The impact and importance of technology within the cruise sector was a recurrent theme throughout this year?s CLIA conference.
Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises, took to the stage to highlight three key areas in which all cruise lines are implementing new technological processes and experimenting with digital innovation.
Safety and security was the first, helping to ensure that guests feel comfortable and secure at all times whilst onboard - most cruise lines, if not all, are using tech and operational centres to monitor what a ship is doing at any given minute.
The second area in which technology is being actively applied is environmental stewardship and sustainability, not only with new builds becoming more increasingly environmentally friendly but also greener operations onboard.
The third and final area Onorato highlighted was: ?Technology in the service of hospitality or that can enhance the customer experience. The key objectives here is how we can simplify the way the guest experiences the ship and also their relationship with the crew. More and more we see that it?s important to have a nice rich ship but also let?s not forget that the interaction with the people, the software, is also key to the experience.
?As ships get bigger, we need to simplify our guest?s life and one of the key areas to help us achieve this is through technology so that, as a guest, I can get whatever I want immediately, I can have all the information promptly, and how can I be helped and directed to the different experiences that the cruise ship can offer.?
In illustration of this point, the cruise line has recently launched the MSC digital platform. Via the app a guest can find their way to any location on the ship like a GPS, book a table at a restaurant, check where the kids are and what they?re doing, or book an excursion at the next port.
In addition the cruise line has also launched an industry first in the form of digital personal cruise assistant ?Zoe?. Similar to Amazon's Alexa, this digital assistant can be activated in every cabin with the wake up call ?Hello Zoe? and who will then be able to interact with the guest, answering any questions and linked up to the television systems to help display further information.
Looking to the future, cruise lines will likely be looking to take this to the next stage with ?smart cabins? and more robotic experiences especially in relation to entertainment, such as the development of hologram features and the integration of music/ visual technology with real dancers.
