Without a doubt Royal Caribbean provides one of my favorite cruise ship experiences; great ships, shows and dining are all the norm. They are also the most innovative and technologically advanced cruise line, which scores major points with geeks like me. However, if there is one area where they fall short (in my opinion) its customer service, more specifically their purser’s desk. I actually cringe any time I have to make a visit to the purser’s desk. In dozen’s of visits I have never had a pleasant experience. Thankfully, they are taking steps to improve their ability to provide customer service.
Yesterday they announced a partnership with Motorola to use their technology to enhance the on-board service of the Oasis of the Seas (and presumably its sister ship the Allure of the Seas). Royal Caribbean has equipped their employees with Motorola mobile computers and mobile snap on mobile payment modules which allow them to access customer information anywhere on the ship.
What this means is you will no longer need to do the walk of shame to the purser’s desk (where you will subsequently stand in a long line behind people asking for pen’s and playing cards), to solve a problem that was most likely not caused by you. Instead Royal Caribbean employees will be able to scan your sign and sail card to quickly respond and correct bill discrepancies and a whole slew of other problems. In my opinion anything that minimizes the interruption of my already too short vacations receives two thumbs up.
Some of the other areas where you will see improvements are when ordering drinks poolside, more efficient muster drills, faster response to maintenance calls and hopefully a better process for buying bingo cards.
While the main reason for Royal Caribbean taking these steps is undoubtedly the extra revenue from faster and more efficient bar service customer service also receives a huge boost. Whatever the motivation I applaud the cruise line for once again being at the cutting edge of ship board technology. Currently I do not know if this will be rolled out on older ships but I do feel comfortable saying, if Royal Caribbean experiences a boost in revenue and feedback other ships will be getting this technology.
