CNN Money reports Carnival may beat Disney to the Cruise Line “MagicBand” punch. On Wednesday Carnival Cruise Lines, at CES 2017, announced plans to give guests a wearable device that would allow them to access their rooms and make purchases (sound familiar?) The concept comes from John Padgett, Carnival’s chief innovation officer who previously spent 18 years at Disney. Padgett was behind the launch of the Disney’s MagicBand. At Carnival the device will be called a “Medallion”.
The device will make its debut in November on its Regal Princess ship and will eventually roll out to all its 101 ships. Like Disney, the device will arrive in the mail prior to the cruise and will be inscribed with the guest’s name.
As of right now, MagicBands are not used on the Disney Ships (other than for children to wear to access the kids’ clubs), they continue to use the Key to the World card. That obviously could change between now and November.