SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican
Republic, Dec. 20, 2021
/PRNewswire/ -- Two of Florida's
most prominent companies – Carnival Corporation & plc
(NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), and Jabil, Inc. (NYSE: JBL)
– today announced they are partnering to launch the first
Experience Internet of Things consumer wearables manufacturing and
fulfillment location in the Florida/Caribbean region.
Santo Domingo, the capital city
of the Dominican Republic, is the
site of the first Princess Medallion® device
manufacturing facility outside of Asia, as Carnival Corporation adds production
capacity support for its Caribbean
cruises while also boosting economic development by supporting the
more than 600 jobs at Jabil's Dominican
Republic facility.
"The proximity of Jabil's state-of-the-art facilities and
factory automation along with its exceptional track record across
consumer, medical and military device manufacturing gives us a
tremendous opportunity to support the increased demand for our
experiential IoT wearables and also support good-paying jobs in the
Dominican Republic in the highly
desirable sector of travel and tourism," said John Padgett, chief experience and innovation
officer for Carnival Corporation. "This development also reflects
the continuation of Carnival Corporation's impressive investments
throughout the Caribbean to
stimulate economic growth and prosperity across the region."
Launched in 2017, the revolutionary Medallion wearable
contains a proprietary blend of communication technologies and
enables the world's first interactive guest experience platform
transforming vacation travel on a large scale into a highly
personalized level of customized service.
Currently available on ships from Princess Cruises,
MedallionClass vacations leverage the innovation within the
Medallion to enable touchless embarkation and
disembarkation, frictionless commerce and keyless stateroom
entry, as well as dynamic way-finding on board, family and
friends locator, first-run movies on the
go, an interactive events and activities planner, and
interactive gaming.
The quarter-sized, 1.8-ounce wearable disc has no discernible
technology – no on-off switch, no recharge needed, no menu to
navigate, and is waterproof, heat- and cold-resistant and sand- and
salt-proof. The Medallions are emblazoned with the cruise line's
logo and each disc is laser-etched with the guest's name, name of
their ship and sail date.
Inside the Medallion are two microscopic antennas – one
utilizing Near Field Communication (NFC) and one utilizing
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The device seamlessly syncs with an
invisible Experiential Internet of ThingsTM
(xIoTTM) network of readers, sensors and edge computing
devices that recognize individual guests in locations throughout
the ships and facilitate experiences for them based on location,
personal information they provide and onboard interactions.
The Medallion wearables are being produced in Jabil's
60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Bajos de Haina's PIISA
Industrial Park, part of the area's fast-growing free trade zone.
Medallions produced and fulfilled at the Dominican Republic location will ship to
Miami for distribution to guests
sailing Princess MedallionClass vacations in the Caribbean.
"Jabil is excited about this new partnership with Carnival
Corporation and confident that our manufacturing solutions in one
of our newest sites will meet the needs of this world-class
wearable that elevates the Princess Cruises guest experience," said
Mike Mahaz, vice president of global
business units at Jabil. "Our facility in Santo Domingo is the ideal location to support
this exciting new product, given its proximity and high-caliber
talent pool."
In addition to the new manufacturing initiative, Princess
Cruises is also growing the number of ship visits to the
Dominican Republic during the
2021-22 season by 250%, compared to 2019.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is one of the world's largest leisure travel
companies with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise
lines sailing to all seven continents. With operations in
North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise
Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O
Cruises (Australia), Costa
Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Additional information can be found on www.carnivalcorp.com,
www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com,
www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com,
www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
About Princess Cruises:
One of the best-known names
in cruising, Princess Cruises is the world's leading international
premium cruise line and tour company operating a fleet of 14 modern
cruise ships, carrying two million guests each year to 380
destinations around the globe, including the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera,
Europe, South America, Australia/New
Zealand, the South Pacific, Hawaii, Asia,
Canada/New England, Antarctica, and World Cruises. In 2017
Princess Cruises, with parent company Carnival Corporation,
introduced MedallionClass Vacations enabled by the Princess
Medallion, the vacation industry's most advanced wearable device,
provided free to each guest sailing on
a MedallionClass ship. The award-winning innovation
offers the fastest way to an effortless personalized vacation
giving guests more time to do the things they love most. The
company is part of Carnival Corporation & plc. (NYSE/LSE:
CCL; NYSE:CUK).
About Jabil:
Jabil (NYSE: JBL) is a manufacturing
solutions provider with over 260,000 employees across 100 locations
in 30 countries. The world's leading brands rely on Jabil's
unmatched breadth and depth of end-market experience, technical and
design capabilities, manufacturing know-how, supply chain insights
and global product management expertise. Driven by a common
purpose, Jabil and its people are committed to making a positive
impact on their local community and the environment.
Visit www.jabil.com to learn more.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc