SANTA CLARITA, Calif. and
LUXEMBOURG, Feb. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Princess
Cruises, a leading brand of the Carnival Corporation &
plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), has announced a new dimension
in its connectivity partnership with SES (PAR/LuxSE: SESG) and will
become the first global cruise ship fleet with early access to
SES's ground-breaking O3b mPOWER network augmenting the Princess
MedallionClassTM experience as it scales across the
fleet.
SES is enabling global, high-performance connectivity to
Princess Cruises using its hybrid medium earth orbit (MEO) and
geostationary (GEO) network. The combination of the
globally-deployed Princess MedallionClass ships, the Ocean Guest
Experience "Cloud Connected" Platform and SES's
Multi-Constellations Satellite network not only creates unmatched
and ubiquitous global Wi-Fi service levels, but ensures seamless
land/sea digital experience enablement including
OceanView® TV (OTT, Mobile and VOD) and is
disrupting the tradition commodity satellite bandwidth model.
As the innovation partner for Princess MedallionClass, Carnival
Corporation's Global Experience and Innovation unit is elevating
the SES partner relationship through 2023. The Premier Innovation
Partner status makes SES a fully-integrated development partner of
Carnival Corporation's Global Experience and Innovation unit,
spanning design, creation and delivery for game-changing connected
guest experience innovations, technical platform development,
intelligence and hybrid cloud and edge compute enablement. As
a result, Princess MedallionClass, which is enabled by the
OceanMedallionTM and powered by SES, will be the first
cruise ships to access SES's ground-breaking O3b mPOWER
satellite-based communications system. The SES brand will also be
incorporated into the OceanMedallion, further symbolizing the
integrated relationship.
To date, the most significant development of the partnership has
been MedallionNet®, the best WiFi at sea, which has
raised the bar for guest connectivity in the cruise industry. Since
2017, MedallionNet has been offering fast, unlimited, reliable and
affordable guest connectivity exclusively to the Princess
fleet.
The expanded partnership recognizes SES's integral role in
enabling the Ocean Guest Experience PlatformTM with
real-time xIoTTM, edge, cloud and shoreside intelligence
synchronization on Princess MedalllionClass Ships. Princess
MedallionClass will be fully active on 11 ships by the end of 2020
with a new ship activated every 60 days.
The game-changing O3b mPOWER from SES will ensure that Princess
MedallionClass Ships are not constrained by traditional bandwidth
capacity plans. As a Premier Global Experience and Innovation
partner, SES will keep bandwidth ahead of demand with multi-Gbps
capacity whenever and wherever needed. Whether activating a
new MedallionClass ship, visualizing real-time ship digital clones
or powering virtual ship/shore collaboration, bandwidth constraints
never impact innovation team access, speed or engagement
fidelity.
Furthermore, dynamic bandwidth deployment on demand through a
fully-managed, high-performance ship access point to a shoreside
end-point holistically ensures unique ship itineraries and
specialized guest events always meet the highest service levels
possible from San Francisco to
Singapore and Helsinki to Hobart. Whether a guest is
streaming original content via OceanView, placing a wager on a big
game with Ocean® SportsBook, playing a massive multi-player video
game, streaming video from a favorite streaming service or
checking home security cameras, SES's O3b mPOWER provides dynamic
bandwidth giving Princess guests the land-like online performance
they expect.
Throughout 2020, Princess Cruises will host a series of events
leveraging MedallionNet powered by SES to demonstrate that guests
no longer need to worry about slow internet speeds and unreasonable
connectivity costs. Planned events include:
- February 11, a record-breaking
Vow Renewal onboard the Regal Princess, Royal Princess and Crown
Princess will be shared with loved ones around the world during a
massive pre-Valentine's Day ceremony.
- March 29, Grand Princess will
become the first Princess MedallionClass Ship sailing exclusive
Hawaii itineraries.
- June 15, Enchanted Princess will
join the MedallionClass fleet.
- August 16, Emerald Princess will
become the first to transform into a MedallionClass ship while
sailing Alaskan itineraries.
- October 20, Coral Princess launch
event from Los Angeles.
- December 20, Island Princess
transforms into a MedallionClass ship and will be the first fully
connected cruise ship to sail in the Middle East in early 2021.
