Cruisers are social animals by nature. They are joiners. For the most part, they belong to groups and organizations, and seek to meet new friends when they cruise. "Picture the best friend you've never met." That is the promise inherent in a cruise vacation...yet at the turn of the century - the cruise lines failed to understand it, or lead with it.
Pre-Y2K
In 1999, I met with a friend from the airline industry who had recently become the President of a very large cruise line, who informed me over the course of lunch that he had just been on his first cruise. He went on to explain that he felt the need to have the ship's communications department facilitate ship-to-shore communications capability just for him, so he could check his e-mail while at sea. I told him then and there that his company (and all other cruise lines) would be retrofitting their ships to facilitate the same connections for their guests that he demanded for himself - in every cabin. He told me it would never happen - as the costs were too prohibitive. I explained that his prospect's communication needs were no less important than his own (from their perspective), and that he had just articulated a major cruise resistance factor that needed to be overcome. What he perceived to be a "cost," was actually a huge ("wish you were here") marketing opportunity, one that self-liquidates through use fees. The industry has subsequently proven me right, as every major vessel now offers internet capabilities to its guests.
Pre-Y2K
In 1999, I met with a friend from the airline industry who had recently become the President of a very large cruise line, who informed me over the course of lunch that he had just been on his first cruise. He went on to explain that he felt the need to have the ship's communications department facilitate ship-to-shore communications capability just for him, so he could check his e-mail while at sea. I told him then and there that his company (and all other cruise lines) would be retrofitting their ships to facilitate the same connections for their guests that he demanded for himself - in every cabin. He told me it would never happen - as the costs were too prohibitive. I explained that his prospect's communication needs were no less important than his own (from their perspective), and that he had just articulated a major cruise resistance factor that needed to be overcome. What he perceived to be a "cost," was actually a huge ("wish you were here") marketing opportunity, one that self-liquidates through use fees. The industry has subsequently proven me right, as every major vessel now offers internet capabilities to its guests.
