Cruise Line Simplifies Collaboration, Improves Guest Experience

Customer Case Study

Carnival Cruise Lines guests enjoy wireless Internet access throughout the ship, and crew members collaborate with voice over Wi-Fi. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES ● Hospitality ● Miami, Florida ● 33,500 Employees CHALLENGE ● Differentiate guest experience ● Increase operational efficiency of highly mobile employees ● Minimize equipment space and power requirements SOLUTION ● Built Cisco Unified Wireless Network that passengers and crew can use for paid Internet access from anywhere aboard ship ● Provided crew with Cisco Unified Wireless IP Phones 7925G and 7921G, and loaned them to parents of children in Camp Carnival RESULTS ● Delighted guests by providing pervasive Internet access ● Increased Internet access revenues by at least 15 percent ● Improved operational efficiency for processes ranging from food replenishment to equipment repairs

Challenge

Carnival Cruise Lines is the largest cruise line in the world based on passengers carried (3.8 million in 2009), and is the flagship brand of Carnival Corporation & plc. The newest member of its 22-ship fleet is the Carnival Dream, which entered into service in September 2009. Vacationers increasingly bring along their Wi-Fi-enabled laptops and smartphones for business or entertainment, and cruise lines have responded by providing fee-based Internet cafes and limited wireless hotspots. But passengers and crew have to make a special trip to the hotspots to connect, discouraging use and decreasing revenue. To differentiate its passenger experience, Carnival Cruise Lines decided to provide wireless Internet access from any location on the ship, including cabins, upper decks, and swimming pool areas. “Our primary motivation for providing pervasive wireless access was to provide a better guest experience,” says Tom McCormick, manager of voice and network engineering, Carnival Cruise Lines. “Then we realized that we could take advantage of the same network investment to provide wireless...