Page 42: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (May/Jun 2019)

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SATCOM SOLUTIONS

CRUISING in the

CLOUD

Turning a necessary cost center into a revenue stream is the new normal for savvy and successful cruise operators.

By Joseph Keefe s the ?ourishing expedition cruise market takes pas- customers in the sector include Hapag-Lloyd Cruises as well as sengers on innovative itineraries to remote and un- French luxury cruise specialist PONANT.

touched destinations, these well heeled guests want The expedition cruise vessel sector has been gaining pace over something else at the same time: a 24/7 quality inter- the last ?ve or so years, driven by a market that wants to see and

A net connection. If Marlink gets its way, that sort of communica- do new things on holiday. On that bucket list for many is the far tions service will soon be the rule, and not the exception. north, where the reduction in sea ice is creating new opportuni-

In April, Marlink revealed that the expedition cruise market is ties. For its part, Marlink has kept pace with demand and in some in full-on growth mode in terms of demand for connectivity in cases enabled expedition vessels to go further a?eld by opening the most remote corners of the planet. As a satellite service pro- up new areas of coverage, for instance in the North West Passage, vider and communications partner for more than a few luxury which is becoming quite a popular route.

and adventure cruise ships and ?eets, Marlink says that it is today Providing that coverage and delivering it in an affordable pack- contracting twice the satellite capacity speci?cally for the expe- age is another thing altogether.

dition sector as it was just 12 months ago and is now regularly Tommy Konkol Dybvad, Director Cruise and Ferry at Marlink providing megabit connectivity on a truly global scale. Marlink told MLPro, “We work closely with all major satellite network operators to ensure that we can deliver the highest quality of ser- vice in cost-effective packages for all customers. The challenges to ensure that guests can connect in remote areas on an expedition cruise are not easy to overcome compared to the traditional cruise markets closer to equator, however our customers [the cruise lines] know that they must deliver connectivity on board for pas- sengers who expect to be connected at all times.

The 100% increase in capacity required to keep guests, crew and company connected as far a?eld as the Arctic and Antarctic is due to the surge in popularity of expedition cruising.

Marlink customers in the sector include Hapag-Lloyd Cruises ?eet which is operating in remote locations using Marlink VSAT.

New ‘expedition class’ ships, HANSEATIC nature and HANSE-

ATIC inspiration, due to be delivered this year and HANSEATIC due in 2021, will have the same high-level connectivity for guests and crew. Marlink also renewed its contract to deliver multi-band services to French luxury cruise specialist PONANT late in 2017, a deal that included provision for four new PONANT Explorers yachts – Le Champlain and Le Laperouse, which joined the ?eet in 2018, and Le Bougainville and Le Dumont-d’Urville, which will enter service in 2019. Another customer is MSC Cruises.

42 Maritime Logistics Professional May/June 2019 | |