Cruise Industry Research Articles

Commercial and legal conditions for the organization of sea passenger transportation

This article explores current trends and prospects in passenger cruise ship chartering. In light of events in recent years, including the global COVID-19 pandemic, the cruise industry has faced serious challenges, prompting companies to look for new approaches to support their operations. The article examines different chartering models, including long-term and short-term agreements, as well as the possibility of sharing vessels between operators. Two organizational and legal forms of operation of marine passenger ships are considered in more detail: liner and cruise. Formalized and provided a schematic representation of the process of interaction of the participants of sea passenger transportation in various forms of ship operation. The interaction schemes of the shipowner, the charterer and the managing agent are described. The interaction technology of the participants in the passenger transportation process is considered in the context of the types of ship charter contracts. Differences in technological processes of interaction of participants in the process of organization and provision of sea passenger transportation, distribution of responsibilities, risks, costs and income in the organization of sea passenger transportation according to various schemes of interaction of participants are given.

Social transformation in the cruise industry during the COVID-19 pandemic

Social transformation is an emerging trend and a new phenomenon in the cruise industry in the 21st century. Cruise lines encounter stiff competition with many competitors and face sophisticated and unpredictable challenges from the wave of social transformation. Furthermore, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the social transformation phenomena in the industry. This study investigates how social transformation reshapes the cruise industry to discuss the remarkable social and economic changes in the industry. The study builds upon the 4C descriptive framework to suggest how cruise lines take measures to create resilience against the influence affected by social transformation. The study is conducted through 18 semi-structured and in-depth interviews with cruise terminals, travel agencies, logistics, and tourism associations, researchers, cruise lines and passengers, and airlines. The cruise shipping industry structure has fundamentally shifted from supply-driven to demand-driven. The concept of social transformation becomes vital and is a driving force that is more society specific. Findings are drawn as valuable guidelines for cruise lines to scale up in operations and strategies that create social transformation. Cruise lines can also maintain sustainable development and resilient recovery post-COVID-19

Dual-channel ticketing and pricing strategies in cruise revenue management

ABSTRACT To address cruise companies’ revenue loss caused by over-reliance on indirect channels for ticket distribution, we design a dual-channel pricing policy that includes dynamic horizontal and vertical pricing regimes aiming to maximizing cruise companies’ revenue. In the horizontal pricing regime, cruise companies and travel agencies offer uniform prices to consumers dynamically. In the vertical pricing regime, cruise companies provide dynamic commissions to travel agencies based on their sales performances. In view of the dynamic customer arrivals and uncertain demand, we model the dynamic dual-channel pricing decisions as a Markov decision process, and solve the model by means of a reinforcement learning method. Our computational results show that dual-channel pricing policies generated by our method outperform the classic Expected Marginal Seat Revenue method, which has been widely used in similar industries such as airlines for revenue management. In addition to the various features of dual-channel in ticket distribution, our model also takes into account customers’ onboard consumptions, which is a critical source of revenue in cruise industry but has never been considered in the literature. As a result, our model and computational results provide insightful implications for cruise revenue management.

The cruise industry workforce crunch – generational changes in work values of job seekers

Diseño/metodología/enfoqueCon el apoyo de una importante agencia de contratación, se obtuvieron respuestas a una encuesta online de 1.320 candidatos a un puesto de trabajo, de los cuales 830 eran de la generación del milenio (milenials). A partir de un enfoque cuantitativo, se preguntó que evaluaran la importancia de ocho dimensiones sobre valores laborales. Se clasificaron estas dimensiones para los milenials y para la generación X y se compararon las valoraciones medias de su importancia mediante pruebas t.ObjetivoA raíz del Covid-19, el sector de los cruceros está experimentando un reto de gestión del talento sin precedentes. La investigación existente sugiere una amplia gama de valores laborales que pueden atraer a los candidatos al sector de los cruceros. El objetivo de esta investigación es evaluar si existen diferencias significativas en las puntuaciones sobre la importancia de estos valores laborales para los millenials, en comparación con los de la generación X precedente.ResultadosNuestros resultados revelan que existen diferencias entre los milenials y la generación X en la clasificación de las ocho dimensiones sobre valores laborales. No se encuentra apoyo para ninguna diferencia sistemática en términos de valores laborales “extrínsecos” frente a “intrínsecos”. Sin embargo, nuestros resultados muestran que la importancia de los valores laborales “impulsados por el ego” (por ejemplo, el apoyo, el desarrollo, la retribución, el equilibrio entre la vida laboral y personal y la comodidad) es significativamente mayor para los milenials. Por el contrario, para los factores más “altruistas” no hay diferencias significativas entre las dos generaciones.Originalidad/valorBasándonos en una muestra muy amplia de candidatos a un puesto de trabajo en el sector de los cruceros, nuestros resultados respaldan las predicciones de las teorías generacionales. Se demuestra que existen diferencias en las valoraciones del trabajo entre la generación X y los milenials. También, se aporta una perspectiva novedosa sobre las dimensiones a lo largo de las cuales se materializan estas diferencias.

