Executive summary – Celebrity cruise line is a company which prides themselves in providing a great customer experience. They try to cover every need and go out of their way to make the customers feel as if they are celebrities. From the way they handle the onboarding to how they try to learn the customer’s needs and wants. The ships currently run like clockwork and every bit is planned and scheduled in order to keep things running smoothly. The company strongly prides themselves in being able to keep up with everything that goes on while the ships are out at sea and that they can keep the customers happy.
They offer rewards to those who are repeat customers by giving them additional perks for continuing to cruise with them rather than competitors. Background – Celebrity cruise line is offering luxury cruises and enticing patrons to become repeat customers by offering them additional perks. They want for the cruise line industry to continue being a great experience while still by a luxury. While staying in the medium price range they want to make it seem to be a higher end experience to their customers. Currently they are trying to find a way for the industry to keep a high standing as a vacation option.
They do not want it to become a past time or to not appeal as a luxury and fade away. Problem Statement – They need to bring the spark back to the industry by appealing to the needs of the patrons and deciding if more in depth customization of the experience will help. Analysis – The company needs to find their niche. Are they looking to be a price leader or are they looking to be in the area of customization. Depending on which option they feel is going to keep them a head in the industry of vacations will determine which direction they need to go next.
Each of these service areas has a different ways that they need to be handled and things that need to be done. With cruise lines having many different ships and different routes in which the ships take they should work on the repeat customers. Giving the loyal customers certain perks for repeat travel will keep them coming back. They will feel special when they get upgrades such as better rooms, tickets to shows, or even discounts. This allows them to have a celebrity or VIP status feeling and keeps them happy.
They will not only return and bring more business themselves but will also tell others about how they got such a great deal or how they have upgraded status. This word of mouth is also free advertising for the cruise lines. Everyone likes to feel like they are getting something for free or a perk. They will then surely love to tell others about it. Recommendations and Conclusions – I feel that cruises have become a normal vacation option for people and they even offer extremely cheap rates compared to years ago. They do not have the same glamorous appeal they once did.
I feel going the route of customizing the experience more would bring in more patrons. Everyone is looking to feel special and with the cruise line stating that they want to give the feeling of everyone is a celebrity as the motto the customization is they aspect which would do this. They would live up to the image they have portrayed as well as. It would be more difficult to keep up with customization but being a price leader would end up leading to a reduced quality and the business may fade to a past time like they were worried about.
To keep up with the celebrity status the company needs to focus on the little things which make the vacationers feel unique and special rather than just being put on a ship while it takes them to destinations. The ambiance of the cruise ships need to continue to have the spark of and all exclusive floating paradise. If not it will start to feel like just a mode of travel and not a special trip. On Carnival cruise lines they offer a program for VIFP which stands for Very Important Fun Person. With this you earn points each time you cruise with them and they more points you have the higher the level you reach.
Each level involves more perks. Some of the perks are upgrades on the cabin, free drinks, free laundry service, and priority boarding and luggage service. (“Carnival,” 2012) A service like this is also offered with Royal Caribbean but only to those who also have their credit card. When you use the card you gain point which can be used to pay for trips and for perks on the trip. Just for having the card and cruising with them gets you discounts. Carnival. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. carnival. com/ Royal Caribbean Cruise lines. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. rccreservations. com/
