AI in the Cruise Industry 2025 | How Artificial Intelligence Is Quietly Reshaping the Future of Operations, Guest Experience & Crew Sustainability
- NFC - Nuno Fonseca Consulting
- Dec 3, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 18, 2025
AI in the Cruise Industry 2025: Edition 6 of My Newsletter is Now Live
In this edition, I’m diving deeper into how AI is transforming operations, maintenance, and crew support across major cruise lines — including verified, publicly confirmed initiatives from Royal Caribbean Group, Carnival Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises.
Want to know more? Visit my Homepage to find out how! Home
A Sneak Peek into My New AI Project
And for the first time, I’m sharing a discreet glimpse into a project I’ve been developing behind the scenes, now finalized. An AI-supported operational framework designed specifically for onboard environments.
By Nuno Fonseca – NFC - Nuno Fonseca Consulting | The only global consulting practice specialized in Onboard Cruise Sales.
Introduction — Why AI Matters Now
In Edition #5, we explored the global crew hiring challenge — shortages, readiness gaps, attrition, and rising expectations across all shipboard functions.
Since then, I’ve received several DMs from executives asking the same question:
“Can AI meaningfully support cruise operations without replacing the human core of the industry?”
This edition answers that. AI isn’t here to change what cruising is — but to change how smoothly the ecosystem around it operates. And for the first time, we have real, validated industry examples showing where AI is truly moving the needle. Expertise & Services
1️⃣ What’s Real: Verified AI Deployments in the Cruise Industry
Carnival Cruise Line
Experimental yet Strategic AI Deployment - Carnival has publicly disclosed that it’s running over 100 generative-AI pilot projects, of which only six have moved into production as of late 2025.
The company has set up an AI governance board to evaluate use cases, approve deployments, and ensure controlled scaling.
Among the pilot initiatives: AI-powered tools for travel agents to assist guest planning and booking, and onboard guest-service tools (e.g., wine-pairing recommendation systems) aimed at improving personalization.
Sources: Fortune, Carnival official statements
Insight: Carnival’s approach is methodical, measured, and strategic — showing that AI adoption in cruising is real, but not rushed.
Royal Caribbean Group
Verified AI & Digital Integration - Royal Caribbean publicly confirmed that in 2024 it expanded digital and AI-enhanced capabilities across its distribution channels and guest-journey workflows, leading to a reduction in booking time by half.
The company reported that its updated in-app chat, which leverages AI enhancements, increased guest adoption by 35% and contributed to a 20% decrease in onboard customer service queue times.
On the sustainability side, Royal Caribbean committed to a 50% food-waste reduction by 2025 and disclosed the use of AI-based systems to monitor and adjust food production in real time as part of its waste-management strategy.
Sources: CEO Jason Liberty Q4-2024 earnings call, company press releases
Insight: These confirmed actions show Royal Caribbean is actively leveraging digital and AI tools to improve guest experience, streamline operations, and support sustainability — treating AI as a tool to support people and processes, not as a replacement for them.
MSC Cruises
MSC publicly unveiled ZOE as a “voice-enabled artificial intelligence” digital assistant for guests. ZOE can understand seven languages, answer hundreds of questions about the cruise, provide information about onboard services, and help guests book services.
The official launch was aboard MSC Bellissima. MSC said ZOE would then be rolled out on subsequent new ships.
MSC states ZOE is part of its broader digital guest-experience platform MSC for Me, which aims to provide guests with a connected, personalized cruise experience.
Sources: MSC press releases, Cruise Industry News
Insight: MSC Cruises is the first cruise line to roll out a publicly acknowledged AI-powered personal assistant for guests — a concrete example of AI integration into guest services.
2️⃣ Where AI Is Delivering Value Today
✔ Guest Personalization
AI provides smarter recommendations for dining, activities, excursions, and itineraries.
✔ Operational Intelligence
AI enhances forecasting for supplies, energy, and food — reducing costs and waste.
✔ Predictive Maintenance
AI models catch equipment issues early, improving uptime and safety margins.
✔ Crew Scheduling & Workforce Optimization
AI helps match staffing to demand patterns with less administrative burden.
✔ Real-Time Analytics
AI enables faster, clearer operational decision-making during voyages.
AI reduces friction. It stabilizes complexity — but never replaces it.
3️⃣ What AI Cannot Solve Today
❌ Not all pilots scale
Carnival’s ratio (100+ pilots → 6 in production) highlights that only a small number of pilots have progressed to full-scale deployment, with many still under evaluation.
