Following Princess Cruises’ delivery of Discovery Princess on Jan. 28 — representing the sixth and last of the Royal-class vessels to homeport in Los Angeles — the line held a press conference to dig deeper into the current state of the brand’s operations and Medallion technology.
The latest announcement? The wearable device platform can now be used for MedallionPay in ports themselves, in addition to real-time sports betting onboard.
“We never paused any work” on Medallion technology during the pandemic, according to John Padgett, president of Princess, and the solution is now available fleet-wide. The next phase is the implementation of cashless purchases in Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico; Saint Thomas in the Caribbean; and in Alaska when the 2022 season begins. The wearable tech will allow seamless payment at shoreside excursion vendors, restaurants and retail establishments such as Diamonds International.
After that, the intention is to scale up internationally.
“It should be this easy to experience a port of call, and that’s what we’ve made it,” Padgett said.
“The ease of transaction is incredible,” added Wendy Tarapani, founding partner of Diamonds International.
Princess Cruises’ passengers no longer need to have cash or a credit card on hand at select establishments. The same waterproof Medallion that checks passengers on and off the ship can be used to buy souvenirs and experiences onshore with Apple Pay.
As a further incentive to employ the payment feature, participants will receive 7% cash back for every purchase in the form of an onboard credit (applicable to their current cruise or with the opportunity to carry the value over into future cruise credit).
As Padgett explains, the perk is above and beyond any benefits received from the credit card associated with a guest’s Medallion account.
“If they consume more experiences, everyone wins,” he said.
This includes the local communities at the ports that Princess serves.
In fact, a good portion of Medallion manufacturing is moving from China to the Dominican Republic, as facilitated by Florida-based tech company Jabil.
“It’s super cool that we’re manufacturing the most advanced wearable device that exists in the travel industry within the community of countries that service the travel industry,” Padgett said.
Back onboard, Medallion can be now be used for what Princess is touting as the first sports book at sea, including in-play wagers, prop bets and futures. Sports fans will also appreciate that Medallions can be physically personalized with official NBA and WNBA graphics. Or, for those less into sports, the tech can be tailored with other images such as animals, birthstones, landmarks, ship crests and more.
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Princess Cruises
