Virgin Voyages wants to disrupt the cruise industry.
The Richard Branson-owned company has done this mostly by making its cruises adults-only. You must be 18 to board its ships, which allows the cruise line to fully cater to its adult experience.
While Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) , which also operates under the Celebrity brand, dedicate space on their ships to children and teenagers, Virgin does not. Virgin doesn’t need to make its entertainment options family-friendly either, allowing for more killer options and a ship that’s always some kind of party.
Virgin has also tried in meaningful ways to make its experiences different from those offered by its rivals. This includes the absence of the main dining room and the inclusion of the array of specialty restaurants in your basic cruise fare.
And in perhaps its most controversial choice, Virgin Voyages got rid of a major cruise line: the buffet, replacing it with a food court with a variety of restaurants.
It’s an experience designed to fix what the creators of the new cruise line saw as problems with the traditional cruise experience.
Now, as Virgin Voyages evolves, it is improving its technology to offer experiences that Carnival and Royal Caribbean do not.
Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet
Virgin Voyages borrows an idea from Domino’s
Virgin gives every passenger a wristband that works to open your cabin door and pay for alcoholic drinks and specialty coffees (other drinks included).
The app can also be used to plan and track your activities, along with controlling many of the functions in your cabin.
You can also use the Virgin Voyages app to do a number of other things powered by the DeCurtis Experience Platform.
“From the time a Sailor books their trip or uses mobile ticketing, all onboard experiences, from departure to the end of their journey, are enhanced by technology,” said Virgin Voyages vice president of technology Frank Farro, using cruise line reference for Seafarer passengers.
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“A favorite luxury treat for Sailors is our unique ‘Shake for Champagne’ feature. By simply shaking their phone with the Virgin Voyages app open and pressing a button, crew are alerted to deliver chilled champagne to Sailor wherever to be on board.”
This is a bit silly, of course, and a slight convenience at best. But the use of that technology has been used to enable a wider “delivery anywhere” service.
“The same capability has been extended to other services such as Ship Eats, to ensure high-touch service for every sailor’s onboard experience,” added Farro.
This means that if a passenger is on the pool deck or relaxing on a lounge chair in the sun, they can order food at that location.
Neither Royal Caribbean nor Carnival offers anything similar to Domino’s (DPZ) use on the ground to deliver your pizza to the park, beach or anywhere else.
Virgin offers a fully digital cruise experience
Virgin Voyages wants to provide a frictionless, all-digital experience, starting when passengers upload any required documents before their cruise.
Having everything digital allows the cruise line to verify documents before you sail, which makes for a faster and smoother boarding experience.
The digital experience also extends to what the crew can do with their app-based experiences. This includes the ability to create maintenance tickets, help passengers make or change dining reservations and facilitate the required boarding training with the option to view the demonstration video on personal devices or on the cabin television.
Virgin Voyages has also used technology to create a virtual queuing system so passengers don’t have to wait in long queues.
“Instead, the Virgin Voyages app sends an alert when it’s their turn to board the ship, go to dinner, attend a show or disembark at a port of call,” the company said.
“This focus on a frictionless experience allows sailors to relax and enjoy the amenities, and the technology that drives these experiences creates a five-star experience everywhere on board.”
