“The return to service has been huge and our technology enables cruise lines to make the experience frictionless, allowing guests to board as fast as possible,” said Babak Aghevli, Chief Technology Officer at DeCurtis.

Providing a number of technology solutions for ships, DeCurtis is an expert at proximity- and location-based technology (see above examples), and is seeing its Embarkation Suite package used to get guests on the ship quickly.

Onboard, DeCurtis is behind everything from muster drills to security and various room service and drink ordering capabilities that deliver to guests where they are; and has even integrated systems to allow guests to turn off and on lights from an app and close curtains, for instance. Along the way DeCurtis has developed its software to integrate and talk to reservation systems, onboard property management and much more.

Friction Points

Aghevli said wasting time in lines was a friction point, and now passengers can turn that idle time into something positive.

The Embarkation Suite can be deployed quickly without major hardware rollout, he said.       

“In the past there would be thousands of people standing in a line ready to check in. Now our technology is helping cruise lines clear them in advance. They can verify you have your passport, and send you on your way to the gangway.”

‘Operational Efficiencies’

Beyond providing the experience platform aboard, DeCurtis has concentrated on helping its customers improve operational efficiencies, Aghevli said.

“It helps the ship to properly position the crew depending on what the demand is,” he said, noting the ability to do virtual queues for the guest services desk, for example.

“It can also help manage the crew base. If there are 50 people at the bar and one bartender, some of our capabilities can help allocate resources.”

Many of these innovations come down to the company’s propriety location-traction system. While some lines have struggled with onboard way-finding and location-based services, Aghevli has a different philosophy with unique propriety technology.

Working in a shipboard environment, he said careful attention has been paid to data usage, making sure to send back information shoreside when it makes sense.

“It has been an interesting challenge to handle,” he said. “We have to be careful to design an app that can run on the ship, collect data and pass to shore at reasonable times.”

The company has a suite of modules that run on its platform that can be deployed quickly. It can also enhance modules or evolve new ones for cruise lines which it has done over the years with Aghevli noting event management and youth programming modules that have been developed. 

 “At this stage, we are not really a company that expects to have 200 customers. We expect to have a smaller number of very deep relationships that render mutually beneficial results,” he said. “We are a tight-knit group of people working together dealing with large conglomerates and working with one another very closely.”