Southern Cross University MNG 10291 Cruise Business Take-Home Test

This assignment provides comprehensive solutions to a take-home test on the cruise business, addressing key aspects of the industry. The answers delve into the evolution of cruise dining models, contrasting traditional and contemporary approaches and analyzing the implications for cruise ship catering. The assignment also explores the significance of onboard revenue generation, focusing on dynamic pricing models and their impact on cruise ticket pricing and overall business economics. Furthermore, the solutions discuss cruise ship design implications related to onboard revenue maximization and address critical safety and security issues, including the roles and responsibilities of various entities and the link between piracy, terrorism, and cruise operations. Finally, the assignment identifies contemporary trends, such as dynamic pricing, and explores critical points of differentiation between marine and hotel operations and their impact on operational relationships, and the future challenges for the cruise business.

The Cruise Business
The Cruise Business
1

The Cruise Business
Long Answers:
1) Describe how and why the cruise dining models have evolved rapidly from the two-sitting
model to what is offered today. Provide descriptions and examples of traditional and
contemporary models and trends in your answer. Identify some of the implications and/or unique
problems for the cruise business arising from these trends in cruise ship catering.
Answers:
The Cruise ship of peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company started the Cruise
business in 1822 where the options were passenger cruising services which later developed into
the modern cruise holidays. The first cruises were made for the Autocracies and not for
commercial use as on today. These were ships which had the qualities to delight the passengers
with the excursions and guided trips which were done in vessels which were much smaller to
modern-day cruise. Then the luxury cruises made its entry into the transatlantic crossings which
added luxuries (Line 2019). The cruisers were divided into several decks and were thus huge
considering the number of passengers it carried and the personal space that they gave to the
travelers. The cruises added gamming, dancing, casinos in its contents which made the ships
huge and thus give each of the passengers their personal space like verandas, own space for
relaxing, etc which made the ships have a larger dining hall where the people traveling with
larger families for holidays can come together for a meal. However, post the introduction of Jet
Airliners the cruise shifted from its formal self of passenger carriers to its modern form of being
a luxury trip vessel which were made to be based on activities whose were not possible in the
previous kind of ships like Cabaret on its floors, more space for the travelers on the deck and
their dining halls for much more complex services which made the cruiser a kind of its own to
attract the people in the markets to have a rise of their life from their chosen seaport to any
destination and back with the vessel.
The vessels made post 1980s broke all records of space and volume inside the vessel making the
space for a huge dining space which was well balanced with modern engineering where the
hydraulics kept the platform still making the two sitter arrangements to change in these ships to
have the arrangements as per the desire of the travelers who were on the ship. These were also
termed as balcony-laden floating condominiums those were the fashion of the day. Hence the
2

The Cruise Business
two sitter arrangements were no longer of any use which made the difference between the
traditional and contemporary ships of the day so diverse different that made a mark among the
people and their activities. The increase in amenities, facilities, and space for the people on board
changed the concepts of cruising making the people and their ships well made for the journey of
the modern days (Cruise Industry Statistics 2019). There are today city-sized ships with all
modern amenities in them which was possible due to the enhancement of technologies and the
change of the materials that are used to make the cruise ships of the day which are light but very
stable for the travelers to have the best of time onboard.
References
Anon, 2019. Cruise Industry Statistics. [online] Repositioncruises.com. Available at:
<http://www.repositioncruises.com/cruise-industry/> [Accessed 29 Sep. 2019].
Line, C., 2019. Cruises | Carnival Cruise Deals: Caribbean, The Bahamas, Alaska, and Mexico.
[online] Carnival Cruise Line. Available at: <https://www.carnival.com/> [Accessed 29 Sep.
2019].
3

