Fleet Xpress Powers National Geographic’s New Adventure Cruise Ship

Inmarsat is providing connectivity through Fleet Xpress for Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic’s new adventure cruise ship, National Geographic Venture.

The expedition ship, designed to explore the coastal waters, shallow coves and fast-moving channels where wildlife congregates, completed its first cruise around the Galapagos Islands in December 2018 before travelling to Baja California. It is destined for the Pacific North West coast and Alaska in the next few months.

Built by US yard Nichols Brothers, the 73m (240ft) Venture is one of a growing band of ice-strengthened expedition ships catering for more remote destinations. With a capacity for 100 guests supported by 50 crew, ship-to-shore connectivity is a central proof point that adventure cruising can deliver on comfort, safety and continuity of lifestyle, as well as get up close to nature.

Image Credit: inmarsat.com

Guest expectation

“Fleet Xpress is the right fit for our fleet of smaller expedition vessels due to the requirement of a smaller VSAT terminal and the ability to provide high-speed, reliable, global coverage as these vessels sail to remote parts of the globe where connectivity is limited, and our guest expectation is always to be connected,” said Arthur Theodorou, Director of IT Lindblad Expeditions.

Christian Cordoba, Inmarsat Maritime Channel Manager for Yachting and Passenger, commented: “Expedition cruising is creating a significant new market for Fleet Xpress.

“Combining the high data speed of Ka-band and continuous L-band back-up with purpose-designed and easy to install 1m terminals allows Fleet Xpress to achieve 24/7 coverage, stability and reliability, including high-speed IoT connectivity, whether the ship is in the Arctic or miles up an inland channel.”

Brand Reputation

The new generation of expedition cruisers has especially high expectations for connectivity, now considered a lifestyle entitlement. “For adventure cruisers today, connectivity is part of the package they are paying for; this is an audience which expects a highly educational vacation but also to share experiences online instantaneously,” said Christian. Service reliability and speed become hotel management issues that affect brand reputation, ratings and repeat business, he added.

“From the owner’s perspective, Fleet Xpress is also the answer because these compact ships don’t have the real estate for the sizeable terminals larger cruise ships use to connect via C-band. Meanwhile, L-band alone falls short on data speeds and Ku-band services may work with compact shipboard terminals, but they can’t offer the benefit of a seamless global coverage the itineraries demand.”

Fleet Xpress is now installed onboard six of the Lindblad Expeditions ships, including Venture’s sister ship National Geographic Quest, delivered in 2017, with retrofits made on Sea Bird, Sea Lion, Endeavour II and Islander. Fleet Xpress is fully integrated with the ship phone systems (PABX), and the internal communications platforms and local area networks used to optimise vessel operations.

Reference: inmarsat.com

Source: Maritime Shipping News