This is our first full day at sea on the Island Princess. I suppose we spent some of the day getting to know the layout of the ship. It certainly is a bit of  a higgledy, piggledy design. Apart from the layout, there are a few noticable differences on this ship. Very modern compared to my last cruise I was on which was Carnival Pacific Islands.

Firstly, on each floor mainly near the lifts are digital interactive maps of every area on the ship on screens. These nifty gadgets help in some respect but  they're not always foolproof. Trust me; I've followed the digital breadcrumbs only to realise I've ended up in the ship's galley! Just kidding. They include a digital layout of the ship by level it does help to some extent.

Second, each of us are given a medallion with a GPS signal (instead of the old lanyard style). The Passenger Medallion System, often referred to as the OceanMedallion.  Each passenger is given a  OceanMedallion. This device is about the size of a 10 cent coin  and can be worn as a wristband or as a pendant The medallion is equipped with various sensors and technology that allow it to interact with the ship's infrastructure. 

Pretty cool huh! Here is some info I found out about the OceanMedallion:

 Before the cruise, us passengers provide personal information, preferences, and any special requests through a mobile app or website. This information is linked to their OceanMedallion, creating a profile that helps customise the onboard experience.

The medallion system uses a network of sensors and antennas placed throughout the ship to track the location of passengers in real-time. This enables various features and benefits such as keyless entry to cabins as the Medallion serves as the cabin key, automatically unlocking the cabin door when the passenger approaches and then locking it magically when you leave.

Crew members can access a passenger's profile and preferences, allowing them to provide personalised services. Even magically bringing you your fav drink. Thats a plus! 'Margarita Please'. 

Passengers can use interactive maps on their smartphones to navigate the ship, locate onboard venues, and find their friends and family members. I tried this and it works really well. Hint to Princess Cruises. Two maps required, one for the men and one for us women.

Alert! Alert! The OceanMedallion is linked to our onboard account, allowing for cashless transactions. Passengers can make purchases at onboard shops, restaurants, and bars without the need for cash or credit cards. Charges are automatically added to our account. Yep this makes it a little dangerous. However you can track of expenses on the app. 

The system also helps us  make the most of their cruise experience by suggesting personalised activities and entertainment options based on the preferences we add. 

We can connect up with fellow passengers for chatting purposes  making it easy to stay connected with friends and family onboard.

Book into daily activities and add fellow family members to events. My BIL Richard decided to book me into some activities that I might not normally be interested in. Very Naughty he was, as I am definetly not interested in trying out for ships entertainment or joining in with Bible study (no offence intended to those who do). The only downside to this is you can delete yourself out of an activity.  

So I guess you can tell that I was impressed with the whole process.

Moving on from this which turned into a rather long explanation. I think when I get back home I might  cut this section out and move the medallion information to a separate Blog Post.

Hmm, now where was I, well not much else to really write about. Another nice dinner in the dining room.

A drink in one of the bars, we watched one of the bands for a while and the decided to hit the hay.