RFID tracking on cruise ships Independent travel tips for the professional at Leisure December 2008

All cruise passengers know that you must attend the obligatory pre-cruise safety lecture, and the crew is required to ensure that all passengers attend.

 

We recently want on a trans-Atlantic cruise on the Crown Princess, and they noted that they no longer need to take attendance.  The cruise ship staff did not go into details, only saying that they now have a foolproof technology that allows then to track passenger activity.

 

As a review, RFID technology are embedded chips that answer when pinged.  These "here I am" signals can be used to track cruise ship passenger activity, who is sleeping in which cabins, all sorts of things right out of 1984.

Remember, at sea American privacy law does not apply, and RFID has a great potential for abuse.

For example. RFID can tell how far you are from a hidden sensors, and this information can be used to target advertizing for you.  For example, an RFID chip could check the database and tell the bartender your favorite drink.