Royal Caribbean:
At Port

This project was completed as part of a university course and is not associated with Royal Caribbean.

Mobile app interface showing main navigation and time until ship departureMobile app interface showing instructions for what to do if traveler is left behind by the ship

I worked on Royal Caribbean: At Port for a design class at university. During this project, I lead my first design sprint, developed my research and synthesis skills, and learned about the importance of using research insights to inform design decisions.

Client
University project
Timeline
4 weeks
My role
UX design, research, usability testing, sprint facilitation
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Overview

Context

Royal Caribbean is the 2nd largest cruise line company in the world, they pride themselves on their legacy of hospitality and culture of innovation. At the time of this project, Royal Caribbean was seeing growing demand for authentic travel experiences, and was expanding the activities and services they offered at port cities in response.

The desire for experiences factors into the way travelers spend every part of their cruise. While passengers want to enjoy their time on the ship, they also want to experience local culture when they’re on land.

Richard Fain, Royal Caribbean International CEO, 2018

My team and I identified an opportunity to support cruise travelers as they prepare to explore local culture on land.

Proposal

Royal Caribbean: At Port is a new feature for the Royal Caribbean mobile app that introduces port cities to cruise passengers and provides the resources they need to explore safely.

Mobile app interface showing main navigation and time until ship departureMobile app interface showing list of documents travelers need for port city.Mobile app interface showing tips to bring cash
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Foundational research

Methodology

My team and I started the project by conducting primary and secondary research to identify trends in the cruise industry and to understand cruise travelers' motivations and pain points.

📚 Secondary research

How

We studied industry reports, customer data reports, cruising articles, online forums, and online reviews.

Who

Cruise lines and travel communities.

🔎 Primary research

How

A teammate and I created a survey and the team shared it on cruise forums and social media.

Who

62 respondents who had been on a cruise.

Key findings

  1. Finding 1: Cruise travelers want to explore local culture, cuisine, and sights at port cities.

    45/62 of respondents in our survey indicated that they enjoy exploring port cities.

    Survey results

    “Travelers want to forge deeper connections to the people, traditions and customs of the places they are visiting, and these experiences add a meaningful and memorable component to a vacation”

    Terry Dale, CEO of the US Tour Operator Association, 2014

    Royal Caribbean was targeting “experience-craving explorers” who are motivated by new destinations, cuisine, and learning about local cultures.

    Royal Caribbean marketing guidelines, 2018
  2. Finding 2: Cruises are marketed as worry-free adventures, however travel is often stressful.

    “The travel industry markets itself as a sensory deprivation bubble... It doesn’t warn against or doesn’t do enough to soothe the anxieties of the traveler.”

    Rafat Ali, CEO of Skift, 2018

    40% of cruise travelers say that relaxing and being pampered are the main reasons they go cruising.

    Statista database, 2018

    “My biggest fear is not being able to get back to the cruise ship on time.”

    Survey respondent

Moving forward: identify and alleviate uncertainties and anxieties in the at port experience

Based on our research, my team and I believed that there was an opportunity to identify and improve moments where uncertainties and anxieties were impacting travelers' experiences as they prepare for and explore local port cities during their Royal Caribbean cruise.

💡 What I learned

During this process, I learned about the importance of looking at a problem space from multiple points of view and combining data from various research methods to inform design decisions.

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Mapping the onshore experience

Putting the research into action

Using our foundational research, I lead the team in mapping the key moments in the at port journey and identifying pain points that cause stress or uncertainties for cruise travelers who decide to explore port cities.

Here's a simplified version of that journey with the two areas we decided to focus on:

Journey overview
Friction 1
Friction 2
Opportunities
Journey map for onshore experienceJourney map with friction during preparation for port cityJourney map with friction during the return to the shipJourney map with identified frictions and proposed opprtunities
Journey map for onshore experience
↑ Journey overview
Journey map with identified frictions and proposed opprtunities
↑ Identified frictions and opportunities

We decided to focus on frictions during two key moments: preparing for the port city and returning to the ship. And framed our work as:

  • How might we guide travelers through relevant and compelling port information as they prepare to explore port cities?
  • How might we ease concerns about missing the departure of the ship?
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From insights to design

I facilitated two 4-day sprints for the team to explore and test our ideas (more about the process in the next section). Here's how it all came together:

1. How might we guide travelers through relevant and compelling port information as they prepare to explore port cities?

Our goal here was to identify the information that travelers needed to know about port cities, and then guide them through that information to help them prepare.

At Port

A new "At Port" section in the Royal Caribbean app to centralize relevant information and resources for port cities.

Current application has three main menu items: ship, schedule, profile.
Mobile app interface showing main navigation
Our proposal: "At Port" menu item to navigate to port-specific content.
Mobile app interface showing main navigation with new navigation item
At Port guides travelers through port information that my team designed.
Mobile app interface showing main navigation and time until ship departure

Port highlights

A quick series of tips and unique details about local cultures to guide travelers through relevant information to prepare for the port city.

Mobile app interface showing tips to bring cash
Story pattern to guide travelers through bite-sized port highlights.
Mobile app interface showing tips to learn Spanish
Surface and connect travelers with other services offered by Royal Caribbean on the ship.

Documents

In order to alleviate the worry of missing documents, we provide a clear and scannable list of necessary documents to explore the port and get back to the ship safely. Each document has a straightforward description, and the travelers can choose to upload copies as backups.

Mobile app interface showing notification to return to ship
Notification with upfront list of needed documents, not forcing guests to tap into app.
Mobile app interface showing list of documents travelers need for port city.
Hub to keep track of all documents needed while at port.
Mobile app interface showing passport description and details
Details and recommendations for each document.

