1. What unique aspects of the cruise industry make quality service more difficult to attain? What aspects help raise quality?

Twenty years ago, Celebrity Cruises, Inc., decided to make a name for itself in the premium market by offering an “upscale experience at an intelligent price.” Evoking images of luxury similar to the Ritz-Carlton brand, this “hotel on the water” treats quality as if it is the heartbeat of the company. Consequently, Celebrity has consistently been awarded the “Best Premium Cruise Line.”
In the cruise and hotel industries, quality can be hard to quantify.
Traveling guests are buying an experience—not just a tangible product. So creating the right combination of elements to make the experience stand out is the goal of every employee, from cabin attendants to galley staff to maintenance to entertainers. The captain even has an important social role, often hosting dinners for a dozen guests a night.
“Our target audience consists of savvy, discerning guests who know what they want from this cruise,” says Brian Abel, Associate VP for Hotel Operations. “We meet their needs by being best in the competitive class of modern luxury ships.”
Crew-to-guest ratios at Celebrity, and other premium lines, are 1 crew member for every 2 guests. Employees are expected to greet guests with a formal style, to say “good morning” instead of “hi” and “with pleasure” instead of “no problem.” With crew members from 70 countries, such preferred phrases, dress codes, and many other manners of dealing with customers are detailed in employee training manuals.
Employees sign 4- to 9-month contracts and then typically take 6–8 weeks off. They have difficult jobs, often working 7 days a week, but even with intense schedules, most Celebrity staffers remain on the job for 5 to 7 years.
Food is a very important part of the cruise experience. “Food is the number-one reason people rebook a cruise,” says Abel.
So everything served aboard a Celebrity ship is prepared from scratch. About 200 people work in the galley in a structured, well-planned operation, using years of historical data, to forecast demand for each component of each meal

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