Thursday, September 13, 2018

Caribbean Princess Sea Day, September 13

Hello from a warm and cloudy day at sea.
There were a couple things that happened last night worth mentioning. First, our new cabin steward rocks it in the animal towel department. He heard about our old steward doing my Tutorial Tuesday video onYouTube and I think our new guy is ready to show off his skills, too. Before we headed to the Most Traveled Guest Party he took about two minutes to make us this:
I think I might have to feature his work on a Tutorial Tuesday, too. It has been so fun to see the stewards excited to show off! And they both showed off more when they were the stewards featured in today's towel animal demonstration in the Piazza. (I'm including the video here so they can send it back home to their family and friends.)

The second thing worth mentioning that happened last night is one of the worst examples of a passenger's behavior I've ever seen. Sometimes at the Most Traveled Guest parties a passenger may use the time to complain about something. But last night, near the end of what was a great evening with great conversation (hi, Raymond!) the passengers sitting next to us called over the pastry chef. They proceeded to demean and degrade him and tell him how terrible of a job he did. The lady said it was a good thing he wasn't around the night before when she was forced to eat disgusting Black Forest Cake at dinner because if he had she would have jumped him. Like physically. She went on and on and on - and she was loud about it. It was embarrassing to watch. I have never seen anyone, let alone one of the top 40 most traveled passengers on Princess, be so abusive to someone on the ship. While we didn't intervene in the verbal beating, I did go find him afterwards and tell him her behavior was uncalled for. I also told him the peanut butter and jelly macarons from today's party (and last week's party) were to die for. And he gave me a hug.
So delicious!
Other things of note around the ship:
*The International Cafe gals are just amazing. Every morning along with hubby's coffee they deliver special treats. Today they were Dove chocolates with sayings inside the wrappers. We were both so anxious to see what the wrappers said that we ate all six chocolates.

*My $100 loyalty credit from this cruise finally posted. Woo hoo! So if hubby hadn't visited the medical center we would be walking off the ship after 31 days with absolutely no charges to our account. But even with the medical center charges we've done darn great in the ship spending department. Plus travel insurance will reimburse the charges.
*We get off on Deck 4 when going ashore in port. Yes, at every single port this entire trip. (Fort Lauderdale is the only place where they are different decks.) After spending so much time in Alaska where tides fluctuate greatly and they change decks frequently, it's nice to have the consistency of knowing exactly where to go. 
*After hubby's last fall he can't get out of bed by himself anymore. So to give me more room to help lift him out, we had to have the steward change our beds from a queen set up to a twin set up. The only downside is the sheets on the twin beds slip around much more than on the queen bed. Toss and turn too much and your bottom sheet winds up being half off the bed by morning.
*I got back to the cabin after lunch and we had yet another bouquet. Thank you, thank you!

Medallion™ Update:
To make the progression of the roll-out more clear I've grouped the posts by week. You can find today's post here.

Want to see how we got here? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. 
Check it out:
Sept 1-8 updates can be found here.
August 25-Sept 1 updates can found here.
August 18-25 updates can be found here.

Encouraging Words Money Pocket Drop Off:
In Skywalkers as I was writing this blog post.

We're off to the Dominican Republic tomorrow.
As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Caribbean Princess in San Juan, Puerto Rico


Hello from San Juan! You know it's going to be a good day when the ship's bridge cam view looks like this all day.
We love San Juan. It's probably one of our favorite non-cruise places in the world. In fact, in all our visits to San Juan this is the first time we've arrived by cruise ship. Usually we just fly here and spend a few days eating, drinking, and relaxing. We know this town. And we are so happy to be back.

It's our first visit post-hurricane. When the hurricane hit and pictures and stories started coming back to the mainland from Puerto Rico, we were heartbroken. We still carry sadness in our hearts over the US government's response. While there isn't anything we can personally do, we can spend our tourist dollars here.

