The Newest Tech on Cruise Ships

Zoe, available in all staterooms, is programmed to answer some 800 questions about excursions or onboard restaurants and will be able to communicate in seven languages. Zoe will also be on the Virtuosa, which sets sail in November 2020.

Champagne delivery

When the Scarlet Lady, Virgin Voyages’ first cruise ship, sets sail next year, its guests, called “sailors,” will be able to download an app to order meals, book exercise classes and track their friends onboard. It will also allow passengers to shake their phones for champagne.

Give your phone a shake and a champagne button will appear and, with one tap, you can get a bottle of Möet Chandon Imperial delivered to wherever you are on the ship.

“It is never too early for champagne and there is always something to toast to while aboard Scarlet Lady,” Tom McAlpin, chief executive of Virgin Voyages, said.

The ship will use something called Climeon technology, which converts heat from the ship’s engines into electricity, reducing how much fuel is needed to power the ship. The Scarlet Lady will have six Climeon units, which together have the capacity to power the equivalent of up to 750 households.

Augmented reality games

Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, was launched this month, with a 10,000-square foot gaming and virtual reality complex. The game center includes a virtual-reality racing experience in a retrofitted GT car, and an escape room challenge, where guests participate in a series of interactive and augmented reality activities.

Royal Caribbean recently introduced an augmented reality adventure experience called Expedition Two70. Expedition Two70 allows guests to play four immersive augmented reality games. The experience was added to the Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas and is being added to the Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas cruises in the coming months.