Cruise lines have been investing in technology to make the cruise experience more seamless and reduce contact. From facial recognition for speedier check-ins at the port to contactless payment methods onboard, this technology is key in making cruisers feel more comfortable about traveling.
Princess Cruise Lines for example had already introduced the wearable Ocean Medallion which interacts with Princess’s “Smart City” onboard, which was built for a touch-free experience and supports physical distancing. It uses touchless embarkation onto the ship and easy cabin door entry. Medallion Pay allows for touchless payment of any service or product purchased onboard. Medallion’s Ocean Now service is a program for ordering food, drinks, and shop items with little interaction and right from the guest’s chair in the piazza or watching the sunset on the top deck. Initially only planned for their newer ships, Princess will now implement the Ocean Medallion on all ships.
In October, Royal Caribbean applied for a trademark application for something called the “Tracelet.” The application, while vague in detail as to functionality, describes the Tracelet as “rubber or silicone wristbands in the nature of a bracelet.” The wearable device that connects to Royal Caribbean’s “TraceTogether” app, has the goal of allowing rapid tracing if necessary. Ships could quickly detect anyone who had been in contact with a positive person for more than 15 minutes, at a distance under 6 feet, and quickly isolate those contacts. The technology of the wristbands has proved successful in isolating a few people and not adding the need to involve the entire ship & crew.
The Healthy Sail Panel comprised of leading health experts, along with Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, stated in a report released in September, “Potential contact tracing methodologies include, but are not limited to: identifying guest location/exposure by pulling transaction data, collecting information about potential exposure from applications utilizing Bluetooth technology, collecting potential exposure data from cruise line-provided wearable devices, using video analytics and facial recognition to determine exposure risk, and conducting interviews with suspected cases.
Royal Caribbean’s reinvention of the muster drill reduces the muster crowding by making key elements of the drill, such as where to go in case of emergency and instructions on the proper use of life jackets, accessible via mobile devices and interactive stateroom tv’s, eliminating the need for a large group assembly. Royal has also introduced a touchless boarding process that enables people to board with facial recognition technology. Guests will walk right on to the ship without having to check in with somebody and have contact.
In other cruise news, Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas cut short its four-day itinerary, sailing round trip Singapore after a positive case of Covid-19 was found. All guests and crew having close contact with the guest tested negative. The guest himself has also since had a negative test, so it is questionable at this time whether he was positive or not.
Norwegian Cruise Line has partnered with AtmosAir Solutions to install new air purification systems across its three-brand, 28-ship fleet which includes Oceania Cruises & Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The technology promises “continuous active COVID disinfection.” There are no harmful chemicals or by-products. It will release ions through the HVCA system that are harmless. “The bi-polar ionization technology continually and proactively attacks coronavirus and other viruses, bacteria, spores, and volatile organic compounds quickly and effectively in the air and on surfaces, rather than requiring the air to be filtered out first,” AtmosAir says in a press release. Independent tests have shown the presence of coronavirus was reduced by 99.92% within 30 minutes of exposure to AtmosAir.
NCL Cruises has announced that they may resume cruise operations in Europe before launching from U.S. ports. Norwegian has started to reassemble crews. The Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Joy are being used as transport ships.
