“I’m on a boat!”

Doing our part to digitally transform the oldest form of transportation

Expertise

Design and
Development

Platforms

Web, Mobile

Deliverables

UI, UX, Development

From design to dry docks, traveling the world to change the passenger experience

One day our CEO walked into the office and said, “Where’s Travis? I haven’t seen him for a few days”. The answer was that Travis was on a stripped-down cruise ship in dry dock just outside of Copenhagen...naturally.

What was Travis doing halfway across the world? He was part of a team ensuring that the software we were developing to transform a cruise-goers experience would work flawlessly when communicating with thousands of antennas embedded in the walls, floors, and ceilings. So, he was wandering the halls with a hard hat, safety vest, and steel-toed boots measuring signal strength and ensuring that our work performed flawlessly.

Totally personalized digital experiences for every passenger

Our end client, a major player in the cruise industry, was ambitious. They weren’t paying lip service when they said they wanted to digitally disrupt the cruise industry. They made a mind-boggling investment in cruise ships that have each been equipped with over 7,000 sensors, 4,000 interactive digital portals, and on-ship data centers that emulated the Internet, even when connections at sea are unreliable.

Over 99% of guests opt into the enhanced experience that includes a radio-enabled wearable that, when worn about the massive ships, will know where they are. This allows guests to order food and drinks through the app. A crew member can then find them wherever they are and bring them their libations and snacks. But that’s not all! Guests can unlock their cabin doors, use large displays mounted throughout the ship to navigate around the ship, and even interact with custom digital avatars that pop up on screens when you’re in proximity.

Small screens, medium screens, huge screens

When your goal is to create a completed connected digital experience inside 37,000 tons of steel, you’re going to need lots of screens to interact with. We worked on cross-functional teams to design and build guest and administrative tools that lived on personal devices, door locks, and large interactive wall screens.

The results speak for themselves. Massive amounts of press were generated by this bold and digitally disruptive move in one of the oldest industries in the world. While there were predictable hiccups along the way, our work helped deliver an entirely new way to interact with an entire floating ecosystem of amenities and fellow cruisegoers.

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Experiences App