Anyone who has combed through displays of the many (many!) photos taken by shipboard photographers may be dreading that process aboard the world’s largest cruise ship. Now there’s word that you won’t have to.When Oasis of the Seas debuts at Port Everglades this month, also debuting will be the world’s most advanced photography system at sea. Image, Royal Caribbean’s photo concessionaire for 22 years, has implemented a series of state-of-the-art technologies that will streamline the gallery sales process and enable guests to easily find and manage their cruise memories. With its patented youFinder automated photo indexing technology, Image has implemented a more guest-centric way of displaying cruise memories. Combined with digital workflow systems that manage the large number of images produced, youFinder can separate guest images into logical groupings—by cabin number or traveling companions.
“youFinder represents a fundamental change in the shipboard photography business,” said Brynley Davies, managing director of the Image Group. “Despite the advent of digital mini-labs on cruise ships, retail display of photos in galleries is still largely based on film technology, where there has been no effective way to link a photo to a guest.”
Davies noted the gallery sales process has remained essentially unchanged since the cruise industry began in the 1970s. Photos are taken, printed and displayed by event—embarkation, formal night, port arrivals, etc—in the photo gallery. Guests seek out their photos on the display and make a purchase decision.
As cruise ships have become larger with more passengers and more photos, that process has become less efficient for guests. Image has developed a storage mechanism that works in tandem with youFinder to place all of a guest’s cruise photos in one location. Guests come back to the same location each time they want to view their photos, eliminating the need to hunt through the panel displays. In addition to viewing printed photos in the gallery, guests also can view their images electronically using the new Image photo kiosk, which has a 35 percent larger display screen than previous versions. The kiosk’s software has been rewritten and a new user interface created, which substantially improves guest satisfaction.
“Oasis of the Seas has the most advanced digital photo system ever operated on a cruise ship,” said Davies. “Image is redefining shipboard photography by fundamentally changing the way guests find and interact with their cruise images. Over the next few months we plan to introduce a number of significant new products and services on Oasis of the Seas that will continue this trend toward innovation.”
More information about Oasis of the Seas from CruiseDiva.com at:
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