Not much had changed for passengers since the RMS Titanic of the same company met its tragic end.

 

I was a 16-year-old rookie sailor when I joined my first ship, the RMS Titannic, the last of the White Star Liners. Not much has changed for the passengers since the RMS Titanic of the same company reached its wrong conclusion. Progress was slow at the time. The Britannic ended its Atlantic crossing in a few weeks sailing through Mediterranean ports. Most of our townships full of Costa people would have been fishing grounds at the time.

Progress has not been surprising since then. To be honest, I prefer the old ways but I can't stop the progress. When the passengers entered the ocean greyhounds there was a long and tedious process of registering and boarding to be completed long before anyone was shown their cabin.

Now let's book a cruise on the latest Royal Caribbean International cruise liner, Quantum of the Seas. What comparisons can be made between the two? The RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Britannic was just over 700 feet tall and weighed just over 27,000 tons. The RCCL Quantum Class lines are twice as long and 168,000 amazing tons seven times the weight of the White Star liner.

Best not to think about the many hours it took to finally get back the luggage and reach the personal wardrobe of yesterday's super liner. Today, the RCCL promises its 4,000 passengers that their luggage will be packed and they will be in their cupboards within 10 minutes upon arrival. Airports are alert. There will be no drilling in the ship. You go online. There are no joining lines and you will not have to wait in a long line to check your ID, fill out paperwork and collect your stateroom keys. You take a photo of yourself, upload it to an online website, fill in your passport details and print your boarding pass. Show this security and proceed to your stateroom.

You have your hotel type card key but you also get a WOWband Wristband. It covers all your needs including on-board shopping. It is waterproof so wear it when spraying in any of the many liner pools and hot tubs. There is no escape from the office or Facebook. The liner uses a new type of satellite nearby. Internet access is guaranteed wherever you are on board; no dead spots.

The crew is armed with pills, not the kind you get from a painkiller but hand-held computers that take care of every need. The Royal iQ app and Android device allow you to schedule, change schedules like spa appointments, dinner reservations, beach trips etc. Cabinets with USB charging holes.

There are 45 iQ channels that work with your WOWband. These cover everything and everyone, including your board friends. The liners also have two robotic bartenders. Use your tablet to order cocktails, these are mixed and delivered by robots. Suddenly the ride with the RMS Titanic looks very attractive.