Listen Technologies, a provider of assistive listening, multi-language audio transmission and live-streaming audio solutions, has announced that Royal Caribbean International has installed its award-winning audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening system on the new Icon of the Seas cruise ship.
Guests on board the first Icon class ship can enjoy a better listening experience thanks to the firm’s technology. Royal Caribbean International, a division of the Royal Caribbean Group, is one of the top cruise lines worldwide. With 64 ships in its global fleet, the Group visits about 1,000 locations worldwide. The corporation intends to equip its fleet of ships with Listen Technologies’ audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening system.
With the design of Icon of the Seas, the company hopes to provide every type of family and explorer with their own unique take on the ideal getaway. In order to improve passengers’ cruise experiences in onboard venues, Royal Caribbean looked for an easy-to-use assistive listening solution that allowed customers to use their own devices.
Straightforward assistive listening
Listen Technologies’ audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening solution, Listen EVERYWHERE, enables users to stream venue audio to their smartphones and other smart devices. When visiting locations on Icon of the Seas that provide Listen EVERYWHERE, guests can download the free Listen EVERYWHERE app, access the ship’s Wi-Fi network, stream ship audio to their smartphones, and listen to clear audio with headphones or earbuds.
Travellers who have cochlear implants or hearing aids with Bluetooth capability can stream audio straight from their smartphones to these devices. Not only can the Listen Technologies system be used by visitors with hearing loss, but any visitor in an onboard venue that offers the solution can download the app and use audio as needed. Speech intelligibility is improved with Listen EVERYWHERE because audio is streamed straight from the source (a speaker, microphone, or TV) without amplifying noise.
Listen EVERYWHERE is available to Icon of the Seas guests in the ship’s main theater, Royal Theater.
More applications
Some of the applications for audio via Wi-Fi systems are assistive listening, language interpretation, streaming audio from TV or video screens, and audio description. Royal Caribbean guests, for instance, can use their smartphone to access the audio for different screens in many languages when they visit an onboard sports bar that has an audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening system.
When audio via Wi-Fi is enabled for aboard silent dance parties, guests can choose music from various DJ channels and listen using headphones or earbuds.
The Listen EVERYWHERE system provides high-quality, low-latency sound and is simple for venues to install on their current Wi-Fi network. Visitors can clearly hear the audio provided by the venue by using their smartphones, despite hearing impairments, distance, background noise, or language barriers. Audio is available anywhere there is a wireless network at the location.
“Royal Caribbean is renowned for providing outstanding guest experiences with the latest technologies and services that raise the bar on travel and offer next-level vacations,” says Kasey Kaumans, regional sales manager at Listen Technologies. “Listen Technologies is proud to have Royal Caribbean select our audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening solution to offer guests exceptional hearing and engagement experiences onboard its ships.”
Listen Technologies also recently announced that it has partnered with Ampetronic, a world-leading provider of audio induction loop systems, to create a single, market-leading source for innovative audio solutions.
