The Covid pandemic forced the cruise industry to rethink many things. They may have been dark days, but the misery led to some pretty surprising innovations.
Royal Caribbean, for example, put a lot of thought into crowd movement and limiting crowded spaces. That was essential for Covid mitigation, but it's also something that benefits the cruise industry when it comes to all airborne diseases.
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That led to some impressive innovations, like the cruise line's new destination elevators. These elevators have passengers use a touch panel to choose which floor they go to. He then provides them with a specific elevator (by letter) to wait.
It's a setup that limits crowds waiting for the elevator and in the elevators themselves. Additionally, it makes it easier for the cruise line to clean the touch panels compared to cleaning the keypads in a classic elevator.
Basically, the cruise line wants to limit the contact passengers have with surfaces. Because every time someone touches a surface and doesn't clean it before someone else, they risk spreading disease.
That's a logic that Royal Caribbean has extended to free drink dispensers on some of its newer ships. It is an innovative solution that limits contact in an area where it was impossible for the cruise line to maintain the necessary cleaning pace.
Image source: Daniel Kline/ComeCruiseWith.com
Royal Caribbean has new beverage technology
Royal Caribbean offers coffee, hot water, iced tea, and a selection of juice-flavored beverages at a variety of locations on its ships. These include the Windjammer Marketplace buffet, Cafe Promenade and other select locations.
On older ships. passengers have to take their glass, place it under a spout and pull a lever or press a button to dispense the drink. In high-volume areas, it's hard to imagine the cruise line managing to push the button or lever between each passenger.
With the new system, a passenger places their glass or mug under the dispenser and waves their hand near the sensor. It takes a few tries to figure it out and the motion is a little sensitive, but once you figure it out, you can dispense your drink without touching anything.
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Royal Caribbean only offers a limited selection of free self-serve drinks. People with a beverage package will have access to a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. These machines require many button presses, making them vulnerable to being sources of viral spread.
If a passenger wants to limit the number of people who have touched a surface, they can use the new machines to get free drinks and order soft drinks from waiters. Freestyle machines are cleaned frequently, but they also get a lot of use.
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