Compensation mechanism for port time extension in cruise line designs

Low onboard spending and insufficient onshore time are the two main problems affecting the earnings of both cruise lines and port cities in the Chinese cruise market. However, increasing port berthing time can benefit port cities at the cost of cruise lines. To balance the two parties, we propose a compensation mechanism based on the cooperative game-theory, where the city subsidizes the cruise ship to stay longer to maximise overall incremental benefits. A questionnaire survey is conducted to collect data on tourists' spending and onshore time in different port cities and their budgets. The feasibility of the mechanism depends on the sailing distance of the cruise ship, the number of connected ports, and the tourists’ average budget. This compensation mechanism can enhance the total benefits of the cruise chain, improve customer satisfaction, and provide a new model for developing the cruise industry in China.

An overview of the existing gap between the Romanian university educational offers focused on entrepreneurship and the maritime cruise industry

An overview of the existing gap between the Romanian university educational offers focused on entrepreneurship and the maritime cruise industry

Managing crisis in the cruise industry: using internal communications to foster workforce resilience

Purpose This paper aims to investigates the use of internal communications to foster workforce resilience in the cruise industry during a crisis. Drawing on the regulatory focus theory, this study explores how internal communication strategies can build employee resilience particularly at a time of difficulty. The regulatory focus theory explores the employee’s rationale for goal pursuit. Prevention-focused individuals are concerned with safety and responsibility while promotion-focused individuals focus on goal advancement. The authors seek to broaden the existing understanding of the application of the regulatory focus theory as a lens to inform internal communications crisis strategies. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research using 15-semi structured interviews with cruise industry experts was undertaken during the pandemic. Applying a sensemaking and sense giving approach the researchers thematically analyzed the data in three stages, allowing for new theoretical insights to be uncovered. Findings The findings suggest that internal communication strategies should include prevention-focused messages emphasizing the cruise companies’ responsibility to employees, and promotion-focused communications, to include social interaction and individual growth opportunities. Originality/value This study’s contribution is three-fold. First, the authors extend the theoretical application of the regulatory focus theory to internal communication and identify a novel concurrent application of both prevention- and promotion-focused messages for developing a resilient workforce. Second, the authors introduce a preliminary conceptualization of an internal crisis communication strategy, emphasizing the concurrent application of prevention- and promotion-focused messages. Finally, the author offer practical suggestions for managing crisis communication strategies.

Public sentiment towards cruises and resulting stock performance in 2017–2021

Social and economic impacts of the cruise industry are undeniable within the United States (U.S.). Online media about cruising was quantified in terms of volume and net sentiment, then analyzed alongside stock market performance of cruise companies. Daily net sentiment was positively correlated with daily stock closing prices for the three major operators studied (NCLH, RCL, CCL). Further analysis reveals that online media net sentiment had a positive effect on daily closing prices; an increase of 1 point in the sentiment score led to a $0.07, $0.23, and $0.08 increase in the daily closing price of NCLH, RCL, and CCL, respectively. In addition, imposing a no sail order led to negative impacts with the greatest against RCL. Finally, a variable for the COVID effect on these firms revealed differing magnitudes of effect and directionality to each of the firms.

