Cruise Ship’s 80-Inch ‘Virtual Balconies’ Livestream the High Seas

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/02/virtual-balcony-royal-caribbean/

by cpncrunch • 12 years ago

29 42 12 years ago

CaveTech• 12 years ago

I love how luxurious the rooms look in the promo pics.

Having been on several cruise ships, someone who could opt for a room that size could've easily purchased a room with a window.

elwell2• 12 years ago

At first, I thought: "oh that's cool!" Then, I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach and realized the future will be mostly virtual. Some broad questions this made me think of; not necessarily related to this article in particular: What are the consequences of lying/tricking ourselves? Why (attempt to) mimic nature? Will we live in a 'fake' world in the future?

Not novel questions, of course, but this article explains a recent manifestation and progression towards that dystopia.

habosa• 12 years ago

I had the exact same reaction. Sad to think that a "getaway" could be spent in front of a screen depicting what you came to see.

prawn2• 12 years ago

I don't think people spend a lot of time in their cabins on a cruise. This might just be a small enhancement and selling point.

mehwoot• 12 years ago

Well clearly people go on cruises for reasons other than staring at the ocean from their room, else no cruise ship would have ever been designed with cabins without a view.

lpolovets• 12 years ago

There's an interesting philosophical question here: what is the difference between seeing something in person, or watching it from inside your stateroom on a retina screen that mimics exactly what you would see if you were outside?

I agree with you that seeing things on the TV screen seems much less meaningful, but I have a hard time explaining why.

girvo2• 12 years ago

Easy answer: "a sense of depth" -- but then, retina 3D screens sans glasses... now there's an interesting thought!

roywiggins• 12 years ago

You can't feel, smell, or touch anything, for one. The dynamic range of the display won't match what you would see outside, either.

jevinskie• 12 years ago

Simply knowing the truth that the experience is "fake" is enough to ruin the illusion.

gpcz• 12 years ago

How do you define virtual? Is it limited only to simulations, or is it for any attempt to mimic nature? For example, organic compounds used to be considered impossible to synthesize due to a "vital force" until Wohler synthesized urea from inorganic compounds. Is organic chemistry the study of "fake" organic compounds?

girvo2• 12 years ago

Unfortunately, a lot (most?) people do indeed see that as "fake" "chemicals"... that, I'll never understand.

arrrg• 12 years ago

I don’t think this is anything special. It’s just fancy room decoration. Better than a painting of the outside. (Well, depending on the quality of the painting, I guess. But I guess you won’t find any good ones in cheap cruise ship rooms.)

It’s not lying, it’s not dystopian, it’s nothing of that kind at all. When they board up actual windows with screens, then you can start complaining. Before? Not really, no. That’s completely ridiculous.

Those rooms didn’t have a view of the outside before. Now they have one. It’s in many ways imperfect but (depending on the implementation) better than nothing. (I guess their cameras could be awful, noisy and low-res, the screens could be awful, so in practice it might just be a kitschy room decoration, but I was assuming the best-case scenario.)

The ridiculous elevation of all things “real” is frankly one of those disgusting status games the rich and privileged like to play. Travelling to faraway places is probably in most cases a better experience than seeing images of that place on a screen (depending on what you actually do) but not everyone is privileged to be able to do that. Screens make our world smaller and more accessible for more people. That’s great, not dystopian.

korussian• 12 years ago

If it turns out our entire universe is a simulation anyway, then what's the difference? The cruise ships walls are a simulation of a simulation, and our memories of them after returning home are a simulation of a simulation of a simulation. Nihil Sanctisne?

prawn2• 12 years ago

I could see us living in houses where the view outside was simulated (mountainscape, seascape, etc) because the same view might get boring or be prohibitively expensive. If retina implants or Rift-style goggles go the distance, we might live in stark houses that are virtually decorated.

We might experience virtual travel as much as we do real travel, and do it without crowds, without heat and distance.

If the experience is accurate enough, I think our bodies and brains could be confused enough to derive more from it than we lose.

Tloewald2• 12 years ago

How about take the money you'd have spent on the cruise, and install an 80" TV in your room and a nice high def video of the ocean. For bonus points, buy a water bed.

