Pictured: Padgett shows off an Ocean Medallion
The man behind Carnival’s wearable ‘medallions’ for cruise ship guests claims they will “take personalisation for customers to another level”.
John Padgett created Walt Disney World Resort’s ‘MagicBands’, pioneered in the operator’s Florida destination, which were said to be a game-changer for the theme park sector.
In 2014 he moved on to the work for world’s biggest cruise operator and one of the planet’s most valuable leisure travel companies, Carnival Corporation.
He has now adapted the technology for cruise saying it will create an “experiential aura” around every guest that will automatically trigger personalised information to be sent to them to enhance their holiday.
The Princess Cruises line will be the first brand to offer the new technology before a roll out across Carnival’s brands.
Padgett, who joined Carnival as chief experience and innovation officer in 2014, explained the medallions were “the next step beyond Disney’s MagicBands as they do not require humans to do a thing”.
“Guests don’t need to swipe or tap the medallion. They just have to wear it as a pendant, bracelet or keyfob, and every single one will have a digital concierge looking out for them.
“It won’t stereotype or segment passengers; it will track what they engage in, in real-time, from the minute they book their holiday, and send them only information relevant to their interests and preferences,” he said.
“The more they engage, the better their experience will be.”
Padgett says it will change the cruise industry’s focus from the maximisation of on board revenue to the enhancement of a customer’s personalised holiday experience.
In doing so, he believes guests will, by default, spend more money, either on the ticket price due to the perceived greater value of a cruise holiday, or by spending more on board as hassle, distractions and friction are eliminated.
Speaking exclusively to Travel Weekly ahead of the technology being unveiled in a keynote speech by Carnival Corporation chief executive Arnold Donald at the CES tech show in Las Vegas this week, Padgett said:
“It’s huge deal that Carnival is featuring at this tech show. This isn’t Carnival with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.
“This is Carnival alongside the likes of Microsoft or Apple. So this isn’t about market share, it’s about us being in the vanguard to show how truly great the entire cruise industry is.”
Although keen to promote the cruise industry as pioneering, Padgett said the ‘medallions’ technology would be “fundamentally and structurally challenging for other lines to duplicate”.
Princess Cruises’ Regal Princess will adopt the new ‘Ocean Medallions’ in November 2017, with Royal Princess and Caribbean Princess following next year.
Princess is pioneering the tech due to president Jan Schwartz being a major “champion” of the innovation, Padgett said.
He confirmed the plan was to “materially get through the Princess fleet” but said brands like P&O Cruises and Cunard would follow as soon as possible.
He pointed out the technology was “brand, age and size agnostic” so was not tied to newbuild ships.
How Does It Work?
The ‘medallions’ are just a part of Carnival’s investment in making its ships truly interactive.
They 1.8 ounce disk be worn by guests either on key chains or wristbands or accessorised with jewellery clips or carried on a pocket or pocketbook.
These devices will then engage with a network of sensors around the ship, in effect turning the vessel into an internet-enabled environment.
The behaviour and data gleaned from guests as they move around the vessel and consume various services and products onboard will then be used to personalise the experience.
This could be in the form of on-board entertainment, dining, interactive gaming or shore excursions.
Carnival says as the device learns more about the preferences of the guest the suggestions and offers will become increasingly relevant and therefore valued by its guests.
The technology will also help to make aspects of cruising like embarkation and disembarkation more efficient and it will also be capable of opening cabin doors and locating friends on the vessel.
Guests will also be able to make contactless purchases and the information will give crew greater levels of information about guests so they can provide a more tailored service.
The wearable medallions will pair with a personalised digital concierge called the Ocean Compass which can be accessed online via personal devices, at kiosks and on cabin televisions.
A proprietary xiOS operating system will sit behind the technology as Carnival takes an ‘internet of things’ approach to modernising the cruise experience.