Hop aboard the eye-popping cruise ship of tomorrow (pictures)

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Bionic Bar

Billed as the world's first "smart ship," Royal Caribbean's brand new Quantum of the Seas tucks cutting-edge technology into every nook, from bow to stern. Crave's Michael Franco went aboard with other members of the media for a two-night cruise out of New York.

The most visible tech toy on the ship is to be found at the Bionic Bar. Here, after ordering your drink via tablet, apair of robotic arms swivel into action, getting booze from overhead bottlesand mixers from dispensers built into the wall. Once the ingredients are inplace, the bots are capable of either shaking, stirring, muddling or strainingthe drinks. When that's done, they pour them into a cup, which comes towardyou on a conveyor belt. Then the robots bring their silver shakers back to thewall to clean them and get busy making the next drink in the queue, whichis displayed on a mirrored screen to the left and right of the bar.

The bar was built by Makr Shakr, a company launched earlierthis year that aims to bring robotics to the cocktail scene. It took them41,600 man hours to build and test the robotic bartenders whose movements werepatterned after Roberto Bolle, a dancer with the American Ballet theater. Thebots can make two drinks per minute using 30 different spirits and 21 totalmixers. Patrons are able to choose from premixed cocktails or create their ownconcoctions.

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Info at your fingertips

These interactive touchscreen displays, found throughout the ship, help passengers navigate the cruise -- from finding the nearest bar or bathroom to seeingwhat activities are up next.

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A bear, oh my!

Why yes, that is a giant red bear hanging out on theside of the ship. While some aboard joked that the bear was placed there tobalance out the weight of the ship after it was built, it's actually just apiece of art called "From Afar" designed by artist Lawrence Argent.

But why a bear? Crew member Kirk Anthony Burgess told me jokingly,"Because we're Royal Caribbean and we can." He also told me thecrew has chosen the name Phylicia for the big mascot, which is made out ofstainless steel, stands 30 feet tall and weighs a whopping 80 tons.

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Starwater

At the rear of the ship is a unique space called Two70°,which gets its name from the 270-degree panoramic windows that stretch throughnearly three decks in height. During the day, the space is set up somethinglike a living room where guests can lounge and relax. By night, screens comedown over the windows that transform into massive 12K video screens thatform the backdrop for a show called "Starwater."

And yes, that is a man hanging in the air playing a cello.The theater also has a number of secret doors in the floor and ceiling throughwhich actors, acrobats and one high-flying musician arrive and depart.

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A nebula on a cruise ship?

This shot of the 12K screens really shows off their clarityand capability. Eighteen projectors create the images that appearon the screens, which form a surface 100 feet wide and more than 20 feet tall.

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Roboscreens

Hanging above the stage are six robotic screens thatparticipate in the show. I got the impression the creators of the showwere unsure just what to do with the roboscreens, so they only have asmall supporting role. I hope that changes and they get a lot more involved infuture performances, because it's just plain cool to see a set of huge videoscreens swooping and swirling all around a stage full of actors and dancers.

"These are the first power robots ever on the highseas," said the designer and "trainer" of the screens, AndyRobot, who I bumped into after the show. Robot's company, Robotic Arts has madeRoboscreens for clients including Bon Jovi, Activision and Deadmau5.

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Gondola ride at sea

North Star is a glass-enclosed pod attached to a mechanicalarm that lifts guests up and over the side of the ship to a total height of 303feet above sea level to give them a view of the ship and its surroundings. Itrotates 250 degrees and the rides last 15 minutes. Rides will be free to allguests, but premium packages will be available for sunrise and sunset trips.

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Get your game on

On the upper floor of a two-story gaming complex known as the Seaplex is a dedicated Xbox roomwith multiple gaming consoles, comfy couches and screens embedded into thewall. The ship's Wi-Fi connectivity means you can game with yourless fortunate landlubbing friends while aboard.

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Flying on a cruise ship

Yup, that's me floating on a column of air on top of thecruise ship. Quantum has Royal Caribbean's usual offerings of a rock-climbingwall and endless wave surfing, but it also has something brand new at sea --Ripcord by iFly, a skydiving simulator.

After a brief instructional session, we donned our flightsuits, helmets, earplugs and goggles and were led up to a glass-enclosedcapsule on the very top of the ship. There, we waited our turn for a one-minuteride in another tube where a blast of air roared up from below. The air isproduced by two 400-horsepower propellers to create speeds from 120 to 160 mph.It's something of an engineering marvel because the noise from the engines hadto be dampened to not travel anywhere else in the ship, the large curved glasssides of the tube had to be designed in such a way to accommodate the movementof the ship, and -- oh yeah -- it lets people fly on top of a cruise ship!

To start the minute-long experience (which was plenty) youstep to the edge of the tube and then fall forward (disconcerting to say theleast), but then like magic, you're floating in midair. Of course you have todo your part and focus on staying in a superman-like position with legs bent.I found that it required a surprising amount of balance to not lean to one sideor the other and, when I did, I was rewarded by falling flat on my back to thenetting below. Still, it was one heck of a ride and I'd do it again inheartbeat. It was like getting off that amusement park ride that you want toimmediately get back in line for.

