Ocean Medallion Accessories

Now that the Ocean Medallion is coming out at a steady pace many of you are looking at accessories.  

While on the Royal in 2019 the Ocean Medallion kiosk was set up on the Starboard side of deck 6 midship, right near the Photo Department.

Here you could buy a variety of accessories.  Above is the clip that cost $8 each.  They come in a variety of colours including one for each loyalty level.  We bought the clip and really like the flexibility of it and being able to clip it on to almost anything.  Although Bernie did clip it to his pocket and with always putting his hands in and out it did fall off on occasion.

The plastic band for $12.  Also came in a variety of colours.  This is handy but I hate wearing a rubber bracelet and is a pain if you also wear a watch/bracelet.  I have seen others on line buying a fitbit band for a minimal costs too but for the small price difference I would just get the one onboard. 

I like the idea of the gold/silver plated bracelets but found them to be way to pricey for my budget.

Silver or Gold plated necklace with pendant.  Again way to pricey for my pocket book.

These are inserts you can attach to your lanyard to customize it a bit.  Cute idea and at a minimal price it is a nice option but I hate wearing a lanyard so I opted out.  You can also buy an insert that represents your loyalty level.

Here is the clip we bought.  I really enjoyed it and glad I got it.

Ocean Medallion Pre Cruise Documents

A friend of mine is sailing on Caribbean Princess this month and he shared with me pictures of his Ocean Medallion.  He is allowing me to use his pictures - thank you Juan.

Prior to the cruise he went into his Cruise Personalizer on the Princess website and filled in all the necessary information required - like passport, credit card, address, and emergency contact.  He also took a picture of himself using his own computer (or phone or tablet).

The Ocean Medallion was shipped to them by courier.

This is what they got.

As you can see the Medallion does represent their loyalty status of Elite (it is black).  It also has his name (which I have blocked out) and sailing date.

I like it! I would much rather carry that than the cruise card.   I am one that would also like to own some kind of nice bracelet to put it in as at night as I rarely have pockets.

Here is a link to my previous post about Ocean Medallion on the Caribbean Princess and the products they would be selling.

Ocean Medallion on the Caribbean Princess

My friend Juan is on the Caribbean Princess and shared some images of the medallion roll out which has now rolled out.

Here are images of what is on sale that you can choose to buy to accessorize your medallion.  Of course it optional.  

I love the different loyalty level colours.  

All items will be availabe on the next cruise.

Princess Cays

We actually set the alarm clock!  We want a quick start this morning as we drop anchor early and we want to head off to the beach early.  

We wake when room service arrives. A simple healthy breakfast to tie us over until the hunger pains just start!  

They open the tenders and we are on board the first tender.

If you are elite or in a suite you get priority tendering.  You still need to enter the dining room on deck five but you are directed to the first tender leaving.

Tenders here are from shore side and they are large and hold well over a hundred people.  This is great in one way as you can move a lot of people but getting on and getting off is slow.  

By 9 am we are ashore and laying in a lounge chair in our favorite area in front of the Cabanas.

Can life get any better?  Here is my view above.

 Sand fleas are out.  Sitting under a palm tree and in the shade is not the best option as the fleas love these conditions.  I did bring some bug repellent and sprayed my chair and this did help.  But I did get bitten in two spots.  

Now before people start saying anything about the fleas do take note that Princess does spray all the time to help combat them.  But they are hard to control.  Every beach I have been to has them.  They are all over the Caribbean and Mexico.  

Sometimes it is worse than others, sometimes it is BAD and sometimes it is almost none existent. Of course they love my blood.

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It helps to have bug spray and to stay away from trees and shaded area. 

We spend the next few hours sunning but boy it is hot.  The water is a nice respite from the heat. We both comment on how warm the water is like bath water.  A big difference from February where you have ease into the cool water.

Yes there are still lots of rocks here.  I find the best thing is to wade in on the sandy area then just swim out above the rocks and get deep enough that you can float.  Water shoes can certainly help but I hate wearing them personally.

I take my float ring that I always bring with me and just float around.

We did snorkel and Bernie commented that he thought the coral was doing quite well and had improved since the last time we were here in February.  Sadly some passengers don't understand the delicacy of the coral and stand on some causing them to break and die. 