When we stay here we always avoid the cruise port (and cruise passengers) so we can have a more authentic Puerto Rican experience. But with hubby still not feeling sprightly, we couldn't veer too far from port. We bought him a t-shirt to replace his old San Juan one at home that has long since been faded and stretched out. We sat in the shade drinking fresh squeezed lemonade and watched the goings on around the food trucks.

Since the hurricane our go-to spot for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is closed on Wednesdays. So instead we stopped at Tijuana's. It's tucked away down by the water near the cruise port. You'd miss it if you weren't looking for it. Those are the kinds of places we like.
 We shared a delicious plate of beef fajita enchiladas with rice and beans.

It was a great day. I would have liked to do more, but with hubby it's just not possible to get too far from the ship right now. I have plenty of San Juan photos from previous visits, but here is one my all time favorites I took as we were getting ready to land at the airport.
How can you not love a city this beautiful?

Some other things from today:
*I went up to talk to our old cabin steward about his towel animal video I posted on YouTube yesterday. His family back home were so excited to see him making towel animals on the internet. His six year old son couldn't believe his dad knew how to do it! His wife has been sharing it with family and friends and posting it to Facebook. I am happy I was able to be part of him feeling like a movie star today.
*The gals in International Cafe saw the picture I posted of them yesterday and the thank you I wrote. They were surprised to see how important they really are in a passenger's life. One gal is sharing with her mom what we wrote. Her parents should be proud. 

We have the Most Traveled Guest Party tonight up in Skywalkers. Again, if I take food pics I'll post them when we get back.

Medallion™ Update:
To make the progression of the roll-out more clear I've grouped the posts by week. You can find today's post here.

Want to see how we got here? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. 
Check it out:Sept 1-8 updates can be found here.
August 25-Sept 1 updates can found here.
August 18-25 updates can be found here.

Encouraging Words Money Pocket Drop Off:
Left on Deck 5. You can pretty much guess where.


Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Caribbean Princess in St. Thomas

Before I get started with anything about the day I have some thank yous I'd like to dole out today. 
  • Thank you to those who understand the importance kind words have on others. To those who understand choosing to be joyful makes all the difference. And to everyone who has been emailing me to share stories of  your own encouraging words/dollar bill projects, please continue to spread your love and gratitude. 
  • Thank you to the gals working in the International Cafe on the Caribbean Princess. You give my husband a reason to get out of bed in the morning, no matter how much pain he is in. Readers, if you see any of these ladies, please give them a hug and tell them thank you for their kindness to Ed.
  • Thank you to John Padgett from the Carnival Corporation for allowing me insight into the inner workings of the Medallion roll-out process and for the support you've given me as I work at delivering an honest account of my experiences on the ship. I hope you've found my coverage fair and factual. And thank you to the team - from Vicki and Francois to Korli and Andrew. All of you have been extremely helpful and supportive as I've asked my dozens and dozens (and dozens) of questions. 
  • Thank you to those people who understand how much work blogging from a cruise ship every day really is. While I'd like to say I can sit down at the computer and type something up in a few minutes time, I can't. I have to think it through quite a bit before I ever start writing. Then I write and re-rewrite and proof it. I then post it and BAM, find mistakes. As much as I'd like to be perfect I'm not. I enjoy what I'm doing and if what I share is a little bit helpful to others I'm a really happy camper.

Okay, back to the day. 
Hello from St. Thomas! Three visits to St. Thomas and three visits to The Smoking Rooster. 
Can't beat days like this one.

The guys doing the smoking had already finished up for the day. Darn!
But Tish, the server who has been taking care of us these past few visits, had already put in our drink order before we ever sat down. Thanks, Tish! 
She's also the one who last week recommended an amazing drink, the Blue Parrot Tail. Oh, my. Just look at all the rum that Lily the bartender puts in that thing!


And the BBQ at The Smoking Rooster? It's just darn good.

Today we even had live music today from St. Groovus.

It was a no other place day. What's that? I wrote about it here over a year ago.

