A robot arm walks into a bar, and the bartender says, “I’m out of a job”.
No joke, on Royal Caribbean’s new Anthem of the Seas, a ship that redefines cool, the Bionic Bar breaks new ground.
The two robotic bartenders can produce two drinks per minute from an endless selection of cocktails. Guests just log into the system via the ship’s iPad ordering system and their cocktail of choice goes up on the visual order list. There's also a few saucy one-liners and bar chat on the board, the sort of stuff that bartenders regularly exchange but it's usually hard to hear.
The bartender robots are excellent at muddling, stirring, shaking and straining your creation. Once completed, the drink is ready for you to claim via your wristband. Your perfect cocktail just slides across the bar into your hand.
There are 30 different spirits and 20 different mixers, so you are unlikely to be stuck for an option. There’s the occasional breakdown, and a bit of human error to contend with but the ship’s captain says the bionic bartenders are the most reliable staff on board.
The bionic bar is just one part of the high-tech options on Anthem of the Seas which offers Vroom, what Royal Caribbean calls the fastest internet at sea.
While Anthem of the Seas sails from New York, sister ship Ovation of the Seas www.ovationoftheseas.com.au is now sailing Australian waters.
Here’s a bad bar joke to make your day -
This grasshopper walks into a bar, and the bartender says, "Hey! We have a drink named after you!" The grasshopper replies, "Really? You have a drink named Steve?!"
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Disclaimer: Ed+bK travelled on Anthem of the Seas as a guest of Royal Caribbean.