It never really gets very busy ashore.

Demographics on board is slowly changing.  A lot fewer kids, less families.  Still more than what is normal for us.

Big news is that Ocean Medallion wifi works ashore here.  And it is strong and fast!

Take note that your ultimate drink package works ashore too so drink up.  However some bars have limited drinks.  Also if you have the soda package this does not work ashore for soda as they have no gun dispenser for the soda.  

After three hours in the sun we are hot, salty, sticky from sunscreen and have had our share of the sun so we head back.  

Love the new covered tender waiting station.  Also love that the security stations are set up ashore saving you the issue of having to do that when you get back on board.

Of I forgot to mention Bernie is still having problems with his card.  Or I should say Princess is having problems with his card.  He taps onto the Ocean Medallion and it comes up still with no picture.  So he has to go aside and give our cabin number.  It does work in the old hand held devices.  IT is on board and they take note.  This is an issue, but more for us because we are in transit.

Back on board we shower and feel totally new.  Talk about coming back new!

We head up to the Worldfresh Marketplace for lunch.  I am so in love with the buffet here.  So many great options.  I am still waiting for signs identifying what the food items but that is coming we have been told.  They are still working on improving the entire experience.

While up here Deb (another passenger) introduces herself and her spouse.  She reads my blog and I love chatting with them and getting their perspective.  Although I love to cruise and write about it, my perspective is, well -- my perspective.  So to hear and see the same cruise, port stop, event, meal from someone else is very informative.  I love Deb's blog.  You can follow her here, she too is blogging live and I believe in supporting each other and she does a great job.

I want to attend the Detourist session this afternoon which is all about photography and how to use some new tips to improve your experience when travelling with your camera.

Jase leads it and the Platinum Studio artist is also here and he gives some great tips.  I am already putting the tips into action with my pictures.  I often quickly take pictures as I am going by but I am going to try and focus and go slower and really work at capturing what I want to communicate.

The entire session is not very long and easy to attend and informative.

Check out these screens in Club Fusion where you can be the DJ and control what is being played.  I need to try it out one time.

Tonight we head to Skywalkers for the Platinum Elite lounge.  We are shocked when we enter around 5:30 as it is really busy.  What happened to the ship?  The last two sailings you could throw a rock and maybe hit one person, today it is hard to find a seat.

This is a representation of how the demographics have changed.  There are a lot more Platinum/Elite guests.

The chefs are busy replenishing the food station (which is serving prawns with cocktail sauce) and plates and cutlery.  I don't think they had to do that even once last two weeks.

The staff are running around taking drink orders.  Many passengers are annoyed as it is taking too long (according to them) to get their drinks.  Yes is taking longer than normal but hey we are on vacation.  We spot a couple get very frustrated that a table has not been cleared.  It is sad when people act like this.  

We notice that some buffet stewards are up here and more bar staff soon to help with the crowds.  I am very impressed how this ship notices and implements when there is an issue. A sign of good leadership.

One thing we don't care for is the cheese.  Since we got on the cheese seems to be tasteless and a weird texture.  The cheddar, jalapeno jack cheese and the havartti (now I hope that is the names but don't quote me) are really off putting.  The cheddar taste like a processed cheese.  Yuck.  So we have pretty much stayed away from the food station except for veggies and olives.  

Neither of us is really hungry. We had a late lunch and Bernie really just wants to go to watch a movie.  So we divide and I wander down to Vines and order a glass (or two) of wine and some sushi.  I then get some Greek salad from the International Cafe and that ties me over.

I enjoy spending time there and chatting with others and Dominique and Jonathan.  I am going to miss these two next week.

I wanted to add that we traded this weeks mini bar for two coffee cards.  The coffee cards are now electronic and applied to your cards.  It was applied very quickly after calling.  The charge did show up on our account but it was removed later - which is normal.  The cards expire now at the end of the cruise - which is disappointing as there is no way we could drink 30 coffees in 7 days.  Well we could but we would have to harness that energy somehow!  It is also a pain because you don't know how many coffee drinks you have left.  But since we traded in our mini bar we can't really complain.

