Carnival: Guest Experience Data Platform and Digital Twins

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Having worked with Launch to create the Disney MagicBand experience, the Chief Experience Officer at Carnival Cruise Line tapped our team to create the most connected consumer experience on the planet.

Carnival wanted to bring the power of a data-driven guest experience platform to cruises. The challenge: How do you create a live-response, location-aware, personalized-experience platform when you can’t always rely on internet connectivity? And how will you build it without disrupting ships while they’re sailing? There was no playbook. So they asked Launch to help create the experience their customers deserve.

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Bringing the IoT to Sea

Launch engineered Carnival Ocean Medallion, the first ever seaworthy IoT guest platform. We played a key role in all phases of developing the system, ranging from early ideation to technical engineering and solution deployment. As a result, the Ocean Medallion was born, and with it an entirely new type of vacation.​

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This technology enables seamless movement throughout and beyond the ship. For example, it enables guests to plan their trip ahead of time and authenticate themselves at home, which makes boarding the ship a breeze: they can simply walk onboard as their Medallion positively identifies them to security personnel and crew.

The platform backs up to the cloud in case of a loss of connectivity, and authenticates guests seamlessly while securing and encrypting customer data. In short, we unified all on-board interactions in a single place.

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Digital Twins for Live Insights

The IoT-connected ships allow the crew to understand every moment of customer and crew experiences. A digital twin of the ship shows real-time individual, group, and ship-wide analytics. From boarding times and luggage location, to housekeeping and emergency management, Ocean Medallion helps manage every element of the cruise for safer, more engaging experiences for all.

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AI-Optimized Customer Service

Ocean Medallion is the first ever guest experience platform to fully deliver personalized experiences based on location, identity, and context. Faster boarding, easy ship navigation, on-demand shopping and food-ordering, and more all help create a luxury experience for guests - and very valuable data for Carnival.

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“There seems to be no shortage of folks that suggest ‘they actually did it’ with respect to these innovations, but the reality is most have had little to nothing to do with ‘doing it.’ 

However, I will share that Launch has been an invaluable strategic technology partner on the toughest and most critical project elements at Disney and Carnival. The Launch team is the best in their space - always delivering amazing solutions.”

John Padgett
Chief Experience and Innovation Officer, Carnival Corporation