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Starting with Quantum, Royal will give all crew personal Microsoft tablets—to keep

Anne Kalosh
Quantum of the Seas crew at Meyer Werft applaud the tablet news at Monday's technology reveal
All Quantum of the Seas crew members will receive a free, personal Microsoft tablet, with a suite of services and apps, that is theirs to keep.

And, as technology upgrades are made across the Royal Caribbean International fleet, every shipboard employee will receive their own tablet—a total of 40,000 tablets. 

'The Royal Caribbean men and women who provide such great vacations are the real heroes of our fleet and these gifts demonstrate our appreciation in a tangible way,' chairman and ceo Richard Fain said.

Crew focus groups indicated the importance of communicating with home. So this is one of the ways Royal Caribbean hopes to make the crew's job and life more pleasant, Fain said.

Plus, he expects this will help further differentiate the company as an employer of choice in a very competitive market for crew and that it will help with crew retention.

The news was part of technology-related announcements about Quantum of the Seas made by Fain during a briefing for international media and travel agents at Meyer Werft. The briefing was streamed live.