All Aboard for Assistive Listening

Listen Technologies Corporation has announced that Royal Caribbean International has installed Listen Technologies’ audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening system on the recently launched Icon of the Seas. The award-winning solution provides guests a better listening experience in venues onboard the first Icon class ship. Royal Caribbean International, part of Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL), is one of the leading cruise companies in the world. The Group has a global fleet of 64 ships traveling to approximately 1,000 destinations around the world. The company plans to install Listen Technologies’ audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening solution across its fleet of ships.

Icon of the Seas is the first-of-its-kind combination of the best of every vacation. Royal Caribbean has been delivering innovation at sea for more than 50 years and designed Icon of the Seas so every kind of family and adventurer can experience their version of the ultimate family vacation.

Royal Caribbean sought a BYOD (bring your own device) assistive listening system for guests that would be easy to use and enhance their cruise experience in venues on its ships.

How Audio Over Wi-Fi Assistive Listening Enhances Onboard Listening Experiences

Listen EVERYWHERE from Listen Technologies is an audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening solution that lets users stream venue audio to their smartphones and smart devices. Guests in venues and settings on Icon of the Seas that offer Listen EVERYWHERE can download the free Listen EVERYWHERE app, access the ship’s Wi-Fi network, stream ship audio to their smartphones, and listen to clear audio with headphones or earbuds.

Passengers with Bluetooth enabled hearing aids or cochlear implants can stream the audio directly from their smartphones to their hearing devices. The Listen Technologies system is not just for guests with hearing loss; all guests in onboard venues where the solution is offered can download the app and access audio as needed. With Listen EVERYWHERE, speech intelligibility is increased because audio is streamed directly from the source (e.g., a speaker, microphone, TV) without amplifying ambient noise.

Listen EVERYWHERE is available to Icon of the Seas guests in the ship’s main theater, Royal Theater.

Applications for Audio Over Wi-Fi Beyond Assistive Listening

Applications for audio over Wi-Fi systems include assistive listening, language interpretation, streaming audio from video or TV screens, and audio description. For example, Royal Caribbean guests visiting an onboard sports bar where an audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening system is offered could use their smartphone to access the audio for different screens in multiple languages. Guests at onboard silent dance parties where audio over Wi-Fi is available could select audio from different DJ channels and listen via headphones or earbuds.

The Listen EVERYWHERE system is easy for venues to install on their existing Wi-Fi network and offers low latency, high quality sound. Guests can use their smartphones to access venue audio and hear clearly despite background noise, distance, hearing loss, or language. Access to audio extends as far as a venue’s wireless network. 

“Royal Caribbean is renowned for providing outstanding guest experiences with the latest technologies and services that raise the bar on travel and offer next-level vacations,” said Kasey Kaumans, Regional Sales Manager, Listen Technologies. “Listen Technologies is proud to have Royal Caribbean select our audio over Wi-Fi assistive listening solution to offer guests exceptional hearing and engagement experiences onboard its ships.”