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.
