BROOKLYN, N.Y., Nov. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is rolling out an unprecedented wave of
digital innovations touching every aspect of its business, charting
a course for a world where travel frustrations have disappeared,
erased by technology that is transforming cruise ships from stem to
stern.
Most visible to consumers through a guest-empowering app that
will blanket the company's 48-ship fleet over the next two years,
the surge of innovation will also banish check-in lines at ports,
equip crew members to anticipate guests' needs, and enable giant
cruise ships to sail through the water on a fuel-saving curtain of
air.
"The pace of change is relentless—and so are we," said
Richard D. Fain, RCL's chairman and
CEO. "We are harnessing a range of technologies to enhance every
facet of our business, every minute of our guests' vacations, and
every inch of the ships we build."
Jay Schneider, RCL's senior vice
president, digital, said one focus of RCL's company-wide innovation
initiative is zeroing in on wasted effort and wasted energy. "We
are finding ways to eliminate friction and frustration, giving
guests more time to make the memories that make vacations special,"
said Schneider. For example, guests will:
- Board ships in the time it takes to order fries from the
drive-through, skipping check-in lines thanks to facial recognition
technology that knows who they are on arrival.
- Sign up for shore excursions, order drinks and make dinner
reservations without ever leaving their chairs by the pool thanks
to an intuitive app on a device most of them already have—a
smartphone.
- Indulge in VR and AR experiences that transform ship spaces
into virtual environments and interactive games, where stateroom
ceilings might be replaced by starry skies, the walls of a
restaurant can transform into the sights and sounds of an outdoor
café and digital signs challenge you to play an arcade game.
"Consumers are buying experiences now, not things," Fain said.
"So we are creating ways for them to design vacations rich in
made-to-order, memory-making moments, and even providing
recommendations based on what they have enjoyed before or shared
with us about their preferences. And with our mantra of continuous
improvement, our strategy is to constantly upgrade the guest
experience across the fleets of all our brands."
The technological transformation also encompasses areas beyond
the guest experience, including innovations to make ships more
energy-efficient, enhance ship management and put more connectivity
into the hands of crew members than ever before.
RCL's invitation-only Sea Beyond event – held at the site of a
historic shipbuilding facility in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and
exclusively sponsored by EY – offers 37,000 square feet of hands-on
examples of how digital technology is driving change across the
company's fleet, whose brands include industry leaders Royal
Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club
Cruises.
"EY is proud to be the exclusive sponsor of Sea Beyond. We
understand the powerful impact and positive experiences digital
transformation can create," said Bob
Patton, Americas Vice Chair of Accounts. "Working
together with the Royal Caribbean team has truly been an amazing
experience," continued Patton. "We have been partners for over
a decade, and are excited to continue collaborating to achieve
breakthroughs in the digital innovation space."
For guests: less friction, more time to make memories
"Our vision is to make the guest experience hassle-free,
personalized and fun," said Schneider.
One specific focus is removing time-stealing moments from the
cruise experience. "Time spent in line—whether you're waiting for
your food, waiting for your bags to arrive, waiting on a table, or
booking an excursion—is time stolen from your time off," Schneider
said. To return that time to guests, the company is combining
technologies ranging from facial recognition to RFID tagging to GPS
mapping to Bluetooth-enabled beacons to streamline boarding, manage
check-ins automatically and improve wayfinding.
"Many of these same technologies are being deployed to put the
power to manage your vacation in the palm of your hand," said
Schneider. "Our new app will make it simpler than ever to book and
plan your cruise vacation from home or with a travel agent. Once on
board, you can navigate our ships with interactive maps and guides,
explore the ship with cool features like x-ray vision, or order
drinks that can be delivered to you wherever you are on the ship."
The app, along with the next generation of the company's WOW Bands,
will also unlock guest staterooms and enable guests to control
stateroom lighting and temperature.
An initial release of the cruise guest app is already available
on selected ships in RCL's fleet. Schneider said RCL will continue
to refine the app, adding new ship-specific features and
capabilities, with each subsequent release. "Our aim is to have the
app enabled on about 15 percent of our fleet by the end of this
year, and more than double that by the end of 2018," said
Schneider.
