Quantum to use wrist bands instead of key cards

By Tom Stieghorst

Guests on Royal Caribbean International's Quantum of the Seas will be issued wristbands with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in place of the standard issue key cards, which will be used for cabin access, payment and other traditional key card functions.

The wristbands can also be used to navigate the ship, said Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman Richard Fain, who hosted a live webcast from the ship's construction site in Germany to announce the innovation.

The webcast will include a chat with former New York Times technology columnist David Pogue, who now works for Yahoo! Those interested can ask questions via Twitter under the hashtag #QuantumoftheSeas.

It was one of half a dozen technology upgrades on the Quantum that promise to make cruising simpler, easier and more hassle-free, Fain said.

Another eye-catching technology will be a robotic bartender which will tend a new venue, the Bionic Bar. Guests will place orders via tablets and then watch the mix their cocktails.

Quantum will also use RFID to enable guests to track their baggage in real time after they drop it off before the cruise, and after they deliver it to housekeeping on departing the ship. In addition, guests will be able to generate their boarding documents online and upload a photo ID to get digital boarding credentials that will shorten the check-in process. Fain said the process will go from sidewalk to ship in 10 minutes and eliminate the traditional check-in counter and the associated lines.

Quantum is also scheduled to be the second ship to fully utilize the O3B satellite system for telecommunications access, which is expected to dramatically increase Internet speeds. The extra connectivity will enable the Quantum to offer a live global video gaming suite in its new SeaPlex activities area.

The O3B system has been in testing on the Oasis of the Seas and is expected to be fully deployed first on the Allure of the Seas by October. 

Will Tui bring in single pricing? It 'could'

By Lee Hayhurst 

Will Tui Travel stay good to its word and bring in single pricing across web and offline, following the move to price parity by rival Thomas Cook?

The travel giant was early out of the traps last year in indicating this was its ultimate intention when travel distribution and online directorNick Longman addressed the Travel Convention in Turkey.

He indicated that a move to flat pricing would happen within two years as Tui rolled out its new Phoenix in-store technology system and would see agents add a service charge.

But last week his former UK boss, Johan Lundgren, now chief executive Peter Long's deputy, struck a more cautious sounding note while accepting the logic of single prices across multiple channels.

As Tui revealed plans for new generation concept stores last week, Lundgren stopped short of promising to bring in flat pricing or setting a date by which it would be implemented.

He told Travel Weekly: "It's not unlikely that this will come at some point. There is logic to the idea that there should be the same price in all channels - that is a logical evolution."

Asked for an assurance that it was Tui policy to bring it in, he said: "It could be coming," adding: "there is a logic to the fact that the price is the same in all channels.

"We should remember some of the logic about the online discount is that if the customer does the work themselves they get something for it."

In what some have seen as an audatious bid to outflank its rival, Cook announced its move to price parity with very little fanfare shortly before Christmas.

The move to flat pricing was widely praised in the trade for offering customers clarity and an attempt to move them away from the assumption that online is always cheaper.

Speaking during a filming day ahead of today's Barclays Travel Forum John Hays, managing director of Hays Travel, said the impact had been noticeable and was welcome.

"Thomas Cook seems as if they are implementing what they said they would in terms of reducing discounting online - it appears they are implementing a one-price strategy. “Tui said they needed to do that, but it's less obvious with their online discounting."