As a cruise lover I was excited to be in attendance for a special event with Royal Caribbean to unveil their latest in cruising technology. I’ll save the techie talk and get right down to why Royal Caribbean is who you should be vacationing with. Cruising happens to be my preferred way of vacationing due to their simplicity. I’ve been on four and had a blast each time. If you’ve never cruised it works like this: you pay a single fare for your cabin (double occupancy minimum) and meals. It also includes a number of on-board activities from gambling, game shows, musicals and tastings. There are added fees for port excursions but those aren’t mandatory. I consider cruising an easy carefree way of traveling.
Only thing is, I’ve never cruised with Royal. Why? Because I found the rate was a bit high compared to other cruise lines. I thought there was no difference. Oh, there IS a difference and this event gave be a better understanding of those differences. One, they know how to throw a party. They transformed an empty glass warehouse into a mini cruise ship. There was a Lido Deck complete with starry ceiling, main deck lounge area, restaurants with virtual reality dining and two cabins, a suite and one of the future. They thought of everything, and this way of thinking extends beyond events.
Royal Caribbean cares about their guests. They want to do everything in their power to make sure guests are getting the most out of their cruise and experiencing everything it has to offer. To accomplish this Royal plans to use an unlikely tool – guests cell phones. With your cell phone Royal will simplify your entire vacation, ultimately giving travelers their vacation time back. Meaning, you’ll spend less time in line or missing out on activities, and more time having fun making unforgettable memories.
4 ways Royal Caribbean will simplify your vacation
Royal Caribbean app
This is the only app you’re gonna be using on this vacation. This is your lifeline. It’s how you will find out everything that’s going to be taking place during your cruise. Just before sailing download it, browse and book your on board activities and port excursions. This is a planners dream as you will have access to every activity for the entire length of your cruise before you even set sail. If you’re like me and like to wing it you can book your activities (granted it’s not sold out) right from your balcony cabin.
Facial recognition check-in
Normally when you check into a cruise you leave your luggage to curb side who will tag and deliver it to your cabin, leaving you empty handed in a sea of people waiting to check-in. The line is long and slow. Up and down the rows you go. The wait can easily take about an hour because there are travelers who don’t have their paperwork in order and it holds up the line. Royal Caribbean will eliminate this as guests will check via their app ahead of time and on the day of your cruise all you have to do is walk through their facial recognition check point. This system will automatically detect whether you’re cleared to board. This will decrease check-in lines allowing you to start your vacation as soon as you arrive. It will also allow track your luggage from check-in to when it arrives at your cabin.
Single touch ordering system
When you’re on a cruise you will encounter more lines, especially for eating and dining. Usually I wouldn’t complain about this but it becomes an issue when you have the best spot on Lido and now you risk losing it because you want a hamburger. So what do you do? Starve or lose your spot. Royal Caribbean says neither. By using the food and beverage ordering app you can order a meal from wherever you are on the ship and a crew member will deliver it right to you using facial recognition. I had the opportunity to try it out during the event and the service was quick and prompt. I didn’t have to waste time finding a waiter as I simply tapped what I wanted and within a few moments it arrived on a tray with my face on it.
State of the art cabins
Let me start of by saying not all cruise cabins are the same. There’s everyone else, then there’s Royal Caribbean. The cabins on Royal Caribbean are beautifully decorated and spacious. They also come with a number of fabulous perks from multi-purpose furniture, voice command controls and sunken bathtubs. Of all the perks being able to control the whole room with my voice is my favorite. By simply stating, “computer, good morning” the entire room comes to life and when I’m ready to go to bed, “computer, good night” the room shuts down into pitch darkness. It also works for the television and the lights. You can also control the room from your phone as well.
Don’t mistake it, this event was more than Royal Caribbean debuting their newest technology. This was about how they take their technology and wrap it around your vacation giving you an unbelievable cruising experience. All of these advances are slowly being rolled out across their fleet starting 2017 and will be completed by 2019. Visit RoyalCaribbean.com for more information on their technological advances.
*FYI: Wifi for the Royal Caribbean app is complementary. Increased internet to surf the web is available at an additional cost.
Have you cruised before? What was your favorite aspect of cruising with Royal?
For more stories on self-care and hot mess mommy shenanigans visit me at MommyRandR.com and follow me @MommyRandR on Instagram and Twitter.
Val Pierre
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Royal is my preferred cruise line. I’ve done I’ve cruises so far and three of them have been royal. We leave in three months on our next one. Their customer service is amazing. I’m also excited to try out this new technology. Should make boarding faster which is great when you have kids.