robot bartender cruise ship

Robot Bartenders Shake Things Up At Sea

Behind the scenes of the most advanced cruise ship bars..

Ever pioneering, Royal Caribbean has made itself stand out in the travel industry with its continual innovation: the mind-bending Ultimate Abyss, the world’s tallest slide at sea ; onboard sky-diving and surf simulators ; and by employing the world’s first robotic bartenders.

First unveiled on Quantum of the Seas in 2014, a lineup of ships now feature the popular Bionic Bar, including Odyssey and Wonder of the Seas . Manning the bar are two robots; each one has its own name. (For example: On Anthem, they’re called “Shaken” and “Stirred,” and “Mix” and “Mingle” are on Harmony.) Engineered in Italy, these special robots can muddle, stir, shake and strain all types of drinks; the cocktail combinations are endless, with 30 spirits and 21 mixers to choose from.

The robot bartenders can mix two drinks per minute and make up to 1,000 each day. Guests create an order—whether a custom request or standard menu item—on a specially programmed tablet or with staff. They can keep track of their order on the digital screen next to the bar, and once it’s ready, the bartenders will release their drink with a simple tap of their SeaPass card or WOWband.

Created by Makr Shakr, an Italian robotics company based in Turin, the technology is so complex the bartenders can’t be deployed just anywhere. The system has three components: the robots, the core of the show that everyone can see; the application that drives them; and the aesthetics.

Beyond designing machines that could mix drinks with precision, Makr Shakr wanted grace and harmony to play a central role in how they moved. The company collaborated with famous dancer Marco Pelle, a principal dancer at the New York Theater Ballet, by mapping his movements with a computer, then simulating them so that the robots make human-like movements.

“There’s always a very particular dynamic in which people interact with the system,” says Alessandro Incisa, project manager for Makr Shakr. “And you always have this kind of magical experience when the guest arrives and says, ‘Oh, look at that, there’s a robot on the counter—and it makes drinks!’”

Want to know more facts about this first-at-sea experience? Check out this exclusive video (note:  for best viewing, watch in Google Chrome or in the YouTube app on your smartphone).

Related Articles

First Look: Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s Brand-New Smartship

Cruise 101: Why Your Best Bet is a Balcony Stateroom

Managing a floating garden on the world’s largest cruise ships.

How Royal Caribbean Conserves Water

The Bionic Bar: Discover Royal Caribbean's cruise ship robot bartenders

Have you ever had a drink served by a robot? How about a pair of robots? That's the idea behind Royal Caribbean's Bionic Bar, an installation found on several ships in the line's fleet. It offers both classic and custom drinks mixed, shaken and stirred by what looks like something straight out of "The Jetsons."

When it debuted the Bionic Bar, Royal Caribbean was no stranger to groundbreaking bar concepts, having launched its Rising Tide Bar — a levitating watering hole — just a couple of years prior.

The first Bionic Bar rolled out on Quantum of the Seas in 2014, with the metal armlike bartenders going by names like "Shaken" and "Stirred." Since then, the bar has taken up residence on nine ships in the fleet.

Here's what you'll experience during a visit to the Bionic Bar.

For more cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

What is Royal Caribbean's Bionic Bar?

The Bionic Bar, developed in partnership with Italian robotics company Makr Shakr, is a bar where the drinks are made by robots — robotic arms, to be exact. They extend from a back wall, where they use shakers to catch liquor dispensed from bottles that hang upside down overhead. Once they've collected all of the requested ingredients from an order, they shake and rotate the metal cups before dumping them, unceremoniously and often sloppily, into plastic ones.

Although many passengers have criticized the bar for taking jobs from real people, crew members still need to clean the area and replenish bottles of spirits as they run low.

The Bionic Bar is a place you'd likely visit once, just to say you did it, rather than a bar that you'd go back to again and again. It piques cruisers' interest for sure, but once the gimmick has worn off, you'll find better-made drinks — and obviously more friendly, personalized service — elsewhere on board.

There can also be a bit of a backlog at peak times, which can make for a frustrating experience.

Royal Caribbean Bionic Bar menu

Since there is no human bartender, the Bionic Bar takes drink orders via tablet-style screens. You can select both preprogrammed options or create your own.

The latter allows you to choose the type of alcohol and mixers you want, how strong you want your drink to be (single or double shot, for example), whether you want ice, and whether you'd like it shaken or stirred. That means the possibilities are nearly endless.

