Technolosea

That's technology @ sea. Given that we had another day at sea, I'm concerned the routine of consulting work, exercise, gambling, dinner, show, nightcap might be getting mundane for you. I assure you it's not getting mundane for me. However, there are some topics I've been wanting to delve deeper into for y'all. Today's topic is the technological advancements on the ship.

I've mentioned our medallion before. It's our everything on board, but before you even get the medallion, there's a medallion app you should download. Prior to embarkation, the app walks you through all the requirements and logistics of cruising. For example, you'll load your passport, load your covid card, complete a few questionnaires, select a diningroom and a "seating", and other logistics. You can view excursions ahead of time as well. We booked ours online but I suspect you can on the app too. You can (and should) also order your medallion to be mailed, so that you have it before embarkation. In the end, if you do everything you're required to, you are put in the "green lane". That means you practically get to walk right on the ship when you arrive at the terminal. It was by far the best embarkation experience ever.

Once on board, the app becomes fully functional. You can make dinner reservations, find your shipmate, wayfind from anywhere to anywhere on the ship, preview the evening menu, see the list of daily activities (called the daily patter), and view the port guides.

But it gets better, the app and the medallion come together when you order food on the app. Regardless of where you are, order food OR DRINK on the app and it arrives quickly. My longest wait was 10 min. Your medallion helps them locate you.

But it gets even better. When you get close to your stateroom, the door unlocks automagically. The stewards also know when you're in or out so they can avoid disturbing you.

But it gets EVEN better. All the staff carry handheld devices or have tablets that show pics of the medallion owners nearby so when you're within about 10ft, say at the bar, they say hello Mr Smith or hello Mrs Jones and you don't need to give your room #, which could be a security issue.

Lastly, they have interactive kiosks all over the boat. If you tap your medallion, your personal schedule comes up or you can explore the ship virtually.

There's more but those are the highlights around technology. Most ships were upgraded during covid, so if you haven't cruised in a while, you're in for a treat

The pics below are my "office" this morning, by the sea, dinner, and a great hand in the casino. I was playing 2 spots. I got a 14 and a 15 against a 10. Bummer. Took a hit because that's the best odds over time. Got 2 @ 21. Such fun I took a pic. Wish I'd had more bet those hands 😉

Tomorrow we get covid tested and of course hope it's negative, but also hope we can set the masks aside. We'll keep you posted.