Princess@Sea App is Now an Acquia Engage Award Winner

(Source: Travel Pulse)

After first demoing the app and speaking directly with Nate Craddock, project lead for guest experience applications, it’s a treat to see that Princess Cruises’ ace Princess@Sea mobile app has recently won a well deserved 2016 Acquia Engage Award.

As an application built on the Acquia Drupal platform, the award recognizes the company for creating an exceptional Digital Experience using the open-source format. The multilingual app is available for free and functions as a digital version of the cruise line’s Princess Patter daily guide at its core. It also features an account portfolio display, itinerary and port info, dining menus, deck plans and, on select ships, a complimentary messenger function for individual and group texting.

Altogether, there were over 150 submissions from which 88 finalists were chosen, and the Princess app was a winner decided by Drupal and web communities.

“We’re honored Princess@Sea has been recognized by Acquia with an Engage Award in the Digital Experience category,” said Mario Siebaldi, senior vice president of guest operations for Princess Cruises. “Our goal is to always offer innovative and easy-to-use solutions that improve our guests overall cruise vacation. The technology behind Princess@Sea offers an exceptional digital experience and we’re proud of the teamwork and dedication that went into developing this innovative offering.”

From my own personal experience using the app, I can attest that it is indeed user-friendly and marks one of the best cruise line endeavors for digitizing and bettering the guest experience, one that is a model that more should mimic. Passengers need only join the ship’s Wi-Fi network and open a browser on any computer, tablet or smartphone. The default page that appears is the app that is conveniently available in Airplane Mode without the need for any cellular data nor the purchase of an internet plan onboard.

“Acquia’s partners and customers are working tirelessly to raise the bar and drive the future of digital. Together we’re helping organizations develop elegant solutions that inspire and engage audiences and drive significant value for their businesses,” said Joe Wykes, senior vice president of global channels & eCommerce at Acquia. “This year’s honorees are working closely with Acquia to not only execute on today’s opportunities, but to also lay the groundwork for success in the world of tomorrow. The breadth of submissions was inspiring, and continues to affirm that Acquia partners and customers are setting the new precedent for exceptional digital experiences.”