Tourist Behavior in the Cruise Industry Post-COVID-19: An Examination of Service Quality, Corporate Image, and Intentions to Pay and Revisit

The COVID-19 outbreak has had detrimental consequences on the cruise industry due to the suspension of commercial cruise trips, and these effects remain apparent in Saudi Arabia. The offered service quality (SQ) in the post-COVID-19 era seems to be a critical element for improving customer experiences and satisfaction, enhancing destination attractiveness, increasing revenue, and maintaining repeat business. The current study aimed to assess the impact of service quality on tourists’ satisfaction and corporate image as well as the intention to pay for cruise trips and revisit the destination among 315 tourists in Saudi Arabia. Service quality was measured using five subscales of the SERVQUAL scale, including reliability, tangibles, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Tourists’ satisfaction was significantly influenced by four domains of SQ, whereas the intention to pay more, intention to revisit the destination, and corporate image were significantly predicted by ≤3 domains of SQ. The study’s findings can help the cruise industry to improve its offerings and create more personalized and engaging experiences that meet the changing needs of customers in the recovery period after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Cruise supply chain risk mitigation strategies: An empirical study in Shanghai, China

The cruise sector is one of the most characteristic examples of globalised business. This characteristic makes the cruise supply chain (CSC) likely to expose to a variety of risks, such as the geopolitical environment and inclement weather, which requires an urgent need for risk mitigation strategies. A review of the literature revealed that supply chain risk mitigation strategies often remain at a conceptual level, and they mainly focus on a specific risk or a perspective of a specific cruise sector; there is therefore a gap in the absence of practical risk mitigation strategies in the cruise industry from a supply chain perspective. To address the gap, this paper interviewed and analysed opinions of eight types of CSC players. Twenty risk mitigation strategies in the context of a CSC were identified and examined into control and detection, relationship-based strategies, marketing strategies, policy-based strategies, risk transfer and share, and flexibility strategies. A broad picture and a deep understanding of strategies to deal with risks in the CSC were provided. The findings contribute to the literature and practice by linking theoretical strategies to practical strategies and exploring the mitigation strategies with actual practice in the CSC that can be used directly by practitioners and researchers.

Suggestions on Health and Safety Measures and Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures on Luxury Cruise Ships

In recent decades, there have been a number of large-scale infectious diseases on large cruise ships, which has had a huge negative impact on the development of the cruise industry. A large number of passengers and crew members did not receive timely and adequate medical treatment, resulting in illness aggravation and even death. This paper investigates the weaknesses of luxury cruise in the field of public health and epidemic prevention in the law through the analysis of luxury cruise public health events. In the daily operation of large cruise ships, there are also some health and safety loopholes that are not taken seriously. Some shortages of the epidemic prevention and security risks are found in the field of personnel composition, the health security check during boarding, frequent flow of personnel and medical conditions aboard luxury cruise. There are some suggestions on perfecting the existing legal standard system, improving public health management, speeding up the ventilation system upgrade, improving the ability of medical, etc. The above deficiencies are found and summarized in this paper. It analyzes two cases during the COVID-19 outbreak, and gives suggestions on the prevention and control of the epidemic in the case of outbreaks of infectious diseases on luxury cruise ships. It is hoped that under the cooperation and efforts of various parties, a complete epidemic prevention system and emergency response plan will be established, which will help improve the epidemic prevention and control and response capacity of cruise ships.

The impacts of COVID-19 on the cruise industry based on an empirical study in China

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the entire cruise industry. This research aims to provide an understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 on the cruise industry from various stakeholders and recommend corresponding post-COVID recovery strategies for building a sustainable cruise industry. By conducting 22 semi-structured interviews in Shanghai, China and analysing the interview data using content analysis, this research finds five aspects of the impacts that are worth discussing, namely social, health and well-being, regulatory, operational, and financial aspects. Key findings include the impacts of different stakeholders’ opinions, the problems existing in the current cruise industry, and the potential for future improvement. Recommendations and recovery strategies are proposed to mitigate the negative impacts. This research not only explores the impact of COVID-19 on cruise tourism and fosters recommendations in the most fast-developing region (China) but also facilitates researchers and policymakers to understand the effects of the pandemic and proposes future risk mitigation strategies.