Crito• 12 years ago

Well, I've never been on one, but I think the idea of a cruise with a room like that is that you don't spend all of your time in the room. The main attraction is really the rest of the ship.

joezydeco2• 12 years ago

This is precisely correct, but cruise lines have figured out that they can upsell passengers by showing them larger rooms with balconies and windows. Why not splurge - you're on vacation, right?

aestra• 12 years ago

A cruise can be had for cheap (vacation-wise), comes with food, a destination and you aren't spending all your time in your room.

Tloewald2• 12 years ago

Right, whereas your home is a prison from which there is no escape...?

shenoybr• 12 years ago

I don't get it. Why do you have to go out to sea if you are going to experience it virtually anyway? Couldn't you just have it on land in a room that also moves based on the waves you see out of the virtual window?

milesokeefe2• 12 years ago

It's just for the time you spend in your room. You don't spend the entire cruise in your room.

pairing• 12 years ago

I've been on a couple of cruises and I've always booked the interior cheapest rooms. I think this a cool feature and the mockup looks terrific but I don't think I'd find value in purchasing this upgrade. At least for me, the cruise ship room serves as a changing room & a place to sleep as I'm preoccupied enjoying all the activities they offer outside of my room.

The_Fox• 12 years ago

the displays are mounted in the staterooms on either the north or south wall

Wait, what?

joezydeco2• 12 years ago

Author must have thought that was more readable by the layperson than "fore-facing" and "aft-facing"

discardorama• 12 years ago

Net step: get rid of the cruise ship altogether; just roll the cabin sideways back and forth, while streaming in video from a ship on the seas far away. Give a discount for this "cruise ship experience" ...

chenster• 12 years ago

But...it's not real.

cpncrunch• 12 years ago

It's probably just as good as having a window. You get the same view as you would from a window, and you can't open the windows anyway. I can think of a few advantages: first, there is no danger that your window will get smashed in a storm (probably highly unlikely, but it might be a worry for some people). Also I assume that the boat rocks less if you are in an inner stateroom, so it might be better for people who suffer from seasickness.

greglindahl• 12 years ago

Ships are pretty solid. Note in the article that they mentioned using a camera pointed in the correct direction -- or else it will be noticeably odd that the image isn't moving like your ear says the ship does.

Encosia2• 12 years ago

Might as well stay at home then, buy an 80" TV for what the cruise (plus overpriced drinks) costs, and skip the Norovirus...

milesokeefe2• 12 years ago

Please link me to the 80" $500 TV you speak of.

Encosia2• 12 years ago

You're right, I exaggerated a bit much there.

You really could get a good 60-70" 1080 display for what a cruise really ends up costing for a couple people after the bilk you for all of the things that aren't part of the all inclusive package though.

eric_the_read• 12 years ago

Disney's newer ships (the Dream and the Fantasy) have something similar- a virtual porthole on the inside staterooms that shows a view of the outside. Being Disney, they went one better: Disney characters will show up on the screen as well (the house from Up will float by, Ariel could pop up and wave, etc.) Apparently, these inside staterooms are so popular, they are actually commanding a price premium on some sailings.

nitrogen• 12 years ago

The disappointing thing is that they can't be used to watch videos: "And before you ask: yes, you can turn the screens off, and no, you can’t use them to stream Netflix."

epicureanideal• 12 years ago

I wouldn't mind putting some of these in an office to increase my productivity. Maybe even in my home. It would be nice to always have a beautiful, sunny view even when I'm coding at 2am.

clintboxe• 12 years ago

Lol, my first job out of college was as a DBA for a large US-based cruise company. I would go out to the ships to work on the databases used to maintain engine maintenance records. They would put me up in unsold rooms. One time all the rooms were sold so I was basically in a closet down the hall from the MORGUE. Where was my bigscreen, WHERE WAS MY BIGSCREEN~! :)

lutusp• 12 years ago

The next phase will be a virtual cruise, in which you pay thousands of dollars and go for a virtual ocean voyage from the comfort of your home theater. No seasickness, no virus infections, no piracy.

Luc• 12 years ago

There was something like this on Norwegian TV, a live broadcast documentary lasting 134 hours:

http://www.hurtigruten.us/repository/MARKET-SPECIFIC-PRODUCT...

Cruise Ship’s 80-Inch ‘Virtual Balconies’ Livestream the High Seas

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