Medallion™ Update:
To make the progression of the roll-out more clear I've grouped the posts by week. You can find today's post here.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:

Encouraging Words Money Pocket Drop Off:
I left it in a sugar container at International Cafe. Two couples who are blog readers know exactly where I was sitting.
Can you believe I ran out of labels today?
Tomorrow we are off to San Juan.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

Tutorial Tuesday - How to Make Towel Animals

Ever thought about how towel animals are made? Me, too. Thanks to our gracious cabin steward, last week I found out how to make a dog and rabbit.

Take a look at my guest instructor at work!
You can find the video here:


Monday, September 10, 2018

A Letter I Wrote

Those who know me know I believe in the power of the Universe. I believe in The Secret. I believe in the power of positive thinking. That if you look for the good you will find the good. I believe life is flippin' amazing and each day will be amazingly awesome.

I also believe in the writings of Pam Grout. Check her out here. Along with the powerful books she's written, she's the one who gave me the idea of doing the encouraging word money pockets. When I hear the stories of people who have wound up finding the ones I've dropped off I am awe-inspired at the power a few kind words can have on a person. I also have people telling me about their own encouraging word projects. Just today I had an e-mail from someone sharing that she is planning on handing out 70 of them in honor of her 70th birthday. How amazingly awesome is that?

A couple weeks back I e-mailed Pam and told her my story. Today she featured my email in her More Stories to Rock Your World section. Check it out here.  I'm guessing you can figure out which one is mine.

Yep, life is flippin' amazing.

Caribbean Princess Itinerary Change

The Captain just announced we will have an itinerary change because of Hurricane Isaac. We will skip St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Antigua, and St. Maarten. We will instead be visiting San Juan, Amber Cove, Grand Turk, and Nassau.

To those in the path of Hurricane Isaac, Florence, and Helene we are sending positive thoughts your way.

Caribbean Princess Sea Day, Sept 10

Happy Monday! Here's my view today.

Well, that is after I had this view:
That's the onboard medical center. After a decent-feeling evening, hubby had a pretty miserable night. So off we went to the medical center first thing this morning. No broken ribs, just a problem with the muscles between the ribs. I didn't even know that was a thing. The doctor said it's not like rest will help because you have to breathe (which means those muscles aren't getting any rest), so it will take time to heal. Then throw in his back problem? We came away with plenty of pain medications. And charges to our onboard account. I know the doctor visit was $95 but I didn't even look at the med prices. I just don't want to know. And here we were trying so hard to walk off the ship with a zero balance due.  Plus my $100 loyalty onboard credit for this cruise is still not showing. They sent an email to the finance department yesterday but it's still a no-show. We have travel insurance so the doctor visit will be reimbursed, and I think they'll get the onboard credit straightened out, but dang. 

We got hubby some coffee, some breakfast, and one of the sweet gals from International Cafe also brought him a little snack from somewhere else. They like him and he likes them. I'll be doing a blog post in the coming days about the International Cafe on this ship. The vibe here is pretty darn great.

Not great? The service at the buffet still, well, just plain sucks. We've spoken to the supervisor multiple times and it seemed to get better for about two days. Then it went back to the super-slow service with non-engaging crew working the seating area. I feel like we've already used up our one going-over-your-head complaint for the trip when we had the issue with the gals smoking on the balcony next to us that wasn't addressed. The smoking one was safety related but the buffet one is service related. 

I really don't want to be seen as a complainer. (Although I guess I'm doing that right now.) Here's the thing - if this was your second or third cruise you might not think much about it. But we've been here going on four cruises now and and we see it's a consistent problem. We cruise a variety of Princess ships and we know what the standard of service is on other ships. Some of the hardest working crew members we know (and still keep in touch with) are buffet stewards. But we see that on the Caribbean Princess the majority of crew working the buffet seating area are not meeting those typical Princess standards. It has been the biggest disappointment on the ship.

