Voyager of the Seas to spend next summer in Hong Kong

Posted on 23 June, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

Royal Caribbean International will homeport Voyager of the Seas in Hong Kong for the summer of 2015.

The 3,138-passenger ship will sail 22 cruises of three to 10 days between the end of June and October.

Destinations include Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and ports in China.

“Hong Kong has immense potential as a homeport for Chinese vacationers to board a Royal Caribbean cruise,” said Zinan Liu, RCCL’s regional vice president of Asia and managing director of China.

He added that Voyager will get an extensive revitalization before it arrives in Hong Kong next summer.

To support the ship’s operations, RCCL has opened a fully staffed Hong Kong office, augmenting the Asia offices it now maintains in Beijing and Shanghai.

Voyager’s move to Hong Kong will coincide with the arrival of Quantum of the Seas to do year-round cruises from Shanghai.

Royal Caribbean is a partner in the company that operates the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong, which opened last year.

RoboScreens on Royal Caribbean cruise ships to add visual intrigue

Posted on 20 June, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

Robotics Online has a great piece about the new RoboScreens coming to Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class cruise ships.

Six 100” video screens attached to six industrial robots that were developed by ABB RoboScreens are a big reason Royal Caribbean will be taking on-board entertainment on its newest class of cruise ships to the next level.

Onboard it’s upcoming Quantum-class cruise ships, guests will find these amazing innovations in the Two70 signature venue.

A RoboScreen is a graphical screen mounted to the arm of an ABB articulated arm robot, which creates a unique viewer experience by bringing virtually unlimited, 6-axis movement to the video media. Available in various sizes, the Two70° RoboScreens feature six ABB IRB 6620 robots, each holding a 100” diagonal Daktronics LED screen.

On Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships, the RoboScreens are stored in the ceiling when not in use but during shows in Two70, the RoboScreens extend down on the gantry to a position above the stage, displaying unique video and imagery while performing choreographed movements, all custom produced for the specific performance.

The RoboScreens were developed by Andy Flessas and were first introduced in 2010 as part of the Bon Jovi Circle Tour. They have also been a part of concerts and shows for Kis-My-Ft2, a Japanese Pop band; the Las Vegas house show for deadmau5, world famous music producer and performer; and the Ultra-Music Festival in Miami.

On the Quantum-class, the RoboScreens will periodically assemble in various formations, such as six screens in a row to form one continuous, long screen; a three by two stack to form one big square screen; or a serpentine row, much like a ‘W’ and a ‘V’ strung together.

The project involves the close collaboration of a number or parties, both within ABB and externally. Being the first installation of an ABB robot on any ship, the ABB Marine Power Group in Helsinki, Finland and the ABB Robotics North American team in Auburn Hills, Michigan worked together for the first time. The ABB PC software team in Gothenburg, Sweden is also involved, working on the programming software and addressing the unique challenges of operating robots at sea.

The external partners include Royal Caribbean, andyRobot, Daktronics, Waagner Biro, the gantry provider, Coolux, the video server manufacturer, and Meyer Werft, the shipbuilder based in Papenburg, Germany.

Royal Caribbean and the next wave of communication

Posted on 19 June, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

When cruise lines have something to say to the world, there are a growing number of channels to deliver the message.

An example is the Google Plus Hangout session that Royal Caribbean International used to tout its entertainment program on the Quantum of the Seas.

I wasn’t familiar with Google Plus Hangout, although a (younger) work acquaintance said she used it heavily to plan her recent wedding. It is a mash-up of several Google products that enables 10 people to have a video exchange, while being able to display content on the Internet and holding a simultaneous chat conversation with a (world) wide audience.

I think we’re going to see more of these and less of traditional announcements, media briefings, press releases and the like.

They allow for both the social media component, important for attracting users who swim in that ocean, and a lot of multimedia morsels, such as videos, live webcasting and audio.

Royal reached several audiences at once with its Hangout, including past passengers, the media and interested travel partners.

Those audiences were reflected in the half-dozen people that Royal picked to participate on video feeds, such as an editor from Backstage magazine and a Crown & Anchor Society member.

Also included was a social media “influencer” (someone who is tracked and followed by many devotees of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like) and a former Royal cast member who has moved on to a touring production of “The Book of Mormon.”

It was evident throughout that the Hangout was aimed in part at recruiting new performers. Broadway singer Kristen Chenoweth, the Quantum’s godmother, lent her credibility to the effort, describing how Royal’s entertainment innovations work for the performers as well as for the guests.

Nick Weir, vice president of entertainment at Royal, noted that unlike Broadway, entertainers don’t even have to take a taxi to get to their jobs on a ship.

Las Vegas entertainers were also in Royal’s sights. Weir and Chenoweth twice mentioned the Hyde nightclub at the Bellagio Hotel, which hosted the chat. Along with a full-length Broadway production of “Mamma Mia,” the Quantum will offer acts such as Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns, a band popular in Las Vegas that will appear remotely on video screens in Quantum’s Two70 lounge.

So the Google Plus Hangout, for those who saw it, provided an intriguing new launch pad for Royal’s Quantum entertainment package. Royal may have been first to explore it, but I’m guessing it won’t be the last.