Always an industry trendsetter, Royal Caribbean is the first cruise line to offer a Tracking Program for parents to track their children onboard a cruise ship.

When Royal Caribbean's new Oasis of the Seas begins regular cruises next month, the muster station wristbands that all young children on cruise ships must wear will be enhanced with a passive electronic device that will allow their parents to track them in real time as they wander the ship -- an industry first.

The wristbands are being rolled out in conjunction with the debut of an onboard smart phone system called Royal Connect that's designed to make it easier for passengers to keep in touch with eachother.

Passengers will be able to rent Royal Connect phones for $17.50 a voyage that they can use to track their children, call and text other passengers who have Royal Connect phones and call cabins.

The phones also can be used to call onboard areas such as the spa and restaurants to make reservations, and they also display the latest shipboard activities.  The phones are Apple iPhones configured to only work on the ship.  They plan to offer 800 phones on the Oasis of the Seas on a  first-come, first-serve basis to passengers.

Parents who don't want to spend the $17.50 to rent a phone but still want to track down their child's location on Oasis will be able to go the guest services desk to do it.