The Cruise Business
2) "Even unprofitably low ticket prices have become economically acceptable, as long as
the overall cruise ship economics, including the onboard business, work out fine."
(Vogel 2012, p. 144)
Vogel, M 2012, ‘Pricing and revenue management for cruises’, in M Vogel, A Papathanassis & B
Wolber (eds) The Business and Management of Ocean Cruises, CABI, Wallingford, pp. 131-144
Explain this quote by discussing the significance and practice of onboard revenue
generation and management concerning the contemporary cruise business. Discuss the
implication/s of this trend for the industry, including the development of cruise ticket
pricing models and include specific discussion about the "Dynamic pricing" model.
Answers:
The new age cruisers have added a new dimension where the people boarding with the low ticket
prices have become economically acceptable. The cruise liners have a host of activities similar to
any casino or grand banquet which gives the cruiser to earn from the revenues that they generate
from the businesses onboard when the cruiser is sailing. This has a huge implication for the
cruise business where the people and the amenities are well addressed by the ticket prices but for
the profits the extra cruising activities on the cruise liners make the economy of running a cruise
liner easy and competent being the one which makes the dynamic pricing model its core to make
the business successful (CRUISE LINE GUIDE 2019). Dynamic Pricing makes the business to
use different pricing models for the business in accordance to the needs of the business to make
the business more easy and dynamic to adjust with the pricing to make the people adjust the
4

The Cruise Business
prices up and down for the sellers to sell the products, in this case, the cruise seats to give the
people space to do make a trip on the cruise. So, the pricing from another has a fluctuation based
on the price that they can pay for the ride. This model is adopted to make the cruise have the
breakeven price for its trip where the revenue is generated onboard where the people have plenty
of chance to spend on the various gaming activities those are provided by the cruise liners.
Dynamic pricing makes the business to have all its products or the seats on the cruiser sold out to
the needful people where the business generates its revenue from the business it does onboard
like services of liquor, food, games, casinos, etc making the cruiser gain in the process without
losing upon the profits it wish to make in the process. The dynamic pricing charges people
differently making the charges to fluctuate from one to another, which is a great way to sell off
all the seats on the cruise liners and get the opportunity to boost the revenue of the business with
such pricing models. Since the consumers have complained in regards to this has given the
business dynamic pricing making the business have such dynamic pricing options multiple times
to let all participate in it. The pricing in such case is based on groups, times of the business or the
time left for the cruiser to sail off with empty seats to make sure that the people get the change to
get aboard and make the journey cost for the business sustainable for the business in the long
term (mcafee 2019).
However, the consumers have show a great discontent of they are not part of such dynamic
pricing where the sales values are lower to those offered to them when they bought the tickets
which had made the people go for the issuance of dynamic pricing that the business provides
once in every week prior to the sailing date which is viable for all to ensure that there are no
complaints.
References
Mcafee, 2019. [online] Mcafee.cc. Available at:
<https://www.mcafee.cc/Papers/PDF/DynamicPriceDiscrimination.pdf> [Accessed 29 Sep.
2019].
Chuckhawks 2019. CRUISE LINE GUIDE. [online] Chuckhawks.com. Available at:
<https://www.chuckhawks.com/cruise_line_guide.htm> [Accessed 29 Sep. 2019].
5

The Cruise Business
Short answers:
1.a/ The safety and security of all passengers and crew on board a cruise ship is a
serious situation. Who has the ultimate authority, and is criminally liable regarding
the actions of all on board a cruise ship?
A) the security company that provides the security on board the ship?
B) the cruise line or corporation the ship is owned by?
C) the nation the cruise ship is registered under?
D) the captain of the ship?
Answer: 1.a. The Captain of the ship.
1.b/ What are the author’s thoughts about the cruise industry’s safety and security
situation in Reading 9.2, and how piracy and terrorism are becoming linked?
Answers:
The cruise industry has to have the safety and security as tight as airports and flight carriers
where the aspects like identity, baggage, utilities are all checked by the authorities before the
people board the ship (Cruise Ship Safety and Security: Get the Facts 2019).
1.c. 1.c/ Fill in the blanks in the two lists below: -one identifying the practices, procedures
and/or security measures cruise lines and their ships currently employ or participate in to
avoid piracy and prevent terrorism; and the other identifying what cruise lines could and
6

