Magic Bands on the ship

[TheBigErn]

Trying to decide whether to use magic bands on our cruise. What doe everyone think? Yay or nay and why?

 

[DWillowBay]

We did a combo. For time when we were onboard, the Magic Band was great for opening the door, making purchases, etc. It was nice not to have the lanyard hang on my neck all day (personal preference, I suppose). But, when we left the ship, we used the lanyard for scanning to get off or back on the ship. Especially for beach time, we didn't all want to have "Magic Band Tans" on our arms.....vain!

 

[Cfabar1]

I prefer them on the ship to at the parks... I vote yes...

 

[Kwami]

Eh. I thought that bands might be more convenient than lanyards, but they really aren't. If you buy a coffee or drinks at dinner or anything like that, then you have to take your band off and give it to a cast member to scan somewhere. It's OK at shops and for the door, but the lanyards were already OK for that.

 

[mmouse37]

I have been on about 10 cruises since the MB were introduced onboard. I have never used one onboard. I remember the MV of the Wish there was talk they would be testing them with all sorts of interactive things on the pool decks and inside. That never happened. I, personally, would find having to take them off to buy drinks at dinner or at Cove Cafe a pain I witnessed many people having to take them off on the Destiny at Cove Cafe because the terminal was too far for people to reach with their wrist.

I don't think there is enough pros for me to use one onboard. Maybe if they introduce more interactive things I may try it but I have no problem using my KTTW card for purchases and getting into our cabin.

Its all personal preference. No real right or wrong answer.

MJ

 

[Skippyboo]

If you already have a Magic Band + , I would bring it. It’s useful for opening the door. You do get some lighting effects during Pirate Night, some dining. Plus if you’re on Destiny or Treasure, there’s the Happy Haunts game which is sort like MB+ version of Midship Detective. You go find ghosts through out the ship.

 

[DCL58]

We don’t use them - never have. The key card works for us.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Don't use the MB.... put the KTTW card and my DL in the lanyard and slip it into my pocket most the time.

Been waiting for them to add the MB feature to your smartphone or watch... like the WDW App. But seems that isn't a priority for them????? And even smarter if they could combine features like Beer Mug tokens or stamps for custom coffee's into the DCL App.

 

[angelsfort]

I bought some cute puck holders from Etsy for our Magic Band+. For my fiance' a puck holder that attaches to his fitbit band, so he can wear it without having two bands on at once.

and for me, I bought a cute Mickey balloon shaped holder that attaches to a retractable lanyard, to attaches to my belt

 

[cruisehopeful]

I like it, but it has limited use. It's not worth buying just for the cruise, but if you already have one, it is helpful for opening the door when your hands are full. It lights up during some of the dinner shows.

 

[TheBigErn]

Thanks for all of the replies

 

[elvispursley]

I already have a MB+ from my many WDW trips. I’m thinking of buying some for DH and 2 DS for our cruise and post-cruise WDW trip. Thoughts?

 

[mcd2745]

If you're going on the Treasure or Destiny, you will need one to do the Haunted Mansion Ghost Hunt.

Otherwise, it's just a matter if you prefer the convenience.

 

[Liastaob]

Love using ours. It's way easier for our kids to keep track of.

Interesting thing: on our recent cruise on the Fantasy, they didn't take our KTTW or our magic bands at dinner for purchases. They just automatically charged our rooms. It was actually super nice; it's not like they don't know who we are...

They also didn't require the room key for the Edge, anymore, which they required on the Treasure just a year before.

 

[RedHead0186]

I already have a MB+ from my many WDW trips. I’m thinking of buying some for DH and 2 DS for our cruise and post-cruise WDW trip. Thoughts?

I like having a band, though it's certainly not essential. If you've already got one, or are planning to use it for future trips, then I think it makes sense to have them.

 

[Erica1016]

We wouldn't have been likely to buy them specifically for cruising, but we were gifted them a couple of years ago. It's worked out well because we've been cruising quite a bit. We love having them on the ships! It's especially nice to just leave it on and not have to remember to grab the card/lanyard on the way out of the room. I also love not having to think about where I'm putting it when going in the pool or hot tub. We don't purchase much of anything extra, so the taking it off for purchases isn't an issue for us.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Just back from the WBPC cruise on the Magic. I used my MB+ almost exclusively. The exceptions were Palo brunch and dinner, since having it on my wrist with the long-sleeved shirt I was wearing would have made it awkward to give to the server when taking care of the charges. DW used either KTTW card on a lanyard or MB+, depending on what other wrist decoration was being worn at the time.

I never bothered to charge my MB+. It worked fine for opening the stateroom door and for charging. I was asked for card or band to process charges pretty consistently, although our assistant server forgot one night when I ordered a bottle of wine from my wine package. Those transactions after the initial purchase involve a $0.00 bill, since it’s just used to track the number of bottles that have been consumed. I always include additional gratuity for our serving team on the initial purchase, so that’s been taken care of already. Charges then appear on the in-room account summary on the TV as $0.00, but never make it to the room charges information in the app or the final account folio PDF. It’s actually interesting to monitor the account information on the room TV. The 18% autogratuities appear as a separate line item for each transaction, as do any added gratuity that I include when signing the bill. Even the Palo gratuities are broken out into separate lines, apparently for the split between the server and whoever else gets a small cut from those. We also had a popcorn bucket that I refilled almost daily. That appeared as two line items, $1.75 for the refill itself and $0.31 for the autogratuity (I would have expected them to round up to $0.32, but no). Folio just shows a $2.06 charge each time (the crew member at the popcorn cart outside the Buena Vista movie theater filled the bucket with popped corn and scanned my MB+; didn’t even ask for a signature on the iPad).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I prefer wearing a band than the big bulky lanyards. I miss the old style lanyards. The big one is a bit much for me.
It's not any easier to buy drinks by the pool but it's also not any harder to remove compared to pulling the lanyard off. We still take the KTTW card when we go ashore.

We didn't get them for the special effects. Mostly for the ease of opening the room door.