A new party band has joined the ship.  Tempo is now on board and we really like them and have sailed with them before.

Ocean Medallion update. Seems a lot of people have the Medallion around their neck.  Lido and Riviera decks have the medallions.

Now when you order drinks at the coffee bar you tap your card on the ocean medallion station.  The light ring changes from blue to green.  However when you order drinks from bar staff they still either take your card and tap or they take your folio number and charge it that way.

We got our Most Travelled Guest Invitation also.  Not sure where we fall.  To tell you the truth I rarely check at where we fall as I don't really care but if I get to chat with Faye and she is at her desk I will ask.  We are just happy to be included.  The party will take place the night of Saint Maarten.  

First Day of Third Leg - Dinner at Crown Grill

Oh I hardly slept at all.  Why? I really don't know why.  I think the last time I looked at the clock it was 2:30 and we dock early and I know that will wake me up.

Sure enough around 6:30 I start hearing the sounds of pulling into port -- the pilot boat, the thrusters, and then docking and lots of movement outside our cabin.

Thank goodness for ear plugs.  I would not leave home without them.

First thing is we go and get a load of wash into the washing machine.  Yes we get free laundry on board but doing a load gets things clean and to square one for the next voyage.

Back in the cabin we pack up our stuff for our new cabin.  We are moving again.  I know some of you hate that and sure it would of been nice to be in the same cabin all three legs, but it just was not possible to do.  So it is the price we pay for booking last minute and getting a great deal. 

But truthfully it is not hard to move cabins and in all it takes about an hour of our time for packing and unpacking and it also allows us to clean up and reorganize.  Yes even our cabin tends to get messy with papers, purchased item and stuff.  

For breakfast we head up to the buffet just before 8 am.  It is good right now.  We get a plate and a table easily.  But just after 8 it is very crowded.  I am guessing this is due to the fact that people have to be out of their cabin at 8.

Of course many are frustrated.  They have their carry on bag, their documents, their kids, their food, their spouse and patience is at a minimum.  Some interesting people watching went on.

Once again we head to deck 5 and grab a coffee and relax for a bit before we head ashore.

I review our bill once again to add up what our drink cost was last week and it only came to $200 total for the both of us.  What! That seems low.  But we didn't really feel like we did without.  Last week it was $450.  We did carry over two bottles of wine from last week so that helped.

So for us the drink package just would not have been worth it for us again.  The price of the package is just under a $1,000 total for the two of us for 7 days (includes gratuity). But it is important for you to weigh out how much you drink and whether it would be worth it for you.

We head ashore around 9:30 and we are hit with the heat and muggy temperature!  Oh not sure if I could get use to this.

We walk over to Ross for Less and do some browsing.  Then over to Publix for some items.  Then of course we need to go to Total Wine.

Our friend Elkie is from Austria and we promised to bring her a bottle of Austrian wine from shore.  But we needed help finding Austrian wine so we asked a nice man.  Miguel is his name and he is from Portugal, he chatted with us for a bit and said he use to work for Princess.

Further conversation and we find out we know a quite a few similar people.  Including Antonio Pimpao who was Executive Housekeeper and lives in Portugal.   Small world! So here is a picture of him and he says hi Antonio (I know you are reading).

So after all the errands -- including Bernie getting his hair cut -- and lunch we walk back to Pier 2.  

The lines are not long but there is a bit of a wait for the initial security check, then the security screening (maybe 10 min).  Note we had wine, but it was only two bottles and they said that was fine for two.  Also you are not allowed to have any open liquid so empty those water bottles.

The gangway line is short and we take two pictures.  One for the new Medallion system and one for the old hand held system.  Fingers crossed it works and we don't have a repeat of last week (see some of last week's port stop blogs).

Today embarkation has a bit of a new look.  Crew that are in designated areas to assist with boarding are wearing sashes with Welcome Aboard in the Medallion Class Royal Blue color. Honestly I did not like them.  Felt very pageant like.  I wanted to take a picture but felt odd about asking so sorry everyone.

Ocean Medallion appears to have rolled out to more cabins.  I had heard that Riviera deck was being added the Lido deck cabins but need to confirm. A lot more people have the medallion in a lanyard around their neck.