How much do drinks cost at the Bionic Bar?

Prices for drinks at the bionic bar depend on what you order. The more expensive the alcohol you choose and the more ingredients you include, the pricier your beverage will likely be.

If you don't have a beverage package, you'll pay per drink. If you have an Ultimate Beverage Package, which covers drinks up to $14 each, most options will be covered.

Simply swipe your card, type in what you'd like to drink and wait for one of the two robotic arms to do its thing. When your drink is done, scan your card at the counter to have it slid to you. (Expect some spillage.)

Which Royal Caribbean ships have the Bionic Bar?

You can find the Bionic Bar on the following Royal Caribbean ships :

• Anthem of the Seas
• Harmony of the Seas
• Oasis of the Seas
• Odyssey of the Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Quantum of the Seas
• Spectrum of the Seas
• Symphony of the Seas
• Wonder of the Seas

Have cruise questions? TPG has answers:

• Banned items: What not to pack for a cruise
• Man overboard: Why do people fall off cruise ships?
• What is baked Alaska, and why is it paraded around cruise ships?
• What are the largest cruise ships in the world?
• What is a gentleman host on a cruise?
• What is the Jones Act, and how does it affect cruise ships?
• What is a lido deck on a cruise ship?
• What's a cruise cabin guarantee, and will it save you money?
• What's the difference between a cruise concierge and a butler?

we make robotic bartenders

Discover our experience

You are at the heart of the Makr Shakr experience! Scroll down to discover a new way to enjoy beverages and socialize.

Get your drink

Dream your venue

Unlock the power of automation!

See where you can find us!

Follow us on social media

Our solutions

Makr shakr’s robots offer different features to draw in customers for all types of locations..

Luxury venue

A technological touch to upgrade any deluxe location..

Speed up the ordering process for the dancing crowd.

High traffic area

The perfect solution to shorten the queues..

Crafting tailored solutions

The first Makr Shakr prototype, created by MIT Senseable City Lab, The Coca Cola Company and Bacardi Rum, was unveiled in 2013 at Google I/O in San Francisco. The robots’ movements were modeled on the choreography of Marco Pelle, to provide an engaging bar experience.

Empowering human-robot interactions

Leading the way in robotic innovation

Work with us

We’re always looking for passionate and brilliant individuals to join our team. You’ll have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology, be part of a dynamic and talented team, and have a positive impact on the world by shaping the future having a taste of it.

Subscribe to our newsletters to keep up with our global adventures.

Follow us on social media @makrshakr

Makr shakr srl

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Futuristic cruise ship has robot bartenders that can make 1,000 drinks a day

Share this with

Fancy a dAIquiri? How about a Manhattandroid or a Cyborg Sling?

When you’re at Royal Caribbean’s Bionic Bar, every drink you order has a robot theme, as they have their own crew of cocktail-making automatons that can whip you up what you want in a matter of seconds.

The cruise company features robotic bartenders on nine of its 28 ships, with two Makr Shakr machines in each Bionic Bar shaking and stirring up to 1,000 drinks every day.

The mechanical arms can produce two drinks every 60 seconds, with ‘an almost endless combination’ of cocktails and mocktails ranging from classics and signature serves to design-your-own options.

Passengers can choose from 30 spirits and 21 mixers (including sugar, mint and citrus fruits) and order on a tablet near the counter.

You can even select how strong you’d like your drink, whether you want ice, and how exactly you’d like it prepared.

The robots will then collect the requested ingredients, mix everything together and dispense into a glass, which the customer picks up or is delivered to their table by a human waiter.

While you wait, an interactive wall above the bar displays fun statistics about your order, as well as how many people are in the queue and what the robot mixologists are currently working on.

There’s no time or drink limit here, and cocktails are priced similarly to other bars on board. Better still, if you’ve purchased an unlimited Royal Caribbean drinks package, every futuristic tipple you enjoy is included free of charge.

It’s worth bearing in mind, the Bionic Bars can get busy at peak times, so there may be a slight wait. For a dram with a difference, however, it’s well worth a visit.

Don’t worry about this tech taking crew’s jobs either: even though they’re machines, they’re not perfect, and human staff members are required to refill empty bottles and mop up the occasional spill.

Which Royal Caribbean ships have a Bionic Bar?

