Celebrity Cruises have always been one of the most innovative cruise lines out there for us to experience. We saw onboard their first Edge Class ship, Celebrity Edge a world first with their incredible ‘Magic Carpet’ which is a cantilevered, floating platform that moves up and down the side of the ship across multiple decks offering guests space to wine and dine to their heart’s content.
So it’s no surprise that when Celebrity Cruises are looking towards returning to the seas that they are keeping technology innovation at the forefront of their minds.
In order to prepare their ‘Healthy Return to Service’, their ‘Excalibur’ team are continuing to work on technological advancements and enhancements that will facilitate a fast, seamless, smart guest experience from check-in to check out. According to Celebrity Cruises, the team have been working on some of these changes over the last few years so even before Covid-19 hit the cruise industry earlier this year.
Their main focus has been to introduce more technology to ‘eliminate what has typically been considered the primary pain points of travel – lines, crowds and paper’ according to Sales Director ‘Claire Stirrup’.
They will try and achieve this by introducing their new mobile app for guests which will not only give them more time to enjoy their holiday but also help the cruise line ensure all health and safety procedures are adhered to.
Here are a few of the functionalities you can expect to experience within the app;
Muster 2.0 – one of the least-loved, but most important, parts of a cruise holiday – 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 minimises 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 customisation.
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.
What do you think of Celebrity Cruises new app? Do you think it will help guests onboard with all of the new health and safety procedures?
