Royal Caribbean offers an augmented-reality view of CocoCay

Michael Bayley discusses the Perfect Day Island Collection. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada

NEW YORK -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) on Wednesday night unveiled its new Perfect Day Island Collection and ship-refurbishment program at South Street Seaport here, complete with an augmented reality (AR) component so attendees could get a feel for what CocoCay, the first Perfect Day Island, will look like.

Royal Caribbean International's Michael Bayley, president and CEO, and Mark Tamis, senior vice president of hotel operations, first introduced the changes in a room with nearly 360-degree screens displaying photos and concept art behind them.

The presentation screens opened up, revealing an augmented reality experience. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada

Bayley said Perfect Day Islands will contain features that mix what Royal Caribbean guests have said in surveys is most important to them when spending a day on a private island: The chance to "chill," and the opportunity for more "thrills."

CocoCay, the line's private Bahamian island and the first island in the collection, with features like the tallest water slide in North America, a helium balloon that rises up to 450 feet in the air, and a beach escape with daybeds, over-water cabanas and more.

"We are going to open up Perfect Day destinations literally around the world," Bayley said.

In addition to locations in the Caribbean, Bayley said Royal Caribbean is also eyeing the Asia Pacific as a location. Each Perfect Day location may be different, he said.

Screen Time: New CocoCay comes to life (Click the image to play)

After the introduction, the screens at the front of the room opened into another space. Guests were invited to reach under their chairs where iPads were waiting. After entering some basic information, they acted as conduits for the AR experience.

Several different portals -- large circles guests could walk through -- were set up around the room, mimicking different parts of CocoCay, like Daredevil's Peak, a pair of water towers with 13 slides, and Oasis Lagoon, a freshwater pool area.

An iPad ripples as the user walks toward one of several portals set up around the room. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada

As guests approached, the iPad screen would ripple, and turn into renderings of what that area of CocoCay will look like -- for instance, at the Arrivals Plaza, guests were greeted by a large pirate ship to their right. As the iPad moved, the image would change, as if one was looking at CocoCay through the screen.