Ruth

[Ruth Girard]

This process has  essentially in effect for a year.  However, going forward, it would be nice if Princess were willing to ship medallions to Canada, thereby giving us the opportunity to continue to be Green lane. 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Ruth Girard I'm surprised to read that Princess Cruises isn't utilizing medallions in Canada already. This is such a great feature of the line. 

Did you see that Princess Cruises announced a new embarkation procedure? The line will be transitioning to a more flexible boarding approach. I'm not sure I prefer this embarkation method. How do you feel about this? https://www.cruisehive.com/princess-cruises-details-new-embarkation-procedure/106468

[SpaceCowboy9]

We did a Princess cruise in November and the new procedure was sort of what we did.  Except there weren't different lines.  We had our medallions, skipped a lot of the line, they took a look at our passports, and let us on the ship.  After parking the car, I think we were on board in less than 10 minutes and neither of us had any priority status.

[Woody14]

On 7/19/2023 at 11:57 AM, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Ruth Girard I'm surprised to read that Princess Cruises isn't utilizing medallions in Canada already. This is such a great feature of the line. 

it is not that they are not being used in Canada it is just that we don't get given them ahead of time.  They won't ship them to Canada.  We have to get them when we check in at the port.   

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Woody14 It's not half bad if you are still able to use the Princess Cruises Medallions onboard! It's annoying that you aren't given them ahead of time but at least you are access to use all of those awesome features onboard. Maybe the shipping cost is just too high! As someone who has yet to use this medallion, is there a reason why you need to receive them ahead of time? Can you sync all of your info on there beforehand?

@SpaceCowboy9 That's so amazing! From your experience, I see the value in receiving them ahead of time!

Edited July 24, 2023 by Kendall James-Vargas

[Freedomlass]

I'm in UK so like those in Canada and the rest of the world are not given the opportunity to receive the medallion before embarking, this change has infuriated me why should all non US citizens be penalised? I have been a loyal Princess cruiser for many years and have always since the medallion has being launched found the original system worked fine, even though I couldn't always request a particular boarding time due to the long travel times and not knowing if there would be any hold ups along the way, I also feel this new system is unfair to those with mobility issues being made to wait till last, what ever happened to everyone being treated as equals? 

[Cruising Caribbean]

@Freedomlass Wow, that seems pretty unfair! Princess Cruises should be sharing its Medallions ahead of time with all cruise passengers. Why are the US guests the only ones getting this perk? This wouldn't be fair for guests with mobility issues. You are so right. I hope you share your feelings with Princess Cruises. As a loyal member, I think your opinion would be well received. If enough guests join in with this commentary maybe the cruise line would consider revising this system. Is Princess Cruises only doing this to cut costs? That's really what appears to be the case. 

[Oldgirl50]

I agree I live in Australia and we also are unable to receive our medallions before and yet paying for the premium plus package we are supposed to have them shipped free, what a joke

[OzVoyager]

I’m Australian, and booked on Grand Princess from Melbourne early in 2024.  According to the App, I have done all my dox and am in the Green Lane.  I will be seriously cranky if I find myself in the slow Blue Lane because I don’t have the medallion — and it will be a very long Blue Lane, as a Melbourne departure will be mainly Aussie/NZ pax.  I can’t see why Princess can’t post our medallions — they could ship a crate of them to the Sydney office here and have them posted in local mail if they didn’t want to post internationally.  This will be my first cruise, and am planning many more now that I’m retired.  It would be a shame if Princess writes itself off my future cruise list before I even board the ship.  

[3Sisters]

@Freedomlass This is not fair at all! I had no idea about this, but I think this is a flawed system. I hope Princess Cruises corrects this.

@Oldgirl50 This is such a scam. If you are paying for the premium plus package, you deserve all the perks that come with the package. You are paying for it! 

@OzVoyager I hope you can get through in the Green Lane like the app is showing! If they give you any pushback just show a screenshot of the app. Princess Cruises needs to honor this, even if they don't give you a Medallion ahead of time as they should. Why is the cruise line so discriminatory in this way? 

[FJB]

I don’t see the big deal with this medallion thing, but I haven’t sailed on Princess since Medallions appeared. In the last 10-15 years of cruising, I would venture to say that I have probably only waited more than 15 minutes exactly one time out of 10 to board a ship.  Hell, we, well not I, but the rest of you will wait in the customer service line at Walmart to get refunded 50 cents you were overcharged for a pack of steaks in the discount bin. 

[Cruising Caribbean]

@FJB This is crazy! You have only waited about 15 minutes to board a ship? The last two times I cruised it was like a 2-3 hour affair. Do you cruise with a particular package? I'm including the port security process which seems to always be set back somehow. I guess the idea with the Medallion thing is that some guests get them before and others don't, and that is unfair. So either Princess Cruises should universally provide all cruisers with the Medallion ahead of time or the cruise line should not provide it to any guests ahead of time. The Medallions have been pretty hyped up. As someone who has yet to use it, it sounds like the Medallions are very popular and worthwhile. 

[FJB]

6 hours ago, Cruising Caribbean said:

@FJB This is crazy! You have only waited about 15 minutes to board a ship? The last two times I cruised it was like a 2-3 hour affair. Do you cruise with a particular package? I'm including the port security process which seems to always be set back somehow. I guess the idea with the Medallion thing is that some guests get them before and others don't, and that is unfair. So either Princess Cruises should universally provide all cruisers with the Medallion ahead of time or the cruise line should not provide it to any guests ahead of time. The Medallions have been pretty hyped up. As someone who has yet to use it, it sounds like the Medallions are very popular and worthwhile. 

We have timed it - from the time we get out of the Uber until the time we step aboard the ship - 15 minutes!  We mainly sail with Celebrity and we don’t pay for any extra special “slow to fun” package. 

[SpaceCowboy9]

I think the longest I've ever waited was my first cruise (Port Canaveral), maybe an hour and half - the ship was late getting in due to a storm and it threw everything off.

Charleston can be wonky, because the check in building is down the block from the port, you check-in and get on a bus, sitting on the bus usually takes the longest (but at least you are sitting).

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@SpaceCowboy9 Even that timeframe seems pretty reasonable. There is something about PortMiami that always takes forever. I have heard the same for Charleston. The bus situation is just one extra step that prolongs the process. At least on a bus, there is AC. No air-conditioning while waiting outside at PortMiami in the hot sun. All in all, it's still worth the extra sweat to get onboard an epic cruise ship, even though my makeup has by then melted off due to the excessive humidity and sweating.

@FJBMy favorite trick is to bring the bathing suits in a bag and jump in as soon as you get on board. No one is ever in the pools then, and you can get the pool to yourself!