Once on board we make our way to our cabin and unpack.  We have to do a bit of housekeeping items with the front desk.  As I wait for Bernie to attend to these things I take some pictures of the Atrium with all the new banners.  Looks very regal. 

I will say that the regular banners that they have hanging all over the banisters and poles normally with the Caribbean designs seems a little cluttered to me and something I would find at Grandma's house. Yes it is cute for an event but all week up seems a bit much.

The Atrium has tables and stations set up for what people can expect in the coming week.  A lounge chair from Mutts, the flying shark, the production show posters, trivias, Detourist, also the drop off for the scavenger hunt form and more. Two crew staff are there too. But no one is really engaging with them.  I like the idea of this.  But I think it needs to be tweaked.

Back in the cabin we relax.  Muster Drill is just about to start.  No we don't have to attend the drill as we are In Transit but it is piped into our cabins so we have to listen to it.  By 4 pm we just can't keep our eyes open so we have a good nap until 6 pm.  

I awake and feel so very rested.  

Tonight is dinner at Crown Grill.  

We are sat at a booth at a window.  Although I like booths I often find there is too much space from the bench seat to the table and have a hard time eating or sitting comfortably. Normally we just move the table towards me but this would cause one of us to have a big space between the seat and table.

So Bernie and I move to the same side and adjust the table ourselves.  Plus it is nice to sit side by side and we can easily chat without raising our voices as it does end up getting loud later.

Our assistant takes our drink order but fills up our water automatically.  Normally we like sparkling water but we did not get a chance to order it as the glass was filled already.  

It is busy and as tables around us fill up we can't help hearing two separate tables near us.  One is an older couple who seem to be so angry with each other.  Often he raised his voice to the point she almost cried (from what we could see from a few feet away). Boy and this is only the first day of the cruise.

Then a father son couple came and sat at the deuce right in front of us.  The father was very loud.  His son in his early 20s I would guess and both proceeded to slam everything about the ship and service and basically life.  They did seem to enjoy their food though.  Thank goodness they have something positive in their life today.

Argh.... I try not to let how others act affect how I react but it did require some patience.

Our meal was very good.  In fact I think the black and blue soup and the spinach and beet salad was one of the best we have ever had.

We paired our meal with a bottle of Pacific Bay and it went very well with the Sea Bass Bernie had and the filet I had.

I had a side of Bearnaise sauce and well, it looked like a thick pudding.  I say this because this is probably the fourth time I have had it since we have gotten on board (either Bearnaise or Hollandaise sauce) and it has always had this gross thick consistency.  This is not the norm on board ships though and not sure how these chefs are making it or how long it is sitting but it is horrible.

Our server started out very good but he then got busy.  They did have extra staff brought it which impressed me but we seemed to have gotten forgotten.  Normally we have a great banter with our wait staff and we did see this happening with other tables, but did not happen with us.

No one checked on how our meal was until we were almost finished - and we did not eat fast.  

Dessert order took a long time.  And once we had finished dessert we sat and sat and finally gave up and just left.  Note we had settled the bill prior to arriving.

The head waiter here - Diego we know from the last two sailings but even he seemed to check in on us only once for a very short time and never attended to assisted our table even though he walked by often.  I know on the Royal this year the head waiter in Crown Grill was very attentive and stopped often at all tables.

So I have to say sadly that the Crown Grill on board was a miss. Food was quite good with a small miss but ambiance (no fault of Princess) and service was poor.  

We are looking forward to going back to Sabatinis in a few days though.

Off to Vines to catch up with Dominique.  It is very quiet right now - it is 9:30 and I guess most are at the show or eating or resting after a long day.

While sitting here a follower came over - Juan and his spouse and it is lovely to meet them.  We have mutual friend so it is great to connect.

Later we chat with some other guys for a long time about pretty much everything.  Three are from England, two are from the US.  I learned a lot from them and I really enjoyed the conversation. 

Back in the cabin we decide tomorrow will be a room service breakfast. 

We anchor off Princess Cays and we really want to go ashore this time.

Check out the new look of the Princess Patter

Turn Around Day

As I wake to the thrusters pulling the ship towards the dock I open one eye and glace at the time – 645.  You can never sleep in on turn around day.