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Living art

The Quantum of the Seas is full of engaging art, someof which comes "alive" thanks to video screens. This installation byLos Angeles-based artist Brian Bress consists of three pieces called "Hunter 2,""Farmer 2" and "Captain." They feature colorless cartoon characters who scribble on thescreens from inside.

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Dreamride

"Dreamride," another piece of art that incorporates a video component, features a big plastic car mounted to the wall with a screen filling thedriver's window. The driver goes through a range of movements throughout theday against an animated background, eventually nodding off behind the wheel.

The work was created by American artist Peter Sarkisian."In Sarkisian's artworks, sculpture begins where images end and viceversa," reads the description of the piece. "By joining physical andvirtual elements in this way, the normally passive act of watching televisionis transformed into a more engaging experience."

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Sci-fi style

Not all the art aboard Quantum is interactive or fueled by videoscreens. This installation outside two of the ship's 19 restaurantsconsists of shiny red balls suspended by monofilaments. It's not super techy, butit definitely adds to the futuristic decor.

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Bridge wing

This is the control deck in the bridge wing, an area on the left side of the bridge, "where all the fun is taking place," Captain Srecko Ban said.

It might look small, but it has absolutelyeverything a captain needs to operate the entire ship. The bridge wing is usedwhen the ship is docking or pulling out of port because it provides a view toboth the front and rear of the ship as well as straight down through a glasspanel in the floor.

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Joystick control

The two larger joysticks on this panel control the ship's azipod motors. Pushing them produces thrust and turning them steers the ship.The two motors are capable of producing 23 knots of speed, equivalent to about 26.5 mph. The smaller handle just visible in the lower right controls fourthrusters, propellers that help move the ship sideways. The handles can all be synchronizedto move as one, or they can be controlled individually.

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Enviro control room

This is the ship's control room, where all technicalcomponents of the ship are managed. Again, I was struck by the small size.

Here we heard about many of the ship's environmentallyfriendly technologies. One of the most fascinating is the ship's airlubrication system. "Quantum is the first ship with a total airlubrication system," said Richard Pruitt, vice president of safety and environmental stewardship. "What that is, is that we'reinjecting high-pressure air in the front of the ship and it createsmicro-bubbles that create a layer under the ship. What that does is reduce thefriction between the hull and the water." Captain Ban told us that thesystem allows the ship to gain a half knot in speed which makes it work lesshard to go faster, improving fuel efficiency.

Pruitt also detailed the ship's use of a heat reclamationprocess that uses the heat thrown off by generators to boil seawater, which isthen passed through a filtration system to create the ship's drinking water aswell as hot water for laundry. The ship can make over 2,500 tons of potablewater per day using this system. The heat is also used to warm up the ship'sfuel, which needs to be thinned before it's used.

To clean gray and black water, Pruitt says the ship uses asystem of bioreactors, filters and ultraviolet light to disinfect it beforedischarging the practically clean water out at sea.

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Bulb eater

Nicholas Rose, environmental regulatory lead for the ship, detailed manyof the trash-handling measures aboard the Quantum of the Seas, which, he said,produces zero landfill waste. Glass, as seen here, is the largest source oftrash on the ship and it's ground into small particles, then put in 1,500-poundbags. Plastic is baled and cans are crushed, and all of these materials aregiven to recycling facilities on land. Cooking oil is captured and given to abiofuel producer back on shore. Trash that can be incinerated is, and the ashis collected and given to concretemaking facilities on dry land. Food waste iscollected through high-volume vacuums in the galleys, dried and incinerated or"ground up into a very fine powder that goes into the sea and becomes fishfood," Rose said.

Rose also demonstrated theship's "bulb eater," a machine that deals with dead fluorescent bulbsby crushing the glass casing and sucking up the mercury that's released. Thatmercury is then returned to bulb manufacturers for use in new fluorescentlights.

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Future fit

The exercise equipment in the gym also gets the techtreatment on Quantum of the Seas. Treadmills, stair steppers and other cardiomachines all have a Wi-Fi-connected screen attached that let you accessservices like Facebook or Flipboard while sweating off all that yummy cruise ship food.

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WOWbands

Every passenger on the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship gets a "WOWband" in his or herstateroom upon check-in. The band is implanted with an RFID chip that lets youinto your room even though you'll still need your key card to get theelectricity working. It is also supposed to let you check in at various"Smart Concierge" tablets around the ship that let you check yourreservations for restaurants and shows. Despite several attempts, I couldn'tget this feature working, although I did see others tapping away at thetablets, so I assume the problem was eventually solved.

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Virtual balconies

Of the 2,090 staterooms aboard Quantum of the Seas, 375feature "virtual balconies." These are basically 80-inchSharp Aquos TVs mounted on the walls that display a video feed from camerasmounted outside. A graphic of a railing in front of the feed helps create thebalcony illusion, which, I have to admit, was quite good. The screen is turnedon and off by a remote control or it can be left on and the curtains closed ifyou want that "virtual sunrise" feeling in the morning.

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Smart desk

The desks in the staterooms are a good size -- and a thoughtfultouch being that you might want to bring along your laptop to take advantage ofthe ship's fast Wi-Fi. The desks also feature two USB charging ports, twooutlets for grounded US-style plugs and a universal outlet for overseas plugs.

Quantum of the Seas will sail out of Bayonne, N.J., and make trips through the Caribbean until May 2015. After that, it will be relocated to China.