Policy-driven or market-driven? A new perspective on the development of China’s cruise industry

The past 15 years have witnessed the rapid development of China’s cruise industry from scratch and the formation of a policy system in the cruise industry, reflecting the shift of the Chinese government’s attitude towards the cruise industry from wait-and-see, recognition and encouragement to active support. The paper conducts a statistical analysis of 128 policies related to the cruise industry issued by China’s administrative departments at all levels. It is found that the release of policies synchronizes with the development of the cruise industry, with each one providing feedback to the other. The policies do not exhibit a time lag with respect to their effects. The evolution of policy types from macro-level guidance to concrete operation is rapid, with the policy structure gradually improving. In line with current characteristics of the development of China’s cruise industry, the themes of the policies concentrate on five areas: cruise tourism services and products, port construction and development, cruise industry chain expansion, cruise industry environment and cruise industry management. However, there is still a lack of adequate policies to support and guide the industrial upgrading of cruise operation and cruise construction and its green and low-carbon development. In addition, the paper points out the main directions of future policy formulation.

Cruise revenue management: cross-discipline literature review and development of an integrated cruise revenue management framework

PurposeThis study aims to adopt a holistic approach to understand cruise revenue management (RM) practices that cover ticket and onboard revenues, through a cross-disciplinary literature review and practitioner interviews. An integrated cruise RM framework was developed and served as a blueprint for future cruise studies and practices.Design/methodology/approachA multi-stage approach was adopted, including a systematic literature review, two-waves of interviews with 26 cruise industry practitioners and the development of a holistic RM framework.FindingsThis study clarifies cruise RM functions across product planning, delivery stages and identifies ticket and onboard RM components. These are incorporated into the integrated framework, with weather and itinerary/ route attractiveness as additional considerations. Interviews revealed that there is no difference in the RM cycle before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, although strategies and tactics may vary in response to the market situation.Research limitations/implicationsSuggestions are made regarding product and service bundling and ways for ticket and onboard revenue teams to work together to optimize total revenue. Future research directions are also provided under the categories of RM applications and concepts, ticket core activities, onboard core activities and overall issues.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to conduct a cross-disciplinary systematic literature review of cruise RM without imposing publication dates or specific databases and the first to develop an integrated cruise “total” RM framework that includes ticket and onboard revenues.

International cruise research advances and hotspots: Based on literature big data

This paper makes a systematic visual analysis of cruise research literature collected in science network database from 1996 to 2019. The results show that: the overall number of published literatures on cruise research are growing; North American states, Europe, and Asia are the main regions of cruise research. The evolutionary of theme development of cruise research has three stages, and the current hot topics of cruise research can be summarized as cruise tourism, luxury cruises, cruise passengers, destination ports, environmental and biological conservation, and cruise diseases. Future research in the cruise field is in the areas of cruise supply chain, technology in cruise, children’s cruise experience, itinerary design, planning and optimization, brand reputation and luxury cruises, public transportation in destinations, environmental responsibility of passengers and corporate social responsibility, optimization of energy systems, climate change in relation to the cruise industry, the Chinese cruise market and risk management of cruise diseases.

Corporate Social Responsibility and COVID-19: Doing Good and Doing Well

Since the first case was reported in December 2019, COVID-19 has dramatically disrupted the globe, severely impacting physical and mental health worldwide as well as creating one of the worst economic crises since World War II. Among other industries, the hospitality industry was one of the most severely impacted by the pandemic. Due to the unprecedented economic downturn caused by the nationwide lockdowns and social distancing measures, millions of hospitality employees lost their jobs, and the value of stocks in the hotel, restaurant, casino, airline, and cruise industries plunged sharply. However, despite the severe and challenging economic circumstances, numerous hospitality companies spontaneously initiated a variety of corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts to help cope with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as donations to communities and support for employees. Therefore, the objective of this case study is to explore various CSR practices that hospitality companies employed to support their people and communities. The current case study provides unique contributions not only to hospitality literature but also to CSR literature in a timely manner, considering the pandemic as a pivotal point in human history when hospitality companies can provide such beneficial impact to society. This study additionally presents vital insights to hospitality executives in charge of CSR initiatives.