Otherwise on this ship we've had nothing but great service. Even our cabin steward from the last three weeks is making a visit to our new cabin. A couple weeks ago some passengers were upset with him because their luggage was missing. We were staying on and so our luggage wasn't going anywhere, but hubby joked with him about our luggage being missing, too. The steward joked back and told us he put our luggage in our mailbox. 

Now in our new cabin, with our new room steward, on a different deck, we have mail from our old room steward. Our orange luggage - in our mailbox. Funny guy.

Random photo of the day - we've been on the ship for 23 days so far and I finally got to ride in the Shark Week elevator.

Medallion™ Update:
To make the progression of the roll-out more clear I've grouped the posts by week. You can find today's post here.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:

Encouraging Words Money Pocket Drop Off:
I left it in the medical center this morning.

Tonight is formal night and they'll be no dressing up for us again. Tomorrow we're off to St. Thomas.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

Sunday, September 9, 2018

Caribbean Princess at Princess Cays

Occasionally I go back and reread past blog posts. I started the blog seven years ago to help me get through a rough patch of life. Then we had a good patch. Then a bad patch. Then a good patch. See a pattern? If not for documenting our lives in writing I would have forgotten the details of the bad patches. And the good patches. I know we need both. If not for the bad times we wouldn't appreciate the good times. If not for the good times we wouldn't be able to continue during those bad times.

I think we're in a transitional phase right now. Hubby's latest fall has landed him in a bad spot. He's needing help to even get out of a chair right now. He's become one of those cruisers he doesn't want to be. Those cruisers he sees who struggle to talk or move or walk. Those cruisers who are dependent on a traveling companion to take care of their every need. Usually those cruisers are in their 80s and 90s. Hubby is only 58.  It's a gorgeous day at Princess Cays and he's flat of his back in bed and I'm close by in Skywalkers doing some work. I see the blue water down below and it breaks my heart that I can't be snorkeling in it right now and am instead having to stay close so I can keep going back to the cabin to check on him. But it breaks my heart even more to know what he's having to go through.

These kinds of moments are when it's time to dig deep. To truly live by the words on my tattoo.
The view up here in Skywalkers helps.
Look at that color of water. It matches the colors on the ship. So beautiful!

Having a cabin steward that uses the mailbox I made for our door helps. Look at the mail we had when I took hubby back to the cabin after his coffee. I guess I'll need to be filming this new steward for a towel animal tutorial, too!
Hearing from blog readers also helps. Thank you for the kind emails. I'm so glad you find this blog helpful in preparing for your travels.

Delivering the encouraging word money pockets helps, too. Today I left it in a sugar container at International Cafe. I met someone who reads the blog (hello, T!) not long after I left it there, so someone on the ship knows exactly where to find it.

And actually, doing the Medallion™ updates help, too. Writing them each day has given me the chance to go on a little treasure hunt, searching out new construction and screens and features. (It also helps that I have a bit of insider info.) It really has been fun to watch the progression of the roll-out over the last few weeks. I've also enjoyed listening to new passengers as they talk about it.

As you know, to make the progression of the roll-out more clear I've grouped the posts by week. You can find today's post here.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:

Tomorrow is a sea day and then we're off to St. Thomas the day after. Based on the current tropical storm/soon-to-be hurricane out there I suspect we may need to change our scheduled itinerary sometime in the next few days. We are blessed no matter where we go.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Caribbean Princess Embarkation Day, Sept 8

Unfortunately, it happened again.

Three weeks ago hubby had a fall in the Fort Lauderdale airport. Today we had planned on being back in the same airport to fly home but decided to stay on for one more cruise. Since we weren't planning on being gone another 10 extra days we needed to walk over to Walgreens to stock up on supplies. And it was on that walk where it happened.

He fell. He's pretty darn sore and has a couple swollen body parts. The outside looks to be in better shape than the fall three weeks ago but he's feeling like this time he's in worse shape, especially when adding in the back that is acting up. We are so very thankful for the two crew members from Princess who were walking by and stopped and helped him up off the ground. They told us they worked in the engine room but we sure wish we had gotten their names. Anyone have any idea how we could track them down?

