Technology is making cruising easier, but there’s an unspoken cost

Just about every cruise line now encourages guests to download an app on the promise, or premise, that it will ease organisation and onboard bookings, and tailor experiences as passengers see fit.

It’s just one of the technologies taking over cruise ships, especially the bigger budget ships that have notably younger passengers. Luxury ships are heading that way too, although more sedately.

As we get accustomed to increasing technology in our daily lives, we’re accepting more of this onboard revolution – after all, we ask Siri or Alexa questions, order Uber Eats, check-in via consoles, book online and point phones at menu QR codes.

Similar interfaces are appearing all over cruise ships, from check-in, in public areas, via smart televisions in cabins, and on bracelets or other gadgets provided by cruise lines.

Biometrics greet us at the cruise terminal, with companies such as Celebrity, MSC and Royal Caribbean using facial recognition for check-in. Speed is the promised benefit, with Royal Caribbean touting “car to bar” in 10 minutes.

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Facial recognition continues aboard the ships: some Princess Cruises ships, for example, have digital signage that recognises passing passengers and reminds them they have restaurant bookings, or gives directions.

Meanwhile, apps or supplied medallions or bracelets can now be used to pay for cocktails, unlock your cabin door and track where on the ship your family members are hiding.

You can adjust the temperature in your cabin as you’re finishing dessert in the restaurant, order pizza and have it delivered to you anywhere on the ship, or use your app as a television remote control.

In the cabins of some MSC ships you can tell the delightful voice-activated Zoe to turn on the lights, or ask her for information and advice, in seven languages.

All of this technology is supplied on the promise from cruise lines that it streamlines our onboard organisation, frees us from standing in queues at reception and delivers a more personalised experience.

But is the technology helping us, or are we helping the technology? Is the result more freedom, or are we allowing our lives, once again, to become ever more spied upon and controlled by big business?

You can see the advantage for the cruise lines. Operations are streamlined. Passengers book shore excursions and speciality restaurants, a job once done by crew. Passengers’ habits and preferences are tracked, which helps to drive revenue.

An MSC Cruises report about what cruising might look like in 2030 says ultra-personalisation via technologies will be omnipresent. Cabins will even be able to sense the mood of passengers by detecting their heart and pulse rates and facial expressions.

Is that a boon or a dystopia? Customers will decide. But if I can no longer interact with crew members, I think I’ll feel a pleasant aspect of cruising has gone missing.

Brian Johnston seemed destined to become a travel writer: he is an Irishman born in Nigeria and raised in Switzerland, who has lived in Britain and China and now calls Australia home.