The Queen Mary 2 and Partner

The Queen Mary 2 (QM2) is the largest and most expensive cruise ship ever built. It includes five swimming pools, a planetarium, a two-story theater that seats 1,000, a casino, a gym, luxurious kennels, a nursery staffed with British nannies, and the largest ballroom, library and wine collection at sea. Of all its amenities, the one considered most valuable to the crew and management and key to the functioning of the vessel is the integrated network and information system accessible in every cabin.

The $800 million QM2, constructed in the shipyard at Chantiers del’ Atlantique, France, and owned by Miami- based Cunard Line Ltd., made her maiden voyage in early 2004. Passengers in each of her 1,310 cabins had access to digital entertainment such as on-demand movies and interactive television. Each cabin is also wired with Internet access and network services. For example, passengers use the network to make shore excursion reservations and dinner plans.

Upon checking in, passengers are presented with a plastic bar-coded card. The card is used while on board to make purchases, which are then billed to the customer’s account. It is also swiped as guests leave and return to the ship to track passenger location. The ship’s massive data network brings order where there once was chaos. Ship managers can run reports showing which passengers are on board, how many will be attending the morning exercise class, and which entrée was most popular at last night’s dinner. The network and database are backed up by redundant systems that automatically take over if the primary system fails.

The information system, called the Ship Partner, is used to track security, billing, telephone service, onboard television, and other operations. It was designed by Discovery Travel Systems LP (DTS). John Broughan, president of DTS, says that the IT needs of cruise ship operators differ from those of typical hotel property management companies, so specialized systems had to be created to better serve cruise companies.

The Queen Mary 2 provides yet another example of how information systems assist with management functions, providing valuable information and offering services to customers.

Critical Thinking Question:

1. What conveniences does The Ship Partner information system provide to passengers of the Queen Mary 2? What entertainment services could be made available to passengers through this digital network?

- The Queen Mary 2 (QM2) has the one of the finest and elegant cruise ship built. Their partner The Sip Partner’s information system provide the passengers of the Queen Mary 2 like the following:

• On-demand movies and interactive television.

• Each cabin is also wired with Internet access and network services. For example, passengers use the network to make shore excursion reservations and dinner plans.

• Upon checking in, passengers are presented with a plastic bar-coded card. The card is used while on board to make purchases, which are then billed to the customer’s account. It is also swiped as guests leave and return to the ship to track passenger location.

2. How does The Ship Partner information system assist ship managers with their duties and responsibilities?

- The Ship Partner information system assist ship managers with their duties and responsibilities on their client nice and artistic in such a way by running a reports that shows which passengers are on board, how many will be attending the morning exercise class, and which entrée was most popular at last night’s dinner.

3. How does The Ship Partner information system assist Cunard in competing in the travel industry? What other travel & leisure industries would benefit from a system like The Ship Partner?

- The Ship Partner information system assists Cunard in competing in the travel industry in many ways and theirs assistance is nice by allowing the passengers to experience an extremely comfortable travel by the sea. Providing a digital network in every cabin can attract customers to join the expedition of the Queen Mary 2. The other travel and leisure industries would benefit from a system like The Ship Partner is like the other shipping company like the Carnival Freedom Cruise Ship because they are also a cruise ship and its ok to copy their system because they gain a lot form it.

4. Why is it important for the Ship Partner to have a backup system? How would a system wide failure affect the functioning of the ship?

- It is important for the Ship Partner to have backup system since it is not predicted when will be the system crashes and if they will not use backup system, their important data will be loss and it can affect a bad shot to their clients. A system wide failure affect the functioning of the ship like the customers cannot be track what they do while they were in ship, some cannot process their transactions normally and it will affect the profit of the company.