When you’re on board a cruise ship, your job is to relax and have fun. And it’s the cruise company’s job to make sure you’re doing just that.
Princess Cruise Line is using technology to take that personalized service and guest experience to a whole new level. They’re debuting it on their Sun Princess ship which sails out of Port Everglades.
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It’s called the princess medallion, which is a wearable device that adds convenience and customization to a passenger’s vacation.
“Everything's gone. So, there's no paper, there's no signatures, there's no cruise card, there's no your information is not printed on some card that everyone's reading,” explained John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises.
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Padgett says their goal is to deliver personalized service for every guest on board the ship.
Instead, all of that information is stored in the medallion, which is packed full of technology, including Bluetooth and RFID, that connects to a series of network sensors hidden all across the ship.
“You're individually connected to our ecosystem, and that is connecting you one on one with our crew members, and they have everything you want us to know to personalize your experience,” Padgett explained.
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For example, when a guest walks up to a bar on the ship, the bartender’s tablet automatically detects their medallion and pulls up the guest’s profile – which includes their rink order history.
So, if that guest has had four pina coladas in a row, the bartender knows to ask if that’s what the guest wants.
The medallion also links to an app on the guest’s smartphone. You can order food wherever you are and the order will follow you to wherever you move to on the ship.
That convenience also extends to your cabin. As you walk up to your cabin, there’s no need to use your hands to unlock the door, as your medallion automatically unlocks the door for you and locks it once you’re inside.
Padgett says everyone on your reservation is automatically linked together through their individual medallions. So, if your child wanders off or if someone is running late for dinner, you can quickly pull up their location and find them.
Adults can chose to unlink from the rest of their party – so if they want to sneak off to the casino without anyone knowing they can. However, children cannot do the same, so you’ll always be able to keep tabs on them.
Princess Cruise Line is not the only cruise company with this technology. Disney Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises have similar wearable devices for their passengers.