We also had another kind gesture happen today. When we were leaving our cabin this morning, the supervisor on our deck stopped to arrange the move of our things. I mentioned that we had received flowers during the week and wanted to bring them with us. They were looking a bit sad so he said he'd take care of it and get us new ones. When we arrived at our new cabin, by golly we had a new bouquet.

We also had something exciting today. I'd heard rumblings this past week about another special guest coming onboard today (no, not another member of the Love Boat cast). While Captain Stubing's visit was a highlight last cruise, this week we had a visit from Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises. She stopped by our Medallion meeting.
Jan and John. (Apologies for my fuzzy picture taking.)
She joined John Padgett on stage to talk about the Medallion roll-out. Like I've said before, the folks heading up the project, as well as those on the ship working on the project, have been nothing but gracious as I've been asking questions. I feel extremely fortunate to have them willing to give me some of their time. Thanks, everyone! (You know who you are.)

Again this cruise I'll continue to post daily Medallion updates. To make the progression of the roll-out more clear I've grouped the posts by week.  You can find today's post here.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:

Encouraging Word Money Pocket Drop Off:
I haven't decided where I'm going to place it yet. I was going to do it this morning but with hubby's fall, then the Medallion meetings, then getting hubby medication and tucked into bed I haven't been back out. I'm guessing I'll find some super-secret place later tonight.

Tomorrow is another attempt at Princess Cays. After the conversation hubby and I had today, this week may be one of him staying on the ship and me going off and doing my own thing. After this last fall, he sees the writing on the wall and is feeling a bit down. It's either give up traveling or find some type of walker a one-hand man can use.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

Medallion Class™ and Ocean Medallion™ Updates on the Caribbean Princess

If you're looking for Medallion Class™ and Ocean Medallion™ Updates on the Caribbean Princess for the week of September 8-18, 2018, here ya go!


September 17
First up, I was able to use my Medallion to get off and on the ship today. Woo hoo! They have a Medallion sensor similar to this one. 
Most everyone taps their cards but I asked to use my Medallion instead. And it worked! We still have to do a second scanning with the cruise card like we've always done. My understanding is that soon it will just be the Medallion sensor being used.

Secondly, we received this voucher when we left the ship today. Free unlimited wi-fi in port? A second woo hoo! 
But alas, it was not available under our wi-fi choices at the place where we went for the day in Nassau. While at the Bearded Clam we were within the free downtown wi-fi zone and a half mile's walk from the ship, it didn't work for us. And the other passengers in the same location couldn't get it to work for them, either. I tried multiple times during the day to get it to show up but it didn't. I even went out to the main street hoping for some magic. Nada. (Thank goodness for the Bearded Clam's free wi-fi.)
Only when we headed back and got even closer the ship did it finally pop up.
Honestly by that time I was so tired of trying all day I didn't care anymore so I didn't go beyond the log-in screen. Hopefully someone else on this sailing had better luck than I did and can report what the speed and reliability was like.

It sounds like this will be something to look forward to in the future while on Medallion Class ships. I'll let you know if I hear anything more.

This evening we have new choices on our on-demand TV. There is an entire section devoted to the Medallion.

While I was able to watch one of the videos (and recognized some folks on it!), I think it must be in test mode. Because when the video ended, the screen went black. And stayed there. No back button worked, no up and down buttons worked, and even turning it off and on didn't work. (Oops, I think I broke the TV.) So no catching up on movies tonight. Bummer. If you're on the ship now or in the coming weeks and you were able to watch the videos I'd like to hear what you thought of them.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:
August 18-25 updates can be found here.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

September 16
The other day I mentioned I had thought I had played one of the Medallion casino games, the Tipsy Tentacle Slots, on an app before but now can’t access it. Today I got clarification on what has happened. Originally the casino-type games were combined with the non-wagering games in one app. They’ve now split the apps into two. The OceanCasino app houses the casino games; the PlayOcean app houses non-casino games. Since the portal confirms players are of legal gambling age, the split should help keep kids away from those casino-type games. 

