Royal Caribbean is doubling down on its biggest ships and private destinations because that's what cruisers love the most.
Speaking aboard the brand-new Star of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley answered travel agent questions and was asked about what makes going on an Icon Class ship or an itinerary to a new private destination worth the cost.
Royal Caribbean is in the midst of a spending spree, with at least two more Icon Class ships on order and new beach clubs and a second Perfect Day opening over the next few years.
Mr. Bayley believes those products are setting the standard for guest satisfaction across the industry.
He illustrated his point by talking about the overwhelming popularity of short cruises that include a stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay and the debut of Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas as examples of products delivering exceptional value and memorable vacations.
"When you look at the Net Promoter score, the satisfaction that comes back from our customers on these products, the top-rated products are typically ships like Icon and Star," Bayley said.
"People are paying good, good price, but I can tell you that they perceive the value as exceptionally high."
Very high guest satisfaction
When Royal Caribbean talks about a ship or island being highly rated, they're referring to their guest feedback system.
The cruise line does an incredible amount of guest research. Every passenger is asked for a post-cruise survey, and Royal Caribbean regularly conducts focus groups and sends out surveys to better understand what its customers want and like.
One means of measuring guest satisfaction is using Net Promoter Score (NPS), a standard metric that tracks how likely customers are to recommend a product to friends and family.
"The Net Promoter Score on Star and Icon is about 85, and if you’re familiar with an NPS, 85 is phenomenal," Bayley explained.
For context, in most industries, an NPS above 50 is considered excellent. Scores in the 80s are considered "world class", and much more typical for luxury brands.
"That means that people are paying the price and they are deeply satisfied with the experience, and they are going to recommend that experience to their friends and family."
According to Bayley, he thinks those high scores are the result of, "great quality, great value and wonderful satisfaction."
"We feel like we’re really kind of leading the way with delivering that kind of experience," he said.
Why they're focusing on short cruises
Mr. Bayley spoke about the high demand Royal Caribbean has for three- and four-night cruises that sail from Florida and include a stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay.
These itineraries are part of a shift with Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships, and it's generated a lot of debate among cruisers.
The reason more big ships are switching to short sailings is to attract new customers who might have never considered a cruise before.
"Certainly there is a huge popularity for the three- and four-day product," Bayley explained. "And that’s why we have a certain percentage of our products doing those runs to Perfect Day and the beach clubs."
The idea is offer the very best new cruise ships sailing short cruises to top-rated private destinations to give new cruisers an obvious choice of which ship is best for them to try.
CocoCay is the most in-demand cruise destination in the world
Part of why Royal Caribbean is building Perfect Day Mexico is because of how well Perfect Day at CocoCay has been received by its guests.
Mr. Bayley said that Perfect Day at CocoCay has become Royal Caribbean’s most sought-after stop worldwide.
"It’s our number one demand destination on the planet," Bayley told the audience. "I think this year we took maybe 3.5 million guests to Perfect Day."
Once again, guest feedback played a role in crafting CocoCay's makeover. During the dreaming process for Perfect Day, Royal Caribbean surveyed guests on what would make a day in the Caribbean truly perfect. The answer: "the thrill, the chill, keep the kids happy."
"That’s what we built," Bayley said.
With Perfect Day Mexico coming next, he thinks it will be another game changer.
"This is going to be an absolutely epically stunning, unbelievable Perfect Day," he said, highlighting its accessibility to the Texas Gulf Coast drive market. "There’s a huge opportunity coming in all of the Gulf states and, for example, North Florida."
Currently, cruise penetration in Texas is around 3%, compared to 6% in Florida. Royal Caribbean sees that gap as untapped potential.
When asked about an Icon Class ship being based in Galveston, Texas, he didn't answer the question, but hinted something could be in the works.
Expanding the shore experience
Mr. Bayley also talked about Royal Caribbean’s efforts to improve the onshore experience in destinations beyond its private islands.
One such idea is a new category of VIP shore excursions, that offer more exclusive, small-group experiences. They're available in select markets, including Alaska and Europe.
"We’ve just started to roll those out," he said.
"It’s a different level of experience. It’s slightly more exclusive. It’s more elevated. It costs more because it does cost more. And we think from the early results of the testing that we’ve done that it’s very popular."
The idea is to not only offer great tours, but add a premium level to them for those that value paying more to enjoy a first class experience.