Arctic region: analysis of cruise products, network structure, and popular routes

ABSTRACT Cruise tourism in the Arctic has expanded due to an increase in ice melting. This can provide cruise services covering the growing demand for cruise shipping. This study analyzes the network structure and popular routes of Arctic cruise shipping in order to identify popular cruise ports and routes. An analysis conducted, using degree centrality and the weight of a link, identified that a small number of ports have high connections to others, while many ports have low connectivity. Akureyri-Isafjordur was found to be the most popular route for cruise shipping in this region. The study’s findings are drawn useful implications for the cruise industry and other business sectors in the future.

Personal submersibles offer novel ecological research access to Antarctic waters: an example, with observations of the rarely encountered scyphozoan Stygiomedusa gigantea

Underwater biological surveys have been conducted around the Antarctic continent for several decades, and our knowledge of the species present in the shallow waters (<50 m) is reasonably comprehensive. However, the waters below 50 m remain underexplored on the account of difficulty of access, financial barriers and relatively few operational platforms capable of deployment to such depths. Here, we demonstrate that personal submersibles, now increasingly deployed by the expedition cruise industry, can be vessels of opportunity for biological research in the polar regions. We describe direct observations of the rarely encountered scyphozoan Stygiomedusa gigantea at water depths of 80–280 m in Antarctic Peninsula coastal waters as an example of the potential that personal submersibles present for the scientific community, and we outline possible research avenues for utilizing these platforms in the future.

Life Cycle Assessment of the Environmental Consequences of the Premature Recycling of Cruise Ships due to Covid-19

Transportation industries such as airplanes, trains, and buses were able to resume operations during the pandemic. In the cruise industry, however, conditions for returning to work were more complex. As a result of the pandemic, the cruise tourism industry entered a period of economic difficulty and attempted to overcome it by borrowing heavily. Nonetheless, several companies decided to sell their existing ships to maintain their financial viability. Even though cruise ships sent for recycling via the Covid-19 process are expected to be recycled within 10 to 15 years, cruise ship recycling in recycling facilities has increased due to the epidemic. This study demonstrates the environmental impact calculation of cruise ships sent to Aliaga ship recycling facilities for disassembly before the end of their average service life under the Covid-19 effect using life cycle assessment (LCA). The results of the study demonstrated conclusively that the global environment had been affected by the transformation of the cruise industry as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic. The environmental effects of ships that must be sent for recycling after 10 to 15 years have to be experienced now.

SDGs disclosure: evidence from cruise corporations’ sustainability reporting

Purpose This study investigates how cruise corporations, which have shown consistent and high growth rates in recent years, address the Sustainable Development Goal 17 (SDG17) “Partnership for the Goals” to meet the UN 2030 Agenda. This study aims to fill the existent gap in the literature, as also highlighted by practitioners in the First Research Conference on Tourism, through the lens of stakeholder theory. Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on the analysis of partnerships and collaborative governance of cruise corporations’ endeavours to meet the UN 2030 Agenda. This study is supported by the sustainability disclosure framework and stakeholder theory, based on the dependence of resources and descriptive and instrumental approaches to describe, analyse and map, through multi-stakeholder partnerships, the sustainability initiatives and practices adopted by cruise corporations. A systematic manual content analysis has been developed on sustainability reporting published by corporations. Findings According to the descriptive and instrumental approaches and the dependence resources construct of the stakeholder theory, this study highlights the typology and nature of partnerships with SDGs, and their strategic role in achieving them, although cruise corporations do not highlight in their sustainability reporting the measures of effectiveness regarding the relationship between single partnerships and targets reached for each SDG. Practical implications Recommendations at the managerial level are put forward to support cruise corporations’ initiatives and practices to meet UN 2030 Agenda. This study suggests to governors of corporations the cooperation between the cruise industry and institutions at the local, national and international levels for promoting institutional interventions at the infrastructure and economic level. Originality/value This study provides further insights into the under-researched topic of sustainability disclosure within the cruise industry, adopting the lens of stakeholder theory from the partnerships’ perspective. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to adopt the analysis of the SDG practices under the lens of the stakeholder theory, based on the dependence of resources and descriptive and instrumental approaches to identify, map and analyse the multi-stakeholder partnerships as an enabling key to meet UN 2030 Agenda in the cruise industry.