After enjoying some breakfast in the cabin (a perk some friends arranged for us because we are staying on) we shower and pull out the cases.  Packing is always easy if you are just moving cabins on the ship.  All clothes on the hangars stay there and the contents of the mini bar get packed into the Princess tote.

The flowers I received a week ago for my birthday still look amazing so we will be moving them to the new cabin.  I am impressed how long they have lasted.

We also throw in a load of wash in the washer on deck 8 (the closest laundromat to our new cabin).  We always like to do at least one load of wash on turn around day so everything gets a good cleaning and we start fresh.  Tokens are dispersed from a machine that you tap your card to the medallion icon.  Each token is $3 and it takes one token for each machine.  We brought our own laundry pods, otherwise you can buy soap with a token in the laundry room.

We let our cabin steward know that our room can be cleaned and we are ready for our stuff to be moved. 

Oh I forgot to relay that last night when we got back to the cabin we had a knock at the door.  It was someone from housekeeping and I knew immediately it was Antonio’s friend.

Antonio is a retired executive housekeeper that we met many years ago and have been very close friends with.  Last year we travelled to Portugal to stay with him and his wife for five nights.  He is very special to us and we miss him.  He had messaged me that he knew a few housekeeping supervisors on board and we should look out for them.

Tonight Menino came to introduce himself.  It was so nice to meet him and he promised to take care of us at turnaround with moving our stuff.  Normally we just move our own things but they are insisting they move them for us.

Right now we are siting in Vines enjoying a coffee and waiting for our meeting time for all in transits.  We have been told to be at the Coral Dining room for 10:10 and to make sure we have our in transit cards, our old and new cruise cards and also our passports.

I am anticipating a long in transit process as there are many, so if it goes fast we will be happy.

I just reviewed our bill and everything looks fine.  I added up all the beverages we had including wine, cocktails, coffees, and waters and the total price came to $420.  If we would of gotten the drink package it would of cost us $476 each – a total of $952.  Sure we would of probably drank more with the package but I doubt we would of drank double.  So for us the drink package is not worth it.  

Sometimes they throw it in when you book (note there is a cost even if it is thrown in but cheaper than if you buy on board) but we did not have that perk. Remember too if they do have that promo of free sip and sail you can opt out of it and get an on board credit in lieu.

We meet at our designated time of 1010 and within 15 minutes we are directed off the ship.  We go to the lower level of the port building and I am able to get my computer out and do some work.  But within a few minutes they announce we can go thru passport control.  We show our passports to the agent.  They glace at it and look at us and confirm we are the actual person in the photo.  Then we go up the escalator and right on the ship.  Again we have to bing into the only handheld system and then again into the Ocean Medallion system. 

In all it took us less than an hour from when we arrived at our designated area to when we were back on board.  One of the fastest in transit experiences we have ever had.  Very impressed!

Once on board we see that when we log onto Princess’ site it is a bit different. We have to re register with Ocean Medallion wifi and we are then on a new page that says because of our loyalty level we are entitled to unlimited wifi for this voyage.  But when we go to apply it is says error.  We go to the internet café to get it dealt with and it seams there is an issue with those of us who were in transit. 

A few hours later we are a okay.  Still have some issues logging in but once on it is very fast.  Note you can only log on to one device at a time.

For sail away we head up to the Sun deck and enjoy a beautiful sail away.  Carnival Conquest goes ahead of us then Harmony of the Seas.

love all the art in the cabins

huge tvs

We are hungry so we decide to have an early dinner and head to the Buffet.  Love that salad Bar!  For dessert we indulge in our first milk shakes.  $2.50 each and very good.

We are in a new cabin this leg, E508 and is an obstructed ocean view cabin but the view is quite good right over the life boat.  The air conditioning is working but it is still a little warm for us so we take off the grate that covers the vent and it helps a lot. 

There are definitely a lot fewer kids on board but there are still a lot!  The pools are full of little people!  Again I think we will venture to the adults only pool this sailing. 

Not sure how much blogging I will do this trip.  I don’t want it to take away from time on my vacation so bear with me if I am not posting regularly but only when there is something to report.