School is back in session (down here in South Florida, at least), which means the window for summer vacation has come and gone. I hope you had a chance to get away and do whatever it is you do to take a break. My family went on Star of the Seas, a massive Royal Caribbean vessel, for a seven-night cruising adventure.
I treated myself to the Diet Coke drink package (they call it a soda package, but who are we kidding) and upgraded my family to the "fun drink" package, which included coffee-based concoctions and alcohol-free mixed drinks. Diet Coke is enough fun for me. Then, I loaded up a Jack Reacher novel on the Kindle, grabbed some flip flops, found some stretchy shorts (a must when ice cream is available before, during, and after every meal), and set sail on the high seas.
While I have grown to appreciate cruising, here's the thing: I'm not particularly good at sitting still. Plus, if my headshot doesn't give it away, I come from a long line of melanin-challenged folk, so tanning is never an agenda item, even with the excessive supply of sunscreen I packed.
So, to keep myself from bouncing off the walls of our cabin, I filled my time with activities. I swam with dolphins. I watched multiple comedy shows and duelling piano performances. I walked around ports of call and purchased T-shirts that later shrunk in the dryer. I even worked out in a huge gym surrounded by people who didn't look like they only work out on vacation.
And, of course, I started making mental notes of all the Pro AV on the ship. It wasn't exactly a scavenger hunt; like so many entertainment venues, Star of the Seas was loaded with gear. From speakers around the pool deck (I see you, DAS Audio) to a mini-ribbon display above the escalators directing you to the gangplank and your next port excursion, the presence of our industry was practically unavoidable.
Beyond the extensive Samsung digital menu boards and digital signage displays, there were some unique visuals as well. For example, the outside wall of the comedy club had multiple screens mimicking the look of windows showing a stylized animated silhouette of a comedian working a crowd. It was a very eye-catching effect.
Then there was Absolute Zero, the onboard arena for an ice skating show. Our cruise happened to be during the last match of the World Cup. The ship has a sports bar, but it wasn't big enough to accommodate the hundreds of passengers who wanted to watch it in a communal setting. So, Royal Caribbean used the venue's projector mapping technology to create a "pitch" theme on the ice, and shared the game on the big screen that usually provides background graphics for the show. Talk about setting the mood.
The Royal Theater was its own special Pro AV candy store. The two-deck space in the forward section of the ship hosted several shows during the cruise, but none more spectacular than a full production of Back to the Future: The Musical. We're talking a flying DeLorean and an array of video walls used for backgrounds, special effects, and more.
During a Q&A session with members of the cast and crew, I was told the production requires about 70 live mics for the musicians and cast—there's a lot of Shure headworn mics on stage, but a few Shure wireless handhelds show up for "performances" of songs like "Johnny B. Goode" during the show. And the front-of-house setup was built around a DiGiCo SD7 digital mixing console. Sorry, they didn't share all their secrets, so I don't know how they made the car fly. Maybe next summer…
