Cruise line sites loose to online agencies
Online travel agencies outperform online cruise sites across the board for customer experience, according to a new study.
Online agencies captured four of the top five positions in the study’s ranking.
“Expedia and Royal Caribbean are the clear early leaders in the burgeoning competition for customers researching and booking a cruise online,” said the study released by Keynote Systems, a business performance management service company.
“Expedia and the other online travel agencies provide a significantly better online experience for the customer than do the cruise Web sites themselves, with the exception of Royal Caribbean which is clearly ahead of the other supplier sites,” added Bonny Brown, director of research and public services for Keynote.
She said consumer’s biggest frustration was the necessity to compare multiple travel services.
The second biggest frustration for consumers: price transparency.
“Consumers expect prices to be clearly stated and explained, yet the majority of cruise sites do a poor job of doing so,” the study found.
The study found one in four of the 2,000 participants found it difficult to determine the total price of a cruise online.
Ms Brown said that Royal Caribbean was the only cruise line to overcome hurdles to be rated highly by consumers.
“Their Web site provides visuals and a level of interactivity that gives consumers an actual taste of what the cruise experience would be like,” she said.
Report by David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025