Cruise passengers set high expectations to the Baltic, but these expectations are more than matched by the experience, a survey commissioned by Cruise Baltic shows.
The survey shows that 84% of responses taken from the top 5 source markets (Italy, UK, Germany, USA, Spain; and 16% from other markets): Passenger feedback is one of the tools that has proved extremely useful in Cruise Baltic’s on-going strategic discussions. Results from a survey taken in Summer 2011 from a broad/wide group of passengers representing all the major markets revealed:
* Expectations are very high 4.16 (scale of 1 to 5) prior to cruising the Baltic. Positive news is that expectations are fulfilled with a high score of 4.48 on the passenger satisfaction index.
* overall satisfaction levels are high – 89% (the same percentage as in the 2007 Cruise Baltic survey); those ‘Likely to Return’ = 64% on a city break; and 55% on a cruise.
* comparing the satisfaction levels of the warmer Mediterranean and the Caribbean regions, versus the colder Baltic, Alaska and the Norwegian Fjords – the latter scored the highest with the Baltic 4.48 (scale of 1 to 5).
Other significant comparisons include:
* ‘satisfaction level of the cities visited’ - 4.46 (scale of 1 to 5)
* ‘quality of services’ - 4.45 (scale of 1 to 5); 87% of all passengers are very likely, or likely to recommend a cruise in the Baltic sea.
Partner Survey
Another strategic tool of importance for Cruise Baltic’s network is the partner survey. Results from the survey conducted in October 2011 amongst all the Cruise Baltic members, have revealed:
Eight key subjects were measured (scale of 1 to 5): Strategy, Value-for-money, Meetings, Secretariat, Director, Marketing, Press and Knowledge sharing: Overall satisfaction levels are very high – ranging from the role of the Director (4.69) and quality of the Secretariat (4.62), to the content of Steering Group Meetings (4.50).
Says Bo Larsen, Director, Cruise Baltic: “We evaluate constantly all our efforts, both from an internal and external perspective. The focus on value-for-money has definitely increased over the past years, which makes the partner survey a key tool in our efforts to improve our role and deliver ‘Return on Investment’ for our very loyal Baltic partners and the same goes for our strategic partners Scandinavian Airlines and Scandic Hotels.”
Conclusions: based on these responses, Cruise Baltic will continue its focus and commitment to increasing the value of the partnership and improving methods of implementing strategies; new PR and marketing initiatives will be adopted including improvements to the website, to increase Cruise Baltic visibility within the industry; and further efforts to improve knowledge sharing among members will be introduced.