❌ Data fragmentation
Cruise ship systems remain diverse and disconnected, limiting AI accuracy and integration.
❌ Human judgment is irreplaceable
Hospitality, situational awareness, emotional intelligence, and safety responses — AI cannot emulate these.
❌ Information can fall through the cracks
Even the best AI systems can misinterpret context that experienced crew detect instantly.
Conclusion:
AI is a tool, not a replacement. When used well, it amplifies people, not substitutes them.
Explore how NFC can help your cruise business apply these AI insights with a tailored strategy session! Contact
4️⃣ Impact on Crew, HR & the Human Side of Operations
Area AI Impact Considerations
Recruitment: Faster screening & compliance checks. Ensure fairness & guard against algorithmic bias.
Onboarding: Automated documentation & training prep. Still requires human mentoring.
Scheduling: Better alignment of staffing to demand. Avoid over-monitoring or pressure.
Adaptive training based on performance: Must preserve the human culture of coaching crew.
Well-Being: Reduced admin load. Must not introduce surveillance stress.
AI does not solve the crew shortage. But it helps the ecosystem support the people who remain.
5️⃣ Industry Leaders Are Dividing Into Three Camps
Fast Adopters (e.g., Royal Caribbean, MSC)
Royal Caribbean: Integrating AI across commercial and operational workflows — booking, guest interactions, food-waste reduction.
MSC: Deploying ZOE, a multilingual AI voice assistant in staterooms as part of MSC for Me; part of a broader digital guest-experience platform.
Strategic Experimentalists (e.g., Carnival)
Carnival: Running over 100 generative-AI pilots, with only six progressing to full-scale deployment; internal governance ensures pilots with measurable value are scaled.
Cautious Followers
Focusing on publicly acknowledged initiatives such as:
Biometrics and guest personalization
Terminal and operational efficiency
Predictive maintenance
Data consolidation and workflow automation
The competitive gap is widening — AI maturity will increasingly define operational advantage by 2027–2028.
6️⃣ Final Thoughts — The AI Inflection Point
AI is no longer an abstract concept in cruising. It’s becoming a foundational capability that supports:
Smarter decision-making
Better guest experiences
More sustainable operations
Reduced strain on crew and leadership teams
But success requires a grounded vision:
Technology must enhance humanity, not overshadow it.
Cruising is and will remain a human experience delivered by real people with real expertise, care, and emotional intelligence.
7️⃣ A Personal Note — My Work in AI & Onboard Operations
Over the past year, I’ve been developing a fully adaptable framework for AI-supported onboard operations — a project designed to enhance workflow, support crew, and intelligently connect operational systems without adding complexity. The architectural work is now complete, and while I keep details intentionally high-level here, I can share that it integrates:
Secure cloud-based logic
Real-time operational connectivity
Intelligent crew-facing interfaces
Automated decision-support layers
All built around one principle: Technology should strengthen the human core of cruising — not replace it.
This is simply a reflection of where I believe the industry must evolve, and my commitment to contributing meaningful, human-centered solutions to that transition.
More will come when the time is right, but I’m happy to connect if you’d like to know more.
“AI is a tool, not a leader.” — Nuno Fonseca
📈 NFC - Nuno Fonseca Consulting
Supporting Cruise Lines Through AI Integration, Training & Human-Centered Transformation
As AI becomes a deeper part of onboard and shoreside operations, cruise lines face a new reality: the need to modernize systems while strengthening — not replacing — their human foundations.
At NFC - Nuno Fonseca Consulting, we help cruise organizations navigate this transition through:
AI readiness & integration guidance
Crew-focused digital training frameworks
Operational leadership mentorship
People-first transformation strategies
If your organization is exploring how AI can enhance performance, empower crew, and elevate guest experience — I’d be happy to support.
📧 nunof@nunofonsecaconsulting.com 🌐 www.nunofonsecaconsulting.com 📞 +351 967 640 152
CruiseIndustry Cruising OnboardOperations CrewSustainability DigitalTransformation NunoFonsecaConsulting CruiseindustryAI
🔜 Coming Up Next — Edition 7
Cruise Industry in Review 2025
We’re breaking down 2025 with hard data: 37.7 million projected cruise passengers, $168 billion in economic impact, and 1.6 million jobs supported, according to CLIA. We’ll explore:
Growth segments
Sustainability initiatives like LNG ships and onshore power
Fleet investments and new product launches
Edition 7 is your fact-filled guide to what shaped cruising this year, and where the industry is headed next.
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