Loosing the personal touch?

There has been lots of hype recently surrounding Royal Caribbeans brand new ship Quantum of the Seas that is due to launch in November.

Now I am all for making my life easier and speeding things up like check in and queues at the bar but…… here it comes…..After seeing all these new innovations in place I’m not sure I’m keen?!! Lets take a little look at what they have planned

1. Smart Check in – Online personaliser has just got more sophisticated!! You can now upload all your information and even photo I.D which will then supply you with a digital boarding pass. They claim you will be on board in 10 minutes with no queues or form filling.
Why don’t I like this? – Its getting far too complicated for me!! A bit of a technophobe I can see myself getting stressed out with my online check in a long time before I go on holiday!!

2.Smart Concierge – WOWband wristbands, Have access to everything on your wrist!! Navigate the ship, on board purchases, Cruise Planner & even acts as your room key.
OKAY, I admit I like this one!! Having been to Disney in Florida they offer this same service and its great!! Makes life easy!!

3. Smart Connect – This is the new partnership with O3b Networks offering high speed internet enabling you to use all your smart devices, download films, check emails use wifi in the middle of the ocean!
This is another great offering but…..at what cost? We all know WIFI at sea is pretty expensive!

Now we start really loosing the personal touch!!

4. Smart Experiences – The new Bionic Bar, this is another new innovation where you will order a cocktail at the table using a smart device, then you will watch it being made by a robotic bartender, I wonder if they will take your drink to your table?!
This sounds different but I like people!! I like to have a chat with the bartender and although this sounds good I’m not sure I like the sound of it?!!

5. Smart Service – All crew will be provided with their very own tablet. There will be custom designed apps that will allow the crew to know exactly what their customers want. They claim that they will then be able to offer the most personalised service already knowing what the customer wants and any requests.
This sounds convenient but again I feel its loosing the personal touch. Are we going to see the crew on board with tablets hanging round their necks?!

So some of these do sound great. I do wonder if its getting a little too smart?! And then there are the costs involved in all these brand new innovations, someone has to pay. That will be us the customer in increased cruise prices. Saying that Quantum and Anthem look like they will be fantastic ships and I would love to have a good look at them.