Sarah here. Coming live to you from the beautiful Regal Princess. We’re on day 11 (out of 13) of our British Isles cruise. Nick and I are seeing the sights with 3500 of our new cruise buddies—98% of whom are over age 60—and thought it’d be fun to share a bit about what’s changed since we last cruised in 2017.
Nick got fixated on booking a cruise back in February when he was my full-time care-taker and the winter doldrums had taken hold of us both. I think he needed something to look forward to, and it turns out, so did I. It was a tough spring for he and I given my medical issues and the uncertainty over the federal government’s future direction, and this gave us something to focus on while both played out.
Much of cruising was as we remembered it, however, one noticeable change was the integration of technology into everything we did. Princess Cruise Lines gives out what they call “medallions” to all their guests. These medallions do the usual things you’d expect—acting as a form of payment and allowing you to check in and out of the ship on port days—and a whole lot of other functions that were equal parts creepy and cool.
Here are some examples:
- The door to your stateroom would automatically unlock when you were within three feet. No need to touch your medallion to anything!
- Staff would know your name if they had a screen in hand or near them. For example, when I’d walk up to a bar, a staff person I’d never met before would call me by name and process my payment without me needing to touch my medallion to anything.
- There was also GPS functionality in the medallions, which allowed me to locate Nick anywhere on the ship. We also saw this used when an unknown staff member came up to us in the atrium (a large common area), addressed us by name, and asked when he could meet with us.
- Waiters in the main dining room could see your name and allergies or dietary preferences when you got within three feet of them.
- When you walked by the photo purchase area, any photos that had been taken of you popped up on giant LED screens.
- And finally, a guy I saw waiting for the elevator was delighted when the LED screen next to him changed to reveal a happy birthday message with his name on it.
It was hard not to be impressed by it, but don’t you agree that it’s a bit creepy? We heard that it was designed by the same person that created the Fastpass at Disney, which makes total sense since it has similar functionality.
The other big change since we’d last cruised was the addition of an app that allowed you to browse menus, order food to whatever location you were in, and “favorite” activities that you wanted to attend that day. Everyone had access to this, even if you didn’t buy the internet package. It was quite useful. Here’s what it looked like.
The other big thing that’s changed since I last cruised was how many health-related items I need to deal with the various issues I’ve acquired over time (but especially in the last three months). Creams for my feet and skin, neti pot for my nose to prevent sinus infections, compressions socks so I didn’t get blood clots, picks and bands for my braces . . . the list goes on and on. My husband joked that it was like having a baby all over again. Getting old stinks, but I will not let it keep me down! On a more positive note, my foot held up great—no pain or swelling even on days when I did close to 20,000 steps!
That got long but I plan to be back with another post in a day or two. Happy last day of May!
