original contractor but I don't know if they are still involved.  They shouldn't be but if not, the replacement contractor is no better.

[NownZen]

3 hours ago, capriccio said:

I agree with your first sentence from personal experience.  Accenture was the original contractor but I don't know if they are still involved.  They shouldn't be but if not, the replacement contractor is no better.

There has been more than one group working on it. You notice the difference in the back arrows (sometimes two show up) that are different styles. As is the ubiquitous "Loading" circle. Sometime last year the new group changed the opening graphics (rather than fixing the bugs). There was a statement I saw years ago saying that the superficial design flaws totally obscured the fundamental design flaws.

One of the fundamental design flaws was having work done by people who have never been on a cruise or cruise ship. Very basic things like knowing what time the ship is on. We were on our way to the port and the app said the ship left 6 hours previously. That, of course, took away the QR code.  You cannot look at other bookings while on the ship. And so on.

[teacherplus]

Is there a certain number to get help with the app I can’t purchase medallion net before my cruise in 45 days. It’s not showing up as a choice on the app. I want to get the 50% discount for buying before the cruise.

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, teacherplus said:

Is there a certain number to get help with the app I can’t purchase medallion net before my cruise in 45 days. It’s not showing up as a choice on the app. I want to get the 50% discount for buying before the cruise.

Call the main Princess number and listen to the options.  There is a path for Princess App help and for DMW help.

[leck57]

On 1/13/2023 at 12:47 PM, jsn55 said:

I can't tell y'all how good it felt to delete the Princess app from my phone this morning.  Our next cruise is Avalon and I know we'll have no issues ... NCL coming up in the fall and hopefully they'll not be dictating our every move as Princess does.  

 

Similar with us. We have done 10 Princess cruises but doing a HAL cruise in 2 weeks, not due to giving Princess the boot but finding an itinerary we want to do.

The HAL on line check in procedure and Navigator App leaves Princess for dead. Just so easy to use and book anything we need. 

[kamelia]

I am just about out of patience with being told, “it’s not a problem, we have a ‘workaround’ for this.”  A workaround is NOT a fix for the systemic problems that continue to exist with the MedallionClass app.  Their excuse for a workaround is no different than being told at the garage, “Well, we can’t find the cause for your tire leaking, but it’s not a problem.  You can still get to your final destination by stopping every 20 miles to put more air in.”  At what point does that ‘workaround’ become more trouble than getting to the final destination is worth?

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

Similar with us. We have done 10 Princess cruises but doing a HAL cruise in 2 weeks, not due to giving Princess the boot but finding an itinerary we want to do.

The HAL on line check in procedure and Navigator App leaves Princess for dead. Just so easy to use and book anything we need. 

Which brings us to another question.  Especially from a Shareholder perspective.  While I understand that the various brands like CCL, HAL, PCL have their own identity and such, surely they could have shared technology platform and made it possible to have a similar app with custom badging and wording and such, but the base functionality should be the same in terms of registering for a cruise and so forth.  Whatever technology works for booking dining ought to work across cruise lines, just as it should across different ships. 

 

Who knows if anyone considered this, but HAL and PCL are managed overall in a group and Jan Swartz is in charge of both now.  Seems like a lot of unnecessary expense to develop distinct systems (maybe there are some shared concepts at the core we don't know about).

 

What is clear is that PCL managed to hire the worst people and do the worst job by far.  And even worse, they just plod along and don't appear to have done anything about it such as firing their asses out of their and bringing on some competency.  Of course you all know who I would show the door first.  (For the newbies, his initials are JP - in fact it is also his nickname).