Onboarding

We also provide entry points to direct travelers to port information from other parts of the app.

Mobile app interface showing modal for onboarding
Modal to introduce At Port to existing app users.
Mobile app interface showing banner to prepare for port city
Banner directing travelers to At Port.

2. How might we ease concerns about missing the departure of the ship?

An important part of tackling this pain paint was to acknowledge and address travelers' anxieties. We wanted to be clear that things could go wrong, and offer direct and actionable solutions.

Countdown timer

A countdown timer until the ship’s departure helps travelers manage their time at port.

Mobile app interface showing countdown time until ship departure
Countdown timer prominently featured on the port dashboard.
Mobile app interface showing notification to return to ship
Notification with reminders of the departure time.

Ship left without me

A dedicated support section provides quick access to emergency contacts and guidelines.

Mobile app interface showing emergency contact information and cards for various emergency situations
Emergencies section with critical phone numbers and resources for a range of emergency situations.
Mobile app interface showing instructions for what to do if traveler is left behind by the ship
Ship left without me:
Clear direct guidelines for what to do.

Bringing it all together

Mobile app interface showing banner to prepare for port city
1. Onboarding
Mobile app interface showing main navigation and time until ship departure
2. Port mode dashboard
Mobile app interface showing tips to bring cash
3. Port highlights
Mobile app interface showing list of documents travelers need for port city.
4. Documents
Mobile app interface showing instructions for what to do if traveler is left behind by the ship
5. Ship left without me
Mobile app interface showing notification to return to ship
6. Notifications

User testing to evaluate the design and features

A teammate and I planned and conducted usability testing interviews to evaluate our prototypes. These interviews helped us identify areas for improvement in our design and helped us validate some of the assumptions and observations from our foundational research.

1. Preparing for port cities

Interview participants enjoyed learning about the port cities, and appreciated short tips that allowed for quick glances. Some participants expressed a desire to see more tips about hidden gems and local experiences — we explored that path but decided to focus on safety and key port information.

“All of this is making me feel encouraged and empowered to go exploring on my own”

Interview participant

“I don’t want to do the super touristy things, I don’t book itineraries because I like finding the things myself. I want to find the little neat places, the hidden gems.”

Interview participant

2. Easing concerns about missing the departure of the ship

Safety came up as a common concern and need. Interview participants found the proposed features reassuring. They appreciated the clarity in instructions, the transparency around emergencies, and the quick access to  emergency contacts.

“Having support as a prominent section makes me more likely to familiarize myself with it, so that in an emergency I know that the information is there.”

Interview participant

“I feel a lot better knowing that the cruise knows [getting left behind] happens sometimes and that I can find it.”

Interview participant

“It’s great that I can see the time remaining, I don’t want to be stranded.”

Interview participant
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Design process and team alignment

Sprints and iterations

I facilitated two 4-day design sprints for the team to explore and test our ideas with cruise travelers.

💡 How I prepared

In order to prepare as the sprint facilitator, I read the Sprint Book by Jake Knapp, and I watched the Sprint 2.0 videos by AJ&Smart. The first sprint I facilitated followed the structure proposed in the book, and then I started modifying the activities and workshops to fit our needs as a team.

Three series of iterations that the design went through

Aligning the team and establishing a framework for quality

I lead my team in an exercise that I read about in an article written by Frog Design (The Nuance of Better: Ritual for Quality Products) to help us establish guiding principles that sat at the core of our decisions:

  • Lowering cognitive overhead
    Make content and interactions as clear, simple, and straightforward as possible.
  • Quick glances, not long reads
    Minimize prolonged use to allow travelers to unplug and focus on port city destinations.
  • Leverage existing resources
    Use Royal Caribbean’s existing resources, and guide travelers between the digital and physical support that Royal Caribbean offers.
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Reflection and final thoughts

Alternative directions and solutions

Our journey wasn't straight-forward and direct.

Following our first sprint and first round of interviews, we noticed that some interview participants were excited by the port information and wanted to see more tips about hidden gems and things to do at port.

So we realized that a possible route for us to pursue could be helping cruise travelers plan their trips onshore and find activities to do. We explored this idea in our second sprint.

However, as we continued down this path, we had to pause and reflect. We realized that we had some reservations about this direction:

  • There are many travel and trip planning apps with dedicated teams and robust content and recommendations. We did not believe competing against them would be viable.
  • We were concerned about diluting the purpose and core offerings of the Royal Caribbean app. (This is where it would have been great to have access to stakeholders from the company to determine an appropriate strategy)
  • If we're giving all cruise passengers the same tips, and recommending the same spots, then we could be contributing to the side effects of over-tourism.

Given these considerations, we decided not to go too far down the path of creating trip planning features, and instead focus on acknowledging and addressing concerns related to safety, preparation, and returning to the ship.

Research for the win

During this project, we relied on many sources of data and research to inform our decisions. We looked at industry reports, trend magazines, marketing guidelines, large-scale research conducted by market-research leaders. We created our own survey, and user testing interviews. It was a great learning experience.

The more research we did, the deeper our understanding became, and we were able to start painting a picture (albeit probably flawed) of a much larger system at play, we were just seeing glimpses into how different pieces were influencing each other.

Had this been a 'real' project, I would have like to talk with the business to understand if our solution was aligned with their plans, and I would have liked to conduct more thorough research with Royal Caribbean customers and a more diverse range of travelers.

Thanks for reading — Reach out for more!

For this case study, I touched on the key moments and insights from the project, but if you're interested in hearing all the nitty gritty details of our ups and downs, I'm happy to chat more about it — you can email me or contact me on LinkedIn.