Travel and Cruise

Every cruise line CIO is now grappling with the same board mandate: expand margin. The trouble is that the instinct to cut usually lands in the wrong place. Cruise lines operate one of the most capital-intensive guest experiences in travel. A modern ship is a floating hotel, restaurant, casino, and entertainment venue in one vessel that can cost upwards of $2 billion to build. But the spend that actually creates the guest experience (onboard staffing, food and beverage, entertainment, itinerary design) is exactly what cruise lines cannot compromise on. Cut there, and you erode the very thing g...

Managing a portfolio of onboard products for cruise lines requires a strategic approach that ensures each solution serves its purpose and augments value by integrating seamlessly with others. A successful portfolio aligns business objectives with the needs of end users and guests, driving innovation, profitability, and efficiency. At IBS Software, three key themes guide our portfolio management philosophy for our modern onboard products so that cruise lines can meet the expectations of their guests and employees.  1. Guest-centricity Many software providers emphasize the importance of the...

Cruising is all about creating unforgettable experiences on the ship, at sea, and in ports of call. For decades, the industry has been remarkably successful at delivering on this promise. But as guest expectations evolve, competition intensifies, and technology makes giant leaps, cruise lines must go beyond traditional operations to continue to innovate, differentiate, and streamline. While a guest-first approach is essential to premium guest experiences, many cruise lines still face the consequences of fragmented systems, disconnected data, and slow technological evolution. These challenges r...

A recurring question in cruise line companies' boardrooms is: How can our Cruise Reservation System (CRS) enhance our offerings, expand functionality, enrich our guests' travel experience, and ultimately drive more revenue? Today, few off-the-shelf solutions cater specifically to the unique needs of cruise line operations. Many cruise companies rely on in-house systems built to meet specific internal requirements but are often limited in their scope to address broader industry and customer needs. While these systems excel at managing cruise operations and filling cabins, is that enough in toda...

In my last blog post, I discussed the intricacies of managing and reporting onboard sales and suggested three critical features cruise lines should look for when searching for a new POS system. Here, I'll be looking at cruise line dining systems, how they impact how "traditional dining" products are managed, and the knock-on effect on the customer experience. A key challenge in managing dining products and experiences is that the underlying workflows can vary greatly from cruise line to cruise line, ship to ship, and even restaurant to restaurant on the same ship. Cruise lines offer different ...