Other innovations showcased at Sea Beyond are in the "concept
car" phase, said Schneider. "Sea Beyond attendees will get glimpses
of what happens when we let our imaginations run wild. So think of
sampling an exotic dessert where, with each bite, the entire
environment changes – at least virtually. Or imagine a stateroom
where you not only control the lighting and the temperature, but
can change the scene from starry night to rainforest canopy or
island home with the touch of a button."
For crew: better interaction with guests and home
The innovations enriching the cruise guest experience will be
complemented by a suite of tools for crews, as well. For example,
the app-enabled offerings for guests will be mirrored on the crew
side by mobile applications that help crew members check-in guests,
complete required paperwork, track delivery of guests' bags to
their staterooms, and interact with guests and anticipate their
needs throughout their vacations.
In addition, crews will have access to easier means to manage
their own schedules, stay connected to friends and family while
onboard, and stay connected to RCL during their off-contract
periods.
"We regularly earn industry-leading guest satisfaction ratings –
which is first and foremost a tribute to the outstanding work our
crews do every day," said Fain. "To continue to improve, we will
put more capability to delight and surprise our guests into our
crews' hands even as we help them better manage the special
challenges of being away from their homes and families while on
board."
For the RCL fleet: smarter, safer ships and a reduced
environmental footprint
Also showcased at Sea Beyond will be innovations aimed at
enhancing overall ship management and improving energy
efficiency.
For example, forthcoming command centers will use augmented
reality to assist with navigation and maneuvering. "Think of it as
enabling the nautical equivalent of flying on instruments," said
Fain. "Our ships always operate with keen sensitivity to the
limitations the weather may impose. But having new means to
mitigate the weather's impacts on departures and arrivals helps us
uphold schedule and itinerary commitments important to our guests,"
added Fain.
In addition, in a safety-related application of the same
technologies that will help servers deliver a drink to a guest
anywhere on board, next generation bridge technology will allow
officers to track guests on their way to muster stations to ensure
all are accounted for and locate stragglers.
RCL is also innovating to reduce fuel consumption across its
fleet, which not only lowers operating costs but also lightens
stack emissions that are part of cruising's environmental
footprint. Historically, each new class of RCL ships is
significantly more fuel efficient than its predecessors as new high
efficiency appliances, window tinting and improved lighting,
heating and cooling technologies help reduce energy needs. The
company continues to evolve hull designs to reduce drag, an
evolution most evident in the "bulbous bows" now common on cruise
ships. In addition, RCL is pioneering the use of an air lubrication
system that coats the hulls of its ships with millions of
microscopic air bubbles to further reduce resistance and drag. In
initial uses, air lubrication has reduced fuel consumption at speed
by 7 to 8 percent.
Complementing RCL's energy conservation efforts are initiatives
to use alternative energy sources. Some RCL ships are already
equipped with solar panels that generate sufficient power for
limited onboard needs. At Sea Beyond, RCL will be previewing the
use of fuel cells for power generation. Fuel cell use could
fundamentally change ship design by distributing power sources
throughout the ship. Furthermore, adoption of fuel cells would also
mean producing less energy from diesel generators, reducing ships'
environmental footprints. The company is planning fuel cell
experiments on existing ships, with an eye to extensive use of fuel
cells and liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion on its upcoming
Icon class of ships. "We are fully embracing the expectation that
we run an environmentally sustainable business," said Fain.
"Experimenting with new ways to power our ships is just part of our
broad commitment to being a responsible environmental steward."
Sea Beyond sets the course
"Every year, millions of guests are entrusting us with something
very precious: their vacation time," said Fain. "To merit that
trust, we work to surpass guests' expectations at every
opportunity, from planning their trips to boarding our ships,
whether on sea days or shore excursions, and in every dining,
recreation and entertainment venue. Sea Beyond is a preview of how
we are bringing those aspirations to life in a stem-to-stern
transformation of our entire company while creating a new world on
the water."
About Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is a global cruise
vacation company that owns and operates three global brands: Royal
Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club
Cruises. We are a 50 percent joint venture owner of the
German brand TUI Cruises, a 49 percent shareholder in the Spanish
brand Pullmantur and a minority shareholder in the Chinese brand
SkySea Cruises. Together, these brands operate a combined total of
48 ships with an additional twelve on order. They operate
diverse itineraries around the world that call on approximately 535
destinations on all seven continents. Additional information
can be found www.rclcorporate.com.
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SOURCE Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.