Ocean Medallion App - Part 3

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, capriccio said:

so progress has been made.

I can attest to that.  Our friends very recently booked a Caribbean/Panama Cancel voyage for Jan 2024 and almost immediately the booking was in the Princess App and they made dining res right away.  All looking good and they had a devil of a time with it back in 2022 for a time.  Admittedly, our voyages last Fall were B2B's and the App seems much happier dealing with single bookings.

[Thrak]

The app works fine for me. My wife had a poopy phone and the app was worthless for her. I just today replaced her phone with one like mine. (It's a new phone but an older model - Samsung Galaxy S10e - so it was under $200 including shipping.) I have mostly finished setting it up for her and will install the Medallion app. I don't anticipate any issues.

[kamelia]

5 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I continue to be amazed at the pax who continue to book Princess cruises, knowing that Princess will drive them crazy with the medallion.  And knowing that Princess doesn't give a rip.  

I can’t speak for anyone else still booking Princess cruises, but for me, I continue choosing to book them for the Princess CREWS.  At one point, I’d had so many problems with the app that when I boarded I swore this was likely my last Princess cruise.  Within the first hour, I was in Horizon Court at lunch and overheard one of the crew commenting to a passenger using hot sauce he’d brought himself to spice up his meal.  “Excuse me, sir, but I see you like hot sauce.  You might want to think about checking out thus-and-so restaurant when we get to Ensenada because they’ve got some fabulous sauces you’d probably like.”  Two days later, we got back to our room after the show and there was an emery board, an eye mask and a packet of cotton balls and swabs on the bathroom counter.  My first reaction was, “what a slap in the face if this is what’s now considered the amenities kit to thank me for my loyalty.”  In the middle of the night, though, I woke up with the dawning realization that this wasn’t from Princess, but rather cobbled together by my stateroom steward who was anxious to do what he could, knowing what used to be.  At that moment, I was reminded why I’d become a loyal Princess passenger, and the rest of the cruise was filled with several such reminders.  If putting up with all the rigmarole that getting Ocean Ready has meant is what it takes to interact with such a wonderful group of human beings as I’ve found Princess crew members to be time and time again, then so be it.  It’s a real shame, for both the crew as well as future Princess passengers, that the difficulties with the app led you, JSN, and others to call it quits on Princess entirely, but I certainly can understand when people reach that conclusion. I sincerely hope you'll have the opportunity to give them another chance.

 

Safe travels, wherever they may take you! 😊

[Steelers36]

@kamelia - what a nice tribute.  I also feel one of the best things about a Princess cruise is the crew.  Not that I have been on any other lines in recent times, but they always make us feel good to be on the ship.

[HiCCCs]

5 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

@kamelia - what a nice tribute.  I also feel one of the best things about a Princess cruise is the crew.  Not that I have been on any other lines in recent times, but they always make us feel good to be on the ship.

Agreed! It's like being back with family. And what family doesn't have its ups and downs, eh? But the  Princess crew makes you feel glad to be back home every time I board.

[Steelers36]

24 minutes ago, HiCCCs said:

Agreed! It's like being back with family. And what family doesn't have its ups and downs, eh? But the  Princess crew makes you feel glad to be back home every time I board.

And they do it week in and week out.

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, HiCCCs said:

Agreed! It's like being back with family. And what family doesn't have its ups and downs, eh? But the  Princess crew makes you feel glad to be back home every time I board.

 

Boarding a ship and walking down deck 7 for the first time and having a crew member stop and welcome you back because he remembers you from a different ship 2 years ago can really make you feel "at home". On our last cruise there was a bartender who recognized me and called me by name (I was nowhere near enough for him to see me on a tablet) because he remembered me from a cruise in the past was pretty nice too. He even remembered my preferred drink. The crew really does make the cruise special.

[azbirdmom]

On 6/19/2023 at 2:11 PM, azbirdmom said:

So reading through the last couple of pages I decided to check to see if the credit for first night suite dining in a specialty restaurant was in DMY for our December cruise.  Surprised to see that there was a credit there so I made a reservation for embarkation night for my DH and I.  Then I got an error message.  And then I heard the pings of multiple new emails.  And they were all from my bank notifying me of online charges made - 4 of them!!  I went into the app and cancelled the 4 reservations in the app at the same time on the same day for my husband and I.  Now to see if the pending charges fall off or if I need to monitor my bank account for a refund.  Arggghhhhh!!!!

 

UPDATE

 

I've been checking my credit card statement online.  Today I saw that all 4 charges went from pending to actual.  There was also a big credit from Princess.  The sort of bad news: the amounts in the app were in AUD because this is an Australian cruise.  Since I am in the USA my credit card was charged in USD.  Apparently the conversion rate changed as the net of all of this is a remaining charge of $4.97.  Will eat that, my time is worth more than what it would take on the phone attempting to get this removed.

[HiCCCs]

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

 

UPDATE

 

I've been checking my credit card statement online.  Today I saw that all 4 charges went from pending to actual.  There was also a big credit from Princess.  The sort of bad news: the amounts in the app were in AUD because this is an Australian cruise.  Since I am in the USA my credit card was charged in USD.  Apparently the conversion rate changed as the net of all of this is a remaining charge of $4.97.  Will eat that, my time is worth more than what it would take on the phone attempting to get this removed.

Perhaps I'm not understanding your situation, but I'm in the USA and have booked an upcoming Australian cruise and just booked shore excursions through Princess totaling $509.90AUD and my credit card was charged $351.92USD. Is your remaining charge of $4.97 foreign currency transaction fees? With my credit card, there are no foreign currency transaction fees....which is a very good thing.

