How P&O Cruises and Cunard tackled IT support and device management at sea

Frontline workers on the cruise ships—such as food and beverage staff and deck crew—increasingly rely on a variety of devices to access operational information and a wide range of apps.  

This shift has heightened the need to ensure consistent device and app performance. Ships have dedicated IT teams responsible for supporting crew and maintaining systems. 

The broad mix of operating systems and hundreds of apps used on the ships created a complex lifecycle management environment. When devices required major updates or upgrades, the work often had to be completed manually by support IT personnel who travelled to the ship. 

To address these operational constraints, P&O Cruises and Cunard wanted a unified endpoint management solution that would enable the shoreside End User Computing (EUC) team to remotely access, troubleshoot, and update devices. 

Expanding deployment from one ship to eleven 

P&O Cruises and Cunard chose to explore Workspace ONE UEM, starting with a proof of concept (PoC) to manage and secure crew phones on the P&O ship, Ventura. After the PoC’s success, the EUC team launched the rollout across all ships in both the P&O Cruises and Cunard fleets, beginning with three of the largest ships: Iona, Arvia, and Queen Anne. The phased deployment currently covers 7,500 devices. 

Workspace ONE UEM will soon be deployed across the remaining eight vessels in the two fleets. This is in addition to the integration of Apple MacOS devices at the UK head office, the shoreside Samsung embarkation terminals, and corporate Apple iPhones. Simultaneously, the EUC team is refreshing and standardizing the entire fleet of devices to bring all eleven ships up to the same capability.  

A seamless experience from shore to ship 

With Workspace ONE UEM in place, P&O Cruises and Cunard have been able to introduce more advanced services for passengers, while improving daily operations for the crew. The technology supports key operational processes that contribute to a smooth onboard experience. 

Using Omnissa Workspace ONE® Assist for remote support, the EUC team can access and troubleshoot devices in real time, ensuring devices are running optimally and with the right apps. Staff have easy access to their apps through Omnissa Workspace ONE® Intelligent Hub—a secure digital workspace—supporting a broad range of use cases. 

For example, the onboard mBark system provides a smooth and positive experience for guests from the moment they interact with shoreside staff at the embarkation terminals. Installed and managed on Samsung phones via Workspace ONE, mBark scans guest passports and generates ‘crew cards’ that grant access to cabins, restaurants, and shops throughout the cruise.  

Another example is the use of iPad Minis by staff as point-of-sale devices in restaurants, bars, and shops. Staff can quickly access custom apps through Workspace ONE Intelligent Hub to efficiently process food orders and transactions, improving service speed and eliminating the need for passengers to queue to order.

Workspace ONE UEM helps enable consistent performance of onboard safety systems managed by P&O Cruises and Cunard. For example, the eMuster system is used to account for crew and guests at designated assembly points during emergency procedures. Integrating the system into Workspace ONE UEM allows shoreside teams to monitor functionality, manage updates, and provide remote support, helping maintain consistent system performance. 

Streamlining shared devices and boosting fleet visibility 

The EUC team has taken advantage of Omnissa Workspace ONE® Launcher to streamline the management of shared crew devices. Workspace ONE Launcher automates check-in and check-out processes and applies the correct apps and settings based on a user’s role. This approach reduces manual configuration work and lowers the overall complexity of managing shared devices. 

The team is also beginning to use Omnissa Intelligence, the analytics engine of the Omnissa platform, to gain clearer visibility into the device fleet, for example maintaining app and operating system compliance through improved update and version management. Another key use case is the oversight of spare devices, which may remain unused for long periods. By using Intelligence alongside Workspace ONE UEM, the team can monitor these devices, keep them updated, and ensure they remain ready for deployment when needed. 

The future: innovating the passenger experience 

The P&O Cruises and Cunard team is exploring opportunities to further enhance operational efficiency through technology. As the deployment scales, the team will explore additional capabilities that can further streamline processes and support ongoing innovation. 

SUMMARY

P&O Cruises and Cunard have deployed Omnissa Workspace ONE® UEM to secure and manage more than 7,500 devices across their three latest cruise ships, head office, and shoreside embarkation terminals, and are expanding the solution across another eight vessels. The result is well equipped crew and staff, leading to smoother operations and a better experience for passengers.