• Anthem of the Seas
• Harmony of the Seas
• Oasis of the Seas
• Odyssey of the Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Quantum of the Seas
• Spectrum of the Seas
• Symphony of the Seas
• Wonder of the Seas

Royal Caribbean has been shortlisted for the Sailawaze Excellence Awards in the technology category, both for its Bionic Bar concept and a range of other cool features.

Alongside a crowd-busting elevator system (where passengers can input the floor they want into a touchpad and then be shown to the right lift with room left that gets them to their destination quickest) its ships also feature the world’s largest kinetic art sculpture, The Pearl.

In terms of entertainment, robots double up as diving boards and set creators in the high-octane Aqua Action show, with a double 3D flying system that catapults divers, slackliners and aerial performers around the AquaDome for maximum wow factor.

Up against Royal Caribbean in the category there’s some stiff competition.

Scenic’s nomination is all about the world’s first Discovery Yachts: Built for up to 228 passengers, and exploration equipment that features two helicopters, a submersible, Zodiacs, kayaks and paddleboards.

Princess Cruises is nominated for its Medallion, a small wearable device that streamlines embarkation processes, unlocks cabin doors and offers personalised service. Travellers can participate in interactive games and activities, and easily locate friends and family using the Medallion app, too.

Then there’s MSC Cruises’ Helios Wine Bar, which features state-of-the-art multi-touch tables activated by digital coasters where you can learn about and taste 96 featured wines. It also boasts the longest LED dome at sea on MSC Euribia, with virtual reality experiences (Formula Racer VR race, flight simulator, VR motorbikes) and interactive cinema.

Your Daily Horoscope

Daily horoscope today: September 8, 2024 astrological predictions for your star sign

Norwegian Cruise Line is up for the gong for its interactive video game arcade, 7D Cinema (yes, SEVEN, with special effects, moving chairs and interactive shooting) and Nascar-style car race.

Sailawaze Excellence Awards - the nominations

Food & beverage.

Virgin Voyages

Aqua Expeditions

TUI River Cruises

Windstar Cruises

Explora Journeys

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

P&O Cruises

Riverside Luxury Cruises

Emerald Cruises

Amawaterways

Swan Hellenic

Princess Cruises

MSC Cruises

Royal Caribbean

SUSTAINABILITY

AE Expeditions

The Majestic Line

Portsmouth International Port

Hurtigruten

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

Oceania Cruises

Havila Voyages

Pandaw Expeditions

Holland America Line

CroisiEurope

Celebrity Cruises

VIVA Cruises

Disney Cruise Line

Saga Cruises

A- Rosa Cruises

ENTERTAINMENT

Carnival Cruise Line

Marella Cruises

COLLABORATIONS

Ambassador Cruise Line

A-Rosa Cruises

MORE : I spoke to a free online therapist and came away feeling ripped off

MORE : This innocuous black door leads to one of London’s best cocktail bars

MORE : Could your house soon be in the metaverse as first UK nation joins?

Get need-to-know travel news, inspiration and advice from Metro every week.

Sign up here....

Privacy Policy

Enter your birthday for your free daily horoscope sent straight to your inbox!

Get us in your feed

MSC Cruises' newest ship will have a robot bartender that can make any drink you want — meet Rob

• MSC Cruises' new MSC Virtuosa ship will feature Rob, a robot bartender.
• Like any human bartender, Rob can create custom drinks or one of its 16 signature cocktails.
• The spaceship-inspired bar and its robot bartender took almost six years to create, MSC said. 

We've seen robot smoothie makers , hamburger flippers , and salad crafters . Now, MSC Cruises has unveiled Rob, a humanoid robot bartender.

Many cruise lines may have hit the pause button on major sailings , but that's not stopping them from designing innovative features that will be showcased on trips once the industry gets back to full steam. This includes MSC Cruises, which created Rob for its newest Virtuosa ship. 

The animatronic mixologist will be stationed in the Virtuosa's MSC Starship Club and MSC Starliner One, the new ship's spaceship-inspired bar. 

Rob's conception came from the desire to use new technology to create a novel onboard space, specifically a "futuristic immersive entertainment lounge," according to the cruise line . And nothing says "futuristic" like a robot bartender working in a space decorated with holograms and digital art.

MSC Cruises has been creating Rob and the MSC Starship Club for almost six years, well before COVID-19 and the resulting emphasis on contactless amenities.