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, HiCCCs said:

Perhaps I'm not understanding your situation, but I'm in the USA and have booked an upcoming Australian cruise and just booked shore excursions through Princess totaling $509.90AUD and my credit card was charged $351.92USD. Is your remaining charge of $4.97 foreign currency transaction fees? With my credit card, there are no foreign currency transaction fees....which is a very good thing.

What I gather is that in the time between the system error and when they issued the credit the exchange rate changed. Or maybe they just use a less favorable exchange rate when they issue credits???

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

What I gather is that in the time between the system error and when they issued the credit the exchange rate changed. Or maybe they just use a less favorable exchange rate when they issue credits???

Let's set credit card foreign currency upcharges aside.

 

Let's say the currency rate for USD to FOREX = 1.20 looking online.

When purchasing something, the bank is using a higher rate - like 1.21 for example.

When refunding, they are using a lower rate - like 1.19 for example.

 

There is always a mark-up when purchasing foreign currency and a discount when selling it back.

 

Who we deal with can help reduce that profit margin and also eliminate other surcharges.

 

[HiCCCs]

5 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

What I gather is that in the time between the system error and when they issued the credit the exchange rate changed. Or maybe they just use a less favorable exchange rate when they issue credits???

Ah.....now I get it!!!

[HiCCCs]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Let's set credit card foreign currency upcharges aside.

 

Let's say the currency rate for USD to FOREX = 1.20 looking online.

When purchasing something, the bank is using a higher rate - like 1.21 for example.

When refunding, they are using a lower rate - like 1.19 for example.

 

There is always a mark-up when purchasing foreign currency and a discount when selling it back.

 

Who we deal with can help reduce that profit margin and also eliminate other surcharges.

 

Ah....now I get it!!

[teenieleek]

I have made the final payment, I am “green to go” on the app but I cannot reserve Sabatini’s for the embarkation night suite “freebie”.  Nothing appears except “this is not available”.  Anyone have any ideas please?  You can no longer book anything on the website.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

14 minutes ago, teenieleek said:

I have made the final payment, I am “green to go” on the app but I cannot reserve Sabatini’s for the embarkation night suite “freebie”.  Nothing appears except “this is not available”.  Anyone have any ideas please?  You can no longer book anything on the website.

We had the same issue several weeks ago after final payment and from our experience it can take up to an hour for the Medallion app to sync with Princesses backend reservation system. I closed the app and checked it every 15 minutes until the reservation options were available.

[teenieleek]

15 minutes ago, ATL_Miami_Cruiser said:

We had the same issue several weeks ago after final payment and from our experience it can take up to an hour for the Medallion app to sync with Princesses backend reservation system. I closed the app and checked it every 15 minutes until the reservation options were available.

Ok, thanks, but it’s been a week now!

[memoak]

51 minutes ago, teenieleek said:

I have made the final payment, I am “green to go” on the app but I cannot reserve Sabatini’s for the embarkation night suite “freebie”.  Nothing appears except “this is not available”.  Anyone have any ideas please?  You can no longer book anything on the website.

Do not stress. They hold tables back knowing suites have free dinners coming. We always just get on board and call dine line and have always gotten what we want

[teenieleek]

9 minutes ago, memoak said:

Do not stress. They hold tables back knowing suites have free dinners coming. We always just get on board and call dine line and have always gotten what we want

Thanks for that.  Will do what you suggest.  The app really does have its limitations however.

[memoak]

Just now, teenieleek said:

Thanks for that.  Will do what you suggest.  The app really does have its limitations however.

For us the app is simply a way of getting on board, checking menus and folios. Everything else on board we simply use the medallion 

[Barbara B]

Question: the medallions come via what sort of shipping: USPS (in the US), FedEx, UPS, DHL??? Expecting mine today for our July 7 cruise. Just curious.

[Fortunate 2 travel]

4 minutes ago, Barbara B said:

Question: the medallions come via what sort of shipping: USPS (in the US), FedEx, UPS, DHL??? Expecting mine today for our July 7 cruise. Just curious.

Did you get an email with the tracking number?  Also you can look on the app under Ocean Ready, choose your medallion wearable, then go to your order history.  It should have tracking information there. 

[Barbara B]

Hmm. They told me wednesday on the phone they had been shipped. But no email. But that I would receive on June 23. I just looked it up in the app and showing not shipped. I'm on hold with Princess now to see what the problem might be.

 

[Fortunate 2 travel]

39 minutes ago, Barbara B said:

Hmm. They told me wednesday on the phone they had been shipped. But no email. But that I would receive on June 23. I just looked it up in the app and showing not shipped. I'm on hold with Princess now to see what the problem might be.

 

I talked with 3 different people and got 3 different answers.  Hope you are more successful 

[Barbara B]

Well...The guy told me first: it is expected on the 23rd (today). But I said, the app says "not shipped." So he checked into it (he said) and said it has gone out via FedEx and I should have it either by end of business today or tomorrow. I asked him why the app doesn't say that, so he said that it probably hasn't yet been updated. Which tells me I may have jostled the system (and him and now --??-- they've sent it out). Maybe I should call and verify that information after what you've just said. OY.

[memoak]

55 minutes ago, Barbara B said:

Hmm. They told me wednesday on the phone they had been shipped. But no email. But that I would receive on June 23. I just looked it up in the app and showing not shipped. I'm on hold with Princess now to see what the problem might be.

 

If you don’t get it you can pick it up at the pier. May take an extra 2 minutes