OceanCasino has:
*Tipsy Tentacles Slots
*Keno on Deck
*King’s Cruise Lottery

PlayOcean has:
*Word Tangle (a word scramble game)
*Teaser (a trivia game)
*Match (a shape matching game)

PlayOcean is also where you can create a tagalong. Today I got a sneak peek at folks setting up their tagalongs on one of the portal screens down at OceanFront. They are activating the screens during certain hours when OceanFront is open. Be sure to stop by and check it out!

Update to the update: Before dinner a PlayOcean screen came alive for me by the forward elevators on the Lido Deck.

Ocean Now shows what is happening around the ship.
It gave me the option to create my tagalong. It prompted me to place the Medallion on the sensor to access my account.
It also allowed me to choose from the games.
 
Here's a look at Word Tangle.
 And Teaser.
 And Match.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:
August 18-25 updates can be found here.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.


September 15
As I get ready to wrap-up my coverage of the Medallion roll-out, I thought I’d mention those important things to know for those folks getting ready to join the ship for the next cruise. (Hello to the big group of my blog readers joining September 18!)

  • All decks are Medallion decks so you will receive your Medallion at check-in. 
  • MedallionPay™ points are in the shops and bars. You simply place your Medallion on the sensor and it accesses your account. 
  • When gambling in the casino, you place your Medallion up against the sensor to activate your account information and player bank.
  • Currently, upon embarkation, disembarkation, and at muster drill your cruise card is being scanned twice. You first tap it on a Medallion device where a crew member confirms it is you on a tablet. Then the second time is the usual scanning with the crew member again confirming your photo. This will be changing very soon, possibly with the next cruise. There will only be one tap, the one on the Medallion device. 
  • As long as you have your Medallion with you, your cabin door will automatically unlock when you approach it. 
  • There are portal screens around the ship with Medallion sensors. Right now if you place your Medallion up against it, the sensor turns from blue to green but nothing happens to the screen. These screens will be activated soon, perhaps as soon as the next voyage.
  • The free MedallionNet offering for Platinum and Elite loyalty members is for a limited time only and may (or may not) be ending this cruise. 
  • If you have any questions about the use of the Medallion or problems with it not working, Ocean Front is the place to go. Ocean Front is on Deck 7 aft, between the photo gallery and Club Fusion. This is also where the accessories (not yet on sale) are on display. Staff members called Navigators are stationed at Ocean Front to help with Medallion-related issues. The hours available are posted on a screen there. You can also find Ocean Front hours posted near the excursion desk on Deck 6 forward.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:
August 18-25 updates can be found here.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

September 14
I did some wandering down in the Ocean Front area of Deck 7...
and came across the Ocean Casino games portals showing off for me. Tipsy Tentacles Slots™ was offline. 
 But as soon as I got closer the screen started showing off for me.

So then I saw Keno on Deck™ offline.
 
As I approached it showed off for me, too.
 

And King's Cruise Lottery™ was offline. And did not show off for me.
All of these games can be found on various portals around the ship. They are not yet activated (just in the show off mode, I guess!) but they will be ready to go soon.

They are also part of the Ocean Casino app that is available for download. 

September 13
I again visited Ocean Front on Deck 7. This is where the Navigators, the folks who can answer Medallion questions, are located. It is also where the accessories are on display. They've added the color-coded Medallions to the little plastic sleeves. They look sharp. 
They've also added Coming Soon signs to all the accessories.
And have their hours posted for the entire cruise.


September 12
I saw something new yesterday when going ashore in St. Thomas. I saw it again today when going ashore in San Juan so I know it wasn't just a fluke. Along with getting our card scanned we are still tapping our cruise card on a Medallion device. But today the Medallion-like device doesn’t look like this one from the first day. Remember the one I found out I wasn't supposed to be taking a picture of?

