Meet Rob: MSC Cruises’ New Robotic Bartender at Sea

Get ready to meet Rob and his cosmic cocktails.

MSC Cruises on Thursday announced that it will be debuting the first-ever humanoid robotic bartender at sea, called Rob, onboard MSC Virtuosa when the ship launches in April.

Rob will be able to mix drink and interact with guests in eight languages from his post in the MSC Starship Club, a new integrated bar and entertainment venue that MSC said is inspired by its “vision of the spaceship of the future.”

Guests will be able to order cocktails using “designed vertical digital cockpits,” which will send the orders to Rob behind the bar. The status of the cocktail prep will be shown through digital monitors and a ticker-tape-style LED strip above the robotic island. The cocktail will then be served to guests in “custom-designed futuristic glasses” that guests will be able to take home as souvenirs.

Each time a guest visits the Club, they’ll have a different experience, with Rob’s personality evolving with the surrounding setting and atmosphere each time.

According to MSC, the Club is six years in the making, pushing “boundaries with the engineering that has gone into making this a reality.” Outside of Rob, the Club will also feature 3D holograms, a digital art wall, and a 12-seat infinity digital interactive table that lets guests take their own personalized galactic tour.

As a sister ship to Grandiosa, and a Meraviglia-Plus ship, Virtuosa will feature the signature MSC two-deck promenade under a LED sky dome; the MSC for Me experience, and MSC Yacht Club. Other features include 5 pools, a top-deck rope course, 21 bars, 4 main restaurants, 5 specialty restaurants, and more. All of the 19 decks onboard will also be named after famous composers.

According to MSC, the ship is also one of the most environmentally-conscious ships to come into service with a hybrid exhaust gas cleaning system on all engines, an advanced wastewater treatment system, and more.

Even with COVID-19 continuing to impact the cruise industry, the ship is the first of two ships that MSC plans to launch this year—Virtuosa will be joined by MSC Seashore later this summer. Once Seashore debuts, MSC’s fleet will feature 19 different ships with another four expected to come by 2025.