To create the unique space, the cruise line worked with people specializing in interior design, robots, automation, and "entertainment and digital experience."

Just like any human bartender, Rob will be in charge of creating both boozy or non-alcoholic beverages, whether it be one of its 16 signature cocktails or a personalized drink.

Guests interested in a Rob-made cocktail can order their drinks at a "digital cockpit." Rob will then prepare every component of the order — from pouring to garnishing — using some of its over 40 ingredients.

The cocktails will be served in souvenir glasses. If you're feeling impatient, you can check the status of your order using the "ticker-tape-style" LED monitor above the bar.

Rob can also interact with the its patrons with its expressive face and a conversation.

Rob can speak eight languages, allowing international patrons to order and converse with the robot in their preferred language.

The robot's personality also changes in response to its surroundings, according to MSC Cruises.

Besides Rob, the bar will also feature an interactive 12-seat table that lets patrons "explore space." All of this can be experienced on the MSC Virtuosa, which will be setting sail in April.

• Main content

Cruising with Robot Bartenders

Download video, related videos.

Royal Caribbean's  Anthem of the Seas  features robotic bartenders created by Makr Shakr. These robots can muddle, stir, shake, and strain your drink to perfection. The cocktail combinations are endless with 30 different spirits and 20 different mixers.  The next great adventure has arrived in NYC. It's time you experience #AnthemoftheSeas

Switch language:

Bottoms up: the robot bartender serving up drinks on MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises is introducing the first humanoid robot bartender at sea into a new bar concept called the Starship Club. We speak to project head Luca Pronzati to discover the challenges they faced delivering such a unique concept during a pandemic.

• Share on Linkedin
• Share on Facebook

Travel giant MSC Cruises have just welcomed their newest member of staff on their latest ship, MSC Virtuosa. Luca Pronzati, the Chief Business Innovation Officer at MSC Cruises, is delighted to announce the opening of the new Starship Club, and to ensure that Rob the bartender robot was ready to start tirelessly serving passengers, before the ship starts her inaugural season in the UK.

MSC Cruises have also been able to open sales for three, four and seven-night cruises on the state-of-the-art ship. Originally the ship would have been Mediterranean bound, but with the Covid-19 pandemic ongoing and domestic travel opening in the UK, Virtuosa will join other cruise liners to offer new itineraries in the British Isles from May.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Innovation in Ship: Anti-fouling Ship Hull Coatings

Environmental sustainability in ship: bio-fuel propulsion marine ve..., data insights.

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

Msc cruises ltd.

Although sister ship MSC Grandiosa – also a “Meraviglia Plus” class of ship – has been operating off the coast of Italy from Genoa, after a year of almost no sailings and uncertainty, this is clearly welcome news.

“I’m very happy that we made it and that we’re ready to welcome the first guests on board,” Pronzati says.

Developing a humanoid robot barman for cruise

The project to develop Rob – which is believed to be the world’s first humanoid robot bartender at sea – started in 2015. A pandemic and the ensuing global shutdown was not accounted for in the project timeline, but Pronzati calls the creation of Rob his best achievement.

“This is not me, it’s my team and all of us together,” he says. “Being able to progress in such a hard time of our lives has been a huge challenge. It’s still quite unbelievable that we were able to do it.”

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

The journey started with Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago’s zeal for technology. “He’s always passionate about technology and innovation as a way of elevating the customer experience,” explains Pronzati, which led them to look at the potential of robotic automation as a way of offering something new and different on board.

“An express request from Mr Vago was not only to have an industrial robotic arm shaking cocktails,” he explains. “He really wanted to go a step further into robotics and automation and have a humanoid which could offer a kind of humanoid to human interaction, elevating the bar experience.”

As well as a voice, Rob needed to be a fully-functional barman, and show his sympathetic ear with facial expressions and a personality. For inspiration, the team started by researching the technology around Royal Caribbean’s Bionic Bar, which has two mechanical arms that make drinks to order.

It was clear to them that creating a human-like operation was poles apart from an automation perspective. “It’s a completely different challenge,” he says.

The challenge of finding the right partners

The journey to understanding how to create a robotic barman with two arms, a body and a head led them to the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), in Genoa.

“They have developed, I think, the most sophisticated robot on the earth today, called the iCub,” says Pronzati, who himself studied robotics in Genoa.