Now, it’s more of a Medallion sensor looking something a bit similar to this. I didn’t take a photo of the actual sensor because as I learned earlier, no photos are allowed. (It’s a security issue.) We are currently still using our cruise cards to tap even this Medallion-type device when embarking and disembarking the ship.

Something else I’ve learned this week is about the OceanView app in the coming soon section.

The other day I shared that the OceanView programming is on our TVs in the stateroom. They are TV series like Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin, The Voyager with Josh Garcia and Vacation Creation. I also shared there is an app that will soon be available for download.

It's my understanding this OceanView app will allow you to watch the programs at home on a Roku, Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV. But I found out you can also stream the content on your device. I’ve watched some of the shows and they kind of get you in the mood for cruising. Might be a good way to get the cruise itch scratched when you are stuck at home.


September 11

  • There is a lot of buzz about the new accessories for the Medallion. From what I understand they are working on getting feedback from passengers about the different versions they have on display. Again, pricing is not confirmed and the accessories are currently not for sale
  • Last night I got a preview of some of the upcoming Ocean Casino ™ games and features. These will be available to play in practice mode when in port and for wagering when in international waters. These can be played at portals around the ship or on your own device. There will even be new portals installed in a location you wouldn’t expect. Construction will start soon so if you’re on the ship in the next few weeks you’ll know where I’m talking about. As the portals are activated in the coming weeks I’ll share more details.
  • These past few days we’ve had a film crew on board making videos around the Medallion features. Can’t wait to see what they have to show us.
  • I know I mention it quite a bit, but MedallionNet™ continues to amaze me with the speed and reliability. The free period for Platinum and Elite passengers will be going away soon, but when it does I’m more than happy to pay for the $9.99 a day package. It’s a bargain for someone like me who needs to upload blog postings and photos and videos while on the ship. I still don’t know how I’m going to make it with our three ship hop coming up in another month. The internet on Crown Princess, Royal Princess, and Grand Princess will make me feel like I’m back in the olden days of dial up.
  • One thing about having the Medallion displays panels near the cabin is that we no longer have mailboxes on the wall. I’ve been told there are plans to put some back up in the future. When that happens it will certainly be easier for the stewards and passengers. Right now cabin stewards have to put the papers in the door handle or slide them under the door. (The one I made for the door has been working great and hasn’t been stolen yet. Yay!)

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:
August 18-25 updates can be found here.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.


September 10
I feel like each day I make a new discovery. Today I made another visit down to Ocean Front, the area on Deck 7 just aft of the photo gallery, where some of the Navigators are stationed. If you want to know more about the Medallion, this is the place to be. They have set hours on sea days and port days. With today being a sea day they are there from 9-noon, 3-5, and 7-9.  You’ll find staff available to answer questions and show you some of the accessories that will be for sale. They aren’t for sale yet, but I ran across some new things that I didn’t see the other day.

What about a necklace that will hold your Medallion while on the ship and additional inserts you can use when at home?

Or even one with a bit more pizazz? 

When the Regal Princess first started rolling out the Medallions, there were complaints about the sports bands not staying secure. They’ve worked on solving that issue by adding an additional strap on the end of the band. See the difference? On the left is the new one; on the right is the old one.

What about a Medallion color-coded to your loyalty level?

They also had some new bracelets.

Again, they aren’t yet for sale but from the conversation I hear and the emails I’m getting, it seems passengers are getting excited about seeing them available soon.

I also came across an insulated water bottle and a tshirt.

They also had a travel journal with lines for writing as well as a place to note the weather.


Who knows what new discovery I’ll have tomorrow!


Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:
August 18-25 updates can be found here.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

September 9, 2018
A couple updates from around the ship:
*The Ocean Front screen across from the shore excursion desk now has the times they will be open during each day of the cruise. It certainly helps to know ahead of time when folks will be around for excursion assistance.

*Ocean Front on Deck 7 has a MedallionPay spot even.

They also have a new brochure there on how to access MedallionWeb. When I’ve been around it seems it is what most people have questions about. 

Now some device updates:
There are several Ocean things popping up when logging into your device. 

