CASE ON CRUISE SHIP FAILURE SERVICES: ONBOARD

Abstract

The ocean has fascinated people since time immemorial. Currently, cruise lines, one of the most globalized, and legally complex industries, transported 28.7 million tourists around the seven seas, a $40 billion industry, in 2019. However, among the people who step onto cruise ships each year, many are dissatisfied with the onboard services. This research investigated two cruises from Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC Crociere), navigating in Brazil (MSC Fantasia and MSC Seaview), as the unit of analysis. This article also combined N=205 qualitative interviews with direct participation (one of the authors has participated in the MSC Fantasia cruise). Key findings pointed out repetitive customer service failures in both cases, that should be avoided at all costs, such as not solving customers' problems, language barriers, disrespect, offenses, malpractice, among others. Combined, both ships transported near 10,000 people, in seven-day cruises, from February 22 to 29, 2020. This investigation is useful for managers, cruise line agents and decision-makers, tourists, students, academics, and overall practitioners. Analysis and discussion compile the present work.