New Ship to Feature Lineless Embarkation and Robotic Bartenders

What 'improvements' can Royal Caribbean make to their ships? 

In my opinion, the royal caribbean fleet are top of the list when it comes to innovative, awesome ships! I would have thought it near impossible to add anything to their ships to make them even more amazing. Royal Caribbean have taken things to an all new level of awesomeness with their new ships.

The chairman of Royal Caribbean recently named Quantum of the seas as the most technologically advanced cruise ship in the world. He also unveiled a range of technological advances designed to improve the passenger experience, even before people board the ship.

Highlights of the announced technology enhancements:

• Improved Check-in and boarding process. In addition to the standard online check-in process, passengers will be able to upload photo IDs prior to their cruises. Digital boarding documents will be issued, which Royal Caribbean claim will help get passengers onto the ship in less than 10 minutes, with no lines and no forms to fill out on arrival at the port. Passengers suitcases will also be tagged with radio-frequency ID devises at the port, which will allow passengers to use their mobile phones/tablets to track their luggage en route to their cabins. These will also be available for luggage tracking when passengers disembark the ship.
• Apps for better scheduling and on board communication. Two new apps from the cruise line will help passengers with the planning of their cruises. Cruise planner, one of the new apps, is designed to be used ahead of the sailing, giving passengers the opportunity to book on board experiences such as dinner reservations, spa appointments and shore excursions. On board the ship, passengers can use the second new app, Royal iQ, to keep a track of their schedules. The Daily cruise compass will also be available via Royal iQ and passengers can pick activities to try out and be alerted if there are scheduling conflicts. Royal iQ will also allow passengers on board the Quantum of the seas to communicate with one another. Using Royal iQ's scheduling features is free, but it will cost passengers to use the communication portion of the app. The amount has not yet been announced. Passengers will also have the option to use RFID wristbands rather than the traditional keycard to gain entry to their cabins and make purchases onboard. The wristbands will cost $2 per person.
• Robot Bartenders. While Royal Caribbean have not yet revealed much about the bars and lounges on board the Quantum, they have provided a small glimpse into one space, the Bionic Bar. Here, passengers order cocktails via tablets, then watch as robots mix their drinks. How cool is that?
• Green Commitment. All lighting on the Quantum will come from LED or fluorescent lighting. Hallways will feature motion-sensitive lighting so that when no one is around, the halls will dim. Cabins will deature environmentally sound lighting systems. Royal Caribbeans new ship debuts in November this year, when it will sail from Southampton to Bayonne, New Jersey. The ship will homeport here for the winder before moving to Shanghai. 
• Tablets for the crew. All staff on board the Quantum will be given Microsoft tablets from the cruise line. These will be theirs to keep as well as use to track passengers preferences for a better service on board. Crewmembers can also use the tablets to communicate with their families at home. The line will eventually give tablets to every shipboard employee fleetwide - 40,000 total. 
• Super-fast internet. Seems the world can't live without updating social media sites with their day to day routines. So, Royal Caribbean are partnering up with Ob3 Networks and have hooked into satallites that will allow passengers to experience Internet speeds like they would ashore. They claim the speed will be fast enough to stream videos to watch, share holiday photos and videos via social media sites and video call with people back home. Internet on cruise ships is well knows for being extremely slow so these options are almost unheard of.

Many more announcements are due to come from the cruise line in the coming months.