For the concept to be convenient to customers an improvement on the current cruise ship ID cards had to be implemented. For the concept, the individual’s barcode which is placed on the customers cruise ID card’s will be placed onto wristbands as shown below:
The wristband will enable customers to make use of the original purposes, as well as access the concept. As the wristband can be worn for all the daily activities such as zip-line, rock climbing, lounge, bar etc, it will enable customers to access the concept at their leisure as the concept will be located in these areas. It will provide an innovative solution to the customer need of making the ID cards more convenient and more secure, whilst also being convenient.
The concept is a computerised system that will enable the customers to view all their add-ons from onboard purchases on a touch screen. The concept will be located in areas were customers can purchase products or services and will be integrated into the wall. When customers wish to view all their adds - ons they can stand in front of the concept and access it by swiping their individual barcode (placed on the wristband) which has it’s own unique ID, across a barcode scanner such as below:
The scanner will convert the ID which will convert into a digital code. This would then be sent to a central processor e.g. Property management system (PMS), which will be located onboard the cruise ship. The central processor will already have the barcode unique ID saved as one of the field (entries) in the guest profile. This would have been done when the guest checked in at the start of cruise. A software program would then be needed to simply do a lookup via an interface server, matching the barcode ID up to the correct guest and return the desired viewing of the add-ons.
The touch screen and the barcode scanner will be integrated together in the wall like this:
The touch screen will enable guests to view and scroll through all their add-ons from the start of the cruise, up to the moment of the viewing. The add-ons will be displayed in a list and guests will be able to scroll through by the touch of their finger.
If a guest was to lose their wristband, they can get another individual barcode wristband from reception. The reception would have to look up the guest profile which would include a picture of the guest, taken at check in for identification. This would make sure the barcode is the guests. The lost barcode can then be canceled and replaced with a new one, while transferring the guests existing add-ons to the new barcode. The process of getting a new barcode wristband would be simpler than the process that happened at check in. This is an innovative solution compared to the original way of getting a replacement, “which was an inconvenient process and may include a minimal processing fee”. (Website: love to know, Ann MacDonald)
If another guest was to pick up the lost wristband they would be able to access the concept and view the guests add-ons. This is before the guest that lost the wristband canceled the barcode. This would not affect the guest that lost the wristband as products and services cannot be purchased on the concept. As a result there will be no additional costs to the guest.
All of the technologies needed for the concept to operate are already in place in many places in existing hotels and other industries. However, the concept provides the service by pulling together technologies from different systems, to create an innovative concept available to guests on cruise ships. Furthermore, as a result of the technologies already well established, it will mean the price of the technologies will be relatively inexpensive. This will encourage cruise lines to invest into the concept and will potentially result in repeat business, as customers enjoy a more efficient and enjoyable cruise and in turn increase cruise profitability.
Website: Love to know, Available at: http://cruises.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Cruise_Ship_ID_Card - (Accessed 17 November)
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