For the past couple of weeks, we have written about our Tech Talks podcast. Whilst we do like to keep our articles varied, the next episode was recently released by our partners at Seatrade Cruise. Therefore, today’s blog is also about the podcast! The focus for episode 4 is essentially tech improving cruise ships. More specifically, theICEway’s Ian Richardson discusses recent onboard innovations from LG Electronics’ Tracey Estes and Jeffrey Weiland. Read on for a brief summary plus key quotes, and there is also a link to listen to the episode in full.
Read previous blogs about our Tech Talks podcast:
Episode 1: Minimising food waste at sea, with Iain Milnes.
2: The Innovation Tech Zone, with David Tibbles.
3: Inside the life of a cruise vlogger with Emma Cruises.
Our latest episode looks at recent onboard tech innovations from LG Technologies. From display technology to robots, LG are aiming to improve the guest experience for cruisers. The podcast looks at how the tech has evolved from land to sea. It touches upon products that have been designed specifically for the cruise industry, including marine grade, IP67 DV-LED screens. LG’s Tracey and Jeffrey also talk about what the future holds for both onboard & shoreside technology.
Listen to the ‘Harnessing Tech to Elevate Guest Experience’ podcast.
Tracey Estes (TE): “… I work for LG here in the US [in the] B2B division with electronics and my specialty [is] fitness and cruise. And over the last few years Cruise has definitely taken over!”
Jeffrey Weiland (JW): “… I’m the team lead of US B2B Robotics… and looking forward to growing this business…”
Ian Richardson (IR): “… How exactly did you first start as a company to enter the cruise channel?”
TE: “LG Electronics has been a large player in the hospitality industry for decades… hotels, resorts, things of that nature. So it was a really nice, natural transition into the cruise industry… the evolution went from hotel rooms on land, to cabins with ships. But there were some specific technologies that we had to create.”
IR: “[Regarding] the display technologies… what exactly are the types of technologies you’re providing?”
TE: “… Historically, most of it has been screens. But as we’ll soon find out, we’re evolving into much more. So the way that I like to explain what our team offers, the cruise industry kind of sits in four buckets, if you will. And bucket number one is in cabin experience. And that’s critical. It’s so important for the cruise lines… so we have a line [of] TVs that are commercial and cruise specific… Additionally, we have amazing [digital] signage products.”
IR: “… How exactly have you leveraged robotics to enhance and augment the onboard experience for guests?”
JW: “… Let me talk about the robots we have. Currently, [there is] a serving bot… It has three trays on it and it assists servers… so instead of them having to go back to the kitchen, the robot brings the food to the table. And that frees up the server to engage with the guests at the table… [thus] enhancing that guest experience. And second, we have a robot called the guide bot, which acts as a… wayfinding robot, so it can guide you from point to point, it can answer questions…. What that does is it offloads some of the repetitive questions that cruisers may have at embarkation day.”
So there you have it, a brief yet interesting glimpse into LG’s efforts to enhance cruise holidays. Nowadays, holidaymakers have come to expect seamless experiences whether on land or at sea. That is a bigger ask for cruise lines and it is great to see that tech giants are on hand to help!