This blog is part of a special series featuring Amadeus customers who are leading the way in digital transformation in travel. By harnessing transformational technology, these organizations are reimagining how travel works, creating more intuitive, personalized, and seamless experiences for travelers.
MSC Miami Cruise Terminal is North America’s largest and one of the world’s most advanced cruise terminals. The facility spans nearly 500,000 square feet with capacity to serve three next generation cruise ships and 36,000 guests daily. The project represents a significant investment for MSC and is the home port for our newest ship, MSC World America. When conceiving the terminal, we didn’t want it to simply be bigger. We wanted to completely reimagine the embarkation experience.
While the cruise industry is known for delivering exciting and memorable experiences for guests, there is still a significant opportunity to enhance check-in and embarkation process in the maritime sector. Most processes across the industry are manual. Guests must typically check-in at a desk, bags are tagged manually, and guests must present their passports to agents multiple times for identity verification. As in the aviation sector, which has embraced self-service and standardized technology, the cruise industry has the opportunity to provide a more seamless and stress-free embarkation experience.
At the MSC Miami Cruise Terminal at PortMiami, we set out to completely transform the embarkation process with cruise industry’s first end-to-end biometric experience, providing a more seamless experience for guests at every step.
Our guests can check-in remotely from home or any other location using our MSC For Me app or web check-in. Guests can enroll for biometrics from the comfort of their sofa. We have equipped the MSC Miami Cruise Terminal PortMiami with 18 biometric automated totems and 20 manual desks so guests can enroll for biometrics when checking in at the terminal if they prefer.
Once guests have enrolled, a secure 1:1 biometric process occurs to match the passenger’s facial scan to their passport. This secures their eligibility to travel and demonstrates proof of possession of their passport. From this point onwards, it’s smooth sailing and passengers can embark and disembark the ship simply by showing their face at one of the MSC Miami Cruise Terminal’s 20 Seamless Gates.
For guests the experience is fast and simple, but behind the scenes, collaboration between several stakeholders is needed and Amadeus’ Seamless Journey platform helps us to securely orchestrate this collaboration.
Firstly, the platform ensures that each guest’s consent for biometrics and eligibility to travel are conveyed from passenger touchpoints to our own passenger management system. Secondly, encrypted connectivity to the Customs & Border Protection Agency’s Traveler Verification Services (TVS) means CBP can perform its own biometric match to meet US Entry & Exit requirements. Therefore, we take care of both our own obligations and support CBP and the Port Authority to undertake their checks, with minimal impact for guests.
The new process has reduced embarkation time by 50% at MSC Miami Cruise Terminal compared to other terminals, a significant achievement that means guests can begin enjoying their cruise even sooner.
We set out on this groundbreaking project to redefine the terminal experience with our guests in mind, to create a seamless experience that enables guests to begin their holiday stress-free in the terminal. To bring the project to life has required dedication and carefully coordinated work from all parties involved.
After five years of collaboration with Amadeus we have created a system that’s scalable globally. We are now actively assessing where else in the world we can apply this new approach to ensure MSC Cruises remains at the forefront by offering the industry’s most advanced guest experience.
MSC Cruises and Amadeus partnered to reimagine the entire guest journey at MSC Miami Cruise Terminal, from embarkation to disembarkation. Powered by biometric identity verification, travelers now enjoy faster boarding with reduced wait times and a more seamless passenger experience.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the privately-owned MSC Cruises is the world’s third largest cruise line and the market leader in Europe with a strong and growing presence in North America.
A global cruise brand with 23 modern ships offering cruises across five continents, guests can visit more than 100 countries worldwide with more than 300 destinations, making unforgettable memories and enjoying the finest hospitality.
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