Cruise Line Quietly Tests Airport-Style Self-Check-In on 3,300-Passenger Ship

Using facial recognition, photo IDs, and RFID-encoded boarding passes, cruise passengers at the Cruise Center Hamburg-Steinwerder were able to test out a new pilot program using digital self check-in for the first time.

A 3,300-passenger ship just got back to Germany from an 11-day sailing to Norway, and the next group of passengers is getting to test out the new pilot program.

Guests sailing on AIDAprima were able to use 20 digital terminals to try out the new process today (July 23), although a check-in counter was still accessible.

How It All Works

Airports have already been doing this for a while now, so most travelers are somewhat familiar with the concept of using a digital display to check in.

But for cruise ships, there’s a little more involved.

The check-in terminals scanned the guests’ photo IDs and used facial recognition tech to make sure a live photo of the guests and their ID photos matched. The photo taken at the digital terminals will then be used for the duration of the sailing.

Boarding passes were equipped with RFID technology and were used for payment onboard in addition to access to cabins. During this check-in process, that payment functionality was also set up.

AIDA Cruises said in a press release that they developed this system together with Lufthansa Industry Solutions, and it took two years to get it the way they wanted. A few tweaks had to be made in adapting the made-for-airport solution to do everything a cruise terminal needed it to do.

What’s the Benefit?

Mainly, shorter lines. It also means that you don’t need as many staff working at the terminal to check everyone in. With 20 digital terminals being used at the same time, it speeds up the entire process and gets cruisers onto the ship faster.

And of course, for those who still want to deal with a person at the counter, that option isn’t going away. Some guests have questions and would rather deal with a person, and AIDA Cruises said that optionality is important.

As this is still a pilot program, we expect to see some adjustments before entire fleets are relying on this kind of check-in process, and the cruise line is sure to be watching passenger feedback closely.

AIDAprima is scheduled to depart the Hamburg cruise port today on a 10-night roundtrip sailing to Norway.