TECHNOLOGY AT THE HELM OF ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP'S HEALTHY RETURN TO SAILING

Royal Caribbean Group is driven by a mantra of “continuous improvement,” committed to developing new experiences and solutions that make for memorable vacations. The Group’s innovative spirit and passion, spanning five decades, has led to the industry’s most ambitious and unexpected engineering feats. From an ice rink for open skating in the Caribbean and one-of-a-kind experiences that blur the line between technology and entertainment, to the fastest internet at sea, creative solutions are more important now than ever.

As travelers and travel professionals continue adapting to the world around them, Royal Caribbean Group is dedicated to further evolving cruises into safer and healthier vacations. At the forefront of this will be the Group’s existing digital innovations designed to eliminate what has typically been considered primary pain points of travel - lines, crowds and paper.

Just this year, the Group released a reimagined safety drill that was in development for more than a year. The new approach, Muster 2.0, encourages higher levels of safety and health by reframing a process originally designed for large groups into a faster, more personal approach. 

At the core of Muster 2.0 is the cruise company’s digitally advanced, guest-empowering mobile app, first introduced in 2017 and now available on many Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara ships. Initially developed for guests to make the most of their vacation, the app’s capabilities make it a powerful solution that can integrate today’s new crucial health and safety practices, such as physical distancing and minimizing common touchpoints.  

A number of features and capabilities currently within the app – released in different combinations across the cruise company’s 63-ship fleet – are being built on for current times.

Primary mobile app functionalities include:

• Just announced: Muster 2.0 – one of the least-loved, but most important, parts of a cruise vacation – the safety drill – is transformed from a process designed for large groups of people into a faster, more personal “one-to-few” approach that guests can complete at their own time.
• Scheduled arrival time – staggered arrival times for guests help eliminate crowds by managing the ebb-and-flow in parking lots, drop-off areas and terminals to allow for physical distancing from car to stateroom.
• Expedited boarding – by completing check-in with the app, scanning passport information and uploading a ‘selfie’ security photo, guests can generate a mobile boarding pass and qualify for an expedited boarding process. Debuted in 2018, the innovative, digital experience minimizes check-in and security lines at ports, allowing guests to get on board seamlessly and safely in minutes.
• Digital key – guests can unlock staterooms with their smartphones by downloading a digital key, available in just a few taps for select ships and staterooms.
• Stateroom automation – using their smartphone, guests have the ability to control elements inside their stateroom, such as the TV, lighting, window shades and temperature, limiting touchpoints while achieving higher levels of stateroom customization.
• Onboard account – guests can view onboard charges and credits in real time from anywhere on the ship without waiting in line or on hold.
• Daily planning – onboard activities, entertainment shows, dining and shore excursions are viewable and open for reservations all through the guest mobile app.

As Royal Caribbean Group continues to evolve the cruise vacation, additional advancements will be released, some of which will make the greatest impact from behind the scenes. These innovations will further demonstrate the Group’s commitment to exceeding guests’ expectations as well as their standards for health and safety on a cruise.

###