What ever will they think of next…..

Cruise lines are always looking to go bigger and better with more enhanced technology and trying to be one step ahead of one another, always announcing new and exciting things.

Well this week it was Royal Caribbeans turn, who have announced Facial Recognition check in and opening staterooms without a key card! Cruisers will breeze through embarkation thanks to facial recognition technology from their pre-loaded photo, open their cabin doors without a key card and a luggage tracker will even monitor bags, sending an alert when they have arrived to the stateroom – wow wow wow!!

In a statement Royal Caribbean announced that cruises in the future will be ‘hassle free, personalized and fun’, sounds good to me. The development is a new Smart phone app that will be rolled out to every Royal Caribbean ship in the next two years, it promises to eliminate check-in lines at ports, allow guest to check in by facial recognition,  sign up for shore excursions, order drinks and make dinner reservations without even leaving your sun lounger by the pool.

The technology is already functioning on Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas and will be on 13% of the company’s global fleet, including the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity and Azamara, by the end of this year, then 50% by the end of 2018 and fleet wide by the end of 2019.

It will also allow guests to stream there own content on their stateroom television and use their personal device to control things like lightening, temperature and even curtains. The app can even create a personal calendar of activities, send reminders and offer suggestions based on interests- it facilitates way finding and allows people to stay connected on board and also with those back home. But one of the most amazing things is it has elements that can give guests x-ray vision in order to see through certain walls to learn how things work behind the scenes.

It all sounds great to me, but what do you think, is it all going a bit too much? Would you prefer more traditional old style cruising? I know this type of cruise won’t suit everyone so i’d love to hear your thoughts.

Trudy x