The Cruise Business
perhaps should do, or have been recommended to do going into the future to prevent
terrorism in particular.
ANSWER (fill in the blank rows in the table):
Current practices, procedures and/or security
measures
Future practices, procedures and/or security
measures
e.g. security equipment used – explosive
detectors, x-ray machines
e.g. anti-aircraft and other weapons on board to
repel pirates
Get the identity cleared for the passengers Set the scanners to scan the people entering the
ship or cruise before the board
Check the luggage carried by the ships Distribute the luggage with tags on them after
they had been checked under the x-ray scanner
Ensure that all passengers are well
accommodated with their luggage and that there
is nothing suspicious in their luggage
Keep the needed tools like radio and flare guns
to suggests the piracy attacks and terrorist
threats on board with special code to the nearest
coast guards
REFERENCES:
Anon, 2019. Cruise Ship Safety and Security: Get the Facts. [online] Cruise Ship Charters -
Landry & Kling Global Cruise Events. Available at: <https://landrykling.com/about-cruising-for-
groups-and-events/safety-at-sea-what-you-need-to-know/> [Accessed 29 Sep. 2019].
2. 2/ What are the implications for cruise ship design regarding your discussion in Question
2 of the Long-answer Section?
7

The Cruise Business
A:The implication of the ship design makes the arrangements for the people on board to have a
host of facilities which they would use when its time to play or have the various spaces for
themselves which are personal and well protected for the rider's pleasure.
3.a/ What do you think is one of the most significant contemporary trends in the cruise
business?Topic 7 ppt
3. a. The dynamic pricing is the is one of the most significant contemporary trends of the
modern-day cruise ships of the day.
3.b/ Explain why
3b. This helps the ship to fulfill its capacity which they are used to making the ship have all seats
blocked and is set to sail making the break-even for the journey spend by the cruising company
get in even before the ship is out for sail (The Cruise Industry: General Analysis and Overview
2019).
REFERENCES:
Anon, 2019. The Cruise Industry: General Analysis and Overview. [online]
Windrosenetwork.com. Available at: <http://www.windrosenetwork.com/The-Cruise-Industry-
General-Analysis-and-Overview.html> [Accessed 29 Sep. 2019].
4.a/ What are the critical points of differentiation between the Departments of the Marine and
Hotel Operations and their personnel?
Marine Operations and Personnel Hotel Operations and Personnel
Is in charge of the cost liners which are on the
sea routes for business trips
Make people on the cruise happy with the
service
Ensures navigation and best place to go through
predicting the environment
Make sure all are well placed on board and are
having the fun they wish to have onboard
Keeps a radio contact with the various coast
guards
Keep touch with the people on board to see that
all are happy and satisfied with the services.
8

The Cruise Business
4.b/ How may these points of differentiation affect or impact the operational relationships
between these two Departments?
4.b. All the 3 points as discussed above makes the operations of the two departments different
which is key for the cruisers to have the best of the voyage on the sea.
5.a/ What do you think is one of the most critical issues or challenges for the future of the cruise
business that has not already been addressed in this test?
5a. The future of cruise which needs to be understood is the emergency care for the people on
board which is in the mid seas has to have the opportunity to safely evacuate a patient in distress
if such occurs during the voyage (Campbell 2019).
5.b/ Explain why, and include a recommendation about how this may be, or may need to be
addressed for the future success of the cruise business.
5b. The cruisers have to make sure that the security and the people's care on board are taken care
of for which a small space for doctors and nurses when needed be for emergencies for people on
board may need which also needs a supply of some basic medicines which may help the travelers
is to be arranged onboard (Travel Leisure 2019).
9

The Cruise Business
References
Campbell, P. 2019. How Does Dynamic Pricing Work? Examples, Strategies, and Models.
[online] Priceintelligently.com. Available at:
https://www.priceintelligently.com/blog/bid/198355/how-to-implement-a-dynamic-pricing-
strategy-without-the-pr-backlash [Accessed 28 Sep. 2019].
Travel Leisure. 2019. https://www.travelandleisure.com. [online] Available at:
https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/royal-caribbean-symphony-of-the-seas-worlds-
largest-ship [Accessed 28 Sep. 2019].
10