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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) announced the successful migration of its shoreside technology infrastructure, including its reservation system and mobile apps, to Amazon Web Services (AWS). This strategic move positions NCLH as one of the first passenger cruise lines to transition its core technology operations to AWS. The company aims to leverage AWS’s secure and high-performance infrastructure to reduce processing time, increase availability during peak periods, streamline operational infrastructure, and enhance the overall cruising experience.
"We are thrilled to be at the forefront of cloud adoption in the cruise industry,” said Georgios Mortakis, NCLH chief information officer and chief information security officer. "Our migration of on-premises workloads to AWS has resulted in significant improvements in performance. This allows us to accelerate innovation and create amazing experiences for our employees, guests, and travel partners. As an example, during our largest traffic event ever for our reservations systems in November 2023, we handled record volumes without any known performance or availability issues."
The 15-month migration project was led by Mortakis and Humberto Pombo, senior director of Infrastructure at NCLH. It involved moving over 100 applications, thousands of virtual and physical servers, data center environments, and peripheral server rooms to the cloud. NCLH collaborated with AWS for guidance on operational best practices with automations and skills necessary for modernizing legacy systems.
NCLH can now respond swiftly to market changes and customer expectations while ensuring seamless disaster recovery through multiple AWS Availability Zones and Regions for mission-critical applications. The company has also integrated development, security, and operations (DevSecOps) into its software development processes. This framework facilitates secure coding practices and automates security testing procedures.
“Meticulous planning by the implementation team leveraging cutting-edge technologies were necessary,” Mortakis stated regarding the challenges faced during the migration process.
With its shore-side migration complete, NCLH plans to harness artificial intelligence (AI) using a broad portfolio of AWS analytics, machine learning, and generative AI services. These technologies will help tailor onboard activities to individual preferences and streamline logistics.
“By being an all-in cloud adopter," said Steven M. Elinson from AWS,"NCLH is a digital transformer ready to capitalize on agility."
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., operating Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises®, has a combined fleet of 32 ships offering itineraries worldwide. The company expects fleet expansion through 2036 with additional ships planned.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements in this release are “forward-looking statements” within U.S federal securities laws intended for safe harbor under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include expectations about technology use or AI integration which may not guarantee future performance due risks outlined in NCLH’s filings with the SEC.
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