Carnival Corp. Aims To Transform Cruise Experience with Medallion Technology

It takes quite a revolutionary announcement to score a keynote speaker spot at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, beginning today in Las Vegas. That’s where Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald will be, in the spotlight discussing a next-generation wearable device that aims to use technology and personalization to create a high-end, tailored premium vacation experience for every guest, not just the luxury suite elite.

The company unveiled the Ocean Medallion, a 1.8-ounce disc chock full of enough technology to change a passenger’s experience from their first attempt at trip planning to their last minutes at sea and beyond. Everything from express check-in, ordering food and beverage on demand, booking shore excursions instantly, playing interactive games and personalized entertainment will be all be done from this quarter-sized marvel.

“With this interactive technology platform, we are poised to have our global cruise line brands at the vanguard of forever changing the guest experience paradigm – not just in the cruise industry but in the larger vacation market and potentially other industries,” said Donald ahead of his keynote address to CES on January 5. “Our focus is on exceeding guest expectations every single day and consistently delivering great experiences, and we do that extremely well. Now we are in prime position to take the guest experience to a level never before considered possible and build on cruising’s popularity and value as the fastest growing segment of the vacation sector.”  

The new technology will debut on the company’s Princess Cruises line aboard the Regal Princess in November 2017, followed by the Royal Princess and Caribbean Princess in 2018. The rollout will continue across the Princess fleet over multiple years. Company officials said that the Princess fleet will be the laboratory to perfect and evolve the technology before rolling it out to other Carnival Corp. cruise lines.

The burnished aluminum disc can be worn on a wristband, a pendant, a necklace or carried in a pocket, and will enable passengers to perform actions instantly that were once cumbersome and time-consuming tasks.

So what makes this medallion so special? Think of it as a GPS, Apple Pay and a digital concierge that connects you to crew members instantly.

The development of the technology has been spearheaded by Carnival’s chief experience and innovation officer John Padgett and VP of Design and Technology Michael Jungen. Both were at the forefront of developing and introducing the MagicBand during their tenures working for the Walt Disney Corporation.

“We’re looking to get rid of all of the clutter that gets in the way of an amazing vacation and focus more than ever on elevating the guest experience,” Padgett said while previewing the technology at the company’s Miami Interactive Experience Center in December. “We’ve listened to our customers and hope to gain new customers by simplifying the planning, personalizing the experience, and fostering relationships between passengers and our crew.”

Gone are the days of key cards or even the days of tapping like you do with MagicBands. The medallion is more of an EZPass – tech that is read instantly without a needed pause or action.

The Medallion, the centerpiece of the company’s One Cruise Experience Access Network, promises to streamline and expedite embarkation and disembarkation, open staterooms effortlessly upon approaching the stateroom door, locate friends and family aboard the ship, allow passengers to buy merchandise without credit cards, paper or even a transaction.

The Medallion will unlock interactive gaming opportunities, where for example, passengers could play casino games against other passengers from their stateroom. Plus, there is a kid-specific gaming experience planned called Treasure Trove, a digital scavenger hunt that, upon preview inspection, is reminiscent of the MagiQuest gaming experience at Great Wolf Lodge.

The wearable will also evolve interaction between passengers and crew. Cruisers can set their food and beverage preferences ahead of cruising or onboard using the accompanying Ocean Compass smartphone app. That information will be instantly accessible by the crew, as will the cruisers’ location onboard. So, the crew will be able to deliver food to passengers throughout the ship instantly—no more standing in line for drinks or waiting in your stateroom for room service.

“The Ocean Medallion creates an elevated level of service that’s made possible by technology but doesn’t feel like technology,” Padgett said. “Whether guests are exploring new experience options, having a drink delivered to their seat at the night’s show or trying their luck gaming while lounging poolside, we will assist our guests wherever they are, while engaging with them in a uniquely personal way. Our mission is to help our guests make the most of every moment of their vacation.”

The Ocean Compass portal will also be available on stateroom TVs, kiosks in home ports and interactive touch screens throughout the ship.

