From soaking up the sun by the pool and jacuzzi during the day, to chancing your luck in the casino by night, cruise ships such as the MV Discovery offer as much, if not more, than the average holiday resort. Combine this luxury with exotic destinations such as South America and Antarctica or Mayan Mexico and the Panama Canal and it is not surprising that cruises are tempting for today's seasoned travellers, as much as those seeking rest and relaxation.

In fact, those lucky enough to sail on the MV Discovery have enjoyed a particularly sumptuous experience since the 20,000 tonne ship was entirely refurbished in 2002/3. As part of the refit, an entirely new client-server IT infrastructure was installed by London-based Doherty IT Solutions to manage everything including the Ship's Internet cafe, bars, shops, stock, security and inventory. An added complication was that the MV Discovery is a completely cashless environment. As soon as they arrive on board, the 650 passengers are issued with a magnetic strip card which they swipe whenever they go ashore or re-embark. This card also doubles as an electronic payment device.

To process transactions, Epson's MR-800 Modular Registers have been deployed throughout the Ship, running Doherty's Windows XP-based software. Based on a powerful Intel Processor so they deliver consistently high levels of performance, the terminals also feature an ultra-thin touchscreen monitor with built-in Magnetic Stripe Reader (MSR) to read the passengers' swipe cards. Their open, modular design means each MR-800 can be configured to suit the particular application - whether in the bar, shop, reception or even the casino. In addition, the touchscreen interface and drill down menus are extremely intuitive, making them ideal for situations where there is a high staff turnover.

Perhaps the most important factor behind the choice of MR-800s however, was their reliability, as CEO, Terry Doherty, emphasised: "A cruise ship is an incredibly hostile environment for IT hardware - power is supplied by electrical generators, there's a lot of moving around, and the operating hours are much longer than average. What's more, if anything goes wrong, it's obviously impossible to get a service engineer out to the middle of the ocean to rectify the problem."

To ensure the MV Discovery's system was as resilient as possible, Doherty IT Solutions first built and tested a complete pilot at the company's offices in Chiswick, before transporting it wholesale to Genoa, where the Ship was being refitted. In the event of any problems, the Ship carries spare terminals and a new system can easily be configured remotely from London, via a satellite link (the same link also enables the Ship's owners to access management information from their offices in Switzerland as the MV Discovery continues its voyage).

"The Epson MR-800 is a robust and very functional terminal which has not let us down. Together with its touchscreen and integrated MSR, this made it a very sensible PoS choice," added Terry Doherty.