Case Study
At Home or on Board: That Cruise Feeling 365 Days a Year
Facts & Figures
Client
- Founded in 2008, as a joint enterprise between TUI AG, the leading tourist group worldwide, and the globally active Royal Caribbean Cruises.
- One of the biggest players on the German cruise market, with seven ships.
- Brings together the cruise shipping company and tour operator business fields under one roof.
Challenge
- Booking by phone, checking in with paper tickets, tour booking with a clipboard, and after-sales by post: for a long time, the process of booking a cruise was made up of many separate, predominantly analog stages. Tui Cruises wanted to digitise the entire customer journey and create a digital all-round experience – well before the ship departs.
Services
- Analysis & optimization
- Discovery
- UI and UX design
- Prototypes
- UX testing
- Empowerment & consulting
- Native Development
- Digital Experience Platform (DXP)
- Continuous Development
Technology
- "My Holiday" portal as booking, support, and inspiration tool
- "My Holiday" app, Android and iOS
- Multi-screen universe on board the ship (cabin TV, digital signage, web)
- Continuous support by FFW's digital unit
Impact
We worked closely together to develop a digital infrastructure that connected the "My Holiday" booking portal, "My Holiday" app, and cabin TV and multi-screens on board. This means that as well as building passengers' anticipation before the holiday, we also create an unforgettable experience during and after the cruise.
Requirements
- Internet Booking Engine (IBE)
- Smartphone app, Android and iOS
- Deep integration in backend systems
- Data synchronization on land & ships
- Continuous support
- Creating a seamless customer experience with digital services: before, during, and after the cruise
- Gaining and working with digital data to continually improve the customer experience
Challenges
Something that involved several different stages and countless touchpoints in the analog world had to be digitised and integrated into a single, standard process. We had to take account of holiday research and booking as well as the stay on board, including information offers in the cabin or booking possibilities for shore excursions, through customer care after the end of the cruise. In brief: we needed to create a 360-degree digital experience – far beyond the actual holiday.
Solution
The project was particularly challenging, because we had to extend digitisation far beyond the fleet itself. We created a multi-screen universe on board the ships, allowing guests receive personal services and offers tailored to their needs: from exclusive control of lights in the cabin, through personalised TV streaming or insights into the route map, to personal shore excursion planning.
We also connected the booking and service portal "My Holiday" and the associated app and linked them with the systems on board. Business-relevant systems for booking, mobile ticketing, reservations, and selling additional services are interlinked with each other.
This means that the user experience begins before the holiday starts, because the internet booking engine we designed and developed is connected to the digital infrastructure and helps to create the perfect stay on board. We don't just build up guests' anticipation: we also help their cruise experience last even longer.
Impact
Together with Tui Cruises we succeeded in taking the complete customer experience to the next level, by expanding and linking existing analog customer contact points with digital touchpoints. This was possible because we had run a digital unit for Tui Cruises for four years, which led to us becoming an enabler for their digital strategy.