Creating Connection
CLIENT: Princess Cruises
SERVICES: Design Research, Service design, Experience design, Staff training
CHALLENGE: How do you challenge the norms of an entire industry?
TEAM: Curiosity Atlas – Me: Program Strategy, Service Co-Design, Experience Co-Design, Research Co-Design, Training Co-Design; Gretchen: Program Strategy, Facilitation, & Client relations; Shana: Visual Strategy, Mary Michael: Copywriter
In 2018, Princess Cruises expanded their offering to sailing year-round. Having just launched a new brand promise, they faced a number of immediate challenges in the space:
Sailing year-round was a crowded market with little differentiation
There was little-to-no through line between the new brand promise, “Come back new,” and the on-board experience
They had no offerings to capture consumer trends looking for more meaningful experiences
In an effort to differentiate themselves with more meaningful cruise experiences, they engaged Curiosity Atlas to 1. develop new passenger programs, 2. define service delivery strategy, and 3. train staff through a summer pilot program.
Our solution was a scalable passenger experience strategy for Princess Cruises and a pilot program for the Caribbean Princess. The Detourists consisted of facilitated workshops, DIY activities, brand communications and a new crew role, all positioned to provide a cruise experience with a deeper sense of connection to their destinations and fellow passengers.
Approach
Research
Designing an effective service is predicated on understanding both the passenger and crew member experience. We developed a qualitative research strategy to understand both perspectives on the dynamics of a meaningful vacation.
“Over the years, we’ve done most cultural excursions in the Caribbean. We don’t do them anymore.”
“I love culture, history, food, traveling to new places. I don’t go to the talks – it’s generally a sales pitch and I’m not interested in jewelry”
Insights
The most meaningful experiences happen off the beaten path. But It’s hard to know what to do or where to begin an adventure.
Across the board, meeting new people was a highlight. But it can feel awkward engaging strangers.
Passengers are hungry for more cultural and cerebral programming.
“Passengers want to get out of their comfort zone and try something new - they just need a little encouragement.”
The Journey
Synthesis uncovered distinct modes passengers experience throughout their end-to-end cruise experience, beginning before they ever step foot on the boat. And while there is an aspirational shift to come back new, there was little of the onboard experience to help passengers along the path.
We developed a journey that reflected both the passenger modes and the aspirational shifts they wanted to experience. The insights pointed to three central strategic pillars to help accomplish the shifts:
Connection
Energizing experiences
New perspectives
Our team went broad with our brainstorming of possible experience elements to bring the pillars to life. Narrowing ideas had multiple considerations. Ideas needed to
Fit within the operational constraints of conducting a cruise (there are many)
Feed into and build on each other but…
…stand alone to remain accessible to new comers
Embody the strategic pillars
We also realized, given the sheer scale of activities happening throughout the cruise, activities needed to be both facilitated and DIY to reach the level of impact needed for lasting impressions.
Our final design was a mix of events, workshops, and self-driven activities spread throughout the course of the week, each targeting a different mode of the passenger experience.
The overall program leveraged practices from behavior change theory, helping passengers experiment with new activities as they move in and out of their comfort zones.
Facilitated workshops introduced new ideas and skills passengers could use to connect more meaningfully with local cultures and residents
DIY activities created opportunities to practice skills in safe, fun ways while meeting new people
Events helped reflect on lived experiences while celebrating risk-taking
Design by Shana Parks
A Rally Point
Cruises are jam packed with activities. Adding our journey arc to the daily calendar would not be enough to catch the passenger eye. We needed something that served as a through-line to the narrative, making the experiences distinct and meaningful. In addition to the experience design and service design, we developed a new, scalable brand, The Detourists.
The sub-brand allowed for a common touchpoint for passengers–an identity by which they could identify program elements, staff, and other soon-to-be friends throughout the cruise. The accompanying branding and collateral were positioned to be points of curiosity, inviting new participants rather than communicating exclusivity.
The Detourists - A new kind of un-tourism that is for proactive types who crave offbeat, connection-oriented experiences when they move about the world.
Every step in the journey included collateral that served to nudge passengers in their exploration through prompts, activities, and inspiration. Along the way, the collateral’s role evolved from functional to keepsake.
The Pilot
Delivering an entirely new way of cruising meant crew would need to embrace new roles. The entertainment crew were used to serving as pointers to passengers, pointing them in the direction of resources or activities. As Detourist Guides, they would become connectors, evolving their service stance throughout the week as passengers progressed through their different modes.
As part of the Detourist Guide, we developed a training program to help the entertainment crew learn and experiment. In addition to program playbooks, crew were given their own materials and in-person trainings to internalize the shifts they would be facilitating among members.
The Detorists program was piloted on a 7-day cruise throughout the Caribbean over 3 months. Passengers and crew provided valuable learnings throughout.
“Our week’s motto became “Dare to Dare.” ...Thank you Jase and Kelly and Princess Cruise Line for the vacation of a decade!”
“I want to express my gratitude for the impact that these activities have had on my cruise, and, I believe, my life after the cruise.”
“I feel like it really has changed me, changed the way I travel, certainly the way I cruise and I mean, possibly the way I live.”
Lessons Learned:
Less is more:
Decrease depth of each engagement and increase number of activities to offer more variety or the opportunity to incorporate the ethos into existing programming.
Lower the facilitation barrier - transitioning entertainment staff to facilitators was a jump
Design for those who serve:
Engage cruise staff in co-creation to increase ownership
Give culture change the space and time it needs to take hold
Understand where innovation lives
PCL had no innovation infrastructure or ecosystem to sustain change
Implemented by consultants = No internal ownership to help navigate silos or keep it alive
Pilot insights were incorporated with our recommendations to Princess as considerations to explore as they iterated and expanded the program. While the Detorists did garner positive press and word-of-mouth on social media, Princess came under new leadership resulting in a company reorganization.