Situation

Norwegian Cruise Line views a superior customer experience from the very first encounter, as its key to success. The company believes the cruising experience begins when the first piece of information about the cruise that is delivered to the guest. In the past, guests would receive a package prior to departure, complete with their tickets, luggage tags, airline tickets when applicable, information regarding various shore excursions and more — all the documentation a passenger needed in order to board the ship.

However, with the advancements in technology and Norwegian’s migration to Internet booking and e-documents, the need for the majority of the guest ticket package documentation began to diminish.

Solution

In partnership with NCL, we developed a dynamic pre-cruise booklet that allows the cruise line to provide attractive, user-friendly, customized, timely and highly impactful customer communications, printed on demand. The targeted, educational pre-cruise booklets are created based on the customer’s personal profile.

The cover of the booklet contains such information as the name of the ship, the sail date, the guest’s name, cabin information, reservation number and their travel agency name and logo, if the cruise was booked through one. The interior contains personalized luggage tags, a diagram of the passenger’s specific ship, and excursion packages tailored to the specific ship and sailing date. The passengers complete their online registration, print their electronic documents (e-docs) and then simply present their passports to board the ship and everything else they need is included in their booklet.

From a service perspective, when the booklet is mailed, an email is automatically generated to the booking travel agency so they know the booklet is on its way. Norwegian’s reservation system is simultaneously updated with the information, complete with the carrier tracking number, so the shipment can be tracked.

Outcomes

While most cruise companies provide the necessary materials to get their passengers on the ship, we expanded on that idea for Norwegian Cruise Line, providing onboard materials to maximize the passenger experience, while reducing printing and postage costs.