"The future is now with real solutions and proven technology
delivering real experiences to floating smart cities around the
globe powering a coveted experience. SES integration into the
Global Experience and Innovation team not only provides
world-leading connectivity technology and fueling OceanMedallion
capabilities, but most importantly provides expertise that is
passionate about creating amazing experiences through the fusion of
creativity, story, connectivity and media across the world," said
John Padgett, chief experience and
innovation officer for Carnival Corporation. "Our first joint
creation, MedallionNet, has significantly elevated the cruise
experience for our guests and crew, but more importantly stimulated
the creation of leading-edge, cloud-based edge compute models that
were previously considered impossible."
"The relentless focus of the Princess Cruises and Carnival
Corporation's Global Experience and Innovation teams to create
personalized, simplified and connected guest experiences inspired
us to push the boundaries of the connectivity norm at sea, and set
a higher benchmark for connected guest experiences," said JP
Hemingway, CEO of SES Networks, the data-centric business unit of
SES. "With MedallionNet, we helped deliver a new and holistic
model that sets an entirely new standard for cruise ship
connectivity around the world. By extending and expanding our
Premier Innovation Partner relationship, we are leveraging our
unprecedented position in multi-constellation satellite networks
and consistently focusing on delivering high performance and
pushing the envelope of what's possible."
Carnival Corporation's proprietary Ocean Guest Experience
Platform is powered by the OceanMedallion and enabled by SES.
The MedallionClass experience utilizing the OceanMedallion and the
Ocean Guest Experience Platform is exclusive to Princess Cruises
and being leveraged to enhance guest-crew interactions and deliver
a high level of service personalization on an unprecedented
scale.
The Medallion enables keyless stateroom entry, hassle-free
payment, turn-by-turn shipboard wayfinding, shipmate locator and
personalized itineraries; speeds up embarkation; facilitates
on-demand services like ordering food, drinks and merchandise;
powers anywhere wagering; and more. MedallionClass vacations
currently are available for all guests sailing on six Princess
Cruises Ships – Caribbean Princess, Crown Princess, Regal Princess,
Royal Princess, Ruby Princess, and Sky Princess.
About Princess Cruises
One of the best-known names in cruising, Princess Cruises is the
fastest growing international premium cruise line and tour company
operating a fleet of 18 modern cruise ships, carrying two million
guests each year to 380 destinations around the globe, including
the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera,
Europe, South America, Australia/New
Zealand, the South Pacific, Hawaii, Asia,
Canada/New England, Antarctica and World Cruises. A team of
professional destination experts have curated 170 itineraries,
ranging in length from three to 111 days and Princess Cruises is
continuously recognized as "Best Cruise Line for
Itineraries."
In 2017 Princess Cruises, with parent company Carnival
Corporation, introduced MedallionClass Vacations enabled by the
OceanMedallion, the vacation industry's most advanced wearable
device, provided free to each guest sailing on a MedallionClass
ship. The award-winning innovation offers the fastest way to a
hassle-free, personalized vacation giving guests more time to do
the things they love most. MedallionClass Vacations will be
activated on 11 ships by the end of 2020 and continue across
the global fleet in 2021..
Princess Cruises continues its multi-year, "Come Back New
Promise" – a $450 million-dollar
product innovation and cruise ship renovation campaign that will
continue to enhance the line's onboard guest experience. These
enhancements result in more moments of awe, lifetime memories and
meaningful stories for guests to share from their cruise vacation.
The product innovations include partnerships with award-winning
Chef Curtis Stone; engaging
entertainment inspired shows with Broadway-legend Stephen Schwartz; immersive activities for the
whole family from Discovery and Animal Planet that include
exclusive shore excursions to onboard activities; the ultimate
sleep at sea with the award-winning Princess Luxury Bed and
more.
Two new Royal-class ships are currently on order with the next
new ship under construction, Enchanted Princess, scheduled for
delivery in June 2020 followed by
Discovery Princess in November 2021.
Princess previously announced that two new (LNG) ships which will
be the largest ships in the Princess fleet, accommodating
approximately 4,300 guests are planned for delivery in 2023 and
2025. Princess now has four ships arriving over the next five
years between 2020 and 2025. The company is part of Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:CUK).
SES
SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing
experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality
video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world.
As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES
operates the world's only multi-orbit constellation of satellites
with the unique combination of global coverage and high
performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium
Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent,
cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality
connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and
is a trusted partner to the world's leading telecommunications
companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and
cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform
operators and content owners. SES's video network carries over
8,200 channels and has an unparalleled reach of over 355 million
households, delivering managed media services for both linear and
non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG).
Further information is available at: www.ses.com.
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SOURCE Princess Cruises