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SHIPBOARD CONNECTIVITY

Gaining the Competitive Edge in a Booming Cruise Industry

By Gregory Martin is set to be a record-breaking year for year, Dream Cruises announced that it would be providing its new cruise ships, with just about ev- guests with ultra-fast, on-board broadband services, powered 2018 ery major cruise line due to launch a by SES Networks. SES Networks’ high-performance and re- new ship during the course of the next 12 months. The four liable high-speed connectivity enables passengers to stream leading cruise companies – Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Nor- movies, game online and share real-time vacation travel wegian Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises – are all poised to un- videos and photos across social media platforms – often at veil their own state-of-the-art vessels, each attempting to offer the same speed as they would onshore. By tapping into SES the most innovative features at sea. The cruise ship building Networks’ innovative satellite technology, Dream Cruises has boom will force ship owners to think of new ways to outsmart transformed the customer experience onboard, shrinking the their competitors, with many turning to emerging technolo- connectivity gap between land- and sea-based destinations. gies in an attempt to build a strong and unique selling proposi- Dream Cruises is just one of several large cruise companies tion (USP) that is both genuine and permanent. that have turned to SES Networks to give it a competitive

Continuing pressure will also come from luxury onshore desti- edge. In September 2017, Carnival Corporation & plc, the nations – a long-time rival of the cruise industry. Previously, poor world’s largest leisure travel company, announced Medal- connectivity has created a clear distinction between vessels and lionNet, a game-changing connectivity service powered by luxury resorts. For years the cruise industry has been plagued by SES Networks. MedallionNet will provide guests with easy- old technology, leading customers to view high-speed internet to-use-access Wi-Fi that features exceptional speeds and as something limited to land-based destinations only. However, bandwidth, pervasive stateroom signal strength, and unprec- in today’s digitized world, travelers have grown accustomed to edented service consistency. This was no minor decision. In- always-on, ubiquitous connectivity, and expect it on board. deed, to generate the fastest internet ever seen at sea requires

According to a report by CLIA, the world’s largest cruise constant communication between Carnival’s