LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Arnold Donald,
CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK),
the world's largest leisure travel company with 10 global cruise
line brands, made history today as the first travel industry
executive to deliver the opening keynote at CES, the world's
largest consumer technology event – and he used his speech to
announce that the company has developed the world's first
interactive guest experience platform capable of transforming
vacation travel into a highly personalized and elevated
level of customized service on a large scale.
During his address, Donald unveiled the Ocean Medallion, a
first-of-its-kind wearable device that enables every guest to have
a personal digital concierge to maximize each guest's experience.
The Ocean Medallion bridges the physical and digital worlds to
deliver a new level of personalized service not previously
considered possible. The quarter-sized, 1.8-ounce disc has no
on/off button, needs no charging or instructions, and can be
accessorized with jewelry, clips, key chains and bands, or simply
carried in a pocket.
"Great guest experience is our ethos. The Ocean Medallion is an
amazing use of technology that potentially redefines travel as we
know it. It opens an entire world of experiences, and the personal
power it unleashes is huge," Donald told the 2,600 people at the
opening session at CES 2017 in the main ballroom at the Venetian
Las Vegas. His remarks were also streamed via Facebook Live and are
now available at https://www.facebook.com/oceanvacations and
https://www.youtube.com/oceanvacations.
Added Donald: "We are creating the most personal, simple and
intuitive vacation experience. It's an all-encompassing and totally
unique approach we call O·C·E·A·N – the One Cruise Experience
Access Network™. This global platform delivers a lifestyle
engagement and is a real game-changer."
Powered by proprietary technology developed by Carnival
Corporation that features an Internet of Things (IoT) network of
intelligent sensors and experiential computing devices, the Ocean
Medallion revolutionizes guest service not only for the cruise
industry, but the broader vacation industry. It goes well beyond
the growing number of wearables used by theme parks and other
vacation companies by leaving behind the required guest action of
"tap" and ushering in a new guest interaction paradigm.
Joining Donald to present details of the new guest experience
platform were the three company executives who are leading the
effort: John Padgett, chief guest
experience & innovation officer for Carnival Corporation;
Michael Jungen, senior vice
president of experience design and technology for Carnival
Corporation; and Jan Swartz,
president of Princess Cruises.
Padgett explained how the Ocean Medallion is the central
component of a larger ecosystem.
"Our focus is exceeding guest expectations in ways that cannot
be anticipated or duplicated. What makes a Medallion Class
experience so special is the level of personalization," Padgett
said while presenting the opportunities to maximize guest
experiences throughout an entire vacation journey. "We've gone well
beyond conventional guest segmentation with the creation of Guest
Genomics™, where every guest is unique and every guest
can represent many different personas within a single vacation or
across multiple vacations. The Ocean Medallion enables experience
delivery to be personalized and customized dynamically to each
guest in real-time."
Added Jungen while revealing details behind the Ocean Medallion
and its extensive ecosystem: "The Ocean Medallion is clean and
sleek in design, and functions as an identifier for each guest. The
Ocean Medallion connects directly with our experience ecosystem, so
our guests' desires and needs can be anticipated. It's intuitive,
but not disruptive. Personal, but not invasive."
Each Ocean Medallion – gifted to every guest and laser-etched
with the guest's name, ship and date of sailing -- contains Near
Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
communication capabilities that interact with thousands of sensors,
kiosks, interactive surfaces and smart devices infused throughout
the ships and ports. Some of the Ocean Medallion's benefits
include:
- streamline and expedite the port embarkation and disembarkation
process,
- allow guests to access their staterooms as they approach door
(no keycard required),
- locate friends and family around the cruise ship,
- enable guests to purchase merchandise without any transaction,
cards or paper,
- deliver enhanced on-demand dining experiences based on food and
beverage preferences,
- power an array of interactive gaming and immersive
entertainment experiences, and
- significantly enhance service interactions with crew members
and guests.
The new guest experience platform – called the xiOS™ -- will
debut on Regal Princess from the company's Princess Cruises brand
in November 2017, followed by Royal
Princess and Caribbean Princess in early 2018, as part of the new
Ocean Medallion Class to be rolled out over several years on the
entire Princess Cruises fleet.
Swartz, who leads the world's largest premium cruise line,
detailed the opportunities made possible by the Ocean Medallion to
surprise and delight the 2 million guests that sail with the brand
each year.
"With this innovation, from the moment our guests first engage
with us, their experiences will be powered by their preferences,
from extra pillows to their favorite drink," Swartz said. "Services
they desire will be delivered seamlessly, in real time, often
without asking, where and when they want them. … At the end
of the day, the Ocean Medallion takes vacations to an entirely new
level. And Princess Cruises will be leading the way, not just for
Carnival Corporation, but for the entire vacation industry."
Added Donald: "Our O·C·E·A·N strategy is guest-centric, and
every creative decision we make arises from our guests. Our main
goal and our focus are to make their dream vacations come
true."
For more information on O·C·E·A·N, visit Ocean.com. To book a
Princess Cruises Ocean Medallion Class™ experience, visit
Princess.com/ocean.
About Carnival Corporation
& plc
Carnival Corporation & plc is
the largest leisure travel company in the world, with a portfolio
of 10 cruise brands in North
America, Europe, Australia and Asia comprised
of Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom, Holland America
Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA
Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O
Cruises (Australia)
and P&O Cruises (UK).
Together, these brands operate 102 ships visiting over 700 ports
around the world and totaling 226,000 lower berths with 17 new
ships scheduled to be delivered between 2017 and 2022.
Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland
America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies
in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both
the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival
Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be
included in both the S&P500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com, www.seabourn.com,
www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, www.pocruises.com and www.fathom.org.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc