Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 32759
Understanding Cruise Passengers’ On-board Experience throughout the Customer Decision Journey

Authors: Sabina Akter, Osiris Valdez Banda, Pentti Kujala, Jani Romanoff

Abstract:

This paper examines the relationship between on-board environmental factors and customer overall satisfaction in the context of the cruise on-board experience. The on-board environmental factors considered are ambient, layout/design, social, product/service and on-board enjoyment factors. The study presents a data-driven framework and model for the on-board cruise experience. The data are collected from 893 respondents in an application of a self-administered online questionnaire of their cruise experience. This study reveals the cruise passengers’ on-board experience through the customer decision journey based on the publicly available data. Pearson correlation and regression analysis have been applied, and the results show a positive and a significant relationship between the environmental factors and on-board experience. These data help understand the cruise passengers’ on-board experience, which will be used for the ultimate decision-making process in cruise ship design.

Keywords: Cruise behavior, on-board environmental factors, on-board experience, user or customer satisfaction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 791

References:


[1] Risitano, M., Sorrentino, A., & Quintano, M. (2017). Understanding the role of the service experience in the cruise industry. International Journal of Tourism Policy, 7(4), 289-308.
[2] Pine, B. J., Pine, J., & Gilmore, J. H. (1999). The experience economy: work is theatre & every business a stage. Harvard Business Press.
[3] Hung, K., & Petrick, J. F. (2011). Why do you cruise? Exploring the motivations for taking cruise holidays, and the construction of a cruising motivation scale. Tourism Management, 32(2), 386-393.
[4] Dong, P., & Siu, N. Y. M. (2013). Servicescape elements, customer predispositions and service experience: The case of theme park visitors. Tourism Management, 36, 541-551.
[5] Kim, W. G., & Moon, Y. J. (2009). Customers’ cognitive, emotional, and actionable response to the servicescape: A test of the moderating effect of the restaurant type. International journal of hospitality management, 28(1), 144-156.
[6] Kwortnik, R. J. (2008). Shipscape influence on the leisure cruise experience. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2(4), 289-311.
[7] Li, Y., & Kwortnik, R. (2017). Categorizing cruise lines by passenger perceived experience. Journal of Travel Research, 56(7), 941-956.
[8] Petrick, J. F., Li, X., & Park, S. Y. (2007). Cruise passengers' decision-making processes. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 23(1), 1-14.
[9] Ozarslan, S., & Eren, P. E. (2018). MobileCDP: A mobile framework for the consumer decision process. Information Systems Frontiers, 20(4), 803-824.
[10] Fatma, M., & Rahman, Z. (2015). Consumer perspective on CSR literature review and future research agenda. Management Research Review, 38(2), 195-216.
[11] Engel, J. F., Blackwell, R. D., & Miniard, P. W. (1995). Consumer Behavior, Chicago. New York: Dryden Press, Environmental Psychology Perspective. Journal of Retailing, 58(1), 34-57.
[12] Dibb, S., Simkin, L., Pride, W. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2005). Marketing: Concepts and strategies (p. 850). Houghton Mifflin.
[13] Hawkins, D., Mothersbaugh, D., & Best, R. (2012). Consumer behavior: Building marketing strategy, 12th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
[14] Kotler, P. (2000). Marketing Management: The Millennium Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Custom Pub.
[15] Kotler, P. (1991). Marketing management: analysis, planning, implementation, and control. London Prentice-Hall International.
[16] Ha, J., & Jang, S. S. (2010). Perceived values, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions: The role of familiarity in Korean restaurants. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 2-13.
[17] Homburg, C., Hoyer, W. D., & Koschate, N. (2005). Customers’ reactions to price increases: do customer satisfaction and perceived motive fairness matter?. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 33(1), 36-49.
[18] Oliver Richard, L. (1997). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York ˈ NY: Irwin-McGraw-Hill.
[19] Kim, H. C., Chua, B. L., Lee, S., Boo, H. C., & Han, H. (2016). Understanding airline travelers’ perceptions of well-being: The role of cognition, emotion, and sensory experiences in airline lounges. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(9), 1213-1234.
[20] Geyskens, I., Steenkamp, J. B. E., Scheer, L. K., & Kumar, N. (1996). The effects of trust and interdependence on relationship commitment: A trans-Atlantic study. International Journal of research in marketing, 13(4), 303-317.
[21] Yang, Z., & Peterson, R. T. (2004). Customer perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty: The role of switching costs. Psychology & Marketing, 21(10), 799-822.
[22] Nam, J., Ekinci, Y., & Whyatt, G. (2011). Brand equity, brand loyalty and consumer satisfaction. Annals of tourism Research, 38(3), 1009-1030.
[23] Tung, V. W. S., & Ritchie, J. B. (2011). Exploring the essence of memorable tourism experiences. Annals of tourism research, 38(4), 1367-1386.
[24] Anderson, E. W., Fornell, C., & Mazvancheryl, S. K. (2004). Customer satisfaction and shareholder value. Journal of marketing, 68(4), 172-185.
[25] Szymanski, D. M., & Henard, D. H. (2001). Customer satisfaction: A meta-analysis of the empirical evidence. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 29(1), 16.
[26] Martilla, J. A., & James, J. C. (1977). Importance-performance analysis. Journal of marketing, 41(1), 77-79.
[27] Banerjee, S., & Chua, A. Y. (2016). In search of patterns among travellers' hotel ratings in TripAdvisor. Tourism Management, 53, 125-131.
[28] Schuckert, M., Liu, X., & Law, R. (2015). A segmentation of online reviews by language groups: How English and non-English speakers rate hotels differently. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 48, 143-149.
[29] Zhao, Y., Xu, X., & Wang, M. (2019). Predicting overall customer satisfaction: Big data evidence from hotel online textual reviews. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76, 111-121.
[30] Ramya, N., & Mohamed Ali, S. A. (2016). Factors affecting consumer buying behavior. International journal of applied research, 2(10), 76-80.
[31] Mason, M. C., & Paggiaro, A. (2012). Investigating the role of festivalscape in culinary tourism: The case of food and wine events. Tourism management, 33(6), 1329-1336.
[32] Abdullah, F., Abdurahman, A. Z. A., & Hamali, J. (2013). The dimensions of customer preference in the foodservice industry. Business: Theory and Practice, 14, 64.
[33] Bitner, M. J. (1992). Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of marketing, 56(2), 57-71.
[34] Baker, J. (1987). The role of the environment in marketing services: The consumer perspective: Chicago: American Marketing Association.
[35] Baker, J., Grewal, D., & Parasuraman, A. (1994). The influence of store environment on quality inferences and store image. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 22(4), 328-339.
[36] Raajpoot, N. A. (2002). TANGSERV: A multiple item scale for measuring tangible quality in foodservice industry. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 5(2), 109-127.
[37] Lucas, A. F. (2003). The determinants and effects of slot servicescape satisfaction in a Las Vegas hotel casino. UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal, 7(1), 1.
[38] Wakefield, K. L., & Blodgett, J. G. (1996). The effect of the servicescape on customers’ behavioral intentions in leisure service settings. Journal of services marketing, 10(6), 45-61.
[39] Cravens, D. W., Holland, C. W., Lamb Jr, C. W., & Moncrief III, W. C. (1988). Marketing's role in product and service quality. Industrial Marketing Management, 17(4), 285-304.
[40] Garvin, D. A. (1991). How the Baldrige Award really works. Harvard business review, 69(6), 80-95.
[41] Poon, W. C., & Lock-Teng Low, K. (2005). Are travellers satisfied with Malaysian hotels?. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 17(3), 217-227.
[42] Lee, Y. K., Lee, C. K., Lee, S. K., & Babin, B. J. (2008). Festivalscapes and patrons' emotions, satisfaction, and loyalty. Journal of business research, 61(1), 56-64.
[43] Caruana, A. (2002). Service loyalty: The effects of service quality and the mediating role of customer satisfaction. European journal of marketing, 36(7/8), 811-828.
[44] Al-Tit, A. A. (2015). The effect of service and food quality on customer satisfaction and hence customer retention. Asian Social Science, 11(23), 129.
[45] Bateson, J. E., & Langeard, E. (1982). Consumer uses of common dimensions in the appraisal of services. ACR North American Advances.
[46] Bowers, M. R., Swan, J. E., & Koehler, W. F. (1994). What attributes determine quality and satisfaction with health care delivery?. Health care management review, 19(4), 49-55.
[47] Harrington, R. J., Ottenbacher, M. C., & Way, K. A. (2013). QSR choice: Key restaurant attributes and the roles of gender, age and dining frequency. Journal of quality assurance in hospitality & tourism, 14(1), 81-100.
[48] Ball, D., Simões Coelho, P., & Machás, A. (2004). The role of communication and trust in explaining customer loyalty: An extension to the ECSI model. European journal of marketing, 38(9/10), 1272-1293.
[49] Bloemer, J., De Ruyter, K., & Peeters, P. (1998). Investigating drivers of bank loyalty: the complex relationship between image, service quality and satisfaction. International Journal of bank marketing, 16(7), 276-286.
[50] Nguyen, N., & LeBlanc, G. (1998). The mediating role of corporate image on customers’ retention decisions: an investigation in financial services. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 16(2), 52-65.
[51] Amin, M., Isa, Z., & Fontaine, R. (2013). Islamic banks: Contrasting the drivers of customer satisfaction on image, trust, and loyalty of Muslim and non-Muslim customers in Malaysia. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 31(2), 79-97.
[52] Jiang, P. (2004). The role of brand name in customization decisions: a search vs experience perspective. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 13(2), 73-83.
[53] Sea scanner (2019). About Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.seascanner.com/