Stay Connected on Oasis of the Seas

During the pre-inaugural activities aboard the Oasis of the Seas, mention was made of an upcoming feature to help families and friends stay connected aboard. Finally, the service is available!

Called Royal Connect, in partnership with DeFi, and using specially modified iPhones which can be rented onboard, cruisers can now electronically view the daily Cruise Compass, instant message friends or family onboard, dial shipboard phone numbers, and perhaps most importantly, find those with whom they are traveling. While the Oasis is brilliantly designed for easy navigation onboard, it's still huge, and tracking down someone to have lunch together can be a challenge. Royal Connect will make that much easier.

Utilizing over 1,000 WiFi hot spots onboard, the service is billed to have "bow to stern" connectivity throughout the ship.

“Royal Connect powered by DeFi marks the debut of our revolutionary technology, and what better way to launch such a software solution than on the world’s most revolutionary cruise ship,” said Dave Thomas President of DeFi “Royal Connect helps guests stay on top of activities and keep-up with family and friends onboard. We also custom designed this innovative suite of software to be flexible, so that more services can be added in the future.”

DeFi ‘s custom-designed FUNfinder navigation technology enables the Royal Connect device to display the onboard locations of other Royal Connect devices, with the consent of each device’s respective owners. Parents also can choose to fit their children under the age of 12 with an identification wristband that is integrated with a Wi-Fi locator chip, linked to the parents’ Royal Connect device. With the location-enabled identification wristband, kids can enjoy their cruise vacation throughout the ship while parents have peace-of-mind by knowing the location of their children.

Yes, there is a charge for this service. Each unit is rented for a cost of $17.50/week, first come, first served. And unfortunately no, you can't just use your own iPhone to do the same... not without onboard connection fees which likely would cost far more than the $17.50 charge for Royal Connect.

If you're looking forward to the amazing features onboard the Oasis of the Seas, but have nightmares about trying to locate your loved ones, Royal Connect is just the ticket for you!