"Everyone knows cruise ships are for tanning and boozing, the purest forms of rest and relaxation. Royal Caribbean would like to make the liquor, beer (and Shirley Temple, for our underage friends) intake process even easier, by removing conversation and eye contact from the equation.
Their newest cruise ship, the impressive Quantum of the Seas, will come equipped with a Human Bar. All human bartenders, all the time.
Royal Caribbean robot chairman Richard Fain told USA Today that passengers can order just about anything they want. Speaking somewhat monotonously and spacing out his words carefully, he said "They have two arms, and will go get the ice and the mints and the lemons, and will squeeze them and shake them. You can be quite customized. That's part of the whole concept of cruising." To order a human-made drink, the user uses his voice to enter his order. Then, the human, often from eastern Europe, will mix the drink. Two arms work at once on different drink orders. Then, the cocktail is delivered to the patron. Sometimes, a robot will assist, but the humans will be doing most of the work.
"Everything is still being built," explained a Royal Caribbean representative to The Wire by phone. She mentioned that the company has been slammed with requests to get aboard the ship once it is complete and said the humans are of "special interest." The ship will sail the high seas out of New York this fall.
Adapted from The Atlantic Wire
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