{"id":17615,"date":"2016-11-18T12:37:05","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T17:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/royal-caribbean-digitization-on-the-high-seas\/"},"modified":"2016-11-18T12:37:05","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T17:37:05","slug":"royal-caribbean-digitization-on-the-high-seas","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/royal-caribbean-digitization-on-the-high-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Caribbean: Digitization on the High Seas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cruise ships have grown to, essentially, floating cities, the home to 6,000 paying passengers. Royal Caribbean is the owner of the world\u2019s 3 largest passenger ships and has invested heavily to make these vessels \u201csmart ships,\u201d wired from stem to stern to enhance the customer experience and deliver on the brand promise: \u201cWe push the limits of the imagination\u2026.We call it the Royal AdvantageSM<\/sup>\u2026the most innovative ships, exciting worldwide destinations and best personalized service to each and every guest.\u201d [1]<\/p>\n

There is one additional\u2014often caricatured\u2014piece to RC\u2019s brand promise: endless indulgence. While RC never baldly states its intention to ply its guests with food and drink, its technology choices make clear that access to comestibles is of top importance.<\/p>\n

Indeed, as waistlines and ship lengths expand, technology has allowed RC to deliver highly efficient service and, at its best, personalized magic.<\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2016-11-17-at-2-09-49-pm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Efficient Service <\/strong><\/p>\n

Each ship has 2,000 crewmembers, and RC uses digital systems to coordinate and manage this workforce, finding efficiencies along the way.<\/p>\n

The size of RC\u2019s ships is a challenge. With upwards of 16 floors and lengths topping 4 football fields [2], walking from cabins to central control areas to workstations can take 15-30 minutes per crewmember, time which could be better spent helping guests, cooking shrimp, or swabbing decks. That\u2019s why RC overhauled and decentralized its shift processes, installing an integrated IT solution and arming its staff with computerized workstations and tablets. Whereas crewmembers used to \u201cpunch in\u201d at the start of their shifts and pick-up work orders at a single central office, they can now head straight to their work areas, track time electronically, receive work orders, report completions, and move to their next tasks independently. [3]<\/p>\n

The greatest efficiencies have been in food safety proceses. RC complies with standards set out by the U.S. Public Health Service Act, which aims at preventing food-borne illness. The industry is well-known for\u2014and extremely damaged by\u2014horror stories of norovirus infecting ships, so delivering safe food is a priority.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, the process was labor-intensive: employees had to use a thermometer to manually check the temperature of food and storage areas, with one full round of inspections clocking in at 5 hours. RC partnered with tech firms to adopt handheld monitoring devices that measure temperature and integrate with software to create compliance reports. Employees can also easily check previously-recorded temperatures of coolers, and receive an automatic alert and suggested actions when coolers breakdown.<\/p>\n

These digital solutions have reduced food safety checklisting time from 5 to 2 hours. [3]<\/p>\n

\u201cLimits of Imagination\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

RC has deployed technology to make the guest\u2019s logistical experience as painless as possible. Using an app called Royal iQ, guests can track their luggage arrival, book dinner reservations, and navigate the activity schedule. [4]<\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2016-11-18-at-8-17-14-am\"<\/a><\/p>\n

RC has also introduced the use of \u201cWOWbands,\u201d silicon bracelets that use radio-frequency technology to let passengers unlock cabins, purchase drinks and merchandise, and confirm reservations with a simple tap. These tech wearables aim to replace the too-easy-to-lose hotel keycards. [5]<\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2016-11-17-at-3-29-44-pm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Further, RC has cleverly deployed technology to deliver magical experiences\u2014the Royal Advantage\u2014for its guests. While the company employs the usual grab bag of Big Brother tricks\u2014distributing food inventory based on head-counting cameras in the ceilings of dining rooms [6], for example\u2014it also invests heavily in attractions guests will see nowhere else. RC built the world\u2019s first Bionic Bar\u2014robots that take orders by iPad and produce 2 mixed drinks per minute [7]. If guests prefer a little more autonomy, there\u2019s the $65\/day \u201cUltimate\u201d beverage: each \u201cUltimate\u201d guest receives a cup with a radio-frequency chip in its base, which activates a self-serve drink machine that gives access to a hundred different soft-drink combinations and flavorings from across the world. The machine also automatically orders refills for itself when flavorings run low. [8]<\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2016-11-17-at-3-43-59-pm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Perhaps most impressively, RC has created \u201cvirtual balconies\u201d for rooms without a view: floor-to-ceiling LED screens feature live footage from around the ship and speakers pipe in \u201cnatural sounds\u201d so guests buried deep in the bowels of these behemoth boats can take in the surrounding ocean. \u00a0[4]<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RC should use technology to expose guests to the engineering achievements of the very ships they are on. Guests would love to know more about the advanced technology that go into the navigation and running of such a huge operation, and \u201cvirtual balconies\u201d could let guests experience what it\u2019s like to stand at the helm.<\/p>\n

Operationally, RC could mandate all cross-trained service workers to wear real-time trackers so that they can be redistributed if there is a surge in guests wishing to dine at one particular restaurant or to take in one attraction. Long waits or limited reservations could become a thing of the past with a such flexible, mobile, and trackable workforce.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Word Count: 797<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Royal Caribbean, \u201cThe Royal Advantage.\u201d http:\/\/www.royalcaribbean.com\/contentSitelet.do?pagename=royal_advantage_main<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[2] USA Today, \u201cFive Facts About Cruise Ships.\u201d<\/p>\n

http:\/\/traveltips.usatoday.com\/five-cruise-ships-111054.html<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[3] Microsoft, \u201cCustomer Stories: Royal Caribbean.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/cloud-platform\/customer-stories-royal-caribbean<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[4] Royal Caribbean, \u201cPreviewing Harmony of the Seas: Technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.royalcaribbeanblog.com\/2015\/09\/24\/previewing-harmony-of-the-seas-technology<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[5] Royal Caribbean, \u201cRoyal Caribbean WOWbands: What You Need to Know.\u201d<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.royalcaribbeanblog.com\/2014\/11\/19\/royal-caribbean-wowbands-what-you-need-know<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[6] Conde Nast Traveler, \u201cHow Does\u00a0 Mega Cruise Ship Source, Store, and Prepare All That Food?\u201d<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cntraveler.com\/stories\/2012-10-12\/cruises-restaurant-quality-food-explained<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[7] Royal Caribbean, \u201cBionic Bar Powered by Makr Shakr.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com\/video\/520\/bionic-bar-powered-by-makr-shakr-timelapse-onboard-quantum-of-the-seas\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[8] New Yorker, \u201cFloating Feasts.\u201d<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2014\/11\/03\/floating-feasts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As ships keep growing bigger, how can a cruise company maintain personalized guest service?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2301,"featured_media":17616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[2086,138],"class_list":["post-17615","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-transformation","category-travel"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/digitization-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nRoyal Caribbean: Digitization on the High Seas - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/royal-caribbean-digitization-on-the-high-seas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Royal Caribbean: Digitization on the High Seas - 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