Guests will be sent their Ocean Medallion weeks ahead of their voyage. Upon completing all embarkation forms online ahead of the cruise, check-in goes from a lengthy labyrinth of lines at the terminal to an instant boarding process. Check-out becomes just as effortless. But the interaction happens before the passenger even arrives at the terminal – representatives at the airport called Navigators will greet Medallion holders and direct them to their motor coach to the terminal.

Buying anything becomes instant and paperless as well, from merchandise to spa services, shore excursions and photos—through your smartphone app or at any Ocean Compass portal before, during or, in the case of photos, after the cruise.

Food ordering becomes more like ordering an Uber car. Check out the menu, place orders and even track the whereabouts of your food and your server, having food delivered wherever you plan to be at a set time. Plus, you can schedule food and beverages to be awaiting your arrival at live shows and on select shore excursions.

Padgett said that the first available port of call and shore excursion to use the advance ordering feature will be Princess' private Bahamas island, Princess Caye, but that the company hopes to enlist more excursion sites to use the service.

Get lost on the ship? Your Ocean Compass will recognize where you are and direct you to your destination like Google Maps. Tired and want to stay in your room one night? You can still view and interact with the live shows on board on your in-room Compass TV.

According to Padgett, these examples are just the starting uses for what is being called the xIOS, the Experience Innovation Operation System. The system runs on an invisible network of intelligent sensors and embedded devices mounted throughout the ship, home ports, in cruise terminals, shuttle buses and shore excursions. Further fueling the hope for an extensive companywide rollout: the platform is easily installed on any ship regardless of age or size.

The technology is fueling a greater reimagining of the company's customer service. In addition to the Navigators at airports, Carnival officials plan to renovate their terminals to create more of a lounge atmosphere, where passengers can plan meals and shore excursions using the medallion before boarding. The first terminals to receive a makeover will be in Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Those two ports will also launch a Carnival bus shuttle service, the Oceanline Express.

Carnival will also use the introduction of the Medallion as a means to further promote its recent launch of original Saturday morning network TV programming. The shows, ABC's "Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin," NBC's "The Voyager with Josh Garcia" and The CW's "Vacation Creation" will all be available on the stateroom Compass TV and smartphone app. 

A new show, "Good Spirits," will actually spawn Good Spirits bars on the three Princess ships, where passengers can watch the show on their Compass and then order drinks they saw on the show through their Compass to drink at the bar.

As much as officials are labeling this a game changer for the passenger experience, it is equally transforming for crew members, who will have passenger information at their fingertips via a tablet-sized Compass to personalize their interaction and service. For example, in a crowd of passengers, crew will see guests like they are in a word cloud, with the closest guests appearing the biggest on screen.

“Our crew is the best in the business but this gives them the tools to truly transform a passenger’s experience with even the simplest personal touches,” Padgett said.

Padgett has built out a team of project engineers since joining Carnival in 2014. In all, the Medallion project was developed in 16 different locations throughout the world.

With cyber security at the forefront of most people’s minds these days, Padgett and his team crafted an information delivery system that is completely encrypted and only usable by the specific guest it was created for. The Medallion disc is equipped with two microscopic antennas—one utilizing near field communication and the other working off of Bluetooth Low Energy—that allow for two-way communication throughout the ship.

The Medallion also learns and adapts to the user throughout the ship. With each interaction with crewmembers, piece of personal information inputted or interaction with a digital access point, the Medallion gets to know the user and will make future food and entertainment suggestions based off of past interactions. So for example, as a guest passes a restaurant or a bar, the Ocean Compass would suggest an entree or drink based on orders already placed on ship.

“So much of the innovation we get excited about in industries has happened from outsiders in the specific industry, like Uber with cars and AirBNB with lodging,” Padgett said. “We’re excited to be the disrupters inside the industry. We’re knowledgeable of our customer needs but we’re adapting and evolving to the consumer’s changing needs. That’s a potent combination that we think will transform the hospitality industry.”