Smooth Sailing

The schedule of activities aboard a cruise ship can be overwhelming. Taking over Julie McCoy's cruise director duties on three Carnival Cruise Lines vessels (Miracle, Valor, and Liberty) is a line of interactive digital signage solutions. Through touchscreen kiosks comprising a 42in. NEC 42VP4 plasma screen, Calgary, Alberta-based Smart Technologies' Actalyst systems provide access to information about deck plans, onboard events, meal times, shipboard staff, shore tours, and port of call information. On average, there are four kiosks per vessel, and each vessel can accommodate between 2,124 and 2,974 guests.

Content is updated regularly and in realtime by Carnival Cruise Line Video Services staff, who also installed the system, while guests simply touch the kiosk's interactive surface to retrieve information at any time. Users touch the display surface to access and control any multimedia content, computer application, website, CD-ROM, or DVD. Actalyst can be used in conjunction with plasma or LCD panels.