Carnival Corporation announced that when Ocean Medallion makes its debut on Regal Princess in mid-November, the new wearable technology will be available only to a limited number of passengers.
That is a change from the initial plan to introduce the personalization technology to the whole cruise ship.
Ocean Medallion is an electronic disc interacting with thousands of sensors that are retrofitted to the vessel, allowing guests that use it to pay for merchandise, open cabin doors, play interactive games or ask for delivery of items like drinks anywhere onboard. The disc can be worn as a pendant or in a wristband.
According to Carnival spokeswoman Claire West the Ocean Medallion systems and framework will be activated in phases "to ensure a successful implementation that results in experience excellence."
"This approach will allow us to receive continuous feedback from a controlled number of guests and crew while the ship is in service," West said.
The preview period will run into spring 2018 and Ocean Medallion features aboard Regal Princess will be activated via adding groups of cabins in phases versus activating the whole ship at one time.