There are many arguments and articles out there encouraging us all to get onboard a cruise, it’s a personal favourite. If you need to know anything about cruising and busting some myths around it, start here. When we were at CES in Las Vegas earlier this year we heard about some new technology coming to Princess Cruises that take the relaxing holiday to a whole other level. Catch up on that news here. What we didn’t know then, but do now(!), was which ships would be running this new technology and whether any will sail from Australian shores.

Good news.

The Princess fleet to receive the Ocean Medallion technology include:

  • Regal Princess on November 13, 2017
  • Royal Princess on January 19, 2018
  • Caribbean Princess on March 18, 2018
  • Island Princess on May 16, 2018
  • Golden Princess during November 2018
  • Crown Princess during November 2018
  • Ruby Princess during January 2019

The Golden Princess

The one we are particularly excited about is the Golden Princess. This one will sail from Melbourne sailing October 2018 to April 2019 with departures to South Pacific, Tasmania, South Australia and New Zealand. The 2600 passenger ship was refurbished just two years ago and with the new Ocean Medallion addition you’ll have a seamless and smooth cruise, even more than usual!

The Ocean Medallion enables the following…

  • Ocean Ready: Expedites embarkation as required information is added to the guest profile at home.
  • Stateroom Access: The Ocean Medallion will unlock a guest’s stateroom door – replacing the key card.
  • Here & Now™: Guests can place food and beverage orders and have them delivered to select locations.
  • There & Then™: Guests can place select food and beverage orders and have them delivered to where they plan to be at a designated time.
  • Ocean Navigate: Accessed through the Ocean Compass, guests can learn the whereabouts of their family as they enjoy activities throughout the ship and be guided seamlessly in finding their way around the ship. Friends and family will also be able to easily communicate with each other through a seamless messaging service.

We recommend keeping this ship list handy for future cruises you are looking at. Check the dates and ship names to see if the cruise you are taking is sailing in the 21st century. Flying to another country and cruising is absolutely great way to experience a region. We’ve sailed the Mediterranean and saw so much of Europe during the trip, more than we would have seen on any other tour, all without moving about different hotels, we just woke up in Italy… then Greece…. then Turkey. Ahh….