I've done some screen captures for you.The Ocean Concierge is where you find the electronic version of the Patter, your stateroom account, where you can book excursions, locations and times around the ship, and much more. This is something we’ve been able to access for years on Princess ships but it seems it’s been renamed from whatever it was being called before. This information does not require a download. 

The other icons are apps needing to be downloaded. 


Play Ocean is where you create your tagalong.
You first create an account and then choose your interests. I didn’t see anything that stuck out for me. Where are the reading, writing, and relaxing choices? (Having relaxation tied to the spa doesn't count. And books? Does that mean a book to buy or a book club?) I didn’t go beyond that screen.

Ocean Casino is a downloaded app that will let you play the casino games. I tried logging into it here on ship but after the password screen it denied me access. 

While it was available for download, maybe it’s not functional yet once on the ship? I’m sure I had downloaded and played it at home before.

There are some other options coming soon. OceanView programming is on our TVs in the stateroom. They are TV series like Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin, The Voyager with Josh Garcia and Vacation Creation. It's my understanding this OceanView app will allow you to watch the programs at home on a Roku, Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV.

I believe the OceanNow one is where you can use your device to order drinks from wherever you are around the ship. And OceanCompass may help you find the rest of your group on the ship? I'll work out finding out more on these "coming soon" apps.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:
August 18-25 updates can be found here.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

September 8, 2018
We have some new and exciting things happening around this ship today.

Starting this cruise all decks are now officially Medallion decks. Woo hoo!

There were three informational sessions held in Explorers Lounge today so no matter what time passengers arrived on the ship they had an opportunity to sit in on one. I sat outside and listened to two sessions and attended the third. Had to listen to Jan Swartz! While sitting outside the two sessions I listened to folks talking and asking questions as  they were leaving. Most of the questions appeared to be internet-related. Platinum and Elite passengers are sure excited about the unlimited, super-fast wi-fi that is available free for this cruise. There were a couple passengers who appeared to have mixed up the Medallions. The writing on the Medallions is pretty small. During check in passengers who were checking in together grabbed the Medallions that were handed to them without checking that the name on the Medallion was their name. It sounded like an easy fix to have the cruise card attached to the right Medallion, but if you are sailing soon and receive a Medallion at check-in, double check to see if the one you are grabbing is your own.

Ocean Front, the area between the photo gallery and Club Fusion on Deck 7 went live today. Here's the picture from the other day. It's a nice, bright space.
Korli, the lead Navigator (Navigators are staff members who help with Medallion-related things) has a team working with her in the area. I was there today and they were really busy. 

The accessories aren't for sale yet. I heard some price points last night but I haven't confirmed them so I'll hold off a bit before sharing that info. You know me, I'm a Joe Friday, just-the-facts-m'am kind of m'am. I did get to take a closer look at one of the clips that will be for sale. When I looked at them in the display case I thought they just slipped onto your clothing.
Actually, they clip on. (Guess that's why they're called clips!)
A neat, secure, and discreet way to keep your Medallion on you.

One thing I keep forgetting to mention with MedallionNet is about airplane mode. It's always good practice to make your last minute calls before muster drill and then put your phone in airplane mode. Now with the unlimited internet it has to be in airplane mode to work. Hopefully with more people using airplane-mode MedallionNet there will be fewer people with outrageous phone bills.

And one more thing... a few times on this trip we've had something weird happening with the cabin door. My Medallion would be on my nightstand and hubby's would be on his. But we could hear the door unlock, lock, unlock, lock. It would do it several times over. I asked someone about it yesterday and he told me it had to do with the door itself, not the Medallion. He said to open the door and re shut it and it would stop it. Well, he was right. We opened the door and shut it and it didn't do it again. I guess it has to do with whether the door is absolutely, positively, completely shut. Be sure to close the door tight to prevent it from occurring.

Again, a big thanks to those of you who have been open and willing to answer questions around the Medallion roll-out. I couldn't do these updates without you!

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:
August 18-25 updates can be found here.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.