As part of the new digital entertainment coming to the Royal app on select ships, Royal Caribbean has introduced an interactive game called Expedition Two70 for Anthem of the Seas.

The game is free to play, and simply requires guests have the Royal Caribbean app installed on their mobile device.

Once on board the ship guests can visit the Two70° venue to begin the augmented reality adventure.

The game proceeds in a scavenger hunt fashion looking for masks with the beautiful Two70° venue on deck 5 aft.

Once a mask is found players scan the mask in the app to launch one of four augmented reality games. 

Each game session explain the objectives before launching into the augmented reality game using the camera and motion sensors of your device.

At this mask station a virtual mountain appears with light directed through a series of gems by moving your device and yourself around to focus the light on an object, destroying it and moving to the next level.   

Once you complete all levels in the challenge that mask is unlocked.

Masks are found in different areas around the Two70° venue.   Each offers a unique and challenging augmented reality experience.

As you progress through the adventure each mask is unlocked until you have unlocked all of the masks.  

It’s a lot of fun for kids of all ages and part of the digital entertainment experience that Royal is bringing to guests through the Royal app. 

IDEMIA announced that its partnership with Royal Caribbean and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be expanded to help speed up cruise passengers disembarking at select cruise ports.

Following successful trials of its high speed 3D face capture technology in Cape Liberty, New Jersey, and the Port of Miami, the program is now moving into commercial production at these ports.

IDEMIA and Royal Caribbean anticipate additional deployments in other Florida ports later in 2019 that each process several million passengers annually.

IDEMIA’s facial recognition technology has enabled the Royal Caribbean passenger debarkation process to be both more secure and efficient. The use of IDEMIA’s MFACE technology has played a key role in enhancing the passenger experience by completing the process significantly faster than the manual verification method previously used.

MFace technology compares the facial identities of guests disembarking with the identities of ticketed passengers who boarded the ship at the start of a cruise, matching against images in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Traveler Verification Service (TVS). No images are stored by Royal Caribbean, CBP or IDEMIA after the trip is completed to ensure that passenger privacy is maintained.

Royal Caribbean has partnered with an industry leader in the field of biometrics to provide frictionless arrivals for guests in the boarding procedure.

Tascent, Inc. announced it has been selected by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to deliver an end-to-end biometric solution utilizing face recognition to streamline the check-in and boarding process for its travelers. To take advantage of Royal Caribbean’s new face recognition-enabled Expedited Arrivals process, passengers can register from the comfort of their own home and then breeze through check-in and boarding upon arrival at the terminal.

The goal of this technology is a streamlined, efficient process and personal welcome for travelers.

Tascent has been working with Royal Caribbean's Excalibur team, and has already implemented the first phase of its work, which was first utilized by the new Celebrity Edge in Terminal 25 of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Integrated with Tascent Enterprise Suite and Royal Caribbean's passenger systems, this enables seamless, “on-the-move” recognition of registered passengers as they arrive for their cruise. In combination, this capability will result in a streamlined, efficient process and personal welcome for travelers.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (the parent company of Royal Caribbean International) is actively working on a plan to let its customers bypass annoying phone trees and instead interact with a virtual assistant to speed up the customer service process.

Travel Weekly shared details of the new tech initiative, which is scheduled for "selective rollout in the fall, with an end to phone tree envisioned in the spring of 2019".

Details provided by Royal Caribbean vice president  & Chief Guest Experience Officer Carlos Leyva indicates the new virtual assistant would be an automated system that would feature a more natural sounding voice programming.  Royal Caribbean was sure to mention that a human backup would be available to step in for situations where the virtual assistant cannot understand or process what the customer is saying.

In addition, text messaging support will launch in the fall, beginning with customer-service functions. Leyva indicated the new system will begin with travel agents and then become available to consumers directly.

Royal Caribbean announced a new digital experience, powered by artificial intelligence, called SoundSeeker that will turn your favorite photos into musical works of art.

After working on SoundSeeker for more than a year, the cruise line has released the tool publically today.  It is specifically designed to use machine learning to seamlessly create original soundtracks based on the content of each photograph.

