How much does Customer Satisfaction count for?

Sometimes you get cynical and think the big players are in the business just for the money. Royal Caribbean can claim weight in the cruise industry, but it’s great to see there is still some humility and that success hasn’t gone to their head.

Doug Santoni, senior vice president of strategic planning and continuous improvement at Royal Caribbean Cruises is convinced that the customer is the most important part of the revenue/costs equation. In a recent interview he said, “The ships live and die by their ratings on every cruise. The bottom line is guest satisfaction.”

Another company, Azamara Club Cruises, runs significantly smaller vessels and they too understand the importance of customer satisfaction. Positive comments have been made about the personal attention given to passengers by The Quests’ Captain Carl Smith and his crew. Tweets, IM’s and posts on social networking sites have spread the word that the customer service is exemplary.

If you are intending to book a cruise, don’t just read the brochure – check out what people are actually saying about their experiences and make a note about how well they rates their cruise.

There will always be the odd curmudgeon who’ll want to whine about how the trip wasn’t absolutely perfect for them, but take these with a pinch of salt unless that is the general consensus of opinion. Read comments carefully to see if the person posting shares similar circumstances to you. If you are invalid or immobile, comments about accessibility will be important to you. If you wish to travel with a young family, facilities for children will be relevant.

General comments about cleanliness, attention paid by staff and the types of entertainment and facilities will probably be meaningful to everyone, but read through a variety of posts to get a balanced overview before you make a decision.

The cruise companies do want you to have a good time and endeavour to provide the best for their passengers, so if you have any complaints or comments do get in touch with them so they can make improvements. They will want to hear from you.