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Starlink will deploy satellite broadband on Royal Caribbean cruise liners
Cruise ship giant Royal Caribbean has announced that it will equip its fleet with SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellite internet service.
Royal Caribbean's cruise of the future looks a lot like the present
When I think of the ultimate future cruise ship, many things come to mind. Most of them borrowed from Star Trek, I'll admit. Holodecks, food replicators, staff in tight-fitting onesies -- that kinda thing. I'd also be willing to throw in some robot barmen, virtual balconies, apps and RFID trickery. This is 2014, not the 24th century after all. Lucky, then, that Royal Caribbean's self-proclaimed "smartship" -- Quantum of the Seas -- has all of the above (up to the barmen bit, not the replicators or holodeck). There was no boldly going anywhere just a short jaunt down the English Channel, but I took the chance anyway, to see what the future of cruising might look like.
Royal Caribbean uses 80-inch HDTVs to create 'virtual balcony staterooms'
Every cruise-goer wants the ability to recreate the Jack and Rose experience of "flying" on the bow of the ship from their room, but unless you book a window suite early, getting that experience can pose a Titanic-sized challenge. For latecomers who want the waterside experience, Royal Caribbean is offering "virtual balcony staterooms" with 80-inch floor-to-ceiling HD displays framed to look like an actual balcony. The TVs display close to real-time video from the bow and stern of the ship shot on RED Epic HD cinema cameras, complete with audio. Guests can set the mood by switching between cams using an in-room remote, or close the curtains on the display if it gets too romantic. Sound nauseating? Control Group, the company behind creating the rooms, worked with experts from M.I.T and Harvard on a special fibre-channel delivery system to make sure the experience of moving differently than what you see on the screen doesn't make you want to toss your cookies. Eighty of the new rooms set sail for the first time February 5th on Royal Caribbean's ship Navigator of the Seas. You can book a romantic television-side stay for future voyages now on the company's website.
Royal Caribbean new ships carry Mac infrastructure
At today's Mac IT conference opening session, Bruce Wolf from the Royal Caribbean cruise line discussed the computing infrastructure for some of the company's newest ships. Since these ships are built for an extended lifespan, the technology choices made during the build process are still critical up to 15 years later. Apple and Nanonation provided a solution proposal that apparently knocked the socks off of the RC executive committee, and some of the proposed tech began to make its way into the ship's operations.Beginning in late 2006 with the Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, shipboard signage onboard was driven by Mac Minis with an XServe back end and Samsung displays. Later, custom messaging to the passengers (announcements, shore excursions, fitness center scheduling, casino promotions and touchscreen ship maps) appeared on the largescreen displays. Moving on from the big displays, some newer builds have entertainment and reservations capability (dining and activities) in the staterooms.Moving forward, ships will be equipped with a broadcast room that feeds content to both guest staterooms and crew cabins (each driven by either a Mini or an Apple TV). Back-of-house crew signage, guest enrichment centers for learning opportunities and public signage will all be Mac-driven. Eventually, every television on the ship will be backed by a Mac. On the Celebrity Solstice, now under construction, the build in progress is supporting 1000 stateroom TVs from a bank of XServes and Mac Minis.Next time you cruise the shining seas, keep an eye out for the Mac in the back!