By simply visiting the SoundSeeker site, users can upload three photos of their choice, and the AI analyzes them based on color, landscape, backdrop, emotion, body language and facial expression. SoundSeeker then turns them into a shareable and one-of-a kind soundtrack – virtually DJing life’s most brag-worthy moments. Fans can follow along on Royal Caribbean’s social channels, and by searching #SoundSeeker.

Royal Caribbean teamed up with the Berklee College of Music, and technologists from around the world, to create the unique song generator.  Berklee leveraged music theory to create a roadmap for the tool that helps determine the musical pairing to photos, accounting for pitch, tempo and instrumental combinations, among others. 

“SoundSeeker is the latest proof point of Royal Caribbean innovation and how we focus it on delivering unexpected, memorable experiences; whether that is the SkyPad, which uniquely combines bungee jumping with virtual reality or live streaming your favorite shows from the middle of the ocean using VOOM, the fastest internet at sea,” said Jim Berra, chief marketing officer, Royal Caribbean International. “People of all ages crave new ways to share their best experiences on social media. This unprecedented tool allows you to put a completely unique, multisensory spin on sharing those memories – now friends and followers can see and hear your life’s adventures.” 

SoundSeeker uses machine learning, an artificial intelligence technique that enables computers to simulate human intelligence and make decisions on their own without explicit instructions. The learning process entailed more than 600 hours in which Royal Caribbean and a team of musicians and technologists reviewed hundreds of music tracks along with 10,000 photos, matching each of the 2.5 million combinations to one of 10 moods.

The AI in SoundSeeker uses Google Cloud Vision to identify objects, facial expressions and colors in a user’s photo by referencing the roadmap developed by the leaders in music theory at Berklee. SoundSeeker then finds the musical elements corresponding to each mood in the photo to compose a genuinely distinct audio and visual photo album. The Royal Caribbean tool is equipped to generate over one million unique tracks, based on custom base tracks, composed exclusively for the cruise line. The customized tracks take inspiration from a wide variety of music, including 90s hip-hop, rock, modern and electronic dance music. 

Royal Caribbean's Ovation fo the Seas is helping test a new satellite tracking system that aims to be even more precise and accurate than any system before it.

Ovation of the Seas is testing the highly accurate positioning technology, as part of the trial of a Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) for the Australasian region. Standalone GPS positioning is giving you five to 10 metre level positioning, whereas SBAS allows for corrections at the 10 centimere level to the entire area.

SBAS technology was used by Acoustic Imaging in consultation with the Port Authority of New South Wales to help dock Ovation of the Seas on its most recent visit to Sydney Harbour.

The Chief Operating Officer of Port Authority of New South Wales and Harbour Master, Philip Holliday said Ovation of the Seas is one of the biggest cruise ships to dock in Sydney Harbour during the cruise season.

"Sydney is extremely busy during the cruise season; we have enormous cruise ships coming in virtually every day and intermingled into all of that is ferry and recreation traffic. It's a busy working harbour," Mr Holliday said.

The lead scientist of Acoustic Imaging's maritime programs, Nicole Bergersen said the docking of Ovation of the Seas, which is over 330 metres long and too tall to sail beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge, was a unique opportunity to test how the use of SBAS technology could potentially benefit the ports of Sydney Harbour.

"The berth box inside Circular Quay is marginally smaller than the Ovation of the Seas, so the Ovation of the Seas is actually parking with nose protruding out in front of that parking spot. We're on a level where metres matter, and centimetres matter." Ms Bergersen said.

"What SBAS is allowing us to do is have the pilot rely just on the information on the computer screen and if we can enable instrument navigation, then the pilot no longer needs visibility to be able to steer a ship.

"That's going to allow the Port Authority of New South Wales to bring in more ships, more frequently and in adverse conditions."

Royal Caribbean announced today it is rolling out the first part of its enhanced Guest Digital Experience with a new Universal Guest Account.

Beginning in March 2018, Royal Caribbean will begin offering an enhanced guest account that will, "deliver many capabilities of our digital cruise experience, to simplify the guest experience online and to allow guests to quickly access features and information."

The one login can be used for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises apps and websites. It promises to bring them everything guests need from loyalty (Crown & Anchor) information, personalized itineraries and details – all with just one account login.

