Norwegian Cruise Line Maintains Personalized Contact with Guests through Personalized Pre-Cruise Communications

Norwegian Cruise Line believes the cruising experience begins when the first piece of information about the cruise is delivered to the guest.  In the past, guests would receive a package prior to departure, complete with their tickets, luggage tags, airline tickets when applicable, information regarding various shore excursions and more – all the documentation a passenger needed in order to board the ship.

However, with the advancements in technology and Norwegian’s migration to internet booking and e-documents, the need for the majority of the guest ticket package documentation began to diminish. 

Nevertheless, Norwegian was in search of a way to continue to maintain that level of personalized contact with their passengers prior to departure, while providing them with highly-customized educational materials for their cruise experience.  

Norwegian firmly believes that delivering information to passengers on time and presenting it in an attractive way can make all the difference in a passenger’s vacation experience.  As a result, Norwegian Cruise Line found Standard Register’s extensive experience in variable customer communications to be attractive and now depends on Standard Register to help differentiate them from other cruise lines.   

An Asset to Both the First-Time and Repeat Cruiser

Together, Standard Register and Norwegian Cruise Line developed a dynamic pre-cruise booklet that allows Norwegian to provide attractive, user-friendly, customized, timely and highly impactful customer communications, printed on demand. 

The targeted educational pre-cruise booklets are created based on the customer’s personal profile. The cover of the booklet contains such information as the name of the ship, the sail date, the guest’s name, cabin information, reservation number and their travel agency name and logo, if the cruise was booked through one.  The interior contains personalized luggage tags, a diagram of the passenger’s specific ship, as well as excursion packages tailored to the specific ship and sailing date.  The passengers complete their online registration, print their electronic documents (edocs), and then simply have to present their passports to board the ship and everything else they need is included in their booklet. 

"What’s great about the new pre-cruise booklets is that they are an asset to both the first-time and repeat cruiser,” said Ana Rodriguez, manager, International Reservation & Support Services for Norwegian Cruise Line. 

"First-time cruisers are not as experienced with what awaits them while on board a cruise.  The pre-cruise booklet offers cruising advice, important information on what a passenger needs to know before they cruise; what to pack, the amenities onboard, and bon voyage gifts and packages as well as communicates the freedom and flexibility of the Freestyle Cruising experience.  For repeat cruisers, the pre-cruise booklet serves as a refresher and easily communicates any changes to what can be expected while on board – all the while exciting both groups for their upcoming trip!” 

From a service perspective, when the booklet is mailed, an e-mail is automatically generated to the booking travel agency so they know the booklet is on its way.  Norwegian Cruise Lines’ reservation system is simultaneously updated with the information, complete with the carrier tracking number so the shipment can be tracked. 

Maximizing the Passenger Experience

While most cruise companies are providing the necessary materials to get their passengers on the ship, Standard Register and Norwegian Cruise Line have expanded on that idea, providing on-board materials to maximize the passenger experience, while saving Norwegian printing and postage costs. 

"Standard Register added tremendous value in helping us promote our product and saving us money at the same time.  They produce our documentation efficiently and provide us with the opportunity to expand on our travel partner relationships.  With the travel partner agency name and logo on the pre-cruise booklet, Norwegian strengthens the one-to-one relationships with our travel partners.  That’s extremely powerful!  The benefits go far beyond just cost savings; the intangible benefit of building customer loyalty is paramount," states Rodriguez.   

Standard Register’s solution enables Norwegian Cruise Line to reinforce its brand image with each piece of documentation through a centralized design leveraging Norwegian’s brand image and standards.  Norwegian’s ability to communicate with its travel partners and passengers has improved tremendously, giving passengers detailed information tailored specifically to their cruising experience. 

	What’s great about the new pre-cruise booklets is that they are an asset to both the first-time and repeat cruiser.
	- Ana Rodriguez Manager, International Reservation & Support Services Norwegian Cruise Line

According to Rodriguez, "We’ve received a lot of positive customer feedback on the pre-cruise booklets. Everything from the layout, look and feel, to the personalization has been well received.”

What’s more, historically, the travel agencies had a choice of whether to use the pre-cruise educational materials from the cruise line or to provide their own material to their passengers.  With the partnership established by Norwegian, many travel agencies are using the pre-cruise kit and choosing to have them mailed directly to the guest.  This has led to consistency in Norwegian materials and brand image. 

To help Norwegian gain control over all the pre-cruise educational materials, Standard Register presented the idea of co-branding with participating travel agencies to make the material compelling to the agency, as well as the cruise line, ensuring materials would end up in the hands of the passenger.

Norwegian Cruise Line wanted to focus on what really matters – running a cruise line – and not on determining the most effective ways to deliver educational materials to passengers, and Standard Register allows them to do that and more. 
With variable customer communications through Standard Register, Norwegian has reduced mailing costs, communicates more efficiently and effectively with their passengers and can focus on what they do best – delivering the best vacation experience in the cruising industry.

To learn more about how Standard Register is leveraging the latest technologies and providing our clients with a reliable source for targeted, personalized communications, contact us now.