The iCub is the size of a five-year-old child, and can sit, walk and manipulate objects. However, the team soon realised that the robot was so sophisticated that it would not work for a commercial cruise ship setting. Yet the experience provided inspiration and they learned about “the limitations and peculiarities” that had to be taken into consideration.

While researching other avenues, the team had an approach back from IIT. “They were interested to translate the complexity back down into a commercial application that could be delivered on the ship,” explains Pronzati. For the next 18 months they worked together to develop a potential humanoid.

“It was very challenging, we were progressing quite significantly, but the complexity came up when we had to close the deal,” he says. “Being a scientific institution and not a private company they were really struggling to be in a position to offer a service to a private company who will, for example, go over the weekend for maintenance and support.”

With 2,421 staterooms and a capacity for 6,334 guests – as well as five pools, 19 decks, 11 restaurants and 20 other bars – MSC Virtuosa is an enormous operation. As one of the star attractions on the new ship, maintenance and round-the-clock support for Rob and the Starship Club is vital.

“The Italian Institute of Technology doesn’t do this kind of job,” Pronzati continues, “it’s a completely different organisation.”

Unfortunately, IIT and MSC Cruises had to part ways. “I cannot say this was negative,” Pronzati says. “I think this is part of the process and of the progress we’ve made over the years.”

Progressing with partners in a pandemic

After scouting other companies, Pronzati explains that they were able to deliver the experience by combining the expertise of several stakeholders who were involved in different areas. These included Japanese company Kawasaki Robotics, a specialist in robotic automation, and Siena-based Mainit, which develops, manufactures and installs humanoid robots.

The project was progressing well until Covid-19 arrived in Italy last February. “We were not prepared at all, it has been one of the biggest challenges,” Pronzati says. “Since the first lockdown we had to immediately switch to remote working and when you’re having to deal with physical objects it is not the easiest of tasks.”

It was only possible to keep going due to the effort Ponzati’s team made to overcome the setbacks. They were adapting and operating out of their own apartments in order to push ahead with the different activities and one team member had to set up a data centre at home so they could continue with the software development testing.

Creating Rob’s human personality

Finding a human-like personality for Rob was another significant challenge, because as well as being charming and welcoming, they wanted to make him funny. While he can’t reply to guests – this simply isn’t possible in a loud, crowded bar environment – he can speak eight languages.

It was important to find the right tone of voice for each of the languages. They also decided to alter Rob’s personality so it would change throughout the day and programmed his speech to match the expressions on his LED-screen face. The team worked with several different companies to find the right voices, expressions and interactions.

To ensure that Rob’s shaking, stirring and mixing of the cocktails was carried out with the right precision, they brought in an expert barman and fitted him with sensors. “The sensors gathered thousands of pieces of data which were used when programming Rob to ensure that his shaking, shirring and mixing was done with the same force to expertly create the cocktails, just as if they had been made by hand,” says Pronzati.

An immersive inter-galactic experience

In addition to Rob the humanoid robot, the experience at the Starship Club is made up of a network of digital touchpoints that are designed to immerse guests in a vision of the spaceship of the future.

These include 3D holograms projecting futuristic advertisements, an outer space weather forecast and an interactive “infinity” table where guests can explore the solar system or play arcade games.

At an ordering station, guests can request a personalised or a ‘Galactic’ cocktail, which is not available anywhere else on the ship, and takes Rob just two minutes to conjure. Having just experienced a couple of cocktails made by Rob for himself, Pronzati confirms that the experience is very nice and immersive.

“It is another great achievement for the team,” he says, confirming that over 30 stakeholders have been involved overall to create the experience.

“At the start of the pandemic we were in shock because we didn’t know how to move forward, but our different operational model has been successful – you need to have the right people and the right partners.”

Sign up for our daily news round-up!

Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.

More Relevant

Shipping’s sustainability challenge requires trust in technology

Brunvoll reveals flurry of new deals for retrofit and newbuild projects, carnival orders three new vessels from fincantieri , maersk’s airline receives new 777f, sign up to the newsletter: in brief, your corporate email address, i would also like to subscribe to:.

Ship Technology In Brief

Ship Technology Global : Ship Technology Focus (monthly)

I consent to Verdict Media Limited collecting my details provided via this form in accordance with Privacy Policy

Thank you for subscribing

View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network.