In addition, Royal Caribbean has simplified and strengthened the account security and password reset processes to ensure guest information is safe and accessible.

Guests may experience new functionality while it is being trialed beginning as early as March 7, 2018 who have upcoming reservations.

Royal Caribbean has also hinted that additional digital enhancements are coming in the months to follow. Other enhancements include the ability to book anything imaginable from a smart phone and more.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Speedcast announced today they have extended its relationship together, which will further increase the bandwidth delivered across all Royal Caribbean International cruise ships.

The expansion of this deal will lead to increased bandwidth for guests and crew members, which will improve the guest experience.

Royal Caribbean began parterning with Speedcast in 2006, when Speedcast installted the first Ku-Band VSAT antenna that helped with increased demand. The Speedcast network now delivers fully managed communications solutions and value-added services to 37 Royal Caribbean brand ships for shipboard administration, and guest and crew usage. Multiple antennas on each ship with seamless automatic failover between Ku-Band and C-Band ensures high availability and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

"Speedcast has been an integral part of our long-standing efforts to implement the latest connectivity solutions that allow us to provide enhanced communications for everyone, from our guests onboard to our employees onshore," said Guillermo Muniz, director, Network and Satellite Engineering, Royal Caribbean. "We are consistently raising the bar on ship innovation and increasing requirements, and Speedcast is right there with us, collaborating to make sure that we have the infrastructure and support to deliver the best experience."

Royal Caribbean held a conference call with investors to review the fourth quarter 2017 results, and within the discussion, we picked out some interesting anecdotes that cruise fans would enjoy.

Fleet wide refurbishment

Of particular interest to cruisers, Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain alluded to a "transformational fleet upgrading program" which will kick off this year.

Royal Caribbean International ships will be part of what the company is calling Royal Amplified.  This program aims to extend the appeal of the brand with new cruisers and returning cruisers.  

Mr. Fain summed up Royal Amplified as, "We're redefining the experiences that drive, choice, guest satisfaction, and ultimately revenue."

If you are wondering what exactly Royal Amplified entails, there does not appear to be much information on that yet. Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley alluded to Royal Amplified in November 2017, when he mentioned the program as part of a way the cruise line is rethinking some of its onboard venues.

Caribbean recovery after the hurricanes

Photo by TheTwangster

Following the hurricanes of 2017, Royal Caribbean saw soft bookings in the six weeks that followed these storms.

Royal Caribbean Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty noted that trends normalized in November, and have been in-line with the cruise line's expectations since then.

"First quarter Caribbean sailings were in a very strong booked position before the storms, recovered relatively quickly afterwards, and are currently booked ahead."

Project Excalibur potential

Royal Caribbean's next-gen technology initiative, codenamed Project Excalibur, has Richard Fain very excited for the prospects of the future.

"I really think it is going to transform. I think it is going to be fantastic.  I think it will take a little while for it roll out and for the public to see just how exciting it is."

No change in reducing last minute discounts

When questioned about the possibility of Royal Caribbean revisiting its Price Integrity Policy that curbs last-minute cruise discounts, Richard Fain was quite firm in his answer.

"Absolutely not."

"The Price Integrity Program was a part of [the Double Double Program], and we think the benefit keeps growing over time.  The Price Integrity Program has been a big success for us.  We have been fairly religious about executing against it, and we continue to expect to do that."

Michael Bayley added another point, "We introduced several months ago a non-refundable deposit pricing program for the Royal brand, and that has proven to be very successful for us. So we have a significant percentage of our '18 bookings are in this non-refundable category, which means that we will see significantly less churn in our bookings as we move through the calendar year for '18 and into '19."

Emphasis on digital over traditional marketing

Michael Bayley also talked about the emphasis the cruise line has placed in digital marketing over traditional marketing, primarily for cost savings and for better tracking ability.

"What we are seeing is an improvement in the efficiency of that marketing investment over time, because of digital - because it is a lot easier to track and understand the results that you are generating through digital versus traditional.  Yes, we are investing more in our marketing, and yes we are investing more as we look into the future, but, we're also seeing an improvement in the efficiency of that investment."